Author's Note:
Since I started writing this as just practice for situations in other Works in Progress, I didn't have an index of terms. This turned out to be a slight inconvenience to a friend, so I decided I will put this at the beginning of the story to clarify characters, places, items, and other words and concepts that are not self-explanatory, including a brief description of my versions of aura and semblance, as well as other concepts that someone who hasn't watched Volume 1 wouldn't understand. Now enough of this long paragraph, let's start defining!
Places
Beacon Academy, City of Vale, Vale, Vytal – This is the school that the main characters attend. Beacon Academy is located on the cliffs at the edge of the City of Vale in the kingdom of Vale. It is much like any College or University in that the students are accepted based on educational statistics, but Beacon also looks at physical statistics as the students are training to become warriors. The campus is the size of a small city with housing for most students as well as educators, administrators, and guests. It is possible for the academy to go into lock-down and remain self-sufficient without need of outside assistance.
City of Vale, Vale, Vytal – This is the city that Beacon Academy sits on the edge of. It is the capital of the kingdom Vale in the Vytal region. The city is surrounded on two sides by forest, one side by ocean, and the remaining side by Beacon Academy that sits atop cliffs that are surrounded by forest.
White Castle – The primary home of Mr. and Mrs. Schnee, and headquarters of the Schnee Corporation's Restricted Research and Development facilities. The castle was once a fortress for humanity in the region during the war that pushed the grimm out of habitable areas.
Grimm
Grimm – the general term used to describe vicious animals that are for whatever reason extremely hostile to human beings even when not provoked. When killed, the creatures seem to evaporate, leaving no trace of their existence after the process is complete. This process normally takes anywhere from approximately 5 minutes for beowolves to approximately 8 hours for a large death stalker.
Boarbatusk – a subspecies of grimm that resembles a wild hog. It has large curled horns and has heavy armour everywhere except its stomach. It mostly attacks by charging its opponents.
Beowolf – a subspecies of grimm that resembles a giant wolf. It has almost no armour, but makes up for this weakness with razor-sharp claws on its hands and feet as well as long fangs. The wolves often stick in packs of four or more and are often seen walking on only their hind legs unless in a rush to change position on the battlefield. These creatures tend to lack in agility and therefore rely on strength and numbers, making their attacks relatively easy to avoid unless surrounded.
Death Stalker – a subspecies of grimm that resembles a giant scorpion. It has heavy armour and is not easily defeated due to its tank-like impenetrability. The creature's claws and stinger make up its offensive elements, and unlike the Boarbatusk, it does not have a lack of armour on its underside.
Ursa – a subspecies of grimm that resembles a bear. This creature is normally categorized into two categories – Major and Minor. All Ursi have armour similar to Beowolves, but are much tougher to kill due to their larger size and slightly thicker hide. Their offensive capabilities are similar to normal bears.
Nevermore – a subspecies of grimm resembling several current and prehistoric avian creatures. It has little actual armour but is often difficult to take down as it has a ranged attack that sends razor-sharp feathers at its targets. The Nevermore is larger than a Death Stalker and equally aggressive. These birds have no preference to hunting in a pack and are often only found in groups of one to three.
King Taijitu – a subspecies of grimm resembling a two-headed snake. The creature is approximately the same size as a Nevermore and has heavy scales as armour. It's methods of attack are similar to most snakes, including constriction and using its large fangs. It's fangs are not lethally poisonous in small doses.
People
Ruby Rose (RWBY) – At age 15, she was the youngest student to ever enter Beacon Academy. The headmaster admitted her after she successfully stopped a robbery at a dust shop and joined a fully qualified huntress in the attempt to capture the criminal Roman Torchwick. She was partnered with Weiss Schnee at the Beacon Initiation Test, and was chosen as the leader of Team RWBY (Pronounced Ruby) by the headmaster. After a bad first impression with her partner, she has been working hard to be the best leader she can be for her team.
Weiss Schnee (RWBY) – The 17-year-old entered Beacon Academy from her excellent academic record as she had been home-schooled up until she was granted admission. She is the heiress to the Schnee Corporation and as such has been brought up in a high class household. She had some trouble adjusting to public society where she didn't always get what she wanted. She is grateful to Port for his wise words that helped her come to terms with Ruby's appointment as team leader.
Blake Belladonna (RWBY) – The 17-year-old entered Beacon Academy after quitting the faunus organization dubbed the White Fang after realizing the negative turn that had been taken in the organization's methods. She is a Cat faunus with small black ears that she keeps hidden in public with a black bow atop her head.
Yang Xiao Long (RWBY) – Age 17 and the older sister of Ruby Rose, Yang is best described as an fun-loving and energetic. She entered Beacon as the next step in her normal education and is glad that her sister was admitted early. Despite her generally careless nature, she tends to be almost motherly to Ruby and her teammates when it matters. She also has a good sense of when to curb her personality and be respectful.
