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The Yūkiheki clan (勇気劈一族, Yūkiheki Ichizoku; lit. "Valorburst clan") is an old warrior class clan based in the Kingdom of Fiore. The exact age of the clan is unknown, but records have traced their official establishment to as early as X393. In the past, The Yūkiheki were feared across Fiore and the surrounding nations as a savage warrior clan. Specializing strictly in swordsmanship, its members are talented at wielding bladed weapons. The Yūkiheki have been involved in a plethora of militaristic conflicts since their founding. They are strictly loyal to the Kingdom Fiore, as shown when they fought valiantly against an attempted insurrection nearly a century ago.

The Yūkiheki have maintained strained relations with other military clans in the Kingdom of Fiore, their biggest rivals being the Tetsuōkami clan who also specialize in swordsmanship. The Yūkiheki were previously fierce enemies with the other warrior clans of Fiore; however, their common affiliation with the monarchy have prevented most of these tensions from erupting into fighting. Today, the Yūkiheki remain a powerhouse within Fiore in terms of combat strength. As they are an imposing presence within the nation, its members often take positions of law enforcement within jurisdictions where the clan heavily resides.

Overall, the public view of the Yūkiheki is mixed. The intensity of the bad blood they still carry with their rivals fluctuates. For instance, they are still pratically enemies with the Tetsuōkami while relations to other clan have cooled to a point which they can ally for the greater good of Fiore without dispute. The exploits of the Yūkiheki range widely from both glorious to reprehensible. While they have served Fiore wholeheartedly, prominent members have been linked to heinous war crimes in the past.

Recently, the modern Yūkiheki clan has divided into two sects - the result of a coup that occured nearly twenty-five years ago. Thus, the clan has two recognized leaders. However, only one of them, Saito Yūkiheki, is the true leader while the widely accepted leader is ??? Yūkiheki. The two active sects of the clan are the Jitsu (実, Truth) and the Risou ( 実, Ideal). The Jitsu is the half of the clan who were previously in charge before the coup and the Risou is the line currently in the power. Because they have access to all of the clan's pre-established resources, the Risou is dominant while the Jitsu struggles to survive with its numbers dwindling.

General Background
While definite records do not exist pertaining to the clan's specific founding, it is speculated by historians that they and other clans of swordsmen came together in the years following the Dragon Civil War. With the balance of the world having shifted dramatically from the age of dragons to the age of man, the Yūkiheki were believed to have been founded on the principle of protecting those who weren't able to fight from the ensuring anarchy. The first Yūkiheki were supposedly gathered under one banner by a small group of swordsmen seeking to teach those who could not use magic melee combat. From there, their numbers grew exponentially until they were large enough to be a force of their own. With other clans also coming together at this time, it was only natural that rivalry would stir. The Yūkiheki were small and weak in comparison to their counterparts - the Tetsuōkami being larger and older. In order to climb the hierarchy of the post-Dragon Civil War world, the Yūkiheki fought these other clans and bathed in their blood. They increased their size by forcibly recruiting those they defeated into their ranks.

Originally, the Yūkiheki operated outside the command of Fiore and were autonomous to the country. They were identified as a threat to the kingdom because of their rising power. Having removed several significant clans from power, the Yūkiheki threatened war against the equally powerful Tetsuōkami. Abhoring the idea of both clans having conflict, ambassadors from the kingdom prompted a peace conference between the two clan as well as others. The Yūkiheki attended the conference alongside the Tetsuōkami. In order to promote peace between the swordsmanship clan, the Kingdom of Fiore distributed to them each a specially forged magical sword. The clans willingly accepted these offerings from the kingdom and each adopted their respective blade into their customs as a heirloom. As a condition for their acceptance of these swords, each clan attending the conference was forced to affiliate with the monarchy or risk betraying the concurrent treaty - an act of war on its own. The Yūkiheki were now indirectly allied with the Tetsuōkami through their new found ties with Fiore. The Yūkiheki assimilated into Fiore without little difficulty. Their feuds with other families did not waver.

