Sekiro: Shadows Travel Far
You are a nameless shinobi from Ashina; the loyal retainer of one Lord Kuro, the Divine Heir. You are the Oathbound of the Dragon's Heritage, an immortal shadow on a mystical mission against immortality itself...
After your many trials back in lands of Japan, after rescuing your Master from an reincarnated enemy, and after assuring a way to sever the immortality brought by the Dragon's Heritage, you now find yourself in the company of Lady Shiro, the Divine Child of Rejuvenation, hoping to somehow return the Dragon's Heritage back it's homeland somewhere in west. You have crossed through the eternity of Japan to reach the sea chores, escorting and protecting the fair lady from any assailers towards the port, all while expecting to reach a land by the name of Korea.
However, as you find yourself in middle of sea, the perils that you will come across will take you places far FAR beyond your fated destination…
In other words, this is "PROTECT THE LOLI TO HELP THE SHOTA, the quest". It is that simple.
...The liquids of your stomach sway left and right as the floor creaks from the sea's unrest. You feel uncomfortable, unrested under all the noise and all the movement that never seems to end. You've been in this state of distress and nausea for about a month since you had paid the passage to get in this Shuinsen (Red-Seal Ship) traveling to the west of Japan. And you have yet to get used to the persistent motion of the oceans outside...
As it turned out, the lands you seek lies in a place far more distant than your feet could carry you to. The world is vast and given the maps you have brought from foreigners, Japan itself, the continent from where you originate, is but a small slice of land in a gigantic square extending into the unknown. In other words, this travel is no mere ordeal for one to endure. Rather, even with your skills as a shadow, your composure and patience is put into quite the stress when dealing with what your blade cannot cut. After all, at very least when you're out there, walking in the roads, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, from branch to branch among the trees, your mind would be preoccupied with preserving your breath when travelling, tracing your next path all while seeking enemies from every corner.
Truly, you have come far from that little, defenseless land called Ashina…
For years, you lived there, training and killing any who would turn their blades against your master and Lord, Kuro. And to think that on its last days before the Interior Ministry invaded you would go as far as to kill your own father and betray the Iron Code… It shows how much weight your loyalty has as a burden worth of service to that little, curious child. You have died for him, and you would die again, no matter how many times, to fulfill his wish to rid himself and the world from the curse of the Dragon's Heritage...
And so that's how you come to be here, laying down on the corridor of a tiny ship, resting immobile in front your protégée's room for days without end on a lengthy journey to the west. The seasickness you feel doesn't seem to wear down at any second, to the point that even you, calm and collected as you are, was starting to become increasingly anxious over time, itching for motion of change to keep you alarmed.
Or at least, wishing for the sea go silent and still so you can properly sleep with one eye as you usually do...
"Ōkami-yo..."
"…!"
That said, it appears your less-than-sharp state has decayed your senses quite a lot for you to be sneaked up like this. Indeed, having Lady Shiro opening the door of her room without you noticing felt rather unacceptable in your own self-judgement, specially when it was you who stood in front it, supposedly guarding it like a hawk…
"Shiro-sama..." You would rasp, with a voice hoarse and deep, tired despite all the rest you had.
"Ōkami-yo, you… you look unwell. Those bags under your eyes have become increasingly visible as of late…" The child spoke, her voice tinged with worry, "The ever moving waters outside are making you ill, aren't they? In that case, isn't better for you to stop being so worried about my safety and take some due rest?"
"…" Yet, feeling unworthy of such benevolence, you look down on the floor in respect, bowing with your head as you kneel in her reverence, "No, I cannot. Not amidst this secluded vessel..." You tone forth, collecting your strength once more to dare face her, "Should something happen out of sudden, there would be no escape in the middle of the sea..."
"..." As such, faced with your determination, Lady Shiro could only express her reluctance.
Your word however does carry reason in it. Though clad in the same brown robes shared by the common folk of their land, the white nun cowl that surrounds her face, hiding both the forehead and her long hair, did nothing to diminish the regal aura of her sacred nature as the Divine Child of Rejuvenation… No, she looked too clean, too pristine, too otherworldly to be seen along the dirty crowd of foul smelling merchants and sailors you are travelling with. In fact, just the lack of women present in the ship or the superstitions about sea-travelling shared among the crew, both were enough to put in a guarded stance ever since you have paid your passage on it…
After all, who knows what these men would do if he just left her alone?
"Even so… It weights my heart to see you struggle with such growing worry. It has only grown worse since we've stepped in this large boat." The Lady affirmed, shaking her head slightly before offering a delicate hand for an offering, "I feel like I can no longer ignore your suffering as it stands, so please, give yourself some comfort for once and come to rest after lunch."
"…" Alas, with a grunt, you stand by your resolve as usual, diligently keeping face by remaining silent.
"..." Unfortunately for you though, whereas this worked fluently when the two of you traveled in the roads, Lady Shiro eventually learned how to deal with your stubborn attitude. All she had to do is to bring up a certain name to order you around, "*sigh* It's just like Kuro-kun have said... you can act rather silly for a shinobi..." The child acted, chastising face, "There is such a thing as being too loyal, Ōkami-yo. Though you are a great warrior, you are still but a man in nature. You need to rest in order to protect me with proper strength… So come now, I'm sure Kuro-kun would feel better if you do as I ask..." She finished, letting her tone weight upon you with an inviting smile.
"…" And certainly, upon hearing the name of your true master and lord, you do relent some thought to her argument. She is right after all. You are suffering from the restlessness, turning ever more incapable of keeping awareness of your surroundings. If this continues, it won't take long before you blackout on a moment's notice, leaving both the lady and your master vulnerable at some point, "…I understand..."
