The Haruka Clan

[V0idsoldier 1139]

Before I begin, let me say that this is simply a idea, and I want to see the public opinion on the idea. Don't do the whole stereotypical "We don't need more of this", if you have a comment or suggestion, leave it.

And banner

Paintings of our village.

The outside of the Dojo

The training ring

The training dummies

The design for student huts

The meditation center

Ao Haruka in the meditation center

The Haruka Clan

((Har-Uka))

Basis:

Our lore comes from a variety of places, ranging from feudal japan and monk monasteries, to even fantasy novels and such, through a combination of both real life techniques and a flair of fantasy, our lore comes together and creates a strikingly original concept. The general role of this group or clan is to create a fun, stable, and tight knit community that will act as a definitive body in all it does. We will be a constructive force in this world.

What is the Haruka Clan?

The Haruka Clan is an idea, or rather a lifestyle, in which one gives up the comforts of normal, everyday life, and focuses on intense martial training to amplify one's “Chi”. Through the mastery of said Chi, you will gain phenomenal bodily control, along with being able to perform superhuman feats with said Chi. The Haruka clan is also a tight knit, close “family” of sorts. They do not discriminate by race, rather by heart and desire, if you have the inner strength to succeed, they will not bias against you, though their pride will often come off as arrogance.

Chi?

Chi is one’s natural energy force. In real life cultures, such as monk monasteries and such, Chi is known as our “life force” and is the principal, key part of both chinese medical knowledge, and martial arts. Other words for it may be Aura, or Chakra. In real life, people constantly train their bodies to master the use of “Chi” to do amazing feats, though in fantasy settings it often takes another role. Chi in this setting will be a type of magic in a way, though more of a physical way than others. Through intense martial training, you can learn to focus your Chi and do incredible things, such as control elements around you through varying degrees of mastery. Furthermore, you can achieve “Perfect” body and mind, through which you master all your actions. Chi will be a powerful concept with the Haruka clan.

Examples of its power vary on what kind of techniques you choose to master. If you choose to master a element with your Chi, that will be your limitation. For example, a Haruka clan master of Chi can focus all of his Chi, whilst pressing his palms onto the ground, the simulation and energy gives him control of the earthen material and he can create walls of earth in exchange for loss of power. Another example being a type of “push” using Chi only, where you gather your Chi into your palms and slam them into the air, the concussive wave pushing back all in its path. Other masteries include such things as focusing on mind manipulation through Chi, bodily perfection through Chi, and even focusing on the fighting style itself.

Chi is a very versatile thing, and in this fact it can be changed to multiple things, depending on what you wish to master. In order to receive Chi perfection, you must work very, very hard.

Techniques:

The Haruka clan techniques consist of a mixture of several martial arts commonly used in today's society, and at the same time strives to make its own unique form. In general, their form is completely defensive just as their society is, they do not strike unless striked, they never start a fight they only finish it. A Haruka master of the techniques is nearly unstoppable in a melee fight, being able to disarm and dislocate his opponents with ease. As most people need a weapon in order to fight, the Haruka clan turn their bodies into a weapon, and in this fact are able to decimate their opponents.

If taken to the ground, their form will often shift to that of a type of Jiu jitsu, Gracie Jiu Jitsu, and they excel there too, though the majority of their supremacy should be taken whilst standing. While in their defensive position, they operate a flat palm type process in which they focus on disabling their opponents by disrupting vital organs, such as the lungs or heart, by releasing heavy strikes covered in Chi. These techniques are based on real world “Baguazhang” And “Hakkesho” in which they utilize the flexibility and movement options given to them by a circular stance. Often before a fight, they will draw a circle in the dirt with their feet, staying inside the circle and focusing the chi around it as a type of barrier, if you pierce this barrier their senses are heightened.

Leg sweeps, flat palm strikes, blocking, disarming, and generally disabling their opponents through non lethal means are the clan’s special techniques. Whilst in their “Circle of perception” They have a near 360 degree vision, though this is accompanied by several blind spots. By entering this barrier, you fight on their ground, in their power level, and are usually at a disadvantage.

Training

Like all disciplines, one does not become a Haruka master overnight. It takes years of training and devotion of one’s life to make it into the higher tiers of the clan. Entry into the Haruka clan is not an easy feat, you have to be chosen by the clan, and only those who look to have great potential in the art are to be chosen. They must show discipline, dedication, loyalty and immense inner strength.

Once chosen, the student leaves their formal ties behind and dedicates his or her own life to the mastery of the art. A student starts off with virtually no control or handle on their chi. They cannot move aside a flying arrow, nor win a fight against a skilled fighter. A haruka student is vulnerable and it is that vulnerability that must be slowly worked out of them.

Training involves a great deal of self discovery, knowing your own strengths and weaknesses and being able to overcome your greatest fears. A good fighter knows that he is mortal, that any moment could be his last. He knows to be aware of his own mortality and that of the ones around him, it is for these reasons that a man must always be aware of the dangers that could befall him or his clan.

