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I have always wondered this,

One of the resons Sabin is my favorite character is because of his Blitz techniques. The Blitz has always interested me because it is an ancient and highly respected art. As one of the townspeople in South Figaro says, "Duncan's students have no peers." In the game though, it seems to be a dying art, because their are only three people who are known to study it during the game; Vargas, Duncan, and Sabin.

This leads me to wonder, what were the Blitz like? Were they like the Jedi, an ancient order bound by even more ancient teachings. Were they like the Knights of the Round Table, a council that governed a nation or military? Or were they like mercanaries, warriors sold to the highest bidder? Maybe they were a mixture of the three.

What do you think they were like? Do you think they influenced the outcome of the War of the Magi and other events before they declined?

This post has been edited by BlitzSage on 12th December 2006 00:27

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Praise Be To Helix!

I'd like to think there were more students out there, but you only learn about the ones that impact the main storyline. Most of the fictional universes I like have the ability to support stories other than the one which introduces said universe, and I don't see the various Final Fantasies as different. A blitzer that lives in South Figaro, for instance, torn because he/she wants to fight the occupying troops but doesn't want them to retaliate and make things worse for the town. The possibilites are there for those that want that sort of thing (like me).

As for what they were like, again, there are possibilites. In addition to what you mentioned, it may have been a group of people that studied the art of Blitz for the sake of the art, passing it on to those who showed aptitude for the sake of keeping the art alive. What they chose to do with those skills was up to them.

There is some support for more students, or at least the potential of more students in the future. When Vargas confronts Sabin, it is because Vargas believes that Duncan chose Sabin to be his heir. If they were the only three Blitzers in the world and there would never be any more, would it really be worth getting as upset as Vargas did? Personally, I don't think so.

This post has been edited by mehael on 12th December 2006 01:13

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"Getting upset over a trifle would indeed be unmannerly."

-Afra to Damia

I rather think there are only three of them now, since the art of Blitz requires "a strong spirit", and there probably were little to none other candidates. And Duncan's previous students? I think they went and opposed the Empire. Openly. You can guess what follows.

I think they were before, as they are now: masters would take students and teach them, while making them do chores the "art for art's sake" as mehael put it.

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"I fell off the mountain of words at around the 10,000ft mark. Tell my family...they owe me money." -Narratorway

"If you retort against this, so help me God I'll shove any part of your anatomy I can find into some other part. Figuratively, of course." - Josh

"We have more, can deliver tuesday." - Del S

Good old CoN

I can see where you can get that from, but for me that is hard to believe that they learned this martial art just for the sake of learning it. I guess it is just funner to think of them as group of warriors like the Jedi. But they do seem as if they are trained for war. Both Vargas and Sabin seem very quick to resort to fighting, and Duncan, when he teaches Sabin Bum Rush he openly tells Sabin to go fight. But I do like the idea. I want to know what you think rather than tell you what I think.

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Praise Be To Helix!

Quote (BlitzSage @ 12th December 2006 21:55)

I can see where you can get that from, but for me that is hard to believe that they learned this martial art just for the sake of learning it. I guess it is just funner to think of them as group of warriors like the Jedi. But they do seem as if they are trained for war. Both Vargas and Sabin seem very quick to resort to fighting, and Duncan, when he teaches Sabin Bum Rush he openly tells Sabin to go fight. But I do like the idea. I want to know what you think rather than tell you what I think.

Of course either of them would easily resort to fighting, they both know each other fairly well, having spent years training together. They both probably knew there'd be no real reasoning with each other, leaving conflict as the only solution.

Duncan was supporting what Sabin was fighting for, rather than just fighting. There's a difference, as Sabin was lending his strength to the Resistance and by extent, in saving the world and making it a peaceful place once again.

As far as being Jedi-like in terms of their order, if that were the case I think we would've seen an expanded history behind the Blitz art and into Duncan's character, or at the very least, into that part of Sabin's past. We also hear no mention of them in context with the War of the Magi, so it's safe to assume they either weren't around 1000 years prior, at the time of the war or, if they had been, they had stayed out of those battles. I don't think at any point they were as expansive as the Jedi are in the Star Wars universe, otherwise there'd be a lot more mention of them throughout the world of FFVI.

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Okay, but there was a goat!

There may be a few minor biltzers out there - what about Dadaluma? And the usual cast of thugs - brawlers and such. Sabin and Vargas are of course years ahead of those folks, but they may be minor members.

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I hear the jury's still out on...science.

