By Wade Sands (wesands157@hotmail.com)
After several attempts to sculpt, paint, and sing his impression of the duel, he was left unfulfilled. It was not that his work was unskilled, it caused some viewers to weep with awe, but rather that the Toreador was convinced that conventional art was not suitable to convey the beauty of the duel he had witnessed.
Perhaps he could not express the beauty of the duel because he did not fully understand it. For several decades the Toreador threw himself into learning as much as he could from duelists, mortal and kindred alike. Kidnapping mortal weapon masters and forcing them to teach him their own style, he adapted much of what he learned to best suit himself, and learned much. In exchange for boons, he learned what combatant kindred would teach him. He even attempted to buy the tutelage of an Assamite, though he only barely surviving the Assamite's reaction. It mattered little, however; he had learned enough to teach and guide himself. He went on to learn the use of many other weapons from across the globe. Soon he was the master of any weapon that lay within his grasp, and his arsenal was as plentiful as it was ornate.
His demonstrations were many and truly spectacular to behold. However, despite his prowess his clanmates were unmoved by the performances. Although far from normal in taste, the Toreador were unprepared to accept swordplay as a valid means of artistic expression. Thus he was shunned, ignored, even laughed at by most of his peers. Not all were laughing. In some Toreador a primal connection was made. Although these Toreadors did not follow him as a leader, he was given respect as the originator of the movement. This relationship was made moot, when around the early 1800s he dissappeared, and most assumed he was slain or staked by a rival.
The movement, however, survived. Blade Artisans train intensely in weaponscraft, all learn at least enough to surprass mortal masters. Expression has taken many forms, and members of the movement frequently dabble in all of them. Solitary, graceful displays of prowess are common, as well as highly choreographed melees featuring a Blade Artisan set against a group of ghouls. The movement of the combatants takes on the complexity of a dance, and frequently Artisans attempt to transform the ringing of steel on steel into music. Each move is selected for its function as well as asthetic appeal. The most prized presentation is a duel between two Artisans. The two combatants reach speeds too fast for mortal eyes to see, and are often described as order and chaos melding into a single organism of frantic movement and tranquil grace. Neither Artisan will land a blow on the other, as this would disrupt the performance. Neither "wins," as the object is only to produce the most sublime display of beauty possible using only the tools of war.
By the end of the 19th century the Artisans were finding themselves more accepted by their brethren after several powerful Toreador had openly stated their recognition of the movement. The Blade Artisans were on their way into gaining acceptance by the mainstream.
However, as the movement entered the 20th century, a few newer members of the movement became dissatisfied with the accepted process of performance. They argued that the meat of what made combat poignant was not just the movement, but the emotion inherent. The struggle, the impending defeat of one combatant, the pain, the victory, all these things were absent from the Blade Artisans' performances. After witnessing what these newer, more violent Artisans called performances, the eldest members of the movement feared that the possibility of Blade Artistry entering the mainstream would vanish. They denounced the performances as "little more than ugly, meaningless brawls." The young members left the movement, but because the movement was never an official or structured organization, links between these young ones and the traditional Blade Artisans could not be totally severed. The Blade Artisans have been stewing over the possibility of quieting their young splinter group.
As they gain in power, the Artisans become increasingly aware of the power they could gain should their medium become widely accepted and appreciated. The Artisans have never acted as a political body before, instead existing as a group of like-minded, individual Toreador, separated by distance and background and rarely meeting or congregating. However this is changing as the possibility of mainstream acceptance brightens on the horizon. The movement could very well change into something else, something with its own agenda and the means to ennact this agenda. If the Toreador clan decides that the Artisans are in danger of developing their own goals contrary to those of the clan as a whole, they will most certainly not gain acceptance, and each member would lose much of what prestige he had. Not all Artisans are happy with the course the movement has taken, but none are willing now to express any contrary feelings.