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[Failbird105]

ARMED STYLE
Ma Tui Bang ():
Bull Style ():
Two Fifths Style (5): Glass, Powder Miner, DGR, TricMagic, Failbird

UNIFORM
Common Garb of the Monks of Bei Bu (5): Glass, Powder Miner, DGR, TricMagic, Failbird

FUCKINNN’ FULCRUM TOUCH WARRIOR-MONK NAME
Levers (0):
Fulcrum Monk (4): Powder Miner, Glass, TricMagic, Failbird

[Man of Paper]

Proposal: Two-Fifths Style, The Desert of Our Fathers, and The Mountains of Ascension
Difficulty: Normal
Result: 6+6=12, Unexpected Boon

With their own homes secure, the Bei Bu still had to deal with border skirmishes with the Nomads and the Settled Folk on an extremely regular basis. While the more reasonable of both peoples wound up seeking refuge in the lands of the Bei Bu, the number of foes the nation of Warrior-Monks would have to face in order to ensure peace in their lands was more than the Fulcrum Monks would be able to take on by themselves, as skilled as they were. In order to bolster their numbers, weapons were created to arm those willing to fight but ungifted in the Arts, and a fighting style built around them.

The refugees brought with them a number of weapons that our Warrior-Monks had interest in, but above all were the Settler Jian and Nomad Aibalta, and to symbolize the marriage of these cultures training began with both of these weapons simultaneously. The Jian is a sword with a two foot long blade that comes to a sharp point and is double bladed to allow for both thrusting and slashing strikes. The Aibalta is a little more than an accompanying fighting axe. The axe has a small crescent blade at the end of a wooden pole 3 feet in length, and is expertly carved for comfortable grip at multiple points. Running a foot from the axe head down the pole is a metal rasp that acts to parry, catch, and wear blades. A small hook at the bottom of the rasp helps prevent weapons from sliding down the pole and at the wielder, and angled inward as it goes toward the head to guide enemy weapons up and behind the lower curve of the axe head.

The Two-Fifths Style that was developed for these weapons emphasized the idea that attacking was key. The weapons could be wielded individually according to the situation, and the Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks are adept with each weapon on it's own, but they specialize and focus on utilization of both simultaneously. When fully engaged in combat the Aibalta is held around two-third haft and is used to, in essence, attack into enemy offenses. Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks primarily use the rasp to gain control of their opponent's weapon and force them to choose between disarming or disengaging. Extensive practice and drills focus on where to hold the Aibalta at different engagement lengths and how to maximize it's potential at all times. While the Aibalta is used as an offensive shield, the Jian is simultaneously being used to harass the enemy's extremities along with exploiting any openings they show while dealing with the Aibalta. While a difficult style to master, the will of the people to fight for their secure futures sees the style become a Common practice.

Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks, meant to make up the core of the Bei Bu forces as they pacified the surrounding areas, trained to fight both as a unit and individually. When fighting as a unit, Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks give each other a fair bit of room to operate, and try to lock up and engage enemies on a 1v1 basis. They tend to flow around enemy formations, seeking to overwhelm opponents they can pull out of place with their Aibaltas before cutting them down.

In taking The Desert of Our Fathers from the nomads who remained hostile, individual Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks proved their worth in Duels of Honor with local leaders. While the Two-Fifths Style was related to one the Nomads were familiar with, the ferocity and effectiveness of Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks were more than enough to cut down the individual chieftain. The local chieftains were compelled to fight the Duels of Honor or lose face among their people, as each Warrior-Monk issuing the challenges were in some way tied by blood to the clans they were pacifying. When the Khan himself was issued a Duel of Honor from his youngest brother, he was forced to accept and was, as the others, cut down with haste. The majority of the Nomads were okay with this change of leadership, as it meant access to the thing they had been told they needed to raid and kill for without having to do any of the raiding or killing.