That said, hesitation still branded your face as Lady Shiro brought you inside. The room was both modest and tight in nature, with a single futon for one laying under a window and practically nothing else besides some shelves and the space for baggage. From there, the good child happily tended the bed for your comfort before preparing the two portions of the ever tasteful rice so that the two would eat over midday. From this, you figure that should you rest now over the afternoon, you can soon get back to your watch by evening with ease.
Thus, time passed, and with your stomach stuffed, you took one last moment to check on your weapons and prosthetics before laying down to rest…
Though your shinobi garb is comfortable to wear by itself, the many blades wrapped on it do stiff your posture a bit when sleeping, so you plan this through. For example, Kusabimaru, your ever trusted blade, had to be set aside at your lap, put within easy reach of your hands to sheath it quickly should something happen. As for the other two blades… well… you needed to put a little more attention to where you guard them, for they are not mere swords at all, rather, they are artifacts… extremely dangerous artifacts to anyone, even to an immortal such as yourself.
The Hairui-no-Fushigiri and the Kaimon-no-Fushigiri… The twin Mortal Blades of Ashina's ancient history, the only weapons in existence (or at least, that you know of) that can slay the undying…
If there's any weapon that you wouldn't dare place anywhere in sight while you're unconscious are those two, for they alone are the only things that present a threat to both you and Lady Shiro should they fall in wrong hands. Thinking quickly, the only place you could hide them in this tiny room was on yourself, as in, underneath your very futon with you on top of them. This way not a single soul could take them without having to deal with you first...
With that solved, the last thing left are your complex prosthetic tools. They are in a way a problem to deal with, requiring constant maintenance and tinkering to keep them working. In fact, they were a problem even before you even left Ashina, pressured as you were under the burning invasion of the Interior Ministry...
Indeed, leaving your homeland required quite the thought in the planning. By the time, you had rescued Lord Kuro in the white fields of Ashina Reservoir, the Interior Ministry's army had taken over the rest of country, subjugating every soul in the path under their iron fist. There was no time for you collect all your tools back in hand, much less take everything needed to maintain their complex mechanisms at once. The Sculptor was gone, and while he left the schematics of everything you had, you needed to keep yourself in low profile, travelling with as little cargo as possible as to not be weighted down and pursued by the Lone Shadows in Purple.
This then meant that you had to make a choice. You had to decide which tools you would take with you before departing forth through the roads. And unfortunately for you, the more advanced and powerful tools had to be left behind as you couldn't figure out how to maintain them properly, so had left you with only what you can work, which were the basics...
And taking into account that you would be escorting someone directly in your travels, you've brought exactly these three to do the deed...
Pick THREE from below
[ ] - The Loaded Shuriken. A pin-primed spring mechanism built into a specialized wheel once used by the Nightjar Shinobi on Ashina. It allows one to quickly pull a shuriken and launch it at a target in a single, flowing motion of the arm. Though mostly used to distract, interrupt or intercept an enemy at a moment's notice, the sharp edge of a shuriken can easily fell a man if lodged in a vulnerable spot.
+One-handed Ranged Weapon / +Short Range / +Average (3) Damage / +Quick to Throw / +35 Starting Shuriken
+An wielder can use his reflexes throw multiple shurikens in swift succession. In your case, you can throw up a total to 5 of them.
[ ] - The Loaded Axe. A heavy hatchet axe with a foldable handle connected to the prosthetic arm. It's a rather simplistic weapon, relying more on the wind-up and height of the cutting head to allow a one to strike with impactful force. Its purpose lies on breaking through an enemy's defenses, be it rendering shields useless or at very least unbalancing the guard of an enemy in a stagger.
+One-handed Melee Weapon +High (5) Damage
-This weapon disregard and damages a small portion of the enemy's defenses, dealing damage that bypasses armor.
-This axe is hefty to use, therefore the wielder's reflexes is slightly impaired when attacking with it.
[ ] - The Loaded Spear. A weapon fashioned from the horn spear of Ashina's old defender in Japan, a mounted warrior by the name of Gyoubu. In principle, it's a spear with a bendable shaft adapted to fit within an arm's length to make it portable. However, aside it's rather obvious use for far-reaching thrust attacks, the pointed edge of the spear also bears a hook facing backwards, allowing the wielder to surprise the struck enemy by pulling their bodies off their feet if hooked.
+Two-handed Melee Weapon +Decent (4) Damage
+The spear's length allows a wielder to strike from far away. Useful when in cover.
+The spear's length also complements the wielder's perception when charging, granting a small but useful strength and reflexes bonus.
+Should an enemy be struck by this spear, the wielder can use its hook to pull drag them back, breaking their posture.
[ ] - The Loaded Umbrella. An iron-ribbed, fan-like, foldable umbrella fitted into the Shinobi Prosthetic sprint to create in a portable, swift-forming shield. It allows its wielder to better protecting himself against most basic attacks from all directions so long his reflexes are high enough for him to react to it. In addition, by using the spinning momentum of the umbrella as it opens, a well-trained shinobi can deflect an enemy's incoming blade by trapping it in the latching hook that keeps the umbrella open, not only deflecting the blow but also exposing the unfortunate foe to a swift counter-attack.
+One-handed Defensive Tool / +Small (+1) Defense Bonus
+When activated, the wielder has a single change to parry an attack, gaining an extra counter-attack against the parried foe if successful.
