Most students of the martial schools were selected by the masters of the school screening possible pupils from the military, various academies, and even unknowns who showed great promise. Each school had its own set of requirements for entrance, and no student was able to learn more than a single school. Each school guarded its secrets jealously and was very hesitant to share its techniques with outsiders. Among some schools social circles formed, with membership becoming a sign of distinction amongst the upper classes. It also made one stand out as a person not to cause trouble with.

A few decades ago, however, the growing power of martial schools in Dechaine and Salceny raised serious concerns among the nobility and houses of those states that the loyalties of their members seemed to lay more closely within their orders than with their parent nations. With the Night of Crossed Steel in Salceny and with the Magna Armata Decree in Dechaine, most martial schools were disbanded or driven out of these lands. Many masters were imprisoned or executed. With them perished their unique techniques and styles. Even among the surviving schools, few adepts have risen to the level of aptitude described in stories from the height of the schools’ existences. Perhaps these too are lost, or perhaps their re-emergence is slow in light of the hostile attitude still held toward many of them.

Andrynn

Dechaine

The Labat was another popular school, rumored to have been developed from exotic techniques of weapon and body imported by Manon Labat, friend and traveling companion of Paolo Bruciare. Labat was described as being totally unlike the native fighting styles and required extensive training to learn. This style was completely lost after the Magna Armata decree.

The Coudray was perhaps the most respected of all martial schools in Dechaine. This was the style employed by the King's Guard. It emphasized sacrifice, loyalty, and tenacity. The Coudray swore to defend the King’s family with their own lives. They dedicated themselves to this purpose entirely. The style fell into disfavor after a successful assassination in the country's distant past when the old King’s Guard was disbanded. The style was preserved until the Magna Armata Decree when it was lost to the ages.