Weiss Schnee was born heiress to the influential Schnee Dust Company, her early life dominated by her controlling father, Jacques Schnee. Her childhood unfolded amidst deep familial dysfunction: Jacques admitted marrying solely for the Schnee name, her mother descended into alcoholism, and separate family activities fractured the household. The Schnee Dust Company's controversial mistreatment of Faunus workers spurred White Fang terrorist attacks against the family, resulting in the disappearance of friends and execution of board members. These events fostered deep-seated resentment and prejudice toward Faunus within Weiss during her formative years. Asserting independence, Weiss defied her father's wish for her to attend Atlas Academy by challenging an Arma Gigas – a Grimm-possessed armor construct Jacques created as a test. Though the battle left her with a prominent vertical scar over her left eye, her victory forced Jacques to reluctantly permit her enrollment at Beacon Academy in Vale. She sought distance from the Schnee legacy and aimed to redefine the family name through her own actions. Her combat style centers on the Multi-Action Dust Rapier Myrtenaster, combined with her hereditary Semblance, Glyphs. This ability generates versatile glyph platforms and effects using Dust, enabling time dilation, gravity manipulation, projectile creation, and summoning defeated enemies like Beowolves. At Beacon, Weiss immediately clashed with Ruby Rose after a Dust accident damaged her belongings. Initial interactions with Blake Belladonna soured further when Blake referenced the Schnee Dust Company's unethical practices. Weiss maintained a haughty demeanor during initiation, attempting to partner with Pyrrha Nikos while dismissing Jaune Arc's advances. Forced to partner with Ruby after encountering Jaune in distress, their conflicting combat and leadership approaches sparked continuous arguments throughout the mission. Despite rescuing Ruby from a Death Stalker and collaborating to defeat a Nevermore, Weiss remained critical of Ruby's perceived immaturity. In *Ice Queendom*, set amidst early Beacon events, Weiss became infected by a Nightmare Grimm – a parasitic entity manifesting her suppressed psychological turmoil as a dream world. Within this nightmare, her internalized prejudices and anxieties materialized as "Negative Weiss," an antagonistic version clad in a militaristic overcoat who weaponized freezing environments against intruders. The nightmare amplified Weiss's distrust of Blake due to her Faunus heritage and White Fang history, creating symbolic barriers. Guided by Shion Zaiden, Team RWBY entered the dreamscape to confront these manifestations. During the psychological conflict, Negative Weiss falsely equated Blake's experiences of racial discrimination with her own familial pressures, revealing Weiss's unconscious minimization of systemic prejudice. Resolution required Weiss to acknowledge and overcome these distorted perceptions with her team's intervention, though residual biases surfaced later when she threatened to report a Faunus character to authorities. Her development culminated in rejecting predefined roles: "I will not be defined by my name because I will be the one to define it." This philosophy drove her commitment to become a Huntress and rectify the Schnee Dust Company's legacy through her own actions.