[ ] - The Flame Vent. A slim, hollow barrel forged from iron with a flintstone connected to a trigger. When filled with a combustible fuel such as oil, a wielder can make the in-built flint spark inside the rod, igniting the oil into a sizable cone of fire out from the rod's exit. Those caught in the path are wrecked by flames that burn even inside water, leaving nothing but ash-charred corpses.
+One-handed Ranged Weapon / +Extremely Short Range / +Decent (4) Damage / +Quick to Fire / +12 Starting Fuel Jars
+The flame vent hits everything caught in its range. Good against multiple enemies.
+The flame vent inflicts burning damage, useful to wear down enemy posture over time, scare bears or damage those vulnerable to it.
[ ] - The Shinobi Firecracker. A belt of multiple explosives tied into the prosthetic arm's spring mechanism, right where a flintstone lies in a bottleneck. When released, the belt is twists itself around the arm, allowing the flint to create the spark that ignites every minuscule leaf of explosive as they are thrown forward, thus creating a wave of crackling flash and noise that briefly blinds enemies and disrupts their guard stance. Though weak in damage, this tool is more suitable in temporarily immobilizing enemies or scaring beasts so that a shinobi may gain an edge in combat.
+One-handed Ranged Weapon / +Extremely Short Range / ~Weak (1) Damage / +Quick to Fire / +18 Starting Gunpowder Belts
+The firecracker hits everything caught in its range. Good against multiple enemies.
+The firecracker stuns every creature caught in its explosion, reducing their posture down to one for a few seconds.
[ ] - Sabimaru, The Rusting Blade. An ancient kodachi short sword whose blade is mottled with an ever permanent bluish rust. It was forged by the Ashina clan to resist an inhuman evil that had invaded their land in times long forgotten, an enemy that seemed particularly weak to the mere touch of the rust's poisonous effect. Mechanically speaking, this blade can used without a prosthetic arm in a sense. However, to prevent any risk of self-injury, and to make use of the many benefits that a shinobi may think of, wielding this weapon in the safer grip of a prosthetic arm allows one to better spread its poison through swift, continuous attacks upon the enemy.
+One-handed Melee Weapon +Decent (4) Damage
+This blade is light and balanced enough to be wielded in the off-hand, increasing the amount of attacks you can deliver when paired with another blade.
+This blade is permanently poisoned with a fast acting agent. Any foe struck by it has a chance of suffering a Vitality penalty over time.
[ ] - The Mist Raven. A bundle of mystical feathers wrapped around the prosthetic arm whose magical properties eludes any who attempt to grasp whoever wields it, allowing a watchful shinobi to briefly spirit himself away from any attack he couldn't dodge, avoid or deflect. Its origins come from the mysterious bird of the same name that resides in Ashina, one that managed to escape every hunter and predator that tried to capture its form. As such, many prospect warriors have fashioned a talisman out of the creature's leftover feathers, hoping to acquire its power as a form of blessing against any peril.
+One-handed Defensive Tool
+Allows a wielder to enter a defensive stance that relies on his reflexes to intercept attacks and nullify any damage by becoming Ethereal.
+When successful in executing a dodge, the wielder can briefly dash and phase through any material object in short distance.
-The Mist Raven however can only be activated in reaction to a physical threat. It cannot be used willfully for trivial locomotion.
[ ] - The Divine Abduction. A large fan made of dyed red Japanese aralia leaves loaded into the prosthetic arm. It carries such name due to its unique blessing of creating a large vortex of visible winds around the wielder when fanned. Any creature caught by this wind is somehow spirited away, reappearing on the same spot with their backs turned, allegedly vulnerable to an attack. Some however don't even return when struck, being fully abducted into realms unknown through, presumably, Buddha's will. Now, it's not known if a shinobi is in the right to use such blessing in his assassinations but the effectiveness is certainly undeniable.
+One-handed Ranged Weapon / +Assassination Tool / +Extremely Short Range / -No Damage
+Enemies struck by this fan are instantly flipped away on their spot, temporality disorienting them with a massive penalty on reflexes.
+This fan can permanently banish certain kinds of enemies, presumably the "Impure" in the eyes of Buddha.
-The effort required to gather and push the winds however results in a Reflex penalty on the wielder.
[ ] - The Finger Whistle. The mummified finger of a young woman fixated on the prosthetic arm to be used as a tool. It's features are slender and yet firm on touch, with multiple hollow exits on its surface that create a quite acute sound when blown through like a flute. Though useless in appearance and use for most shinobi, its real value is only proven through the use of certain technique where one manipulates its sound, allowing one to either drive most natural beasts wild with madness or grab a target's attention with uncanny precision where no one else may hear it.
+One-handed Assassination Tool
+The whistle's sound automatically instantly enrages most animals and beasts when soared out loud, making them unable to distinguish friend from foe.
+Alternatively, when focused on a single target, the wielder can make the whistle's sound to be heard only that that same target.
These are all great tools that you came to value to most for sure. It may not have been ideal yes, but they would serve your needs nonetheless, specially now when you no longer can stash the rest of them away whenever you needed to…
Beyond that, there was also the matter of supplies. Before you left Ashina, you have both collected and consumed a great deal of pellets, sugars, gourds and etc through your struggle. You knew however that depending on how long this travel would have turned out, necessity would force you to spend your items just to survive, a cost which could become seriously deadly in the long run.
Thus, predicting this possibility and weighing down your necessity of traveling light, you took the advice of your friend Emma and took with you the knowledge of how to make your supplies instead of just carrying vasts amounts of them. This was a great work-around on this limitation since the most common of your medicines could be easily replicated with similar ingredients found in the wilderness.
