Day 3 - Sacred Flower
Ah... so you have returned again, my young disciple.
This is the third day of RPG vault's 9Dragons week, and so far, we have featured two very different clans - the Shaolin and the Heavenly Demon. I hope that I have impressed on you the huge amount of work that has gone into making 9Dragons a very authentic martial arts experience. Little touches make all the difference. For instance, there are over 400 authentic motion captured martial arts moves for each clan.
Since they know that they are not equal to men in terms of sheer strength and power, the Sacred Flowers' fighting style is very fluid and fast, relying on seduction, deception and misdirection to overcome their enemies.
Another example is today's focus, Sacred Flower. In keeping with the legends of ancient China, this clan is exclusively female. Yes, that's right - no men were ever permitted to join the Sacred Flower Clan. Why? I'm glad you asked.
Perhaps a little bit of background is called for here so that you can understand why no males were allowed to gain membership. A mysterious female warrior founded the Sacred Flower clan. She called herself The Mistress of Chaos", quite an intriguing title. There are many legends about her and her shadowy past. Most of them involve men trying to own her because of her great beauty.
The Emperor Heavenly Demon himself trained her in the martial arts, and it was his lust for her that forced her to flee to the Shaolin for help. The ancient legends tell how they refused even to admit her to their temple, let alone help her, because she was a woman. This created her abiding hatred for all men. Her guiding principle became "If men rule the world, then women must rule men!"
The Mistress of Chaos knew that she would never be able to beat male warriors on the basis of strength alone, so she developed a kung fu style more oriented to seduction, speed and illusion. She added poisons and venoms, daggers, whips and throwing stars to the existing fighting style she had been taught. Her reputation grew steadily and a stream of disillusioned young women flocked to join her. Thus, the Sacred Flower clan grew.
But times were hard. No one would pay good money for female mercenaries. It was unthinkable. So, in order to survive, the Sacred Flower clan sold their skills to those who valued them, the corrupt and the clever - those who wanted to achieve their goals through intrigue and politics, not war. Members of he clan became skilled as master assassins. And what assassins they were! Because of their skill with poisons and concealed weapons, they were able to grow a fearsome reputation and the clan soon became very wealthy.
Naturally enough, this earned it the enmity of all the white clans who frowned on the assassinations for which they had become infamous.
Since they know that they are not equal to men in terms of sheer strength and power, the Sacred Flowers' fighting style is very fluid and fast, relying on seduction, deception and misdirection to overcome their enemies. It is also helped by the use of potent toxins and concealed weapons such as daggers, whips and razor wheels. Many a young martial artist's final thought has been "Where did that come from?"
So, enough for today, my young student. However, return tomorrow and I shall tell you a tale of beggars.
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