What happens when you take a man who’s reached that “no shits left to give” age and put him back into a young, virile, damn near superhuman body? What happens to someone who spent their whole lives cultivating inner harmony with the universe to attain ultimate power, who has now lost all their fancy energy blasts and has to play New Game+ with a completely new ruleset? Hopefully it’ll be fun to find out.

|| Age: (Variable) 18 to Early 20s (True Age 108) || Gender: ♂ || Race: Human || Alignment: Lawful Good || Traits: Easygoing, Polite ||

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Based on the 12 Archetypes
|| The Face: The Hero || The Soul: The Explorer || The Self: The Sage || The Ego: The Caregiver ||

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"Well now, this doesn’t look like the White Jade Emperor Realm. And...what has happened to my body? How troublesome..."

In a land of mountains and rivers, powerful Martial Arts Experts practice the art of Qi Cultivation. By absorbing, refining, and channeling the life force within themselves and the world around them, these warriors perform dazzling techniques and gain strength far beyond normal men. As an expert progresses in their cultivation, they extend their natural lifespan, forge their bodies into living weapons, and ascend to higher realms of existence.

Shen Wu Ji began life as the son of an impoverished noble, in a family with few connections following a shift in Imperial power. Isolated, with bankruptcy only a matter of time, there was only one pastime of the rich that might bear fruit: martial arts. Though his father intended him to become a soldier and earn favor by rising in the ranks of the Imperial army, Shen Wu Ji chose a different path. He joined an eclectic Sect of cultivators, trained night and day until he caught the eye of a roving Master, and embarked on an endless journey. Battles, rivals, intrigue, betrayals, vengeance, duels, romance, and adventures piled one upon the other over many, many years. Wu Ji’s cultivation rose to the highest levels. He became known as the most powerful martial artist in the world, and one of its wisest sages. A wife, children, his own Sect, faithful and powerful Disciples, ancient treasures and vast wealth, territory and status, respect and fame...by all accounts, Shen Wu Ji attained everything a man could ever desire. As an Immortal Saint, there was only one thing left to see his life’s journey through to its end.

After bidding farewell to his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and the disciples of his disciples in the Sect, he ascended to the peak of the highest mountain and entered the deepest trance of meditation. In solitude and serenity, he made the final breakthrough in his Qi Cultivation. He ascended into the Celestial Heavens, to become a true, divine and immortal god…

Or at least, that’s what should have happened.

In a land of magic and mystery, a column of light descended from the stars. Where it struck the earth, a grand crater blossomed and a quake shook the earth. At the massive pit’s bottom, a young man with silver hair lay unharmed. With eyes closed, he appeared to sleep in peace...

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^{Blood and Bone Renewal}

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Wu Ji seems to have not only returned to his youth, but to the pinnacle of physical prime. Whether one is an athlete or martial artist, there is always a limit to their body’s natural strength no matter what kind of exercise or technique they perform. Furthermore, there is not enough time in one life to reach the entirety of one’s potential. A man might train to become the fastest runner, or the most skilled swordsman, or the strongest wrestler, but even if he practiced all of these things long into old age he could not become all three of those things at the same time. After being “reincarnated (or whatever has happened),” however, Wu Ji’s new body has become all of those things. Whatever the furthest natural, non-enhanced physical limit of a healthy human male would be in a given category, Wu Ji possesses. In OOC terms, imagine someone with the speed of Usain Bolt, the strength of Hafthor Bjornsson, the endurance of Dean Karnazes, the fighting skill of Bruce Lee, and so forth all in one person--”peak human,” as in Captain America.

However, in a land of magic and monsters, just being the best “human” won’t be enough. What’s more, the Qi Meridians--the vessels of the spiritual body absolutely essential to Wu Ji’s most powerful techniques--are gone. They haven’t just been weakened or blocked--no matter what he tries, they simply do not seem to exist anymore. Can he learn this new world’s form of power through magic? Will his techniques prove incompatible, or useless against such spellcraft? What about this foreign culture's armor, weapons, and technology?

