| Priestess Dance | |
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| Statistics | |
| Creators: | Clan Shiyuu |
| Known Users: | Kyou Kai Kyou Shiki Kyou Mei Kyou Shou Yuu Ren Kyou Rei Yuu Tribe |
| Weapon: | Sword |
| “ | Ton, Tan Tan. Ton, Tan Tan. | ” |
—Kyou Kai's chanting before using the style. | ||
The Priestess Dance is a deadly martial art technique created and used by Clan Shiyuu. The technique itself was originally a sword dance created to appease the gods of the clan through ritual dancing, but it eventually transformed into martial arts used to kill people. The technique requires immense training as well as talent and a special body born with the proper qualities to use it in combat. It relies on special breathing techniques from the user, which can be a weakness as a user with poor stamina cannot use it for a long duration of time.
History[]
According to their teachings, the sword did not originate as a tool of warfare for the killing of men but rather, it was born as a divine instrument for the purpose of venerating the heavens. The god-fearing people would pay homage to the heavens by holding a "priestess dance" where the priestess, host to the gods, would dance amidst a sea of flames and offerings. Those that made contact with the gods would dance while their conscience was intoxicated and cut down all who stood before them with the sword as the catalyst. It is from this ancient ritual that the secret technique was born as the Shiyuu refined it into a skill used to kill people. Kyou Kai comments that there are other martial experts who "carry the god" within them rather than make contact with it and they are known as Bushin.
Appearance[]
The user sits on the ground in a cross-legged stance, gathering their breath for the move. Once ready, she begins to chant a repeating line before cutting down any opponents nearby. It appears to draw from rotations as the user is seen spinning while balanced on one foot at the beginning of the dance, sword arm pointed up while the other arm points down. When the user begins the technique, their eyes seem distant or somewhat glazed over. It has been noted that the chant repeated differs from tribe to tribe.
Information[]
| “ | The secret technique of the priestess dance works by activating all possible senses as your consciousness grows distant. And how deeply on falls or how long they can sustain the state is considered to be a measure of talent within Shiyuu. | ” |
—Yuu Ren describing the Priestess Dance | ||
| “ | Before long, the movements around me start getting slower and slower. Until at the very end when even the flying insects are completely still. After that I find myself in the middle of a deep blue body of water. It's really really clear. You can see the blue stretching off far, far away. And below, it's so deep that you can't see the bottom. Then I slowly begin sinking, further and further down. All while humming the song to myself. | ” |
—Kyou Kai describing the Priestess Dance. | ||
When Kyou Kai was younger, she talked about the dance with her older sister Shou, how they used it but did not quite fully understand it.
Shou talked about how she felt while using it and Kai described how she felt. The description provided by Kyou Kai was similar to how Kyou Shou experienced it, to a certain point. Indicating that Kyou Kai has gone further than even Shou, who was considered one of the strongest potential Shiyuu's.
This is also strengthened by Yuu Ren when Kyou Kai fights against the Yuu tribe. When doing the dance, the dancer can feel scared, enjoyable, hot, cold, horny, etc. Yuu Ren mentioned the Dance worked via making the wielder's senses activated to a higher degree while their conscience grows distant.
| “ | No. Not the Kyou tribe's. This is Kyou Kai's dance. | ” |
—Yuu Ren Talking about Kyou Kai's own personal dance. | ||
Though the dance's purpose is to guide their minds into the depths of consciousness there's a limit to how deep they can go. They refer to that region as the "Hakuryou" (Soul Territory) Taboo. The priestess dance song they hum is used to help them into a trance, but at the same time it also serves as a guidepost for pulling themselves back out of the depths. If they were to sink further than the Hakuryou border, then they would no longer be able to hear the song and be unable to find their way back. So, they would never wake up. There have been many people who have overstepped the Hakuryou boundary, but not a single one has ever managed to return, their bodies simply wasting away. The Hakuryou could be said to be the heart's boundary between life and death, it was not something they could instinctively reach.
Strengths & Weaknesses[]
This is a very powerful technique as most enemies who encounter it are instantly killed, even assassins are hard-pressed to follow the movements of the user. Against members of Clan Gouma, Kyou Kai beheaded 5 of them with one stroke of her sword while using this stance. Considering the fact that they were skilled assassins, the fact five of them couldn't even see her sword before it decapitated them shows the vast skill difference brought on when using the dance.
Suu Gen oberved it as an unpredictable level of movement switching and speed change. At its deepest level, the user is capable of achieving speeds that cannot be tracked visually and can easily land multiple cuts on such skilled fighters like Houken, who can move as fast as a normal Shiyuu.
The weakness is the user's stamina as seen in the assassination attempt and the Battle at Dakan Plains. The technique can be defeated by unnatural, skilled fighters like Hou Ken who could use his own chi in similar ways to the Shiyuu.
Gallery[]
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Trivia[]
- The technique is similar to many supernatural martial art techniques found in Wuxia novels, Manhwa adaptions, and Japanese Manga.