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#rwby maidens
hadesisqueer · 2 years
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RWBY Maiden Plots so far
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Someone tell the Summer Maiden she is being dragged into their bullshit next volume.
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anthurak · 5 days
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Theory: Penny the Great and Powerful
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A while back, I did a post theorizing on how Penny could return another time, specifically due to having essentially ‘piggybacked’ her consciousness onto the Winter Maiden powers before they transferred to Winter, likely with the hope that she could be extracted from Winter at a later date.
And ever since I made that post, I’ve only become more convinced that this IS indeed where the story is going. For one, looking back at Penny’s final moments, I think it’s clear that SOMETHING is being set up for later. I mean just look at Penny’s final words to Jaune:
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“Trust me.”
This wasn’t some apology, a call to action or some last goodbye. Penny had a PLAN.
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Then of course there’s her final words to Winter: “I won’t be gone. I’ll be a part of you.”
Now sure, at the time we were all thinking the same thing as Winter, that this was Penny echoing Winter’s own figurative words when Fria passed the powers to her at the end of the last volume.
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Buuuuttt… what if Penny was speaking LITERALLY? I mean, speaking literally while everyone else is speaking figuratively/metaphorically IS kinda Penny’s thing.
And on top of all this, Penny attaching herself to the Maiden powers frankly makes perfect sense when we consider just where the powers came from.
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I think at this point it’s safe to assume that the ‘Maiden Transference’ is really just the Oz Reincarnation Cycle at work. I mean think about it; upon the death of the holder, the Maiden Powers jump to a new host that fits a certain set of criteria, just like Oz does.
When Oz split his powers among the four original Maidens, I imagine they ALSO got the reincarnation protocol. However, because the reincarnation program was made specifically for Ozma, this meant that the consciousness/memories of Maidens didn’t transfer. Instead, it’s just been the raw magic alone that’s been reincarnating into new hosts.
I imagine that this is likely due to Oz’s own lack of knowledge/understanding of both his magic and the reincarnation cycle. He may have believed that simply giving these girls the magic would allow them to start reincarnating just he like does, not knowing or understanding that additional steps needed to be taken in order to ‘key’ their own spirits to the magic in place of his own. Or perhaps Oz simply didn’t expect the reincarnation magic to transfer at all.
Incidentally, this would also explain why the Maiden transference can seem to be so random. Oz’s reincarnation protocol is keyed specifically to HIS consciousness, and thus has very specific criteria to look for when selecting a new host, a ‘like-minded soul’ as various people have put it. Whereas because the Maiden Powers aren’t transferring a consciousness/spirit, their criteria for selecting a new host is likely as basic and general as possible. Heck, the age-range criteria may have been a built-in base-criteria, given how Oz also always seems to transfer into young men/boys, meaning that literally the only new criteria for the Maiden Powers’ reincarnation protocol was ‘girl/woman’. Which in turn explains the whole ‘goes to whoever’s in the host’s final thoughts’ thing. The criteria for the next host are SO general/nebulous/vague that the previous host can actually influence/guide where the powers are going to go.
Basically, the Maiden Powers have been reincarnating into new hosts just like Oz has, just simply absent of any conscious spirit attached to them.
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Until now.
THIS is the bit I’ve gotten particularly interested in just now.
What if Penny was able to figure out HOW the Maiden Transference/Reincarnation Cycle worked and in turn was able to key her own consciousness/spirit to the reincarnation program just as Oz was?
Which in turn, would effectively make Penny another Oz-spirit.
I mean, they ARE both associated with the color green…
Now I know that everyone reading this is probably immediately thinking about the unsettling implications this could have for Winter, ie; does this mean Penny’s consciousness is going to overtake and merge with Winter’s just like Oz does with his hosts?
But let’s not forget a KEY aspect of RWBY’s character dynamics is contrast. Meaning that Penny becoming another reincarnating spirit like Oz means that she would end up representing a FOIL to him. Which would mean that Penny’s situation would be decidedly DIFFERENT.
What if everyone is at first terrified that Penny and Winter are going to merge just like Oz has with all of his hosts, but after a while it becomes clear that the merging… isn’t happening.
What if Penny has wound up gaining a far greater knowledge and understanding of the reincarnation cycle/protocol, and has figured how to simply STOP the merging process from happening. Something that Oz never could do himself.
Or perhaps, something that Oz never TRIED to do himself.
I think it’s all too likely that Oz has always simply assumed that there was nothing that could be done to stop his spirit from merging with those of his hosts. After all, this reincarnation cycle was created by the God of Light, the all-powerful creator of the world. How could he, a mere mortal, possibly hope to stop, alter or even understand such a power?
