High Martial Arts     As mentioned in the Studies of Close Combat and Marksmanship, Lur-Asko is home to several "high martial arts" - a tradition of combat excellence dating back to the Draconic Wars. Although martial arts of various kinds were taught by all manner of species for many millennia before, the Draconic Wars marked the first time that the fighting arts were enhanced by superintelligences - both the dragons and the Alacris' battle AIs. With the assistance of such analysis, the ancient warriors reached a level of advancement in the martial arts exceeding anything known on Earth. In many cases, their teachings survived the Fall, and have been further honed by the other species to fit their needs.

    Unlike many martial arts on Earth, the "HMAs" are not generally restricted to certain weapons (nor to unarmed fighting). Each one comprises many techniques and sub-arts, all under the context of a unifying emphasis and philosophy. Sometimes, this is literally one of Lur-Asko's ten major philosophies. Of course, martial arts are a primarily physical matter; each of the HMAs has grown to shed some of its original philosophical peculiarities, at least as practiced in many of the training halls marketed to the public in Lur-Asko's major cities. While arts influenced by stereotypically "evil" philosophies may be controversial in polite society, none are fully banned in the Declaration realms, nor are they impossible for adherents of other philosophies to master.

    In terms of Legends rules, the HMAs only directly impact Melee HMA Mastery (Close Combat) and Ranged HMA Mastery (Marksmanship), as well as the effects of the HMA Dojo custom ship room. They are not precisely correlated to any Close Combat or Marksmanship Backgrounds, nor a specific set of Abilities. Still, their descriptions are provided here, in case players or GMs want to use them to inspire roleplaying or "flavor" their Abilities.

Melee Arts   (Listed here in chronological order of their creation)

Kah'Teyno

    An ancient martial art dating from the time dragons first took acolytes, Kah’Teyno was developed into an increasingly fearsome adversary during the Draconic Wars. It is grounded in draconic philosophy, particularly the theory that, just as dragons have psychic energy, so mortals have an inferior type of mental power that can be channeled to enhance physical feats. Whether this energy is real or simply an abstraction of yet-undefined body mechanics is known only to the dragons. What is certain is that the rigorous disciplines of Kah’Teyno can produce deadly warriors. Popular amongst draconic acolytes, it is also the primary martial tradition of the Koh-Trr, who were introduced to it by the Protodragon Nanashi.

    Kah'Teyno emphasizes channeling mental energy into physical feats, particularly the redirection of attacks. Though it contains many weapon sub-arts like all melee HMAs, it is known for its unusual emphasis on unarmed practice.

Arz Cædis

    The first Alacrian HMA began when increasingly advanced military science AIs were assigned to redeveloping the "Universal Tactics" - a collection of  military disciplines that had grown stale during the Golden Age's centuries of peace. The end result was immediately put to use in the Draconic Wars, and the AIs continued to refine its structure based on experience. The art survived through the Third Era and the Fall, and has been passed down through many wars of continuous trial and error. Both philosophically benign and extremely practical, the art is the most common one found in modern Lur-Asko, especially in city-state militaries. Though also used by many adventurers, it lacks the unique strengths that lead many into less "universal" arts.

Arz Murum

    As the Draconic Wars progressed, Arz Cædis left something to be desired by the more defense-minded of the ancient fighters. When facing dragon tails or melee-focused acolytes, the arcanists and technologists necessary to defeat the dragons were often singled out and rapidly killed. Arz Murum was created as a way for these individuals to survive long enough to slay their target dragon. In practice, the art's most useful teachings ended up being in combat against other trained duelists; true to its Rationalist roots, it is a highly technical and complicated art, relying on a great deal of mental focus and quick thinking. As such, it is the trademark of warriors who prioritize brains over brawn, often as a simple delaying measure while the offensive is handled by their other non-melee abilities.

Gadabu

    Also called "the Furor," Gadabu is thought to have been created for the first minotaur soldiers; it later found widespread use in Nani and Skreti. Gadabu eschews ideas of finesse or caution, focusing purely on emotions of anger and hate. The practitioner seeks to abandon their mind to the rage of combat, actively sacrificing defense to promote their offense. Those who adopt this art are generally those who can afford to take a few hits, and need to hit a large amount of enemies with a large amount of damage. Its anti-intellectual nature tends to lead it to be ridiculed by other HMA practitioners; Gadabu warriors often ridicule such "weaklings" in return.

