Raven Branwen

She is the leader of the Branwen Tribe as well as a former member of Team STRQ. She is also the current Spring Maiden and used her fellow tribe member Vernal as a decoy, until her death at the hands of Cinder Fall.

## History

Both Raven Branwen and her twin brother, Qrow Branwen, were raised in the Branwen Tribe, a group of bandits based in Anima.

When the tribe decided they needed a force to counter the Huntsmen, the only real threat to their raids besides the Grimm, Raven and Qrow were sent to combat school when they were of age. The twins' skills and abilities garnered Ozpin's attention, and they were enrolled to Beacon Academy and placed on Team STRQ along with Summer Rose and Taiyang Xiao Long.

At some point, Ozpin revealed the secrets of his abilities, his longevity and Salem's existence to Team STRQ, and gave Raven and Qrow the ability to shape-shift into the birds of their namesakes. Deciding on investigating on her own, Raven's findings gradually made her become more horrified and disillusioned with the world, and she developed negative conceptions towards Ozpin.

Raven was once in a relationship with Taiyang and bore him a daughter - Yang Xiao Long. But having deemed the fight against Salem as hopeless, and deciding to stay true to why she became a Huntress, she left for the tribe, not long after Yang's birth, and eventually rose to become its leader, while possibly wanting to distance herself from Ozpin. Qrow, however, never returned to the tribe, seeing them as "killers and thieves" and believed in Ozpin. Raven saw Qrow's desertion as betrayal and his trust in Ozpin foolhardy, and the twins have been feuding with each other ever since.

Approximately seven years later, she met the previous Spring Maiden, who had abandoned her responsibilities, and accepted the maiden into the tribe. Despite giving her training in her abilities, Raven found the effort to do so unproductive and the Maiden too weak to take advantage of her powers, and subsequently killed her out of "mercy" and inheriting her Maiden powers as a result. Shortly after, she assigned one of her tribeswomen to serve as her decoy. That tribeswoman renamed herself Vernal to complete the ruse.

Although she abandoned Yang long before her daughter could remember her, Raven kept an eye on her over the years through her bird form. Yang spotted this bird a number of times but never realized it was her mother until much later in her life.

Years later, she intervenes in the fight between Yang and Neopolitan just before Neo could deliver the killing blow to an unconscious Yang. Her presence appears to deeply frighten Neo, who immediately breaks off her attack on Yang and teleports away. Yang regains consciousness just in time to see her mysterious savior disappear into a red and black rift.

Raven and Yang apparently meet again, this time in front of the main statue at Beacon Academy. When Yang asks Raven who she is, she tilts her head down and removes her mask, revealing an uncanny facial resemblance to Yang before stating that they have much to discuss.

During the Vytal Festival, Raven tracks her brother whilst in her bird form, following him back into Beacon. When Winter Schnee engages Qrow in battle, Raven flies away without revealing herself.

Qrow visits Yang after her singles round fight. Yang mentions that she saw Raven on the train, and Qrow confirms it. Qrow adds that he does not agree with her worldview and calls her dangerous. Nevertheless, he tells Yang that he has information that can help her track Raven down.

After Yang lost her arm in combat with Adam Taurus, Raven checked in on her in her bird form through the window. Although Yang spotted her, Raven did not reveal herself and instead flew away without ever talking to her daughter.

Several months after the fall of Beacon, Raven spies on Qrow in her bird form as he follows Team RNJR through Anima. Eventually, she meets Qrow face-to-face in a tavern at Higanbana to discuss the whereabouts of a relic and if Salem possesses it. Parts of the siblings' background are revealed during the conversation, including their childhood of being raised by the bandit tribe that caused the recent massacre in Shion village. Raven is still angry at her brother for leaving the tribe, considering them their family. Qrow counters with Yang's situation, stating that he is angry at Raven for treating her daughter as if she does not exist. Raven says she leads the tribe now and subtly claims responsibility for Shion. After receiving no answer from Qrow about the relic, Raven refuses to tell Qrow whether or not she knows where the Spring Maiden is, and leaves.

Later, after Qrow's fight with Tyrian Callows, Raven spies on her brother, who informs Team RNJR about the Brother Gods, Ozpin's hidden group and plans with the Relics, and his Semblance. Qrow notices Raven in her bird form, ending the discussion while she's still around.

