Arcane Legions

Graceful, elegant and serene even in the fiercest battles, the Kyudo archers represent some of Himiko’s most talented and prized soldiers. When the Night of Mists transformed the Yamato clan into shoyosei, those already practicing the art of kyudo found their skills and marksmanship greatly enhanced, capable of striking down even swift-moving sparrows from a hundred yards away. Kyudo archers employ yumi, carefully crafted longbows with an asymmetrical grip and extra-long arrows, fitted with any number of specialized tips. The combination of the bow and the arrow designs means that kyudo archers can reach distant targets on the battlefield with relative ease.

Kyudo archers are breathtaking to witness in battle. Eschewing the screams and chants common to most soldiers, the shoyosei treat combat as a meditation, silently drawing their bows in one fluid motion and releasing only when the moment is right. Bravado and blustering is extremely rare among the kyudo archers and most tend to their own business in quiet contemplation, separate from the main body of the armies they accompany. Kyudo archers wear little beyond monkish robes even in battle, carrying only their bows and quivers.