Bladesinger

'A dance of such grace and beauty I have never beheld, and death trails in their wake.' - Captain K'ol observing a squad of bladesingers, Battle of Icran II

Bred for Power

From the onset of 'The Light's Crusade' it was clear that magic flowed and worked differently between beings of Radiant and Nightmare. A power that truly embodied the realm it came from. In 'The Radiant' the magic was entirely based on 'pull'. Their wielders could draw power into themselves, strengthening their muscles and fortitude, or pull it into materials to craft weapons, armour and items. Things that could improve the lives of those around them and better their societies during times of peace. The Nightmare was the exact opposite, the magic entirely based on 'push'. These wielders could collect and store magic in runes, carving them into their skin or onto items and then push the magic out, fashioning it into powerful and destructive forces. This provided strength and power to the individual, raising their status above others, and making it that much easier to dominate others.

Early in the conflict many sought to merge these magics, whether through alchemical testing or inter-species birth between beings of Nightmare and Radiant. These forced births often required magic to maintain the growing children during their incubation periods to overcome the natural conflict of Dark and Light within a being. The first born with this gift was Hidato, alongside his twin Dargo, who possessed only the 'push' magic of the Nightmare. These two were taken on as Yieyan's primary apprentices and each themselves formed a battalion of followers behind them. Hidato sought to expand the ranks of his new Bladesingers and mandated his followers could only breed within their ranks, or with external magic users approved by him for favourable matches. Even with this decree, only 2% of those born possessed both the powers of Radiant and Nightmare.

Though in rare cases those with ancestors of this melding spontaneously developed these mixed abilities where their parents didn't possess them.

Magic Prowess

With the power to absorb and expel all forms of energy, Bladesingers are incredibly difficult to kill and lethal in combat. They can draw energy from their environment, those around them and other spells to protect or heal themselves, as well as toss magic back. To augment their strengths they carry blades of magical fashioning, carved with runes to absorb and hold different energy types and can activate the runes, unleashing and directing the power at their whim. This bypasses their true shortfall, which is that they cannot store energy within themselves or carve runes on their body as it interferes with the flow of magics through them. Though their true weakness lies in those brief moments when they are performing either a 'push' or 'pull' action, for they cannot do both simultaneously, only one followed by the other in rapid progression.

Trained for Battle

This weakness is known by Bladesingers and they train mercilessly to shorten the length of this lag time through speed, agility and strength training. They also trained tirelessly with their dual swords, warstaves or dual ended polearms. Though they could choose which weapons they wielded, each Bladesinger used two of a chosen weapon or a double ended weapon to represent their two branches of magic and to most one became the locus to 'pull' magic and the other to 'push'. They were also trained to be resourceful, and practised fighting without weapons, pulling energy from the environment to wield (e.g. A bladesinger pulls the heat from the air around them, lowering the temperature dramatically and causing frost and ice to crystalize around them, to unleash sudden bursts of molten fire from their arms).

Renown

Hidato's Bladesingers earned incredible renown throughout 'The Light's Crusade' as servants of Yieyen. Often sent into the toughest and most violent of battles, and emerging victorious from certain death situations. Only Aseth's Hundred eclipsed them in power as the Radiant Titan's chosen.

Hidato

One of the Prime disciples of Yeiyan, Hidato was incredibly gifted in 'The Art'. He himself was the first bladesinger and took on many disciples that followed him into battle on hundreds of planets. He cultivated the ranks of his followers through matching pairs, insuring that each child born of his disciples had a mixed bloodline, the only way for one to gain the powers of a bladesinger. Eventually, Hidato fell in battle, cut down by the blade of his Nightmare-sworn brother. Though his legacy lives on in the disciples he raised and the powers he instilled in them.

Type

Magical, Honorific

Yieyen, The Magician

One of the last remaining titans of Light and a survivor of the battle of the HeiRi system. His power was instrumental in creating the anchor worlds and the seal to lock the Nightmare from Grey-Space. Though since that day his presence has rarely been felt within the cosmos. Some state the father of magic returned to 'The Light of the Nine', the fleet of comets he originally graced upon his arrival after The Shattering. It was there that he mastered the use of magic, wielding the mystical powers of the comets as they soared through Grey-Space. Some believe he will return when the need is greatest, a solution to the enroaching Nightmare in hand.

Yeiyan's Bladesingers

The battalion still exists within 'The Light's Crusade' and continues to fight against the forces of Nightmare across the Cosmos. Though they have still not recovered from their losses in the Battle of the HeiRi system, instead now a small elite strikeforce, only unleashed in moments of greatest need. They are guarded well by the members of Light's Crusade after the targeted destruction of their bases caused their numbers and birthing facilities to dwindle. They are ever in search of new Bladesingers, determined to swell their ranks for the return of Yeiyan.