Somewhere near Lake Matsu, Raven and her bandits stumble across a crashed cargo ship and find a weakened and injured Weiss Schnee. Feeling that the girl has great value, Raven knocks Weiss unconscious.

Some time later, Raven exits her tent in the bandit camp to find her daughter Yang in company. She addresses her with congratulations at first and offers to answer any of Yang's questions. After Yang says she came as a stepping stone to get to Ruby, Raven is disappointed and would rather Yang searched for Ruby directly just as she did for her. She also considers Ruby a lost cause by her relation to Qrow, saying Ozpin is not outwardly truthful or worthy of trust. She leaves the choice to Yang, but she also calls Yang stubborn. Yang's retort leaves Raven to disregard her daughter until Yang and a newly freed Weiss almost fight the entire tribe. Raven accepts the situation and calls the two into her tent to learn "the truth".

Raven tells Yang and Weiss she and Qrow attended Beacon Academy to kill and not to become Huntsmen and that Ozpin was very interested in Team STRQ and shared many secrets with them. Eventually telling them that there is a being named Salem who leads the Grimm in an attempt to destroy Humanity. When Raven starts insulting Team RWBY, Taiyang and Qrow, Yang angrily yells at her and asks why she left her. Raven does not answer and instead offers to prove the existence of magic. Raven leaves the tent and later transforms away from her namesake bird after saying it is "what Oz did to my brother and me". Raven creates a portal and gives an ultimatum- either Yang and Weiss stay with her and learn more or go to Qrow and Ruby and face what she believes is certain death. Raven is disappointed to hear Yang say all she cares about is Ruby's safety. When Yang and Weiss ride toward the portal, Raven says she will not act kind the next time they meet. After her daughter leaves, she agrees in not having been kind this time either.

One day, Raven is shocked to learn from Vernal that Salem has found them with four of her followers waiting for her: Cinder Fall, Arthur Watts, Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai. During their meeting, she keeps a confident persona, orders her tribe to prepare to move and has Vernal display her mastery over the Maiden powers. Though after learning Haven Academy Headmaster Leonardo Lionheart is working for Salem, Raven loses her cool and states her refusal to get caught in the war between Salem and Ozpin.

She struggles to negotiate, and Cinder and Watts pressure her with the White Fang's upcoming attack on Haven. Raven seemingly capitulates but asks for the death of her brother because he knows her possession of the Spring Maiden would mean she helped Salem. Though she knows Qrow has Yang, Weiss and Ruby with him, she proposes they ambush Qrow while he is alone and retrieve the Relic for Salem.

After Salem's followers leave, she has Vernal follow them to learn where they are staying. Raven then reveals her plans to take the Relic of Knowledge for herself to ensure the survival of the Branwen tribe. She shapeshifts into her bird form and flies through a portal to Qrow in Mistral.

She's next seen in Headmaster Lionheart's office after he ends a call with Qrow. She learns of his reasons for helping Salem and tells him there is no shame in wanting to survive. Though when asked who she was trying to convince, Raven abruptly makes her way out.

On the night of the full moon, Raven watches over Lionheart in her raven form as he meets with Qrow and the students. When Yang spots her and Qrow fires at her, she reveals herself and confirms with her brother that she has the Spring Maiden. Raven refuses Qrow's demand to work with him and his allies to defeat Salem, for to her, defeating Salem is impossible. Ruby then approaches her, reasoning that nothing is impossible as long as they work together and asks her to join them. Raven, however, coldly comments that the girl is like her mother and allows Cinder to attack her. After the revelation of both Raven and Lionheart's betrayal, a battle ensues between the heroes and villains with Raven fighting her brother. She states her disappointment in her family and is unsurprised when Qrow cuts his family ties with her.

When Qrow moves to protect Oscar Pine from Hazel Rainart, Raven, Vernal and Cinder travel down to the Vault where the Relic is kept. The bandits continuously express lack of excitement at retrieving the Relic, and Cinder walks behind the two as they approach the Relic's chamber. Raven dons her mask and reaches for her weapon, only to be taken by surprise when Cinder freezes her. By the time Raven frees herself, Cinder has taken Vernal down and found no Maiden powers within her. Raven throws off her mask and reveals herself to be the true Spring Maiden.