Moreover, this also gave you the idea of taking the texts from the Sculptor's hidden stash, or even help Lady Shiro scour the Senpou Temple's library for additional scrolls when you came across another problem, that being time itself…
As you would learn, the Interior Ministry wouldn't just let you leave with this knowledge in hand, specially since they feared and disdained everything related to their newly conquered lands. The rumors of cursed waters from the Fountainhead and of immortal beings roaming around Ashina forced the Ministry to set up blockades and checkups around the country's borders for the sole purpose of book burning everything related to the Ashina's history, doing what they can to just erase it from existence.
Now, smuggling a set of texts were easy enough with your hidden ways, but an entire library of texts? Now that's much harder… so much so that you didn't even attempt the risk stumbling any prying eyes. No, you had both Lady Shiro and Lord Kuro to worry about firsthand, so you could not at any circumstance have Interior Ministry's army tailing your back while leaving the country. Hell, If the tales of they having an entire centralized government of the size of the Japan on their backs was true, then chances were that you would not even be able to leave the continent if you had been discovered.
So, much like your weapons, you were forced to judge which knowledge was more worth to take with you...
...And out the options present, you decided it was best to take...
[ ] - The Sculptor's Hidden Texts. The secret collection of a ronin shadow from the past generation, summarized in various texts containing the general tools that most shinobi often use. Though barely knowing him beyond your time together in his dilapidated temple sculpting the faces of angry buddhas, the old man was a venerable warrior in his time, knowledgeable in the ways to maintaining your equipment and creating new tools for you to use. As such, his texts contains the recipes not just to make the basic items, but also the framework of every prosthetic tool you can imagine, from those you have used and experimented as well as new model sketches born out of a mindset in helping a shinobi to become even more lethal.
[ ] - Emma's Medicinal Books. A collection of texts belonging to a rather proficient doctor of your acquaintance, one who often helped you and many others in recovering from their afflictions. Emma was as gentle as she was diligent, loyal in her service to the Ashina Clan. And given her willingness to assist you with Lord Kuro's wishes, she left you with multiple recipes of medicines at your disposal, including the means to create the ever miraculous Healing Gourd alongside its variants. She even went as far as to teach you how to look for substitute ingredients for these recipes, allowing to find alternatives means to create these medicines in whatever wilderness that you may stumble yourself into.
Antidote Powder.
Contact Medicine.
Divine Grass.
Dousing Powder.
Eel Liver.
Green Mossy Gourd.
Healing Gourd.
Medicinal Pellets.
Pacifying Agent.
Withered Red Gourd.
[ ] - The Senpou Temple's Scrolls. A collection of texts acquired from the libraries of a rather desecrated sect of the Buddhist religion in Ashina. Given the sheer importance of finding the Dragon's Heritage, and the monks certain obsession with immortality, Lady Shiro believed that the temple must have some other secrets hidden in their scrolls, perhaps some clue that may glean on how to deal with your curse. Such search, though limited, did bore fruits in a sense, giving you not just more knowledge on the temple's rites before it was desecrated, but also allowed you to uncover the recipes for the same miraculous sugars used the monks to increase their fighting strength. And as you had experienced it, they are rather useful in the hands of a shinobi.
So… my second quest… something less overwhelming this time around. Got so wrapped around on something that I didn't have the time for and got myself burned out. Oh well. Right now, I'm still a little pressured in real life so I'm just kinda throwing out some idea that no one (strangely enough) didn't do yet. Or at very least, I haven't found any quest on Sekiro. I guess Dark Souls is more fitting for this but I still want to try it...
Name: Unknown/Nameless (forsaken after being adopted and recruited under Owl's tutelage. Better known and referred by his two foremost monikers.)
Monikers:Sekiro (The One-Armed Shinobi); Ōkami (Wolf); Shinobi of the Divine Heir; Oathbound of the Dragon's Heritage; Wielder of the Mortal Blade; Shinobi of the Dragon.
Stats
Agility5 (High. You can run faster than a human being on foot). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Swordsmanship6 (Superior. You are two times more skilled than any common soldier in melee). Current Progress to 7 (Monstrous): 0/10 Marksmanship4 (Decent. Your aim is more fit for short range throwing skills than being an archer.). Current Progress to 5 (High): 0/10 Strength 4 (Decent. You have lean build, stronger than a normal warrior but still nothing special). Current Progress to 5 (High): 0/10 Posture 4 (Decent. Your guard stance can withstand most common blows or a single monstrous attack once). Current Progress to 5 (High): 0/10 Vitality 6 (Superior. Thanks to the Dragon's Heritage, your health is absurdly supernatural). Current Progress to 7 (Monstrous): 0/10 Reflexes 5 (High. You react and strike against danger far beyond any other trained men). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Composure 5 (High. Your mind is absurdly sharp, far above most trained fighters). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Intelligence 5 (High. You are considerably smart and talented. Able to learn everything with ease). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Personality 2 (Solid. As in, thick as brick when trying to entertain people. You're trained to kill not to talk). Current Progress to 3 (Average): 0/10
Kusabimaru, The Sword of Binding Oath. A katana given by Kuro, the Divine Heir, to his personal shinobi, you. It's an heirloom of the Hirata family, a cadet branch descended from Ashina. Once thought lost, it has found its way back into your hands, allowing you to serve your master with the full lethality of a proper retainer. The name Kusabimaru beseeches, "A shinobi's role is to kill, but even a shinobi must not forget mercy." A mantra the blade itself may manifest.
+Versatile Melee Weapon +Decent (4) Damage
+When wielded Two-Handed, each successful parry with this blade grants an extra counter-attack against the parried foe.