When the Bei Bu turned their eye toward their settled enemies in the Mountains of Ascension, they were forced against the more organized mountain cities and their heavier infantry-centric armies. The fights up the endless stairways climbing toward the heavens were brutal, with the tight passes preventing Two-Fifths Warrior-Monk formations from encircling their enemies. While aid in the form of Fulcrum Monks was extremely beneficial, the Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks still struggled to eventually overcome their enemies in their spear walls. As city after city did eventually fall to the Bei Bu, an enemy spear found it's way through the throat of a highly regarded military icon within the Bei Bu. The warrior survived, but lost the ability to speak. Unable to effectively lead, the warrior isolated himself. During this time he worked on various means of preventing what had happened to him from occurring to another warrior-monk. While meditating in the Fulcrum Mountains, the retired warrior-monk was granted a vision from the gods in the form of a wicked-looking smile, followed by a series of stars falling from the heavens and coming to rest within walking distance of the monk's hermitage. Given divine inspiration, the monk produced the first Guardian Mask from the Stellar Iron provided by the Gods. The Guardian Mask is a protective facepiece that ties behind the head and provides protection for the face below the nose, folding under the chin and coming down a little more to protect the throat. The metal deflected every blow the monk could land and did not even tarnish. The monk spread knowledge of the new craft to his old compatriots, and eventually the sacred Guardian Masks were in production for the entirety of the Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks. The final battles to pacify the mountain cities not falling in line with the Bei Bu's desire for peace in the region saw extensive use of Guardian Masks, and although they didn't cover much relatively, they did manage to reduce the number of losses among the Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks by a noticeable amount.

While the amount of Stellar Iron available is more than capable of providing our Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks, the monk's vision was very clear in that the Guardian Masks could only be used by Warrior-Monks practicing a dual-wielding style.

With belligerent forces to the north and south dealt with, and the cultures extremely easy to integrate into the Bei Bu (since they were both cultures the Bei Bu were derived from), the nation of Warrior-Monks tripled it's lands and vastly increased their wealth of men and material.

----

GM Pregame Insight: Hey, here's some special insight again during these three question phases from yours truly! The Two-Fifths Style is Normal because, while Basic Armed Styles intrinsically pull more toward the easier side of the scale, the natural difficulty of dual-wielding weapons plus the development of two weapons simultaneously made it a bit more difficult, though obviously doable. Difficulty for a two-weapon style would be affected if the equipment already existed in your inventory through another style. Later on when you can create and revise freely, it will be possible to create a new weapon or piece of equipment for a style so long as it fits the style (so a newer, different Guardian Mask for example).

Speaking of the Guardian Masks, view the mask as the gift for the Boon, not the material it's made of. The gods decreed this metal shall be used for their masks and specific type of warrior only. You can use Guardian Masks in other dual-wielding Styles without worrying about the restricted usage of Stellar Iron impacting rarity, but it is not usable for any other type of armor or weapon. To do so would be to spit in the face of the gods.

----

With your closest enemies conquered, your people sought to expand their influence and spread their beliefs to the ends of the continent. During this time the favor of the gods made itself known through the powers of the first Master who led the armies to the shores. This Master is likely to be relatively easy to bring into being, and so they shouldn't be considered the baseline difficulty for your own estimates of future Master proposals, especially if they're created alongside a new Style as this one is. Describe the Master and what makes them stand out on the battlefield. They also championed either a Magical Armed Style or a Qi-enhanced Unarmed Style. If describing a Magical Armed Style, remember to include the weapon that is developed for it, the Element that is used and how it is utilized, combat doctrines, mindset, special strikes, and techniques. If you decide to utilize a Qi-enhanced Unarmed Style, remember to include the Element for the base style, as well as what sort of Qi powers they use, whether they be "buffs" or "debuffs" they can apply or energy-based attacks. Remember though that while this Style is being designed for a unique character, the Style does not necessarily need to be made Unique and could potentially see more widespread use on the battlefield. Additionally, what were the three biomes conquered during this time?

You also get Two Revisions, one for each style or it's related equipment to use now to get used what Revisions are capable of. You can modify the units themselves by producing new equipment or making specific changes to them or their outfit. Specific equipment from the equipment spoiler can be modified or have a closely related variant made. Styles can have techniques, tactics, and tricks refined or added to them. Note, however, that revisions will never produce a new unit type, so any changes made will affect how currently existing units operate. Put simply, you cannot revise a new unit from a style, unit, or piece of equipment, and cannot revise a new style from a unit or piece of equipment.

