In the world of Remnant, as fraught with danger as it is, life and love are often cut short far before their appointed time. But humanity adapts, as ever. First came Dust, then Huntsmen and Huntresses. Then the walled fortress cities of Vale, Vaccuo, Mistral, and Atlas, expanding ever slowly outward as civilized society learned to shape the world, rather than be shaped by it themselves. Time honored traditions gave birth to communities, to nations, to schools of thought and battle. Among the hunters of the academies of Beacon, Shade, and Haven, traditions play an integral part in the education of Huntsmen and Huntresses. The division of students into teams of four, the training and growth of one's aura, the forging of combat weaponry and armor suited to each individual, each is a well-known and hallowed custom in every kingdom.

Not so well-known are rituals, practices, and traditions that serve to bind prospective huntsmen and huntresses to their brothers- and sisters-in-arms. Not officially stated in any class, any record-book, but nevertheless alive and well within the hallowed institutions' walls. An individual's emotion is deeply tied to one's aura. Strong emotions build the strength of aura, turning it into a force with palpable, physical ramifications. Students are taught to channel these emotions, to use them to feed their strength and endurance so that they may one day protect those who cannot protect themselves. Students are taught to understand, harness, and control emotions ranging from Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Jealousy to Joy, Trust, Surprise, Hope, and Love. Through curriculum and 'encouraged' studies, students are exposed to these basic emotions and many more, and then taught to reflect, to understand, and to channel them back into the aura that is generated by their very soul. Some emotions are generally stronger than others; Fear, Anger, Joy, Love. And some emotions while more subtle, can run deeper and just as strongly; Disgust, Jealously, Trust, Hope. Not every student experiences the same emotion in the same situation, and students might have reactions to stimuli in different degrees. One might be able to harness great power and energy from experiences of Anger or Surprise, but be able to draw less from Disgust or Trust. Another student might be directly the opposite.

Whatever the case, the experienced professors and instructors at these three academies (and to a lesser extent, the academy of Atlas) keep to time honored and proven methods to push their students to the next level of mastery, both of their emotions and their aura.