Ilao-Kali

**Ilao-Kali** is a magic martial art originally created by Aprósopi as a countermeasure against Akashic Vajrapani and their qi-empowered weapons. Originally called "*Fos Flógas"* or *"Searing Light"* by the Greco-Aprósopi who first fought the Akashics for their effect of imbuing weapons with intense light from the mana and turning weapons sharper and could burn from a single touch. The phenomena is made possible by infusing weapons with Aíma Tu Ári and applying Reinforcement on the heated Aíma Tu Ári during the forging process. This allows for weapons to become extremely potent amplifiers for Reinforcement magic, resulting in their iconic bright light due to the weapons becoming filled with dense mana. It later evolved into *"Prakaash Ko Maarana"* or *"Killing Light"* in Hindi when the Aprósopi integrated into ancient Indian culture, adopting a variety of techniques from both Greek and South Asian weapon arts. The name Prakaash Ko Maarana remained in use while by the Aprósopi from the Indian Subcontinent, while different names were given by the Faceless of different regions. "*Honō no Hikari Ken"* or *"Burning Energy Sword"* by the Japanese, for example. The art lost popularity with many Faceless Clans due to many factors such as the popularization of gunpowder and enchanted ranged weapons, its reliance on magic and many Aprósopi focusing on martial arts instead of the arcane arts, the decline of large-scale Aprósopi-Akashic battles, as well as requiring Aíma Tu Ári for the weapons, which is mostly used by Faceless Clans for armor. By the 20th century, Aprósopi clans in the Philippines and the Balete territories remained using the magic martial art, which they called *"Ilao-Kali"* or *"Light Blade"*, and it's propagation through the Aprósopi members of the Snake Tong resulted in Ilao-Kali becoming the most common name for the magical art in the modern mage world. It consists of different combat forms, each covering a specific fighting style or weapon choice.

## Main Concepts

### Magic and Weapons

The main requirement for Ilao-Kali is to use Aíma Tu Ári weapons infused weapons, which are a rare sight for non-Aprósopi. Even in Aprósopi clans, infusing weapons with the Wargod's Blood is very uncommon. This meant that most dedicated practitioners either had to gain access to Aprósopi smiths who can make them their weapons, or acquire one either through purchase, theft, or battle. Attempts of emulating Aprósopi techniques in forging Aíma Tu Ári-infused weapons have resulted in inferior versions, as the Aprósopi smiths continue to keep their secret forge techniques from prying eyes. Despite Ilao-Kali's name referring to bladed weapons, the art is not restricted to just swords, knives, and axes. Spears are also a common sight, or blunt weapons like maces and clubs. The different "Forms" of Ilao-Kali have their preferred weapons, while some cover a variety of armaments. The most common weapon used in Ilao-Kali are blades of various lengths, from short swords to two-handers, as well as daggers as off-hand weapons for both offense and defense. Ilao-Kali also starts with unarmed techniques which helps a user in disarming opponents or providing additional unarmed strikes in combat. With the art adapting Arnis/Kali techniques due to a majority of its practitioners having close proximity to the Philippines, blunt weapons like iron sticks infused with Aíma Tu Ári instead of bladed weapons for a more resource-efficient weapon. Reinforcement was also used to enhance a practitioners physical capabilities and reflexes as an equalizer against the pre-cognitive reflexes of the Faceless' Akashic opponents.

Assuming one already has a properly infused weapon, Ilao-Kali's fundamentals, magic-wise, involve to the application of Reinforcement on a wielder's weapon, specifically the practitioner strengthens the concepts of "Cutting", "Crushing", and or "Piercing" of their weapons through Reinforcement. Even the most simplest of Reinforcement is amplified by their infused weapons that the weapons itself become deadly to the touch from the dense and heated mana surrounding a blade or a mace-head for example. Ilao-Kali weapons were also used defensively with shields and bucklers, although these are even more rare due to the materials needed to make infused shields. Shields aside, the defensive capabilities of a weapons are also amplified since the concepts of "Sturdiness" of a sword's blade for example can also be Reinforced by the wielder whenever they need to parry an empowered attack. This was one of the main reasons why the ancient Aprósopi created the magical martial art, so that their weapons and shields could withstand blows from the qi-empowered weapons of the Akashic warriors.