Jaune Arc (JNPR) – Age 17 and leader of Team JNPR (Pronounced Juniper), Jaune comes from a long line of warriors. Despite this, he was required to enter Beacon with a falsified transcript due to his lacking physical attributes. Although lacking in combat experience, he was able to help his team strategize against a Death Stalker during initiation, resulting in the creatures death with the cost of none of his teammates. He was partnered with the famous athlete Pyrrha Nikos.
Nora Valkyrie (JNPR) - Age 17 and childhood friend of Lie Ren, Nora entered Beacon because of her excellent combat skills. Nora is immature for her age and often takes large risks without thinking of the consequences. Among these risks is her choice to ride on the back of an Ursa Minor during the initiation ceremony. In the odd times that she isn't rushing ahead and talking at full speed, she is grateful for Ren's constant companionship.
Pyrrha Nikos (JNPR) – Age 17 and four-time winner of the Mistral Regional Tournament, Pyrrha is a star athlete that appeared on the front of a cereal box. She does not rely on her fame as Weiss tends to, and is generally a kind person who tends to take the morally high road. She ends up saving Jaune in the Initiation and later offers to help him train his combat skills. She is analytic and often acts as a secondary leader to her team, often discussing things with Jaune and providing advice.
Lie Ren (JNPR) – Age 17 and an orphan, Lie Ren comes to Beacon in order to train his skills to protect those who can't. His childhood friend Nora followed his decision, and applied at the same academy. Ren trained himself in martial arts and in how to use his aura effectively. He has an older brother that is the leader of a criminal gang in his home town that is responsible for his parents' murders. Ren often finds himself keeping Nora out of trouble but doesn't mind as he likes her ability to be continuously joyful. His name is in reverse order as is common in much of Asia, placing the family name before the given name.
Team CRDL – Pronounced Cardinal, the team consists of four members. Cardin Winchester leads the team and is quite muscular compared to the rest of the students at Beacon. Cardin is homophobic, discriminatory and a bully, but also recognizes there is a time and place for everything even if he refuses to abide by it for the most part. Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark make up the remaining three spots on team CRDL and have similar personalities to Cardin, who leads them.
Ozpin – The headmaster of Beacon Academy. Ozpin personally assigns team leaders and admitted Ruby after her debriefing by Glynda. Ozpin loves caffeine and comes off as mysterious to most people.
Glynda Goodwitch – A huntress employed at Beacon Academy by Ozpin, she was present the night Ruby stopped the dust robbery and ended up saving Ruby when a mysterious huntress showed up. She is strict and does not give much leeway to others. She often plays the role of secretary and speaker for Ozpin although her employment requires her to organize combat practice for teams as well as escort trips into grimm territory such as the Forever Fall forest.
Peter Port – A retired hunter in the employ of Beacon Academy for the purpose of teaching Grimm Studies. He is a wise man who came out of retirement at the request of Ozpin. He encourages his students to come to him if they need help or guidance in their lives.
Bartholomew Oobleck – A history teacher at Beacon Academy. He tends to constantly move around the room and drink coffee. He often leaves the class before the students after he dismisses them.
Roman Torchwick – A criminal mastermind and ex-hunter, Roman has a flair for the dramatic and theatrical except for when he sees himself or his plan in danger. He does little of his own work, instead choosing to delegate to hired guns such as the White Fang.
Organizations, Groups and Businesses
Human – Just your everyday sack of organs. Humans fought off the creatures of grimm and live in areas protected by hunters. Humans are not the dominant species in the world as grimm outnumber total humans and faunus by a 4:1 ratio. In the past, humans attempted to confine the whole faunus species in an area called Menagerie. They lost the resulting civil war.
Faunus – A parallel branch to Human evolution. Faunus tend to share traits with their animal likeness (such as dietary preference). The faunus population is dwarfed in comparison to the nine-times-larger human population. As a general rule, faunus tend to possess better vision at night than Humans, as well as slightly higher average reflexes. Although these statistics do not necessarily apply to every faunus, it played a major part in their victory against humans. In general, most faunus just want to be treated the same as humans.
White Fang, The – A faunus organization that was originally formed to fight for the rights of the faunus through peaceful protesting. Since the change of leaders in the previous year, the organization has gained infamy for being criminally active. This criminal activity has negatively affected the general public's view on the faunus to the extent where some racist stereotypes have once again become prevalent in certain circles of society.
Schnee Corporation – the corporation run by Weiss's father that is the umbrella corporation responsible for the Schnee Dust Company. The company is often being criticized for its questionable business partners and outdated faunus rights. It is the most wealthy single corporation in the world and is also the leader in clean energy and dust production.
Events
Beacon Initiation – A mission to go into a grimm infested forest, get an item that has been placed inside, and escape alive. In addition, people who make eye contact become partners for the rest of their time at Beacon Academy (Only one partner per person.). At the end of the initiation, there is a ceremony where two partner groups are formed into a single team.
Concepts
Dust – mysterious crystal based elemental weaponry. It can be ground down to powder or used as a whole crystal. Schnee Corp. uses dust to fuel creation of clean energy. The same company also has found a way to create synthetic dust that has combined powers from multiple dust types. Weiss possesses a weapon specifically designed to use dust – the Multi Action Dust Rapier, or MADR.
