World of Remnant
Schnee Dust Company
Alright, alright, what was I supposed to talk about next? Uh... (flips pages)
Oh! Oh-ho-ho-hooo boy! Yeah, okay! I've got a few words to say about this one.
The Schnee Dust Company. The biggest company on the planet, run by many considered to be the smartest man, even though he would deny it with his dying breath. Considering this company is from Atlas, you'd probably expect them to be a bunch of self-entitled, monopolizing, S-N-O-Bs, who only care about making a profit, no matter how many little people they gotta step on to make it happen. A-hem, but thankfully that wasn't the case.
(A blue crystal appears)
As you all know, survival on the world of Remnant depends almost entirely on a crystallized substance known as Dust. It powers our cities, fuels our machines and gives us a fighting chance against the creatures of Grimm. Which means it's extremely valuable. Nowadays, it's almost impossible to buy Dust products without the Schnee company snowflake stamped on the box.
(A city is shown in the bottom right corner, a bullheaded airship in the upper left corner, a woman wielding fire and ice in the bottom left.)
But it didn't always used to be that way.
(They all came together to form an L shaped dollar sigh)
Nicholas Schnee was the son of a Dust miner turned soldier, born just after the Great War, and found himself at the perfect point in history to take full advantage of the world's next industrial revolution. The Kingdom of Mantle, soon to be Atlas, was in a transformative period. They found themselves on the forefront of technology, but realized they'd depleted nearly all of their natural resources to do so.
(A red crystal appears and spins, becoming a vial of red powder which then becomes a Dust bullet. It then changed into snowflake symbol associated with the Schnee family with many more appearing behind it, descending upon a well-built man with a scar in front of a city.)
That's where Old Nick came in. Rather than watch his Kingdom become dependent on the aid of others, young Nicholas Schnee decided to spend his days at combat school, his nights working alongside his father in the dwindling Mantle mines, and anytime in between learning everything he could about anything he didn't know. Heh. Kid had a fire in his belly.
(Nich is shown wielding a sword and a firearm, then digging with a pickaxe and then studying at a desk.)
When his father died, he left his son everything he had. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Nick to set his plan into action. He left school, rallied all the men he could afford, and set out on an expedition to find a Dust deposit that could revitalize his Kingdom. And wouldn't you know, he actually pulled it off.
(Nick is then shown standing before a grave, before venturing forth with a group of minors as snow blew in. A golden Dust crystal is shown next, enlarging and moving to the middle with the Schnee emblem inside the crystal.)
Fast forward just a few years and the name Schnee suddenly meant something: quality, affordability, trust. See, all those years spent in combat school was so that Nick could personally oversee every new expedition. People appreciate a man who's willing to stick his neck out for them, and it's how the Schnee Dust Company earned the business of every Kingdom in Remnant.
(Remnant is then shown with the Schnee emblem first appearing in Atlas and then appearing in the other kingdoms and across the rest of the continents.)
Unfortunately, it's also what led to an early retirement. Nick had started a family that missed him, and his body was tired. Years of working in Dust mines could have some nasty side effects on your health.
(Nicholas then fell on his knee but was supported by a blue colored woman.)
And thus came in Ansem the Wise.
(A blonde colored boy shaped figure appeared next, standing before what looked like a rundown house.)
Born as a nameless in the streets of Mantle, Ansem started out small. He was a very bright kid with a lot of ideas but it's hard to take a kid with big dreams seriously, trust me I know this all too well. Want to know how he got so big so fast?
(The boy is shown pulling a cart down the streets of the city.)
Well, it all started when he had the idea for a new kind of ice cream. Specifically, a sea-salt flavored ice cream. No, I'm not messing with you, an actual ice cream that is salty and uses actual salt water from the ocean. I have no idea where he got the idea and I have no clue how he got actual salt water brought to Mantle.
Anyways, he made a small living by offering out this ice cream on the streets, mostly to get some hard earned cash for himself and to help pay for the orphanage he was raised in until one day…
(A pair of figures, one was shaped like a woman while colored blue while the other was shaped like a little girl while colored white. They came up to the blond boy figure and accepted the treats.)
Turns out that among his customers were the wife and daughter of Nicholas Schnee himself and when Big Nick tasted this treat…
(Next, appears the bronze armored figure of Nicholas kneeling before the boy and holding out his hand.)
He just had to meet the guy who came with it. Heh, sounds like he had a bit of a sweet tooth but hey, I'm not judging. So, Ansem made his sales pitch and Nick seemed to like it, so he and the rest of the Schnee family seemed to take the kid under his wing.
