Combat Styles

The world of Venaya is filled with many different types of magic, but the wide range of cultures, nations, and continents has led to a multitude of different fighting styles, both general and specific. General fighting styles are comonly developed or spread to most cultures and are widely used. These styles cover general skill sets and ways of fighting as opposed to the more specific combat styles that are used to counter individual circumstances. The specific styles are also normally region specific and more or less likely to be found depending on where you are.

## General Combat Styles

**Assassin Style**: Focuses on dirty fighting and backstabs.

**Duelist Style**: Focuses on twin weapons and parry-riposte. Defense and offense at the same time

**Guardian Style**: Focuses on defense, being able to take more damage and roll with hits. Also puts emphasis on effective armor use.

**Sharpshooting**: Accuracy with ranged weapons

## Specific Combat Styles

**Lysen Tear Style**: heavily offensive style focusing on descending strikes from a high stance, using either one weapon or two. The technique is one of the oldest in Mythralis, and one of very few that is trained in both human and rethri cultures. Humans often learn the style for mercenary work, as the two-weapon version of the style is well-known for being both intimidating to enemies and devastating when properly used. The single weapon variant is more popular among the rethri, who find the style artistic and beautiful. The two-weapon version tends to be less popular, as it is less aesthetically focused and involves more risk to the practitioner. Traditionally, this was used with long, thin swords, but the modern version of the style can be used with any melee weapon.

**Terisgard Low-Blade Style**: Terisgard Low-Blade Style is a defensive style of swordplay developed for using a single weapon against opponents that may have superior reach, multiple weapons, or otherwise superior armaments.

**Flowing Blade Style**: Originally developed as a set of defensive maneuvers as a portion of the Talisian Iron Rain Style, the Flowing Blade Style eventually developed into a separate martial art branch. While the two styles are still often practiced in tandem, the Flowing Blade Style’s defensive flexibility made it popular even outside of traditional Iron Rain users, especially for skirmishers and other mobile combatants.

**Aayaran Instant Striking**: The commonly given name of a style of dueling developed in Aayara that focuses on an immediate, telling strike at the beginning of a battle. This first strike is often delivered straight out of the scabbard in dueling schools, but in real combat, the technique is more frequently used for a swift, precise attack after the blade has already been drawn.

**Sae'lien Slaying Style**: A Mythralis specific style. Designed for quick strikes with long, thin two-handed blades. It is the most commonly taught technique in cities in the Forest of Blades. Reportedly, the style was based on techniques developed with hunting spears for quickly killing wild beasts. Eventually, the style evolved into a technique for lightweight metal weapons, such as two-handed swords, metal-tipped spears, and glaives.

**Citadel Finality Style**: A Mythralis specific style. The Citadel Finality Style was designed by the Paladins of Tae’os at the Citadel of Blades for use against the esharen. The style utilizes heavy two-handed weapons designed to cripple, maim, or decapitate a target in a single strike. The intent is to prevent the esharen from ever getting close enough to inflict damage.

**Adamantine Body Style**: The Priests of Koranir, the God of Earth, have long trained in the art of unarmed combat to stand strong against the assaults of monsters in any situation. While many followers of Koranir choose to use weapons, others believe that they can be closer to their god by only utilizing their natural bodies, which they strengthen through long hours of exercise and training. Unlike many unarmed combat styles, the Adamantine Body Style incorporates armor, although it can also be practiced while unarmored. While armored, the Priests often utilize plated bracers and greaves offensively, using them to supplement the strength of their unarmed strikes.

**Selyrian Cutting Style**: A combat style popularized in the city of Selyr when dueling to the death was temporarily rendered illegal during the Third Xixian War. The style is designed to disable opponents non-lethally – or, better yet, destroy their weapons.

**Talisian Iron Rain Style**: A style that incorporates rapid and unpredictable movements to disorient opponents and take advantage of their weaknesses. Created by the Order of Talisian, Iron Rain was meant to be a last line of defense for the queen and her immediate family. The style was designed to be effective at holding large groups of enemies at bay, enabling a single practitioner of the style to defend against overwhelming odds until help can arrive