The wait is over for legions of RWBY fans around the world; Volume 5 is here! The Rooster Teeth original anime series debuted its latest premiere episode over the weekend for FIRST members ahead of its arrival for non-subscription members this Tuesday; it'll go public on YouTube on Saturday, October 21st. So for those of you who either want a refresher on the Volume 5 premiere "Welcome to Haven" or just can't wait to see what the new season has to offer, I've put together a recap for your reading pleasure. Spoilers ahead!

Volume 4 ended with the title team members going their separate ways but all ultimately heading towards the kingdom of Mistral and its school there, Haven Academy. That's where we pick up with Ruby Rose (Lindsay Jones), Weiss Schnee (Kara Eberle), Blake Belladona (Arryn Zech), and Yang Xiao Long (Barbara Dunkelman) at the outset of Volume 5, though a Team RWBY reunion is not in the cards just yet. This is sure to happen eventually (as teased quite well by the episode's end-credits sequence), but in the meantime, fans will get to enjoy more solo adventures from the Huntresses as well as time spent with Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Qrow Branwen, and Sun Wukong. And you can definitely expect some new faces to show up!

Since our heroes are still on separate journeys, I'll break down their parts to play in the Volume 5 premiere below. But first, as a final spoiler warning, here's RWBY's official synopsis for "Welcome to Haven":

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang are each entangled in journeys of their own, but they all share one destination: Haven Academy. Whether it's the promise of ancient relics, mystical maidens, or simply more power, it's clear that the stage for the next great battle for Remnant has been chosen. The question is, with so many players in this game, who's going to come out on top?

Ruby

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Image via Rooster Teeth

Ruby and Team RNJR get the bulk of the storytime in this first episode. This makes sense considering that Qrow is escorting the foursome to Mistral and ultimately Haven Academy in order to get some answers and better prepare for the battle to come. But before we get to the political intrigue, we need to take a moment to appreciate the gorgeous layout of Mistral. As revealed in a new behind-the-scenes video with RWBY's production team, known as CRWBY, Mistral will be the focus of this Volume and they've put a ton of work into making it a stunning locale. The sprawling mountain city, complete with a busy marketplace and elevated academy, results from the collaboration of Art Director Patrick Rodriguez, Pre-Production Producer Nick Todd and writer/director Kerry Shawcross and their teams. Impressive stuff!

But back to Haven! As Qrow and RNJR arrive, they find it ... surprisingly empty. This puts Qrow on his guard, but unnecessarily so. It turns out that the academy's Huntsmen and Huntresses are away dealing with border closings and classes have been cancelled for the time being. Professor Leonardo Lionheart is behind the decision. He alone remains in his office and greets Qrow and the team, awkwardly so. Qrow isn't thrilled with the plan to leave the "relic" unguarded, and his comment to that point opens up a bit of exposition.

In the mythology of RWBY, two ancient and powerful brothers created humanity and gifted humans with the powers of creation, destruction, choice, and knowledge. Each of these powers is represented by a relic or artifact, and each of these relics is kept in separate academies protected by both the teaching staff of Huntsmen and Huntresses as well as the legions of students they're training. That's a great plan, until you empty the academy of all its protectors. One failsafe is that only the so-called "Maidens" can access each relic: Winter for Creation, Summer for Destruction, Fall for Choice, and Spring for Knowledge. The villainous Cinder Fall is currently in possession of the Fall Maiden's power, but it's the Spring Maiden who's at the heart of this conversation.

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Image via Rooster Teeth

It seems that the current Spring Maiden fled from her responsibilities and training a decade ago. Now, she's in the company of Raven Branwen and her bandits. Qrow has a bead on her location and wants to go after her as soon as possible, but Lionheart throws a wrench in that plan by saying he must wait for the council to decide. Unfortunately, we know that Lionheart is playing both sides here; Cinder Fell's informant Arthur Watts was seen meeting with Lionheart last season and can be heard contacting the professor once Qrow leaves in the premiere. Expect bad, bad things to come of this.

