#apothymetics

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Amendment

Aura: Semblances

a·po·thym·e·tics /ˌæpəθɪˈmɛtɪcs/ n. the study of Semblances. [Ancient Greek ἀπο (apó), apo-, derived from, + θῡμός (thūmós), -thym-, soul, + ικός (ikós), -ics, pertaining to]

Introduction

If Aura is the physical manifestation of a person’s soul, then a Semblance is the form that manifestation takes. Apothymetics, the study of Semblances, is a subdiscipline of pneumatophysics (the study of Aura). Broadly speaking, a Semblance is a skill or ability that enhances or transcends a person’s biological limits. These abilities draw upon a person’s Aura reservoir as their source of power, and over time, that reservoir is gradually depleted through usage. Scientists and historians alike attribute the advent of Semblances, along with the discovery of Dust, as the catalyst that turned the tide in the abiding conflict against the Grimm, and brought humanity back from the brink of extinction. Semblances are widely regarded by researchers as pneumatophysical adaptations—evolutionary responses of the soul as a result of Grimm predation. The staggering variety of Semblances supports this claim, as the diversity of Grimm would have created the necessary selection pressures to trigger a similar apothymetic diversity in humans and Faunus.

Despite numerous scientific advances made in the last few decades, even some of the most fundamental questions about Semblances remain unanswered. Pneumatophysics, along with rhizology (the study of Dust) and archotherology (the study of Grimm), belong to a group of sciences historically known as the Profaned Arts. As recently as three centuries ago, academic inquiries into any of the aforementioned topics were considered stigmatized at best, heretical or blasphemous at worst. All three subjects directly or indirectly pertain to the soul, and thus formed a recurring pancultural trinity throughout Remnant’s past. Pervasive superstition and religious influence often stymied scientific progress, and in some cases this crusade took on more extreme forms, such as destroying physical research, or executing the people that conducted it. While a decreased religiosity led to paradigm shifts in modern culture, the influences of past stigma can still be felt across the four kingdoms where soul research is concerned. In particular, the Kingdom of Atlas, the world’s foremost leader in pneumatophysics, still receives criticism from those who feel that its work sacrifices ethical constraints in favor of “mutilating” the soul.

Estimates on just how many people have discovered their Semblance are notoriously vague. Census data compiled over the last century (starting ca. 2 AB) suggest numbers from as few as 0.25% to 4% (875,000—14,000,000) of the global population, though pneumatophysicists point out that this figure could be substantially lower. Predicting which demographics are most likely to have Semblances is an imprecise measure at best; that being said, Huntsmen, and people living in extraregnal settlements, tend to disproportionately have higher-than-average Semblance discovery rates.

Activation Criteria and Auratic Plasticity

The only prerequisite for discovering one’s Semblance is to have an unlocked Aura. Very seldomly, a person may simultaneously unlock both their Aura and their Semblance, under extreme conditions.

The pathway to unlocking one’s Semblance, while outwardly unpredictable, does seem to be determined by certain factors. Intensive, routine physical activity tends to be the most reliable way to trigger Semblance discovery, although intense emotions have been suggested as another. The type of Semblance a person has, and the circumstances under which it’s gained, are dictated by a mechanism called Auratic plasticity. Auratic plasticity is the ability of the soul to generate a Semblance based on either an individual’s personality (innate), a scenario-specific survival method (adaptive), or a “genetic” trait that’s repeatedly selected for due to its “inherent fitness” (inherited). These three categories are determined by a variable called hierarchical prioritization—the soul’s ability to decide which Semblance-trigger gets precedence.

It’s agreed by the scientific community that there’s an order to Semblance-triggers: inherited > innate > adaptive.

If, for example, a person hailed from a lineage of summoning Semblances, then that person would acquire summoning by default. When a person doesn’t come from a family of inherited Semblances, then they would receive an innate Semblance that aligns with their nature. The last type of Semblance-trigger, adaptive, only occurs when a person is confronted with a life-or-death scenario, and the soul “overrides” the default order to generate a reactionary Semblance tailored to their immediate survival. In the case of an adaptive trigger, a person from a line of summoners could gain an unrelated Semblance, and break the chain.

The discoverer of these mechanisms, Ilere Koya-Hark, famously tested their theory when they went out into a thunderstorm, and induced an electrokinetic Semblance. This experiment laid the groundwork for what would become the field of dilonometry.

It should be noted that any Semblance can be innate, adaptive, or hereditary. There’s no distinction between a hydrokinetic Semblance inherited over generations, or a hydrokinetic Semblance that emerged in response to a near-drowning.

While adaptive and hereditary Semblances are easy enough to understand, innate Semblances are a little trickier. Researchers agree that innate Semblances in some way relate to one’s personality, but it’s debated to what extent—whether a Semblance pertains to a singular, immutable trait, or to one’s overall disposition. And even then, it’s hard to define what, exactly, an innate Semblance says about its user. Does a speed Semblance always mean that a person is hasty? Can it be interpreted as someone who’s limitlessly altruistic, and rushes to others’ aid? Or perhaps it signifies a person that’s energetic and enthusiastic. If innate Semblances can represent multiple traits, then two people with the same Semblance might have drastically different, overall personalities, further muddying the debate.

