Raven Branwen

Raven Branwen (レイヴン・ブランウェン, Reivan Buranwen), is a fictional character and deuteragonist from the RWBY series. She is the mother of Yang Xiao Long, the twin sister of Qrow Branwen and the former lover of Taiyang Xiao Long. Her weapon of choice is her sword with a rotary chamber filled with six types of Dust blades.

She is the current leader of the Branwen Tribe, as well as a former member of Team STRQ. She is also the true Spring Maiden and had been using her fellow tribe member, Vernal, as a decoy. She first appeared in "No No Brakes".

"The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules.""
 * —Raven Branwen, telling her brother about her worldview.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice Actor: Anna Hullum (English), Megumi Hayashibara (Japanese), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (German), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Poland), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

Appearance
Raven wears a shallow cut black and red dress, five necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of matching gauntlets. She wears gloves in Volume 2, but in Volume 4 onward she wears fingerless gloves.

An object that looks to be made from feathers hangs from the right side of her skirt. She also wears detached black leggings with a red splatter pattern in Volume 2, but in Volume 4 onwards her leggings are solid black. Under her leggings, she wears black boots, which have red high heels and soles. Her most distinctive feature is a fearsome, full-face mask that resembles the face of a Creature of Grimm. The mask has four eye slits, further enhancing the character's inhuman appearance. In Volume 2, Raven's eyes are visible through the lower slits, but in Volume 5, the slits are black and red inside.

Under the mask, she looks very similar to Yang, sharing the same facial shape, though her hair is more ravenous and black with red highlights, her eyebrows are a little bit higher, her complexion is significantly lighter and slight age lines are under her eyes. Raven's eye color is the same shade of red that Yang's shifts to when enraged. Her hair is loosely done up in a ponytail, tied by a red shawl, with the ends resembling curved black feathers. A cowlick can be seen protruding from the top of her head, similar to that of her daughter's.


 * Hair Color: Black and Red
 * Skin Color: Pale White
 * Eye Color: Red
 * Age: Not Known
 * Birthday: Not Known
 * Height: Not Known
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
During a conversation with Yang, Qrow calls his sister a dangerous person whose worldview clashes with his own. Nevertheless, in "No Brakes", Raven saves Yang's life from Neo but later has Qrow warn her daughter not to expect any "further kindness."

In "Family", it is revealed that she has a "survival of the fittest" mentality and, despite having graduated from Beacon Academy as a Huntress, has little issues with taking lives of the innocent or even that of other Huntsmen, indirectly or otherwise. Raven even killed the former Spring Maiden, as revealed in "Haven's Fate" because she thought that she was weak. Raven is more serious than her brother and is somewhat demanding, focusing on her mission over family ties. She sees Qrow as a traitor for leaving their tribe. Additionally, Raven is a cynic who claims to have foreseen Ozpin's failure to protect Beacon 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.

In "Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Back", Tai reveals Raven was stubborn during her academy days, had a very direct approach and saw strength as all-important in a fight, traits that her daughter inherited. He adds that Raven was ambitious and gave her all to whatever cause she saw as just. Taiyang also revealed that Raven had unspecified faults that greatly contributed to the dissolution of Team STRQ.

Raven has a penchant for patronizing others. She acts as such toward Weiss and Yang in "Known by its Song" and toward Cinder's group in "A Perfect Storm". Raven credits others' success with their relation to her, especially with Yang after she "handled" the trap set at Haven Academy.

Raven is not above manipulating others around her, having just 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, and having successfully manipulated 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 of Knowledge in "A Perfect Storm".

Raven's intellect and skill are apparently infamous. Cinder Fall states she has heard numerous stories of her strong and clever reputation before trying to rob Vernal's supposed Maiden powers, only to discover Raven had managed to fool her, for she is the true Spring Maiden.

However beneath her "survival of the fittest" philosophy and in spite of her great powers as a Huntress and a Maiden, Raven is a cowardly person, having chosen to run away from Salem after deeming the fight unwinnable, despite being aware of Salem's evil goals. She is even willing to risk her brother and daughter's lives in order to get access to the Relic in hopes of defending her tribe against Salem.

After defeating Cinder in "Downfall", 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, her love for her daughter finally showing itself. Raven tearfully apologizes to Yang before departing in her corvid form.

Friends/Allies

 * Branwen Tribe
 * Vernal

Family

 * Qrow Branwen (Twin Brother)
 * Taiyang Xiao Long (Former significant other)
 * Yang Xiao Long (Daughter)

Neutral

 * Team STRQ
 * Summer Rose
 * Team RWBY
 * Ruby Rose
 * Weiss Schnee
 * Ozpin's Group
 * Ozpin
 * Leonardo Lionheart

Enemies

 * Salem's Faction
 * Salem
 * Arthur Watts
 * Cinder's Faction
 * Cinder Fall
 * Mercury Black
 * Emerald Sustrai

Powers and Abilities
It is stated in "Welcome to Haven" that Raven is equally matched with her brother Qrow, although this did not take her Maiden Powers into account.