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^{Three Supreme Fists}

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Though his new body will take some getting used to, Wu Ji still retains all his memories and skills from his past life. This includes three schools of martial arts that he learned over a century of practice and real battle experience, and some generalized knowledge of weaponry. Though it wasn’t his specialty, his thorough understanding of battle tactics and body mechanics allows Wu Ji to be considered a “lesser” expert with just about any melee weapon, and an “advanced” practitioner of most ranged tools--however, given the choice, he will almost always default to his fists.
Dragon Slaying Tiger Fist
Shen Wu Ji’s original martial art, the first style he learned and the one he favors most over everything he has learned. Its central tenet is to surpass one’s mortal limits with a savage, relentless attitude of willpower. A Dragon is considered a divine creature capable of summoning storms and floods, yet artworks often depict it as a rival with the Tiger, a simple mundane beast. Most would agree that in a “real” comparison, the dragon is obviously the superior creature--so in order to kill it, the Tiger must tear out its throat with vicious claws and fangs that surpass even divinity. Dragon Slaying Tiger Fist is an explosive, external, implacable style that hardens the bones and skin and throws everything into offense. At higher levels, skill and accuracy replace sheer power to grant a catlike grace and precision.
Nine Divine Dragons Palm
A complete opposite to the Dragon Slaying Tiger Fist, Shen Wu Ji first learned this style through experiencing it with his own body. His most tenacious rival, the young master of the Silver Lotus clan, defeated him more than once in their youth with this school. As such, Wu Ji will tell anyone who asks that he despises this style of fighting and everything about it--but, as a realist, he cannot deny that if Dragon Slaying Tiger Fist is the strongest “hard” style, then Nine Divine Dragon Palms is the strongest “soft” style. The movements of one’s arms and legs are likened to the coiling, rippling bodies of dragons in this martial art. Palm strikes are deceptively devastating, sweeping and spinning kicks allow one to leap around the battlefield, and a variety of grapples, throws, and joint locks entangle the opponent as if they are bound by great serpents. Using the enemy’s force against them, this style is well-suited to stopping an attacker without hurting them.
Eighteen Armed Asura Hands
Though it is also a “hard” style like Dragon Slaying Tiger Fist, this school of martial arts focuses on imitating weaponry, not animals or spirits. Using limbs that have been conditioned through rigorous, almost cruel training methods, the martial artist can slash, stab, or crush as well as any worked piece of wood, stone, or steel. Wu Ji learned this style from its last surviving master, whom he dueled to death before he was given the only remaining manual containing the record of its techniques. Though it consists of only 18 techniques plus standard fundamentals common to most martial arts, when combined with Wu Ji’s other two fighting methods and his tactical experience it grants him an answer to almost any situation...or at least, it did when he still had access to his Qi Energy.

What happens when a warrior of the “glorious” East takes his “thousand fold blade” and unique fighting style to a continent that doesn’t have to make its swords from rough iron sand, where knights fight in full plate with swords capable of snapping low-carbon steel? He gets really fuckin’ pissed, for starters…

|| Age: 29 || Gender: ♂ || Race: Human || Alignment: Chaotic Neutral || Traits: Focused, Suspicious ||

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Based on The 12 Common Archetypes
|| The Face: The Explorer || The Soul: The Rebel || The Self: The Magician || The Ego: The Hero ||

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"What do you think a life is worth? ...Whatever it is, I keep racking up debts."

In Yamajima, the family or clan name is placed before the given name. If a third name is given, as a title or rank of nobility or even a nickname, this is often addressed before the surname. A person's deeds may elevate them beyond the station of their family, but they should always put the family before themselves.

Isshin has never introduced himself as anything but "Isshin."