While Penny is under NO such compulsion and could have spent a LOT of time poking around in the metaphysical program files of her new maiden powers to figure out how they worked. Possibly even getting some ideas of how to extract herself from Winter, with or without the Maiden Powers. She may even have some ideas of how to extract Oz himself…
And of course, this would all thematically tie in PERFECTLY with the whole ‘actually the gods aren’t so all-powerful’ revelations that Team RWBY will be bringing.
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Checkmate 👑🔥
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Another really fucked up thing about the Maidens is how they basically have to learn all their powers from scratch because they’re so isolated from each other. In an ideal world, Maidens would be teaching other Maidens, passing down knowledge and philosophy across the generations. They would have been part of something greater, had people around them who understood the burden and blessing of being a Maiden. Instead, they’re all trained by others continents away from each other, never getting to meet their peers because it’s too dangerous, suffering alone under the crushing weight of their responsibilities without mothers to teach them how or sisters to share it with. You’re a Maiden. You’re too valuable to be a person.
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pedanticat · 11 months
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So for the longest time, I've thought about how things must be hard in Vacuo in terms of food supply since now there's an entrie kingdom to feed plus Vacuo own limited resources. But then something clicked in my brain last night. That won't be a problem because of Winter and the Summer maiden! It's easy to forget since we've only seen them be used offensively, but maidens can use their magic to cultivate the land and grow crops.
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short-wooloo · 1 year
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OMG RWBY theory!
So for a while now I've been predicting that our Summer Maiden will be a Faunus, and in line with the previous trend of maidens and their conections to RW_Y, will have some connection to Blake
For a while I've said Ilia, as she fits the bill, a Faunus with a history with Blake
But there is another possibility that can fit those trends, be a new character, and yet not be completely new/unfamiliar thanks to familial ties to a pre-established character, and can also be a chance to flesh out said character by proxy after they didn't get much screen time...
Basically what I'm saying is what if the current or next Summer maiden...
Is Sienna Khan's daughter
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rachetmath · 1 year
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Aura
 I’m sorry but I feel this needs to be said. Aura is by far the most under-used source in RWBY beside dust. Look I get it aura is used to make barriers and fuel semblances but that's it. I mean the semblances are sometimes horrible at best. Especially when they’re passive. Oh my, the worst semblance to me is sadly Qrow’s because anything could happen. You could be enjoying your day and something bad happens because you're there. But that’s minor.
Now some semblances are good. We got semblances that can stop time. We got some that can erase memories. We even got some that can create clones and summon creatures. Too bad summoning things is only in the Schnee department but still. However some of them can be both imitated and surpassed by other characters. For example, Adam, Yang and Tock. Adam creates a wave projectile to slice his enemies. Yang can build and store energy every time she takes damage from enemies and dish it back ten fold. Tock can literally take no damage until her timer goes off. Guess who can copy these abilities? Five characters; Ren, Blake, Fox, Qrow and yes, even Jaune can do it.
Four of these characters have managed to replicate Adam and Yang’s semblances. Blake and Qrow manage to create slashes in the air to launch at their opponents before. Though theirs are not strong as Adam’s they still performed the same function. Fox and Ren can do the same like Yang. I mean, in volume one and two, Ren and Fox made Grimm’s bodies explode. And the sad part about it is Jaune can do all this because of his aura reserves and his semblances. And this is why aura control is needed.
We need characters who are better skilled in aura. I understand semblances are supposed to be unique and tied more to the user but if you were a hunter and you never unlocked your semblance or if you did but it’s not as helpful as you hope, what would be your best source to fight with? Your aura, because so far semblances have been more of let down due to being similar to others. Examples are Harriet and Neon, both being fast characters. Or where it's just in their names. Like Vine with extended limbs; Elm being rooted to the ground; or Clover having good luck. But if you understand the basics and learn more ways to use your aura you can basically do anything. The prime demonstration is Hazel. Nora said herself, Hazel can recharge faster than most people. This means no matter how much damage they dish out Hazel will recover and still keep going.
(Bro I need to say this. Man I’m sorry but in my opinion Hazel is the strongest male character in the RWBY series. Bro, think about it, James was scared of Hazel more than he was of Cinder. And when we saw him fight Salem,… oh my god, these kids were lucky he didn’t really want to fight them because if he did they would all be dead. Like Hazel is the best example of both aura and dust users. He should have stayed alive. Maybe then the kids can finally have a functioning adult in their lives. Hazel solos.)