Though most of her combat abilities are still unknown, it only required a single direct strike to incite a fighter as skilled as Neo to flee.

Transformation
Like her brother, Raven has the ability to transform into a corvid, specifically a raven. This ability was bestowed upon her by Ozpin through magic.

Maiden Powers
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.

As the Spring Maiden, her power can be used to open the chamber at Haven Academy, which contains the Relic of Knowledge. Her eyes gain a dark red aura when she demonstrates her powers, which is possibly the reason why she wears her Grimm mask often. 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, using them to supercharge her weaponry, release it in close ranged strikes, and generate fields of electricity around her. Lastly, she demonstrates the ability to fly.

Physical 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 practiced by Adam Taurus, as seen when she first engages Neopolitan. Though after her initial attack, she challenges Neo with a more traditional stance, indicating a more intricate fighting style.

Semblance
Raven's Semblance allows her to create portals to instantly teleport to people she has bonded with. While she is never seen using her portals directly for combat, she has 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. Raven can also allow other people through her portals, as she did with Weiss and Yang. In each instance, she swings her sword to create the portals. She has bonded with at least four people:
 * Taiyang Xiao Long
 * Qrow Branwen
 * Yang Xiao Long
 * Vernal †

Past
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 Huntsman, 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 he also gave Raven and Qrow the ability to shape-shift into birds to 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.

She 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 distance herself from Ozpin. Qrow, however, never returned to the tribe, seeing them as "killers and thieves," and had 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 abandoned her responsibilities, and accepted her into the tribe. Despite giving her training in her abilities, Raven found her too weak to take advantage of her power and killed her out of "mercy," inheriting the Maiden powers as a result. Shortly after, she assigns one of her tribesmen to serve as her decoy. Said tribesman renamed herself Vernal to complete the ruse.

Mountain Glenn
Raven makes her debut in the episode "No Brakes", where she intervenes in the fight between Yang and Neopolitan just before Neo could deliver the killing blow on an unconscious Yang. Her mere presence appears to deeply frighten Neo, who immediately breaks off and teleports away. Yang regains consciousness just in time to see her mysterious savior disappear into a red and black rift.

In a post-credits sequence during the Volume 2 finale, "Breach", Raven and Yang apparently meet again, this time in front of the main statue at Beacon Academy. When Yang asks her who she is, she tilts her head down and removes her mask, revealing an uncanny facial resemblance to Yang before stating they have much to discuss.

Vytal Festival Tournament
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 information that can help her track Raven down.

Meeting in Higanbana
Several months after the fall of Beacon, Raven meets Qrow 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, saying 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 on the relic, Raven refuses to tell Qrow whether or not she knows where the Spring Maiden is, and she leaves.

Raids in Anima
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.

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 become Huntsmen, that Ozpin was very interested in Team STRQ and shared many secrets with them and that there is a being named Salem who leads the Grimm 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.

Dealings with Cinder
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.

Attack on Haven
On the night of the full moon, Raven watches over Lionheart in her corvid 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 asking 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 not surprised 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 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. 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. Another feather falls from her.

Canon

 * Raven vs. Neopolitan (Won; enemy withdrew)
 * Raven vs. Qrow (Interrupted)
 * Raven vs. Cinder (Won)

Canon

 * Beacon Dance
 * Battle of Beacon
 * Battle of Haven

Etymology

 * Raven alludes to Huginn from Norse mythology.
 * Branwen is Welsh, meaning "blessed white raven/crow", which corresponds to her first name. Raven can also refer to as a certain number of bird species in the genus Corvus, or in reference to the color black.
 * As well as the fact that their first names, Raven and Qrow (crow), are both black birds in the genus Corvus. Specifically, ravens are a type of crow.
 * During the scene where Yang talks about her search for Raven and being saved by her uncle Qrow in "Burning the Candle", the text on the chalkboard (enlarged) is an extract from a poem about Huginn and Muninn, two ravens from Norse mythology. The text supposedly reads:
 * :Hugin and Munin fly each day over the spacious earth.
 * :I fear for Hugin, that he not come back, yet more anxious am I for Munin.

Notes & Trivia
For information on her character allusion and other choices for the character made by the creators, see Raven Branwen/Behind the Scenes.
 * She wears the same necklace as Neo and Coco Adel.
 * Her mask appears to be a more elaborately-styled version of the Grimm Masks worn by the White Fang.
 * Notably, her mask and feathered hair give her an appearance markedly similar to a Nevermore, likely referencing her name.
 * The red and black portal that Raven uses is visually similar to the one created by Cinder's glove in "Beginning of the End". A similar looking portal is seen in both the Volume 1 and Volume 3 Opening animations.
 * Since Yang never mentions actually meeting Raven during her conversation with Qrow, it can be assumed that the post credit scene in Volume 2 is some kind of dream or vision.