Combat

On Kaf, combat has always has an interesting position in society. In antiquity, combat skills were greatly favored and even encouraged developments still in use today like the stats system or spellcraft. Combat skills were also necessary for survival in many walks of life like being a vassal, sell-sword or adventurer and at no other time was this more clear than the Ghulat Wars. The various wars ensured the development of new or more deadly fighting systems and weaponry for individuals and armies.     It wasn't that long ago when combat was still necessary for survival. With civilization only gradually being rebuilt in scattered pockets of the world, other beings had to live on what they could get. Thus many resorted to pillaging or were forced to defend themselves from pillaging. And when cities first started spreading, the problem got worse with crime being rampant. The amazing part is that the worldwide violence actually started to go down at some point. A lot of factors lead this including the rise of urban crime-fighters, cities respecting the environment around them, social hierarchies becoming lenient, technology and artifices providing more resources and access to them, etc.   Of course combat is still a skill considered important to know regardless of your lifestyle. After all, many people today feel that much of the reason why crime became common in cities was that people got too complacent and sedentary. Even weaponry and fighting styles that were once lost to the warring periods have seen a comeback or at least modern re-imaginings and improvements. I suppose the main difference in combat today is its role and severity. Nowadays fights to the death are much less common, like an exception rather than the rule. Combat skills serve more in areas like spectator sports and tournaments, self-improvement, historical and cultural preservation, crime-fighting, and the occasional disagreement. Even today, warriors and mages can still find the opportunity to fight each other, whether for reasons of vendetta and personality clashes, or just for bragging rights; its just death isn't usually the result (in public anyways).