Mershael has developed a robust martial tradition that they value equally to their artistic and creative heritage. Because all Mershaeli will spend some time defending their adopted land, a citizen of Mershael is seen as a warrior and whatever vocation they choose to pursue. In the philosophy of the Mershael, a person is fully realized when they can be both warrior and artisan, destroyer and creator.
The Military of the Mershael has been built upon an ancient set of martial skills passed down by their people before they began recording time and history. These skills have been honed into eight specific disciplines that warriors can learn and practice. The Mershael have practiced and perfected these disciplines for thousands of years. Each is unique and as much an art form as it is a way to fight.
These forms are collectively called Hona Ihatha, The Winds. Each discipline is specific to a weapon or family of weapons, except in the case of the Taumari, where there are three particular disciplines that a warrior can learn with that weapon.
Baro Ka Hatha (Flow of Wind), or Baro
Unarmed combat is taught early, usually when a child begins school. All Mershaeli children attend schools sponsored by their houses, so students practice Baro as part of their daily physical education. Mershaeli culture teaches that citizens should be able to take up a weapon to defend their nation at any time, and this thought permeates both the home and the classroom.
As the name suggests, Baro is a graceful martial art where the user is almost always in motion. To stop is to invite attacks and establish patterns your opponent can exploit. The wind constantly flows, and so does the practitioner of Baro.
The forms of Baro are also the primary forms that will be picked up in the other seven weapon disciplines. Baro is seen as the foundation of Mershaeli arts, though it is built upon no matter how old a warrior is or how long they have been practicing.
Dara Ka Hatha (Wall of Wind), or Dara
All Mershaeli will spend time in the military, whether in the army or the navy. Generally, a House’s tradition will decide, but the government can intervene and place people in the neediest branch.
Those that go into the army will begin their training in Baro and Dara Ka Hatha. Dara focuses on the Najana. Najana-wielding Sentinels make up most of the Mershaeli army, troops trained for both defense and attack. They are deadly in battle, given their skill in Dara, which they use to keep their enemy at a distance and still be able to strike.
Though it is rare, some warriors choose to pursue their martial training in Dara. A warrior well-trained in Dara is a sight to behold. No longer confined to the closed ranks of the Sentinels, they spin and twirl their Najana at frightening speeds even as they whirl across a battlefield.
The art of Dara focuses on the constant movement of both the weapon and the wielder. The enemy knows not where to strike; their target is there one moment and gone the next, their najana always ready to land a killing blow.
Birashota Merkaz (Silent Breeze) or Birashota
Birashota is a very different martial tradition from the other seven Ihatha. While the other disciplines use melee weapons, Birashota employs the use of a bow and culminates in the use of the Tennko, the Mershael’s traditional bow.
Students of Birashota learn to strike targets with deadly accuracy, both standing still, moving on foot, and mounted. The much-feared Reaver’s Kindred and the famous Riktokar study Birashota and employ it in combat.
Masters of Birashota can quickly fire multiple arrows on the move and place them all on their target. They are undeterred by incoming enemy missiles or by approaching enemy melee troops. They are taught to trust their brothers and sisters in arms to protect them if need be or to switch quickly to a melee weapon to defend themselves.
Most warriors who study and practice Birashota also adopt another of the Ihathas. Many choose Vay or Tachan as their melee discipline, though some also employ Puyaka.
Ulahura Vay (Enduring Squall) or Vay
The Taumari is the most common weapon Mershaeli warriors adopt as they ascend the ranks. The Taumari is quick, light, and deadly, able to inflict more damage than most long blades employed on the northern continent.
The primary discipline used with a Taumari is the Ulahura Vay or the enduring gale. Vay relies on a constant flurry of precise strikes by the wielder to wear down an opponent to the point that a Mershaeli warrior can strike a killing blow. There are both defensive and offensive forms.
Vay warriors are taught to begin a personal battle by striking first and last. Vay forms do not suppose a warrior will overpower or outmaneuver an enemy warrior with the first or second strike. The way of Vay is to strike (or defend) constantly and consistently to wear down an opponent and put a crack in their defenses.