Atru-Prælor

    The Darkened are known to make use of whatever melee art they fancy, but only one is truly their own. Aterr duelist Atro Anathematé spoke at length about the concept of the Dark Pursuit, a method of exploiting an individual enemy’s weaknesses by discerning their desires over time. Eventually, he applied these concepts on a second-by-second scale in combat, creating Atru-Prælor; its techniques are not grandiose, but the unfortunate victim is often unaware of exactly how their defenses were defeated. It is commonly taught to Aterr as well as their companions. If an Aterr devotes most of their time to arcana, it is not uncommon their followers to become even more proficient than them with this high martial art. Meanwhile, city dojos attempt to separate its techniques from their Dark philosophical origins, marketing it as alternative to Arz Murum for more offense-minded duelists.

Volan Volnu

     Finding Arz Cædis too dull, but Kah’Teyno and Atru-Prælor too dogmatic, the legendary Alacrian warrior Depelle II created his own high martial art. More physically daring than any of its predecessors, Volan Volnu is comprised largely of energetic, almost acrobatic sweeping maneuvers. Depelle failed to get large-scale acceptance for his flashy techniques, but they have since found favor amongst Lur-Asko’s equally flashy adventurers, particular for its strengths in evading larger adversaries. Many view the art as an interesting challenge in itself, even without actual combat.

Tauazun

    Derived from Arz Murum by the Magi, Tauazun (“Balance”) was originally as much an element of lifestyle as it was a high martial art. Magi philosophy was intertwined with its teachings, intended to build the practitioner’s character as well as protect them in a fight. In the years since, Hal'Tayat has attempted to remove the Magi and broadly Ascendant dogma from the art, to varying degrees of success. Since it was originally practiced by well-guarded arcanists, Tauazun places much emphasis on taking advantage of the defenses of one's allies, leading detractors to accuse it of being a "coward's art." But regardless of philosophical arguments, it cannot be denied that Tauazun is sometimes even better than Arz Murum at that earlier art's original purpose: preventing a catastrophic failure of group defense and the loss of a party's arcanists or technologists.

Survivor's Way

    Founded by the early adherents of the Survivor's Code, this high martial art was once thoroughly steeped in their philosophy, and continues to be so amongst the Vampire Lords. The same principles of flexibility and adaptation they use in life are applied in the Way. Just as a “Coder” views all belief and identity as temporary and practical, so a Way user must abandon the tendency to firmly hold onto ground, doctrine, or even set stances. Practitioners often appear unsteady, off-balance, or even woozy. Despite its appearance, this art can deliver a surprising amount of usefulness due precisely to its weirdness. Outside of Cevelky, the art is often interpreted in a more broadly Nihilist way, and in recent years has also found particular appreciation amongst Prismatic adventurers.

Nezam

    Created by the Ministry of Chaos during the end of the Imperial Wars, Nezam was a pratical amalgamation of several other HMAs, in a desperate effort to gain an edge over the hordes of imperial troops the Ministry normally faced. Nezam, or simply “the System,” focuses on flexibility and spontaneity in combat, with each practitioner giving their own peculiar style to the art. Internally, Nezam asks the user to purge themselves of both fear and pride, enabling them to focus on difficult fights without being shaken. Curiously, the art migrated rapidly from Preamblianism to the even more pragmatic values of Methodianism, only to be further refined by the Opened Hand and other post-decs. Obviously, each philosophy tends to frame "fear and pride" very differently. In most city dojos, these interpretations are left to the individual practitioner, lest philosophical feuds overshadow the useful mass-defensive techniques that customers are actually interested in.
Ranged Arts   (Listed here in chronological order of their creation)

Arz Velamen

    Before the ancient marksmen really found their place in the Draconic Wars, they were often attached to arcanists or techshield specialists, depending on them for defense. Soon, it became clear that the loss of shielding could result in a catastrophic failure of the entire squad. Rather than accept ever-increasing losses, Alacrian war leaders commissioned their AIs to create new cover-fighting techniques, assigning their soldiers to massive training programs entirely focused on evading enemy fire. Even as the war progressed and more marksmen were re-integrated into the Alacrian front lines, Arz Velamen continued to prove itself strategically valuable, as it freed up arcanists to focus their efforts elsewhere. In modern times, the art has experienced a major resurgence in Hal'Tayat - partially in public dojos, but particularly in the marksmanship training camps of post-dec revolutionaries, who can rarely count on the presence of shielding during their covert operations.

Atru-Manis

    Distinct for its focus on defeating a single powerful adversary, this art was created at the Tennebris by Atro Vys and his Darkened apprentices. As with any arcanist that focuses on energy ranged attacks, a missed shot by an Aterr could represent a significant amount of lost resources, particularly given the massive power required to bring down a dragon. They therefore had every incentive to make their shots count; meanwhile, their associates needed an equally effective defense, should a dragon happen to catch them outside their Dark Master's shielding. Somewhat like the later Atru-Prælor melee art, Atru-Manis was founded on many philosophical principles related to perceiving an enemy's desires, thereby limiting its early use to Dark Path adherents. These constraints have since been unraveled (at least in part), particularly in Skreti, where the realm's high-noon duel culture finds its techniques quite compelling.

