God of Darkness

"The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife. At night, his brother would wake to see all the things the elder had made and become disgusted. To counteract his brother's creations, the God of Darkness brought drought, fire, famine, all he could do to rid Remnant of life."

- Qrow Branwen The God of Darkness is a minor, yet extremely influential character in the American web cartoon RWBY and, by extension, its manga adaptation/prequel and video game. He is the cause of darkness and destruction in the world of Remnant, but is also one of the creators of humanity.

History
The story of the God of Darkness and the God of Light is a religion within RWBY, though several prominent characters such as Ozpin and Qrow believe it is true.

In the beginning of Remnant, there existed two deities: a pair of brothers. The older brother was the God of Light, and the younger was the God of Darkness. The older brother took great pleasure in creating forces of life, light, and prosperity in the world. The younger brother hated these creations and would create forces of destruction, death, and darkness to remove his brother's creations from the world. However, life always prospered.

In an extreme attempt to finally rid Remnant of life, the God of Darkness created the Creatures of Grimm to help him destroy everything that the God of Light had made. After the Grimm were created, the God of Light decided that their feud would continue no further. He defeated his brother, then proposed that they make one final creation together, one that share their ideals and views. The God of Darkness agreed, and together they made humanity, which was capable of both creation and destruction. They also gave humanity the ability to choose, and the ability to gain the knowledge to make the choices.

Before the gods abandoned Remnant, they left behind physical manifestations of the four gifts they bestowed upon humanity: choice, knowledge, creation, and destruction. If any were to collect them all, they could alter the world as they see fit. These relics are the desired goal for the villainous Salem, though her intentions with them are currently unknown.

Personality
The God of Darkness is wrathful and powerful. He despises life and desires only destruction and chaos. It is unknown how long he feuded with his brother, but it is assumed that he is determined and competitive, doing whatever it takes to win. Though he eventually agreed to help create humanity, he gave them a spirit of destruction, meaning his agreement was not a redemption or change of heart. He later abandoned Remnant for unknown reasons. He may have also been envious of his brother's creations.

Trivia

 * The story of the deity brothers is just one of the many religions in the RWBY universe. Several other religions have been hinted at, as shown by sayings, cultures, churches, and other religious architecture throughout the series. Examples of these include:
 * A church in the "Volume 4 Character Short".
 * The vault underneath Beacon Academy.
 * The "White Castle", which may or may not be a religious building.
 * A line from Glyndia Goodwitch stating that the existence of the Maidens contradicts years of human religion.
 * Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long's uses of a singular "god" in exclamations, while a ship captain uses plural "gods" in a similar fashion.
 * Faunus culture, as the story only mentions the creation of humans.
 * It is currently unknown if the story, being a religion, is fictional or true.
 * The gods are first explained by Qrow in "A Much Needed Talk", the eighth episode of Volume 4.