The Pneumal Blades are an order of warriors that do combat with said-to-be sentient weapons called pneumas. Colloquially, they are sometimes called bladebound, and pneumas may sometimes be called "black blades" for their most common color; however, pneumas differ from popular culture depictions of black blades. Pneumas are always extensions of the bearer's mind and spirit, not truly separate beings unto themselves, and they sometimes give voice to darker sides of their wielders that might not be otherwise acknowledged. Pneumal Blades are said to be in conflict with themselves as they grow in strength, for the pneuma grows alongside them and may become even stronger than the wielder's conscious mind in some circumstances.
Pneumas, despite always being linked to their wielder's mind, do not necessarily speak or behave exactly as the wielder. In some cases, a pneuma may speak with the voice or mannerisms of someone that the wielder knows. Apprentice Pneumal Blades may also dissociate from their pneumas, unwilling to acknowledge the things that the pneuma says as being something from within themselves. To become a true Pneumal Blade, however, the pneuma must be appeased without being allowed to overtake the wielder.
The first Pneumal Blades were said to be acolytes and students of Faratroxi the Unweighted Scales, and they set up numerous temples throughout Ealdremen during the Millennial Calm. Since the Godbomb and the death of Faratroxi, their numbers have dwindled, and they have become increasingly secretive, only passing on knowledge of their arts to those they deem to be able to control the pneuma.
Martial Maneuvers[]
The renowned martial maneuvers of the Pneumal Blades have taken on a life of their own and were "exposed" to the world at large during the Millennial Calm. Eventually, their origins became obscured, and numerous masters of the martial maneuvers came into prominence without being connected at all to the Pneumal Blades. One aspect that has remained, however, are the names of the martial maneuvers and their corresponding disciplines. The disciplines are said to be named for pneumas so-called for their most identifying personality trait, some sort of pseudonym that the pneuma's wielder went by, or for the design of the pneumal weapon itself -- Desert Wind, Devoted Spirit, Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw, and White Raven. Each dedicated themselves to a different aspect of battle and different sorts of tactics, and consequently, they became masters of that discipline and their followers eventually called the discipline by their name. The devotion, time, and effort required to learn a given discipline is such that few can claim to know even one discipline's martial maneuvers, let alone multiple.