Also, have swordy-things.
Sword Styles
Ylissean Royal Style : passed down through the Exalt line, this sword school is all about combining blinding speed with overwhelming strength. Its users tend to favour all-out offense, even turning each block into an opportunity to counter-attack. True masters of the style go as far as actually raising their stamina mid-fight while literally smashing through their opponents defences. Some scholars suspect this technique, dubbed 'Aether', is linked to the Brand of the Exalt somehow, but nothing has proved or disproved that theory so far. The style is extremely efficient to slay the most fearsome monsters, its heavy blows managing to pierce the toughest skin. Due to the rarity of its practitioners, most opponents are also unprepared to face it, and struggle to adapt. It is, however, a very demanding style, who can quickly tires its user, and loses a lot of its efficiency when faced with a physically stronger adversary. It also puts an heavy strain on the weapon used, who may be heavily damaged or even break (a problem entirely negated by the use of Falchion, though not every members of the exalted line had been able to wield the fang of Naga).
Known practitioners : Chrom (master)
Chon'sin Style : also called "the school of the strategy of two heavens as one", this discipline is rarely seen outside the borders of Chon'sin, where it was refined for centuries in order to create one of deadliest sword art there is. Fast, precise and everflowing, without a wasted move, the style is perfect to seize the initiative in a fight, often to the point where the first strike is the only one needed. Even if the battle continues on, a Chon'sin swordsman is able to quickly chains his attacks, rendering any defensive swordplay an attempt at futility. For the same reasons, it is a good style to use when outnumbered, able to pick up opponents one by one with lightning strikes while conserving energy. It is however of limited utility when used on the defensive, any parry putting an end to the sword's perpetual dance. It also has difficulties overcoming the heaviest armours, and works best when using Chon'sin curved, one-edged blades.
Known practionners : Yen'fay (master, deceased), Say'ri (master), Lon'qu (master), Gregor (adept), Robin (novice), Gaius (novice)
Arcane Blade Style : a difficult style to learn, it requires a good knowledge of magic as well as swordsplay to be effective. Its strength is the ability to infuse elemental magic into the blade used to augment its destructive power. It is however a delicate process, who needs constant control lest the user is to suffer a feedback effect. Excellent against armoured targets, whose protective equipment is often powerless to shield them from the blasts of magic coming from the blade. It is also quite good in a duel, where a single opponent can be the sole focus of the user, and is unconventional enough to catch most opponents by surprise (it is especially difficult to correctly gauge the range of its strikes, which can be increased at any time by an afflux of magic). This school tend to suffer when engaged in very high paced combat though, making it difficult to keep up the rhythm while channelling magic
Known practitioners : Robin (veteran), Gangrel (veteran, deceased), Ricken (novice)
Praetorian Style : favoured by most noble houses, this school of combat focuses on defence, letting opponents exhaust themselves against an impenetrable guard, before striking back with devastating counter-attacks. Often used in conjunction with a shield and heavy armour, it is a style that asks for patience and endurance. The best practitioners even manage to deflect or reduce blasts of magic. While the style is ruthlessly effective on the battlefield, allowing for prolonged fighting with minimal injuries, it is also one of the most common, and many styles are dedicated (or at least include a few specific ways) to overcome it. Still, it is often easier said than done.
Known practitioners : Walhart (master, deceased), Frederick (veteran), Stahl (adept), Sully (adept), Robin (novice)
Wandering Hero Style : this rather informal school of fighting is actually a strange patchwork of techniques, with the intent of making the style as efficient as possible. The main strength of this school is its impredictability, constantly switching the tempo of the fight. It tends to be an easy school to "learn", but hard to master. Conversely, most inexperienced fighters tend to panic when confronted to it, but masters of their crafts tend to be well acquainted with its tricks. Still, this passionate way of fighting can achieve splendid results, making an habit of triumphing against all odds. Its most adept users seem to shrug off wounds that should otherwise incapacitate them, and tends to laugh at small details like "numerical inferiority".
Known practitionners : Gregor (master), Basilio (master, deceased), Donnel (veteran), Gaius (veteran), Robin (novice)
Rough draft, but you get the general idea. Next time, spears!