Wind (Subclass)

The Wind subclass, Claymores that desire speed above anything else. They disregard strength and other abilities to excel in this area and become illusions to the naked eye. All "Winds" have a special skill set meant to amplify and take full advantage of their specialty. "Aerial dash" "Doppelgänger", "Phantom". All of them utilize the high speed stats of the "Wind" Claymores. They have a high level of endurance and stamina to maintain their advantageous speed in the heat of battle. Medium amounts of agility to not break their bodies in some of the movements required for their fighting style. They can move their swords faster than the eye can see, and at the time you see it, you already have a hundred of cuts through the body.

The difference between Blades and Wind is that "Blades" focus to hit hard and make the most possible damage with minimum strikes. "Winds" focus to hit fast and relentless. Their swings are weaker than a "Blades" attacks, but the sheer quantity of them is devastating if the same spot gets struck repeatedly. They can turn the opponent into shreds before it even realizes. It's the number and strength in the swings that's the difference between a "Blade" and a "Wind" sword techniques. That and the fact that all classes have their set of potential abilities, skills that's unique to them.

There is a difference when it comes to Offensive and Defensive "Wind" Claymores.

Offensive "Winds", are created from individuals that wish to end a battle fast. Offensive winds head straight into danger to handle a problem personally and spare others from injury or death. They think fast, act fast and are always three steps ahead of anyone else and are noble, calm, and collected with an aura of charisma. Due to their ability to act and their courage, it's not a surprise that the most successful squad commanders are "Winds". Leaders by nature as the other classes often lack the qualities for the job. Offensive "Winds" posses the ability to move their swords in high speeds and with the weight of the blade as force behind each strike. It requires a stable psyche to not lose control over the arm or leg used for the techniques. Due to their flexible line of thought, they can use what's given to them with greater improvisation. One might hold her ground and fend away the opponent, another might use that speed to crash into the opponent while another dodges the strikes and slow down for a normal attack. It demands plenty of mental strength to keep such techniques under control since in contrast to the "Ghost's " "Blink" skill, they need to gather up Yoki and release it in bursts until they seasoned enough to develop and evolve their basic one.

An Offensive "Wind" class can be the most dangerous one in battle; they are always seen leading the troops to combat. If they give an order, then the other classes will follow no matter what. As long as the wind is alive, they won't surrender. This is the ability of "Charisma of Courage", which bonds and attracts allies towards the user. The use of leadership to rally and touch the hearts of anyone that's present. The power of a commander and in contrast to "Charm", which alters memories and emotions to make an enemy into an ally, is all about inspiring hope into others.

These Claymores have a tendency to act like saints and take every loss hard. They often have to handle with the stress of being in command and sometimes they break their own bodies and minds while trying to act for the common good of its comrades. Not to be underestimated as they won't care about awakening if anyone else is in danger.

The Defensive "Wind"

The difference in the two types could not be more jarring.

The defensive "Wind" Claymores are not anywhere near the paragon and charismatic leaders their counterparts are. In fact, they lack everything that the offensive ones possess. Their main trait is the own survival above anyone else. They will use their high-speed for their benefit alone and need to be convinced and backed up to fight at all. They are weaklings by nature, unable to stand on their own legs and rely on others to fight their battles, mostly because of the risks involved in direclty fighting. They are incapable to act alone and even for single Yoma hunts and need tremendous amount of emotional motivation to carry the mission out. Usually insecure as an effect of this and prefer to stand in the opposite end of a gathered force. Still have the ability to think and move fast but not suited for delivering the sword techniques that their offensive counterparts are. Where the offensive ones provide support and bolster morale, the defensive ones are the ones with the greatest need for it. Still held in higher regard then the "Hand" class, but not someone you would see at the front-line. They prefer to stay out of sight and out of mind. It's not uncommon to see them in the company of the "Ghost" class due to their similar interests. But they are still something to not be underestimated as the defensive ones can heal fast. And if pushed into a corner, they will lose their composure and fight back with eyes closed if necessary. Even when certain death is sure to follow such an action. Maybe it's a sense of irony at play, but they too draw attention towards themselves, just as their offensive counterparts do.

They are often used as bait for others. Due to the displayed lack of will to fight, most opponents and awakened will target them first. A hostile will be attracted towards it with the intention to kill. The ability is called "Decoy", one of the main ones for this class and type. Instead of attracting allies as the offensive ones do, this attracts enemies. When brought along on an awakened hunt, the user is put in the center of an area, they don't approach the being in places where it would have the advantage. Instead luring it out with "Decoy" and finish it off while distracted with catching the user of this ability.

They alter the auras to be more attractive for the enemy. Blinding them to obvious risks and surroundings. And if seasoning is used to evolve it, then it could become rather unbearable for the user.

There are two steps beyond the basic one. Called "Scapegoat", where the aura can be placed away from the body of the user to make sure the safety of it. The range is six meters but can be improved with more seasoning. And then there´s "Parasitic Decoy" which means that any attack done on the user won't do any damage, except to the attacker. It works with equal exchange, the amount of damage that would be done gets countered by preying on the opponent´s Yoki to neglect any injury, leaving the user unharmed and in some cases, better shape than the opponent.

They only have a few sword techniques to use, not in the same diversity as the offensive counterpart. When compared, the defensive ones strikes can be considered paper cuts. But they exceed in skills involving the body. Some can become nothing but illusions, others blur out of the visible spectrum. They prefer to move, then to stand and hold their ground. Or let the opponent bleed out if the target is bigger than a Yoma. If they are alone when encountering an enemy, then they will prefer to run away instead of direct confrontation.

But they do have something that makes them unique. If the offensive "Winds" is the most dangerous, then the defensive ones are the rarest of all classes, due to the Organization valuing strength and skill for their Claymores. And the survival rate for this kind is not high, a trait that's shared with the offensive counterparts, who sometimes sacrifice themselves in vain. They have grown less and less frequent over the centuries.

They still show up though, but always down in the lowest double digits, vary between the forty-seven and to the thirty-eight numbers. Anything lower is meant to be bait in awakened hunts. Their emotional dependence on others makes them into expendable assets; fodder for the enemy. Defensive Winds, it's just an abandoned concept that no longer has a place in this isolated world. They are failures in the Organizations eyes. And been abandoned in favor for the other classes and the offensive counterpart.

Known Winds:
 * Gloria
 * Noble (offensive)
 * Faith
 * Nixie
 * Kahlan

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