Still Stone Style

The Nio have stood at the gates of shrines, temples, and holy places for centuries, carved in stone yet bound in spirit. Many of them never stir, sleeping away decades in statue form. But history remembers the few who did awaken when their sacred grounds were threatened.

The most famous account comes from the fall of the Twin Gate of Renkoji, The temple,one of the oldest temples that existed in Kirara, was guarded by two great Nio known as Agyo and Ungyo

When an enemy force descended upon the shrine, the monks inside knew that they would not be able to hold it. But the wardens stepped down from their pedestals for the first time in living memory. They fought without weapons, their arms and fists breaking spears like kindling, their bodies weathering blows that would have felled a dozen warriors. When enemies slipped past, the guardians leapt to intercept, placing themselves between blade and priest.

The monks of Renkōji observed their movements in awe. After the battle, when the twin wardens finally fell and their bodies shattered at the temple threshold, the surviving disciples etched every move into scrolls. They called it the Still Stone Style, named so out of respect for the guardians who gave their life to protect them.

To this day, Nio and other devoted martial artists practice the style, its philosophy unchanged: To become the wall between your enemies and your friends.

“Let your body be like jade, unyielding and pure.” -Still Stone Style 5th scroll.