Hairui-no-Fushigiri, The Crimson Mortal Blade; The Gracious Gift of Tears; The Undying Slayer. A legendary odachi capable of slaying the undying, granting them the true death from which none can defy or return from. Its crimson blade is malicious in nature and will take the life of any who dares draw it should they not bear the power of Resurrection. Its origin is a mystery, but its purpose is clear given the inscription of its true name: "The Gracious Gift of Tears". As in, to allow one to acquire the tears of divine dragon, a creature with true immortality from which only a Mortal Blade can cut through.
+Versatile Melee Weapon +Decent (4) Damage
~Should it be unsheathed, this blade will instantly kill any living creature who is not protected against death when wielding it.
+This blade is mystical in nature, able to fully damage spirits, monsters and other underwordly creatures.
+This blade has a chance of bypassing any mystical protections that a target has, ignoring their invulnerabilities and/or any supernatural/ethereal defenses.
+This blade has a chance of instantly killing a target creature regardless of its Vitality.
+This blade passively delivers True Death to any creature killed by it. No manner of resurrection, power, spell or trait can evade this death.
+When wielded, this blade automatically grants its wielder the Mortal Draw special ability.
+When wielded Two-Handed, each successful parry with this blade grants an extra counter-attack against the parried foe.
Kaimon-no-Fushigiri, The Black Mortal Blade; The Open Gate; The Reincarnating Sword. A legendary odachi capable cutting between the veils of life and death to create a path directly connected to the underworld. It is commonly treated as a twin of the Red Mortal Blade due its perceive power to defy one's immortality. However, such a concept is false. Unlike its deadlier crimson twin, this blade is more benign in nature, not only sparing whoever attempts to draw its edge but also being actually unable to prevent resurrection. Rather, it's special power works in reverse, able instead to open a passage for the dead to the return to the living world through the sacrifice of another life.
+Versatile Melee Weapon +Decent (4) Damage
+This blade is mystical in nature, able to fully damage spirits, monsters and other underwordly creatures.
+This blade can bypass any mystical protections that a target has, ignoring invulnerabilities and any supernatural/ethereal defenses.
+When wielded, this blade automatically grants its wielder the Mortal Draw special ability.
+When wielded, this blade automatically grants its wielder the Reincarnation Gate special ability.
+When wielded Two-Handed, each successful parry with this blade grants an extra counter-attack against the parried foe.
Sabimaru, The Rusting Blade. An ancient kodachi short sword whose blade is mottled with an ever permanent bluish rust. It was forged by the Ashina clan to resist an inhuman evil that had invaded their land in times long forgotten, an enemy that seemed particularly weak to the mere touch of the rust's poisonous effect. Mechanically speaking, this blade can used without a prosthetic arm in a sense. However, to prevent any risk of self-injury, and to make use of the many benefits that a shinobi may think of, wielding this weapon in the safer grip of a prosthetic arm allows one to better spread its poison through swift, continuous attacks upon the enemy.
+One-handed Melee Weapon +Decent (4) Damage
+This blade is light and balanced enough to be wielded in the off-hand, increasing the amount of attacks you can deliver when paired with another blade.
+This blade is permanently poisoned with a fast acting agent. Any foe struck by it has a chance of suffering a Vitality penalty over time.
The Mist Raven. A bundle of mystical feathers wrapped around the prosthetic arm whose magical properties eludes any who attempt to grasp whoever wields it, allowing a watchful shinobi to briefly spirit himself away from any attack he couldn't dodge, avoid or deflect. Its origins come from the mysterious bird of the same name that resides in Ashina, one that managed to escape every hunter and predator that tried to capture its form. As such, many prospect warriors have fashioned a talisman out of the creature's leftover feathers, hoping to acquire its power as a form of blessing against any peril.
+One-handed Defensive Tool
+Allows a wielder to enter a defensive stance that relies on his reflexes to intercept attacks and nullify any damage by becoming Ethereal.
+When successful in executing a dodge, the wielder can briefly dash and phase through any material object in short distance.
-The Mist Raven however can only be activated in reaction to a physical threat. It cannot be used willfully for trivial locomotion.
The Divine Abduction. A large fan made of dyed red Japanese aralia leaves loaded into the prosthetic arm. It carries such name due to its unique blessing of creating a large vortex of visible winds around the wielder when fanned. Any creature caught by this wind is somehow spirited away, reappearing on the same spot with their backs turned, allegedly vulnerable to an attack. Some however don't even return when struck, being fully abducted into realms unknown through, presumably, Buddha's will. Now, it's not known if a shinobi is in the right to use such blessing in his assassinations but the effectiveness is certainly undeniable.
+One-handed Ranged Weapon / +Assassination Tool / +Extremely Short Range / -No Damage
+Enemies struck by this fan are instantly flipped away on their spot, temporality disorienting them with a massive penalty on reflexes.
+This fan can permanently banish certain kinds of enemies, presumably the "Impure" in the eyes of Buddha.
-The effort required to gather and push the winds however results in a Reflex penalty on the wielder.
Equipment & Inventory
1 x Homeward Idol
1 x Coin Purse
1 x Tattered Set of Shinobi Garb
1 x Kuro's Charm
1 x Healing Gourd
1 x Shinobi Prosthetic
+Grappling Hook
10 x Spirit Emblems
1 x Nightjar Monocular
Homeward Idol. A small, palm-sized wooden Buddha that has been held by you ever since you were adopted by Father on the bloody remains of Ashina's battlefield. Its corners are rounded with overuse, worn down by the constant times you have held it for reflection, thinking questions about where your home is, where you should go, or how you should return. Though not religious in mind, you often wonder about the cycle of death and rebirth in how does you fit in it. Such thoughts are so strong sometimes that it feels like you are guided by some unseen hand, one taking you back to a place of safety every time you reflect upon the idol.
