Yon-qi
Summary
A sport principally found in Nerzin, although it has bled out to neighboring Aerthen and through ancient trade toward Sa-kemet. Many different adaptations of the sport exist, based on local materials, customs, and other concerns. The following article describes the typical experience found in Nerzin. Yon-qi (literally, "moving energies") is an old martial practice that came to be for mages and the magically gifted. In Nerzin's mindset, physical motion is important to dictate the flow of mana, and thus magical power. By establishing basic motions to cultivate this mindset, many schools developed largely similar approaches toward training their initiates. As competitive souls are ever to do, they pitted their initiates against each other in non-fatal combat. To help ensure they wouldn't accidentally kill one another, special vambraces and shin guards were developed. When filled with one's mana, the equipment creates a force that is strongly repelled by other forces made in a similar nature. That is, two initiates couldn't hit each other with their vambraces or shin guards. After all, direct force from one to the other could result in unmitigated damage or death; the schools had a different solution. The art of yon-qi came through close-but-not-quite physical movement. Each participant was to move in a way that would not hit their opponent, but cause their opponent to touch them somehow. Whoever touched the stationary partner would lose. Ergo, one had to dance and move swiftly, creating ever moving traps and mix-ups without falling prey to them. Mindfully, the initiates would use their magic talent (wind force, pillars of flame, etcetra) as part of this elaborate dance, hence the practical aspect. The unusual rules aside, yon-qi's popularity arose when it was adapted by others as a competitive sport over a method of elaborate training. By having a presiding judge empower the equipment, non-magical or ungifted persons could participate as well. For many, this meant even extremely powerful individuals could fairly compete against weaker ones, within certain reason. Various rule sets popped up immediately, with everything and anything changing depending on where it was played. Yon-qi took off from there, becoming a background staple found in virtually every corner of Nerzin. Not many are 'true' participants of the sport, however. The equipment needed is, while not the most expensive, considerable enough most nobility have it within their purview. Thus, 'official' matches are conducted through guilds of practitioners and competitors, who serve as dancing performances or gambling opportunities. That aside, most who participate in yon-qi also find opportunities in dancing tropes and theater play; the motions are not that terribly different.
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