House Ginaz.	Swordmasters Of The Ginaz.		House Ginaz.
A Swordmaster Of Ginaz Not Associated With Any Current Employer. The Swordmasters of the Ginaz are a school of martial artists in the Landsraad that specialize in sword fighting. The Ginaz Swordmasters originated like other schools dedicated to human perfection in the time of the Butlerian Jihad. The world of Ginaz was an independent planet which fielded expert mercenaries in the service of the League of Nobles during their struggle against Omnius. The people of Ginaz retained their freedom from foreign influence, yet saw themselves honor-bound to join the human worlds in their struggle against thinking machines. Much like the planet Caladan, Ginaz is a world of large oceans and the population is scattered over several extensive archipelagoes. This geographical predisposition might be an explanation for the individualistic and independent mindset of the Ginaz natives. Ginaz society was centered around the concept of personal excellence in warfare and martial arts, and the organization in mercenry clans which competed with each other in who could claim the greatest achievements on the field of battle. Men and women were considered equal as fighters and served equally in mercenary troops. Before embarking on a campaign, each mercenry was expected to mate three times: Once representing the men who went into battle, once for the women who would join, and once for all those who cannot reproduce. This way the population were to be kept stable despite the high body count among the mercenry detachments. The Ginaz considered glorious achievement in battle more desirable than a long life, and would often volunteer for the most dangerous or even outright suicidal missions on their tours of duty. Origins of the Swordmasters When the mercenary leader Zon NORET died in a training accident, he charged his son Jool NORET to become the most legendary warrior of Ginaz history. NORET'S father also implored him to forgive the training robot Chirox who was the cause of Zon's death. Transferring his desire for vindication from Chirox onto all thinking machines, Jool NORET began with a rigorous training to become the most effective killer of thinking machines. NORET'S fighting style emphasized close combat with pulse swords, designed to send destructive electromagnetic pulses into a machine body to incapacitate or kill the opponent. The style also included advanced fighting techniques for and against warriors protected by personal shields- A fact that probably kept this martial-arts style alive long after fighting thinking-machines ceased to be a priority in warfare. Jool NORET achieved many victories on the field of battle, among them the single-handed destruction of the Ix Omnius. Despite Jool NORET'S reluctance to bask in fame or accept students, more and more young warriors came flocking in response to the reputation and fame his heroic exploits have gained him. Even aspiring martial artists from off-world locations arrived to learn from him, and soon the fighting style of the legendary warrior became an art in its own right. Consequently, the mercenries of Ginaz, and everyone else trained in NORET'S fighting art, were considered the most elite warriors in the human armies. Jool NORET died in a tidal wave when the asteroid-ship of the titan Hecate crashed into the seas of Ginaz. The sensei mek Chirox survived, though. Having acquired all the skills of NORET during their extended training sessions, Chirox kept the fighting-style of the legendary warrior alive and laid the foundation for the coming school of swordmasters. After the conclusion of the Butlerian Jihad, and the reorganization of the League of Nobles into the Landsraad and the Empire, the mercenries of Ginaz were rewarded with their planet as an independent fiefdom and the noble title of House Ginaz. Swordmaster schools remained open to off-world students, but the highest levels of the art would only be taught to retainers or members of the house. The Ginaz School The Ginaz School still teaches sword fighting as a primary means of killing, with close in attack and defense techniques carefully studied. Ginaz disdain firearms, but are known to understand and appreciate artillery. The Ginaz also have strict codes of conduct, including matters such as personal grooming; A Ginaz is forbidden to have "mal odors" upon them at any time, except when in the field. Such odors are grounds for a duel to be postponed, at some embarrassment to the offending party, and their seconds will not stand by them in such cases. Ginaz duels are ALWYS, without exception, to the death. This prohibition was used to wise effect byt the Swordmaster VAHN, challenged to a duel by Swordmaster DINZ over a matter of some horses he had accidently killed; VAHN had compensated DINZ for the horses, yet DINZ was not satisfied. VAHN accepted the challenge, then spent three days digging a ditch. At the end, his "personal airs" were quite ripe, and DINZ refused the dule that day, demanding VAHN prepare himself. The duel was then reschedualed, by which time DINZ had mollified and withdrew the challenge. (It has been generally accepted that VAHN would have won the duel, and in fact a year later in tournament he DID defeat DINZ, and rather soundly at that.) The Swordmasters of Ginaz 'rarely' take the field themselves anymore, more often training others, especially nobles, in the arts of sword fighting, but make no mistake, they can and will if needed; The single most famous Swordmaster, Duncan IDAHO, died fighting Sadaukar and Harkonnen troops in defense of House Atriedes, and many since then have as well. Every year, an Idaho dies in the service of the God Emperor, and they have died commanding armies from the front lines, sword in hand. The End Of House Ginaz Ten millennia after founding the school, House Ginaz had become one of the Great Houses of the Landsraad. They had allied themselves with House ATREIDES which eventually would set them onto the path to their demise. In an attempt to weaken the popular Duke Leto ATREIDES, the Corrino Emperor secretly supported House Moritani of Grumman in a War of Assassins against House Ginaz after some of their students are sent home in disgrace from the Swordmaster School. The war ended in 10,181 AG with their total defeat when the Ginaz duke and all of his family were poisoned. Noted Swordsmen Duncan IDAHO was noted to be a "Swordmaster of the Ginaz," which leads to his body later being sold to the Tleilaxu Bene as "a master swordsman, an adept of the Ginaz School." He was recreated as a ghola many times over, with the majority of them recovering the memories of their progenitor, thus becoming one of the Imperial Court factions that are implicitly trusted by the God Emperors. Ginaz (planet) Ginaz itself is oceanic with multiple, small tropical archipelagos which constitute its only surface land on which all the major population centers are situated.