You can probably add an 'as envisioned by Quest' after the title. Writing about Yahwen really made me think about the backstory of the Blade Duchies. When I say, really made me think about it, I mean really. This was the result. Hopefully it's an enjoyable read for people and doesn't drag on too long.
Antonius Emmanuel Eleanora 61
[Turn 7]
[The Culture of the Blade Duchies]
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The Culture of the Blade Duchies
By Corvina Taurus and Auxilia Yahwen
The Blade Duchies of the Divided Mortal Kingdoms have a remarkably unique culture and great dao in swords. While practitioners of swords and sabers and various other types of weapons are hardly unknown, what makes them interesting is having an entire culture dedicated to using the same sword styles and pursuing the same dao for generations and generations. In order to better prepare those who might have to journey there or interact with its members or are merely looking for inspiration for their own dao, I have sat down with a member of that culture and written down the basics of their philosophies.
Before we begin, we must first understand the realities of those cultures and why both duchies are completely identical in culture and remain relatively stable despite bitter rivalries that have run for millennia. Whether through collusion and simply due to reaching the same conclusion from the same incentives, certain attitudes are highly encouraged in both duchies by the ducal elite. Those attitudes are quite simply, even the weakest mortal matters and of course, that the cultivation of the sword is paramount.
Sword Qi runs within the blood of even the common men and women of what is collectively known as the Sword Country. Even more so, the strength of their blood directly translates into the strength of their liege. The Duke's personal power comes directly from their people in a very real way and because of that, they are incentivised to protect those people. A very popular folktale about an honorable swordsman on a journey staying behind to protect the people from an evil blood path demon would be an example of the propaganda spread regarding this.
When it comes to the people, this folktale shows everything their liege would want them to learn. 'Protect the people' to his cultivators, 'The cultivators protect you', to his people, and 'The blood path is terrible and evil' to everyone who listens. Blood Path is particularly abhorred here as taking power from any mortal means taking the power of the duke. Practicing the Sword has a strong patriotic flair among the common man.
A common theme for all styles practiced by the duchies is their focus on control and non-lethal takedowns. Even with techniques that should be lethal, duels play out more like a game of strategy with move and countermove with the final lethal blow being enough to draw blood. Those who slay their enemies are looked down upon. On the surface, this is said to be because they prize mastery over the sword over all things. Ideas such as 'A master swordsman only cuts that which he wishes to cut' or 'A swordsman who fears the second battle doubts his own skill' are common refrains that reinforce this.
This is what points to potential collusion between the two Ducal Households as they seem to have developed a methodology that allows constant clashes between their forces without risking the lives of those forces. The proponents against this point out that the Dukes would not want their own forces to slay each other in domestic duels as each cultivator represents an important donor of sword qi, which means they would have developed such a culture anyway.
Regardless of the reason, this is the reality of the situation there. For most who're travelled through the sword country or interacted with their citizens, those are the things to keep in mind. Information on the ducal houses are less well-known, though the philosophy of their Seven-Part Dao will be touched upon later in this article. It should be noted that pointing this out or any other similarities to most members of the two duchies is considered grounds for a duel and should be avoided in any contact with said members.
With the basic description out of the way, let us discuss their three-part philosophy - The Philosophy of Man, The Philosophy of Earth and the Philosophy of Heaven each corresponding to their mortals, Qi Condensation rank and file and Foundation Establishment ducal household respectively. Please see the expansion of these philosophies below.
The Philosophy of Man
'Those who cannot bear the sword are meant to serve it.'
These words together summarize the Philosophy of Man. As it implies, the practice of the sword is paramount. Every child grows up playing with toy swords, every adolescent learns how to forge a true one and by the time they have reached adulthood, every man born and raised within the duchy can wield his sword well enough to defend himself. Those who have the talent to cultivate are accepted into the Household of the Duke and grow to form his nobility but those who cannot form their peasantry, serving them as their attendants, their farmers, their builders and most prestigiously, their smiths.