(Ansem is shown in school now.)
They paid for his education and funded the orphanage he was from.
(Ansem was then shown working at a computer.)
Soon enough he was put through the best classes and acing every one of them. He also seemed to become a close friend with Nick's daughter, Willow.
(Ansem and the figure representing Willow, both of them now resembling young adults stood together in front of Schnee mansion.)
They seemed like one big and happy family but every once in a while along comes a spider.
(A figure dressed in a white suit came forth.)
When Nick's health started to decline, he started looking for a successor and so entered Jacque Gele. Having shown himself to be a cunning businessman. Jacques attempted to convince Nicholas that he was the perfect man to run the SDC in his place but his wife had other ideas.
(The blue woman representing Nicholas' wife appeared and knelt down next to him, whispering in his ear.)
You see, she had a rather bad feeling about Jacques and believed that their daughter Willow should take over or at least find someone to help her like Ansem who had shown himself to be just as skilled as Jacques. Now, Nick was many things but a man ignoring the advice of his wife was not one of them. So he decided a little test was in order.
(Jacques and Ansem stood before Nicholas who pointed over their heads.)
They had one month to show who was the better successor to leave the future of his company with. Jacques started out by taking over the Dust mines in Atlas and boy did he work to show everyone what he got. Cheap labor, dangerous working conditions, doing whatever it takes to destroy the competition, Jacques Gele didn't care about people.
(A ram Faunus pushing a Dust cart was shown in Jacques' hand before he crushed it.)
He cared about winning.
So much so he tried to have the competition…
(An air ship was shown briefly before exploding.)
Wiped off the map.
(Jacques stood triumphant before the Schnee Manor, believing he had won.)
It seemed like Jacques would be the winner here…
(Only when the doors opened, he was greeted with the surprising appearance of Ansem kneeling to Nicholas and Willow)
If not for the fact that Ansem was a really smart man with a lot of friends. Turns out, Ansem had anticipated that Jacques tried to have him killed during his time in Vacuo.
Why Vacuo you ask?
(Ansem was shown standing before tent with orange humanoid figures come out, none of them looking friendly.)
Despite the people there disliking the kingdoms due to their lands being strip-mined, even before the Great War, Ansem had come with a solution to restore their lands while trading for the Dust. You see, no one thought about it but if there is one thing Solitas has in spades is ice and ice melts into water and in a desert region like Vacuo you need all the water you can get.
(A block of ice appeared in front of the Vacuo representatives they looked surprised.)
Ansem had offered the people there, starting with the only form of government they had: Shade Academy with an unlimited source of ice that would become much needed water and with that would also come plants, seeds and soil from lands like Mistral and Vale to help restore Vacuo to its former glory. They are much cheaper to mine and trade than Dust and Ansem promised them the Schnee Dust Company would even help in planting to restore their land.
To say Big Nick was impressed was an understatement.
(Nicholas stood up and kneeled before Ansem who bowed in return.)
When you think about it, it's hard to believe no one thought that trading something as simple and easy to find as ice would be a big help.
(Nicholas then turned to Jacques and pointed to the door, telling him to leave.)
As for Jacques, he got shown the door…To say the least. (Chuckles.)
(The doors slams on Jacques' face.)
Nicholas offered Ansem full control of the SDC for proving himself but Ansem would only accept if his daughter, Willow would be allowed to retain at half control of the company since she was the actual Schnee.
(Ansem then stood next to Willow, bowing his head to her.)
That was another quality that won them over, Ansem's consideration and respect for other people and the fact he wanted Nick's daughter to keep most of the company that was technically her inheritance.
(Willow is then shown in a white dress with a bouquet of flowers as she leans in and kisses Ansem.)
It wasn't long before Ansem was officially part of the family, becoming Ansem Schnee.
And boy did things take off.
(Ansem is shown standing before a great castle and inside, people were working in forges.)
Soon enough the Schnee Dust Company wasn't just about mining Dust anymore.
It was about everything.
Ansem started new programs to welcome in all kind of people, scientists, engineers, gardeners. All to create subsidiary companies for the Schnee Dust Company:
Schnee Research and Development
Schnee Medical Labs
Schnee Charities
Schnee Gardens
Schnee Motors
Schnee Cosmetics
Ansem had a big dream and he worked to ensure it was a reality that everyone could share and best of all; he never did it as the expense of anyone else. So wise and smart, he is often called Ansem the Wise.
(Ansem was shown stand in the middle of a garden, joined by his wife and three white figures with two resembling girls and the third resembling a boy.)
You got to wonder what will come from this family next.
