Swordsmen

Overview
When Yah'Jube fell, and the Riders splintered into smaller factions, a group of wandering Warriors began what is known as the Swordsmen. Their philosophy is that practicing swordsmanship is the only path to existential enlightenment, taking on Apprentices until their Masters bestow upon them the same title. "I've met a few of the last, surviving Swordsmasters, they are a curious bunch. It seems they travel very nomadically, never calling any one place their home, and have even been known to take on multiple apprentices at any given time. There was a story I kept hearing from many of them, some ancient tale on par with David and Goliath, something fantastic and riddled with mystery. I begged them to expand upon what I knew already, but it seemed none of them could offer any specifics. Ah well."

Philosophy
The faction was formed by a group of warriors who had lost their dragons in battle, but for an unknown reason, had not been killed by the Bond. They wandered the continent of Julkrest for years until their group began to gain some level of notoriety as accomplished swordsmen, bringing with it a collection of humanoids of all kinds to seek their guidance. It wasn't long until the group collected their newfound ideology into a Practice, calling themselves simply Swordsmen, (although many women made up their ranks) and began the Ritual of Two. Those who were known as Swordsmasters took on Apprentices and began to teach them the ways of their stoic and isolationist philosophy, only granting them the rank of Swordsmaster when each individual Master considered their apprentices as such. The main consideration in their teachings is the idea of personal enlightenment through isolation and an intimate understanding of Swordplay, the particular style of swordplay varying from Master-to-Master, but typically keeping to the original technique of Riders. The enlightenment they seek is an intimate understanding of the world and one's place within it, an understanding of who the individual truly was deep within their souls and what it meant to be alive, what to do with life and how not to waste it. For a Swordsmaster, death is irrelevant, merely another step on their journey through the Void and consequently their journeys through Viridia.

Hierarchy
There is no leadership within the faction, and most consider the term "Swordsmaster" a religious title, amorphous in nature and not having any set definition. Each Master has their own idea of what a true Master should be, and what they should be teaching to the next generation of Apprentices. They do not have a list of rules or set ideology to follow, it mostly boils down to a code of ethics and ritualistic disciplines.