Okay, after explaining all this, how else can aura be used? Well other than being barriers, slash waving projectiles and a healing factor, it can also be used like haki, chakra or for this show like it was before Salem screwed the world over, magic. But only maidens have magic right? Well let me tell you why I disagree with that statement. But first let's talk about dust.
Dust is the second most under-used source in RWBY. The reason I say secondary is because at least it’s visible in the world. Not only that it is used in weapons, machines, and as ammunition. It is really a natural resource but no one ever uses it in its rawest form. No one except Hazel and maybe Weiss. And what makes it better is they are Remnants of magical elements. Dust in rawest form is more powerful than a gun. And if used properly you can rival maidens.
Maidens are supposed to be special due to them being able to control the elements without the need of dust. However, their power might as well be that of a semblance considering it requires aura to even use. I mean think about it Cinder and Raven. They have used the maiden powers which not only exhausted them as well decreased their aura to the point they break. Not only that they were able to be defeated or in Cinder’s case almost die multiple times. And to prove my case further, Salem is a magic user yet Hazel still killed her multiple times. Hell, Penny was able to beat Cinder even without maiden powers. Basically, the sad truth is the maidens are just keys. If Cinder crossed the wrong person she would be dead. Never mind that if Hazel, Watts and Tyrian wanted to, they actually would have killed her themselves. Especially if she keeps messing up they're plans.
So how does dust increase the use of aura? Well dust is part of the world. And so is the aura. So wouldn’t having more of a connection with the world increase aura and dust efficiency. I mean Vine said aura can be extended. So using the environment itself is good. Just like chakra, if you extend the aura enough to spread across an area enough while using gravity dust you can increase the pressure to keep opponents down. With plant dust trapping your enemies to a certain extent. Heck if you learn to control your aura and merge it with the element you can throw projectiles, create weapons, increase your speed and/or damage output. Effectively uses your whole body as a weapon.
Aura can even be used even without the need of dust. Like with haki it can harden your body against attacks. Extended to where you can locate upcoming enemies. Or when released all at once ,can be used to knock out enemies without engaging in combat.
Look, I am sorry. Please, forgive me but after thinking about this it made me ask this question, “What is a hunter?” Like really what is a hunter because so far this show has disappointed me on the term. We have seen hunters die whether be by non-hunter groups or Grimm who are arguably not that much of a threat. If anything, ordinary people can fight and kill them. Even semblances are starting to become nothing but excuses to why characters act the way they do, like with James who was determined to blow up Mantle because of his ability. Or having basic abilities that other characters should possess like Tyrian’s aura breaking ability. It’s sad really, aura is supposed to be this source of power but it's not as weaponized as I hoped it would be. But that’s my opinion.  
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dyscomancer · 11 months
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I can't decide if i want any of team RWBY to become maidens or not
because like going off the themes of the show, especially lately, they shouldn't need that huge boost in power to be relevant in their struggle. they've already affected the world without it. plus i think it'd be poignant for cinder to outlive salem and become the final antagonist (to illustrate darkness of humanity etc etc blah blah), and possibly even survive
however i also would dig it because it fits really well, especially considering Weiss and Yang's relationships with two of the current maidens. i mean there's some kinda difficulty fitting the pieces in there (it really hinges on who the Summer maiden actually is; if it's Summer like a lot of people expect, then it should be Ruby - but then what significant connection does Blake have to Cinder, the remaining Maiden open correlation? Not much). Plus there's four maidens, four main girls, it feels almost deliberate
also ALSO i just wanna see at least Yang with the EYES
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starwarskawaii · 1 year
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BUCKLE UP CHILDREN, IT'S THEORY TIME!
So, every maiden we have met has ended up being someone we know. The Spring Maiden is Raven, Cinder Fall is the Fall Maiden because CRWBY loves puns apparently, Winter is the Winter Maiden because puns, and so far we don't know the Summer maiden. So here's the theory;
(I wanna preface this by saying that every maiden has had a country that it matched the climate of so far. And a maiden that is from that country. Atlas is wintry, Vale is Fall-ish, or at least it's associated with school, which seems fall enough, Mistral is spring-y, and Vacuo is literally a desert. So, this theory doesn't totally line up with current patterns. BUT, Ruby finding out in Vacuo could still sort of count for this. And I guess we don'tknow for sure where Cinder is from.)
I think Ruby Rose will be the Summer maiden. One, she's special. She's the main character, for starters, but her entire theme with her silver eyes is that she is light. He mother is named Summer. The Summer Maiden's relic is destruction, which Maria says the silver eyes are the opposite of, because they are preservation. I think she balances it out.