For now, the consensus is that an innate Semblance is in some way a reflection of one’s soul. Anything more specific than that typically devolves into arguments and fistfights.

Categorization

It’s been disputed just how many Semblances there actually are, and how best to go about divvying them up into neat, consistent headings. At multiple points throughout history, the very idea that Semblances could even be organized into categories was debated, under the belief that “no two Semblances are alike.” This mindset stemmed from a philosophical approach rather than a scientific one, rooted in the idea that souls were so unique as to not be identical, and therefore neither could their Semblances.

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, that’s not actually the case.

The system currently used for classifying Semblances was devised by Cerise Maida, the archivist of Fort Nubuck, roughly seven decades ago. There are 14 recognized categories each defined by unifying criteria, such as how their powers are expressed, or how they affect the world around them. While far from a perfect system (and not without its criticisms), it’s helped streamline the process for identifying Semblances. More importantly, it allowed apothymeticists to not only clarify what Semblances can do, but what they can’t do.

Absorption Defined as the ability to store physical damage as a form of potential energy, and later release it in a single burst. As the user’s Aura shielding sustains damage, the depletion of their reservoir is “converted” into a latent power that increases over time. This buildup is proportionate to the damage that the user receives. When released, the gathered energy is channeled into a motion—such as a kick or a punch—that drastically amplifies the impact behind the next attack. With enough buildup, a skilled practitioner can deplete an opponent’s Aura in a single hit.

Alteration Defined as the ability to temporarily alter certain qualities of matter, such as temperature, color, tangibility, volume, and opacity. The effects of alteration Semblances can either be self-imposed or directed upon another person or object, once the user initiates contact.

Cloaking Defined as the ability to conceal oneself from the Grimm. There are two varieties of this Semblance: Aura-cloaking and emotion-cloaking. Each has the ability to interfere with a Grimm’s two primary senses (pneumatoception and algeaception), by masking either a person’s Aura signature or their emotional state. Although highly effective against lower-ranking Grimm, the success rate tends to decrease against more dangerous species. Ideally, the Grimm becomes “blind” to the user and cannot distinguish them from ambient sensory data. Under less ideal conditions, a Grimm becomes alerted to the user’s presence but can’t pinpoint their exact location.

Elemental or Kinetic Defined as the ability to generate or manipulate certain expressions of matter/forces. This category contains a diverse range of elemental powers, with common examples including pyrokinesis (fire), hydrokinesis (water), gyrokinesis (gravity), ferrokinesis (metal), electrokinesis (electricity), terrakinesis (earth), and aerokinesis (wind).

Enhancement Defined as the ability to exaggerate or heighten certain physical attributes to an otherwise superhuman level, such as speed, strength, or endurance.

Illusory Defined as the ability to create visual illusions. This power calls false images into existence and projects them into the user’s surroundings. Although these illusions are of a high fidelity, they’re intangible, and lack the mass necessary to be interacted with. With training, the user can increase the complexity or scope of their illusion, and even selectively choose who can or can’t perceive it.

Interference or Modification Defined as the ability to influence another person’s Aura. There are several recognized varieties of this Semblance-type—amplification, bypass, transfer, and suppression—that each directly modifies the target’s Aura when the user touches them. Amplification Semblances allow the user to donate Aura to a recipient from their own reservoir. Bypass Semblances enable the user to disable their target’s Aura shielding. Transfer Semblances allow the user to redistribute Aura between multiple people, by acting as a conduit. Suppression Semblances nullify the target’s Semblance for a brief window of time.

Manifestation Defined as the ability to physically manifest a person’s Aura as extensions of multiple body parts. When activated, the user envelops their limb in an Aura “sheath” that then assumes the function of that body part. From there, the Aura sheath can be manipulated to perform various functions. Examples include forming long, whip-like tendrils that extend from the shoulders, or sharp spines on the soles of one’s feet for traction or increased stability.

Metaphysical Defined as the ability to interfere with the mind. Statistically the rarest Semblances, this heading is often regarded by apothymeticists as a “wastebasket” because of how dissimilar many of the Semblances in this category are from one another. Each interacts with a foreign psyche in some way, be it remote communication (telepathy), temporary episodic wiping (memory repression), or polygraphic intuition (lie detection).

Mimetic Defined as the ability to perfectly mimic body movements and speech patterns observed in others. This Semblance-type is unique in that it doesn’t require the user to have any prior experience in the actions they’re attempting to replicate. A person with no gymnastic training, for example, can still accurately mimic the backflips they once watched someone else perform. This temporary skill acquisition can let the user do things as mundane as copy another person’s handwriting, or imitate an unfamiliar accent.

Probability Defined as the ability to manipulate variables within one’s immediate surroundings to create cause-and-effect changes that either directly benefit the user, or disadvantage others. Also informally known as “luck” Semblances, these are by far the hardest to study in any capacity, given the sometimes-random nature of their effects.

