Su’raka
“The only difference between predator and prey is who takes the first bite.”
-A Mer, probably
“The only difference between predator and prey is who takes the first bite.”
-A Mer, probably
Su’raka is the Mer style of trident fighting, roughly translated to “Three Sharks”, though this name is purely used by non-Mer. Developed naturally from combat beneath the waves, this art is refined by experience and variations were formed by each category of Mer. This was developed by Mer to help fulfil their declared Reisah. At first being a handful of simple tricks to win a single fight, as more Mer became skilled in trident-use and continued to declare Reisah, Su’raka became a more polished series of techniques.
Three Basic Fangs of Su’raka:
- Great Fang: A frontal thrust as the Mer charges forward, twisting the trident to deflect weapons attempting to parry it.
- Hook Fang: The Mer thrusts their trident before twisting the staff at the end to ‘bend’ the blow, useful to strike around shields.
- Swift Fang: A simple forward thrust as the Mer shifts their grip from high on the shaft to lower, giving the stab a deceptive range.
- Wild Fang: Mixing Great Fang and Hook Fang, this technique creates a spinning and bending thrust which makes it difficult to perceive where it will strike, especially as the Mer practitioner doesn’t quite know themselves.
- Dual Fang: Mixing the Hook Fang and Swift Fang, this technique creates two attacks in a single thrust. The first strike is a stab which bends the shaft. The Mer then pushes the shaft forward in their hands to continue the thrust as it flicks into the opposite direction for a second strike at a different location.
- Piercing Fang: Mixing Swift Fang and Great Fang, this technique uses the combined follow-through and rotational force to create a singular strike with surprising penetrating power.
- Thousand Fangs: Merging all three Basic Fangs, this technique seems to create a literal wall of countless thrusts as the Mer bends and flicks their blows like with Hook Fang, using Swift Fang to perform rapid mini-thrusts with shifting the grip of the shaft, and Great Fang to add rotational unpredictability to continuously change the placement of the strike.
- New Fang: After piercing a victim, this technique is used to remove the trident’s prongs in the most painful, damaging way possible by ripping it out toward the side to tear the maximum amount of flesh possible.
- Floating Fang: After piercing a victim, this technique is used to instantly gain leverage with the trident’s shaft to lift the unfortunate foe and throw them in any direction.
- Hidden Fang: Usable on land or on the seafloor, the Mer slams the flat of their trident down to the ground, causing dust to rise up in a small cloud as the weapon bounces back up with elasticity to strike from within the makeshift smokescreen.
- Blunt Fang: Spinning the trident to build momentum before striking with all three prongs, this technique is often used to stun victims momentarily to set up for a more lethal blow.
Novice (1-25)
The Su’raka practitioner is little more than a dabbler at this point, learning a single Alternative Fang to give them a slight edge in a fight. Mer typically learn this much for their first Reisah, just enough to ensure a kill on unsuspecting scum of the sea. Upon the second or third Reisah, the Mer realizes they need to stop declaring Reisah so frivolously or learn more Su’raka. Most choose the latter.
Competent (26-75)
The Su’raka practitioner has learned the Basic Fangs, marking them as somewhat capable of delivering vengeful fury upon their enemies. It is, however, upon these foundational techniques that the rest of Su’raka is derived, so it would not be an understatement to say that the practitioner already has the most lethal skills the style has to offer. In addition, practitioners often start to explore a single Alternative Fang.
Expert (76-150)
The practitioner has more or less mastered the Basic Fangs, knowing what situation to use which technique and gaining an instinct for looking for the quickest kill. With this, they begin to experiment with combinations of the techniques simultaneously, giving rise to the less reliable, more specialized Minor Fangs, as well as taking up a second Alternative Fang.
Master (151-250)
At this point, the practitioner of Su’raka has achieved a level of skillfulness with the trident to merge all three Basic Fangs into the Major Fang, which is by no means of greater usefulness than any of the Basic or Minor Fangs, however is a testament to their ability for being able to perform it at all. In addition, they have learned their third Alternative Fang. Now armed with all the tools needed to fulfil most any Reisah, the Mer can go and take vengeance with confidence!