## Forms

### Form 1: Oplitai

Also known as the "Hoplite" Form, and is the most basic form of Ilao-Kali that serves as a stepping stone to the advanced forms. The Form was derisively called the "Hoplite" or "Citizen-Soldier" Form due to it being considered the "novices' form", and the Aprósopi considered the part-time citizen soldiers that they fought against and alongside with as below them. Despite the name, it is a key fundamental form that many excel and master, as its simplicity did not necessarily mean that it was not effective. The Oplítai Form taught the practitioner straightforward combat techniques which translated to armed and unarmed combat, and it did not restrict the user in one type of weapon. As Hoplites were formation fighters with spear, shield, and blade, Oplitai mixed offensive and defensive techniques, and was highly effective when wielded by masters with a weapon on one hand and a shield in another. Stories passed down across Faceless clans tell of the feats of ancient warriors whose spears could pierce thick walls and shields that would withstand even the strongest Akashic qi attacks. Practitioners who preferred Form 1 are typically seen as technical fighters whose style was compatible with most weapons, as many prefer to dual wield swords, for example instead of using a shield but use the defensive techniques with their off-hand weapon for parrying and other defensive maneuvers.

### Form 2: Monomákos

Also known as the "Duelist" Form, due to its effectivity in one-on-one battles. Monomákos emphasizes on precision and efficiency over Oplitai's straightforward technicality. This allows a practitioner to defend themselves against an opponent with minimal effort, while placing a heavy focus on avoiding being disarmed. Many describe it as an elegant and focused style based on balance and footwork to outmaneuver opponents. Fluidity, precision, and economy of motion were relied on by practitioners of this form rather than strength. Its blade work heavily utilizes jabs and light cuts rather than hack and slash movements. True to its name, Monomákos was at used to its best when engaged in combat against a single enemy duelist. And unlike Oplitai, the Duelist form is more of a sword and spear technique unlike the first form's general approach.

The early levels of the form were devised to provide a defense against an opponent's weapon, allowing an initiate in the style to defend themselves with minimal effort, but needing to be paired with a more offensive style to score a winning blow. The higher levels of the form proved considerably more effective, encouraging precision and efficiency over power, using jabs, parries and light cuts rather than slashes, blocks and chops. The blade or spear manipulation required for this form was very calculated, requiring intense focus and expert timing. Many practitioners are notorious in using feints to confuse and trap opponents. Techniques from European fencing as well as native Kali blade work were hybridized as they were adopted to this form.

However, for all its effectiveness, Monomákos was not without its weaknesses. As it was designed to combat enemy duelists rather than enemy gunmen or magi who are expert at accurate and precision projectiles. This weakness could be reduced through skill and practice and ability to switch to Oplitai or Aias. Monomákos also suffered reduced effectiveness when fighting groups of adversaries. A very skilled practitioner could still fare very well against multiple foes by relying on their footwork and defensive ability to outmaneuver them and take them one at a time. Some practitioners even compensate by using off-hand weapons but this was highly discouraged. Monomákos is best utilized with only one weapon. The greatest flaw of the Monomákos was its inability to generate kinetic energy in its application; the focus on precision and weapon control hampered an adherent's ability to generate momentum in both offensive and defensive maneuvers. This meant that an enemy who possessed a sufficient level of physical strength could potentially overwhelm a Monomákos user, brushing aside strikes from the form's precision offense and simply bashing through its evasive, footwork-oriented defense. This lack of physical force left practitioners vulnerable to fighters that excelled at power and brute strength. However, this weakness could, to varying degrees, be compensated for with rigorous strength training.

Many Monomákos fight with light precision blade weapons, such as rapiers, broadswords, sabers, etc. While Monomákos users who prefer polearms are known to use spears of varied lengths from 5 to 8 feet.

### Form 3: Aias

Also known as the "Bulwark" Form and is said to be named after Aias, or Ajax the Greater. It is the most defensive form of Ilao-Kali, and while not as popular to the Faceless who prefer offensive combat, it is nevertheless a very effective form for the more defense-oriented warriors. It is also notorious for its ability to deflect both bullets and even magical projectiles back at opponents when used by highly proficient practitioners by Reinforcing the concept of "Deflection" in a weapon and bypassing the idea of "physically deflecting" an enemy's weapon or projectile away and thus affecting even incoming spells. The emphasis on deflection has made the Aias Form synonymous with weapon and shield combat.

Similar to Monomákos , Aias relied on the economy of motion and energy efficiency, keeping up constant weapon movement to build up momentum and minimize energy expenditure. The form focuses on strong defensive technique to essentially outlast an opponent, waiting until they began making mistakes due to frustration or fatigue, before taking advantage of these lapses and countering. Despite its effectiveness, it was heavily criticized for its lack of offensive capabilities by more traditionalist Aprósopi , as it facilitated survival rather than victory. But those who do not practice the strict Aprósopi traditions on combat would otherwise use the form to its full potential.