Replication Defined as the ability to create copies, or “shades,” of oneself. Considered one of the more demanding Semblances to master due to its higher Aura requirements, but it’s undeniably powerful to have. The user sacrifices a chunk of their Aura and imparts it upon a copy of themself. Although the copy doesn’t have the ability to use Aura, it does have some considerable bulk and can withstand a specific amount of damage before being destroyed. Copies retain physical mass and are visually identical to their user, making them useful for ganging up on opponents, or deceiving them. Skilled replication users can create an upward number of nine copies; anything beyond that has never been recorded.

Summoning Defined as the ability to conjure apparitions, or thralls, of Grimm that have been defeated before. These spectral creatures share a link with their summoner, and will act in accordance with the user’s will. The user’s proficiency dictates both how many thralls they can summon at once, and what species they’re able to conjure.

Teleportation Defined as the ability to transport a person between locations at will. In order for this Semblance to work, it requires the user to have physically visited the destination at least once before.

Alteration, elemental, replication, and enhancement Semblances are the most commonly-occurring. By contrast, illusory, interference, probability, and metaphysical make up an extremely small percentage of unlocked Semblances.

Active versus Passive Semblances

It’s a generally-accepted fact that Semblances require conscious choice on the part of the user. That being said, there are cases where a person doesn’t always get a say.

The term passive refers to any Semblance that is involuntarily engaged, and runs in the background at a much lesser intensity. Studying them has been notoriously difficult to do, in part due to their rarity and the stigma associated with them. While technically any Semblance can be passive, in theory, certain categories disproportionately represent that number (namely elemental, cloaking, alteration, and probability).

It’s not well understood what causes a Semblance to be passive as opposed to active. One tentative study found a potential correlation, where age and environment were considered factors. A number of study participants who had passive Semblances either unlocked theirs when they were younger (< 9 years old), or as they grew up in unstable home environments. Given the lack of childhood autonomy, it’s been suggested that passive Semblances are formed during adolescence as a coping response to stress.

Just like an active Semblance, a passive Semblance requires Aura in order to function. In exchange for being constantly running, passive Semblances deplete Aura at a significantly decreased rate, and their effects are disproportionately “lesser” than those of active Semblances. With training, a person with a passive Semblance can learn to “direct” it and momentarily bolster its effects.

The impact of a passive Semblance on a person’s quality of life can range from mildly inconvenient to outright debilitating. Some individuals manage by tailoring their daily lives to accommodate their Semblances, whereas others resort to cataspin to keep their Auras (and thus, their Semblances) in a permanently-suppressed state. Doctors typically advise against the latter due to potential negative side effects.

For those reasons, passive Semblances are generally considered a disability.

Limitations

While Semblances can push the boundaries of natural laws, they too are beholden to limitations. Known as Maida’s Four Laws, these limits were described shortly after the establishment of the Semblance category system.

They are defined as such:

A Semblance is restricted to one per person.

A Semblance cannot be used without Aura. If a user’s Aura is inactive, depleted, or suppressed, then the Semblance will fail to work.

A Semblance, once manifested into its current power, cannot change.

A Semblance cannot transfigure a user’s form, or convert matter into a new substance.

Needless to say, these laws have been indispensable to pneumatophysicists in debunking previously-accepted historical accounts. Claims of people transmuting objects into gold were attributed to alteration Semblances, that temporarily made objects gold-colored. Other claims of Semblances turning people into animals were dismissed as folklore.

Similarly, the myth of those with multiple elemental Semblances are now seen as exactly that—a myth.

Regulation and Legal Oversight

Compared to post-war legislation, older laws were far more restrictive.

One such example included the impositions of the Mistrali Empire, which expressly forbade private citizens from unlocking their Aura. Anyone found to have done so—whether accidentally or intentionally—was either forced to enlist (as a guard, ranger, or soldier); was required to pay a monthly tax; or had to take medicine made from Aura-suppressing bellicyclate-rich plants, prescribed by a state-authorized physician.

These measures were meant to serve as deterrents, and discourage anyone from activating their Aura (and by extension, their Semblance). The explanation given under imperial law was to preempt Grimm aggression and encroachment, by reducing the amount of stimuli that their pneumatoception could perceive. It’s been proven that Grimm do, in fact, prioritize targets with unlocked Auras over targets with dormant ones, and that Aura signatures more strongly attract them.

However, historians now accept that the then-given reason was a guise. The Mistrali Empire likely implemented these measures to prevent secessionists from gaining a means to fight back. While anti-Aura and anti-Semblance restrictions weren’t unheard of in other polities, Mistral’s were undisputedly the most authoritarian.

International law passed during the Vytal Summit guarantees considerably more freedoms, regarding one’s Aura. The ability to pursue Semblance-acquisition is considered an inalienable right, and no person may be penalized for doing so. Likewise, Semblance disclosure is considered voluntary (and in many places, is reinforced by cultural taboo). The only demographics legally required to do so are academy students and licensed alumni, who must register their Semblance with their alma mater. Individuals employed in a military or law enforcement role are held to the same standard.

The only time when private citizens are required to disclose the existence of their Semblance is when they’re arrested for criminal charges.

In Non-Humanoid Species

Although all animals have the ability to unlock their Aura, only two species (humans and Faunus) have been observed using Semblances. Researchers in the field of pneumatozoology have suggested that it’s theoretically possible, although it’s not currently known what criteria—if any—is needed to achieve this.

Reception to the idea of animals with Semblances is mixed. Some groups, like Huntsmen, favor the possibility of using a familiar with increased combat aptitude. It’s this same combat aptitude which also garners detractors, who fear that an animal with a Semblance could become a nuisance or a hazard.

For better or worse, apothymetic laws have yet to preclude the possibility.

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Aura: Noteworthy Figures

Aura has been a notoriously difficult subject to study, compounded by two independent factors. The first is its semi-immaterial nature, and the second is the cultural sensibilities of people. As such, most major breakthroughs pertaining to Aura have only occurred within the last two-and-a-half centuries, in tandem with the invention of new technology. In the case of the latter, global paradigm shifts have worked to destigmatize the former, making scientific undertakings less publicly contentious.

The events that brought humanity to its current understanding of Aura—and the people responsible for that momentum—have been recorded for posterity. Listed below are their names, along with their contributions.

Dossiers

Cinchona Rigel — The founder of pneumatophysics. A separate post exploring the details of his life will be released on a later date.

Cerise Maida — The Kingdom of Atlas is famous for producing some of the world’s leaders in pneumatophysics, and Maida was no exception. Curiously, though, her work with Aura began not in a laboratory, but on a military base. As the archivist stationed at Fort Nubuck, Maida had access to numerous military records—including those dating back to the Great War. Despite the Old Mantic government’s conservative stance on Aura, she was surprised by the existence of an exhaustive catalog of Semblances, recorded from then-enlisted soldiers. Apothymetic data collation of that size was unheard of, given the public’s general lack of forthcomingness toward Semblance studies. Seized by the opportunity, Maida began to arduously sort them into categories, using the wide variety at her disposal to define them by unified criteria. Due to a provision in international law, military records from the Great War were considered public access, and thus exempt from nondisclosure statutes. The publication of her work overhauled the Semblance classification system into the fourteen categories used in the modern day. It’s a generally accepted fact that Maida’s successive work became the foundation of the Atlesian military’s Aura Research Division.

Purrow Gathao — Before she began her career in pneumatophysics, Gathao was apprenticed to an engineer in Coquina. In the fifteen years since the Great War ended, her workshop became a common stopover for Huntsmen seeking repairs on their armor and weapons. Gathao grew accustomed to idle chitchat as she hammered out dents and whetted blades. A recurring topic among her clients, she noticed, was the issue of Aura depletion. Huntsmen contending with Vacuo’s arid climate frequently had to expend their Aura on shielding, Semblance-usage, and thermoregulation. Without a way to monitor the rate at which it was consumed, many would find themselves stranded in the middle of the desert, with their Aura suddenly and abruptly depleted. The creation of the portable Aura-measuring device—the pulse—was Gathao’s solution. Over the years she refined the pulse, from simply measuring a person’s total Aura depletion rate, to determining what percentage of Aura usage was being alloted to each function. The original design (in the form of a wristband) remains the industry’s default model, although newer versions have been manufactured, such as scroll apps and collars/anklets for familiars.

Ilere Koya-Hark — Determining the factors for Semblance discovery was no small undertaking, especially when one considered the many competing theories that existed. Depending on who you asked, the answer varied, with some claiming that your Semblance could be determined by factors like your gender, or your name. Such was Hark’s experience when attempting to identify the underlying mechanisms. Over the course of two decades, they traveled across Anima, interviewing people who had unlocked their Semblance, and trying to identify common triggers. Hark saw the diversity of Semblances—and the scenarios in which they manifested—as evidence of an adaptive, multivariate phenomenon. They likened such a latent variable to cellular pluripotency, but without more concrete data, their observations were dismissed as anecdotes. That all changed when Hark demonstrated Auratic plasticity by venturing out into a thunderstorm, and walking away with an electrokinetic Semblance. Their unconventional experiment, while it laid the groundwork for hierarchical prioritization, set an unforeseen precedent. In the Mistrali language, the word koya has taken on a secondary meaning—to unlock a specific Semblance by subjecting oneself to danger. Healthcare professionals and academy professors alike are quick to condemn the practice of “baiting one’s Aura”; conversely, those in the field of dilonometry laud Hark’s experiment as the gateway to so-called designer Semblances.