Obviously, lots of people think that Summer is/was the Summer Maiden. I personally do not. But I think Ruby is being set up to be the Summer Maiden when she arrives in Vacuo. Ruby has always wanted to be the fairy tale hero. This would make her all she has ever wanted, after her much needed growth this season.
It would be an amazing way for the writers to connect who she is, what she wants, and all her suffering and talent into an essential piece of the plot.
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asimplersoul · 1 year
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So if we break RWBY arcs down into 3 volume chunks, ie 1-3 in Vale, 4-6 in Mistral, 7-9 mostly in Atlas (with Wonderland shenanigans) and the rest of the team in Vacuo probably for volume 10 onward it's kinda interesting how the maidens appear.
The fall maiden first shows up in the 3rd volume of the first arc.
The spring maiden is revealed in the 2nd volume of the second arc.
The winter maiden is first introduced in the 1st volume of the 3rd arc.
This is probably all a coincidence but I think it'd be really funny if they just skipped all the mystery and build up to the summer maiden, like I just want her to drop out of the sky in the 1st episode of volume 10, just drop kick a grimm into space, no drama about the powers or responsibilities, just confident badass ready to go
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autumnsorbet · 1 year
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Amber skills as the fall maiden
Compared to how Penny Winter and Cinder use their maiden Powers after they got them I'm guessing Amber wasn't that experience with combat because that's somebody pointing out to me send her have been training as a huntsman since she was about 10 and even had a bit more
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training from Salem possibly winter have been groomed to become the winter maiden and Penny was built for combat even though I admit when she uses the powers it doesn't seem that is impressive
as when winter or sender does it but you can still hold her own in a fight Amber's fighting skills seem a bit basic even when Cinder had half of the maiden power she seemed more skilled with them than Amber did with her abilities
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hadesisqueer · 2 years
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Someone made a post once about how Winter becoming the Winter Maiden was the first time someone being a Maiden was portrayed as something completely heroic and triumphant, rather than a huge villanous moment (Cinder) or a big twist (Raven and Penny). And they made a good point explaining that the reason of that was because the relic is gone, now the Maiden is finally able to be free.
But honestly, I think another reason is simply because it was the first time that someone other than Cinder (who is like, a power hungry villain) was happy to be a Maiden.
Raven killed the former Spring Maiden to take the power from her, so she could become stronger. However, she clearly doesn't like or takes any pride on being a Maiden: she sees it as just a burden, a target painted on her back, and it scares her, which is why she kept it secret and used Vernal as a decoy.
Penny became the Winter Maiden as a last minute decision. Then it only caused her pain, because people dehumanized her more than they'd already done before. And it's clear from minute one that Penny never wanted to become the Winter Maiden, and didn't want those powers. Either her or Cinder. Like with most things in her life, she actually didn't have much of a choice.
Even our Maiden candidate, Pyrrha. Pyrrha didn't want to become the Fall Maiden either. She was only like 17 or 18, and she'd known about it for only like two days, and didn't have enough time to think about it. When she agreed to it, everyone could tell that she really didn't want to do it, even if she said she was choosing it.
Winter, on the other hand-- just like Pyrrha, she was offered to become a Maiden. And she was upset about it, too, at first. She didn't like the fact that Ironwood was making decisions about her own life for her.
However, unlike Pyrrha, Winter did have time to think about it. And she thought about it, and she-- was okay with the idea. Like she said to Weiss, she was choosing it for herself. She would be a Maiden because she wanted to be, because she saw it as a way to do good for everyone.
And next volume, when she's defected from Ironwood and Penny dies and gives her the power, Ironwood tells her “so the destiny I chose for you has finally arrived” and then, Winter literally tells him that he chose nothing. Because he didn't. Her previous decision to accept the Maiden power never really had anything to do with him wanting her to. And much less, now.
She said it herself: This was a gift.
The Winter Maiden powers were a gift from Penny, her friend. And she was proud of it, and was going to honor her fallen friend.
So, yes, I think that one of the reasons why Winter becoming the Winter Maiden was portrayed as something so triumphant rather than just dramatic was because this is the first time we see a Maiden who considers her power a gift, not a burden.
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anthurak · 3 months
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What if Cinder does manage to get another maiden power but it turns out her body can’t handle more than 1 and casting a spell also damages her.
Yeah, I imagine that concept will be explored a bit. However, I also think we're forgetting that Cinder is in a unique position where she extracts the Maiden powers and doesn't necessarily need to get ALL of it.
Basically, I have a hunch we'll be seeing another Amber situation wherein Cinder is only able to get a piece of another Maiden's power (likely the Summer maiden), thus allowing us to see how multiple maiden powers interact in one body WITHOUT necessarily killing off the maiden in question.