Aias utilizes tight motions, their weapons moving every second in an attempt to achieve near-total protection, and expend as little energy in the process as possible. This applies to both shield and non-shield users, as a skilled Aias practitioner can defend their entire bodies with just a single sword. Quick reflexes and fast positional transition are key in order to overcome rapid barrages of bullets or projectile spells. This technique minimized the body's exposure, making a well-trained practitioner practically invincible and was effective against both single enemies and multiple opponents, be it against melee or projectile weapons. Aias involves preparation for prolonged battles where the user observes and learns as much as possible about their opponent’s movements and technique while engaged in combat. Being more optimized for prolonged battles, a Aias user has the capability to gain control of a combat situation as they wear down an opponent, creating multiple options for the combatant to employ the form either to kill, disarm, or perhaps even force the opponent to submit.

According to one of the current experts of the form, Satoru Takeuchi: "The core idea of Aias is to place one’s self within the eye of the storm, maintain and eventually become the calm center, undistracted and undisturbed by the chaos and conflict of the storm.” In other words, Aias focused almost entirely on self-defense, often at the expense of offensive capabilities. The tactics encouraged by the style involved the reliance on pure defense while essentially waiting out the opponent, holding back until his frustration or fatigue inevitably caused his defense to lapse, then employing an alternate, more aggressive form to take advantage of this. Overall, the whole point of Aias was to deflect projectiles out of harm's way and safely prolong a sword fight in hopes of wearing an opponent down.

While the defensive nature of the form is its greatest strength, it is also its main weakness. As a result of this defensive mindset, practitioners often had great difficulty seizing the offensive initiative in combat. Attempting to win a battle of attrition also risks of fatiguing the user if said practitioner faced an adversary who could maintain an aggressive but cautious offense.

While Aias can be utilized with all sorts of weapons that are sturdy enough to deflect bullets and magical projectiles, a vast majority of the practitioners utilize the form with a shield and thus shield techniques are prominent in Aias. There are also practitioners who forgo using shields and would sometimes use off-handed weapons instead such as parrying daggers or shorter versions of their main weapon.

Although he does not have access to an Aíma Tu Ári weapon, Cards Berani is known to have studied this form without using a Searing Weapon in order to be a better defensive fighter over all.

### Form 4: Garudakalari

The "Battlefield Eagle" form in Hindu, and also known as the "Aggression Form" or the Eagle Form. Garudakalari is an aggressive combat form relying on a combination of strength, speed, and agility, and evolved in the Indian Subcontinent with the Faceless that stayed and continued to fight there as mercenaries and has been heavilly influenced by Kalaripayattu. True to its name, it's built for large scale battles The form's practitioners constantly use Reinforcement to aid in their movements and attacks. Garudakalari users reinforce their bodies in order to surpass normal physical ranges of motion, speed, and agility in order to be successful. Running, jumping, and spinning were all emphasized in learning the elaborate kinetics of the form.

An aggressive style, Garudakalari is fast-paced and effective against both single and multiple opponents. The form is characterized by Reinforcement-assisted acrobatics, such as somersaults and leaping strikes, both for attack and defense. The increased agility and presence in a battlefield thanks to the heavy Reinforcement emphasis has earned it its name of Battlefield Eagle. Another characteristic of the form was its fast, powerful strikes from multiple directions. Those who utilizes this form could move at high speeds and could rain strong blows, jumping and attacking through the air. Powerful and quick spinning attacks could be utilized from all angles, either from ground or air. A master in Garudakalari could appear like a blur to their opponents, attacking from all directions—the front, the sides, overhead, or behind. This form also has an additional variant for dual-wielding, emphasizing shorter off-hand weapons in order to cover as an additional offense and defense for the wielder. Its practitioners on focused aggression and not just skill with a weapon, and they embrace the idea that one's whole body is the weapon. Battlefield weapons like halberds, greatswords, axes, are the favored weapons of the Garudakalari. A deadly and notorious weapon used by Garudakalari masters is the Urumi, a bladed whip-sword that the Faceless called "Flesh Treshers" as it was extremely deadly against unarmored opponents and even more so with Ilao-Kali reinforcement.

### Form 5: Herakles

The Fifth Form, also known as Herakles or the “Strength" Form, and notorious for its emphasis on immediate counterattacks and “overwhelm” tactics, and is named after the quintessential hero from Greek mythology. It is an evolution of Monomákos' techniques, but with less restraint in aggression and strength conservation. Also known as a “Berserker” style, Herakles principles demanded the user not only to counterattack, but also to press the assault, combining Reinforcement-enhanced strength with powerful attack combinations to overpower and overwhelm an opponent's defenses. The Form’s sheer power, when combined with physical and magical-imbued strength, was capable of defeating an Akashic who is not properly gauging the strength of their opponent, and offense of the Herakles overpowering their defenses. However aggressive it is, the Herakles form was known for having a lack of mobility when compared to forms like Monomákos, and can be countered by highly skilled and highly agile defenders. Instead of relying on defense for protection, Herakles practitioners are encourage to utilize counter-offense instead. The most common technique for keeping the practitioner in constant offense is known as "Apokefalíste tin Ýdra," or "Decapitating The Hydra", which involved a smooth transition from parrying an attack to a counterstrike. “Defanging the Snake” is a another counter-offensive technique in Herakles taken from Kali bladework and other Southeast Asian Martial arts that emphasize disarmings, in which one’s immediate defensive counter is not blocking the enemy blade, but quickly cutting off the enemy’s hand or arm before a strike lands.