He arrived on a pirate ship. The guards and militia, and the local lord's men, were all in a tizzy as the black ship just drifted right into the harbor, easy as you please, without even a token attempt to hide her colors. That was probably because Isshin didn't know any better, and all of the pirates were dead. They found him cleaning his sword. Despite having no grasp of the language or culture, he made his case in body language well enough, and walked down the gangplank unmolested. Except for the man who had the bright idea to try and confiscate his sword, and lost three teeth in the attempt.

The next three years were spent as a mercenary and wanderer. He learned quickly, albeit by observation and immersion alone, but remained quite taciturn. His reputation as an oddity far outstripped the success of his actual career...up until, in a fit of drunken frustration, bleeding through bandages on numerous wounds, he charged into a blacksmithy and began shouting things in his home tongue while using a piece of charcoal to sketch on parchment. Luckily for him, the master smith was quite intrigued by the detail of his diagrams, and set to work. This, perhaps, was the first katana ever forged outside its homeland--with better steel, more advanced techniques, and more efficient tools.

Another year passed, and now people knew his name. Merc companies fell over themselves to buy out his contracts. He took ransoms on heads the common folk saw as living legends, and became one himself. "The Far Away Knight," they called him, because he came from...somewhere far away…


^{The School of Divine Infernal Slaughter}
In the faraway land of Yamajima, strong iron ore is not easily found. The majority of steel must be refined from fine sand mixtures, and folded numerous times at high heat to remove any impurities. Limited by material and technique, the Yama-jin smiths have nonetheless perfected their craft over centuries. So too, have the blademasters who wield these creations perfected their methods of fighting. Though isolated, Yamajima is a land full of conflict--perhaps even moreso than many larger kingdoms. Why do they fight among themselves so often? Who can say? The fact of the matter is the perfection of their martial arts through constant repetition and adaptation; what works is improved upon, and what fails is discarded.

Isshin is the sole founder and practitioner of Myoujingiri-ryu. Made from the Yamago characters for "Cutting, Gods, Demons," it arrogantly proclaims that it is a style which can cut through anything, kill any opponent, and defeat any other style. Such a thing sounds like no more than the boasting of some upstart, who probably only got a little training from a "proper" school and then dared to think of himself as "hot shit." Yet the callouses on his hands and the hard muscles under his skin speak of endless training, and the scars all over his body tell of countless battles. Watching his "kata," drills for the various techniques, is to be captured by grace and artistry. Watching him fight is a show of savagery and horror.
This Technique Grants:
Enhanced Strength
Isshin's fighting style doesn't just use the entire body to generate power--drawing a cut with the arms, torquing a swing with the hips, pushing a thrust with the legs--but even goes so far as to time movements with breathing and heartbeat. Despite his smaller frame compared to many of these other Knights he now faces, he is capable of explosive power far above his weight class. Even in calisthenic training he displays great muscular fortitude.
Greatly Enhanced Speed
Though his armor is lighter in style than a fully equipped Knight, Isshin is capable of maintaining a full sprint with all of his gear for a considerable distance. In close quarters, a powerful push with the sole of one foot allows him to cover two full meters in the blink of an eye. From a casual position, he is capable of drawing his sword and delivering two full, arching cuts in a literal, single second.
Inhuman Pain Tolerance
There are tall tales of the Yama-jin martial artists who punch trees or walk across hot coals, or who have toughened their bodies like iron. Isshin is not one of these people. He can be hurt. He will most certainly bleed. He will fall. And he will keep. Getting. Back. Up. The fire in his eyes will not fade. Even if his head were to be cut off, his sheer resolve would cause his blade to swing one more time.

^{Art of the Void}
In Yamajima, the word for magic is "Youjutsu," translating to "Mystic Arts," with arts carrying the same connotation as Martial Arts rather than something like painting or singing. While in other lands wizards are seen as magically and mentally imposing, yet physically frail after a lifetime of poring over arcane tomes, the Yama-jin have a different concept of magic's very nature, and see it as an extension of the physical being, not a dualistic opposition to it. In the same way that a wave in the ocean must rise to a crest and then fall to a trough, Yin must give way to Yang and when Yang reaches its peak it will return to Yin.