To be a master of the art, they must learn how to endure pain, how to endure suffering and pressure. They must learn how to balance their mind and chi even in the most difficult situations. Training will often involve being exposed to the elements for long periods of time, testing both your willpower and your endurance, when other times there will be more physical training techniques such as hand to hand with other students or trainers.

The buildup, that is the brunt of all training, from becoming a student, to a acolyte, to a trainer and if you're lucky, a advisor, it is all a major test of both your patience and your resolve. If you have the inner strength, have the dedication, have all these things, then training will be a learning experience for you. Life is all one big test, one big training event, and in order to pass you have to work hard every day of your life. Haruka training will strain your resolve, your strength, your speed, your heart and your mind, all at once.

Another part of their training, the physical perfection part, involved both weights strapped to their feet, and heavy armor. By training with the armor they vow not to wear, they teach their bodies to move much, much more freely when it is taken off, leading them to incredible agility and speed. Their wrap stone weights around their wrists when training their open palm techniques, and stone weights around their ankles when running.

Lifestyle

The lifestyle of the Haruka clan is one of peace, balance and strength. They prefer to stay neutral with others, unless they feel a threat has come to their clan or to their way of life. This way of life is sacred to them, and they devote their entire lives to learning the secrets and lessons it has to offer them. They are extremely proud of who they are and what they have managed to accomplish, even to the point of cockiness. Staying loyal to the other members of the clan, they act as brothers and sisters who would help each other at all costs. Living together and never apart, the clan is more than just a way of life, to the chosen members, it is their true family. Unity is strength and it is for that they must strive for unity in strength.

They inhabit a small village which also serves as a training ground, having with them only the bare necessities of life, as the life of a Haruka is a humble way of life. They do not strive to have possessions, nor do they flaunt the few items they do have. The clan members help each other, looking out for the needs of the clan above their own.

The secrets of the clan’s way of life are only bestowed upon the members of the clan. The rare chosen few who are granted with these great gifts. To the Haruka, their way of life is sacred to them, and they think ill of an outsider knowing their ways, their life, their techniques. These are all things the chosen know, and the chosen will keep within the confines of the clan.

Weaknesses

Whilst in their stance, they have countless “Blind spots” Which are small openings in which they cannot detect things. People have the potential of ambushing them using these blind spots.

If you can manage to pierce a Haruka clan members barrier, break their defence, they bleed just like any other man. Their skin is not rock hard, and they are not immortals, they die just as any other man would. At a lower skill level, you will often be defeated by men with weapons, though as you get higher in your mastery of Chi, these chances lower significantly.

If you can break a clan members Chi level through whatever means, they will not be able to maintain focus. Their Chi is essentially their life force, when those levels dwindle, their martial prowess dwindles and they will lose the fight. Everything requires complete and utter focus, and only the best of the best can block out extreme chaos and keep focused.

It must be stressed that the members of this clan are not gods, they aren’t magical beings, they are just those gifted with the knowledge of being able to use their bodily energies in a defensive manner. They can die just like any other being, and they can lose a fight.

As a member of Haruka, you take a vow not to use the heavy, unnatural metal armor most warriors use. This can be seen as arrogance or stupidity, though regardless they are trained to not use this. Because of this, their only defense is their bodies and their Chi, they have no artificial protection. If this Vow is broken, they will be stripped of their knowledge and power.

Along with their vow of no armor, they take a vow not to use any form of metal weaponry, considering it both “slow and weak” in their eyes. Instead, they train with weighted wooden swords, staffs and more. Because of their lack of weaponry, their only damage output is by their fists.

Lastly, Their open palmed techniques are /only/ good when fighting on the defensive, what this means is that they will never be one, can never be one, to start a fight, though the excel once it has been started. Their first moves aren't decent until they gather their chi and focus. A huge weakness being that you can easily surprise a member before they gather their focus, and in turn win the fight before its started.

Backstory

The Haruka clan had a long, steady foothold in Aegis, practicing their ways in the secluded mountain tops and such. Their name was not generally known, though towards the collapse of Aegis they lost some of their most valuable men in the plight against the undead. As Aegis neared defeat, the Haruka clan fled from its reaches to new and foreign land, heading to the fabled lands deemed “Asulon”, having a map and compass to guide their way.

Though the trip was long and vigorous, after encountering countless storms, they finally reached land before their supplies ran up, the first feel of land in what seemed to be a year, though these lands were not of Asulon. A large island continent in which the name Ayuma was bestowed, they decided it was too risky to keep searching for the new lands where everyone would be, and instead laid down their homes, set up camp, and began a new life.

