User:Daenen/Manablade

''Our blades are our tools. Our spirits, they are the weapons.'' - Junir Starseeker, the first manablade.

Manablades (Also called Spirit Knights) are the warriors of the city Hura. They devote their lives to bonding with their spirit guardian, or learning advanced swordsmanship. Fearing only the Angelic Knights, they attack with no regards to their own lives. Using a combination of illusionary magic, weapon altering magic, masterful swordsmanship, and their guardian spirits, they can tear through their opponets, one or one hundred. The Manablade was the third unique path used in Hura.

History
The Manablades were founded by a High Elf mage, Junir Starseeker. An excellent swordsman, he trained mages in basic defense, should magic ever not be enough. However, his lessons were wasted on his sister, Numa, who was killed by the troll shamans of Zul'Gurub, while looking for herbs.

For three years, Junir spent his time in a deep depression, mourning the death of his sister. A sparring partner, a study partner, and a good friend when times were tough, she was the world to him. His students pitied him. Once a great mage and swordsman, he was now a depressed man, going mad.

One day, out of greif and desperation, he tried to pull his sister's soul from the nether. A ritual he had learned from an old tome about necromancy, which could cost him his life, if one mistake was made. For two days, he channeled mana, and searched the nether, seeking his sister. Finally, at one in the morning, on the third day, he found her presence, and pulled her into the world. Without a vessel, her time was short. She would return within a matter of minutes. Determine not to lose her, Junir sealed her soul in his sword, so she would be with him forever.

Whenever trouble came, everything changed. His right hand disappeared, the sword extending from the hub. When the blade struck a foe, a large blast of arcane energy consumed them. This power brought the attention of the Black Eyes Gang. Four months after sealing the soul into the sword, Junir was brough into the Black Eyes Gang, then taken to Hura.

Over the years, Junir taught Hurans how to seal a soul inside a sword. At first, the souls of the dieing and criminals were used. But as more Huran Manablades were born, more souls were needed. The ritual to pull souls from the nether was to dangerous for such inexperienced magic users. Two hundred years after the death of Junir, a high elf woman named Kin found a way to pull souls from the nether, using the nether around Hura. This was the largest break through in Manablade power since its creation.

With the new methods, souls other than those from Azeroth could be used. Unique powers never heard of, beings never thought to exist, could be pulled from the nether. With this new source of souls and power, the path began to grow. New techniques were developed quicker, and, only thirty years after discovering the new source, Kin became the first Manablade Saint.

Training
Manablades typically focus on physical power. Their magic is rarely used to harm others, but instead to allow quicker, safer, or more powerful attacks.

A manablade spends the first 10 years of their training learnign swordsmanship. They begin at basic levels, facing clones of their instructors, using only swords with dulled blades, to get a feel for the weight and movements. They then go into more advanced techniques, such as quick dodges, parries, and how to target fatal areas on an opponet. Once they master swordsmanship, they are taught speed techniques. It is during this time they learn basic versions of flash strike, and split image slice. By the time a manablade finishes their ten years of swordsmanship training, they can move quicker than an Azerothian rogue, while using a hundred pound claymore.

Once they hit a ten year mark, a manablade is given an steel rod with runes on it, made to seal a soul. They then expose themselves to the Nether, and offer their bodies as a vessel to any spirit. It often only takes an hour, but some have been heard to take a week. Once a soul finally takes the manablade, the rod in their hands turns into a blade matching the spirit of their new guardian. The manablade will always have a connection to this spirit.

Once they have their spirit guardian, manablades spend most of their time increasing the bond between them. Learning the power of their new blade is the whole basis of their path. Some spirits do not wish the manablade to use their power, in which case, it can takes years to force it into submission. Some spirits, however, are more than happy to guard their new master, in which case, it can take only months to learn the new power of their blades.

Manablades learn two other types of magic. First, they learn how to enchant their blade. They learn how to manipulate their blades such as extending it, shattering it, and using the shards to fight, and giving it a magical aura.

The last part of a manablades training is Illusionary magic. For unknown reasons, manablades tend to have a talent with illusionary magic second only to the Shadow Stalker. They can disappear, appear to make copies of themselves, teleport, change shape, or trap minds of others, either easing pain, or causing it.

To become a saint, a manablade must be able to summon the spirit from the blade into the physical world, perform the Split Image Flash, and the Shadow Extension. Manablade is considered to be the second hardest path to becoming a Saint, but the second most powerful was well.

