Schools of Fighting

In the world of 7th sea, there are other talents in combat beside the use of magic. These are the Swordsmanship Schools: institutions that teach you the art of fighting with weapons. While any man or woman can, in theory, pick up a weapon and use it, the schools make you a master with the tool of choice, allowing you to carve your way through a battlefield with almost supernatural ease.

While schools are native to (and are located in) specific nations and regions, membership is not nationality dependent; anyone of any nation can learn the art of any school. Most people do not have the dedication to spend the thousands of hours it takes to achieve mastery of the sword. As such, most swordsmen tend to be driven by some cause or desire, rather then blind loyalty to a nation. While some swordsmen take this knowledge back to their nation to advance their cause, most remain independent of their former nation; instead becoming wandering swordsmen, dedicate themselves to the specific cause or quest that motivated them to become master swordsmen. To some this is the Church of Theus, to others it's the knight's code of Chivalry, to others its revenge, and to yet others it's a simple desire for wealth and power.

Most schools - those that teach sword fighting (excluding Bonita and El Punal Occulto) - provide an additional benefit: membership in The Swordsman's Guild. At Guild Lodges, members can always find a warm bed and meal at low cost, information, clients, and like minded warriors to learn and teach. The Guild is also the only organization in western Theah, whose members are legally allowed to duel. As a result, many nobles hire out guildsmen to defend their honor at high class parties and as bodyguards. Membership allows even the poorest of farmers children to be able to attend the most extravagant parties and rub shoulder with the most powerful men and women in this half the world. Anyone can become a member of the guild, so long as they can prove their mettle, but school learners are automatically accepted after their "graduation". The Guild is not represented or accepted in the Empire of the Crescent Moon, Cathay, or any of the more distant places of the world.