+This charm carries but a simple blessing. It will always allow you to remember what your objective is regardless of your mental state.
Coin Purse. A purse filled with a sizable amount of sen, the coins from your homeland in Japan. It has a somewhat satisfying weight to it when holding on hand, although the noise of the coins grinding on each other can also be uncomfortable for a shinobi such as yourself. Regardless, it serves to carry what moves the world around, gold.
+It serves to hold up to 1000 pieces of treasure in hand. Without it, you're limited to 100 pieces of gold, gems and other treasures in hand.
Tattered Set of Shinobi Garb. Your signature outfit, bearing an appearance that matches none of Ashina's known shinobi clans, quite fitting for a clanless royal serf. It is composed of a sunburned haori coat coupled with a white scarf, both which covers the dirt-smeared kosode robe matching the tight-fitting tattsuke bakama balloon trousers below. And wrapped in around the arms and legs with straps and bandages are kote sleeves to act as both bracers and ankle guards, both parts of an salvaged and discarded Sangu armour that you have scavenged since infancy in the battlefield.
~This armor grants abysmal protection at best (which is none), focusing more on covering any noise than giving any actual defense bonus.
Kuro's Charm. An amulet of sorts wrapped in a sewn bag with golden blazon on top of it. Tied inside lies a wooden plaque with Buddhist prayers manually carved on it, the words beseeching both luck and protection to whoever may wear it. This charm was first gifted to you after suffering your first death in the invasion of Hirata Estate. Lord Kuro himself sought to protect you in some manner, even insisting that you kept it in your possession so it's blessing of protection would prevent any future suffering that would come serving at his side.
~The charm is benign and carries no power or blessing that one can see. And yet, you have come across unseed aid by the gods before, so there is merit in its protection...
Healing Gourd. A portable liquid receptacle filled with Vitality-restoring medicine made by an extraordinary doctor back in Japan. The composition of said medicine is highly complex to recall, but it can be summarised by it being the effects of miraculous waters that sprouts from an unique, self-refilling type of seed. Upon drinking it, the healing effect occurs almost immediately, with the flesh beginning to mend, the wounds starting to close, all while any bleeding and pain both fade away in a matter of seconds.
+Instantly restores a portion of your lost Vitality per dose drunk.
+The healing gourd refill a single dose every hour.
Shinobi Prosthetic. The artificial arm of a shinobi passed down from an old friend to you. It's a replica of a human arm made of shaped stone, bone, rope and pieces of iron, all fitted with a variety of mechanisms that are apparently designed with modification in mind. While it bears a number of cuts and is stained thick with blood and oil, it has been impeccably maintained, ready to be customized and primed for any weapon built for such purpose.
~Replaces the wielder's natural arm.
+Gives the wielder access to multiple weapons in quick reach. Up to four tools can be equipped at once in total.
~Adding new weapons to the shinobi prosthetic requires long planning and modifications depending on the weapon.
Grappling Hook. A whole artificial hand tied with a rope on the prosthetic arm spring that allows one propel himself towards a particular climbable surface. This gives the wielder access to normally unreachable places, allowing him a chance to take the high ground at opportune moments through the hook end of a specialized kunai strengthened to withstand the weight of a human body.
+Utility Tool
+Grants a great degree of vertical mobility to a wielder.
-Such mobility requires a great deal of marksmanship to make it work, as well as good reflexes to avoid unfortunate mishaps.
Spirit Emblem. A paper doll inscribed with intricate kanji pertaining to a person's characteristics, from emotions, personality and distinct quirks. It is said that spirit emblems harbor the souls of the dead, carrying an imprint of their existence that is left behind due to a particularly vicious death. They are also a manifestation of regret, visible to whoever shares the sentiment. Those regretful of their vile actions are often haunted by many Spirit Emblems, and shinobi who have killed many must carry the burden of their sins in their hearts. In practice, none but those who work in the pure art of faith should handle these delicate things. However, anyone with the basest knowledge of the mysticism knows that a soul carries a power in on by itself, power which can be harnessed to make feats impossible to the mundane world.
+Spirit emblems can enchant the effect of any weapon or tool with mystical properties. Useful for artifacts, weapons, ninjutsus, rituals and etc.
~The emblem's empowerment affects only a single characteristic at time, be it damage, range, effect or etc.
-Once spent, the emblem automatically burns out, and as an extra consequence, the use of any spirit emblem results in a -100 Karma penalty.
Nightjar Monocular. A bamboo tube used to see distant objects. It works by funneling the user's vision through an eye sized exist on the bamboo's end, preventing sunlight, blurs and any other form of distraction that might disturb the one's focus. Now, while shinobi already have good vision, looking through this tube with one eye enables one to see even further, and going by what few tales that are said about the west, their monoculars are even more precise and far-sighting.
+Allows one see further ahead. Useful to scout an area in order to know more about how to engage the location and its inhabitants.
-Seeing through the monocular blinds you of your surrounding area. Being caught in melee range when scouting results in a reflex penalty.
Night Eye. A technique ingrained into the flesh and bone of any worthy shinobi, the ability to see through the night. As spies, saboteurs and assassins, every shinobi is taught to consciously widen the iris of their eyes, to extend and control their sight for every situation possible. This is done through years of constant survival trials amidst the woods, particularly where one's master sadistically prepared near-lethal traps, all to test the disciple instincts. It is said then that once mastered a shinobi's eyes gain an unique tinge of color whenever he walks in the darkness.
