OD 11.11.2001 [4:57 p.m.]

New Talent: Do

Xiao Mengli parried the saber, barely feeling the bite of steel against her

conditioned forearms. Crimson thunder curved his weapon upon her blocking

arm, showing his skill be refusing to lean closer and providing an opening.

As she grasped the blade between two calloused palms, Xiao Mengli�s mind

began to over lay the battle with a swirl of elements. Her opponents blade

was like a rushing stream, trying to find a way t flow around her unyielding

defense. Like stone, her swifts blacks would eventually be worn away or

bypassed.

She changed tactics. When the swordsman spun a backhanded strike around the

anticipated guard, he left a opening for her to strike straight at the

throat, like a metal spear piercing the eye of a typhoon.

As the swordsman�s death rattle rang at her fingertips, Xiao Mengli began to

feel a sense of futility�life was a fleeting thing.

Do is a talent because, to Akashic thinking, it�s a way of removing excess

baggage and returning to pure unfettered human thinking. Although its

practiced its not a formal skill.

1- Novice: Sometimes the right movements come naturally, but you usually

respond by reflex.

2- Practiced: Your mind and body work efficiently together, but remain

separated by a lack of understanding.

3- Competent: You call yourself a Tao-shih without your master raising an

eyebrow in amusement.

4- Expert: Reflex and Perception are one. Junior Akashics call you Sihing.

5- Master: You never plan your movements in advance, or use a particular

technique. You are movement and technique, your actions flow with the wheel.

Possessed by: Akashic Brothers, their most trusted allies, and their best

sleeper students. Enlightened Martial artists have been known to develop it

independently but they are inducted into the brotherhood posthaste.

Specialties: Restraining without harming, pressure point attacks, Non

combative performance, a specific style.

Do is a mysterious practice. It is virtually never taught outside of the

Sangha any outside knowledge of the way comes from the educated guess

gleaned from the thousands of mind/body disciples the brotherhood has

influenced. In the past, Do�s formidable techniques were taught to

non-brothers who simply fought alongside the Tradition. Now that the

Akashayana are returning to their roots, Do�s methods have become closely

guarded secrets shared only with mages who understand and accept Akashic

magic and ethics alongside their own.

ORIGINS

The ancient sects of the Akashics have always practiced holistic disciplines

that help cultivate the mind, body, and spirit. These traces their history

to Meru whose sages performed every act with focus and sincerity. Gardening,

war, an song were all approached in this way. To discriminate between

�important� and �unimportant� acts could only blind an Akashi to the truths

of Dharma.

After Meru�s fall, these arts were used to ensure the brotherhood�s survival

through persecutions and political upheaval. The Vajrapani pioneered Wu

Chaun, to protect the Jnani and the Kannagara from harm. The ancient

techniques of Indian, Chinese and Korean ascetics and warriors influenced

and were influenced by the people the earl Akashi encountered. In response

the brotherhood began teaching gate arts to the people. These were

intentionally watered down or distorted varieties of Do that served their

practicioners well enough but prevented truly dangerous methods of the art

from falling into the wrong hands. Furthermore a truly gifted student of

these arts grew beyond the limitations of the practice, and showed himself

to be ready for the brotherhood and its undiluted practices.

Do divided into hundred of styles to serve the needs of a particular

brother or group. Drala Yoga, Akashayukti and Jou Chuan were just three of

the many arts that formed out of expediency, egotism or both.

The Warring States period and the Himalayan wars provided a brutal testing

ground for Do�s ethics and methods. Impractical techniques died with their

users, and corrupt warriors revealed themselves quickly when they

reincarnated thirsting for revenge.

In response, the Akashayana accepted groups such as the Li-Hai and Buddhist

magi into the fold. These new sects emphasized ethical duty and pacifism,

reigning the worst of the excesses of the Warring Fist. Finally in 300 B.C.

The Jnani composed the Drahma Sutra from the collections of the Akashic

Record and the bitter experience of warriors and pacifist sages. The styles

of Do, as well as its name, were codified for the first time.

This structure has been used for the past 2300 years with little change. The

li-Hai and associated schools such as the Roda d�Oro take the loosest

approach to the new teachings. The Kannagara, the strictest. Few students

master the strictest form of Do as laid out in the Drahma Sutra. The

techniques are often taught with no individual adaptation, and little

guidance beyond the traditional forms. In the past, this was done to prevent

selfish or lazy students from progressing, but in the 21st century, the

oldest forms of Do have succumbed to both technocratic view of the body

(making body some traditional Do skills such as body hardening, more

dangerous than useful). Fewer people are willing to give up their freedom

without asking some serious questions of these �Masters�.

THE ART

The Drahma Sutra divides Do into eight �limbs� or areas of study. While it

emphasizes certain practices to cure physical., mental, and moral ailments,

no limb is considered more important than the others.