Perhaps it is telling of Isshin's mental state, and the past he will not speak of, that his elemental affinity aligns with the state of "emptiness," that which is "nothing." Cold is not a measurable descriptor, it is the representation of how much heat is NOT present in a system. Darkness is not an occupying force, it describes an area that light does NOT occupy. In the same way, the Void is defined by its own lack of existence.
This Magic's Spells Are:
Go-Rin-Mu
"Void of Five Rings." A dark, misty sphere with a diameter of ten feet forms with Isshin at its center. Isshin must concentrate upon a single "element," and name it while tracing the Yama-go character with his hand. If he were to name "Fire," all heat within the sphere--including that within his opponent's own bodies--begins to drain away. If he were to name "Force," an opponent rushing towards him would begin to slow down against their own will as the energy in their own movements are sucked into the Void. If he named "Earth," the very ground beneath his feet would slowly begin to erode. Only one "element" can be drained at a time, and Isshin himself cannot move from the center without deactivating the spell. The drain is slow--a white hot fireball cast at Isshin would, after traveling a few feet, be reduced to a yellow glow, then an orange. By the time it hit him, it would still be red-hot, and carry the same amount of momentum. An arrow from a powerful bow, depending on the distance, might still reach him with enough velocity to kill him even if he slowed it down.

Mu-Matoi-Giri
"Void Cloaked Slash." A dense fog, almost dark enough to obscure the blade's edge, forms around Isshin's sword...however, he could theoretically apply the "cloak" to anything, even one of his own limbs. Whatever this cloaked blade makes contact with experiences a concentrated vaccuum connected to the Void. This concentration greatly increases the power of the drain seen in Go-Rin-Mu so long as Isshin maintains contact. If he clashes with an opponent's weapon, they find themselves unable to pull away from the blade-lock or put any more force into the strike despite a weight or leverage difference, because all kinetic energy is being sucked away. The longer they stay in contact, the more they experience--cold creeps up their limbs as their body heat is sapped, their skin begins to dry as moisture trickles away, their clothes begin to fray as individual fibers too small to see by the eyes are pulled. Sometimes, using this technique gives the illusion that Isshin can "cut" through other magical energies, or sever the connection between a spell, construct, etc and the wizard manipulating it. However, there seems to be a limit to how much the spell can hold. Someone capable of truly superhuman strength, for instance, could have enough force behind their blow to "fill" the Void, and break through it. In such case, Isshin would suffer the backlash of whatever is leftover from the opposing spell or attack, and would not be able to use Go-Rin-Mu or Mu-Matoi-Giri again until he had emptied the Void once more. This also applies to draining multiple targets--repeated clashes with multiple enemies or their spells might stack over time and surpass Isshin's containment limit.

Mu-Gaeshi
"Void Return, or Void Reversal." Creating another "cloak" from the Void over his sword, Isshin attacks and at the same time releases everything contained within the Void. Both Go-Rin-Mu and Mu-Matoi-Giri contribute to this stockpile of powers. If he has absorbed the blow of a warhammer through the cloak, then this strike will carry his own strength AND that of the stolen kinetic energy, producing a strike far beyond what he is normally capable of. If the sphere drained away several men's body heat, as well as a campfire nearby or some such, this slash might release a concentrated burst that ignites the air as it passes. After an extended battle, Isshin might be able to release multiple magical energies, or the strength of multiple men, all in one magnificent slash. This ability greatly drains his stamina, and Isshin will need to get his breath back as well as reestablish his mental state before he can use any of his Void techniques again.

