Li’nyiam Blades

Weapons of the Ri'Tachi — The Heart Killers

Overview

The Li’nyiam blades—feared across Va’nu and whispered of as heart killers—are the sacred and exclusive weapons of the Ri’Tachi, the elite of Va’nu’ian society. Their reputation is absolute: no Va’nu’ian outside the order may wield them.

Only those born into families of Ri’Tachi are able to begin early training, even before earning their robes.
Fewer still outside Va’nu ever learn to handle the blades without suffering permanent injury, loss of limbs, or death—proof that the weapons do not forgive those who approach them without generational knowledge and discipline.

To be chosen to train with a Li’nyiam blade is to accept a trial with only two possible ends:
Become Ri’Tachi, or die.

Origin & Significance

The blades cannot be inherited, purchased, or claimed through rank.
A Li’nyiam blade is bestowed only upon those recognized as the Chosen of Va’nu. Chosen through a brutal process of survival, judgment, endurance, and bloodshed.

To wield one is not merely to fight—it is to carry a sacred mandate.
The blade chooses no lineage, and accepts no coward.

Design

Li’nyiam blades are forged with a distinctive hooked geometry, optimized for piercing armor and slipping between ribs—a design responsible for their infamous title, heart killers. The curvature makes them exceptionally lethal but inherently unstable to handle without proper technique.

Vambrace System

A Ri’Tachi warrior must wear specialized vambraces that lock the blades into alignment.
Without them, the weapon’s backward sweep would impale the wielder just as easily as an enemy. These vambraces are custom-fitted during a Ri’Tachi initiate’s training and are treated as an extension of the warrior’s body.

Use & Mastery

Mastery of the Li’nyiam blades is neither quick nor merciful.
Initiates endure years of relentless conditioning designed to synchronize their movements with the unpredictable nature of the weapon.

Training emphasizes:

• Close-quarters lethality
• Rapid directional strikes
• Precision targeting of vital points
• Maintaining discipline to avoid self-injury

Many initiates die during this process, their blood absorbed into the stone floors of Ri’Tachi training halls as a grim reminder of the price of mastery.

Attire of the Ri'Tachi

Those who survive the trials and earn the title of Ri'Tachi don a distinctive uniform engineered to complement the blades:

Robes

Reinforced and layered to prevent the blades from catching or turning inward during combat.

Shoulder Guards

Specially angled to serve as deflection surfaces, guiding the blades’ lethal arcs and preventing ricochet strikes against the wearer.

Together, these pieces project a powerful visual warning:
A Ri’Tachi is near, and death walks with them.

Cultural Impact

The presence of a Ri'Tachi is enough to force silence in a room. Families teach their children to step aside when they notice the unique sheaths of the blades. Outsiders recognize them as Va'nu'ian, often unaware of their lethality.

To encounter a Li’nyiam blade is to encounter Va’nu’ian judgment itself.