Arz Tangen

    Seeing the benefits of Atru-Manis but unable to understand its philosophy, Alacrian military marksmen of the late Draconic Wars created Arz Tangen. This art was markedly more offense-oriented than Arz Velamen, and most of it revolves around hitting moving targets. Often, this is less a matter of precise aiming, and more one of experience and learned intuition. Its techniques are most easily applied at short ranges - a clear demonstration of its original focus on energy weapons and its birthplace in the tunnels of Eer'Kalla. Historians disagree on whether it ever surpassed the other arts in pre-Fall popularity, but it remains a modern favorite of many; it offers an edge to everyone from peasant bird-hunters to elite adventurers, with virtually no philosophical baggage.

Steycho

    White acolytes in the Draconic Wars utilized many ranged attacks, spreading Vicar-breath, sunfire acoluthics, and adapted Exuros throughout their armies. However, little thought was given to advanced techniques with these weapons, and it was only in response to the Alacrian ranged HMAs that the acolytes were finally forced to create their own. As such, Steycho is a largely reactive art - its value is in counteracting the most pestilent effects of other arts. Although the white dragons were pushed back to Eer'Kalla, they judged the art to have contributed to the ultimate survival of the Under-World, and have made it a permanent part of acolyte training ever since. Over the years, Steycho has also found popularity with red acolytes and Magi, who share the disciplined lifestyle required to get the most from the demanding art. Many city dojos attempt to further divest the art from its founding ideology, though they have a significant stigma to overcome.

Plains Form

     Because of the uselessness of firearms against kinetic shields and the shorter range of energy weapons, the long-range shooting techniques of the Alacrian Golden Age largely died out along with their associated magnetbows. After the Fall, as poorly-equipped armies clashed and the beasts of the frontiers closed back in, Lur-Asko once again found use in "primitive" projectile weapons. Historians generally agree that today's "Plains Form" has been evolving ever since the early Age of Recovery. Its name comes partly from the Ashen Plains (the site of the fiercest fighting in the Ternary War, where many of its techniques were born), and partly from the simple fact that its sniping techniques are most useful in wide-open terrain. Rationalists in particular have been drawn to the art, and can often be seen quizzing one another on its calculations without even holding weapons.

Skretan Form

     This name of this art is a perpetual source of confusion, as Plains Form is frequently used in the realm of Skreti as well. In truth, Skretan Form has a long history across all realms, all the way back to the Age of Recovery and various modifications of Arz Tangen. It originated with speed-shooting archery techniques, later expanding to include firearms and energy weapons. These techniques were codified in several different marksmanship schools during the Imperial Wars, before finally being gathered under one label in the Adventuring Age. While Plains Form is useful in the plains of Skreti, Skretan Form took the realm's name as a result of its extreme importance in orcish culture; high-noon duels with ranged weapons are a frequent way of settling disputes in Skreti, and winning them usually revolves around fast draws and multiple rapid shots. To help safeguard practitioners from the dangers of overthinking their moves, philosophical influences from Nihilism are common in Skreti, though downplayed in other realms.

Rashakhah

    In the Millennium War, a group of elven Volan Volnu practitioners applied their martial knowledge to the creation of a ranged art designed to defeat entrenched defenders. Its techniques involved achieving unpredictable angles of attack, chiefly though rolls, jumps, or other daring maneuvers. Rashakhah is highly fatiguing for the user, but can provide unique offensive capabilities for combatants already quite high in speed and agility, such as many of today's adventurers. Its unprecedented emphasis on freedom of movement and thought draws on the founders' Preamblian ideals, making it particularly popular in northeast Hal'Tayat where that philosophy dominates.

Skot Murtayil

    Lur-Asko's most recent HMA was created when enterprising adventurers set about applying a variety of techniques that had been recovered from Alacrian ruins, but forgotten in the traditions of the surviving arts. Originally a project of the University of Hal'Tayat, the effort eventually became dominated by the highly pragmatic ideals of certain Methodian and Prismatic contributors. Today, Skot Murtayil is centered around the idea that "no plan survives the onset of combat." The best tactics therefore remain reactive, constantly reassessing one's position and that of the enemy. Its strengths are generally shown when evading the worst attacks of other arts, leading to many competitive rivalries with dojos attempting to revive Steycho for the same purpose.