Team SYRA

— Ametihtia (Amy) Orestes

Team SYRA
Colors	Sapphire Blue Jade (Yu), Realgar (Red-Orange) Amethyst Purple
Professional Status
Status	Disbanded (Post-Timeskip)
Leader	Sapphyre Nilshikha
Members	Yulon Xueshan Ragla Ermont Ametihtia Orestes

This page features art and designs belonging to BloodyRosalia.
Do not edit or use these characters without permission.

Team SYRA ("Sierra") is a team of first-year Huntresses at Beacon Academy, comprised of four girls named Saphyr (Sapphyre) Nilshikha, Yulon Xueshan, Ragla Ermont, and Ametihtia (Amy) Orestes.

The four girls came from different regions of Remnant to attend the same school. During initiation in the Emerald Forest, Sapphyre paired with Ragla, while Yulon was with Amy. However, both pairs were chased to the unsanctioned Gangreen Bog, which is where they first fought as a team against an unrecognized crocodile Grimm. When they returned to the forest, they were left with the Black Rook chess pieces.

This RWBY fan-team, along with Team COTN, belongs to and has been created/drawn by BloodyRosalia on deviantArt.

Her most recent project (2019) was a comic for Team ARTE, in which Team SYRA cameos in.

The rival team of the 4 girls is Team BERL ("Beryl"), a group of 4 huntsmen named Beryllius ("Barrel") Bluebuster, Ecru Squall, Rox Stonehenge, and Lapis Tzuli. Each will be mentioned and depicted on the individual pages of SYRA. Team BERL is created by Storygazer, who is the main writer for the trailers and fanfiction linked below.

Theme

Team SYRA Reveal

^{"Sapphire skies surround me and guide my hopes to a false identity,}

^{You are born fragile yet flawlessly fly in a Jaded, broken world.}

^{Realgar ignites, roaming in radiance of truth, and}

^{Amethyst the star, arises alone."}

— Yulon, then Amy, during first night in the dorm.

Members

[Lead]	Sapphyre Nilshikha ("Saff-fur") is designated team leader, however her frequent absences from both classes and dorm life depreciates the importance of a leader for Team SYRA. Saf is an all-around attacker, having perks in both close and far ranges of combat. She plays more of a supportive role, and works best on ground and in forested environments. Ambushing tactics and habits of shooting from afar are usually why she prefers long-range. She has knowledge on weapon building and dust implementation, but rarely does the opportunity arise to use it.
[2nd]	Yulon Xueshan ("You-lahn") is the unofficial strategist and analyst of the team. She is also the most materialistic and always plans on how to use the most of her environment. Yulon is primarily seen as the only potential aerial striker on the team and best fights in places with open-air environments and many walls. She is also the only member truly capable of martial arts. Her knowledge of a variety of transportation vehicles rarely comes in handy, but is available.
[3rd]	Ragla Ermont ("Ray-gluh") is often seen as a soloist in terms of battle. Although known for her tastes in art and literature, she is also versed in proper dueling etiquette. Ragla can only attack from the front-lines, due to her swords' reach and weaker hand-to-hand, she prefers moving environments and attacking groups of enemies at once. She is seen as the most mobile on the ground, thus giving her a scout role on her team. Her weapon, which produces flames, can be used to limit the battlefield or for escape.
[4th]	Ametihtia Orestes, often called by "Amy," is the cheerleader and distraction specialist of the team. She fights with the most noise and enthusiasm. Amy is the "daredevil" of the group, often whipping up crazy battle schemes and charging into battle recklessly. She is capable of both close-up and side-line battles, but would prefer to confront her enemies straight up. Her weapons can carry electrical charges; Amy herself is also somewhat of a weapons and explosives encyclopedia, but prefers to keep that hidden.

Detailed statistics can be found on the Team SYRA: Statistics page. Quick stats are available on the pages of the individual members.

Directory

BloodyRosalia's Artwork
Characters
Team SYRA	Sapphyre Nilshikha ~ Yulon Xueshan ~ Ragla Ermont ~ Ametihtia (Amy) Orestes
Team COTN	Cygnette Lake ~ Ochre Lancelin ~ Thorne Peredur ~ Nericcia Faye
Collaboration	Team ARTE (Artery) & Comic
Commission
Team BLAC	Billow Grey ~ Luxia Gold ~ Asha White ~ Conifer Black
Team PTCH	Pepper Periwyn ~ Carmez Tusca ~ Ashton Charcol ~ Azura Hono
Team CBLT	Caelia Blanc ~ Beryl Stal ~ Lily Rozsaszin ~ Tyrian Burgund

This directory lists wikia pages that utilize BloodyRosalia's artwork. For all of her art, check her gallery on deviantArt.

Literature

Trailer Fiction & Theme Songs

• Sapphyre's Trailer, "Woods"

  

  Artwork of SYRA done for a 2015 RWBY OC Artbook, titled "Warriors of Remnant." This is a watermarked version.

