This is a quick but very special thank you to timetravelingshark on Tumblr. They made a post about the Branwen tribe and its culture and they graciously allowed me to use it as the basis for my take on the tribe. There will be alterations and expansions since I do have my own ideas. Even so, I truly am grateful for the agreement!

The first couple of chapters will just be middling around to show some of the cultural concepts so the stuff with Beacon won't be immediate. I'm a worldbuilder, so showing off this sort of stuff is what I love. Plus, if anybody reads anything else with Raven, this will give some pretty big insight as to why she acts the way she does. I hope y'all can bear with me while I plod around for a couple of chapters. Needless to say, since this is a coherent culture and not just "hurr we b thugz," there will be little resembling canon here.

There will also be a lot to unpack due to how dense this is. You'll be able to find a short glossary at the end of the chapter of some of the specific terms that'll be used consistently.
There is a really lame action scene in here which I'll apologise for now. I am terrible at them. I'm a character/worldbuilding writer, not an action one, so hopefully, those aspects will make up for it.
Also, things showcased in this fic and Die are not meant to excuse any of Raven's canon actions; her behaviors are beyond problematic. These fics just drop hints to explain why she made the choices she did.

By the way, if you think you can figure out what I think Raven's Semblance means symbolically in regards to her personality, feel free to give your thoughts in the comments.
Anyway, onto the fic!


Raven shielded her eyes with her hand, squinting a bit as she saw the smoke in the distance. The cold air carried the acrid scent to her throat and she shivered a bit before glancing at the ground, letting off a series of whistles.

It looks like the village of Shiro's under attack from Grimm. Can't say I'm surprised . The village had fallen on hard times over the past several active seasons, so the Grimm attack was inevitable. Even so, it didn't stop a rock from dropping into the pit of her stomach.

We need to get over there as quickly as possible. It'll be our last raid for the active season. Get down here now. She returned her father's whistle with an affirmative response before she slashed her sword in the air and opened a portal below her. She dropped through and appeared next to Fallon, getting a curse of surprise from her brother. She just grinned at him and he swatted her upside the head, getting Fallon to clear his throat. Raven straightened up and nodded as she gathered the reins in her hands, pulling herself into the saddle. With a small click, Dena took off at a trot while she followed behind her father, Qrow to her right.

Silence hung over the combat party and Fallon nodded Raven to the left a little further and she sucked in a breath. Head of the rescue party. Third time this season. But she was glad her father was trusting her. With her now of age and as the next chief, she needed to take on more responsibility during the active seasons. She wasn't about to let him down. Thankfully, she hadn't screwed up yet…

She looked at her half of the party and they nodded while Fallon took the other half through the forest. The village was still a quarter hour's ride away, so the raiding party had to be ready in case any Grimm were still in the area. Given how bad things had to be, she wouldn't be surprised if the Nuckelavee had made its presence known. She could only shiver at the thought and sent a prayer skyward that the despair hadn't been that bad. Even parties of eighty tribesmen had trouble with the hellish demon.

Over the next quarter hour, Raven maintained contact with her father through whistling and pulled in one last breath as she heard the sound of screams. Loud trumpets rang through the forest and she flinched, pulling her simple sword from its sheath. She turned toward the group and nodded. "Two Goliaths, probably around a hundred years old. It'll be tough, but we can take them. The hunting party should arrive in twenty minutes or so." SHe was thankful the two parties had split just a day prior. If she'd seen the smoke, then they would have too. THe last raid of the season would be too tempting to avoid.

"Robin, Luna, take your parties to the west. Finn and I will meet up with you on the eastern Goliath." The two women and man nodded and she spurred Dena forward.

Two Goliaths raised in the village square. The distinct sound of dust cartridges rang in her ears and she smiled, relieved that a number of Hunters were in the area and like on the Grimms' tails. She saw any number of bodies strewn around but she ignored it and squeezed Dena's sides as she charged past the dozen Hunters and slid into the Goliath's path.

The massive Grimm let out a trumpeting cry, shouts of confusion from the Hunters mingling with them. She ignored it and Finn wound the rope between the Goliath's legs. Luna's black mare narrowly missed clipping Dena, but Raven pulled out a moment later. The Goliath crashed to the ground, followed shortly by the second one.

She dismounted and joined the attacking parties, driving her sword into the massive Grimm until it dissipated into black smoke. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned to her tribemates, giving a warm smile and nod of approval. Goliaths were awful to take down, so the fact they'd managed two in tandem was nothing short of a miracle.