That's it, you people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

I definitely agree with you Dragon_Fire, about the Vargas/Sabin thing and what I said about Duncan's encouragment, for both of those situations were last resorts, but about not being known, I have to disagree. There is no suitsble part in the game, besides in South Figaro, but there still isn't enough room for that with fourteen characters that have different storylines. Plus, The Sith weren't widely known except by the Jedi, and they influenced greatly the history of the universe. In fact, if I remember, only a handful of non-Jedi mention the Jedi in the three original films and their decline only took place 19 years earlier. The only people that I can think of are Grand Moff Tarkin and Admiral Ackbar. Ackbar just says "May the force be with us" and Tarkin knew Darth Vader.

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Praise Be To Helix!

General Dodoona also says "May the Force be with you" at the end of the briefing on Yavin 4 before the battle against the first Death Star. So does Han, right before Luke stalks off to his X-wing for that same battle. But that still isn't a lot of people.

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"Getting upset over a trifle would indeed be unmannerly."

-Afra to Damia

"May the force be with you" is not only a Jedi blessing, pretty much like "God bless you" isn't restricted for priests. Also, what does this have to do with the original topic?

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"I fell off the mountain of words at around the 10,000ft mark. Tell my family...they owe me money." -Narratorway

"If you retort against this, so help me God I'll shove any part of your anatomy I can find into some other part. Figuratively, of course." - Josh

"We have more, can deliver tuesday." - Del S

Good old CoN

I was just saying that the Blitz did not have to be well known to be influential in world events, so they could have had a major role in the War of the Magi, but no one knew of them. Also, they, unlike the Jedi, are not the main focus point of Final Fantasy VI, so I wouldn't expect them to be the subject of many peoples conversations. I like to think of the Blitz as some secret order, or a formerly wide-spread order that has been reduced to a few members. I like what silvermike said too, that there are still a few low level Blitz out there like Dadaluma and other martial artists that can't use the main blitz attacks. Maybe they resorted to being thugs and brawlers after the blitz declined, and they were never trained to a higher level. Maybe that is because the Empire's rise to power and use of Magitek.

Plus, they may have been around before the War of the Magi, but because of the devastation of the war, they declined. So I guess this is more of a speculation topic about what you think they were like, if they were some sort of order.

This post has been edited by BlitzSage on 14th December 2006 13:49

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Praise Be To Helix!

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I like to think of the Blitz as some secret order, or a formerly wide-spread order that has been reduced to a few members. I like what silvermike said too, that there are still a few low level Blitz out there like Dadaluma and other martial artists that can't use the main blitz attacks. Maybe they resorted to being thugs and brawlers after the blitz declined, and they were never trained to a higher level. Maybe that is because the Empire's rise to power and use of Magitek.

That is the beauty of imagination. Outside of the confines of what the game feeds you, you can envision any kind of history or backstory that you like. There is never, ever any kind of "set in stone" answer to questions like this. The correct answer is whatever you want it to be, period.

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Join the Army, see the world, meet interesting people - and kill them.

~Pacifist Badge, 1978

Hamedo is right, of course - we can't prove anything. There would be an interesting fanfic to write - ahem blitzsage - about the history of the Order of the Blitz. Thoughts:

* Blitz is not a strictly physical discipline - sure, there's pummel and suplex and Bum Rush, but how does Sabin generate a fire dance? Vargas' Wind Fist? Blitz may be the secret to some innate human powers that are either independent or interrelated with espers.

* There are rogue martial artists all over the globe, but with a particular concentration on Mt. Kolts and Zozo. The former may be related to the place as a traditional training ground for blitzers (and maybe Vargas has recruited a few) but the latter is interesting.

* The Empire does not seem interested. A monastic order like the Blitzers seem to be is likely going to be uncontrollable, and therefore antithetical to Gestahl's power struggle. Might there have been a Blitzer rebellion at some earlier point, which drove the remainder into hiding>


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I hear the jury's still out on...science.

That's it, you people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

I like your ideas silvermike. I have always been inerested in writing, and this subject has always sparked my interest. I agree with your thoughts too.

I think the Blitz is a power derived from the spirit. Like the Japanese Samarai, they must learn to focus their minds to become more powerful. That could explain Sabin's change from a character that is not optimistic to one that is, maybe he draws power from his attitude. Also, that could explain the small number of Blitz, because only a few can truly master the art of Blitz. I also like to think of them as being great military strategist and masters of the art of war, yet their focus of mind keeps them in touch with peace and nature.

