Samurai
Primarily, “samurai” refers to a position of standing in Hingashi society---a martial vassal who serves his liege in return for certain privileges. The word itself derives from the root “saburau” meaning “to serve”, which reinforces the fundamental nature of their status. Records of this arrangement became common some six hundred years ago, but examples of the samurai art of combat can be found earlier in history.
The fighting style distinct from mainland practices---was founded by warriors who favored the katana, and honed over lifetimes of conflict. As well as devising techniques to infuse their uniquely curved blades with “Kenki”, samurai also mastered the meditative state of “Sen” which paved the way for “Iaijutsu” and other elevated form of swordmanship. The samurai arts eventually found purchase on the continent, and saw the birth of numerous variant schools. In a realm coddled by relative peace, however, the title of samurai has become largely hereditary, leading to fears that this once hard-earned honor being replaced by empty tradition.
Equipment
Myochin Armor
Crafted in the haori-and-hakama style by armorers of the longstanding Myochin clan, this set of armor is common garb for present-day samurai. Whilst it appears little more than a decorative kimono, the cloth is woven in such a way as to promote the flow of aether.
Kiki-ichimonji
Kiku-ichimonji was forged by a legendary Hingan swordsmith, the proof of which can be found in the engraved signature---the character for “ichi” of “one” the sword features a broad point, and an elegant, undulating temper pattern along the length of the blade, whilst sheath’s sepentine ornamentation amplifies the wielder’s energies when performing Iaijutsu.
Nameless Armor
This most elementary set of armor was designed for samurai initiates. The togi and hakama are both woven with enchanted silk to enhance the wearer’s sensivity to the flow of aether, effectively aiding the novice in learning to recognize the sensation of Kenki gathering in blade and sheath. Dyed entirely in black, the color of the attire mutes any lurid splashes of blood either from the enemy or the wearer.
Katayama
This masterpiece was forged by the Katayama branch of the Ichimonji school of swordmansmiths. Although Kiku-ichimonji, a katana crafted by their forebears, is considered a superior in sharpness and beauty, Katayama (or in full, Katayama-ichimonji) is still celebrated for its exquisite workmanship. The blade changed hands many times, until one wielder carried it on a warrior’s pilgrimage to the west, where it was lost for long years. It was later discovered that in his quest to find worthy opponents, the overconfident samurai had entered where no man should tread, and perished at the culmination of an epic battle.
The Katana
When the earliest settlers crossed the Ruby Tide to Hingashi, they brought with them the weapons of their ancestors the most prominent being the traditional Yanxian longsword. These dual-edged straight-blade swords continued to see use on the island nation for centuries, their design changing little from those which had made the original journey from Othard. The longsword, however, soon fell out of fashion on the continent, and was replaced by the single-edged, sharply curved scimitars popular among Nagxian cavalry. This change eventually made its way to Hingashi, though a lack of a true cavalry on the islands lessened the necessity for such a pronounced grade of inflection. The outcome was the modest curvature seen in a modern-day katana.
Still, for many years, swords of Hingan origin were considered far substandard to those forged in Yanxia---Hingan blacksmiths unable to do more than merely copy techniques refined across the narrow sea. This all changed when a swordmaker from Kugane discovered and perfected a method of folding steel---a process that, when performed correctly, result in a highly tensile core encased in a nigh-indestructible shell. The blades’ strength and beauty (exotic pattern in the steel a by-product of the folding) made the katana attractive in Hingashi’s samurai caste, whose demand for the weapons fueled not only the advancement of further blacksmithing techniques, but also saw the emergence of scabbards as aetherial vessels wherein a warrior’s “Kenki” might be stored.
Prominent Designs
Chokuto
Though rare today, history shows there were ages in which straight-bladed single-edged katana were used throughout the Far East, albeit largely for ceremonial or ritual purpose.
Tachi
Designed for use on horseback, tachi are long and markedly curved to improve reach. A tachi’s maker can be identified by gauging the severity of the blade’s “shinogi”, or the slight ridge rising from the flat.
Chokken
The oldest of all Far Eastern katana, the design of the chokken, or longsword, can be traced back to the of the most holy of blades, Ame-no-Murakumo. Unlike most katana, the blade is dual-edged and uncurved.
Kenki
In the lands of the Far East, one’s aetheric flow is often referred to as “Ki”. The Kenki of the samurai is a harnessing of these energies, allowing the swordsmen to accumulate ki within their blades and thence unleash various deadly techniques. In this respect, such “Hissatsu” might be interpreted as a martial form of magecraft.
Iaijutsu
These techniques are performed by building aether in a sheathed katana, and then unleashing the entire store of energy the instant the blade is drawn. Executing Iaijutsu correctly requires complete control over one’s state of mind----a feat achieved by entering a battle trance kown as “Sen” . Samurai attain such meditative mastery only through intense discipline and training.
Tricks of the Trade
Doom of the Living
All those who live are fated to die. The samurai portrays the foe’s life with innumerable slashes of the blade, ends that life with a single, aether-infused stroke, and then sheathes her weapon in a symbolic depiction of transience.
Hissatsu: Kyuten
One of the most samurai’s formidable Hissatsu techniques, Kyuten is a word which expresses nine directions--the eight compass points joined by the center. Devised to cut down all surrounding enemies with a single strike.
Tenka Goken
A form of Iaijutsu wherein the samurai fashions his katana’s accumulated aether into phantom blades, and strikes as if wielding the five swords of a legend---the Tenka Goken.
Midare Setsugekka
Setsu. Getsu. Ka. It is said when one occupies all three states of Sen, the thread of a foe’s life comes into focus. This sublime Iaijutsu was devised to cut that thread.
Lore Book Volume 2 regarding Samurai!