The clan prospered for several years, they hit the ten year mark and kept going, their towns becoming cities and their cities fortified areas, all was well until a civil war erupted. The Haruka clan soon began to split into two separate identities due to the civil war, now becoming the Haruka clan and the Miyuchi clan. The Miyuchi clan was power hungry and ruthless, they wanted to take all the power for themselves and in this selfish demeanor chaos arose, terrible wars were fought and countless lives were lost, these were the dark days.

In these days Ao Haruka, the true heir to the family and its secrets, took the helm of the Haruka clan and lead countless fights against Ayame Miyuchi, the daughter of the Miyuchi clan. Ao was often victorious, though the death blows the two inflicted upon each other eventually took its toll. Both civilizations were in disrepair, both were low on populace and high in sick and dying, and both were too proud to call for a truce, not able to honorably surrender. As Ao’s nation began to fall, his parents suffered from illness and eventually succumbed to it, succumbed to death. Their dying wish was for Ao to pass on his lineage, lead the surviving men and women out of the broken nation and to Asulon, the fabled lands. To carry on their techniques and secrets, and to live in peace in a new world. Ao had every intention of doing so, and gathered all he could. One of these passengers, was Ayame, who had surrendered her nation and joined Haruka. Together, the two fled to Asulon, nearly 75 years and 4 generations after the collapse of Aegis, they were coming.

[Wretched 2075]

You know what... I can see this in LOTC....

A great idea. However I would think you need more weaknesses, you need to have major things that will make people look at it and go "Hmmm not too sure about that" or you simply wont get the support you need to make it happen and people will storm this thread like they have many others with "Way too OP!"

Perhaps... make the powers they use drain them in such a way that after they have used it, they will become completely defenseless.

I personally love the idea though and I fully give my support.

[Samson Option 9652]

Add a Poll or the topic is deleted *Holds Angelo's topic around the neck and sticks a gun barrel at it*

[V0idsoldier 1139]

Thank you kindly for the comment Tiazar, your support is greatly appreciated and we will take everything you said into account. In fact, your already right, by using these abilities it does majorly drain them, it is their life force, and they need time to recuperate, if we didn't make that clear I apologize, but this is not something we can do infinitely. Also, Gaius, I will XD. Dun kill us.

[Samson Option 9652]

Discussed with Angelos, archery is a major weakness, albeit it can be dodged to a certain degree if the Haruka Clan Member sees the archer in plain sight.

[V0idsoldier 1139]

Aye, there are just as many weaknesses as strengths, and archers are a incredible weakness for the Haruka clan, not to mention that once they run out of steam, they aren't so useful anymore.

[Hobolympic 1093]

Try using another word for "Chi", as it is a term IRL. Make it more original.

[V0idsoldier 1139]

Try using another word for "Chi", as it is a term IRL. Make it more original.

Good point, and we will definitely take it in to consideration, though if no necessary names come up, I think we will stick with it. There is nothing wrong with combining realistic sections with fantasy sections, though your advice is dearly appreciated.

[Redacted12345 29]

I think this sounds..... Awesome!

[Watyll 1104]

Genius!

Here's a term for chi that could help

Ki is one term but you could also use

Aura or auroros

Just trying to help I will join this ASAP because I LOVE Japan

[V0idsoldier 1139]

((Ki and Aura were both discussed majorly, though we decided upon Chi eventually, we also thought of using Chakra, though decided that due to a popular Anime, that was off limits. for now, Chi will work I think. Also, once we get more support on this we will officially be releasing it to role play, a long with a application ((yes another boring application)) Specifically to become a "Pre Asulon clan member". If you choose to have your current character join us, you need not submit a application, just prove yourselves to us. To clarify, people who want to have been part of the remnant of the clan before, essentially the positions of power, need to submit a application once put out there. Thank you for all the support and I appreciate all comments!))

[Watyll 1104]

((I will kill off one of my old chars to join this!!! Love Japan! Always wanted to be a ninja! xD I think I will make the char for this mute...you okay with that?))

[V0idsoldier 1139]

((I will kill off one of my old chars to join this!!! Love Japan! Always wanted to be a ninja! xD I think I will make the char for this mute...you okay with that?))

(Bring it to me with pms, don't want to clutter this with questions like this. Just to clarify though... we are not stereotypical, ninjas, so this wont be a place to live out that fantasy, more so masters of Chi and martial arts, monks of sorts with ninja type qualities and fighting styles.))

[Wolf Druid Ouity 1461]

I persnally think this is a fantasic idea. I've already discussed it with Voidsoldier, and I'm going to be joining the ranks when it's approved. I've been really out of LOTC for awhile, and I really hope this gives me back my good Roleplay.

A complete +1 from me.

PS- Just because the term Che is used IRL doesn't mean it can't be used here, in the same way the term "Sword" is used IG.

[Archmage_Cataris 622]

I was already planning on creating a new character whom was going to be a Monk. Perhaps I could integrate it into this clan? though my Monk will still be following the religion of Om'echan.