Aura – the energy that your body uses to function. It's production has been attributed to the soul, but has not been scientifically proven. Controlling aura grants the benefits of increased movement speed, strength, and healing ability. Advanced users can project their aura to create a force field to protect themselves and others within a user specific range.
Semblance – an ability that comes unique to each individual much like an evolutionary benefit to help survive in combat against grimm. Examples are Ruby's super speed that allows her to move faster than the eye can follow with the drawback of forming rose petals in her wake. Weiss can summon glyphs that are simply circular disks with snowflake patterns. Weiss's semblance has a variable that she controls to affect momentum. Semblance is often found by chance and has the drawback of using copious amounts of aura when in use.
Age of Majority - Most places in the developed world have an age when children become legal adults and are given the privelege to vote, smoke, and drink. In the world of this story, the age of majority is 14 due to the archaic world the story takes place in. That means that even coming to Beacon two years early, Ruby is legally allowed to smoke a cigar, while doing shots over a ballot box. (But we all know she's too responsible to do that!) This is simply something to keep in mind when the characters interact as if they are older than they actually are.
Average Life Expectancy - As it is directly related to the rules of Age of Majority (See above), the Average Life Expectancy is approximately 40-71 years in the world of Remnant. Because of this lowered life expectancy, larger range of average, and higher danger levels in this world, the people tend to grow up much faster and therefore the Age of Majority is lowered. The reason the Average Life Expectancy has such a large range is because of the constant threat from the grimm.
Weapons
Crescent Rose – Ruby Rose's High-Caliber Sniper Scythe. Ozpin states that it is one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed. Ruby learned to wield it from her uncle Qrow – a teacher at Signal Academy, Ruby and Yang's previous school.
Myrtenaster – Weiss Schnee's Multi Action Dust Rapier, or MADR. The weapon has a specialized multiple compartment cylinder that can be loaded with dust to augment the weapon's versatility in battle.
Gambol Shroud – Blake Belladonna's weapon that is a combination of pistol and a large knife is similar to a katana. It is dubbed a Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe. Blake uses an elastic ribbon attached to the hilt of the pistol to swing it around and pull the trigger, increasing momentum of the blade. This weapon is seemingly even more difficult and dangerous to use in comparison to Crescent Rose.
Ember Celica – Yang Xiao Long's Dual Ranged Shot Gauntlets. Normally disguised as bracelets, the gauntlets transform and are able to fire propellant dust in both forward and backward directions. The forward firing ability also adds a ranged ability.
Crocea Mors – Jaune Arc's long sword and shield. The shield acts as a sheath for the sword and collapses for a less awkward method of transportation. The only drawback is that it does not get lighter when the shield is collapsed.
Magnhild – Nora Valkyrie's hammer / grenade launcher combo. When in the hammer mode, it fires propellant to increase the force of impact. It can also fire in the opposite direction to launch the hammer off of a surface.
Milo and Akouo – Pyrrha Nikos's javelin / sword / rifle combo and shield. The shield does not transform, while the javelin has a function to fire itself forward much like an unguided missile when not controlled by Pyrrha's semblance.
Stormflower – Lie Ren's dual wield sub machine guns. The weapons feature extended magazines and large collapsible super-hardened blades capable of piercing even the strong armour of a King Taijitu. They are easily concealed within Ren's sleeves.
Melodic Cudgel – Roman Torchwick's signature cane that has a concealed rifle. The cane is made with super-hardened metal and therefore doubles as a mêlée weapon. The weapon is capable of rapid fire and has an output high enough to blow holes in solid concrete.
Now I think that is about everything, and if I find any more than this, I will update it. Also, I just sort of whipped through this, so if I made any mistakes, let me know. Also I want to thank Roosterteeth and more specifically Monty Oum who created this brilliant series for letting us take his characters and put them in our own playgrounds! Cheers!
After Note: As for characters being Out Of Character: I understand, but I am changing them to make them my own (even though I don't own them). An example of this is the complete lack of puns from Yang. I tried, but couldn't get my eye to stop twitching so sorry, no puns!
After Note Take 2: As stated at the very top, I wrote this as practice while taking breaks from my actual WIP. As it stands, I have 80,000 words in this Bloody Snow: Volume 1 manuscript and so far (as of July 22nd 2014) about 10,000 in the Volume 2 manuscript. (A quick thanks to the folks at Literature and Latte who made and keep my Scrivener awesome!)
IMPORTANT: I put this last because it's important for everyone. I currently have this project rated T. I have already written all 20 chapters that I will release weekly after I edit them. Some chapters (I will place warnings in the author's note at the beginning) may contain content that is rated M. HOWEVER, I will not change the rating on this story until Chapter 8 as that is the first chapter with Intense Violence as defined by the ESRB as"Graphic and realistic-[sounding] depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death."
On that note, I thank you for dealing with this long boring intro piece, and I hope you enjoy RWBY: Bloody Snow: Though the forest is dark and grimm, We must carry on lest the world be torn asunder: Volume 1.
This story will be updated every Wednesday.