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 supporting antagonist introduced in Volume 4 of RWBY. He is a member of Salem's Faction tasked with hunting down Ruby Rose.

He is voiced by Josh Grelle, who is also the voice of Demigra.

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. He encouraged Cinder to seek revenge on Ruby Rose for the loss of her left eye. He is later ordered by Salem to continue his search for the Spring Maiden, but upon Cinder's concern about Ruby Rose, is then reassigned to hunt down Ruby and bring her back to Salem's Domain. Before departing, Tyrian promised to take one of Ruby's eyes for Cinder while laughing maniacally.

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 and what he wants, he tells them that, aside from Jaune, he has no interest in them and only matters to Ruby, whom he says will be coming with him. During their fight, Tyrian reveals himself to be a scorpion Faunus, which makes Ruby wonder if this has to do with the White Fang or Roman Torchwick. Tyrian scoffs at her, calling them pawns and stating that his loyalties only belong to his "goddess". Despite their efforts, Tyrian easily overwhelms Team RNJR and knocks Ruby to the ground. But before he can strike her with his stinger, Qrow intervenes in the fight and blocks the attack.

In "Punished", Tyrian engages in small talk with Qrow before engaging him in battle. During their fight, Ruby attempts to rejoin the battle against Qrow's wishes, and Tyrian knocks her into an unstable building. Qrow is forced to save Ruby from falling debris, giving Tyrian the opportunity to strike him across the abdomen with his stinger; poisoning him. However, Ruby severs Tyrian's stinger from his extended tail in the process, causing him to scream in pain. Surrounded and too injured to continue fighting, Tyrian decides to flee the area, hoping Salem will forgive him for his failure.

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

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 extrememy 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 quite strong, able to block a fully charged attack from Nora Valkyrie and overpower all of Team RNJR with little to no effort, while the latter were unable to even touch him. Despite his unstable and psychotic demeanor, he's an efficient combatant, prioritizing which targets to strike first and being smart enough to hide his tail to gain a surprise advantage against Team RNJR.

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. It is also remarkably durable, as it could block Nora's attack even when she was powered up by an electric shot from Crescent Rose. Much like how regular scorpion's stingers are a conduit for it's venom, Tyrian is able to inject poison from his stinger, as seen he was able to graze Qrow's abdomen with it, severely numbing and weakening him.

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.
 * "Callow" is an Old English word meaning "immature" or "unsophisticated", which is a possible reference to Tyrian's childish and unstable behavior.
 * Tyrian's wrist blades resemble the pedipalp pincers of a scorpion, which is consistent with the fact that he is a scorpion Faunus.
 * Tyrian's psychopathic tendencies are eerily reminiscent of the Joker, especially his Arkhamverse incarnation.
 * Tyrian is similar to Nuka from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, as they are mentally unstable, childish and utterly devoted to their mother figures.