Rank 1 - The Way of the Phoenix: In battle, the Shiba can find his place in the world.

This Technique automatically activates during the Reactions Stage of Combat if another character spent a Void Point during this Combat Round. You regain a Void Point. This Void Point may exceed your maximum, but all excess Void Points are lost after combat resolves. You do not learn anything regarding the source of the Void Point or how it was originally spent. This Technique only activates twice per skirmish. You may Guard as a Free Action; however, if you do so, your target only adds +5 to his Armor TN instead of +10. (At the first rank, being allowed to spend two void on a single roll is pretty weak, considering you're likely looking at a Void of 3 at best. Swapping in the 3rd Rank technique for Rank 1, however, lets you potentially have more void to play with, without giving you any bonuses yet that might make it too powerful.) Rank 2 - Dancing With the Elements: Shiba bushi become attuned to the shugenja they protect, aiding their spells and deterring those of their enemies. When you assume your Stance for the Round, you may choose a target within 30. Whenever your target casts or is the target of a spell, you may choose to increase or decrease the TN of the spell by 5. Additionally, whenever you are the target of a spell, you may immediately choose to increase or decrease the TN of the spell by 5. (This rank remains unchanged. It fits nicely just where it's at.) Rank 3 - One With the Void: Students of the Shiba style are taught to draw back the veil and allow the universe to act through them. For every Void Point you spend, you gain the effects of spending two, when applicable. (I find moving the first part of the Rank 5 ability to Rank 3 might make for better positioning. You're still not rolling 4k4s yet, but you're not required to burn through limited amounts of void to get decent bonuses either.) Rank 4 - Move With the World: Serenity brings certainty, and certainty brings speed. You may make attacks as a Simple Action instead of a Complex Action while using Polearms, Spears, or weapons with the Samurai keyword. (Similar to Rank 2, this Rank remains unchanged for obvious reasons.) Rank 5 - Touch of the Void: Shiba bushi move through life as the Void moves through all the elements. When spending a Void Point to gain +1k1 on a roll, you may choose to spend 2 Void Points (to gain +2k2) on the roll instead. Additionally, you may now spend Void Points on enhancements (as listed in the Book of Earth) twice in one Turn. (Rank 5 is finally a good spot for being able to dump lots of void in one go, because by now you might actually have more than 3 or 4 to spend! I've just strongly felt that this Rank 1 technique would work best as the last technique learned.)