A swordsman's most favored servant is the one who can care for his sword. While every swordsman should theoretically be capable of doing it themselves, it often isn't practical. Every swordsman is trained in forging a sword worthy of their cultivation of course, but between cultivation, duels and training, they lack the time to maintain them. The most favored servants of a swordsman are those trusted enough to sharpen his sword, to hold his spares or other assorted jobs that the swordsman himself may not have time for.
It is a matter of pride for the peasantry to be skilled enough to hold these positions and those who fulfill these roles are never looked down upon. Being a cultivator is a matter of honor and it is well-known that any man skilled enough to challenge and defeat a noble in duel is welcome to take their place. Even the children of the nobility are not guaranteed to inherit their parent's place, though they do more often than not due to the greater resources and training afforded to them.
An extreme example of this is the Ducal Heir. In theory, the duke's son has the same chances as any within his household but in practice, most peasant children sponsored by the duke do not show talent until their tenth year with even the incredibly talented Yahwen only showing her own talent at the age of six. The duke's children on the other hand, live and breathe the sword since the moment they are born. With this and a degree of favoritism shown to them by their instructors, the Duke ensures that he is almost always succeeded by his children though theoretically the chance for even the lowliest peasant succeeding him exists.
Swordsmiths stand apart from the usual system and are considered the pinnacle of the Path of Man. While every swordsman is a capable swordsmith, it is hardly their focus. The greatest smiths are found not in the Blade Duchies but in the Dragon-Breath City Forge. Many nobles who either lack the talent or inclination for the Path of the Earth journey here in order to apprentice under the Great Swordsmiths and learn their secret arts.
They accept members from both Duchies as well as from the rest of the Divided Kingdoms who may prove worthy. Any who join must abandon their previous life and become a Swordsmith first and only then anything else. They practice even their own arts of cultivation, using the influence of the dragonbone underneath the city to grow to the heights of Foundation Establishment though they in turn do not benefit from the advantages their blood grants to those who reach it's heights.
Those considered adequate in their mastery of the art are declared journeymen and allowed to travel the Divided Kingdoms in order to hone their mastery. Journeyman Swordsmiths almost invariably return to their homes and the nobility hold an almost religious reverence for them, allowing them to serve as neutral arbiters. All important duels take place at the forge-beat of a smith who often utilizes the emanations of two sword-masters clashing to forge blades infused with their skill.
Those who consider themselves ready travel back to Dragonbreath City Forge in order to take the harsh tests of mastership in order to reach Foundation Establishment. Most fail and return wandering. Some perish in the attempt and the rare few reach the next stage. Masters remain within the city, honing their skill and only taking the orders of those who come to them. Even the clan buys from them, such is their skill. They only leave rarely when a master considers themselves reaching the pinnacle of their skill.
The Blade Duchies organize a grand tourney where all clash with the final duel being between the two Dukes who have reached the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment. The emanations of the duels are used to forge a great weapon coveted even by Core Formation and the weapon usually goes to the one who wins the duel. The weapon is a great treasure for the Blade Duchy who wins it whether to use or sell and usually guarantees that the winner will stand above the other until the time for another tourney comes.
Those masters who forge a weapon to their satisfaction attempt to reach grand-mastership through the tribulations of heaven, but so far none have succeeded. In the history of the Divided Kingdoms, no grandmaster smith has been born from the Blade Duchies. Nevertheless, the Philosophy of Man requires that they keep trying just as the dragon who left them the bone upon which the the City Forge is made once did and grew from a carp to become a dragon through great struggle.
The Philosophy of Earth
"The weight of the sword comes from the pull of the Earth. The Earth is formed by five elements."
For the ever-changing nobility of the Blade Duchies, it is not families that dominate the political environment but the Five Orthodox Schools of Swordsmanship or as it is known simply to its practitioners - the Orthodoxy. They represent five separate schools of thought whose pursuit dominates over all others and they take their names from the five elements of Fire, Air, Water, Wood and Metal that comprise the earthly world.