But one good thing that pops up in the premiere is the arrival of Oscar Pine as the new vessel for their dearly departed instructor and former headmaster of Beacon Academy, Ozpin. It's yet to be revealed just how this strange melding of mind and body have brought about this new incarnation (clearly Oscar is uncomfortable with it and is figuring it out as he goes), but at least our heroes have some new allies!

Blake

Blake, still back in her hometown of Kuo Kuana in Menagerie, is preparing for a battle of her own. Her Faunus allies--her parents and leaders Ghira and Kali Belladona, as well as her friend Sun Wukong--are united in their anger over the machinations of the White Fang cell operating in their territory. A meeting with representatives Corsac and Fennec Albain reveals their duplicitous nature since they claim to be disgusted by the actions of Adam Taurus and his followers, but are secretly assisting his efforts.

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Image via Rooster Teeth

They also disavow Ilia Amitola, the chameleon Faunus who shares a history with Blake. It's between these two women that Blake's storyline gets some development. It seems that the Belladonnas and their allies are going to make the actions of the White Fang public, knowing that a fight is coming. Blake gives Ilia the heads up, to which the White Fang Faunus warns that Blake should leave before it's too late. Expect these two to clash in the episodes to come.

Weiss

Weiss draws the short straw in this episode. Having purchased passage to Mistral on a cargo ship, Weiss travels solo with only the pilot for company. There's a bit of drama on their trip when they receive a distress signal from a nearby ship under Grimm attack; their Huntress has fallen and they have no way to defend themselves. (I wonder if this is a legitimate mayday or simply a ruse by the local bandit clans to lure in potential rescuers.)

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Image via Rooster Teeth

One would think that Weiss would be ready and willing to lend assistance, but since the pilot isn't, the folks under the presumed Grimm attack are on their own. Sure, there's still a chance for Weiss to literally jump ship and go to their aid, but it didn't happen in this episode; perhaps in Episode 2.

Yang

This episode is decidedly light on action. It's Yang who gets to throw the first punch of the volume, a fitting choice. While at a Just Rite gas station somewhere in Anima, Yang stops for a drink during her journey toward Mistral in search of her mother Raven and her Branwen Bandits clan. She crosses paths here with a well-intentioned bartender/clerk and a drunk ne'er-do-well who hits on her, a poor decision.

Yang quickly sends the drunk ping-ponging out of the store with one mighty punch. So while her artificial arm is working just fine, it's her human hand that has a bit of a shake to it following the brief fight. Yang calms herself (and her PTSD from her fateful fight against Adam Taurus) and starts to head off on her motorcycle Bumblebee to resume her quest. But it's the drunk who offers an olive branch by suggesting that he has information on just where to find Raven ... and that's where we'll have to leave this week's recap!

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Image via Rooster Teeth

If you need more RWBY in your life, keep an eye out for these extras:

RWBY REWIND – Premieres Live, October 17, 2017 only on FIRST

In RWBY Rewind, Rooster Teeth hosts Yssa Badiola (Fan Service host and Lead 2D Animator at Rooster Teeth Animation) and Chad James (Producer at ScrewAttack and voice of Boomstick in Death Battle) catch up with the stars and crew behind RWBY, react to the series with fans, and provide exclusive sneak-peeks at upcoming episodes. RWBY REWIND airs live exclusively on FIRST the Tuesday after the premiere broadcast of new episodes of RWBY.

CRWBY: Behind the Episode – Premieres October 14, 2017 only on FIRST

Have you ever wondered how RWBY is made? Each week, CRWBY: Behind the Episode will give you a peek at the magic, highlight the animation process, and introduce you to the animators, engineers, producers and artists who work tirelessly to bring the World of Remnant to life. CRWBY: Behind the Episode airs exclusively on FIRST immediately following the premiere broadcast of new episodes of RWBY.

For a look at what's coming up in this volume of RWBY, here's the trailer: