Here's something that's a little different. Think of this as sort of a small little bonus episode, like those World of Remnant episodes we sometimes got inbetween certain episodes of RWBY. Whenever a new lore element is introduced into the story, I'll do one of these short World of Remnant episode segments to go along with it.
This way I can make things much less confusing when new lore elements are introduced into the story, without having to have the characters within the story themselves drop a massive info dump during their conversations with each other, which could potentially break the flow of the story.
The characters will give a more simplified version of the explanation of the new lore element that is introduced within the story, and then the World of Remnant episodes that follow will explain these new lore elements in greater detail and further elaborate upon them.
Throughout Remnant's history, there have been many tales of great warriors and heroes and the many great deeds and feats they have accomplished. Alongside these tales, equally great were tales of the trusty weapons that these warriors and heroes wielded at their sides in battle. Among the tales of these weapons, there are twelve in particular that are worthy of special mention. Numbering twelve in total, these special weapons are known as the Twelve Legendary Weapons of Remnant. Created many centuries ago by the famous blacksmith and Huntress Hephaestia Nikos, the Twelve Legendary Weapons of Remnant were forged specifically for the purpose of slaying and defeating the Creatures of Grimm. The weapons did their job very well and fulfilled their purpose as intended, and as a result they become feared among the Grimm all throughout Remnant.
These twelve weapons were known to possess extraordinary mystical powers, almost bordering on the realm of magic. It was also said that a warrior who properly trained their aura could potentially be able to unlock the true powers and abilities hidden within these weapons. The powers of the weapons could range from amplifying the wielder's aura and strengthening their Semblance, to being able to control and manipulate the elements of nature, to even possessing unique attacks of their own that seemed as though the weapons themselves possessed a Semblance. Whatever their abilities were, the weapons were truly magnificent creations, and the warriors who wielded them often went on to become famous and renowned figures throughout Remnant's history. It is even said that depending on which weapon was used, a warrior with a powerful enough aura wielding one of these weapons in battle after unlocking its full power could potentially even rival the power of one of the Four Maidens of the Seasons.
What many people may not know however is what exactly it is that makes these weapons so special and so effective at killing the Grimm. Unbeknownst to most, the true source of the power of the Twelve Legendary Weapons of Remnant lies in the secret of what they were created from. A secret known only to some is that the weapons were actually created and forged from the pieces of certain Grimm that their creator Hephaestia Nikos had defeated in battle. During her lifetime, Hephaestia had defeated and slain twelve extraordinarily powerful Grimm that stood out as being very unusual among their species. Each of the pieces used to create these weapons had been extracted from the Grimm while they were still alive in order to prevent them from disappearing and becoming unusable, which was an extremely brutal and difficult process for her to accomplish. It paid off however and the power from the pieces of the Grimm that they were created from were imbued into the weapons, giving them their extraordinary powers and abilities. The Grimm that they were created from also transferred some of their own unique qualities and traits onto the weapons themselves, and as a result it was almost as though the Grimm were still somewhat alive within the weapons, although very faintly.
Due to their unique nature, each of the twelve weapons could only exist as one specific type of weapon, and it was impossible for them to be modified to fire projectiles such as bullets like many of the modern weapons that can be found in Remnant today. The first of the twelve weapons that Hephaestia had created was the most simple, being the sword Crocea Mors, which she had created from a sharp spike taken from the back of an Ursa type Grimm of gargantuan proportions. Although she would eventually go on to make other weapons that would in time surpass it, Crocea Mors remained Hephaestia's favorite weapon to use out of the twelve she had created. The next weapon that she created was even more versatile than the first, being the sword Kusanagi, which had been created from the spine of a massive King Taijitu Grimm, giving the weapon its snake-like qualities and allowing it to be used as both a sword and a sharp whip, as well as giving it its ability to create a mild poison.
As the centuries passed by, the Twelve Legendary Weapons of Remnant gradually fell into the realm of myth and legend, and eventually they were lost to history altogether, becoming scattered all across the world of Remnant. Rumors of their existence still persisted however and would sometimes crop up every now and then, and as a result many people often tried to locate and collect these weapons for themselves, but to no avail. By this point, nobody was even sure what the weapons looked like anymore, and they had no way of knowing which the genuine articles were. The only distinguishing feature that these weapons were known to have that could identify them for certain now was the small black skull-like crest that Hephaestia Nikos had engraved onto each of the twelve weapons as the mark of her craftsmanship.
Recently, there has been one rumor of note that has popped up within the Kingdom of Atlas. Rumor has it that within the Schnee Family Museum is what could possibly be one of the twelve legendary weapons; a magical summoning wand of great power known as the Walpurgisnacht Wand. Being one of the more unique ones out of the twelve weapons that Hephaestia had created, this wand was said to have been created from the horn of a large black, unicorn-like Grimm, imbuing it with the ability to cast magical spells and summon powerful creatures to aid the wielder in battle.
This was quite an interesting bit of new RWBY lore I've created. Consider this little section down here to be something akin to author's notes and commentary. To tell you the truth, at this point I've only really thought of and fleshed out in my head about half of the twelve legendary weapons, and I'm having trouble coming up with what the others would be like. I'm thinking of having all of the Twelve Legendary Weapons of Remnant be named after actual weapons and from history, mythology, religion, folklore, and fairy tales from the real world, with perhaps a few exceptions, and having them all follow this theme, considering that Jaune's sword Crocea Mors is named after the sword of Julius Caesar. Having them named after real life legendary weapons kind of makes them feel more legendary to me. Almost everything about the weapons will in some way be a reference back to their real life counterparts, and some of these facts could be taken as clues as to what their abilities could be.
Hans' weapon Kusanagi for example is based on the legendary sword Kusanagi from Japanese mythology, which was found within the body of an eight headed snake. This fits with Kusanagi's snake-like abilities and qualities, and how it was created from a King Taijitu, and how Hans' mother Mira found it within a Grimm she had killed. Jaune's sword Crocea Mors means "yellow death" in Latin, so there's a possible hint to what its abilities might be when it's used properly. Another interesting fact about the real life Crocea Mors is that it had gotten stuck in a shield, and the way Jaune sheaths it is by putting it into his folded up shield is probably a reference to this. As for the Walpurgisnacht Wand, that is named after the holiday of Walpurgisnacht, which is celebrated in many of the Germanic countries of northern Europe, where it is believed to be a night of magic and when witches are said to gather, as well as marking the coming of Spring.
You may have noticed it and yes, Hephaestia Nikos is connected to the Pyrrha Nikos we know. Hephaestia is Pyrrha's ancestor from the distant past, descended from Hephaestia's son that she later had. Like Pyrrha she is also named after a figure from Greek mythology, Hephaestia being named after the god Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods of Olympus. There is an ironic twist with both Hephaestia and Pyrrha in which both of them were pseudo-Maidens. Pyrrha was supposed to have become the Fall Maiden, but ended up having it stolen away from her and having to fight the actual Fall Maiden instead, who she put up a decent fight against. Hephaestia with her immense aura and the twelve weapons she created had the power and strength to be able to rival the power of one of the Four Maidens and possibly fight on equal grounds with one of them. Finally, there is one final piece of sweet irony involving Pyrrha. Since Jaune's sword Crocea Mors was originally forged by Hephaestia, who Pyrrha is descended from and shares many similarities with, it could be said that in a way Jaune still carries a part of Pyrrha with him in the form of his sword, which is the weapon Hephaestia had been the most fond of. This makes Hans' words to Jaune about always trusting in his sword and it always protecting him all the more emotional and impactful, because Pyrrha is still there with Jaune in spirit protecting him.