Siþleon — Few individuals are as polarizing as Siþleon, the Matsu god-caller who, ironically, was responsible for colonizing Remnant’s pole. Not long after the first wave of immigrants arrived on Solitas’ shores, Siþleon claimed to have received a vision of a paradise at world’s end. If they followed the auroras inland, they would reach the place “where the lights touched the earth.” The residents of the recently-founded Evadne were skeptical—after all, vast expanses of inhospitable tundra, populated by Grimm, lay between them and their destination. In the end, Siþleon managed to convince a handful of followers to accompany him on his expedition north, where after several weeks of exhaustion, hunger, and predation, they found a Dust vortex. The City of Old Mantle was quickly established at the heart of the Auroral Plains. Unlike the other figures on this list, Siþleon’s contributions to Aura have less to do with pneumatophysics, and more to do with cultural and social norms. Siþleon wasn’t blind to his followers’ reverence, and he wasted no time in monopolizing it. Much of Atlas’ conservative ideology was set by him. The taboo of sharing what your Semblance is with another person is perhaps his most widespread legacy. The cultural backlash against Aura research of any kind can similarly trace its roots to Siþleon’s teachings, which held that Aura was holy, and to tamper with it in any way was blasphemous.

Arthur Watts — A distinguished polymath and the pride of Atlas, prior to his death. He was the kingdom’s foremost expert on Aura regenerative therapy, and a consultant for the SDC. His academic publications and achievements spanned a wide array of fields—archotherology, prostheses and orthotics, mechanical engineering, cybersecurity, and chemical engineering, just to name a few. By the time Watts entered his thirties, he had already made a name for himself in both his home country and abroad. With the eyes of the world upon him, perhaps it wasn’t all that surprising how quickly news spread when he was stripped of his medical license. The full extent of what happened isn’t known to the public (the Atlesian council made sure of that), but if rumors are to be believed, he appropriated government research and used it to perform an illegal surgery that resulted in someone’s death. However, before the council could conclude their investigation and formally level charges, Watts committed suicide. The controversy, public backlash, and nature of his death continue to be a source of gossip, even two decades later.

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Amendment

Aura: Subdisciplines

Of the three sciences historically known as the Profaned Arts, Aura occupies the middle ground in terms of public contention. Unlike archotherology (which was stymied by fear of Grimm, and hindered by the Grimm’s inherent danger), pneumatophysics faced cultural and religious backlash. Those that attempted to study Aura within a rigorous scientific framework were frequently met with accusations of heresy or unethical conduct. At its extreme, this rejection of scientific inquiry manifested as academic works being destroyed, and pneumatophysicists being executed. For this reason, Aura research—even in the postwar era—still contains gaps when it comes to answering even the most basic questions. Although attitudes toward Aura research have improved greatly, especially within the Kingdom of Atlas, there are those who caution against anything that could “desecrate the soul.”

Listed below are the most relevant branches of pneumatophysics, and a description of each.

Subdisciplines

anthropneumatophysics (Gr. anthro-, an alternative of anthropo-, man, + pneûma, soul, + -physics) A derivation of ethnobiology that deals with the dynamic relationships between humans, Faunus, and Aura. The three underlying topics that researchers focus on concern how people perceive Aura, how people use Aura, and how people react to Aura. Perception addresses Aura from a sociopolitical and cultural standpoint—what beliefs, attitudes, values, and relationships people associate with their Aura on an individual and societal level (be it positive or negative). Usage deals with the various applications of Aura—as a combat tool; as a survival aid; as a sanative accessory; as a Dust catalyst; as an augmentation for industrial labor; as a ceremonial component; and so on. Reaction studies the technological and biological evolution of people and their societies, and in what ways Aura has steered those trajectories over time.

apothymetics (Gr. apo-, derived from, + -thym-, soul, + E. -ics, from [?] Gr. -ikós, pertaining to) The study of Semblances. An argument could be made that apothymetics should itself be further subdivided, to accommodate the wide range of topics that apothymeticists contend with: the categorization of Semblances, the phenomena that determine which type of Semblance is given precedence (Auratic plasticity), the differences between active and passive Semblances, the physical constraints that limit what Semblances can and can’t do, and the adverse effects associated with prolonged or inexperienced Semblance-usage. Ideally, scientists in this discipline would collate their data from a wide range of demographics. Realistically, Huntsmen constitute the majority of their study sample. This is due to [1] Huntsmen disproportionately representing the number of people with unlocked Semblances because of their line of work; and [2] the reluctance of non-Huntsmen to volunteer in academic research.

dilonometry (Gr. dilóno, manifest, + -metry, measurement of) The study of the criteria needed to trigger Aura and Semblance activation. When a person’s Aura is unlocked by another person, it is described as aliquō. When unlocked through non-interventive circumstances, the term per sē is used. The general (albeit tentative and unverified) consensus among scientists is that intense, routine activity predisposes an Aura to spontaneous activation. Similarly, high-stress life-or-death scenarios can cause an Aura to activate (and result in potential simultaneous Semblance acquisition). Research in this field is particularly lucrative, due to a demand for so-called “designer” Semblances that could be artificially generated through manipulating adaptive-selection pathways. Unfortunately, progress in dilonometry is both slow-going and expensive, because the prerequisite for adaptive Semblances (immediate danger) is, needless to say, hard to safely replicate in a controlled setting. A workaround sometimes used by people involves deliberately putting themselves in dangerous scenarios in order to “bait their Aura.”