Vay assumes that the Mershaeli warrior will be fighting worthy opponents. It focuses on steadiness and quick, even if predictable, strikes that sap the endurance of their enemy until the killing blow can be landed.
Upuyaka Hatha (Whispering Wind) or Puyaka
The Upuyaka Hatha or Whispering Wind is the form taught to those who specialize in a long knife or other short weapons. The Puyaka, as commonly referred to, is assumed to be employed by those in close and desperate combat.
Puyaka is an efficient combat form that mostly features offensive moves but teaches some defense. It is assumed that this is the best form of combat in the close confines of a boarding action or the woods and rainforests of Mershael.
Masters of Puyaka strike from nowhere. They are taught to move quickly and silently. They strike killing blows before enemies can retaliate or bring their weapons to bear. Puyaka relies on cunning or brute strength to end a fight rather than finesse.
Puyaka is taught to all of those serving in the Mershaeli navy. It is also employed by the Takar Hunters and Lookouts that prowl the border between Mershael and Traazor. Surprisingly the Takar Hunters use Taumari with the Puyaka form, making them even more deadly in the wilderness areas that they roam to keep the Kingdom safe.
Bishoneta Sotha Vay (Lightning and Squall) or Bishoneta
Because most combat is fought in the context of military units, a collaborative fighting style developed called Bishoneta Sotha Vay or Lightning and Squall. This discipline seeks to teach warriors of different fields to work together, making them even stronger and more deadly in combat.
The most commonly used Bishoneta is the combination of Taumari and Najana. These units support each other on battlefields across the Mershaeli border and elsewhere.
Bishoneta focuses on one warrior keeping their quarry busy while the other overwhelm their defenses and strikes a killing blow. Warriors who practice Bishoneta are taught to be patient and precise so that their combined efforts do not get in each other’s way.
For a practical combat discipline, it is hard to beat Bishoneta. It is the foundation of the Mershaeli way of war. It is used in their military formations by warriors working together on ships. It has been extensively adopted for use with Yakoru Sur, the Mershaeli word for their Freebands.
Bishoneta is very similar to Vay in method but not in form. While Vay focuses on one warrior tiring their opponent to bring them to the brink of defeat, Bishoneta is more about overwhelming an opponent with purposeful strikes from two opponents.
Another common form of Bishoneta is practiced by users of Vay and Mansu and by Birashota and Mansu. Masters of Mansu can use their Kasari to keep an enemy at bay while those practicing Birashota loose arrows into them. Also, a Kasari-wielding warrior can tie up an enemy while a Vay Warrior cuts them down.
Bishoneta is taught in basic military training and even in some more aggressive House-sponsored clubs. Bishoneta is rarely pursued beyond the level of Merkaz, but those that do are a driving force on any battlefield.
Groups of two and rarely three pursue Bishoneta together. There are always few true masters. Bishoneta warriors are usually life-partners with their martial partners. Bishoneta requires complete trust and faith in your partner, which generally bleeds over from the battlefield into their practitioners’ personal and romantic lives.
Tachan Honpu (Sudden Gust), or Tachan
Tachan Honpu or the Sudden Gust is a Taumari form learned by those who prize speed over endurance when using a Taumari. Many Mershaeli Boarders use it to end boarding actions on their ships quickly.
Tachan teaches that the best way to destroy an enemy is to ensure they never have a chance to strike. Tachan relies on speed and precision to strike a killing blow before an enemy even suspects it is coming.
Practitioners of Tachan are taught to draw their weapons and strike with unbelievable speed, giving their opponent little or no time to react or defend themselves. Though they are more vulnerable if their strike fails, they are still deadly warriors capable of carrying on their fight if necessary.
If their first strike does not kill, Tachan warriors are taught to defend themselves masterfully until there is a hole for another Tachan strike. Often an enemy is lured into thinking they have the upper hand as they hammer blow after blow against a warrior versed in Tachan, only to die suddenly and swiftly when their arrogance gets the better of them, or they let their guard down.
