Hazel Rainart

**Hazel Rainart** was one of the main antagonists in *RWBBY* who was introduced in "The Next Step". He was an associate of Salem and part of her inner circle. He serves as a main antagonist in Volume 5.

In "Witch", after learning about Salem's true goal, he decided to defect from her inner circle to help Oscar Pine, Gea Belladonna and Emerald Sustrai escape from Monstra, during which he sacrificed himself to hold her back allowing Gea to destroy her and Monstra.

## Characteristics

### Weapon

* Fists
* Dust Infusion

## Traits

### Eye Color

* Hazel (Normal)
* Golden (Dust Infusion)

## Appearance

Hazel was a tall and muscular middle-aged man. He was also unusually large and broad, as he was shown to tower over Adam Taurus who stood 6'4". He had short brown hair, a beard and hazel eyes. His hairy arms had some large scars running up them, a result of using Dust infusions.

## Original Outfit (Volumes 4-6)

Originally, Hazel wore a two-tone olive green coat over a black 3/4 sleeve shirt, and a large belt. His pants were black, with a pouch strapped to each pants leg, and his boots are brown with white fronts. Some of his scars near the edges of his sleeves are visible.

## Final Outfit (Volume 8)

As of Volume 8, Hazel wore his hair in a short slicked back ponytail, and had trimmed his beard shorter. He wore a sleeveless dark green vest with yellow trimmings, revealing the full extent of the scars running up his arm. Hazel wore bandages on his forearms, beneath fingerless brown gloves with silver armor over his hands. He wore brown pants with leather straps connecting to two belts, and armored boots that are similar to those of his previous outfit.

## Personality

Hazel had a calm composure compared to the others of Salem's circle, being reserved and rarely speaking. However, he still criticized Cinder Fall for her defeat, showing he had a low tolerance for acceptance of failure, and he did not let minor obstacles get in his way or stand by convention when there is a goal to be accomplished.

During the meeting with Sienna Khan, Hazel was courteous toward her, showing he had a respectful nature. However, he was not intimidated by Sienna's threats, showing a distinct level of self-confidence.

Despite his low tolerance for failure, Hazel was not cruel or unsympathetic. His reaction to Sienna's murder by Adam was a saddened look and verbal expression of both his frustration at Adam's lack of communication prior to the act and disappointment at how unnecessary the death was. He also had a certain degree of empathy for others. When he returned to Evernight Castle with Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai, he attempted to take the blame for Cinder's failure in Mistral, presumably to try and save the two from punishment by Salem. Unlike his psychotic colleague, Tyrian Callows, Hazel took no pleasure in casual slaughter, indicating there must be a higher purpose in violence for him to engage in it.

However, these traits changed whenever he encountered Ozpin. When he did, Hazel became filled with rage and killing intent. He initially held Ozpin responsible for the death of his sister Gretchen Rainart and was determined to kill every incarnation of him. He denied Gretchen had any choice in the matter of serving as a Huntress despite it being pointed out that it was her decision to be one, believing her to be seduced by tales of heroism.This shows that despite his typical reluctance to fight, he was quite capable of vengeance and terrifying bouts of rage. Despite this, as revealed in "The More the Merrier", Hazel was perfectly willing to aid Tyrian in slaughtering Huntsmen across Anima, and he was stated to be completely merciless when a target is found. Additionally, he was stated to believe that the Huntsmen are useless to Remnant as a whole. He also had no qualms with harming children, as he attempted to electrocute and kill Gea Belladonna for standing between him and Ozpin in "Downfall". In "Fault", he brutally tortured Oscar Pine and Gea for the password to the Relic of Knowledge despite them being children, showing how violent Hazel could become when blinded by his grudge.

In "Midnight", a more vulnerable side to Hazel was revealed. It is shown that he feared Salem, seeing her as an unstoppable force of nature. This is why he usually tried to prevent bloodshed and fighting. It is also why he sought vengeance against Ozpin, seeing him as someone who sends children to their deaths. While he didn't agree with Salem's plans, he followed them as he saw no choice.

In "Witch", he, Mercury, and Emerald both decided to help Oscar and Gea escape from Monstra after learning about Salem's true goal. Ultimately, Hazel was motivated to help Oscar, his friends, Mercury, and Emerald escape from Salem as way of and ensuring they will not be lost like his sister, leading to his sacrifice.

## Powers and Abilities

As a former associate of Salem, Hazel was a ruthless fighter and notably lacked a weapon, preferring melee based combat and Dust manipulation without using the medium of a weapon. He relied on brute force and his Semblance. No form of martial arts are used, preferring to use simple wide wind swings and his blows seem to have his full weight behind them. At the same time his combat style left him open to attack, as shown by his fight with Ozpin. He was still nimble enough to dodge strikes from opponents like Qrow and was shown to be agile against Salem's ranged attacks.

He has only been shown to retreat at the behest of allies who are able to appeal to his more logical and compassionate side. Without this, it is unlikely that anything short of fatal or crippling force would be able to cease his rampaging combat style.

### Dust Usage

When Hazel deemed the situation appropriate, he injected himself with raw Dust crystals. After Hazel infused himself, the veins in his arms glow, his muscles grow, his eyes shine, his voice becomes distorted, and he can discharge and fire Dust energy from his entire body to enhance his attacks. He was shown using two types of Dust, Lightning and Fire, being able to use more than one Dust type at a time to further increase his strength and combine attacks for enhanced hits. Because of his Semblance, the pain that came from injecting himself with raw Dust is minimized.

In "Witch", Hazel showcased the full extent of his power with Dust usage during his battle with Salem. He was able to combine Lightning, Earth and Fire Dust and mold it to form a volatile spiked boulder to throw at Salem, create a barrier using Hard Light Dust, propel himself through the air using Wind Dust, increase his physical speed and reflexes using Lightning Dust and create several fireballs using Fire Dust.

Because of his use of Dust, the limits to his strength are unknown, but without it, he possessed enough strength to casually dent machines with an offhanded hammer fist. The use of Dust was not a substitute for his strength, but a supplement. Hazel's most notable attribute, however, was his endurance. He was able to block strikes from Qrow, Ren and Nora's weapons with his bare hands, the latter also commenting on the abnormally high rate that Hazel recharges his Aura. Qrow also took note of Hazel's incredible durability, referring to him as "sheer willpower".

### Semblance

Hazel's Semblance, **Numbing Agent**, renders him insensitive to pain, allowing him to ignore injury and inject vast amounts of Dust into his body without any immediate consequence. However, despite this he is susceptible to being injured.