What happens AFTER the Hero defeats the Demon King? Does a war torn nation just pop back together, easy as you please? Do the Dark Hordes simply fizzle away, and go back to being rag-tag tribes instead of a well-trained army just because their leader is dead? What about the refugees from nations now reduced to ruin? What about...that one guy the Hero spared, because of some “if you kill him you’ll be just like him” bullshit?

|| Age: Unknown || Gender: ♂ || Race: Black Knight (Monstrous Humanoid) || Alignment: Lawful Neutral || Traits: Honest, Abrasive ||

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|| The Face: The Ruler || The Soul: The Rebel || The Self: The Ruler || The Ego: The (Dark) Hero ||

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"The difference between the conviction to kill and the conviction to die is the difference between slaughter and glorious battle."

Once upon a time, a Demon King united the Monstrous Races and razed the kingdoms of men. In the process, a young boy--beloved by many, and possessed of a sleeping talent just waiting to awaken--lost his hometown. The boy swore revenge on the Black Knight who committed this heinous crime, and as he pursued his foe across the land he gathered allies and performed great deeds. The boy became a Hero. He learned that his hated enemy was only one of many Generals who served the Demon King, and in order to defeat them the Hero and his friends would have to delve into deep dungeons, find a Holy Sword, and travel to the far flung corners of the world. All of this they did, carving their names into history. The Demon King hatched plot after plot to destroy them. The Black Knight led the hordes to many victories over the squabbling rulers of humanity. Yet the Heroes made their way to the Demon King’s Palace. They fought their way up, overcoming not only the enemy, but their own inner demons. They denied temptation, tossed aside their pasts, and came to grips with their trauma and their fear. The Hero denounced his vengeance...but he and the Black Knight would still do battle, for this last general of the Dark Lord would not let them pass. In this penultimate battle, while the Demon King performed the ritual that would grant him unlimited power, the Black Knight faced the Hero for the last time.

As he fell to his knees, armor and weapons broken and shattered, he coughed and bled. He acknowledged this opponent as a truly mighty foe, a worthy and glorious death. Though he had failed, there was no dishonor in falling to the strong. His liege would have to fend for himself, now…

Then that blasted Hero had to ruin it. The last thing the Black Knight saw, as the tower around them began to crumble, was the Hero’s outstretched hand. He slapped it away, and fell into the darkness beneath the palace.

Some time later, a young man appears in an out-of-the-way town. Though his demeanor is cold and unfriendly, he speaks like one well-educated, and asks the way to the nearest Adventurer’s Guild...

