Blade Dancer(Rift Class)  

Introduction

Blade Dancers are masters of wielding edged weapons. They specialize in ritualized combat movements that are lightning fast. Blade Dancers can overwhelm even an accomplished opponent's defenses, setting them up for a devastating coup de grace.

Lithe and agile, a Blade Dancer cherishes unimpeded movement over heavier protection, so they wear only light armors (such as leather) into combat. Extremely competent and aware, a Blade Dancer's weapons tend to be the only defensive protection they need. Unfortunately for their enemies, these blades aren't just used for defense, but offense as well.

Strengths

The Blade Dancer's mastery of edged weapons allows them to unleash devastating close combat attacks in quick succession. Their honed skills and supernatural agility allow them to avoid incoming attacks for short periods of time and launch lethal sneak attacks on the unwary.

Weaknesses

Once a Blade Dancer's fury is spent, their light armor offers scant protection. They must quickly overcome their opponent's defenses or face defeat themselves.

Ranks & Abilities

Blade Dancer History

The first Blade Dancer was an Elven buccaneer by the name of Estrael, who became legend after defending a High Elf village from an Abyssal raid for ten days straight. She had no links to the village, being one of a larcenous crew of pirates who sailed up and down the coast, taking advantage of the chaos that ruled the Age of Dragons.

When a storm caught up Estrael's ship and dashed it against the cliffs of Moonshade Highlands, her battered body washed ashore with the wreckage. A young Elf woman named Loalai found Estrael, took the buccaneer in and nursed her back to health. Such kindness was rare on the high seas, and Estrael was touched.

One morning, a dank fog descended on Loalai's village, and deep ones and cephalons swarmed from the mists to drag the fisher-folk screaming into the sea. Before the monsters could escape, Estrael rushed the beachhead, flashing twin scimitars and eyes as gray and cold as steel.

All fluid nimbleness and vicious grace, Estrael's unique fighting style frustrated and dazzled the monsters, stalling the destruction of the village. She met enemy attacks with parry and riposte, channeling the force of their onslaught into deadly strokes of her own. They came at her as a gibbering mass, but Estrael's blades became a whirlwind of gleaming metal. For ten days, the Blade Dancer held the forces of Akylios, until a High Elf war-band arrived and drove them back into the sea.

But the war-band's captain recognized Estrael as a wanted woman. As he stepped forward to shackle her, the villagers rushed to shield their protector. “I deserve this,” Estrael said as she pushed the fisher-folk away. Loalai alone accompanied them, to make Estrael's case before the elders.

Out of respect for her courage and prowess, Estrael's captors let her train Loalai during the long march back to the Elven capital. Nightly they practiced, and a crowd of spectators gathered at every town. Soon, many female soldiers had joined in the drills.

One morning, Estrael's bindings lay limp and frayed beside the tree she had been bound to the night before, while Loalai and a score of female guards were nowhere to be found. Estrael was never caught, but the Elves still sing of a ship full of impossibly swift woman warriors thwarting the riftborn on Telara's coasts and high seas.

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