[More GM Notes: This is to promote refining with revisions as opposed to using them as small designs when it comes to units, which are the end result of anything you do. Units are ultimately a direct result of a style modified by whatever applies in your Equipment spoiler. As a general rule of thumb, if you think something is an extreme enough change that it'll affect the unit rarity then you might be better off with a design.]

To sum up all the actions being required from you this turn, there's Three Biomes, Two Revisions (one for Fulcrum Touch Style or the Monks, the other for Two-Fifths Style, the weapons or mask, or the Monks), and one new Style paired with a Master. Might seem like a bit, except you guys have plenty of ideas for biomes and masters if I remember correctly, and the rest is to figure out how things work.

Spoiler: Bei Bu Basic Armed Styles (click to show/hide)

Two-Fifths Style: A heavily offensive dual-wielding style that uses an axe and sword to batter through opponents with decisive strikes. While fighting as a large group, they excel at surrounding and whittling away other organized units. When fighting as an individual, the axe is used for it's reach and ability to catch enemy weaponry and the sword is used to strike at anything left vulnerable at any given moment.

Spoiler: Bei Bu Unarmed Styles (click to show/hide)

Metal:
Fulcrum Touch Style: A fighting style about control and balance. Uses leg strikes, grapples, and throws. Metal aspect is utilized via The Touch of the Valley, which can turn grasped nonliving materials into iron or make nonElemental metals take on properties of cloth while contacted. Balanced for offensive and defensive fighting, but does their best work when in control of the change between the two.

Spoiler: Equipment (click to show/hide)

Aibalta: A 3-foot long axe with a small head and a rasp for the top foot beneath the axe head meant to catch and control weapons while also functioning as an axe should. The poles have comfortable grips for a variety of haftings. These weapons are iconic among the Nomadic Peoples.

Common Garb: A waist-length five-button magua "riding jacket" and wide-legged shalbar pants, with light shoes, hand wrappings, and a fur or straw hat based on current needs. Various sashes identify different styles of Warrior-Monks.

Guardian Mask: A mask made of Stellar Iron that provides near-impenetrable defense of the lower face and neck. There are more than enough of these for any dual-wielding style.

Jian: A two-foot long double-edged sword that comes to a point meant for both cutting and piercing strikes. These are a very common weapon from the Settled People.

Spoiler: Units (click to show/hide)

Fulcrum Monks: Monks utilizing the Fulcrum Touch Style. The low bar of entry means a good number of aspiring Warrior-Monks can fall into the lifestyle, but that does not mean they are bad fighters in the slightest. They seamlessly flow from offensive to defensive and relish acting as the tipping point. In their daily lives they often seek to bring balance or equilibrium to the world around them. Fulcrum Style monks come from all backgrounds and train at the monasteries in Fulcrum Valley by the river and at the Spirit Pool in the mountains. (COMMON)

Two-Fifths Warrior-Monks: Monks utilizing the Two-Fifths Style, equipped with the Jian, Aibalta, and Guardian Mask. These warriors excel when fighting one on one, and tend to look at larger fights as if they are just a series of many simultaneous duels as they break them down into exactly that. Practitioners of the style see themselves as representative of their two peoples becoming one, and represent this by wearing their identical Guardian Masks outside of their own rooms. (COMMON)

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

[frostgiant]

Unweathered Cliff face style, Qi-enhanced unarmed style [Earth]
Unweathered ancestor

It is said that the unweathered cliff style was born when the Great and Honourable ancestor bore witness to the grand Royal cliffs of the Northeastern seas, So named for their natural Colouring barring similarities to an emperor's Purple robes and the sheer scale.
Stretching miles upon miles, These cliff faces presented an Unbroken, Unmared and unbeaten face, Purple and as vibrant as the clothing of an emperor despite the incredibly beating that the Barren sea, Named for its temper that made it an impossibility for fishermen to ply their trade due to its incredibly wrathful nature.
The temperamental Sea would strike the cliff faces with Towering waves to which the ancestor was but an ant, It would whip the Royal cliffs with Mist and water droplets as strong as arrows and Slam the floating remains of its victims both natural and manmade into it like the impact of a Hundred Fists. Waves would Shoot over the towering cliffs, Eclipsing the sun as it crashed upon the Cliffs and the land behind them, Rendering it a plain of little more than rock and gravel that could turn to suck mud in the blink of an eye from the wrath of the sea.

