Sanryu, the grounds for
many different arts, arcane, martial or otherwise, is one of the most basic
principles of life, be it sentient or not, that is said to be able to grant
amazing power. Though the idea of Sanryu is not fully understood even by the
most accomplished pracitioners, the Sanriers (see Blood Magic section for
details), it is a concept, which is very essential to the functioning of
various organisations located mainy on the continent of
Nybelmar and especially to Marmarra, where
the idea originates.
Sanryu, as was once called "The Fuel for Function" by Gairus Meitarel - one of
the most historically important Sanriers due to his advances in the limits of
Blood Magic - is a force, which according to the oldest Pyrunai teachings is
present in all living creatures, found in their blood. Though many hypotheses
exist to explain fundamentally what "Sanryu" is, none have been confirmed as
the definitive explanation to this mystery.
Relevance.
Sanryu is a principle which is central to various arts and practices of
Western Nybelmar, in which it is very
important. Most of these practices (including the more famous ones, like
Blood Magic) are performed in the Zhunite
citystate of Marmarra. Sanryu itself has, therefore, become a very intergral
part to Marmarran life. It is hard to escape in Marmarra the influence that
Sanryu has had on the Citystate, even up to the buildings that exist. Some of
the most imposing and magnificent buildings of the City are dedicated to
Sanriers (the name given to those who practice
Blood Magic), perhaps one of the
most iconic being the "Pyrunai Sanrier Institute" - established by the three
Pyrunai brothers.
In fact, the building's nature is very similar to the common perception of
Sanryu-orientated arts in Marmarra. The building itself is the hub of the most
powerful organisation of Sanriers on the continent, and people respect the
grounds to a very high degree, some see in it even some sort of religious
sanctuary. And despite the most accomplished Sanriers being showered with
affection by the people, there is always an aura of fear around them. For as
with all great power, there is also danger. Though the institute is very strict
about its practices being kept secret, stories leak out. Sadly, these stories
seem always to be about dangerous new techniques which help a Sanrier cause more
pain with greater ease, or worse, tales of ambitious (or power hungry) Sanriers
losing their lives from malpractice. It is due to this element of danger that
some avoid
Blood Magic and other Sanryu arts, though it could be suggested by
ardent followers of the art that these people are just reluctant to drink blood
to enhance their power (see
Blood Magic entry for details). All in all, the
general impression of Sanryu on Marmarrans can be summed up into "Great Power,
Great Danger".
Outside of Marmarra, there are very few Sanryu orientated arts except the more
widespread "Sanryu Mariksu" martial art, and the "Raiyorn Children" cult. These
exceptions though are almost always within the
Zhun area. The other
Zhunites though tend to view Sanryu
as something evil and untrustable, due to it being a Marmarran 'invention' - and
Marmarra isn't known as the "City of Witches" for no reason.
Theory.
The actual definiton of "What is Sanryu?" is still a disputed topic. Most take
it that Sanryu is the bonding force between an individual's spirit and their
physical form. These people seem to believe that Sanryu acts as the "knot"
between the threads of "Spirit" and "Body", which thus defines a sentient being.
According to this interpretation life and death of a person are directly linked
to Sanryu as well. People that trust this idea believe that when a person dies,
they lose their Sanryu (or rather, the person dies because they lose their
Sanryu) and thus their body and spirit are seperated.
At a more in-depth look, one can assume that when someone controls their Sanryu
flow to strenghten a certain aspect of themselves, they are in fact increasing
the intensity of their spiritual and physical linking. The
Zhunite men
(who the Marmarrans as the "discoverers" of Sanryu are a part of) see the
"Spirit" as the pure core of existence. They feel that a spirit is something of
great power, though it requires a "shell" to function in effectively. This
"shell" takes the form of the physical body. The body though is something highly
limting for the ability of the spirit. Therefore, a lot of
Zhunites/Marmarrans
believe that the control of Sanryu simply strengthens the spirit's prevalence
over their "shell", allowing more of its true potential to be released. For a
more detailed discussion on the
Zhunite
concept of "Spirit", please refer to the
Zhunites
Religion Entry in the Compendium.
The Sanryu Flow System. The most recognised idea
within the whole of the Sanryu concept is that of Sanryu flow: "The Sanryu flow
system exists in all beings, animal or sentient, and is what allows all bodily
functions, from the lowliest blink to sprinting leagues" - Giran Pyrunai, The
Eldest of the Brothers.
In the following we summarise the explanations and ideas that make up the system
as it is taught in the Pyrunai institute, its details created by the individual
Pyrunai brothers, Giran, Fedor and Mwita Pyrunai. The Sanryu Flow System works
by relaying Sanryu around the body using beacon-like points called "Mydri" (Zhunite
combination from the words "Myi" which means "important" and "dria" which means
"point"), of which there are 41 on the human
body. Please note that different species are said to have different numbers.