Spirits
The spirits of the manablades serve as their primary weapon, and their gaurdians. Spirits pulled from the nether, from any planet, from Argus, to The Outland, to Azeroth, to those we have never heard of. Spirits have ranged from kal'dorei, to undead, to four headed snakes, to beast never heard of. Regardless of what they are, they should be feared. For only the most powerful spirits choose a manablade.

Saints
Manablade saints are rare. Often, there is only one. There have been times where centuries have passed with no saints. The manablade saints, however, are amongst the most respected people in Hura. The path is difficult because it is very difficult to be able to summon the spirit of the blade. Most Manablade Saints are talented, instead of disciplined. It is said that you can tell a saint, because they will be done with their training in less than fifty years.

Illusionary
Illusionary techniques involve manipulating either light, or a targets senses. These are some of the more common, more developed illusionary techniques.

Shadow Mind Prison - Traps the mind of the manablades foe inside a false world, where they are either physically torturered, or mentally tortured. How this works is unique to the manablade. It causes no harm to the body, but destroys the mind.

Sacred Mind Prison - Used on allies, this mind prison is the same as the Shadow Mind Prison, but it is used to ease pain, or increase confidence. How this works is unique to the manablade.

Flash - Stops light from falling on the manablade temporarily, making them visibly undetectable, but blinded, as no light reaches their eyes.

Split Image Slice - Creates multiple images of the manablade in different locations, which serve as a distraction while the manablade attacks.

Blind - Stops light from reaching targets eyes.

Sound Clap - Sends a painful and forceful wave of sound towards opponets.

Deaf - Stops sound from reaching target.

Silence - Stops sound from coming from the manablade.

Blade Enchantments and Techniques
Shatter - The blade splinters, and the shards are used as projectile weapons. Any ability the blade has is kept with the shards.

Shadow Extension - Extends the blade along the length of its shadow, allowing the manablade to cut anything standing on the blades shadow.

Flash Strike - A combination of swordsmanship, and illusion, the manablade uses the flashes, then grealty increases their own speed temporarily, appearing to disappear, and reappear as they attack.

Split Image Flash - The most powerful swordsmanship technique in the manablade arsenal, works similar to Split Image Slice, only the manablade flashes to each of the images, attacking every target. This used to be the Swordsmanship Saint Technique.

Searing Sword - Increases the tempature of the blade till it is white hot. Careless manablades often burn their hands badly using this technique.

Sacred Blade - The sword heals anything it cuts, instead bringing the injury onto the manablade.

Summon Blade - The most basic ability, calling the sword to the wielder.

Spiritual
Spirit Blade, Dark - Unleashes the dark power of the spirit of the blade.

Spirit Blade, Sacred - Unleashes the sacred power of the spirit of the blade.

Spirit Blade, Arcane - Unleashes any other power of the spirit of the blade.

Spirit Possession - allows the spirit to take control of the manablade.

Spirit Guardian - The spirit creates a sheild, guarding the manablade.

Summon Spirit - Brings the spirit into the physical world.

Famous Manablades
Junir Starseeker - The first manablade. His spirit guardian was his sister. His blade coud extend from his wrist, and unleash large blasts of arcane energy.

Kin - The first Saint, and developer of the current used method of obtaining spirits. An Ironic manablade, her spirit, despite being the first taken from the nether, was still an azerothian lasher. Her blade was the shortest in history at 3 inches, and could expand into a 12 foot long thorned whip.

Juna - Current Head of Defense and Police Force. Looks over the Black Eyes Gang's actions. First Saint Manablade in two centuries. Her manablade spirit is a stone giant. Her blade is almost always sheathed, and can create an unbreakable barrier around her, or let loose an armor cracking blunt force when it hits someone.

"Ruin" - Currently Hura's fourth most dangerous criminal, just behind Raijasha, Isabella, and David. Went on a murder spree recently in Azeroth, killing a large number of people in a human town called Moonbrooke. Local theif gang blamed. His spirit guardian is a man with two heads, one wearing a sadistic looking mask, the other a painful mask. His blade's power is unknown, as he never leaves anyone alive who has been cut by it.

David "Daenen" - Most dangerous criminal of Hura. Has killed thousands of Azerothians. It is known that he is possessed by a legion commander. His spirit guardian is a four headed snake, each with a different venom. He weilds two blades that change color based on which side is dominant. Wrath's venom causes extreme aggression and adrenline rush, followed by heart failure. Pain's venom causes flesh to rot and decay. Tranquility acts as a tranquilizer, calming targets, eventually causing them to sleep. Soothing acts as a painkiller, causes targets to be unaware of any pain.