Despite this The cliff faces were unbowed. Not a mark could be seen upon their Royal Face, Not a dent or even an Imperfection, Years hardening the rocks until even the Wrath of the Barren sea was unable to even mark them.

The Unweathered ancestor was awed. For 300 days and 300 nights Meditated, Moving closer to the edge of the cliff and Exposing himself more and more to the wrath of the sea with every Truth of the universe he came to understand and te more he shaped the energy within his body to mimic the Royal cliffs. Every Breakthrough He shifted closer, Even as his meditating body was struck by diminished blows from the sea, Already broken by the cliff faces yet still more than enough to crack Iron.

It is said that for the final 77 days of his meditation, He sat at the edge, Taking the blows of the barren sea just as the Royal Cliff had for centuries.

Finally, he kneeled, Thanking the great cliffs for their teachings as though a commoner before to the emperor himself and traveled to the sole city.

The city sat close to the wonderous Royal cliffs, or at least as close as humans could bring themselves to, Along a river that led from the Northern mountain down to the Barren sea. The river was large, Concentrating all of the runoff from the Northern mountains and almost as temperamental as the Sea that it fed into. Even with its temperamental nature, it served as the best source of water as the tundra that the city sat on was filled with the Sea to its east and the mountain to its north.
The temperamental river would flood commonly and have torn apart any attempt to damn or divert its flow. as such the Fisherman of the capital had to sate themselves with the fish that would be left stranded by the flooding river.
The deep muck of the river's flood plains served as the perfect medium for the rice that the city fed on, Provided the river didn't tear the crop away.

It was a hard and temperamental mistress, But the river was the best source of food and water for the city and so the city was constructed there, weathering the harsh blows of the temperamental capital River.

At the time before the arrival of bei bu or even the ancestor, The city was ruled by a tyrant, A cruel king who would execute his citizens if they didn't move out of his way fast enough.
The grand ancestor Traveled to this city, Sat upon the main Throughway of the city, Directly in the middle. And began to meditate.

Immediately, many disgruntled workers and farmers attempted to dislodge him But found their attempts met with Flesh as though stone. Sticks broke, Insults Ignored as though flies.
Soon, The city found t easier to move around him, and the Strange meditating Monk was left to himself as the city learned to ignore its new prop.

Then one day the king came, His caravan of horses and wagons, decorated in hundreds of thousands of artisans beads, each depicting a tapestry of the greatness of this man and so tightly packed it could be used to hold water. The Precession found the man, And could not move his with fist nor word nor club.
When told of this, The king demanded he be beheaded.
His royal guards went, The swords came down. and the swords broke, with nary a mark on the Grand ancestor's skin. Leaving the blades of the swords where they fell, They scrambled back to their emperor.

Enraged the king had his guards hitch a hundred ropes and a hundred horses to the man, In order to pull him out of the processions way and then quarter him outside the city.
The ropes came And were lashed to the Grand ancestor until naught could be seen of the Meditating man. The horses pulled.

And the man stayed. The ropes frayed and snapped, Whipping out and striking the Royal guards as the man proved just as Impossible to move as the cliff faces.

Enraged, the emperor ordered a Bonfire built, The size of the throughway. Stack upon stacks of wood was built around the man, Pitch Splashed upon the wood to ensure proper ignition and still that GRand ancestor meditated, not a care in the world. The Massive Bonfire raged for seven nights and seven days, Turning the Brokens swords to slag and the frayed ropes to ash.

And yet at the end of that grand bonfire. The man remained. Body covered in ash, yet not even a burn upon him.
AS the man stood up and Wiped the ash from his skin it revealed itself to be a deep, vibrant purple, Similar to the cliff from which he learned.

The man bowed, Thanked the king for aiding in his Training, and began to leave.
Thoroughly cowed by who he believed to be a member of the divine court, the king begged forgiveness and to be taken as his student. As the man had done the grand ancestor a favor, He agreed to the request.

