The Liondancers

Summary
The lion dancers are a martial arts organization originating from Babylon. Their monastery is called Lion's Peak, atop Mt. Babylon. They are a martial arts school specializing in the use of bladed weapons, honoring their tradition as swordsmen and representing the Sword aspect of their patron God; Gilgamesh.

History
The Liondancers have a rich history of swordsmanship since ancient Babylonian times. It was started by an unnamed monk only refered to as 'The Lion', who saw his remote mountain village raided by bandits and monsters each and every fall when the crops were harvested. In an attempt to defend his village from the invaders the monk trained every single day, from dusk till dawn, swinging his sword until his movements flowed from one in to another creating a continuous dance of slashes and stabs.

After a year passed, and fall came again, the Monk stood ready. An early morning a farmer noticed the familliar warband traveling down the pass, and the monk appeared to face them. The bandits feared not, but they were mistaken. The monk moved, and like a lion in a valley, he cut through all of his prey in a lasting dance until all fell before him. After he was done and stood amongst the corpses, a bright light shone on him and a commanding voice brought him to his knees. It told him that he had proven himself a true man of the sword, and that he had fought valiantly and pridefully as a Lion. It furthermore told him to collect one gold piece from every villager before smelting that gold around his sword, before dissapearing entirely. The monk did so, collecting one gold from every villager, and smelted it around his own weathered blade. From the flames of the molten gold arose a bright, beautiful sword and first of the Lionblades; Lionnes Victorus.

He was heralded a hero and many of the townsmen became his apprentice. With discipline and wisdom, the monk transformed the town, and started what would become the Lion's Peak Monastery.

In recent age the school has been doing well, producing swordsmen intergral to the ranks of the Babylonian section of the Imperial Army. They are well respected in the empire.

Disciplines and Traditions
The Liondancers follow a list of disciplines and traditions they keep at heart. They are disciplines practiced by each of them and their philosophy is integral to the Liondancer way.

Disciplines

 * Pride

One must never lower themselves to the acts of evil but fight with pride and honor.
 * Blade

One must always live by the sword, die by the sword. Your blade is your pride as a Liondancer.
 * Responsibility

One is sworn to protect the ones that cannot protect themselves.

Traditions

 * Red and yellow clothing

Liondancers tend to wear red and/or yellow clothing to represent the colors of the Lion.
 * Lionblades

When a monk has proven himself by a trial, he can be rewarded with a Lionblade. A lionblade is made of special gold coins chipped in from every monk in the monastery who offers. Each monk has only three gold pieces to spend in his life, so one can only receive a Lion's Blade if enough people offer their respect and spend one of their coins.