  • Deep and vast as the blue skies above, to soar true and farther beyond any horizon...is man’s illusion of freedom.
    • "Identity Sequence" by Zircon (ft. Jillian Aversa)
• Yulon's Trailer, "Skies"
  • To lack the flawed view of perfection is no different than to lack the limited vision of an ideal world.
    • "The World" by Yuki Kajiura
• Ragla's Trailer, "Rails"
  • I will wander, stray from all the uncertainties the world has wrought onto me, for I am able to create my own destiny.
    • "Radiance" by Mami Kawada
• Amy's Trailer, "Floors"
  • It’s ridiculous to say that “funny” can be thought of as “silly,” because if you think about it, those crazy words come into play too often.
    • "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett

Story (Season 1)

— Saf, then Ragla, while sharing recommendations on reading.

Yearbook pictures featuring the team members in their school uniforms. Ragla is noticing the noise in the next booth over...

The story for season 1 spans the duration of Volume 1 and 2.

Chapter 1 "Your limited sky, my unlimited dreams."	A soon-to-be graduate from Signal runs into a young thief. The true crime, however, lies in those who forced the child's hand.
Chapter 2 "Those strangers we follow, those friends we make."	The chaos of the first day at Beacon unites many future friends. But not all first impressions are well received.
Chapter 3 "Their old challenge, our new game."	The beginnings of a somewhat dysfunctional team and adventure. Not all matches were made in heaven, it seems.
Chapter 4 "They, divided and conquered. Us, united and victorious."	Surviving Gangreen Bog was easier argued than done. Yet, will someone's words emerge as those of a leader?
Chapter 5 "A ruler over none, a leader besides all."	A question of team leadership and silly slogans. After all her absences, Ms. Nilshikha finds time to make amends.
Chapter 6 "His temper, easily lost. Her forgiveness, hardly earned."	Pride can bring a perfectionist so far. Fed up with each other's attitude, Yulon and Rox arrange a duel.
Chapter 7 "Too late to be young, too early to be old."	Even the respectful may have trouble understanding immaturity. Ragla seeks help from classmates about her local troublemaker.
Chapter 8 "All in a day's play, all in a night's work."	Amy and Saf reunite with the former thief, only to discover trouble. Without invite, they join and disrupt a boarding party.
Chapter 9 "All hands off deck, all paths on course."	Meddling Huntresses are the most efficient. A second battle with Sparx may not end as well as last time.
Chapter 10 "A human tongue, a beast's fangs."	Ragla accompanies Yulon for a small errand. After outsmarting Dinero, the pair encounter an even trickier man.
Chapter 11 "Claws honed for peace, knight of forged truths."	Betrayal has always been a complex business practice. An escape attempt forces Yulon to reconsider whom she trusts.
Chapter 12 "Her mind of clarity, his mind of chaos." (WIP)	With her partner absent, Ragla heads to town with a classmate. Upon separation, she meets one with far more ambitious plans.

Story (Season 2)

— Lapis to Barrel

Yearbook pictures for members of Team BERL, a "rival" team of boys that are also first year Beacon students.

The story for season 2 spans the duration of Volume 3. It was put on hiatus.

Tag Team Attacks

Technique-based Pairings:

This was a b-day gift for the person A was based on. Team SYRA in battle.

"(Ha!) You just got bluejayed!" (Communicated afterwards by Saphyr.) A tag team combo with Yulon in which Saphyr shoots a seemingly inaccurate arrow that is later deflected and redirected using Yulon's fans. The same can occur when Saphyr uses her sword or even shoots an arrow to deflect one of Yulon's daggers into the right direction.

"Fan the flames!" (Communicated before by Saphyr or Ragla.) Ragla creates a circular wall of fire to block a projectile attack from an enemy while Yulon throws knives through the flames to strike the enemy on the other side. If Ragla calls this name, Yulon will instead swing Ragla using the longer cord of her fan, so that the flamethrower's effect can extend to a greater range.

Sequence-based Pairings:

"Three of swords!" (Communicated before by Saphyr.) Saphyr and Ragla consolidate their three blades into a team attack, where each take consecutive turns attacking an enemy with their swords.

"Bring in the Thunderbird!" (Communicated by Saphyr or Amy.) With Amy's axes charged, she and Yulon take turns striking the enemy from opposite sides. Both have dual weapons, making this turn-based combo quicker than the version comprising of the other 2 members. If Amy says this phrase, Yulon will swing Amy using the cord of her fan to launch her further, so that Amy can reach the enemy with her electrified weapons.

Dust-based Pairings:

"Strike 'em with blue lightning!" (Communicated before by Saphyr or Amy) Amy shoots several lightning shotgun rounds that combine with the ice dust on the arrowheads of Saphyr's arrows. If spoken by Amy, Saphyr will shoot an arrow between Amy's bullets, creating an breakable piece of ice than creates an electric explosion as well as an ice mist.

"Firestorm incoming!" (Communicated during by Saphyr or Amy) Ragla coordinates her weapon's flamethrower capacity with Amy's bullets, which contain electric dust. If spoken by Amy, Ragla will instead remove a fire dust crystal from her weapon and throw it in the enemy's direction, while Amy shoots the crystal with an electric-infused dust bullet.