Those Practitioners that would learn from the unmarred ancestor would commonly wade into the Tempermental river, Hunting fish by hand in a way they could not by delicate boat and using their own bodies to finally tame it, Slowing the rivers flow by carving a series of dams, ponds, and lakes, making life upon the river bank infinitely easier as canals were carved by hand as a form of training. By taming the Tempermental river, The number of people the city could feed and the number of crops that could be planted in controlled flood plains ballooned in size, with the number of those swept away decreased every year until it was considered rare. With the increase in food, The people of the city entered a golden age and many would ask the stubborn old man to lead them until he finally acquitted to their demands.

Soon the king would find himself supplanted in his own court, as many of the nobles and Guard also begged to learn from the grand ancestor.
When the delegations found the city, They were greeted by a giant of a man, With Unmarred skin as Purple as deep-felt. The debates between the delegates of bei bu and the GRandmaster of the city is said to have gone on for over 2 years, As an Monk of bei bu would engage in debate with the Unmarred ancestor until literally falling from exhaustion, at which case another member of the delegates would take over. Day and night, Rain and shine the ever-present debate had become as much a part of palace life as the crash of the barren sea, Until the Unmarred ancestor, Impressed with the fortitude of the delegates in the face of his unmatched stubbornness, Agreed to join the people of bei bu, and where the Unmarred ancestor went, so to followed the City he ruled.

The alliance of the people of bei bu and the Unmarred ancestor quickly led to a period of rapid growth, as the Unmarred ancestor and his disciples granted the monks of bei bu a form of staying power that they had lacked in their style of grappling and manipulating the opponent's weapons and armour. Many expeditions, met with the Barren sea, would travel through bei bu lands to circumvent it, going around as over prooved impossible.

The first land to fall was a forest, Filled with tree's that coul touch the sky. When they first entered the land, it is said that the Unmarred ancestor took the tree's size as a challenge, Plunging his flesh into the bark, and began climbing. 3 days later, the basecamp was finished when a great weight slammed into the ground. The unmarred ancestor, having finally reached the top had decided to take a quick way down.

The forest soon proved to be filled with Life, And most importantly, Life capable of manipulating the energies around then and qi just like the Monks of bei bu.
Despite the revelations, such beats created, and the miracle that they presented when in motion, Many were dangerous, hungry predators and the monks of bei bu presented an easy meal.

The monks of bei bu were able to protect themselves, Striking down many of the smaller beasts with axe and fist, even as the great behemoths of the forest proved invulnerable to them. With nothing to transmute but living flesh and scale, and bodies thicker and wider than the men themselves they proved near invulnerable to the monks who had trained to kill men. The disciples of the Unmarred ancestor, finding their fists just as useless as those of the fulcrum monks, trusted in their cultivation, before jumping straight down the throat of the titanic beasts.

Shockingly, This worked rather well as the stomach of the titanic forest creatures prooved unable to digest the stone-like skin of the disciples, let alone there grand ancestor.
The forest proved a veritable gold mine of precious hides,bones, and herbs, and even powerful woods natured and tempered in wood energy for the entirety of their thousand-year life spans.

The metals brought down from the mountains formerly owned by the settled were quickly combined with the lumber of the Bloody forest, Crafting boats that were daunting in size. These massive vessels allowed the People of bei bu to do something that had proven impossible for years. They set sail on the Barren sea.

Using these massive vessels, capable of weathering the temper of even the barren sea, They soon discovered the Barren sea was filled with many natural coves, alcoves, and caves.  While many islands were barren, Some were found to be habitable due to the grand outcroppings of stone that protected them from the raging sea. These Islands quickly became harbors for the massive ships, Storing and producing supplies to keep the behemoths in sailing condition as they were the only way to travel through the barren sea, and entering the Bloody forests from the Cliff lands would require traveling through the mountains, Then desert if one could not use one of these massive vessels. (basically, Not focusedd on ship combat or island combat, instead, the massive boats are the terrain, with martial arts fights taking over the valuable boats. Size in my mind is about aircraft carrier lol)

The unweathered cliff face style used the earthen energy it was formed in accordance with as well as the diciples own natural qi in order to fortify the natural body into an unmanageable edifice. This ability to take devastating blows with little to no damage means that the style quickly came to rely on devastating counterblows, Ignoring light blows that had no hopes to pierce their skin in order to get their deadly hands on the enemy, before using their stone hard body to shatter and break threm through a series of grappling maneuvers.
 While the natural strength of a member of the unweathered Cliff style is enhanced, but not to degrees that would be see as superhuman, A barehanded blow is still devastating as the sheer density of their flesh was as though the practitioner was wearing a metallic glove. A flat-handed strike can be likened to a blade even as a closed fist a hammer.