In theory, the schools of the Viridescent Blade Duchy and the Cerulean Blade Duchy are distinct but while they may have minor visual differences, by and large the techniques and philosophies used by both are largely the same. Due to the talents on both sides and constant duels, any new innovations are very quickly copied and added to the orthodox schools of the other side. This results in a bitter rivalry between the five schools of both the duchies, with innovation and counter-innovation being the norm.
The philosophies of the Five Schools are described below:
School of Metal: The Metal school of orthodox swordsmanship believes that the concept of the 'sword' is a limitation of the mind and all the weapons used by men as equally viable weapons. They travel through the Mortal Kingdoms and tend to study under masters of other weapons before incorporating techniques from other schools into their own. The personal styles evolved from this school can be incredibly varied depending on what their creators encountered, incorporating axe techniques, fist techniques, staff techniques, scorpion tail techniques, wing techniques and many others. Their unique characteristic is the ability to study the style of other weapons and incorporate them into their own.
School of Wood: Wood seems to draw from the Demon Apple Tree of the Demon Apple Duchy, if only in a theoretical sense though some swordsmen do seem to have gone to study it or from it. It is all about rooting yourself and standing your ground, while studying the exchange of forces whether that be physical or spiritual. The base school teaches cactus based techniques to increase one's stores of qi and favors deflections and parries, while personal styles may incorporate qi absorption or restoration as well as study other plants of the desert and incorporate their survival mechanisms.
School of Wind: Wind studies the heavens themselves in all of their glory. Their belief is that their ultimate and constant opponent is heaven itself and as such, they must refine themselves for that battle over all others. They value fast swordsmen who are never hit as none can survive the wrath of heavens and they value powerful swordsmen whose strike can match the strength of tribulation lightning. The personal styles created by this style mimic heavenly phenomenon and are more specialized to duels than any of their peers as they are concerned with only one opponent - Heaven itself. More practically, they tend to dominate in battles against peers as most duels come down to a single strike while the school of wind specializes in breaking through guards and never being hit in the first place.
The School of Fire: The school of fire for both duchies is based in Dragonsbreath City Forge and it's masters travel there to learn. They believe in honing themselves over all and care for their weapons personally to an incredible extent. An ideal day for a swordsman of the school of fire is spent fighting a duel or a battle and an ideal night is spent preparing for the next day. For all of Water's traditional domination of the dueling circuit, it is the School of Fire who fights the most duels overall and is also the one with the greatest rivalries against their opposite numbers. Their personal styles tend to be the most well-rounded and practical thanks to facing constant conflict and very often are simply just incredible refinements of the basics.
The School of Water: The school of water is the adaptable one and able to flow into any container. Their base styles rely more on hiding from senses and subterfuge while personal styles born from it are eclectic and hard to quantify as they tend to be unique. They are associated with both stealth and innovation. Rather than being swordsmen who can adapt, they tend to be more swordsmen who force others to adapt. They tend to enjoy clashes and exchanges of pointers with a unique theatrical approach to normal dueling tradition which only inflames their detractors. However, they also have a reputation for loyalty and are the Hands of the Duke. This has soured somewhat as from them originated the hated and abolished School of Blood and School of Poison, but destroying those heretics personally went a long way of restoring their reputation. They are the ones who least hate their counterparts, though a degree of professional rivalry remains.
Once you master all five schools, you must create your own interpretation of your favored school. Once you judge your personal style worthy, you must present yourself to the Duke to be judged. Should you be found worthy, you will be given the resources to reach Foundation Establishment and the ability to walk the Path of Heaven and become a true master as judged by the Blade Duchies.
The Philosophy of Heaven
"The only sword untouched by the earth is the blade of the mind. To reach Heaven, we must forge a blade with our own will."
Once a swordsman reaches Foundation Establishment, they are taken in and made a part of the Ducal Household. At this level, the swordsman follow the Philosophy of Heaven which believes that no blade formed of the earth can truly carve the path to heaven. While many do use physical blades, any who seek the hopeless quest for Core Formation all seek to forge the Seven-Part Sword. This is in essence the Seven Pillars, merely couched in a different philosophical language.
