I have been in these western lands for many years now, and I have studied your local style of warrior combat extensively. It occurs to me that in this land, the warrior is considered the least powerful or important member of any hunting group. It is to the point that the warrior profession is considered only for the commoners, and the more elite and estimable adventurers in your culture use what is considered far less honorable forms of combat in my country.

And so, when I landed in your strange land I was fortunate to find a daimyo of at least rudimentary understanding of the types of martial arts practiced in my homeland. It was he, the man you Britannians address as "Saint" is the one I call Daimyo. He took a young Genjuro into his home and family, and taught me the martial skills of the sword. I in turn learned the Daikyu form from his savage brother. It seems to me these two are of a region in the far east, originally, and their form of combat is closer to something I would see as a young boy. And this was quite different from the form of warrior combat so common to Britannia.

As I suit up for battle, I seek the weapons and equipment of a skilled blacksmith. In particular, the light suits of armor that do no restrict the precise movements required for lethal combat. Also, the finely crafted katana which again emphasizes speed over raw power. For while raw power, while equally deadly, is harder to control than speed. Diverting your chi into one, slow attack is useful at times, but conventionally speed is the best way to combat a variety of foes. In having a light, fast, tightly controlled and precise method of attack, one is allotting less of the outcome to gimmick attacks and fancy equipment. In short, the eastern warrior relies on his mental and physical skills, over the nature of his equipment and the luck of a gimmick attack.

I find the opposite to be true for most western warriors. When I see the western warriors, I see clunky, fancy suits of ornate armor, runic, heavy halberds encrusted with fine gems and magical properties. Warriors trade their natural abilities for the sake of strutting around in full platemail, and wielding a weapon that is worth more than their bank accounts. For these warriors, combat is not about skill. It is about being pretty and pretending to be powerful, while using that blade spirit instead of the one in his hand. It is about trying to defeat powerful creatures without having the martial ability to do so, but rather calling a blade spirit while you hide and then claim glory at the bank. Western warriors do not take the time to progress from the weaker opponents to reach that point, they merely "spar up" in these horrifying displays of selfishness and horseplay, either by hiring an axeman in Jhelom or as spectacle they refer to as "walling" - the slow torture of undead while barely giving them a peaceful return to the afterlife. This is why I believe the warrior is so lowly esteemed in Britannia. A warrior in a land where getting the gold and fame is more important than the battle or cause behind it. 

And such is true when the new warrior enters the Ordo Sylvanus. He is schooled in the western art of "Valorite plate d00dism" and "buying Katana of Power" at the west Britain bank. It is uncommon to find these surviving in our ranks for long periods of time. For these gimmicks do not offer the ability to learn coordinated attack and defense, improvisational wilderness survival, or any other combat skill which would require more combat knowledge. This is why the western warriors do not last long in our ranks. Their priorities lack the patience to learn this art form, and they quickly move on to less honorable forms of combat, usually outside of our order. All in the name of defeating the Daemons and Elder Gazers, as any other creature would be below their giant egos. 

What they do not realize is that eastern combat offers great success against these types of creatures. The time that was "wasted" fighting evil magi, Orc Magi, and Rat Magi has given the warrior a tremendous knowledge of countering magical combat, and most importantly the mental skill in resisting magic, as well as healing near fatal wounds. Eastern combat gives you the dexterity required to keep yourself healed and strike opponents down quickly, instead of waiting for this giant bardiche to swing, the samurai has struck 4 times, in critical locations. And of course when one samurai can conquer these foes, think of what a coordinated effort can do.

Therefore it is essential that warriors of our order study the Ordo Tacticum assembled by our daimyo, and learn the ways of combat as quickly as possible. For one day we are all called to serve.