For those foes who refused to be drawn into the deadly grapple, The Unweathered Cliffs augmented stamina would ensure that that they would see exhaust themselves long before the Practitioner would.
Many Practitioners are defined by a Calm and collected demeanor, With panic, a rare thing to them as the very earth energy that Enhances their bodies promotes a more placid and long-standing view.

The most basic techniques of the unweathered cliff face were built off of the Body of stone Flooding the body with earthen energy long the same patterns and flood lines within the body as those initially discovered by the Grand ancestor. The body of stone would then harden the body Providing the foundation for the rest of the style, Many students of the style find moving with the Body of stone difficult, thus the early days are spent in meditation to as learn the movement of the earthen energy by instinct. The more learned in the style, The stronger the style's Body of stone becomes. The number of people who have managed to scratch the surface of the Grand ancestor's own body is capable on a single hand in the course of all of Bei bu's history.

The Royal Breath technique is the second technique taught to students of the style, Requiring a proper flow of Earthen energy, similar to that of the body of stone. By augmenting their organs with earthen energy and incredibly controlled breathing, the stamina of a practioner grows by leaps and bounds. This is the technique that allows a Member of the Unwhethered Cliffface to survive lack of air, incredibly long journeys, and even lack of food, and is typically used as a stepping stone to the more complicated technique do the amount of time spent in meditation it can require.

When the Disciple has finally laid hands-on their enemy, They will typically use their incredibly strong body to shatter them in a grapple, If they prove difficult, a Disciple will typically take the opponent to the ground, and then through it, using their own earthen energy to soften the earth as they burry their foe underground, robbing them of leverage and sight.  This is not the killing blow, and in fact, is merely used to temporarily restrain the enemy as while rare, an enemy capable of digging themselves up is more than possible with the use of qi.
Instead, the killing blow comes when the Disciple gathers earthen energy in their palm, before constricting the surrounding soil around their enemy, swiftly compressing the dirt in addition to their flesh and bones. It is said that when the Unmarred ancestors use this technique on the blacked sands of the settled mountains, He is capable of creating diamonds. While a disciple is many times weaker, it is still more than enough to damage even their hardened flesh.

AS such this technique often sees use putting traitors to rest, and has moniquered the name of Burial palm.

[frostgiant]

Vote box

Question 3:
Unweathered cliff face stye (1) :Frostgiant

[Failbird105]

Sol Volador, Qi-enhanced unarmed style [Fire]
Soaring Sunlight Priestess

As the Bei Bu extended their reach yet further into the world the lands, and peoples, they found were only more bizarre. To the north, lay a wide, and open wetland. Trees were sparsely spread but immense in scale, with great sprawling roots that wove both above and below the waters surface, providing wide paths across stretches of water that gave little to no indication of how deep they were, or what may be lurking within.
The people here lived in the trees. Roots were built upon to form paths and bridges, stairways spiraled up the bulbous trunks, and homes rested among the mighty branches.

However, what the people lacked in might, the creatures within the waters made up for. To trip into water that was too deep was to sentence yourself to death, devoured by vicious scaled behemoths aquatic and reptilian alike, either of which could shred through a horse quickly. And so, the Bei Bu learned to use the rootways the people of this land, the Leviathans Swamp, had made.

To the far south, was a rainforest, where trees were packed densely together, and stood mighty and towering, taller still than those in the Swamp though barely half as wide. Life was plentiful here, delicious fruit hung from branches and vines both low and high, wildlife were plentiful, and potable water gathered in cupped leaves in great enough quantity to sate a thirst. Yet no people lived here, instead, there were merely apes, only smart enough to begin sharpening stones and sticks, dwelling up within the high branches and swinging between them.

The reason why would be learned quickly. The plants were hungry, and they grew quickly. By the time land could be cleared to make a camp, the ground would already be reclaimed by vines. Immense seeds would drop from trees into open spaces, taking root as soon as they struck the ground, or a creature if one were so unfortunate. Brambles would latch to their victims to drain them of fluid. Fruits were often dangled over open pits into gaping digestive sacs.
The only openings were secluded clearings, created by great flowers which, thankfully, were more harmful to the plant life than animals or people. And so Bei Bu built within these clearings, keeping a wide perimeter between their village walls and the plants of the Hungering Forest beyond, while constructing platforms amid the canopies with which to travel from village to village, harvesting delicious fruits and pails of water.

In the middle of the two lands though, there was something marvelous. A massive lake, so big one could mistake it for a sea. From the north flowed in water from the Leviathans Swamp through a wide open channel, letting in the terrible beasts that lurked beneath. To the south flowed a series of smaller, broken rivers, watering the Hungering Rainforest that spread around the lakes banks. The true marvel however, laid within the lake itself. A spectacular circular city of stone supported by steel stood stalwart at its center. Throughout the lake were sets of great pillars arrayed in rings with wide flat tops like arenas, and while simple bridges stretched between the pillars thick stone poles circled around them.

The people of the Bei Bu made their way across the pillars, and into the city, where they found a people. Not the people who had built the city, but their descendants. The ancestors who had built this city, and the pillars and poles, were long gone, and the knowledge that had allowed them to clear space in the great waters to build their mighty structures was lost. Yet, here these people remain. Safe from the leviathans in their city high above the water, and safe from the plants in their place far from the shore. Here in the middle of the Lake of the Sun.

When the Bei Bu met with these Sunfolk, what they were met with was a friendly and celebratory people. They did not wage war against Bei Bu as an invader in their land, rather they were eager to welcome newcomers into their homes and show hospitality. When they learned of the warrior monks of the Fulcrum touch style however, they were intrigued. The arts of hand to hand combat were not only well practiced within the City of the Sun, they were practically a favorite pastime. Their high priestess asked to meet with the greatest martial artist among the Bei Bu of the time at the top of the grand temple standing at the cities center.

Meet they indeed did, and she asked for one simple thing, a spar. The high priestess leapt forth with the agreement barely past the Fulcrum Monks lips, and the fight began. The Priestess hardly touched the ground when she was not thrown to it bodily by a lucky grab, as she swirled around the poles at the corners of the temple top, and even around the Fulcrum Monks own body, using her own momentum to control his movements and drive him to the ground. The exact winner duel is unknown, but the priestess was greatly impressed, and on that day, the Sunfolk joined Bei Bu.

It was from this style that the Sunfolk had used, built around leaping, grappling, and then swirling around the target to drive them violently to the ground with combined momentum, that the style of Sol Volador was born. Translating into 'Flying Sun' in the Sunfolks tongue, the Luchadors of the Sol Volador style shoot jets of fire from their hands and feet. Not as a method to attack no, but rather, to propel their bodies mid-air and leap great distances. Each blast of fire provides propulsion that allows the Luchador to reorient their body, or enhance the force of their movements, all the while searing those unfortunate enough to be caught in the backblast. Maneuvers such as piledrivers propelled both up and down by great flaming leaps, grapples that lead to the Luchador flipping the pairs bodies around to slam the foes head into the ground, and grabbing tight to the foe to send a jet propelled knee into their torso are all commonplace.


And of course, the master of this style is and always has been the High Priestess. Before she learned the arts of the elements and Qi, she was mighty, now? She has become truly incredible. It is as though she barely even needs to touch the ground, leaping from foe to foe, and wreathing herself and her opponent in flames as she swirls the two of them into a slamming throw that flips them both head over heels. Even the snapping jaws of a great leviathan failing to catch her as she rockets from pole to pillar above the great lake. Her skills alone have well earned her the title of Soaring Sunlight Priestess.

[Failbird105]

Question 3:
Unweathered cliff face stye (1): Frostgiant
Sol Volador (1): Failbird