Rather than seven pillars, they have divided a sword into seven parts - the pommel, the hilt, the guard, the blade, the flat, the point and the sheath. What each part of the sword represents often varies between individual sword cultivators much as the pillars do, but they still take the form of the sword due to the bloodline and culture. The general philosophy behind each part of the seven-part sword can be extrapolated and is given below:
The Blade: The simplest and the first part of the weapon that is forged. It represents a sword in the simplest manner - a cutting implement. The goal of course is to master it until it will cut through anything and cut through nothing, just as the wielder commands. This is so simple a concept that even those within Qi Condensation can use it by invoking the memories within their blood. Use of this can heighten their skills and capabilities but constant use without the weight of a pillar behind them can damage their sanity.
The Flat: Once the blade of will has been forged and one has mastered it to the point where it will only cut when they want it to, one gains the flat. This is the sides of the blade, often used to deliver a blunted blow. Mastery of this requires one to master parry and deflection. Not only to turn the blade into a blunt instrument but to master how to manipulate the forces that it touches. Not only does this forge a second part of their blade, but it increases their control over the sword qi.
The Point: The tip of the sword, used for stabs. After one masters the flat, they gain the control necessary to concentrate the Blade Will not on an edge but on a point. The qi becomes far more focused, capable of piercing through things that the blade would be stopped against. This is considered the pinnacle of Blade Will and the next steps involve not improving it further but learning how to blunt
the Point and to wield it safely.
The Guard: A far more advanced use of the blunt. Rather than as a weapon, it is deployed as a shield formed from the wielder's will. To master this aspect of Blade Will, one must be able to expand the flat and form complicated shapes in order to defend allies and defeat complicated attacks at the same time. When forming the sword dao, this is used to form the guard that protects a wielder from his own blade.
The Hilt: From this point on, one begins to Forge the Blade. The hilt is the part of the blade that allows one to wield it. Rather than simple manifestations of will, after this point the swordsman can summon a crude ghostly weapon to wield with their own hands, though it is easily dispelled. It is a strong reminder that they are not swords but swordsmen and they need a part to wield it. After achieving this level of mastery, all other steps become far easier to use.
The Pommel: Another step akin to the hilt. The pommel exists in a sword as a counterbalance for its weight and to prevent the weapon from slipping from the user's hands. Similarly, achieving this level of mastery allows the swordsman to create truly stable sword constructs. Some masters of this dao who reach this step have been known to fire swords as if they were arrows, making a rain of swords.
The Sheath: The final step is making the sword of will manifest constantly even as the swordsman sleeps or lies unconscious. At this level, the swordsman is truly accustomed to their weapon. The duke is the one who has a complete sword and has reached the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment. At the end of their life or when they feel ready, they challenge heaven in order to forge it completely.
None have succeeded so far.
One of the reasons why the Philosophy of Earth encourages innovation is so that every swordsman will form a new variation of their philosophy when cultivating the Philosophy of Heaven. Though of course, they are ultimately limited by their population there is still the hope that there is some possibility to surpass that. It is why the Sword Duchy is designed to constantly push their cultivators and never let them languish. It is why the cultivation of the sword is paramount and rank is decided by merit. Certainly, the Duke tries his best to maintain the power of his lineage but the Duke can and has given up his seat upon a defeat in a duel.
It is admirable how they struggle against their chains and challenge the heavens over and over. It is something that even us golden devils can draw inspiration from. And who knows? Perhaps one day they will have a Heaven-Defying Genius who will bring all of their dreams to fruition. It is something that is not unheard of in this world of ours after all. Until then they struggle and remain the vassals of the Divided Kingdoms who are in turn the vassals of us, the Golden Devils and so we will need to learn about them to properly do our duties.
Note from the Authors: It is our hope that this article has been helpful to the reader for whatever reason they have perused this piece. While there is currently no sequel piece planned to expand upon the aspects introduced here, readers who are seeking additional information in any capacity may send their questions to Waycastle Taurus where the information shall be forwarded to us if needed. Please include a return address and a general sense of your deployment schedule so that we may deliver our answers to you in a timely manner.
