Monk

"Priests pray and chant, their weapon is their belief and their words. Yours, child, shall be your fists, and your heart."

— Najwa of the Breeze, from "The Ascendant Monk" series of novels

Hero Class of the Agile

Hero Classes, as they are known in Edda, are titles given to adventurers or experienced fighters to quickly understand their general strengths and weaknesses, given a recent rise of popularity thanks to the resurgence of Mercenary Guilds and their new public stardom.

While the lines of delineation are easy for spellcasters, as their Classes largely depend on how they cast their magic, it's harder for the non-magical among them. For the Monks, two general definitions have come about: A Monk is either regarded as a person who 1) Focuses on hand-to-hand combat and hones their own body, and/or 2) Channels their internal Mana not into spellcasting but rather into physical enhancement for use in combat. This sets them apart from your standard Warriors, who mainly use melee weapons and combat tactics, as well as Paladins/Holy Knights, who use divine spellcraft.

The modern image of a Monk, borne from it's distant origins and tales of heroism all over Edda, is a peaceful wanderer, always ready with a word of wisdom and practiced hand to help those in need.

Origins

The practical definition of a Monk can be found from anywhere in Edda, as it just requires the development of bodily focused martial arts. This has been seen across many cultures, from hunting styles, self-defense techniques, or simple meditative practices that became used during warfare. That being said, the cultural image of a Monk comes from the Kaguyan Federation, more specifically the Yuèyuè (嶽鸑) people. Many key touchstones in Yuèyuè culture, folklore, and history revolve around the relationship of one's body with the physical world, and so it should come as no surprise that they would have many forms of hand-to-hand fighting styles, either by intent or out of necessity through the tumultuous past within what is now the Federation and with the world at large. This version of a Monk didn't reach widespread public perception until around -1300 EE, when Kaguyan Literature became popular, with the trope of a wise wandering martial artist being a popular one for main or supporting characters.

It was at this point that the idea of a Monk began to carry a faint religious connotation in the public mindset as well, as when Kaguyan novels were translated, some carried the original character 僧, which just meant an enclosed/ascetic person, into words like Hakim, حَكِيم, within Afallon which carried the meaning of a religious wiseman and scholar. With the rise of early adventurers, cultural exchange, and early mercenary parties, the picture of a wandering physical combatant was seen in reality along with in the dramatized fiction, leading the Monk into it's platonic ideal.

Another piece of the cultural perception pie was an order of Monks known as the Knights of Pure Diamond, the Qīng Zuànshí Xiá (清 鑽石 俠), who traveled all around Edda and used a combination of their own marital arts, faith in The Astral Court, and Seidou {星道} Exorcism to exorcise spirits and Leyline Distortions. This led many groups of a similar nature to adopt the orders tactics in their own ways, combining their education of fighting styles and physical discipline with the philosophy, perceptiveness, and faithful wisdom that is now synonymous with the Class.

It should be noted, however, that Monks in the present or in their original past do not carry inherent faith-based powers, unlike Priests, Paladins, and other Reverent Hero Classes. One might find there are even Monks who aren't even that particularly wise, even though some base pieces of internal medicine and practice are key parts of education.

As various wars broke out throughout the history of Edda, pushing towards the modern day, Monks took an odd social stance, as you could find very few among the rank and file of armies and militias, but some put their martial arts to use for their nation or cause all the same. Just as many, if not more, took the path of neutrality amidst the strife, fighting defensively and not for any one cause in particular. This became especially true in the Border Wars, as any with knowledge not clouded by jingoistic zeal could see the blood writing the wall. This led to a vast decline in the population of known monastics, adventurers or otherwise, as they were either forced to join the military and aid the cause, or were jailed and some even executed, as if they were not their nations ally, they would be seen as their nations enemy. This was especially true in the Kaguyan Federation, since the ruling Kaguyan government was straining against the war outside their home and the uprisings from the silenced and oppressed Yuèyuè and Dalsup (달숲).

With the flames of war having died down, an era of adventuring and heroism on the rise, and reparations beginning to be made, Monks are on the rise once more, with many wanderers coming out of hiding, rebuilding what had been destroyed, or repaying the debt for the blood on their hands.

Methodology

The primary education of any Monk is the refinement and honing of their body and physical abilities. More than just physical fitness, this is about having an innate connection to the sensations and energy within your body, physical and metaphysical alike, and keeping it in balance. Even monks who utilize weaponry focus more on the movement of the limbs and muscles in connection with that weapon, rather than how the weapon moves itself.

In this path, especially once the Yuèyuè concepts became more ingrained overall, ideas of mental health and peace also come to the forefront, as many branches of thought link together the health and well-being of the mind and the body, and so in general a monastic education will come with some teachings of philosophy. This can be how to be at peace with the world at large, emotional regulation, moral philosophy, methodology on battle, thoughts on the divine, so on and so forth with various answers and potentials for all the different monasteries and regions out there.

In the process of learning the above two, many Monks also learn how to use their internal mana systems, traditionally called a Lifeforce or a related term, such as Qi/Chi/Ki, Soma, Anima, Rūḥ, etc. This process, while similar to key aspects of Spellcraft, is not itself magic usage, and instead powers the user for their own physical feats or to cause ailments in others. In some paths, they can use this to mimic spell effects, such as causing elemental phenomenon, or healing others, but for the most part it is all internal enhancements.

One of the key aspects of the Monk comes not during their education, but rather afterwards. While many remain at their monasteries, or go off to found their own schools of practice, many take the path of wandering like so many did before them, giving their aid or joining groups of adventurers, especially in the modern day with the new rise of Mercenary Guilds. This is considered by many to be the final stage of a Monk's education, sometimes titled "the eternal classroom", as using their internal power and balance to help change and affect the outside world is the ultimate goal, especially of the traditional Yuèyuè philosophy that informs so much of modern monastics.