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^{Steel Under Flesh}

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A Black Knight is a type of Monster, despised across the world as much as any Orc, Goblin, Lizardman, or other evil creatures. Akin to the Werewolf and the Vampire, however, a Black Knight has a humanoid form--and indeed, in many ways, is a human that has “transformed” into a monster. The First Black Knight, Argos the Traitorous, is said in legend to have forsaken his oath to gods, kings, and the nations of mankind in order to pledge his heart to a darker power. Since that time, all of his descendants have carried the curse--and the power--of his bloodline pact. A black knight’s armor and weapons are hidden beneath their very skin--cut deep enough into one, and you will find steel, not bone. They can shift into their armored form at will, and doing so increases their physical attributes. Even magic is deflected or dispelled by the armor, unless the caster is sufficiently powerful to overcome this anti-enchantment. By the “Rite of Conquest,” they can carry and summon a variety of weapons to their hands. Grayson, owing to his long history of service to the previous Dark Lord, has gathered an impressive array of weaponry, including those which are Soulforged--that is, the body parts and powers of a Monster have been infused into their creation.
Mundane Arms
Plain weaponry of mundane steel, bronze, wood, and leather collected from a number of battlefields. While some might be of better workmanship than others, perhaps even master crafts, Grayson sees them as no more than fodder to be used on foes not worth his real steel. Under his strength and without much effort to maintain them, they easily break. Includes various blades, polearms, clubs, shields, axes, and thrown weapons.
Balaur: Serpent Beneath the Mountain
The longsword Grayson always carries at his hip, regardless of other weapons in his armory. A Balaur is a type of Lesser Dragon that begins life as a great serpent, and grows more heads, limbs, and eventually even wings each time it sheds its scales. Such a fearsome beast has been Soulforged into this blade, granting it the ability to split into a number of sectioned whip-blades based on the number of “Heads” Grayson calls for, up to nine. Requires the incantation of its name and the number command, as well as increased concentration for each head being controlled. When using all nine, Grayson can’t move at all while focusing on the movement of each whip.
Wakiya: Cloud Splitting Thunderbird
A spear of blue, almost crystalline material from point to butt, decorated with a tassel of feathers. Soulforged from an elemental bird on par with the fiery Phoenix, the weapon carries a powerful current of electricity into any opponent it pierces. If an enemy survives a clash with Wakiya, however, it becomes even more dangerous. The lingering charge in the target’s body allows Grayson to hurl the spear with pinpoint accuracy. Upon leaving his hand, it becomes a literal bolt of lightning, impossibly fast and much more powerful. Building up the lightning charge requires a period of time, and to throw the weapon with full strength also requires the incantation of its name.
Manegarm: Void Crushing Lunar Maw
A greataxe with a single head shaped like a gigantic wolf’s lower jawbone. Though the teeth face its haft, the sharpened edge bites through even stone with ease. Colored in blacks and gold, with a blood-drinking tuft of silver fur under its head, the axe is far too heavy for normal humans to lift. With every full rotation of its blade around Grayson’s body, a gravitational force is multiplied. Though highly telegraphed and slow to build up truly devastating forces, this Soulforged weapon could crush any fortification flat to the earth if left unchecked.

Why must each generation surpass the one that came before? For what reason do we reach for greater heights, push our children to do what we could not? What purpose does all this knowledge, and wealth, and power we accumulate serve? And will those who come after us truly be fit to inherit it?

|| Age: (Variable) Late Teens - 21 || Gender: ♂ || Race: Human || Alignment: Neutral Good || Traits: Soft spoken, Cautious ||

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|| The Face: The Innocent || The Soul: The Creator || The Self: The Ruler || The Ego: The Caregiver ||

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In order to enter the Murim--the world of martial arts in Yi Hyun-Woo’s native land--one must have talent. A warrior can boast that their training, or their motivation, or their bonds among brothers, lovers, and comrades will overcome the gulf in talent all they like. The truth remains that no matter how hard one works, no matter their drive, if someone else works just as hard but has a smidgeon more talent, the second warrior will inevitably surpass the first. Thus the cultivation--and the suppression--of talent among each generation became a matter of life and death. Those who would pass on their arts wished for the greatest talents among their students. Those who wished to defeat their enemies despised the talents among students who were not their own.

How talented Yi Hyun-Woo might have been, is a question with no answer. For before he could even make a fist, much less hold a sword, the boy was fated to die. Born blind, his body wracked by pain and disease, the infant struggled even to breathe. Though his family were only peasants, farm laborers, Hyun-Woo’s father had practiced martial arts in his youth and knew that great masters could heal the body with their techniques as well as they could destroy it. He also knew the legends of many such masters, and of these, the closest had ascended as an Immortal Sage atop the peak of Azure Cloud Mountain.

The mountain held many dangers, and of these vicious brigands were by far the least. Hyun-Woo’s father was a man of little talent. Hyun-Woo, being expected to die before he reached two years of age, had not even received a name. Yet, for this nameless child, somehow a man of no talent ascended the mountain. Past the blue clouds, above the swirling snowstorms, he climbed until his hands and feet were raw and covered in his own frozen blood. There, at the top, he did not find an Immortal Sage immersed in meditation.

He found only bones.