The two former allies fight, and Raven shatters Cinder's sword, a fragment sticking into her Grimm arm. Raven points out it is unprotected by her Aura due to its nature, and the pair quickly resume their battle. As the fighting grows more intense, large stalactites fall from above. Raven is caught by Cinder's Grimm arm but sees an opportunity and freezes Cinder's feet to the floor long enough for a falling stalactite to crush her. Raven then leaps onto another stalactite, and Cinder propels up to resume the battle. The pair clash swords repeatedly atop the falling debris, and Raven slowly gains the advantage. Both combatants land hard upon the ground, their Auras badly damaged but Cinder clearly the worse for wear. Raven warns Cinder to watch her back, and her opponent turns and blocks a last-ditch effort from Vernal. Seizing the opportunity, Raven gets behind her and uses a lightning-enhanced palm strike, sending Cinder over the edge of the walkway. Raven encases her in ice for good measure as Cinder falls into the abyss, defeated.

Raven thanks Vernal for her last act of service, closes her eyes and proceeds toward the Vault door. She places her hand upon it, and it opens moments later, revealing the Relic of Knowledge beyond. As she nears the Vault, she hears a gunshot behind her. Raven turns around and glares to see Yang on the other end of the walkway.

At first, Raven is dismissive of Yang, feeling her daughter has simply fallen in line with Qrow and Ozpin despite her warnings. When Yang questions her on what became of the last Spring Maiden, Raven angrily retorts that her predecessor was hopeless and thus killed her "out of mercy". Then, when Yang asks if Raven killed the woman she used to be, Raven desperately tries justifying herself and her strength and becomes enraged when Yang has the audacity to lecture her on the subject. However, when Yang points out Raven's fear of Salem, Raven becomes resigned, knowing she cannot refute her. The tribal leader makes one last attempt to stop her daughter but is rebuffed and bumped aside. With tears falling from her eyes, Raven apologizes to Yang before creating a portal to escape the Vault, leaving a black feather behind as evidence of her departure.

Later, Raven is heard flying over Taiyang's house in her corvid form, and another feather falls from her.

Raven's location and that of her tribe are currently unknown following the Battle of Haven, though it's implied that she has left Patch.

## Personality

Raven is cynical, patronizing, selfish and stubborn. She believed her act of "kindness" of saving Yang's life from Neopolitan was sufficient despite having left Yang at a very young age and refused to protect her daughter when in need after that. Raven is intended to be more intimidating the less you know about her.

Given her upbringing in a nomadic bandit tribe, Raven has a "survival of the fittest" mentality, and she has little issues with taking the lives of the innocent or even that of Huntsmen, indirectly or otherwise. Despite murdering the former Spring Maiden, Raven presented her actions as merciful and necessary, saying that the Maiden never learned anything despite the training Raven put her through and that she wasn't cut out for this world.

However, beneath her "survival of the fittest" philosophy and despite her great powers as a Maiden, Raven is a coward who is really troubled and fakes confidence. Her fear of Salem is so great that she chose to run from it all after deeming the fight unwinnable. She is even willing to risk her brother and daughter's lives in order to get access to the Relic of Knowledge in hopes of warding off Salem. As Yang pointed out, Raven's definition of strength is shallow. As despite her great power, she chooses to run away from her problems instead of facing them, sacrificing others as shields to gain herself advantage. In the end, Raven's survival of the fittest philosophy is just a façade to hide her fear of Salem and her other insecurities, one that is heavily implied to be a fear of being a mother.

Raven is not above manipulating others, having tried to emotionally manipulate Yang during their reunion in "Lighting the Fire" so she would choose to stay with her instead of reuniting with Qrow and Ruby Rose, first by taking a faux warm and theatrical attitude before revealing secret information and threatening Yang in the hope that it would scare her from joining Qrow and Ozpin. She also successfully deceived Salem's subordinates into thinking that Vernal was the Spring Maiden and into setting an ambush for Qrow and the students in order to get access to the Relic in "A Perfect Storm", although the latter was due to Cinder Fall's need for revenge.

Raven is also very prideful and hypocritical, refusing to acknowledge her faults and always trying to justify her actions both to others and to herself, often putting the blame on others for them even if she feels guilt. She states to Qrow in "Family" that she did not know that the Grimm would come quickly to destroy Shion, despite the fact that it was the tribe's attack that left it vulnerable in the first place. When speaking to Lionheart in "True Colors", she refuses to admit that it is out of fear of Salem that she worked with her subordinates, unlike Lionheart who freely admitted it. Finally in "Haven's Fate", she tells Yang that she knew that she could handle the trap on her and her friends even though it wasn't the case and presenting her murder of the Spring Maiden as an act of mercy due to the girl's perceived weakness. Also, despite criticizing Ozpin over keeping information from others, using others to reach his goals and being manipulative Raven has no issues doing the same. While aiding Summer in a mission, she brings up her choice to leave her family in the dark about the details, to which Summer coldly reminds her is something she also did.

