Plot

The main setting for RWBYRun is known as The World of Balance - and particularly, the Huntsman Academy, Beacon. There is only one Huntsman Academy in The World of Balance, which students from every nation attend; Beacon is more of an independent entity than traditional RWBY. It is technically not part of Vale, but it does have to answer to the Vytal Council, a mirror to the United Nations of real life. The Hunter system is, as a whole, a lot more centralised and expansive than in traditional RWBY canon.

This is fairly essential, as the Grimm are far more of a threat. The Grimm are now split into two major categories; major and minor Grimm. These aren't a reflection on the size or power of the Grimm in question, but rather whether that species has an Alpha or not. The Alphas are the new 'commanders' of the Grimm - powerful, intelligent and cunning dark entities. They, and all Grimm, hail from the Schwarzwelt - a dark and twisted mirror of Remnant from which they stage their invasion, aided by reverent cults to the Alphas on Remnant itself. They enter Remnant through incursions - they are still drawn to negative emotions, but new Grimm enter the world through these incursions, portals ripping the space between dimensions to allow a flood of Grimm to enter. The Alphas can, themselves, breach into Remnant in the form of aspects, leading the charge to break the interdiction fields preventing them breaching directly into civilisation, and to besiege and destroy the nations of man. However, the flow of Grimm, as a result of their need to enter through these incursions, is very much like a tide; periods of growth and expansion, followed by those of terror and destruction, aided by the Alphas' abilities to truly coordinate and strategise the Grimm invasion, using the power of Obscura, the power of the Grimm, to keep themselves intact on Remnant and to twist it to their needs. The greatest example of this is the Black Gate - a permanent incursion northwest of Vacuo, where the barriers between dimensions lie thin from an incursion not stopped in time before it got stuck that way, the greatest failure and warning to metahumanity of the Grimm.

However, there is still hope. Metahumanity has new tricks of its own up its sleeve. Technology is generally more advanced and consistent than canon; robotic security and other expert system AI is in use throughout Remnant, scanners working off interactions between space and aura can detect anything from detailed medical information to aura and semblance effects to the Grimm themselves, and international communications cannot be interrupted through the destruction of one tower.

Furthermore, more options are available to the Hunters that fight against the Grimm. Essentia, or the power of Aura, can be developed or shaped by aura arts as the Grimm shape their Obscura, able to act both as a Hunter's sword and shield. Semblances are more defined and expansive, to the extent that many people simply do not have the potential to harness one - and are living entities in their own right within the user's soul that Hunters must work with to utilise the power they offer. Potentia, the energy of dust, the light that shines within dust crystals and grains. Dust isn't an expended resource - crystals that have lost their shine replenish it when in their element from nature itself, and the light within can be harnessed by man or machine, shaped to unleash nature's wrath under the user's will and guidance.

And the Astral Realm provides an invaluable tool throughout Remnant - a space where an echo of a user's aura is projected, shared between worlds, entered through special equipment to allow a user to enter a trance-like state to project onto it, known as 'astral diving'. Within, essentia and obscura stand out amidst the astral plane, interdiction fields can shield areas from prying eyes, and astral hosts act as a way to interact with the real world, astral forms able to interact with them to transmit massive amounts of data and operate machinery from the astral plane, or even enter virtual reality-like landscapes. It is not perfectly safe, albeit - powerful semblance or obscura effects, host defenses, other user echos, hunter-killer hosts, and the Noise can all effect an astral echo, and damage in the astral is impacted onto your aura, with a broken one not able to enter astral space. The Noise is an odd, formless group of beings that rend the auras of those they are near to, but little is known beyond this - with interdiction fields blocking them, it is more often than not simply thought of as an odd quirk of the astral realm and an occupational hazards for those Hunters that work to become astral specialists.