Faunus

Faunus (singular Faunus) are one of the two intelligent races that inhabit Remnant, the other race being Humans. While Faunus resemble Humans, they are often easily distinguishable from the latter in that they possess the traits of animals. Faunus are similar to Humans, except for the fact that they share certain traits with animals. Some types of Faunus are more common than others, with some being extremely rare. Faunus with mammalian traits, in general, seem to be quite common.   Some have been shown to have animal ears (those of a cat and a rabbit and many other possible mammals). Some Faunus with animal ears also appear to have a set of Human ears, and some Faunus have animal ears in place of human ears. Other Faunus have been shown to have horns protruding from their heads. Some Faunus may have tails. In some cases, a Faunus may have a trait that is not immediately apparent, such as protractible claws. Some may even have traits that augment their mobility such as bat wings, which presumably grant the natural ability to fly. Arachnid Faunus possess the ability to secrete substances natural to their Faunus heritage, such as scorpion venom and spider silk. In general, wings and mermaid-like fish tails are rather rare, and in the case of mermaid-like Faunus, the trait can be a disability by making it hard to walk. Thus, the Shallow Sea makes life manageable for mermaid-like Faunus.   It has been said that Faunus can only have a single physical trait in common with their animal. However, this only seems to apply to body appendages and the dermis. In addition to these traits, most (but not all) Faunus have remarkable night vision, a trait that they use to great effect in combat, and some seem capable of producing animal sounds. In addition, Faunus have been shown on multiple occasions to possess other non-physical traits and behaviors of the animals that they are based on.   Faunus are genetically compatible with humans, though the children of such unions are typically always Faunus. Faunus do not automatically have the same animal trait as their Faunus parents (especially those born to two Faunus with different traits), though many do.   Faunus have attributes of various animals from various classes. The Faunus traits range from ears, skin, fins, claws, to additional limbs like tails and wings. Faunus with minor traits like ears and retractable claws can pass as Human. Some fish Faunus have a fully fish tail, which is the most drastic departure from the human body shape we have seen so far.   Many Mammal Faunus are seen, typically with animal ears or tails. They have also been shown with claws, teeth or horns. Depending on the positioning of their animal ears, some mammal Faunus have twin pairs of ears, one human and one animal. Reptilian Faunus are rare and usually have scaled skin. Chameleon traits like being able to change their skin are especially rare, allowing to blend in perfectly with other humans. Fish Faunus are seen in Menagerie and are also considered rare while being known as Remnant's version of mermaids. Winged Faunus are another rare type of Faunus in Remnant. Arachnid Faunus are rare and have very non-human alterations to their bodies. Pig Faunus with ears as a trait have exceptional hearing. Wolf Faunus with ears as a trait have increased hearing and night vision.   Creation Myths   The God of Animals is a shapeshifting Faunus deity appearing in the stories of The Shallow Sea and The Judgement of Faunus, two Faunus creation myths in Remnant.   In The Shallow Sea, the God of Animals is shown to recluse themselves in Menagerie, where they bring a small group of people into the island and transform them into the Faunus. While being based on a myth, it holds some truth to it. However, this story has fallen out of favor after the Great War as the concept of a magical island is somewhat insulting to modern Faunus.   In The Judgement of Faunus, a conflicting Faunus creation myth, the God of Animals stops a war between mankind and the animal kingdom by transforming them into the Faunus, making them equals and without a reason to fight. Despite being a contradictory creation tale, Historians claim it contains no less truth than The Shallow Sea.   The god's powers includes shapeshifting and transforming others into all kinds of forms, at one point taking the form of even mythological creatures such as a roc.   The Faunus cast their god as a wise and noble figure, while mankind's stories portray them as a trickster who is not to be trusted, which is telling of a discriminatory foundation against the Faunus. Notably, the Faunus fairy tales are open-ended and as a result tend to be either bittersweet or depressing, as they have a belief that their story is still unfolding in the present day and they have yet to uncover their true purpose.   The god's existence is questionable as to whether it is true, but they are described in The Shallow Sea as having ram horns when revealing themselves and having branching horns in The Judgement of Faunus, indicating they may be the Deity Brothers in disguise.   History   Early History Little is known about the origin of the Faunus, and scientists still currently struggle to discover or understand anything about them. Despite what some might think, though, Faunus are not in fact as old as Humans, as they were not present during the time when the gods were on Remnant, only appearing after they had left.   Humans' discrimination toward Faunus began early, due to how startling Humans found it that Faunus looked and acted like them but had animalistic features that were sometimes frightening, such as fangs. This discrimination only grew through rumors and stories that spread fear and suspicion. It was not uncommon for Humans to chase Faunus out of their villages or even to hunt them down and kill them.   At some point in history, a village in Sanus fell under attack from the Creatures of Grimm, and its survival was thanks solely to the fact that Humans and Faunus worked together to defeat the invading Grimm. After this event, Humans grew to realize that Faunus were not that different from them after all. However, rather than treating them equally, Humans used the Faunus' differences from them to exploit and continue to discriminate against them.   Great War After the end of the Great War, the Faunus were given equal rights and the continent of Menagerie as compensation for previous treatment. Some saw the gift of Menagerie as fair and just, while others saw it as a slap in the face from sore losers. Over time, it became apparent that Humanity was adamant about centralizing all Faunus there as a form of segregation.   Faunus Rights Revolution In recent history, Humans began countermanding the equal rights won by the Faunus in the Great War and attempted to confine all Faunus to Menagerie. The Faunus began to revolt against this, and thus the Faunus Rights Revolution began. Given that Faunus live amongst the Humans in the present day, it can be deduced that the Faunus were at least successful in both reclaiming their rights and preventing their confinement to Menagerie. While still being able to live anywhere on Remnant, including the four Kingdoms, there are Faunus who still live on Menagerie, seeing it as a safe haven.   Present Day Despite whatever material gains the Faunus achieved during the revolution, they remain a subject of discrimination. Human shops refuse to do business with Faunus, bars contain "No Faunus" signs, refusing to offer service to any faunus that arrive. the treatment they receive varies from place to place, but locations like Beacon Academy and Vacuo appear to be host to less discrimination than others, such as Atlas and Mistral which are the most discriminatory towards them. Mantle contained a slum directly under Atlas inhabited mostly by Faunus, the city segregated to enough of an extent that a Human woman objects to going there "with those animals". It's been shown that Atlas and Mistral are the two kingdoms containing the most bias and racism for the Faunus, while the kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo have a more tolerant and accepting view of the Faunus. For example, it was shown that, at one point in its' history, Vacuo had a Faunus monarch. However, even the more tolerant kingdoms are not immune to prejudice.   Since the White Fang's turn to violence five years prior, the Faunus had begun receiving better treatment. However, some people (including other Faunus) criticize and dislike the methods through which the White Fang achieved this, due to it being through fear of the White Fang's retribution, rather than genuine respect. These violent tactics have also established conflict between the White Fang and the Schnee Dust Company. The S.D.C. in particular, was known for mistreatment of it's Faunus workers, with it's former CEO Jacques Schnee claiming to be trying to help his faunus workers in Mantle while actually being apathetic towards the situation. Many of his workers had been killed in accidents due to constantly being forced to work in unsafe conditions.