Black Heron

Concept
Practitioners of the Black Heron style are members of a select few warriors due to its onerous requirement: being possessed by a demonic force. With this requirement in mind, there are few willing to risk their very soul for martial strength but there are some with the desire for power which overwhelms their sense or those who make the best of a bad situation. The secrets of the Black Heron discipline are taught by possessing fiends and demons to their hosts as a way of enticing fools who desire power into learning their secrets or the occasional few with wills strong enough to tear those secrets from their infernal prisoners. Black Heron practitioners are known for extremes of personality, they are either very disciplined in behavior or revel in the anarchy that brings strength and power.

Black Heron was never taught at any standard training grown or martial temple due to its distasteful nature in how it arose, rising from the ranks of the outer planes by martial demons. Masters were even said to have gone out of their way to destroy references to the discipline due to fear of its outbreak amongst their students and rivals. Because of this, masters of this art are rare and unusual people and were outcast by traditional members of the martial traditions. Because of this, most practitioners of this style are openly hostile to traditionalists.

Any and all are open to learning this discipline due to the requirement of having a possessing demon with knowledge of this discipline. Any fiend with a strong sense of martial ability and prowess and a penchant for possession is likely to know this discipline and how to impart to it to mortals. It focuses on powerful, straightforward two-handed strikes and vicious counters as well as intimidating presence.