And yet, among the martial artists of the world there are many strange practices. Alchemy that infuses the spiritual energy of nature into medicine. Plants grown for a thousand years, devoured to increase one’s strength. A mysterious, pearl-like growth found in the body of a monstrous beast to be held as if it were a sacred artifact for the reciting of prayers, mantra, and meditations. For those who practice forbidden, demonic arts, even cannibalism can be seen as a path to power…

The marrow of the bones saved Hyun-Woo’s life. Though still blind, and still frail, he lived. Though he required a cane, he began to walk. And unbeknownst to his family and village, a will apart from his own guided his steps. Over many years, it led him to move in certain ways, to breathe in rhythms, and his cane became far more than a blind child’s stick. Eventually, one moonless night, when every creature besides Hyun-Woo became just as blind, the ache in his bones drew him to the peak of Azure Cloud Mountain. There, beneath the place where his father dug up a Sage’s bones, he found a slip of jade carved by a blade. As he sat upon the mountain ledge, unperturbed by thousands of feet of empty space below him that he could not see, he traced the carvings with his fingers. He breathed the words. A storm gathered as the blue clouds turned purple, then black. Lightning rumbled, wind howled, and a blizzard cold enough to freeze birds in flight circled the peak. White lightning descended, and in the instant between the time it left the clouds and the moment it struck the ground, Hyun-Woo’s head snapped up and he saw it.

The boy awoke to the first sunrise he had ever seen. His cane, broken to splinters and charred to cinders, still pointed the way one last time. Where the lightning blasted away the stones, he wiped away one more layer of dust and found one last gift: a metal box, its seal now melted away. Within lay a book of yellowed pages, though its ink appeared freshly dried. The title read thusly:

To My Descendants - The Inheritance of the Azure Cloud, The Art of the Flashing Sword

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^{Silent Thunder}

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The Azure Cloud Flash Sword is a school of blade-mastery with a long history, yet one that dwindles with time. Perhaps a century ago, one could hear heroic tales of this school’s chivalrous disciples from any traveling minstrel. Fifty years ago, Azure Cloud Flash Sword would still be known as a prestigious hall of swordsmen, producing many fine champions whose skills were deeply coveted. A score of years ago, tales of the Azure Cloud drifted here and there, shrouded in an unknown strength and mystique. Now, the name is spoken only in reference to a lost, historical art, and it seems only the transfer from a single master to a sole disciple keeps the Azure Cloud afloat.

Nonetheless, this school of swordsmanship bestows its wielder keen senses and well-honed skills. Particularly in the speed of one’s draw, lunge, and thrust, it might not be hyperbole to say the Azure Cloud is unmatched. However, it is certainly not a strength-oriented sword. The straight, double edged blade favored by the style is that of a gentleman, one versed in scholarly arts as well as martial. Redirection, skillful cuts and disabling strikes, and evasive footwork are the domain of Azure Cloud Flash Sword. By using one’s inner energy, rather than external strength, the swordsman executes more advanced techniques:
Earthward Step
A method of the “Walking and Breathing” practices used by many martial arts. The Azure Cloud’s method relies on the body’s natural rhythm of tension and release, both for the user and the opponent, as well as straight-line, high speed movement. For an instant, the swordsman may even seem to disappear from sight. Hyun-Woo can only travel a short distance at a time with this technique, but it is one of the most well-practiced in his arsenal.
White Lightning Snake Fangs
This sword form teaches the Azure Cloud disciple to strike from any position like a coiled snake, to be ready at all times. From the scabbard, no matter where it is in relation to the user’s body, the swordsman must be able to draw and cut with a single motion in a fraction of a second. It requires extreme flexibility of the arm, straining the joint if used too many times in succession.
Blue Lightning Chain Whip
A technique for one man to fight many opponents, relying on swift, explosive movements. The aim is to slip through the enemy lines to create an opening, rather than deliver fatal blows. By developing an adaptive mind and swift reaction speed, the swordsman must use the incoming strikes of the attackers to empower his own, and thus appears to flow from one foe to another like lightning jumping between the clouds.