While Raven and Qrow used to see each other as family when growing up, she now sees Qrow as a traitor for leaving their tribe and Qrow outright stated that she was dangerous and hostile, though he continued to care for her and they stayed in touch, though Raven seemingly only contacted Qrow to get information from him. When Qrow confronted her on her setting a trap for him, Yang and Ruby and renounced her as his sister Raven went as far as implying that she may have never seen Qrow as family. Raven is a cynic who claims to have foreseen Ozpin's failure to protect Beacon Academy from its destruction. She believes that Ozpin is not the man her daughter thinks he is and condemns those who trust him, such as Qrow, Ruby and even Taiyang and Yang.

Because of her prideful and self-centered mentality Raven often fails to measure the consequences of her actions, such as her attempt to manipulate Yang into staying with her and to distrust Qrow and Ozpin by calling Ruby a lost cause, and revealing Salem's existence and insulting Qrow and Taiyang, which only reinforced Yang's determination to reunite with her uncle and sister, and reject Raven further. She also advised Yang to question everything which eventually caused her to question her mother's own motives and actions. She also devised a plan to get the Relic of Knowledge to keep Salem away from the tribe while overlooking the fact that it would only cause her to become a greater target for her.

According to Qrow, Raven has a very skewed definition of what a family means. Despite having constantly watched over Yang in her corvid form, Raven never took a part in her daughter's life or tried to meet her in spite of her Semblance. With Qrow, the only reason she would visit him was only when she needed something from him rather than trying to maintain or reestablish a good relationship with him. When reunited with Yang for the first time Raven used a theatrical attitude trying to be welcoming to Yang by praising her and offering hospitality, only to drop the act after Yang stated that she wasn't here for her.

She also does not understand why Qrow chose to stay with their former teammates and his nieces over returning to the tribe despite how close Qrow has become with them, as well as underestimating how far Yang would go for Ruby by trying to scare or convince her with knowledge about Ozpin and Salem, which instead only reinforced Yang's determination to reunite with and protect her sister.

Yet despite her ruthless and immoral behavior, Raven isn't totally devoid of morality as she showed some regret for her actions, such as the treatment of her family and the killing of the Spring Maiden. When battling Cinder in "Downfall", she is disgusted by her complete lack of scruples in her quest for power, calling her out for having become a monster by getting a Grimm arm. However, because of her pride, Raven often tried to deny her true feelings, hiding it behind an aloof attitude. She states to Vernal that she did not care about Yang being in danger due to her plan even though her body language said otherwise. Likewise, when Ruby made a proposal for her to join them in "The More the Merrier", she showed an instance of vulnerability, before hiding it and dismissing her entirely. It's implied in a conversation with Summer that some part of her choice to leave was because Summer could be who she couldn't, shifting her responsibility over to her.

According to Taiyang, Raven had a straightforward approach, often dealing with obstacles by going through them instead of going around, and saw strength as all-important in a fight, traits that Yang inherited. He adds that Raven was ambitious and gave her all to whatever cause she saw as just while acknowledging she had unspecified faults that greatly contributed to the dissolution of Team STRQ. When Raven told Yang that she didn't know her, Yang replied that she only knows the Raven that her father told her about, asking her mother if she killed her previous self too. The question caused Raven to be shocked and look away, indicating that Raven was once a braver, more idealistic woman before leaving.

After defeating Cinder, Raven shows a softer side, taking the time to close the deceased Vernal's eyes and thank her for her service. This side of her is further shown in "Haven's Fate", in which she and Yang share an emotional conversation. After Yang calls Raven out for killing the former Spring Maiden, her cowardice and hypocrisy in refusing to fight Salem, and for showing a callous indifference to her own daughter's well-being, Raven once more begs Yang to stay out of the war against Salem, but to no avail. Raven subsequently breaks down in tears, apologizing to Yang before fleeing.

