Tyrian Callows

"My heart and body belong only to our goddess!"

- Tyrian proclaiming his devotion to Salem.

"Oh, the rose has thorns! My little flower, I'm here to whisk you away with me!"

- Tyrian, to Ruby Rose.

Tyrian Callows is a major antagonist in the American web cartoon series RWBY. He is a member of Salem's Faction.

He is voiced by Josh Grelle, who also voices Demigra and Yukiteru Amano.

Appearance
Tyrian is a pale man with a brown braided ponytail and gold eyes. He wears a white sleeveless jacket with leather belts strapped to it, along with white pants. His jacket is left open, exposing his bare chest, which is criss-crossed with prominent scars. His arms are covered with purple bandages and leather vambraces. He also wears leather boots covering his entire shin with knee guards. On each earlobe is a silver, ring-shaped earring, and near the top of his left ear is another matching earring. In the episode "Menagerie", he appears in a dark brown jacket which he wears open the same way he does his white.

In "Tipping Point", it is revealed that his animal trait as a Faunus is a scorpion stinger which protrudes from his back. When not in use, he disguises it by wrapping it around his belt. His eyes can also change color from gold to purple. The stinger is separated from the tail after Ruby cut it off with Crescent Rose.

Volume 4
In "The Next Step", Tyrian attends a meeting at Salem's Domain along with Watts, Cinder and Hazel. Tyrian encourages Cinder to seek revenge on Ruby Rose for the loss of her left eye. Salem later orders Tyrian to continue his search for the Spring Maiden. However, upon hearing Cinder's concern about Ruby, she reassigns him to track Ruby down and bring her back alive. Tyrian promises to take one of Ruby's eyes for Cinder before bursting into maniacal laughter.

In "Menagerie", Tyrian arrives at Higanbana and asks a waitress for information on Ruby's whereabouts.

In "Tipping Point", Tyrian intercepts Team RNJR at Oniyuri and attacks them. When questioned about who he is, Tyrian tells them his name doesn't matter and he's only interested in Ruby, whom he declares will be coming with him. During their fight, Tyrian reveals he is a scorpion Faunus, which makes Ruby question if this is about the White Fang or Roman Torchwick. Tyrian calls them nothing but pawns and states he only serves his "goddess". Despite Team RNJR's efforts, Tyrian easily defeats them and incapacitates Ruby. However, before he can strike her with his stinger, Qrow Branwen intervenes and blocks the attack.

In "Punished", Tyrian has a quick talk with Qrow before engaging him in battle. Ruby attempts to rejoin the fight despite Qrow's warnings and Tyrian knocks her into an unstable building; causing Qrow to come save her from falling debris. Tyrian takes the opportunity to strike Qrow across the abdomen with his stinger; poisoning him. However, Ruby severs Tyrian's stinger from his extended tail with Crescent Rose, causing him to scream in pain. Surrounded and too injured to continue fighting, Tyrian flees the area, hoping Salem will forgive him for his failure.

In "Taking Control", Tyrian returns to Salem's Domain and grovels before Salem. He tells Salem that though he failed to retrieve Ruby like she asked, he managed to poison Qrow and remove him as a threat; asking if he's still pleased her with this action. Salem nonetheless expresses disappointment in Tyrian, causing him to break down into tears and bawl. When a nearby Beowolf attempts to attack him, Tyrian viciously kills it before taking his grief out on its corpse; stabbing it repeatedly as his cries turn into maniacal laughter.

Volume 5
In "Dread in the Air", when Salem hears that Qrow is alive and well, she orders Cinder to summon Tyrian to her conference room so she can "have a word with him".

Volume 6
In "So That's How it Is", Tyrian returns with a new mechanical tail made by Dr. Watts. He mocks Hazel, Mercury Black, and Emerald Sustrai on their defeat at Haven Academy, enraging Emerald when he mocks the supposed death of Cinder. She threatens him and cuts his face, but he only laughs manically. He later attends a meeting called by Salem, where he offers to stop the Beacon students from delivering the Relic of Knowledge to Atlas. However, Hazel reveals that Ozpin is still alive, prompting Salem to dismiss Tyrian and the others before unleashing her rage.

In "Lost", Tyrian gives Emerald and Mercury some advice about how far they want to go, before telling them that he and Watts have been assigned to a special mission to go to Atlas.

RWBY: Amity Arena
Tyrian is an upcoming unit in RWBY: Amity Arena, teased in promotional material.