Tachan is as much about studying your enemy as it is your form. Practitioners of Tachan spend excessive amounts of time learning about warrior traditions from other nations and how to use Tachan against them.
Umansu Anirashe (Spinning Storm) or Mansu
Umansu Anirashe, or Spinning Storm, is the discipline practiced by those who have chosen the Kasari as their weapon. Already a highly specialized weapon, those who pursue mastery of the Kasari are a nightmare for their enemies.
The Kasari is a highly versatile weapon but very difficult to master and control. Kasari masters are rare in any generation but highly prized for their focus, discipline, and battlefield prowess.
In the hands of a well-trained Mansu Funan, a kasari can disarm an opponent, strike them from a distance, or constrain them and keep them from leaving combat. They are rightly feared on any battlefield and used extensively on Mershaeli naval vessels.
Ihatha traditions are introduced early to Mershaeli children. Schools will teach the basics of Baro as part of a regimen of physical education. At the same time, House-sponsored clubs will begin to build on the basics of Baro and teach Dara, Birashota, and Puyaka.
By the time a child reaches adulthood and serves their time in the military or navy, they will be decently proficient in the first level of Baro and probably Dara. Military training will hone these skills and teach how to use them in formations while universally introducing the discipline of Birashota.
Children and those entering their military service are called Kimotani, the calm before the storm. Soldiers with basic training in the forms of Baro will be trained in Dara and Birashota. Usually, their rank will stay Kimotani unless they are exceptionally gifted.
If a Mershaeli chooses to pursue the ways of war, they will focus on one or two disciplines. These disciplines will often set their course throughout life and determine where and how they serve. Interestingly enough, they tend to permeate their personality and lifestyle. Many a Mershaeli poet and philosopher has commented upon this, musing over whether the Ihatha shapes a warrior’s personality or whether the warrior’s personality determines their Ihatha.
Proficiency is measured in duels against the Masters or Katatoshi, literally “those who tempest.” When the Katatoshi grants a rank, it is a great honor and marks entry into a fraternity of skilled warriors.
The second rank of Hona Ihatha is Merkaz, the Breeze. The position of Merkaz is granted to any who chooses a discipline and devotes their lives to it. The Merkaz is a skilled but inexperienced warrior who is usually young and just starting their martial path.
They have much to learn. A Merkaz is a learner expected to be teachable and have a heart of humility. Once a Merkaz, you are defined by what you do not know as much as anything else.
With years of practice and experience, the Katatoshi will proclaim a Merkaz warrior ready for their first trials. The Trials are a series of tests that the Merkaz must master if they are to move on. The Katatoshi will measure the warrior’s form and consider their combat experience. Their final trial is a dual against one of the Katatoshi. If a Merkaz completes the tests, the Katatoshi will grant them the rank of Funan or Gale.
The level of Funan is held by experienced warriors advanced in skill and combat experience. They are generally leaders in the prime of their life. Most Mershaeli will never attain the rank of Funan, as it takes great skill and patience to achieve it.
Funan excel in martial skill and philosophy. It is not enough for a Funan to know and execute the forms laid down for them in their discipline; they must also be able to use them in combat. A final, rigorous trial is given by the Katatoshi to determine if the warrior will advance to the final rank of Katatoshi.
Significantly few will gain the rank of Katatoshi. It is a serious thing to become a master. Most masters devote themselves to teaching in the Hatha Golka, the Wind Schools. They will shape and form the next generation of Mershaeli warriors, hoping to produce more Katatoshi.
The Mershaeli have a pervading belief that the student will only become as good as the teacher is. It is a great shame to Katatoshi if they cannot produce one student that reaches the same rank as they do.
The fraternity of Katatoshi is tight-knit, and they keep to themselves, rarely even mingling outside their chosen discipline. Their free time from teaching is supposed to be spent honing their skills, so they do not become lax. An old Mershaeli proverb says, “A teacher can only impart that which they have.”