Herakles weapons vary based on the preference of the user. Many use bladed and blunted weapons that are effective with aggressive fighting styles, from clubs to two-handed swords. The Takeuchi, for example, are known to use katanas, dai-katanas, and even odachis. The Herakles Form is best used with two-handed weaponry to utilize the full force of their weapon.

### Form 6: Lamok

The "Mosquito" Form, also known as the "Skirmisher" or the "Harassment" Form. Unlike the other forms, Lamok emphasizes more on magic as opposed to technical martial arts. Similar to Garudakalari, the Lamok Form is a highly agile and acrobatic style amplified with Reinforcement. This aspect of the Form is primarily used for defense and repositioning, as Lamok is used for harassing an opponent and weakening them as opposed to defeating them directly. It is used by both Aprosopi and non-Aprosopi as a Form against stronger opponents or magical beasts who outclass them in terms of power, precision, and or speed. Because of this, Lamok is not restricted to a type of weapon as anything can be used with its principles, the primary of which is the concept of maintaining distance yet controlling the fight. A master of the Form retreats and avoids direct combat but maintains the control of the fight, not their foe. Concepts inherent in bladed weapons like "Bleeding" or "Crushing" in blunt weapons are highly Reinforced by Lamok practitioners in order to make their strikes as debilitating as possible so despite their conservation of attacks, each strike builds up to the final death blow when the opponent is too weakened from blood loss or fatigue and injuries. Lamok is also the only Form that practices thrown weapons, such as javelins, bolas, darts, and other projectiles. They have specific throwing techniques to ensure that an opponent cannot expect a singular type of ranged attack.

### Form 7: Ōkami

Also known as the "Wolf" Form or the "Fury" Form, associated with both agression and "malignant grace.”, and is the form that is the most magic-dependent of the Forms, due to an Alteration technique that gives the Form its identity, and is practiced primarilly by Sae Takeuchi-Musashibou. In essence, the Okami is an aggressive form even surpassing Herakles. The technical aspects of the Form is simply an extension of Garudakalari and Herakles, utilizing both agile acrobatics and counter-attack offense, but amplified by the “Kiai”. As the Takeuchi stated, *"Ōkami is more of a state of mind that just a fighting style”*, as their blades utilize an Alteration technique known as *“Ōkami No Mure Ga Emono O Kui Tsukusu”* or *“The Wolves Devour the Prey”*. It is a magic technique that involves the surrendering of one’s mind to aggression and to revel in combat as they use Alteration on the blade. This mental state is crucial for the Alteration spell to work. Once the ideal mental state is acquired, the Alteration Spell placed on one’s weapon turns it into a receptacle for the enemy’s aggression. Each strike of the enemy absorbs the foe’s metaphysical desire of aggression, their desire to kill, and it is converted back into the Ōkami user, amplifying their own speed and strength. However, this has strong consequences for the user constantly utilizing the Ōkami form, since they are at the risk of their minds being fully consumed by the hunger for battle, eventually turning themselves into psychopathic beings that desire nothing more than to fight and to kill.

The Form is scarcely thought of because of these risks, and the Takeuchi take great measures to hone their practitioners both physically and mentally in order to be capable of utilizing Ōkami No Mure Ga Emono O Kui Tsukusu without succumbing to Battle Hunger. The Kiai or Shouts used when attacking are both used as psychological warfare against a foe, as well as a method to release the metaphysical aggression absorbed by the user during battle, helping them regulate the ferocity that surges within them.

The most well known techniques include "Truestrike," wherein they traded sheer power for a near-certainty of landing a hit by capitalizing on the split second openings shown by foes whenever they initiate offense. Another technique was referred to as "Merciless Tidal Waves," which involved constant ferocious offense, a barrage of blades and a barrage of Kiai as most users would repeatedly shout short bursts such as *“ORA ORA ORA”* or *“ATATATATATATATA”*. Skilled Ōkami practitioners used the “Predator Pounce" technique, where they leaped or dashed around an opponent to make a quick strike, the speed of the maneuver is intended to catch opponents off guard. Due to the Takeuchi’s preference for Japanese weapons, Ōkami users typically use katanas or odachis, while using tantos and wakizashis for dual-wielding. This does not restrict the style to Japanese weapons, however, as some would use weapons like the Chinese Dao or dual wield Filipino Ginunting swords.