V3: Edge

Deeply imbedded into the culture of the Lakelands, most particularly for the Alistairs and Seidh, is the philosophy, magical theory, and martial art that is the Way of Edge. In both forms, it endorses discipline, personal strength, and highly focused aggression.

As a mainly offensive style of martial art, it emphasizes economy of action, using the least necessary force on vulnerable points of the opponent’s body; there is also no sense of fair play or sportsmanship, and strikes to the groin, throat, and eyes are universally permitted. All parts of the body are used, from fists and feet to elbows and teeth, as well as weapons such as the saber and knife. Given that it is not practiced in the Lakelands as a hobby or sport, there is no amelioration of the lethality of strikes except in consideration for sparring partners one would rather not cripple or kill. In order to avoid accidents, or in lieu of an opponent of the appropriate skill, sand-filled leather bags and gargant-bone dummies are often used to hone particular styles of full-power strike, such as ones meant to shatter ribs

Edge also contains much on the matter of strategic and tactical intimidation, somewhat counterintuitively to the idea of an economically efficient fighting style. What has been found through long study is that the quickest way to win a fight is to avoid the necessity of fighting. Thus warpaints with blood as a key ingredient have long been used, made almost ubiquitous with the advent of widespread gargant herding allowing for massive quantities of fresh blood.

Its philosophical component follows much the same lines: take the shortest path to victory. Codifications and parables are often transit-focused, with a propensity for analogies to such concepts as roads, banditry, and blockages. Risk-taking and daredevilry is encouraged as trail-blazing and exploration, emphasizing an all-or-nothing approach to ambition. Obstacles to success in life are generally presented as animated opponents to the individual, living embodiments that must be crushed utterly. Physical training is thought to bolster the mind, with proponents exercising multiple times a day to hone themselves. This last is the greatest bar to the vast majority of hopeful practitioners, as the regimen is too exhausting to allow for another physically or temporally consumptive trade such as farming or smithing.

Finally, there is an element of magic to the way of Edge. Practitioners of sufficient skill possess the ability to activate runes, or else energize previously awakened marks with surges of power, through an effort of will. It is this ability which permits members of the Alistair caste to use their runic tattoos to salutary effect, such as the prolonged expenditures necessary for growing to their prodigious stature. Once they have achieved their full size, no further energy is required to maintain the transformation, and can instead be allocated to marks of strength, speed, or stamina.

What is perhaps the most difficult aspect for walkers of the way of Edge is its reliance on the storing of living energy through conservation. That is to say, abstinence. It is clear to any practitioner that sexual release for either gender causes a precipitous decline in the internal energies upon which Edge relies, requiring a relatively lengthy period to recover. Usually consisting of no more than several minutes to an hour, it still represents a dangerously weakened period for an Alistair if they suddenly require the use of their magic. Conversely, it has been found that exacerbating this frustration can lead to incredible peaks of power; leading, when combined with standard Lakelander behavior, to a ubiquitous reputation for rapacious lust once battle has been concluded.

While practiced to some degree by the Alistairs as part of their broader martial art, it is used to most devestating effect by the Seidh. Spirit-talkers, shaman, and lore-keepers, the Seidh have the greatest understanding of runes in all of the Lakelands, the only individuals trusted by the Alistairs to provide their body-shaping tattoos. When it comes to such inductions, or circumstances where spiritual intercession and mediation is required, or at times when ancient tribal bans and oaths are called into question, are the most common interactions between the Seidh and the rest of Lakelands society. Their hallmarks are full-body grey robes, normally hooded, hung about with various pouches, flasks, and bone fetishes, and a carved staff. Traditionally, these were more like canes and made from the long bones of fallen Alistair warriors, but economic and social forces have evolved these into much longer staves from the skeletons of adult gargants.

Other than that, their internal hierarchy is as opaque as the fully extended nature of their abilities, which upon seeing many would consider more akin to overt wizardry. Commonly referred to as the Cold Fire, their talents range from subtle, such as the brewing of potions or inscribing of runes, to unbelievable, in the manner of rending the earth apart or calling up a great storm. How much of this power is rooted in Edge, rather than focused by it, and how much in unknown compacts with powerful spirits is a matter for some quietly spoken debate.