Tensions with the Tetsuōkami clan only increased. Now that they were fighting under the same banner, the two clans competed against each other for glory. Their actions against each other were borderline acts of war on their own. Members of both clans were killed in the ongoing feud through assassinations and sparring matches turned deadly. Eventually, as it seemed to avoidable, the Yūkiheki and the Tetsuōkami did indeed go to war despite their common ally in the Kingdom of Fiore. During this war, the Yūkiheki resorted to extreme measures to win the war. Entire compounds belonging to the Tetsuōkami were burned down and all members killed. The war ended in the favor of the Yūkiheki and the Tetsuōkami were nearly extinguished. Neither clan went without punishment for the war, although the sanctions against the Yūkiheki were much harsher due to their victory and ruthless tactics. They were forced to pay a large sum of reparations to the monarchy to cover the damages sustained by the kingdom through the war - a punishment that would still cripple the Yūkiheki even generations later. The clan's power within Fiore was also heavily restricted. In order to prevent another internal war, many high-ranking Yūkiheki were condemned to policing the kingdom.

The years following their war with the Tetsuōkami were spent regaining glory. As the Tetsuōkami were longer a viable threat, the Yūkiheki focused on regaining the trust of the monarchy setting their disputes with other feuding clans diplomatically. During this reconstruction period, the Yūkiheki were extremely harsh on their up and coming youth. Children were trained at an earlier, faster pace so that they may become active units by the time they were in their late teens. By the mid X700s, the Yūkiheki had fully reclaimed their former splendor within the Kingdom of Fiore. The Tetsuōkami never recovered as they lost more than thirty percent of their membership in the war with the Yūkiheki. The bad blood between the two continued to thicken as the Yūkiheki flourished further, many of its latter generations becoming legends.

Swordsmanship
Swordsmanship is the only accepted way of combat by the Yūkiheki. All members within the clan, whether they be male or female, are expected to become sword users. Any and all magic used by the Yūkiheki are expected to revolve around the usage of their blades, thus Sword Magic is popular by default. Most Yūkiheki begin their swordsmanship training at the age of five and continue training within the clan until their early teens. By then they can either go to an external source to recieve additional training or try for recognition as a competent expert. Usage of other magics that do not utilize swords by a Yūkiheki is widely frowned upon and is taboo in the clan's culture. In the Yūkiheki, a sword is seen as an extension of the bearer's identity and is often times held in the same regard as a human life.

Sword Inheritance
Swords are held sacred to the Yūkiheki clan; therefore, it isn't unusual for family units to keep particular blades to be passed onto the next generation. Sword Inheritance is one of the oldest traditions of the Yūkiheki clan and usually occurs after a child has earned their rights of passage. The tradition is conducted via ceremony in which the child will be presented the first sword of their respective parent - the father passing his sword onto his son while the mother passes her sword onto the daughter. Afterwards, as a formal acceptance of their parent's sword, the child must then engage in a sparring match against another clan member chosen by their respective parent. In many cases, the parent themselves will voluntarily spar against their own children to see if they are truly worthy of their former swords.

Sword Retirement
As swords are held to the same esteem as individuals by the Yūkiheki clan, they have been known to recieve their own memorials as much as a clan member. When a highly decorated member of the Yūkiheki clan either retires or passes away, thieir sword will ultimately be retired. This means the sword cannot be passed down to the next generation or else the swords "legacy" will be disrespected by giving it a new wielder. The swords of these infamous Yūkiheki are thus glorified, many being put on pedestals. In accordance with the tradition, as many Yūkiheki may wish to keep their swords on their person, said sword may never again be drawn even by its own wielder if it is retired. The wielder may keep their sword equipped but must result to using a different blade or else they risk disrespecting the tradition of their sword's retirement.