The Eight Leaves One Blade (八葉一刀) school, is a swordsmanship style developed by Yun Ka-fai, the well-renowned swordsman and the former leader of Ikaruga. It originates from the Black God One Blade, referred to as the 'Sword of Darkness' and by contrast represents the 'Sword of Light'.
First Form, Helix (壱ノ型・螺旋). Cassius Bright mastered this form, earning him the title of Divine Blade. His signature S-Craft attack, Phoenix Wave, belongs to this form. Rean Schwarzer uses elements of this form in his Crafts. Rotary motions are also prevalent in the swordsmanship of Maximillian Cid, Anelace Elfead and, although not considered a practitioner of the Eight Leaves school, Elise Schwarzer.
Second Form, Gale (弐ノ型・疾風). Arios MacLaine mastered this form in a trial against Cassius Bright, earning him the title of Divine Blade. Both he and Rean Schwarzer use the crafts Gale and Arcane Gale, with Rean initially only performing it during Spirit Unification before doing so in his base form in Cold Steel IV and onward. In Demon Unchained state, Rean uses Infernal Gale. Shizuna Rem Misurugi also uses a variant of this form for her Winding Gale craft.
Arios's S-Crafts, Fujin's Fury and Termination Slash - Black Paragon, may be associated with Gale.
Third Form: Karmic Flame[]
Third Form, Karmic Flame (参ノ型・業炎). Rean Schwarzer's Flame Dragon and Flame Impact may belong to this form. Both involve a downward slash and flames. Not much else is known about this form.
Fourth Form: Autumn Leaf[]
Fourth Form, Autumn Leaf (肆ノ型・紅葉). Rean Schwarzer uses this form with the craft Autumn Leaf Cutter. Not much is known about this form.
Fifth Form: Morning Moon[]
Fifth Form, Morning Moon (伍ノ型・残月). Alan Richard is a practitioner of this form. Rean Schwarzer also utilizes this form as a defensive countering stance while piloting Valimar as well. It is noted that Morning Moon focuses heavily on iaijutsu (sword drawing techniques).
Sixth Form: Scarlet Sky[]
Sixth Form, Scarlet Sky (陸ノ型・緋空). Rean Schwarzer's Arc Slash may belong to this form, while Crimson Slash is stated to be a technique from this form. Both involve a slashing projectile. Anelace Elfead's S-crafts may also belong to this form due it being a slashing projectile and visually similar to Rean's Arc Slash. Not much else is known about this form.
Seventh Form, Void (漆ノ型・無). Cassius Bright learned this form from Yun Ka-fai, though it is unclear to what extent he mastered it. Rean Schwarzer mastered this form in a trial against Cassius Bright, earning him the title of Divine Blade. While piloting Valimar, Rean Schwarzer is capable of using Enlightened Domination (無想覇斬), along with Enlightened Spirit Unification (無想神氣合一), which are both confirmed to belong to this form. Rean Schwarzer's S-Crafts, Termination Slash - Dawn and 7th Slash - Shredded Leaves, may be associated with this form, while his S-Crafts Breaking Dawn and Luminous Abyss are definitely associated with this form.
Eighth Form: Weaponless[]
Eighth Form, Weaponless (捌ノ型・無手). While piloting Valimar without a weapon, Rean Schwarzer is capable of using the move, Destructive Impact, which is a move associated with the eighth form. It is a form used when a practitioner encounters a situation which involves them not having their weapon on them or disarmed.
Zeroth Form: Duality[]
Zeroth Form, Duality. Used by Shizuna Rem Misurugi; other than that, virtually nothing is known about this form. It may be what is known as the Black God One Blade.
The Ikaruga mercenary group draws from a number of martial arts schools, among them the Eight Leaves.
Trivia[]
In Rean's S-Craft, 7th Slash - Fallen Leaves, his opening line is a Kendo philosophical quote, "Meikyo Shisui; Clear mirror, Still water". This is visually shown with clearing his mind and the reflection on the water.
In his mastered Void S-Craft, his opening line, "Banbutsu Ruten; Everything flows" is a reference to a famous saying of Greek philosopher Heraclitus.
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