The Dart Wars are of course waged by Dart Warriors, and not by the imperial aristocracy themselves (although there are Dart Warriors who come from the imperial nobility). Dart Warriors is a term for anyone who carries out a Dart War between nobly families – so it encompasses many different types. Some Dart Warriors serve a specific house exclusively, others belong to schools or temple that serve the highest bidder. The Blue Moon assassins are notorious members of the latter. Still others are mercenaries, who are hired for a particular conflict but do not normally participate in Dart Wars.
The two most famous Dart Warriors are:
Chain Dancer – the grandfather of Jar-eel, and grandson of Hon-eel. He orchestrated the Eel-ariash’s return to power. He was a legendary figure in the Lunar Heartlands, and among his pupils were his cousins Philigos and Phargentes. His every move was a magical ritual taught by his grandmother in his dreams! I imagine there are all sorts of Miyamoto Musashi type stories about Chain Dancer – Lunar comic books showing the amazing deeds of Chain Dancer against various foes as he fought duel after duel, assassination after assassination to restore his family to greatness, and then he even magically created a daughter. What a guy!
Harrek the Berserk – a barbarian recruited from the blood games, trained as a Dart Warrior who proved to be so savage and so dangerous that he killed the Red Emperor himself. Rumors swirl around why he hired, what his purpose was, etc., but no one ever speaks publicly of this. But EVERYONE knows about the terrible White Bear who killed the Red Emperor in 1607, even if nobody talks about it.