Each Mydri is a point on the body (almost all of them points inside blood
vessels) that receive Sanryu that flows around the body. The Mydri work as
"gates" and cause the Sanryu to move around the body, until they reach the next
Mydri. However, the points are isolated from each other, and so the Sanryu,
which they receive and send, has no way of travelling. Though nobody is
completely sure what property or quality of blood allows it, but Sanryu is
capable of moving from Mydri to Mydri through blood. Due to the sheer mass of
Sanryu in a normal person’s body there is always a certain concentration of
Sanryu present in the blood.
All body parts seem to notice Sanryu, though some more so than others. Muscles
and organs seem to be the most likely to react with Sanryu, whereas other
organic materials, such as bone are harder for Sanryu to work with. Despite
varying responses, every part of the body is able to function when Sanryu is
‘absorbed’ into them. Whenever Sanryu flows past a certain point, the said point
is animated. This animation though is fundamentally different to the animation
that one may use, lets say, to create a zombii.
In the case of the zombii, the matter is
unnaturally animated, the magic of its creator
allowing it to move. However, in the case of the Sanryu being used to animate
flesh, the flesh is naturally alive.
In addition to flesh being responsive to Sanryu, flesh also is able to notice
the amount of Sanryu present. This is a vital element to what is known as
"Blood Magic". It basically means that flesh is able to use Sanryu accordingly to the
amount of Sanryu that is around. In the case of muscles, a more on Sanryu will
make them stronger etc. This also means though that in unresponsive materials,
Sanryu is unable to affect them. A stone wall, for example, will not be
strengthened if more Sanryu is applied to it. So to summarise - Sanryu has
natural harmony within the body, but when used outside has limited possiblities
unless you have a substantial understanding of its workings.
Other Ideas for Sanryu Definition. Though as
mentioned above there is a more recognised explanation of what Sanryu is, there
are many others that exist. One is that of the "Raiyorn Children", a group of
Sanriers who use their gift to perform acts of powerful healing, that are often
labelled miraculous. They are a part of a small cult that worship the God
"Raiyorn" - the Son of the Shadow and the Light. The Children of Raiyorn think
Sanryu represents the "Divine Breath", or simply "His Breath". They believe that
at every birth Raiyorn "breathes" onto the individual, and that this is what
grants them life. They also believe that due to the inferior design of the
"Children" (as humanity is called), "His
Breath" eventually escapes, causing death. For a more detailed look at the
religion of the "Raiyorn Children" please refer to the appropiate entry.
Practices.
Sanryu is involved in numerous practices, some more well-known than others, such
as
Blood Magic or Sanryu Mariksu ("Sanryu Exploitation"). In
Blood Magic, a
Sanrier (a
Blood Magic pracitioner) controls their own Sanryu flow to enhance
own abilties, heal themselves or others and even survive fatal blows.
Blood Magic also teaches individuals how to increase the amount of Sanryu in their
body safely.
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Blood Magic
Easily the most reputed practice of that involves the theory of Sanryu and its
application,
Blood Magic
- a form of magic that
involves improving physical abilities to a inhuman degree and manipulating the
body's own Sanryu to perform various feats. A system which has near limitless
applications and possibilties it is popular and feared. It is stated you can
never take a Sanrier at face value - for he may be a compassionate healer that
prevents limitless casualties on the battlefield, or he may be a seasoned
associate of murder who can kill you with a simple touch. One should not be
fooled though,
Blood Magic
may grant you amazing abilties but it remains a
grisly practice. For one thing, the individual must overcome their own squeamish
tendencies if they wish to continue to the higher levels in this art - since it
is considered common place to drink blood to raise your amount of Sanryu.
Blood Magic
has a central place in the minds of many Marmarran citizens, who
often hear about the workings of various groups of notably dangerous Sanriers -
the Infamous Red Sisters for one. In fact
Blood Magic
is not just a matter of
the arcane for Marmarrans, but one of political concern, as it has proved to be
on many occasions in Marmarran history.
Sanryu Mariksu (Martial Arts)
In the martial art, Sanryu Mariksu (which literally translates as "Sanryu
Exploitation" from Zhunite), the
individual hits various points on the body which are linked to the Sanryu flow
system. Through the manipulation of these points the fighter can disable parts
of the opponents body, send into a state of paralysis and - in the cases of the
seasoned masters - kill in no more than seven hits (supposedly). Sanryu Mariksu
though is notoriously difficult to learn due to its basis learning 41 points on
the body and memorising endless combinations of points to achieve the amazing
effects.
Arts of San'jur (Body Balancing, (Medicinal Practices)
Sanryu is also part of many medical practices. Various potions and concoctions
have been formulated which can help stabilise the Sanryu flow system, which (in
theory) can temporaliy induce effects found in
Blood Magic
or cure blindness,
among other things. The market of Sanryu potions though is famous for being
wrought with scams and fakes which promise amazing effects at extortionate
prices (that of course they never happen).
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