Aura

**Aura** is the manifestation of one's soul in Remnant, and can be used for a wide range of abilities. The specific abilities and their strengths differ from individual to individual and are dependent on a number of factors, such as experience, training, and innate skill.

## Description

Aura is an ability that all those with a soul can use, at least with enough practice. A person with a strong Aura may radiate bright colors when using it. Because Aura is the manifestation of the soul, it can appear very differently depending on who is using it. For example, the color of Aura differs from person to person: Robin's is green, Akane's is pink-red and Jin's is yellow.

It is mentioned that anything with a soul has an Aura, including Humans and Faunus. The Creatures of Grimm, being soulless, are the only known form of life that does not have Aura.

Skilled users of Aura can create their own barriers or even increase their own abilities in some way. Weapons and armor can also act as a conduit for Aura, allowing for an even wider range of offensive and defensive capabilities.

It has been shown that the strength of an Aura degrades with continual use. This limits the applications of Aura in combat as, with time or heavy use, a person's Aura will decay to the point where they are left weakened or even incapacitated. Aura being completely depleted is visually represented as a colored sheen glowing along the length of a person's body, indicating that they can now be physically injured. Aura tends to flicker when it is close to being depleted. Aura can be recharged and the time that is required to recharge is different between each person.

## Abilities

Aura is a necessary energy source for all Huntsmen, being a powerful ally in battle. It is also required in order to trigger the use of Dust. Aura has the ability to do the following:

* **Defense**: Aura is mainly used for defensive purposes. While users of Aura will not be hurt as long as their Aura is up, they can still feel sensations such as pain and heat. It requires training to always subconsciously have a cloak of Aura on.
* **Offense**: Aura can be used to send shock waves of force. In addition, all tools and equipment are conduits for a person's Aura.
* **Unlock Aura**: One's Aura can be used to 'unlock' the Aura of someone else; as shown by Marron Armona, who unintentionally uses her aura to unlock Marina Lincoln's.
* **Healing**: It also seems that those with a strong enough Aura can heal minor wounds. Robin managed to heal a broken arm in under two weeks, though this may be in part due to her peak-human-ability semblance.

Other specific abilities, known as Semblances, appear to be unique to certain individuals. Semblance is the projection of Aura into a more tangible form. When a person uses their Aura, they can discover their Semblance afterwards.

## Activation

It appears that Aura is able to manifest in different ways when in use and takes on the color of one's inner energy. It appears as a slight glow around the body.

It has been stated that the activation of an Aura requires training and willpower, though someone with considerable training can unlock the Aura of another person.

It can also be unlocked through intense emotion, such as stress. Marron Armona unlocked her aura via extreme elation during her first kiss with Robin Lincoln.

## Tournaments

Aura strength, as a proportion of maximum potential, can be electronically monitored and displayed on a Scroll. This has enabled the development of a competitive sport amongst Huntsmen and others.

Because Aura can protect its user against some of the force of physical blows, it is possible to duel using fully combat-ready weapons without risking death or serious injury. Such tournaments are closely monitored by a referee and, should a combatant's Aura strength fall below a certain red-line where they may no longer be sufficient to protect their users, the match is automatically halted and the combatant with the highest Aura percentile remaining is declared the winner.

There is at least one known major international competitive tournament, the Vytal Festival, at which students at Beacon, Haven, Shade and Atlas are permitted to enter and represent the Kingdoms of Vale, Mistral, Vacuo and Atlas respectively. Another known tournament is the Mistral regional tournament.

These tournaments and practice duels have revealed that once a person's Aura drops below a certain percentage, they are disqualified due to their protection against fatal blows no longer being guaranteed. This percentage was shown to be 20% for the team rounds. The percentage is lowered to 15% for doubles and singles rounds. However, Aura may occasionally drop to 0% in matches.

## Trivia

* It can be compared to the real-life principle of Chi/Ki or Chakra, as used in other forms of media.
* It is possible to increase the amount of Aura someone has but it is impractical. Most users of Aura train to use it more efficiently rather than simply trying to get "a bigger gauge".