idiotitology (Gr. idiótita, characteristic, + -logy, study of) The study of inherent characteristics unique to each person’s Aura. Traits such as reservoir capacity (the quantity of Aura each person possesses), chromatic expression (Aura color), and regeneration rate (how quickly a depleted Aura replenishes) can vary wildly between individuals, to the bewilderment of those who study them. It’s not currently understood what factors influence such diversity, or if certain properties (like Aura color) have any significance relative to their commonality. One theory posits that Auratic polymorphism is the result of Grimm selection pressure, although further evidence would be needed to substantiate the evolutionary benefit of Aura color. Another possible theory is that certain Aura characteristics are genetic, or even epigenetic, and may share similar underlying mechanisms with hierarchical prioritization. The final (tentative) theory is that Aura characteristics correlate with an individual’s soul, and convey specific immutable qualities. The latter theory has been difficult to test within an unbiased capacity, given that many cultures associate certain colors with pre-ascribed traits. Without an objective, impartial metric for chromatic expression, it’s impossible to say whether Aura color can be used to identify traits of a person’s soul.

pneumatonosology (Gr. pneûma, soul, + -nosology, study of diseases) The study of Auratic diseases. Given its overlap with archotherology and rhizology, this branch is considered an integrated discipline. Auratic diseases are diagnosed using pathognomonic signs, and then treated with a tailored therapy called electromagnetic field Dust stimulation (EMF-DS therapy). The severity of these conditions ranges from mildly inconvenient, to completely debilitating, to downright lethal, depending on the pathology of the disease and the patient’s overall health. Thankfully, robust medical care ensures either full recovery or improved quality of life for those that become infected. Preventative measures, meanwhile, are somewhat limited to increasing public awareness, as it’s impossible to fully eliminate the vectors of Auratic diseases (plague-type Grimm). The most that epidemiologists can do is monitor their populations, and periodically issue warnings to keep away from areas where sightings have been reported. That being said, there is a subset of Huntsmen who specialize in culling plague-type Grimm, and who are regularly consulted on how to deal with them.

pneumatozoology (Gr. pneûma, soul, + -zoology, study of animals) The study of Aura within non-humanoid organisms. An often-overlooked field that’s dismissed as a waste of grant money, because of the public’s perception of animals as lesser-thans. Its applications, however, are anything but. Many domesticated species that assist humans and Faunus in tasks demonstrate improved performance when having access to their Aura. Plow and draft animals, like oxen and horses, can utilize Aura to bolster their endurance and prolong their work capacity. Dogs trained for search-and-rescue can withstand severe environmental conditions using their Aura’s thermoregulatory function. And, of course, there are those who use animals in combat. Species that are bred or trained to contend with Grimm are known as familiars, and are indispensable to many Huntsmen. Additionally, there’s interest among pneumatozoologists in discovering what quality of animals’ Aura exempts them from Grimm predation. Were this quality identified and isolated, it could be theoretically used to develop Aura-cloaking technology that would render people invisible to Grimm.

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im interested on hearing your take/rework on semblances and aura! :)

Howdy! I’ve gotten two requests to talk about Aura and Semblances (from you and @temperance000), so I figured I’d address them first. I’ll be writing up the amendment post for pneumatophysics and apothymetics on a later date, but for now, hopefully the informal version will suffice.

Let’s start with Aura, shall we?

(Also, apologies in advance. My thoughts were sort of everywhere while writing this.)

Much like in the canon, Aura is regarded as the manifestation of the soul. In the Redux, the soul can be loosely defined as the “incorporeal essence” of a living being. It purportedly governs things like consciousness and sentience.

Think of the soul as software, and the physical body as hardware. On some levels, it’s a decent analogy because the scientific community views Aura less as a philosophical/theological construct, and more as a pseudo-organ system due to its measurable behaviors and properties. On the other hand, Aura occupies this weird gray area where it’s both related to the sum product of a person’s neurological pathways, yet at the same time its dependence on that system is facultative. The existence of Aura adds another dimension to the mind-body problem, in that researchers aren’t entirely sure whether consciousness is the product of the soul, the brain, or some combination of the two.

Of course, people aren’t going to let a silly little thing like “not fully understanding the science” get in the way of progress. So, in spite of this somewhat massive blind spot, people on Remnant have continued to make strides forward. (Whether or not those strides are leading them toward the edge of a cliff is up for debate.)

Aura can be scanned and measured using a device known as a pneumatograph. Pneumatographs are indispensable for Huntsmen because a person has no innate way of sensing their rate of Aura consumption, or how close it is to being depleted. A common, easily-accessible version of this technology exists as an app on scrolls. It’s convenient, sure, but not terribly practical, because having to hold your scroll in one hand while wielding a sword in the other is a bit cumbersome.

