Assault with a magical weapon is infinitely more layered than assault with a mundane one. Why?

A sword can cut your skin, but the sword wielded by the magician can slice your soul in half. A cut from a sword might get infected, but a cut from the sword of a magician can act as a hole in your energy system, letting your life force pour out. On a basic level, there are several approaches to making your attack more than physical, each with varying results and effects on the victim. You can attack them from a distance, make the essence of the attack vampiric, manipulate your chi to explode into the sword, project entropic forces, even use the contact of the sword with the skin as an instant psychic link with which your sword can deliver a previously programmed psychic attack. A common skill is to make your attack vampiric in nature. That is, to draw energy from the opponent at a point of contact, either by clashing swords or meeting flesh. The sought for effect is that with each contact the opponent loses energy as you gain energy. The opponent loses his fighting spirit and grows weak, whereas your spirit is fierce and your attacks grow stronger. This is an almost foolproof way to win against one who can not keep his energy focused, assuming that your sword skill is at the same level as the opponent's. Keep in mind that all it takes is one well-placed swing with the sword, and your magic won't be able to save you. For those experienced in the eastern mysticisms of chi, you may be familiar with Hsing Yi's "exploding force" skill, which is also one of the Gates of Pu Men in Taichi Chuan. This same skill, usually exhibited by the mystic as a outward shrug of the shoulders or good use of the symmetrical Fa Jin, can be applied to your sword skills. The effect of this technique is very similar to Musashi's "Red Falling Leaves" technique, usually causing the opponent to lose his grip on the sword due to a violent vibration within the blade. A good way to disarm the opponent. If focused, this same attack can be projected down the blade of the opponent into the center of the body, and then exploding outward. Requires much more skill on the swordsman's part, but it can cause the opponent to go into a state of nausea, assuming his energy channels were disrupted enough. Another skill with a advantageous result is to project some type of entropic force into the opponent. Some have called this the "Infectious Blade" because the effect is almost similar, on an aetheral level, to infecting the opponent with a flesh-eating virus. The destructive energy can seep into the opponent's aura and energy systems, causing some painful results. A common result of such an attack is that the muscle cut by the magician will begin to get cold around the area of the cut, then grow warm, and spread outwards into the entire muscle, then eventually spread into the entire muscle group(if the magician is powerful enough). The size of the cut plays no part in this. I am no master of this persona of energy, however I hear that TomeKeeper from The Library of Knowledge(in link section) has learned how to manipulate it quite well under the name of "Death Essence." Perhaps you could find a good article or two about the subject by browsing around that site. For the psychic out there, this is a technique you may enjoy. If you question its efficiency or possibility, I can vouch for it, as it has been executed on me in the past. The concept of this attack is that upon contact a psychic link is made, simultaneously projecting a psychic attack at the opponent. The only real difference between this and any other psychic attack is that the blade, by means of some enchantment or pure psychic skill, is acting as the medium for your connection. The effects can therein be any effect the psychic can create in such warfare. Some can induce illusions, some can eat away at your mind, while others are simply pings and relatively harmless projections. The final basic way to attack is using the sword in an almost ritualistic manner to attack the opponent. That is, using magic to begin the battle, as opposed to a clashing of swords. This is often done simply be the magician carving some properly charged sigil into the air with his sword, directing it at the opponent from a distance. The effects are as wide as any effect that could ever be created in the realm of magic, dark or light. However, to enact the sigil's power with speed applicable to the oncoming match requires a very honed magical prowess. I have heard of a man who, in a duel with another magician, carved a symbol into the air and said a few intent-filled words. His opponent, unaware of his true skill, took a few steps to

advance into attack, then suddenly hurled over and started vomiting. Now the magicians who can do this are few in a many, but I still thought it would be interesting to contemplate. The effects of attacks in this system are as wide as the effects of any mystical attack possibly conceivable, from any path of study. Play around with ways to apply some of the things you've learned this way. Also keep in mind that if you are sparring with a friend, do not come out and destroy them. The person is kind enough to lend his/her body to you for the purpose of skill perfection, and should be treated as such. Do not curse the name of his house and drain the life essence from his very blood.