The Path of Yalai

The Path of Yalai is a monastic order based out of the Moonlit Monastery on Mt. Jethria in the Ithis Mountains. The Path teaches the importance of discovery and seeking enlightenment. Followers of The Path are martial artists, mystics, and wandering warriors. They direct their energies toward learning and "ascending" to ever greater levels of accomplishment. Rigorous training for body and mind begins at an early age and is continued throughout a person's life. The clan has a strong sense of tradition, honor, and respect. Cunning and strategy in combat are highly revered by Yalai warriors. Instead of a central city or seat of power, Yalai culture is based around a series of isolated strongholds. These strongholds maintain their own rituals and schools of thought, but they are affiliated through Yalai traditions and values. Outsiders may join the clan if they can demonstrate a commitment to its rigors. Age is a mark of honor, and elders are revered.

Values of The Path of Yalai

The four pillars of The Path of Yalai are discipline, enlightenment, industriousness, and traditionalism.
Discipline: The Yalai devote themselves to martial arts and skills with weapons. Every person, whether farmer, fisher, or monk, has a weapon of choice. Study and practice with this weapon continue throughout a person's life. A day without training is a wasted day according to the Yalai. In addition to weapons training, the members of this clan devote several hours a day to physical meditation, resembling combat forms practiced in slow motion. This can be a mystical ritual, and Yalai mages combine this practice with spells, but mysticism isn't required. Even for people who command no magic at all, this physical meditation slows down the aging process.

• Initiate's Stair. This stairway is carved into the face of Mt. Jethria. The stairs wind around the pinnacle, all the way up to the top, where there is a simple shrine and an unparalleled vista. Climbing this stair is considered a rite of passage for the youth of The Path. The climb is not difficult—except they must climb the stair on their hands. It takes incredible stamina, strength, and balance to accomplish this feat and ascend all 1,578 steps without falling. Yalai children spend years in preparation, which begins as early as four years of age. Those who have climbed the steps are considered adults.
• Weapon skill. The Yalai study and craft many varieties of weapons: sticks, staves, daggers, butterfly knives, metal claws, swords, fork-tipped swords, ribbons, and flails.

Enlightenment: The followers of The Path see themselves as more enlightened than the other peoples. They believe they alone understand the true nature of the world and therefore are the only true arbiters of justice. The Yalai believe they can follow more than one path to enlightenment, and each stronghold has its own ideas about which path is best. Enlightenment is not considered an end state, and when asked what enlightenment is, a monk of The Path might merely answer with a cryptic response such as, "Enlightenment is contemplation of that which cannot be contemplated." Curiosity and discovery are seen as essential elements to attaining wisdom. No matter what path a person takes, he or she is expected to attain wisdom and metaphysical tools, including the command of all the "fires," which are the elemental forces of the world.

• Bloodfire. Followers of The Path believe that during combat, a fighter must let go of logic and compassion and be consumed by bloodfire. In this state, rage is considered a righteous act. It is only through many years of training and discipline that a fighter can attain mastery of the bloodfire. Many Yalai believe that bloodfire evokes a "superhuman" state, in which the person is invincible to weapons or other attacks.
• Compassion. The Yalai value honor and often come to the aid of the oppressed and poor. They are quick to judge—and kill—those they see as oppressors or bullies. To the Yalai, compassion is not innate. It must be learned through study, discipline, and experience. Ultimately, compassion should supersede the base instincts of the self.
• The Stone's Throw. The revered monk and ancient khan Shu Yun threw a stone into a thousand bodies of water—lakes, rivers, and seas. Legend has it that he waited by the shore of each until the ripples died away, and then the water gave him its wisdom. This is just one example of a person's path to enlightenment. There are thousands of stories such as these in The Path. Each person's path to enlightenment is unique and individualistic, and the scholars of the strongholds write these stories on enchanted scrolls to keep for all eternity.

Industriousness: The Yalai abhor ostentatious displays of wealth and hedonism. Their strongholds are austere and practical. Because of their long life spans, artisans spend years in apprenticeships before becoming masters at their trade. Their crafts are colorful and deceptively simplistic; the techniques behind them are flawless. The Yalai have developed ingenious waterwheel technology, which produces power and carries fresh water to even the most remote mountaintop stronghold. Artisans craft sextants and other fine metalwork, but only in small quantities.

• The Exquisite Hand. Artisans reside in the Sage-Eye Stronghold. Each makes one craft per season—a tapestry, a handcarved flute, a painting on a scroll. Everything they do is exquisite and fetches the highest prices in far-flung cities.
• Waterways. Other than the villages attached to strongholds, virtually all Yalai villages lay along waterways. Huge waterwheels capture the energy of the flowing rivers and are used in the clan's industrious ventures.

Traditionalism: Each stronghold has its own secret manuals and traditions on how to reach the highest "levels" of enlightenment. While there are many disciplines, each takes a lifetime to learn, so many Yalai follow a single path. The Yalai believe that everyone—even common artisans—should experience rigor and hardship to gain access to mystical knowledge and physical mastery.

• Annals of the Sage Eye. These are the records, which stretch back hundreds of years, kept by the head monk of The Path. Only the leader of the Yalai is permitted to read the Annals. The Annals describe the ancient times and the decline of the dragons. They hold the secrets of countless spells and rituals that have been known only to a handful of people throughout the ages.
• School of Pearls. This is a martial arts tradition whose adherents are called pearl fighters. They are wanderers who arbitrate conflicts between villagers. Their style involves light-footed combat and a strict code of law. During battle, pearl fighters conjure and manipulate thousands of pearls. Pearl fighters can use these pearls both offensively and defensively. They can send thousands through the air like a wave, or ensnare their enemy in a great cloud. After a great battle between pearl fighters and a band of outlaws, the ground was blanketed with so many pearls that it looked like snow had fallen. Children gathered the incandescent remnants hoping to sell them, but they evaporated hours after the battle.
• Kaisham Wanderers. This tricksters' school reveres "laughing play," or pranks against outsiders. These pranks are intended to make people question their beliefs or learn to enjoy the absurdity of life. This school maintains no stronghold; instead, it holds regular gatherings in the wilderness. Kaisham move in small bands of mentors and students, and often beg for their livelihood. Unfortunately, violence against these tricksters by outsiders is common. Bandits will often target them for sport. Some Wanderers engage in acts of kindness, but refuse to take credit or be recognized for these gifts.

Ways. There are three major "ways" in the tradition of The Path. When a student reaches adolescence, the youth can choose from three paths: "artisan," "mystic," or "wandering warrior." While most students are born into the clan, it is not unheard of for an orphan from outside of the Yalai to be taught by the those of The Path.

• Way of the Artisan. Yalai children who choose this path finish their education by learning a trade. The Yalai are renowned for making weapons of all kinds and out of all materials, and every trade includes a component of weapon-making. Blacksmiths make kettles and swords. Weavers make blankets and braided whips. Carpenters carve wooden chests and arrows. There are artisan brigades that build watermills, boats, and other works for the Yalai people. Many of the strongholds contribute funds for boat-builders to make and donate solid vessels for growing Yalai families.
• Way of the Mystic. These students continue their studies in the arcane and martial arts and will eventually become scholars, teachers, and monks in a stronghold.
• Way of the Wandering Warrior. These students apprentice with an elder wanderer and spend increasing amounts of time in the wilderness, where they serve as scouts, spies, and nomadic arbiters of justice.

Location

Ithis Mountains

Controlled Territories

• Moonlit Monastery

Related Species

• Elf