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Southern Monks

The Monks of the Monastery of the Golden South, often shortened to just Southern Monks or sometimes Endalan Monks, were ascetic warriors raised on the teachings of Laaprue Inyulajari to defend the Endalan Savannah and its people from those who would raise swords against it. Southern monks were trained in the Southern Monastery.

Lifestyle #

Anyone from across the Endala could join the Southern Monastery, although the dedication and discipline required to stay was the true challenge. While the monastery's doors remained open to all who walked through, failure to meet and uphold the standards of a Southern Monk would result in swift expulsion--of which there was no return.

Dedication to a Hand of Laaprue #

Southern monks were called to dedicate their lives to the mastery of a martial art classified by the monastery as an Agye Y'Laaprue, or Hand of Laaprue. There were many Hands of Laaprue to study, with some being more obscure and less commonly taught than others.

Majority of the Hands of Laaprue incorporated some sort of arcane path into its practices, elevating it from a purely physical martial art into an interesting and unique fighting style. This was similar to how the Elemental Warriors practiced both Elementalism and conventional military tactics, although the union between fighting with physical and arcane force was much tighter in Hands of Laaprue. ^11

There were many similarities between Hands of Laaprue and various Isutan martial arts from The Eastern Provinces, in terms of being equal parts magic and physical might. Many fighting styles may have been inspired between Isutan warriors and Endalan ascetics due to interactions made with seaborne traders. ^22

Typically a Southern Monk would train for at least 9 hours per day, 4 days a week. There were no hard and fast rules on the number of hours required to train, since the dedication of a student was measured by their oluko's regular testing.

From 300 - 157 PBD, Southern Monks were expressly forbidden to learn multiple Hands of Laaprue, with the monastery's oluwa believing that such pursuits would dull an individual's capacity to perfect a single fighting style. By 150 PBD, this type of thinking was seen as outdated and silly, with many southern monk disciples learning at least 2 Hands of Laaprue for more well-rounded skillsets.

Eating the Fruits of Endala #

Southern Monks were forbidden from eating food grown or raised outside of the Endalan Savannah. This meant any livestock that grazed on the grasslands of Phovezila couldn't be eaten, and moro fruit from Corgath or the Sangmyung Valley were off-limits. When traveling across Legere for uncommon reasons, Southern Monks would bring large containers of cured Gouhat meat and various dried fruits.

The only exception to this rule was given to the Great Three--Southern Monks called forth to become Archangel's Heroes. Because they answered to a power above the monastery, they were permitted to eat and drink foreign things as they traveled Legere.

Traitor Monks #

Unfortunately, many warlords across the Endala sought to acquire the powers of the Southern Monks for their own purposes. Servants of such warlords could worm their way into the monastery to learn a Hand of Laaprue and bring that knowledge back to their lord. Such individuals were looked down upon by many, and were often referred to as eledan--traitor monks.

Upon discovery of a traitor monk, the monastery would send disciples to assassinate them in an effort to contain the uncontrolled dissemination of the monastery's arts to those who would use them to spill Endalan blood. This wasn't always practical though, and often the threat of assassination was used to prevent the operation of traitor monks in the first place.

Equipment, Gear, & Uniforms #

There were no standardized accessories for a Southern Monk. Each monk was given weaponry and/or armour relevant to their Hand of Laaprue. Uniforms were also not regulated within the monastery officially--however, an oluko would typically have their students adopt some manner of uniform (whether that was just specific colours or a stricter set of clothes/robes) to distinguish them as students of that oluko.

Hands of Laaprue #

The following is a non-comprehensive list of the various Hands of Laaprue taught in the Southern Monastery. Similar to the wide variety of arcane paths that graced the world of Legere, the number of Hands of Laaprue were innumerable, with many having only tiny followings of disciples. In fact, many Hands of Laaprue were forgotten throughout the ages--fortunately, the monastery's expert scrollkeeping has prevented this knowledge from being truly lost. Dozens of scrolls outlining the fundamentals of extirpated Hands of Laaprue could be found in the monastery's library, and often enough a curious Southern Monk might have attempted to resurrect the martial art.

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Much like the Arcane Hand's view on magic, no Hands of Laaprue were deemed worthy of banning or designated as forbidden. The monastery believed that as long as the martial art's purpose was to destroy threats to the Endala, it could be used--even if the result was gruesome and painful.

Common Hands of Laaprue #

Golden Knife Form #

Nogoyo Agay Kah

Legerians often visualized practitioners of the Golden Knife Form when the term "Southern Monk" was spoken. It was by far the Hand of Laaprue with the most disciples. In fact, the sheer number of such practitioners were so great that the Southern Monks as a whole have often been misconstrued as a "halimantic army" on more than one occasion.

Fighting Style #

The Golden Knife Form required practitioners to utilize Halimancy in conjunction with advanced acrobatics to outmaneuver opponents while barraging them with ephemeral shards of arcane matter.

Traditions #

Southern Monks who trained in the Golden Knife Form would shave off each others' hair using halimantic blades that they conjured. Every month, Golden Knife Form monks studying under the same oluko would repeat this shaving, which encouraged bonding and fellowship throughout the monks' ranks.

Rare & Obscure Hands of Laaprue #

Ashen Fist Style #

Ingamya Isoof Zolo

Also known as the Smoke Technique, the Ashen Fist Style was an ancient and rare Hand of Laaprue that involved the use of smoke and ash clouds to create distractions and disorientation while choking out the enemy. It was used extensively by the Southern Monastery during 405 PBD while it fought at the behest of the Endalan warlord Wanok Yibaba.

After Yibaba and the Ashen Fist Style Monks fighting for him were slain, the Hand of Laaprue faded into obscurity.

Fighting Style #

The Ashen Fist Style was a hand-focused, boxing-like style that caused smoke to emanate from the fists of practitioners. Prolonged fights with an Ashen Fist Style monk caused more and more smoke to pour out, making it hard for opponents to breathe and see.

The Ashen Fist Style also allowed advanced practitioners to:

Traditions #

Ashen Fist Style monks would usually wear a long scarf, which they could pull over their mouth to help prevent them from inhaling their own smoke. Such a scarf would be embroidered and decorated with beautiful silks, beads, and other such embellishments.