The Eight Orthodox Schools, also known as the Eight Sanctioned Schools or simply ‘The Eight’, are a group of martial arts schools with close ties to the Empire.
All eight schools received their special status as a result of rendering certain services to the Empire, during the first decades of its turbulent existence. In reward for these services, they were in turn granted great privileges, including their own fiefs, official posts, and - most importantly - dominant positions in the martial world.
These schools are, by order of formation: