Basic Structure of Schools

This is an introduction to the basic structure of most martial arts schools within the Empire.

Whether they are orthodox or heterodox, most schools follow a general structure, with a few key relationships:
 * The bond between Master and Disciple
 * The bond between Senior and Junior
 * The rivalry between Different Schools, or Different Lineages

Schools and Lineages
The terms 'School' and 'Lineage' mean different things. In other words, a school - especially a big and old one, such as the Frost Valley School - can in fact contain a very large number of lineages, each passing down its knowledge to its students. To take Frost Valley as an example, the Thunder Fists and Rainwater Skill are usually the preserve of the school's Preceptor; for a Preceptor to teach this to someone is a sign that they are being considered for the highest position.
 * A Lineage simply refers to the bond between a master and a disciple.
 * A School, on the other hand, is a group of Lineages, tracing the identity of their skills and knowledge back to a common source.

As such, the line of Frost Valley Preceptors is a distinct lineage of its own - no matter what other skills these Preceptors have, they are bound together, generation by generation, by the passing down of these two formidable skills.

Rank and Position
Naturally, not every person who joins a school is fit to take disciples; this will quickly degrade the martial knowledge and lead to chaos. Most schools will have at least the following system of ranks and privileges.
 * Entry-Level: people who have newly joined a school may not even get to learn its skills. They may serve for a year or two as labourers, doing menial work, until their sincerity and strength of will is proven.
 * Initiate: someone who is initiated into a school is officially a student; they will also become part of a lineage, being bound to a given master.
 * Journeyman: before a person has learned enough to teach, they must prove their skills first. This is when they are sent out into the world, to gain actual experience in combat.
 * Master: a journeyman who survives four or five years of combat tutelage can begin the long journey of studying the martial arts, and educating the next generation.
 * Grandmaster: the pillars of the school, they are responsible for leading the school, for creating martial arts of greater power, and of defending the school itself if need be.

Research and Creation
As a key function of schools is to grow in prestige, and gain a stronger position within the ruthless world, the creation of new martial arts skills is crucial. A school that focuses only on teaching existing skills, rather than thinking up new ways of gaining advantage in a fight, is doomed to stagnate and be destroyed.

Usually, the right to create a martial art - and to use the facilities within a school for doing so - is reserved for Masters and Grandmasters only.