Trivia

Trivia and allusions pertaining to each team member can be found on the pages of the individual character, which are linked above.

• The word Sierra is based of the color of sierra brown. "Sierra" also means "mountain range," which are typically seen as blue from afar. This secondary color matches the blue color themes of the team leader.

• The theme for Team SYRA is "cultural mountain minerals."

  

  This was a b-day gift for the person R was based on. Team SYRA in uniform.

  • Sapphyre's culture themes are centered on Mexico (due to weapon name) and India (due to her surname), however the actual Sapphire Mountains are present in Montana, USA.
  • Yulon's culture themes are centered around China; her name is literally the name of 玉龙雪山, a mountain in China. Her mineral is Jade, which is pronounced "yu," the first character of her name and the mountain's name.
    • The secondary mineral could've potentially been silver, or "yin" in Chinese.
  • Ragla's culture themes are centered in England's Medieval and Nordic times. However, her symbol and weapons have associated her with Japan.
    • Realgar is an red-orange mineral made of arsenic and sulfur. There is "xiong huangshan, 雄黄山“ in China which is literally "realgar mountain." However, for the sake of variation, the name Realgar has been matched with Montreal, which makes Ragla the only OC without a proper mountain.
    • Realgar can be used in wine, explosives and poisons.
  • Amy's culture themes are based on Greece (due to her name) and the modern US. Amethyst Mountain is present in Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, USA.
• The distinction between the blue irises of Amy's and Ragla's eyes is hard to notice, however Amy has slightly darker irises than Ragla.
• The theme songs of each character also have a different genre to them, the titles of each song are related to the Team's poem/theme. (Dance/Electronic, New Age, Pop/World, and Rock.)

Allusions

This was a b-day gift for the person Y was based on. Team SYRA in formal event attire.

• There has been links to other characters and figures for the four girls:
  • Sapphyre has been alluded Robin Hood, which was originally spelt "Robyn," similar to how Sapphire has been changed to Sapphyre. The ability to split arrows is similar.
  • Yulon's weapons, Jade Empresses, and her abbreviated name, "Yu," allude to Empress Wu of China, the only known female emperor of China.
  • Ragla is a derivative of the Germanic names Raganhildis and Reinhold. A  female saint named Reineldis was famous for her pilgrimages and held a sword as a symbol of being a martyr.
  • Amethysts have been mentioned in Greek mythology to prevent drunkeness; creation myths and poems tell of a young girl named Amethyste, who was transformed into the gem to avoid the pursuit of Bacchus, the god of wine.
• Tale 129 of the Brothers Grimm is "The Four Skillful Brothers," which could be applied in reverse to the team, which Sapphyre and Amy claim is comprised of "Four Sisters."
  • The eldest, the thief, represents the youngest, Sapphyre, who is an allusion to Robin Hood and is the most stealth-based on the team.
  • The second oldest, the astronomer, represents the second youngest, Ragla, who has an affinity for science-based knowledge.
  • The third eldest, the huntsman, represents the second oldest, Amy, the only gun-wielder of the group and individual with a military background.
  • The youngest, the tailor, implies the eldest, Yulon, who is a perfectionist and prefers to wear oriental dresses, which she may simply make herself.
• Since black chess retrievers can be associated with antagonistic allusions, some of the members of Team SYRA can be alluded to female villains in history:
  • Yulon's empress and dragon themes link her to Empress Dowager Cixi of China, who led the Boxer Rebellion. (Cixi was also called the Dragon Empress.)
  • Amy, when considering the name of the original person, can be alluded to Abigail Williams, a girl who incited the Salem Witch Trials and resulted in the execution of many women.

Development

The initial designs for the team members.

The four OCs of team SYRA are based on BloodyRosalia's four, real-life friends, particularly their personality and appearances, who were given the four slap-bands that the artist won from Rooster Teeth's Movie Poster Contest. The one who received the slap-band with Ruby Rose's emblem was designated the first slot in the team, etc.

The initial designs for Ragla and Amy are most different from the final designs. For Ragla, her original, hooded outfit was based on the standard outfit of protagonists from the Assassin's Creed series. For Amy, her jacket was far shorter and she was given a white, frilly blouse. There is a small change for Yulon, which involves the disappearance of the tassels that decorate the end of the fans.

The development of this team and its creation began in October, 2013. The team was completed the same year, at the end of November.

Gallery

Any additional images are shown here. Note that more images (individual concept art of individual members, weapon concepts, singles, model designs, etc.) may be found on the individual pages of each team member.

Anniversary artwork.

Original team art.

Fan-made movie poster featuring the older version of the character's emblems.

Team silhouette.

Models for all the members, based off the template given in the Velvet Battle Gear Design contest.

Silhouettes for each member.

Fan-made album cover.

Designs for Team SYRA and COTN after the 8 month timeskip.

A major portion of the cast created by Bloodyrosalia and Storygazer.

8 antagonists of the SYRA/COTN story, fitted into "teams" called MYHM and KASH. This is featured in Pandemonium, the sequel artbook to Warriors of Remnant.

A second cast artwork featuring a majority of antagonists and protagonists from BloodyRosalia’s works.