Fandom RWBY Red Desert Dawn Lore

[Dmitri Tolenka]

RWBY Red Desert Dawn lore thread

General lore dumping. Because I need someplace to put all this and in a way it’s hopefully somewhat coherent.

WHERE WILL THIS RP BE SET?

The mostly sandy reaches of Vacuo, in the Shade academy for starters. There's a further adventure set in the deeper parts of the desert as well as Remnant as a whole.

INCITING INCIDENT

We’re going to abandon stations of canon pretty much from the word go – while the world starts as per canon pre-fall and certain events will likely play out the same way, Vacuo and Shade are going to fly through the first stations of canon on a train that’s lost all brakes and is possibly on fire. You will start on a flying boat headed for the academy, but then you’re going to run into a derelict ship just floating by, ominously silent. My current intent is to have you investigate this derelict ship together, determine what to do with it, and then do that thing.

You know nothing of this ship, this could be a test, a trap, or an actual derelict, point is you do not know. Actual details will follow in the IC.

SHOW CANON AND US

Basically everything post volume 2 is more a guideline than an actual rule. Maidens are a thing but no one starts off as one, Team RWBY and friends are a thing but they’re a literal continent away, the Twin Brothers are a thing but quite unlikely to be relevant (their leftover toys on the other hand, are up for grabs). Silver eyes are going to get an overhaul. Magic in general is going to be a lot more mystical and dangerous to wield. While in terms of raw power it will get a boost, so too will the risks associated with it.

FAQ

Can I…?
I default to yes in most circumstances, with consequences. Some exceptions and examples are listed below.

Can I use silver eyes?
Currently no, for plot reasons.

Can I wield magic?
Again, no, for plot reasons. You may know of it’s existence but this will come at a cost, the severity of which is to be discussed in PM’s.

Can I make up my own clan of ninjas?
This is more of a Mistrali thing but yes, you can, just justify why they’re in Vacuo. Are they disgraced, did they defect from decadence, or somehow got assigned to a secret mission? If you want a secret mission you must PM me the background details.

Can I play an android?
Yes. The consequence is that you now need to take care of a shiny metal body. Unlike the organic nanobots that make up a biological creature (AKA cells) you lose natural regeneration. Your aura can buff out the worst of the damage but in the end, you will need access to highly specialised tools and equipment to get back into fighting shape. Be warned, there will be parts of this RP set in places where a flintlock is considered cutting edge. The closer you approximate a human, the stronger your aura becomes. Why this is the case is subject of much heated debate among scientists that spend the better part of a century studying how aura works, or in other words not relevant to this RP. Just know that while you can stomp around looking like this (scaled to fit human size houses) you'll heal slower and to less maximum aura than something like this.

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MOST DEFINITELY CANON

In the follow up posts is where I put stuff that’s from the Discord and Canon to this RP. When you ask me something and we figure out how it fits, I’ll post it here.

 

[Dmitri Tolenka]

LOCATIONS OF INTEREST

GREAT DESERT

The Sun God’s Throne
The easternmost mountain of the West Rocks, it stands apart from it’s brethren, a solitary tower of stone at the very edge of the Great Vacuo Desert. A testament to how old Dust mining is in Vacuo, the peak of the mountain is completely hollowed out. The mine may be tapped out but it is far from abandoned.

Both sunlight and snowmelt are directed inside through a series of great shutters and special mirrors, feeding into an impressive forest grown inside the massive cavern. In case of an attack, the mirrors serve an alternative purpose too, able to empower and focus sunlight into a single point to devastating effect. The tribe that lives there is able to blind foes from afar and just outright vaporize anyone that persists and gets closer.

Oasis of the Great Maker
A jungle giant that dates back to before the Great Vacuo Desert became an actual desert, located at the northern edge of the desert, surrounded by some scraggly bushes and grasses. It sits on top of a natural oasis, and shallow puddles still form at the basis of it’s roots. The tree is wide enough to house an entire village in it’s branches. The tribe that lives in it reveres the giant as the Great Maker and tends to and defends it with religious fervor. This tribe carefully shields new growths, harvest the nearby volcanic ash plains for fertilizer, prunes dead wood and constantly stands guard against any outside forces. The wood is one of the finest most aura conductive in the world, and is an excellent crafting resource. Recently, the prices of this wood has gone from ludicrous to outright unaffordable to anyone not a government.

KINGDOM OF VACUO / SHADE OASIS

The Tunnelrat Kingdom

The home of a Mistrali Ninja Clan that are half performers, and half actual ninjas. No one knows where it really is, but it’s close to the Shade Academy itself. They make half their money through legitimate special operations and the other half through performance art that essentially advertises how cool it is to be a ninja. Features hits as

“He was three feet in front of you how did you miss?!”
“Milk jug vs security locks.”
“Grimm kill of the month.”
“INFILTRATING THE EVIL QUEEN’S COURT (GONE WRONG)”

Depths of Greed

Toxic wastelands that borders Shade, where once the greater oasis of Shade stood. Nowadays it is a mess of old factories, abandoned dust mines and pollution. Toxic geysers from an old massive chemical spill regularly churn the earth. Large ruins dominate the landscape. At the center are the remains of a failed attempt at starting a geothermal powerplant that exploded and destroyed a refining facility and large chemical plant, causing a cataclysmic chain reaction. The depths are in turn surrounded by the rust dunes. While parts are in use still, most existent industries are currently reduced to much smaller and more tightly regulated facilities. There is an entire subculture here of techno-worshipers dedicated to restoration and exploration.

The Catacombs

A network of ancient tunnels are buried below Vacuo City, full of old smuggler routes, traps, ancient ruins, the occasional Grimm, and mysterious artefacts. While attempts are made to chart out the vast network it constantly shifts around as old tunnels collapse into one of the many sinkholes and new ones are dug by enterprising citizens as a way to get around the eye of the city watch. It also is confirmed to shift around almost daily. It’s happened more than once that people exited a tunnel before they actually entered, or vanished for several decades or even hundreds of years - as such going too deep is strictly prohibited. The tunnel entrances themselves are the only constants, and the network undergoes greater and more frequent changes the deeper one goes. The only true constant, one that has always been around in all records found, is the Pillar of Life. This ancient obelisk constantly pumps water up from the depths and is the only reason that Vacuo is able to sustain itself. The Catacombs extend out to the Depths of Greed and overlap quite heavily.

NORTHERN JUNGLES

Located on the equator, this is the great green splotch on the top of the continent.

Duchy of Tetzcoco

A city state on the very northern edge of Vacuo. Technically subservient to the greater kingdom, but they have shown interest in independence. With the recentish collapse of Shade as a proper great power due to the calamity in the Depths of Greed, the idea has taken root. Their main exports are boatloads of food and the Duchy also serves as a first port of call for convoys headed out to and coming in from Atlas and Vale.

El Dorado

A gleaming golden city hidden in the depths of the jungles. It can be found quite easily. It is also heavily overrun by Grimm, so heavily it has been repeatedly bombarded by passing airfleets to no discernable effects. It is marked on most maps as forbidden if it’s marked out at all. Do not go here, no search parties are sent out to find the foolhardy few that do try to make the trip. There are a few tribes local to the area that are just as unfriendly to outsiders as the Grimm are. Rumored to host vast treasures, confirmed to host a great many dead explorers. No explorers that made it back made it further than just barely within sight of the walls