Legends

History and Lore of the Blade Dancer - by T.A. Saunders revision v2.5 2013

The Personal Code of the Blade Dancer The Blade Dancer's code is a stringent set of personal laws that the Blade Dancer is expected to keep under all circumstances that they can be applied without self-incrimination. Those who seek to turn this code onto the Blade Dancer will find if and when a confrontation takes place, such an individual will find no quarter, for there is few things less honorable.

The Code itself is surprisingly simple in word, though much more difficult to maintain in action, many find…which lends to many Blade Dancers retiring to becoming simply mercenaries, bodyguards or duelists, though many faithful Blade Dancers also often seek such lines of work.

The Code is as follows:

1. Never draw your weapon unless you plan on bringing death with it. Your sword is your life, your will and your perseverance. Without it, you are defenseless in a world of enemies.

2. Take care of your weapon; its edge is your salvation, its point is your vindication. To draw a weapon any less than the whole of its potential is unending shame.

3. Fight as you are fought. If you are given quarter, so too should you give quarter. If you are fought with deception, so too should you employ deception. One's own honor is not besmirched by such tactics, less you are the one who engages them.

4. Above all things remember Honor. You gain honor from what you do with your weapon, and those you face. A good fight is an honorable one. A fight you win by letting a clearly lesser opponent flee is as honored as one you fight with an equal to the last.

5. The Dance is a celebration of Life and Death; one that cannot be shared unless it is to celebrate that most sacred of moments. Relish Life by fighting with the whole of yourself; honor Death by bringing a clean, swift end to your adversary.

6. Do not desecrate those who you have defeated. It is enough that you live and they do not. Anything more lacks in honor (this rule is largely not followed by Fallen Blade Dancers).

By and large, Blade Dancers honor Zorah, the Wild Huntress (though most tend towards being a bit neutral in mindset), but all honor the Code to the best of their ability. Evil Blade Dancers can exist and may ‘bend' the Code to their benefit, but even they do not stray far. These Blade Dancers are referred to as Tal-Jirahr in the tongue of Elves, or Fallen Dancer. These Fallen Blade Dancers give themselves fully to the death aspect of the dance and lose respect for life and the so doing, find themselves under the sway of Khazaar, Lord of the Dead, one of the Nine Lords of Chaos.