+Allows you to see unusually well in the dark places.
Divine Resurrection. The blessing, the curse, the consequence of bearing the power of the Dragon's Heritage, the ability to resurrect oneself from death. It happens spontaneously, reverting the wounds of the bearer to some extent as sakura petals flow out from your blood to burst with new life. Indeed, such powers faces no limit, for be it now or later in time, it will inevitably reawaken the fallen body, be it for or against the bearer's will, turning him into an undying creature. Alas, such boon or curse, does not come without cost, however. The life granted to you must be taken from someone else. This means that every time you die, every soul in your surrounding will eventually succumb to an dreaded sickness known as Dragonrot, a side-effect of their health being forcibly taken away from them to restore your life. Such is the burden of however bears the Dragon's Heritage...
+Allows you to resurrect from death with half your Vitality restored by spending a resurrection node.
+The time it takes for the resurrection to occur depends on how many nodes are active.
+Should all nodes be active, the first resurrection can occur immediately.
+The following resurrections after the first will occur only after 1 hour as long as you have at least one active node.
~Should all nodes be spent, then the resurrection will only occur after 24 hours have passed.
+An node can only be recharged by killing a total of 6 enemies of average humanoid size; 12 of small size; 3 of large or 1 of massive.
-Every resurrection carries a chance of spreading the sickness of Dragonrot to the nearest living creature in the infinite horizon.
Mikiri Counter. A technique of anticipation where a warrior reacts to an attack that comes in their direction in the form of a low height thrust, seizing the brief window of opportunity to redirect the blow into the ground with his feet and turn the enemy's momentum against them. Your father, the Owl of Ashina, developed such technique as a means to counter the spearmanship of the shinobi-hunters from the Misen Temple. According to him, most people believe it is nearly impossible to perceive the speed of a thrust, to which he adds, "...but not for sharp eyes of a Shinobi."
~Damage varies depending on the weapon you use to counter-attack.
+Allows you to use your reflexes to counter every form of melee thrust attack thrown in your way.
+If successful, the thrust attack loses its effect in you, allowing you to strike back at the countered foe with any weapon you have in hands.
Lightning Reversal Technique. A defensive skill developed by Ashina's ancestors during the long-forgotten war against the inhuman spirits who could call upon the power of the gods from the skies. It's works with a rather simply principle: "Avoid the Ground. Reverse the Lightning". In other words, If one is standing on the ground, lightning surges through them, shocking the body whole. But, if one is struck while in the air, the lightning can be dispelled from the body and sent back at the enemy. And, as proven in the past, you have learned this lesson well.
+Short Range / ~Damage varies depending on the lightning attack reversed.
+Allows you to use your reflexes to counter every form of lightning attack thrown in your way.
+If successful, the lightning loses its effect in you, allowing you to strike back in a sweeping slash with the same reversed power.
+This counter-attack hits everything caught in its range. Good against multiple enemies.
Bloodsmoke Ninjutsu. A technique that turns the spraying blood of a slain victim into a sizable burst of smoke, useful to create a cover when assassinating a target in public and retake the element of surprise. As the saying goes: "Life or death struggle defines a shinobi, for whom a kill is a source of strength".
+Instantly creates a medium-sized cloud of smoke around a slain creature.
-Only works on creatures with a sufficiently sized amount of liquid in its body to create the smoke.
~This smoke carries the color and characteristics of the blood from the creature slain. This can be good or bad depending on the blood spilled.
Puppeteer Ninjutsu. A technique that allows one to manipulate a recently slain victim like a puppet by temporarily forcing its soul to remain in place instead of moving on. The puppet moves on behalf of its master, fighting, helping and obeying every order in a mute expression but its strings are destined to snap overtime, never to be controlled again once expired.
+Instantly converts a recently slain creature into a silent slave.
+The controlled creature cannot speak, nor can interact out of its own will. It obeys every mental order that it's puppeteer desires.
+The controlled creature keeps every ability or skill it has when alive and lasts for about 30 seconds.
Mortal Draw. A technique where one instills his killing intent upon a Mortal Blade to draw its unnatural power, resulting in a long-ranged, more powerful slash capable of slaying any that is caught on its path with a mere scratch.
+Extremely Short Range / +Superior (6) Damage
-Requires either the Hairui-no-Fushigiri or Kaimon-no-Fushigiri to use.
+This attack is mystical in nature, able to fully damage spirits, monsters and other underwordly creatures.
+This attack hits everything caught in its range. Good against multiple enemies.
+This attack has a chance of instantly killing that target creature regardless of its Vitality.
Bestowal Ninjutsu. A technique that wreathes a weapon in the victim's blood, extending its reach to grant an advantage in battle. You have discovered this technique upon beheading a foe with the Mortal Blade, forming a cursed sword from spilled blood. After that, with each slash you executed, the blood would become part of Kusabimaru, cutting with the same sharpness of its iron edge. Alas, though such effect bears likeness to the Mortal Draw, it cannot kill the undying in the same way.
+Extremely Short Range
+Grants an area of attack range to the bestowed weapon through the blood of a slain creature.
+The bestowed weapon hits everything caught in its range. Good against multiple enemies.
-Only works on creatures with a sufficiently sized amount of liquid in its body to bestow the weapon.
~This boon carries the characteristics of the blood/liquid from the creature slain. This can be good or bad depending on the blood spilled.