## Powers and Abilities

Raven possesses great speed in combat, so much so that her attacks are difficult to follow with the naked eye. She shows proficiency in "Iaido", the art of swordsmanship also practiced by Adam Taurus, as seen when she first engages Neo. After her initial attack, she challenges Neo with a more traditional stance, indicating a more intricate fighting style. During her fight with Cinder, she was able to slice in half a massive boulder and use the elemental effect of her ice blade to smoothly slide away from an attack, all within seconds, showing a faster than average reaction time. She allowed Cinder to chase her during the initial stages of their battle, letting her opponent expend energy before launching a counterattack. She also takes to account her surroundings during battle, and often uses what is around to her advantage, such as falling debris.

As a testament to her skills, Raven as a child, with no formal training, was able to get into Beacon through sheer skill, which normally requires several years of training at a combat school to do. She then went on to train directly under Ozpin and became skilled enough that he entrusted her and Qrow with a portion of his power, as well as becoming a part of his inner circle.

Raven's weapon of choice is **Omen**, a scabbard that has a rotary chamber filled with different types of Dust blades, reminiscent of the Dust vial chamber of Myrtenaster wielded by Weiss Schnee. The blades, when connected with the accompanying handle, are reminiscent of the long-bladed, single-edged ōdachi, or "great sword". Using the handle, Raven is able to wield a variety of different blades, each one possessing a different color and property.

By reattaching the handle to the scabbard, Raven is able to interchange, or if need be, replace the Dust blade. The blades are telescopic, which allows them to be approximately twice the length of the scabbard. She tends to most often use the blade made of Red Dust, though she has also used others. The colors seen so far in combat include Red, Blue, Yellow, Gray/Black, and Green. The Dust blades, though powerful, can be broken if struck several times or hard enough. Since they are Dust, she can use them for elemental based attacks.

Raven's Semblance, **Kindred Link**, allows her to create portals to instantly travel to people she has a strong emotional connection with and can cover vast distances through them. Raven largely uses this ability to make an exit, rather than for offensive purposes: she has notably used them to teleport to Yang in order to save her from Neo, as well as to leave the bar in Higanbana after talking with Qrow and to allow Salem's associates to walk into Haven Academy from her camp. Raven can also allow other people through her portals, as she did with Weiss and Yang, without going through herself or requiring them to be bonded to her, provided they are with- or traveling to- someone she *is* bonded with. To activate the ability, she swings her sword, causing a portal to open a few feet in whatever the direction the blade was swung at, but she is also able to open portals without her sword, such as when she opened one in her bird form.

Without knowing that it was his sister, Qrow Branwen deduces that much of the damage wrought in Shion Village was caused by the Spring Maiden, exemplifying her destructive utilization of the Spring Maiden's powers. She is able to generate a lightning strike in "Lighting the Fire", summoning it from the sky like the previous Fall Maiden Amber could. In "A Perfect Storm", she is able to summon strong gusts of wind and turn the sky from clear to cloudy in an instant. In both cases, she was able to disguise her power and make it appear that Vernal was performing the feats.

When she uses her magic, her eyes produce a dark red flame matching her Aura, which is why she wears her Grimm mask whenever using Vernal as her decoy. In "Downfall", during Raven's fight with Cinder, she makes use of several different elemental powers. She can generate ice, either by condensing it into weaponry, forming ice spikes or freezing from a distance. She can also generate electricity from her hands and release it in close ranged strikes. Lastly, she demonstrates the ability to fly, which she has been able to use additionally to propel herself at high speeds.

Unlike Cinder, Raven does not choose to specialize in or prioritize the use of one element above the rest. Rather, she varies in attacks that she uses to keep her opponents off balance. Also, she does not rely heavily on her Maiden powers, mostly using it as a physical boost, as seen in "Downfall" where she used them to keep up with Cinder.

As the Spring Maiden, Raven is the only one that has the power to open the Vault containing the Relic of Knowledge in Mistral. Later it was revealed that again only Raven can lock the Vault once it was opened.

Like her brother, Raven has the ability to transform into a corvid, specifically a raven, which she demonstrated in "Known by its Song". This ability was bestowed upon her by Ozpin through magic in order to act as his eyes in the world. With it she can fly and cover large distances, though she largely uses it for stealth purposes, such as observing Qrow or Yang as well as disguising her arrival at Haven. While transformed, she can still use her Semblance, as seen in both "A Perfect Storm" and "Haven's Fate". She can also talk while in this form.

## Appearances

* Deadpool: Remnant
* Raven's Christmas
* RWBY: Microverse