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Pronunciation: “Di-annah-siss”
Plural: “Dyanasi” (pronounced “Di-annah-sigh”)
Other names: Battledancer’s Halo
This unique weapon is arguably the most difficult to wield of all weaponry, as it requires a very exacting level of proficiency to be safely swung in combat. The dyanasis is a lightweight hoop with arched blades projecting outwards from the circumference, nailed firmly to the ring’s outer diameter by wooden supports. When used, a dyanasis is spun around a user’s forearms, waists, biceps, and similar limbs capable of constant rotary movement. By carefully building up momentum, talented warriors can have a dyanasis whirling around their arms as they concentrate on deflecting an adversary’s attacks while landing blows of their own. Unsurprisingly, the dyanasis’s use makes it very dangerous and difficult to wield safely, as users are prone to accidentally injuring themselves on the dyanasis’s blades during the hoop’s revolutions.
Use and techniques
Like the mysistoe blade, the dyanasis is considerably weak when wielded against heavily armoured opponents, but is exceptionally effective against lightly-armoured opponents. The hoop’s use is best suited for defensive styles, as all but the fastest of enemies are able to land a blow upon a warrior without being impaled by the whirling hurricane of dyanasis blades that surrounds him. As the dyanasis’s blades are perfectly shaped into crescents, they are well-suited for catching and disarming an adversary’s weaponry. While it takes considerable time to master the basics of the dyanasis’s use, performing truly spectacular techniques is possible only after undergoing what many would consider a lifetime of focus. Many highly proficient users have learned to spin two dyanasi around either forearm, alternating between the two whirling hoops to block, deflect and attack adversaries. There have been stories of warriors who’ve learned to spin three separate dyanasi simultaneously, two spun around either forearm with another revolving around the user’s waist. Such stories often describe the skilled combatant as being nearly untouchable, by both ranged attacks or melee weapons.
Of course, the greatest difficulty in learning to master the dyanasis’s use is knowing how to avoid cutting oneself on the hoop’s blades, as well as keeping the dyanasis revolving smoothly without being caught on armour or trappings. The galagi are renowned for their people’s almost natural skill at wielding the dyanasis in combat, and this weapon has even played a crucial part in many traditional folk dances and ceremonies. Galagi hoop-dancers (more often known as “battledancers”, from which the dyanasis’s secondary name was derived from) are famous for spinning several whirling dyanasi at once, dancing and leaping across a blazing bonfire to the tunes of musical instruments and melodic chants. While there has been no historical evidence to prove it, many believe the galagi were the first to have developed the dyanasis, and it slowly found its way into combat as other races witnessed the battledancer’s spectacular displays.
Composition
Dyanasi must be constructed from lightweight, flexible materials such as wood or bamboo, as heavier materials are simply too cumbersome to be twirled around one’s limb. Each of the dyanasis’s blades are typically comprised of thin sheets of solid steel, balanced to land shallow but nasty cuts upon enemies. They vary in the width of their circumferences, as dyanasi are built differently for using either around one’s arms or waist. Strangely enough, crovalahn use their fabled dark iron to forge their dyanasi, that’re spun as quickly as any wooden hoop (despite the metal’s usual mass).