With that done, she turned her attention back to the ruined village. Her heart sank as the devastation finally hit her. The once-beautiful village lay in ruin and the majority of the townsfolk lay dead. Luna, Robin, and Finna gazed at her, making her steel herself. She was their leader; she'd have time for mourning later. "Luna, southeast quadrant. Finn, take the southwest. Robin, northwest. My party will take the northeast." The party leaders nodded and headed for their respective areas.

It was hard to believe she'd been trading in the village marketplace just two active seasons ago. The tribe had sent some of their surplus crops to help try to ease the pestilence that had struck. She'd been there for the better part of the spring and summer, so she'd gotten to know the people well. She bit back tears as too many familiar faces stared back with glassy eyes. Yuri, Chiako, Kome, Ryo, Keita, Naoya, Kafu… They weren't much older than her, yet she was about to give them their last rites…

She bowed her head and covered her mouth, letting a few tears escape. She fanned out the fingers on her free hand, placing it over each face she recognised. "May you soar free in the sky." Unfortunately, this and the funeral were all she could do for her now-fallen friends.

A groan from a nearby rubble pile made Raven jump and she hurried over, starting to move the debris out of the way. She winced when she heard coughing and looked around. "Wren, help! There's somebody trapped! I need your Semblance now!" The boy nodded and flicked a finger, the rubble shooting up into the air. Raven's eyes widened when she saw Jia underneath, blood dribbling over her lip. Her leg stuck out at an odd angle, making Raven wince, but she settled next to the other girl who stare at her owlishly.

"R-Raven…? Y-You…c-came…" She coughed again and Raven squeezed her shoulder as she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm here, Jia. How badly are you hurt?" Her crimson eyes sparked as her friend leaned against her, coughing her lungs out. She didn't need to know about her leg since that much was evident. It was the internal injuries that worried her.

"Not sure how much longer I'll make it…" Raven's heart froze. Oh ancestors no. She couldn't lose her!

"I'll get you back to the village; our healer can—" Jia coughed again and her whole body shuddered, her eyes fluttering. She was in severe shock and bleeding internally. She couldn't just sit around any longer. She pulled the girl onto her back, ignoring the sharp intake of break as she grabbed her dagger and swung it through the air, focusing on her grandmother's aura. The old woman's head snapped up, eyes round, but she nodded. With that, Raven returned and set herself back to work.


By time the sun set, they'd sorted through the bodies and Raven bowed her head. Out of about a thousand people, only ten had survived. She'd had to run back to the village three other times with critical cases like Jia. She felt bad for draining so much of her grandmother's dwindling magic, but they were strong warriors. If they stayed with the tribe, it'd be all the stronger for it. The dozen or so Hunters that had protected the town had already gone, leaving the Branwen tribe to clean up as usual.

Fallon looked to Raven and she nodded, stepping forward to the numerous pyres. Her lips trembled as she summoned forth the words she'd heard her father use numerous times before. "People of the world, we honor you tonight. Though you weren't of the tribe, many of you fought and died bravely, trying to protect what you cared about so dearly. Your sacrifices still did little to stop the Grimm, but you fought with great heart and determination. In the name of our ancestors and your families, we send you to the sky. May this final rite soothe your spirits so they may soar free."

She clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. Fires lit in the night and tossed onto the large pyres. She wrinkled her nose and held back the gag reflex. No matter how many times she'd experience this, she doubted the scent of burning flesh would ever settle with her. At the very least, the dead got their final rites…


Active season: Beings mid to late spring, lasts until mid fall. This is the time members of the tribe go out from their permanent village, broken into two parties: combat and trading.
The combat group tends to raid villages that have fallen or are falling to Grimm attacks. They don't always see good seasons, so they often take out Grimm that are causing serious issues that Hunters would have trouble with. They'll also raid villages if they are extremely low on supplies themselves, but this is a last resort. When not battling, they tend to gather resources like seasonal foods and meat from animals to eventually give to the trading group.

The trading group tends to spend more time among outsiders while actively trading for supplies. They get many from the combat group as they meet up every 4-8 weeks to exchange supplies. About half of this group tends to be dedicated specifically to acting as go betweens for any excess the permanent village has that they can trade and sell.

Inactive season: Beings mid fall and lasts until mid to late spring. The tribe lives nestled deep in the mountains of Anima which means snow is a huge issue. It's just not worth risking leaving the village, so they cozy up and all stay there.

The tribe does know how the solar year works, but they tend to just tell time by the standard seasons and active/inactive seasons. They live a mostly simple agrarian lifestyle with some aspects of hunter/gatherer, so they don't feel the need to use specific months and days.

Also the whistling! For those of you that don't know, whistle languages are a real thing that exist. They're just generally isolated in mountainous regions. The languages also have to be tonal for it to work (something like Chinese). If you want to see an example, just put "piraha whistle" into YouTube. I find them fascinating and love them, hehe.