Nowadays, most Huntsmen rely on a device known as a pulse. It’s basically like a heartrate monitor that you wear around your wrist, which allows you to quickly glance at the screen to get an accurate readout on your Aura reservoir. Depending on the quality of the product, the pulse can be customized to track the rate of consumption (how quickly Aura is being depleted based on current usage), what your Aura is currently being used on (as in, are you simultaneously using it for your Semblance and thermoregulation?), and what percentage each function is consuming (as in, Semblance-usage is currently using up 65% of your Aura, thermoregulation is using up 25%, and 10% is being used on negating damage/tanking physical hits). The inventor of the pulse is a woman named Purrow Gathao.

Aura can be used for several different purposes:

Defense. This is the standard shielding or damage threshold we see characters using in the show to negate injury.

Healing. When in use, a person’s Aura will bolster the body’s natural healing process. It can accelerate the recovery of minor wounds, like scratches or punctures, but it can’t do much against things like broken bones, infections, allergic reactions, and so on. It’s more of a combat accessory than it is an all-in-one healthcare package. Situationally useful, but if you try to rely on it instead of going to see a doctor, you’re an idiot.

Thermoregulation. This is the ability to disregard the effects of inclement weather, like hypothermia and dehydration.

Extrasensory perception. Defined as a heightened awareness, this function of Aura both extends the range and enhances the efficiency of a person’s senses. When trained to a high-enough proficiency, some people will describe the sensation as “instinctive.”

Amplification. Aura can be used to temporarily bolster normal biological feats—like increasing the speed of a kick, the power behind a punch, or the strength of a jump. Many Huntsmen use this ability to further enhance their acrobatic prowess. (This is how I justify Nora being able to lift a 2,000-lb barbell in V3.08.)

Unlocking. With specialized training, a person can use their own Aura to unlock the dormant Aura in another. It’s an incredibly difficult skill to learn, and it can leave a person feeling lightheaded or exhausted afterward.

Semblance. This one kinda goes without saying.

All of these functions of Aura require conscious effort to use (as in, if you engage your Aura for shielding, it won’t also simultaneously activate thermoregulation). You have to intentionally choose to activate those functions independent of each other.

(On a related note, Aura-induced thermoregulation is the source of an idiom: “To be properly attired.” It means “Don’t needlessly waste something when you already have alternative means to get it done.” This idiom started out as a chastisement used to scold someone when they chose to waste their Aura on staving off the weather, as opposed to dressing appropriately. This idiom is my way of making fun of RWBY’s design choice when it comes to the kids running around in the snow with skirts, leggings, and shorts as opposed to, y’know. WEARING LAYERS.)

At time of writing, the characters in the Redux who can unlock others’ Aura include Ozma, Glynda, Qrow, May, Hazel, Rhodes, Saber, and Pyrrha.

In the Redux, Qrow unlocks Oscar’s Aura, May unlocked Robyn’s, and Hazel unlocked Watts’. (Which Watts was vocally unhappy about. He’s not fond of being touched.) Rhodes has unlocked another character’s Aura, but I won’t say whose yet because it’s a major spoiler. (And no, it’s not Cinder.)

Depending on where you are in the world, offering to unlock someone’s Aura can be seen as offensive due to lingering cultural taboos. As an example, during the Great War, the Mistrali Emperor would conscript his citizens and forcibly unlock their Auras in the process. This created a precedent of stigma and fear, where unlocking another person’s Aura was conflated with loss of autonomy/a violation of bodily consent/involuntary participation in warfare. The association has eased up somewhat in recent years, particularly in the more progressive cities, but in rural areas the stigma endures.

By contrast, in Vale, unlocking another’s Aura is more widely-accepted, and seen in a positive light. This is because of a tradition established by the Valin monarchy, in which the rulers would ceremonially offer to unlock the Aura of anyone who intended to settle outside the kingdom proper, and wanted a means of protecting themselves from the Grimm. During the process, the monarch would recite a blessing, appealing to the heavens to watch over the person in question. Generations later, “a king’s blessing” is used as shorthand for unlocking someone else’s Aura.

How much Aura someone has varies from person to person. It’s not currently known whether a person’s Aura reservoir is influenced by genetic or epigenetic factors.

Similarly, Aura regeneration rates differ between people. The average regen speed (from depletion to full replenishment) is about an hour. For some like Tyrian, it can be as low as 40 minutes. On the other end of that extreme, you have people whose Aura can take two hours to fully regenerate.

If you want to inhibit a person from using their Aura, but don’t necessarily want to deplete it by knocking the stuffing outta them first, there are two workarounds. First, you have stasis-cuffs (alternatively called pneumatostatic cuffs, or Aura-breakers). They’re specialized restraints whose circuitry represses/dampens the Aura as long as they’re worn. A feat of Atlesian engineering, authorized for use by law enforcement, military personnel, and Class-B Huntsmen.

The second method is a medication known as an Aura suppressant. This term broadly encompasses a range of drugs that can be either ingested or intravenously injected. They artificially nullify the body’s ability to engage Aura. Aura suppressants are particularly useful in hospital settings, especially when the patient has a passive Semblance that needs to be neutralized so it doesn’t cause unintended harm. (Kinda like Qrow’s. Suffice to say, Qrow is familiar with the consequences of his Semblance causing patients to go into cardiac arrest two rooms over.) Another (albeit more sinister) use for Aura suppressants is spiking someone’s food or beverage. Assassins, bandits, gang members, and the like will sometimes contaminate their target’s meal in order to make subduing them a less troublesome affair.