The eight limbs are:

Dhyana: The limb of mediation is used to calm the excitable mind and relax

the grip of the ego apon the Akashic�s consciousness. Tiger, Dragon, And

Phoenix, the Five Elements and the mandalas of movement are only a few of

the techniques used to liberate the mind.

Abilities: Awareness, Enigmas, meditation.

Prajna: The study of ethics or philosophy, this limb is emphasized for

students with impulsive or violent tendencies. From Mo-Tzu�s pacifistic

iconoclasm to the Buddha�s sermons, the Akashayana learns reflexively to

treat others with compassion and respect by learning the origins of

suffering ad their solutions, and how they are mirrored n the tapestry and

the laws of karma.

Abilities: Academics (philosophy), Cosmology, Law.

Karma: Hard work, aside from its sheer utility, focuses a Brother�s

attention on the lore of here and now and emphasizes the importance of

everyday life over the spectacular, dangerous pursuits of a magician. The

limb of Karma teaches a student to treat cooking and cleaning with the same

devotion and aesthetic care as occult diagrams and swordplay.

Abilities: Crafts (Artistic or professional Skills), Etiquette.

Sunyakaya: The limb of the empty body contains techniques of stealth,

illusion and espionage. While these are often cultivated to teach humility

and anonymity, their practical use is not necessarily so innocent. The Lin

Shen and the Sulsa often devote their lives to mastering such sunyakaya

arts.

Abilities: Performance, Stealth, Subterfuge.

Dharmamukti: Do�s unarmed combat techniques are taught to every member of

the brotherhood. The violent years of the Ascension War made this the most

popular facet of Do. Kata, sparring and thousands of drills comprised the

methods of the �Dharma Clasped Hand.� As sleeper martial arts have developed

new innovations, unarmed Do has been adapted to accommodate them,

particularly by the Li-Hai and the Vajrapani. While the art�s techniques

comprise nearly every effective combative movement ever developed, different

styles and teachers often diverge in their methods.

Abilities: Alertness, Do, Dodge.

Shastamarga: The Way of Weapons extends Do beyond the body, teaching

discipline to become one with the tool. A specialty of the Vajrapani,

shastamarga is also used by brothers who wish to perfect the use of an

object rather than become better killers. These Akashics often construct

complex extra-heavy weapons to challenge their abilities to the limit.

Abilities: Crafts (weapons), Melee, Strategy.

Tricanmarga: The way of the secret struggle includes the secrets of

internal alchemy, breath-control, athletics and asceticism as taught by the

smuggle of the Tiger, Dragon and Phoenix in his mind, body, and emotions. By

taming the microcosm an Akashic can perform amazing acrobatic feats and act

in harmony with the cosmological forces outside himself.

Abilities: Acrobatics, Athletics, Body Control.

Jivahasta: The hand of Life comprises Do�s therapeutic and medical arts.

These include herbalism, acupuncture, massage, body movement and more

mystical methods using chanting, written charms, and tattooing.

Abilities: Academics (Tibetan, Chinese medical theory, herbalism) Medicine,

Survival.

LIVING ART SYSTEMS

Previous versions of Do have presented as a form of �Super Kung Fu� With a

lot of [power but not much variety. While the Akashic Brotherhood receives

the finest training in the world (although not the most dedicated she Shih

in demon Hunter X), it has adversity that goes beyond being able to deliver

killing blows and jump onto rooftops.

Do cannot be learned in isolation, because it is a synthesis of techniques

gathered under Akashic paradigm. To successfully grasp it ( and fill out

those dots on your character sheet!) a brother must have twice as many

levels in abilities that belong to limbs other than the Dharmamukti

(unarmed combat) as the level of Do the character is trying to learn. These

must be spread out over a number of limbs equal to the required level of

mastery.

For example, sai Fong is trying to master the forth level of Do. To this she

needs to have eight levels in other limbs, spread out among four limbs other

than Dharmamukti. She has Crafts (clothes dying) 2, Melee 3, Academics

(Buddhist philosophy) 1, and Athletics 1. She has studied the Karma,

Shastamarga, Prajna, and Tricanmarga limbs by learning these abilities so

her skills are broad enough though she falls slightly short in terms of

sheer knowledge. She learns a level of Medicine from a sleeper

acupuncturist, and begins to see the common lines between Do and the healing

arts. After a period of intense training, those insights allow her that

fourth level.

Furthermore, individual Sifu and Sihings often have their own individuals

standards beyond the minimum. Jou Shan always insisted his students be as

skilled in meditation and rituals as they are in fighting arts. The Jade

Dragon reportedly only accepts students who master a skill he doesn�t know

(considering that he�s eight hundred years old that�s no easy feat), so that

that the fallen brother�s agents will have a diverse array of skills.