There are also other forms of Blitz, with different ethical codes. They have a thirst for power, and they see their powers as a gateway for that. The Blitz, though ambitious, seek peace and the overall good of mankind. They see their power as a way to make the world better.

Now we can all agree that the Empire does not share those believes. If they were some sort of order, there was probably some sort of conflict between them.

This post has been edited by BlitzSage on 15th December 2006 14:53

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Praise Be To Helix!

I'm not sure the blitz are great military strategists because my sense is that they tend to be loners instead of leaders. They are also primarily stateless, as far as we can tell - despite including the abdicated king of Figaro, they ignore its military pursuits. While you can't imagine them taking orders from some king, one also doesn't see them in a command tent poring over maps.

Doma, on the other hand, could provide the real nuts & bolts of military leadership - they're the samurai. But I wouldn't be surprised if the king and Cyan had a special-forces unit of blitzers before they were taken out by poison.

Another thought: Blitzing is essentially in opposition to both the mechanization from Figaro and Narshe and the magitekization of the Empire. This may lead to the Blitzing orders struggling to find new recruits as other forces offered sexier methods that didn't require so much discipline.

This post has been edited by silvermike on 15th December 2006 15:01

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I hear the jury's still out on...science.

That's it, you people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to clown college!

Quote (BlitzSage @ 12th December 2006 00:02)

I have always wondered this,

One of the reasons Sabin is my favorite character is because of his Blitz techniques. The Blitz has always interested me because it is an ancient and highly respected art. As one of the townspeople in South Figaro says, "Duncan's students have no peers." In the game though, it seems to be a dying art, because their are only three people who are known to study it during the game; Vargas, Duncan, and Sabin.

This leads me to wonder, what were the Blitz like? Were they like the Jedi, an ancient order bound by even more ancient teachings. Were they like the Knights of the Round Table, a council that governed a nation or military? Or were they like mercanaries, warriors sold to the highest bidder? Maybe they were a mixture of the three.

What do you think they were like? Do you think they influenced the outcome of the War of the Magi and other events before they declined?

nah lol but its a cool theory though

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Marion Gaborik is my hero :D

Quote

I'm not sure the blitz are great military strategists because my sense is that they tend to be loners instead of leaders. They are also primarily stateless, as far as we can tell - despite including the abdicated king of Figaro, they ignore its military pursuits. While you can't imagine them taking orders from some king, one also doesn't see them in a command tent poring over maps.

Doma, on the other hand, could provide the real nuts & bolts of military leadership - they're the samurai. But I wouldn't be surprised if the king and Cyan had a special-forces unit of blitzers before they were taken out by poison.

Another thought: Blitzing is essentially in opposition to both the mechanization from Figaro and Narshe and the magitekization of the Empire. This may lead to the Blitzing orders struggling to find new recruits as other forces offered sexier methods that didn't require so much discipline.

What I meant is that in my own personal back story, they are known as great warriors, leaders, and survivors. Of course, this is out of my imagination, so I really have no proof of them being great at any of these (despite the fact that Sabin is a very strong character, and Duncan somehow survives an assasination attempt and the Apocalypse), but you are right, there is no proof of them being military strategists or leaders.

There is one thing though. In the other topic I posted about Sabin, you said something I had never thought about. Your explanation that they create different techniques made me look at the Blitz differently. I think that they are good strategists, because they can create different techniques with different effects, so they can be ready for any situation. That sounds like strategy to me.

The way I see it is that before the War of the Magi the Blitz and the samarai thrived. That was when magic was everywhere, and before the reign of technology. After the war, magic was no where to be seen, and the samarai both struggled to stay with the times. I believe that because, to me, the samarai and the Blitz are very similar. They both require discipline and focus of mind, and in a world full of rising technology, few want to slow down and practice these fundamentals.

You could say this is just my imagination, but I believe the Blitz are great strategist, leaders, and survivors because, as you said, they are "artists". It takes a lot of creativity (an attribute of strategy), charisma (an attribute of leadership), and intelligience (an attribute of survival) to learn what they learn. I am not sure they are loners either, because Sabin seems to be a very friendly person, so does Duncan. Duncan has a wife, that doesn't make him much of a loner. I'll state once again that most of this is probably 85% speculation. I guess that you can find anything in the game to support any theory you want, but some of the stuff you have said silvermike has really been very interesting. It has made me look a lot closer to the game.

This post has been edited by BlitzSage on 17th December 2006 00:01

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Praise Be To Helix!