Aura suppressants play a semi-important role with Qrow (particularly how it relates to his Semblance and Clover’s), but I can’t go into too much depth without spoiling things down the road.

In the modern era, about 9% of the global population (31,500,000) has an unlocked Aura. This relatively low number is attributed to several factors:

Inherent difficulty. Unless someone else is willing to unlock your Aura for you, manually unlocking it yourself can be difficult. It’s not known what trigger causes its activation, but researchers have noticed a correlation with intense routine physical activity. It’s currently unverified, but the tentative conclusion is that lifestyles or repeated activities which involve extreme exertion predispose it to unlocking.

Personal drawbacks. It’s not uncommon to find people who are either put off by the idea of unlocking their Aura, or terrified of it altogether. It’s an undisputed fact that unlocking your Aura is a prerequisite for discovering your Semblance, which (depending on who you ask) might not always be a good thing. For someone whose life centers around fighting, sure, a Semblance could be useful, but what about the average person who has no training/relevant experience? What are they supposed to do with that? What if their newfound Semblance backfires on them—literally? A (non-RWBY) example of this would be someone like Daw, from S3.E1 of The Legend of Korra. When he abruptly gains the ability to airbend, he panics, and (lacking knowledge of any airbending forms, techniques, or discipline) destroys his brother’s shop and attacks multiple people because he doesn’t know how to control his new powers. In the Redux, this is an entirely plausible scenario, one which scares people immensely because of the inconvenience or danger involved in re-adapting your life around a Semblance you didn’t ask for.

External risk factors. Perhaps by far the biggest deterrent to unlocking one’s Aura. In the Redux, Grimm hunt through two specialized senses: pneumatoception (detection of the soul) and algeaception (detection of negative emotions). These traits allow Grimm to filter out meaningless or irrelevant sensory data from their other senses (like vision, scent, or touch), and it makes them immune to common deceptions (like decoys). To a Grimm, a person with a dormant Aura looks like a matchstick—a bright, luminous emanation. By comparison, an unlocked Aura resembles a bonfire. One of the disadvantages to an unlocked Aura is that it causes nearby Grimm to prioritize you as a target, in addition to making it easier for Grimm to track you from farther away.

Unsurprisingly, point No. 3 has, at multiple points throughout Remnant’s history, been a sociopolitical issue rife with controversy and tension. More than one country has been guilty of penalizing citizens who accidentally unlock their Aura, either by imposing steep taxes, or forcing them to enlist in the local militia. The reasoning at the time was that it was meant as a deterrent—after all, if you unlock your Aura you’re (however unintentionally) endangering those around you, so it makes sense that you should face consequences (in the form of monetary tribute or “community service”). In practice, laws like these were difficult to enforce, predatory, unethical, and disproportionately targeted certain demographics. Needless to say, those laws are relics of before the Great War.

One of the downsides of using Aura is that it has a massive caloric demand. Huntsmen in particular regularly consume anywhere from 2,500 – 8,000 calories per day, depending on their levels of physical activity.

The last noteworthy thing to do with Aura is animals. It’s common knowledge that Huntsmen (and some groups living outside the major cities) will train animals with unlocked Auras to contend with Grimm. Which is all well and good—for Huntsmen, that is. The average pet-owner, on the other hand, is a lot less receptive to the idea. Because of Aura’s overwhelming association with fighting, a person might assume that an animal with an unlocked Aura will be more aggressive, and therefore more dangerous. And while research has yet to conclusively prove the existence of such, many people fear that an animal with an unlocked Aura can gain a Semblance. (Theoretically it’s possible, but scientists have yet to find an example of it actually happening.) Given the public perception of non-human animals being less intelligent than humans and Faunus, it’s thought that an animal with an unlocked Aura (and/or hypothetical Semblance) won’t have the necessary mental faculties to exercise restraint or self-control. As a result, lots of shelters are inundated with pets that unlocked their Aura, and were immediately abandoned by their owners.

This is how Taiyang acquired Zwei, as a matter of fact! A few years after Summer died, Qrow talked him into getting a pet. He’d always been a dog-person, and the girls had been asking for a puppy for a while, so Taiyang shrugged his shoulders and looked up the address for the nearest shelter. While the three of them were looking at prospective pets, Tai paused in front of a crate with a small black-and-white puppy. He inquired with an employee, and was told that he’d been there for a few months now. He’d been surrendered by his former owners when he one day spontaneously unlocked his Aura. The employee said that it was a shame no one would consider him because he had such a sweet temperament. She’d even offered to contact a vet, and get him a prescription for Aura suppressants, so any potential owners would feel safer adopting him. Tai told her that wouldn’t be necessary, and he adopted Zwei on the spot.

This is far from everything I wanted to say on Aura, but I’m well past 2K words. Better to call it quits while I’m ahead.

I’ll do Semblances as a separate post, and then I’ll make one for Dust.