And to your original point, seeing how multiple maiden powers interact in one host could be VERY interesting. Like on the one hand, all the maiden powers do originate from one source (Ozma), so it's hard to imagine they would 'conflict' with one another. On the other hand, we could end up seeing that the Maiden Powers have been subtly altered by their time apart and getting bounced between various hosts, which leads to some funky shit happening when someone (Cinder) tries to reunite them.
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kazashiniwielder · 1 year
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So since RWBY is back again, I’m back on my RWBY kick. And I’ve been thinking. Ospin and Salem were the ones from the story, the humans with magic and the maidens were Oz’s original gifts, four women with control of the elements. Only two other humans in the world are known to have any amount of magic in their bodies...well one since Raven is a maiden. Qrow. Ironically enough, Qrow is the only man with any form of magic, and that is he can turn into a Qrow. Meanwhile Raven is OP as hell with her symbalance, the ability to turn into a bird, and the maiden power.
Anyway I really do like the idea that Raven hasn’t actually chosen a side right now. We know nothing about the Summer maiden, which means we only have three maidens on the board right now. Cinder, the Fall maiden, is very firmly on Salem’s side while Winter, the winter maiden is very firmly on humanity side. Interestingly enough both women are new maiden’s. They are inexperienced, something that Oz’s group was banking on when they were looking for Spring. Because the Spring maiden, Raven, has been the maiden for many years now. She’s a mature maiden who has developed her powers for quite a few years. So out of the three maiden’s that are currently known, Raven is the biggest threat of them. And Raven is still a wild card. Just like Summer.
Now the summer maiden can tip the scale in any direction. She may be a mature maiden who is very skilled in her abilities, or she may have just come into them yesterday. She may decide Salem can’t be beaten and it would be better to side with her, or it may just be worth it to help out Ruby’s group. Somehow I get the feeling that Raven will show her decision after we learn what summer will do.
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There’s no better indication of how the Maidens have been corrupted and need to heal and reclaim their true purpose than the fact that the original Maidens were a team of four, and yet we’ve never seen two Maidens fighting side by side.
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aspoonofsugar · 1 year
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How do the seasons of each maiden (spring, winter, summer, and fall) relate to the gifts of the four relics they represent (knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice)?
Hi!
That is a good question and one I don't really have an answer as for now, sorry :')
On a surface/practical level, I think they definately wanted Choice to be Fall's gift because of Cinder's character and the Fall motif, which permeates the series. In life you May Fall, so you better have Landing Strategies ready, but in the case you can't really help it, you still gotta make a choice. Like Pyrrha. Like Penny.
I think the other Seasons/Gifts were then distributed starting from this. Probably Creation and Destruction were given respectively to Winterand Summer to make it counter-intuitive. According to the cycle of nature, you would expect Creation to fit Summer and Destruction Winter. After all, Summer is when fruits become mature and Winter is when most plants die. Still, since the cyle of life and death is a major theme in RWBY they went with the opposite choice to show how Light and Darkness are intertwined. The season of Death brings Creation and the season of Life brings Destruction. Which leaves Spring to take care of Knowledge...
That said, when it comes to the 4 gifts and the 4 seasons there is other interesting symbolism.
The 4 gifts fit the 4 Jungian Archetypes linked to alchemy, you can read about here. To be specific:
The Shadow is linked to Nigredo (which ends with destruction, decay and separating the ingredients)> Destruction > Blake and Shade (literally shadow)
The Anima/Animus is linked to Albedo (which is about growth, refinement and rebirth) > Creation > Weiss who is Snowhite hence the winter motif may come from here
The Wise Woman is linked to Citrinitas > Knowledge > Yang
The Self is linked to Rubedo (self-actualization) > Choice > Ruby
The 4 maidens seem linked to the 4 elements and these elements are linked to both the seasons and the Kingdoms in different ways.
Cinder > Fire > Vale whose combat schools are called after light (Pharos, Beacon) > Fall whose main color is orange like fire
Raven > Air (she turns into a bird) > Mistral is a wind > to be more specific it is a cold wind hence Raven also fights with ice rather than fire
Winter > Ice > Atlas is literally surrounded by ice > winter is the coldest season
It is difficult to discuss Vacuo and the Summer Maiden since we have no info as for yet... however, Vacuo was famous to be full of Dust and mines > Earth
In general, there may be also a fire/ice motif going on with the Maidens. So far, Raven and Winter fight mostly with ice, while Cinder with fire... given the nature of her season Summer might fight with fire as well (which would also definately fit destruction).
These are my thoughts, as for now. Thank you forpassing by!
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