Personality
Tyrian was described to his voice actor Josh Grelle, as psychotic incarnate, and someone who wants to see the world burn. He is also a highly kooky, unstable and maladjusted individual. He frequently bursts into fits of uncontrollable and maniacal laughter, and relishes in gruesome thoughts, such as removing one of Ruby Rose's eyes in revenge for her taking one of Cinder Fall's. He is also extremely effervescent, vivacious and gleeful when instructed to find Ruby, though is disappointed when told he must capture her alive. Another one of his eccentricities is sitting in a crouching position in his chair.

He finds amusement in taunting his opponents while he fights and shows joy when Team RNJR will not allow him to take Ruby without a fight, indicating a level of bloodlust. When he appears to have the upper hand in a fight, he becomes overconfident and careless, letting himself take hits as long as he can continue to press the advantage. He also has a flair for the dramatic, wildly posturing and gesturing with deliberate dramatic pauses as if he were giving a stage performance.

His instability is evident when he suffers from a mental breakdown after hearing he disappointed Salem. Tyrian proceeds to cry in despair before viciously retaliating against a Beowolf which lunges at him and regaining a sense of his sadistic joy as he does so.

Fighting
Tyrian is shown to have incredible speed, able to dash behind an opponent and strike before they can even blink. He is also strong enough to block an attack from a fully charged Nora Valkyrie with ease and is able to overpower Team RNJR without much effort; while the latter couldn't even touch him. While he displays traits that may suggest otherwise, he is incredibly combat efficient, is smart enough to know which targets to prioritize, and had the forethought to hide his Faunus trait in order to get an advantage against Team RNJR. His fighting style makes effective use of all five of his limbs, allowing him to engage multiple opponents with minimal difficulty. However, his style is not flawless, and his chaotic mindset does leave him open to attacks from superior strategists, which resulted in the loss of his stinger, albeit after delivering a near-fatal dose of venom to Qrow Branwen.

According to Cinder, Tyrian is strong enough to kill fully trained Huntsmen.

Weapons
Tyrians's weapon of choice is a set of wrist blades attached to his vambraces equipped with firearms.

He also uses his stinger in combat, which he can contract and extend at will. The stinger happens to be remarkably durable as it blocks Nora's attack, even when Nora was powered up by an electric shot from Crescent Rose. Much like how scorpion stingers are usually a conduit for venom, Tyrian's stinger can inject venom when used as a barb, as seen when he grazed Qrow Branwen with it. When he intends to sting someone, his eyes turn dark purple. After the battle against Qrow and Team RNJR, he lost his stinger along with a portion of his tail. His venom was potent enough to corrode stone and incapacitate someone who was simply grazed by his stinger within less than a day.

Quotes
"If I were you, I'd hunt her down. Find her and, well, she took your eye, didn't she?"

- Tyrian, to Cinder, about Ruby Rose.

"Eye for an eye."

- Tyrian, to Cinder, after the meeting.

"Excuse me. I was hoping you could … help me find someone."

- Tyrian, to Higanbana Waitress.

"Why, friend, my name is Tyrian. And I'm afraid that is not possible. My assignment from Her Grace was to retrieve this young girl. So, that is what I must do. One does not upset the Queen."

- Tyrian to Qrow Branwen.

"You bitch!"

- Tyrian, to Ruby Rose after his tail is cut off.

"She'll forgive you."

- Tyrian to himself about Salem.

"But-but hope is not lost! My tail, my stinger … I-I poisoned him, Qrow! He would not be a nuisance to you any longer, no … no longer! Have I done well? Have I pleased you?"

- Tyrian, to Salem.

Trivia

 * Tyrian is a shade of purple, similar to the color of the venom from his tail, and that of his eyes when he is prepared to use it.
 * Callows can mean lacking in color or firmness, typically referring to when insects or other arthropods, such as spiders, shed their exoskeleton, and something that is unfledged and immature.
 * Tyrian's wrist blades resemble the pedipalp pincers of a scorpion, which is consistent with the fact that he is a scorpion Faunus.
 * In the Japanese dub, Tyrian is voiced by Yoku Shioya.
 * Tyrian shares many traits with the villain Syura from Akame Ga Kill.
 * 1) Both have an obsessive desire to prove themselves to their master and become emotionally-unstable when they've displeased them (Honest for Syura and Salem for Tyrian).
 * 2) Both enjoy the emotional and physical torment of their victims.
 * 3) Both have a distinctive X-shaped scar (Tyrian on his chest and Syura on his face).
 * 4) Both have a habit of becoming overconfident and showing off, which leads to their defeat (Syura revealed to Lubbock where Shambhala's teleport markers were and Tyrian dropped his guard when he slashed Qrow with his tail, allowing Ruby to cut off his stinger).