Blinding Nova Flare

Cost: None; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-only, Mastery, Terrestrial
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Liquid Steel Flow, Six-Demon Scabbard Binding, Void-Slicing Wind

The deadly finishing move of this style is a unique dual strike which can only be used when the swordsman has entered this style's form, and acts on the same tick as her sword to attack a single enemy. She makes a single attack that slices between all hope for defense, splitting the air like a thunderhead. The first part of the Blinding Nova Flare is the overwhelming spiritual and physical pressure that proceeds the edge of the swordsman's blade as she strikes, a difficulty 5 gambit made using the lower of the two Initiative pools. The swordsman need not roll an attack to execute this gambit. A successful gambit leaves the enemy incapable of any defense against the next part, a decisive attack made using the higher Initiative pool, rendered unblockable and undodgeable. Even if the opening gambit fails, the swordsman's enemy suffers a -2 penalty to his Defense against the attack.

Special activation rules: Once the Blinding Nova Flare has been used successfully, it cannot be used for the rest of the fight until both the swordsman and his sword have reached Initiative 11+. If the opening gambit fails, this Charm does not need to be reset.

Terrestrial: A Dragon-Blood who succeeds on the opening gambit does not render her enemy's defenses inapplicable, but instead imposes a -1 penalty to his Defense for every success on her Initiative roll, up to a maximum -5 penalty.

Mastery: After the successful completion of this Charm's opening gambit, threshold successes on the gambit roll are transferred into the pool used to make the decisive attack, after which both reset to base Initiative.