Mibu Breathing Technique. A secret method of breathing that allows one to dive and lay underwater indefinitely, completely immune to drowning. How it works lies in one's conscious fortitude of the mind to avoid getting bound by the will instilled in any water body. As the name implies, this technique is found in Mibu, a village on the country of Ashina in Japan where a vicious curse of thirst, insanity and immortality plagued its deceived villagers as they forever drank the maddening rejuvenating waters from the Fountainhead waterfall. It's only by instinct, as well as your sense of duty, that you had managed to uncover this secret without losing your own mind.
+Allows you to breathe underwater indefinitely so long you remain conscious.
~Does prevents drowning but not loss of fatigue. Meaning one can't just swim through entire seas.
Reincarnation Gate. An unique power instilled in the Black Mortal Blade that allows one to cut the flesh of a living being as sacrifice to open a passage to the underworld. Such portal or gate however is rather abstract to perceive, invisible even to the eye of a trained shinobi, and cannot be interacted if met with this limitation. Only those who delve in the spiritual arts of faith can comprehend its nature and purpose, as do the spirits of the underworld themselves. As such, the only use a wielder have for this technique is if he wishes to resurrect the immortal soul of an acquaintance from the afterlife.
-Requires the Kaimon-no-Fushigiri and the sacrifice of a creature with a living soul with it to work.
+Carves open a path into the underworld inside the flesh of the sacrificed creature.
+The gate can lead to "anywhere" in the underworld, including the front of the creature the wielder wishes to resurrect.
+The resurrected creature can arrive in any state it wish, be it younger, older, carrying and wearing any objects or belongings as it wants.
+The gate remains open for ten minutes in total, can be interacted freely by anyone in any way wished.
Traits & Talents
Master Shinobi. After being trained since your adoption by Father, you are an expert shadow in the arts of stealth, espionage, swift assassination and self-sustenance in the wilderness. You are deadly proficient not in just moving silently and unseen, but also mastering key fighting techniques to avoid, handle and counter many situations should you be found in the open. This training makes you proficient in everything you need to infiltrate any territory, living off from its terrain so that you may execute your master's will.
+Grants you Athletic; Infiltration; Scouting, Survival; Basic Swordsmanship; Basic Martial Artist and Basic Marksmanship Skills.
The Immortal Oath of the Dragon's Heritage. A legendary blessing bestowed to you by your master, Lord Kuro, granting you the gift of immortality in the form of resurrection. He did this out of gratitude for your loyalty in saving his life from abduction at Hirata Estate, a reward beyond price in the eyes of many. However, with the calamity it brings, from wanton ambition or greed of others, the plagues of Dragonrot and hatred of neighbors, your lord, in his guilt, has deemed the Dragon's Heritage as the cause of humanity's corruption and stagnation. He now seeks to sever its existence, and since then, that is the reason for your journey today, to find the Dragon's Homeland and break the Oath. Thus, as useful as this power can be in your duty, you do strive the prevent the sickness this immortality spreads with your every death.
+Doubles your Vitality stat and your general longevity in life.
+Grants you a form of immortality and protection from death with the Divine Resurrection special ability.
~Aside whatever mystery lies in the Dragon's Homeland, only True Death or old age can sever this Immortal Oath and allow you to die for good.
Prosthetic Expert. The sole reason as to why you have received the title of Sekiro (The One-Armed Shinobi). It comes from having lost your arm to a certain foe in the past where you were forced to adapt in order to redeem yourself from your mistakes. It took both time and effort for it, but with the help of an old ally and every trial faced before this journey, you have long gotten used to both wearing and fighting with an artificial limb, learning not just how to use it completely, but also developing your own skills to surprise enemies with it.
+Removes any stat penalty when using prosthetic replacements.
+Allows you to combine the effects of your prosthetic tools with your swordsmanship abilities.
Ashina Elite. You are an learned warrior in your homeland's school of swordsmanship and iaijutsu. This stems both on the fact that you had to guard your royal lord and that you had to fight and kill several traitors and opponents in his service, one of which was the very founder and sword saint of this majestic fighting style at the peak of his reincarnated life. As such, though never officially recognized by anyone, you have most certainly earned the title of Ashina Elite, a master of the Ashina's Sword Style.
+Grants you Advanced Swordsmanship Skills.
Senpou Temple Adept. Strong fists and strict discipline are both things that a shinobi values as worth, and the Senpou Temple, or at very least its esoteric texts, had much to offer you with its teachings when you first met its disciples. It has been much of a surprise for you when the corrupted, decaying monks of the temple managed to put quite the degree of resistance against your sword. This has opened quite some eye as to how there's at least some merit in their abilities, something that led you to study and learn from their arts.
+Grants you Advanced Martial Artist Skills as well as basic knowledge of Buddhist Religion.
Current Objectives
+Find and Protect Lady Shiro AT ALL COSTS. You have overslept! There's smoke, fire and screams coming from all over the ship and Lady Shiro is missing! There's no clue as to what is happening or who is attacking but that doesn't matter. You cannot afford to lose her or the Divine Heir who is itched in her very soul. Your oath to your Lord is more valuable than your immortal life!
Dramatis Personae Lady Shiro, The Divine Child of Rejuvenation. The only survivor of an heretical experiment done in pursuit of immortality by the monks of the Senpou Temple back in Japan. She is an serene child, calm and reserved at face but gentle and cheerful despite the endured suffering of her harsh upcoming. You have come across her during your pursuit to sever the Dragon's Heritage under Lord Kuro's orders. As it turned out, Lady Shiro eventually presented you with an different path for your objective: To travel to the west and return the Dragon's blood back to it's homeland. This was a boon in a sense, for every other option would involve either you or your lord slain in some manner. And while you would gladly give up your life for Lord Kuro's wishes, you do not wish to leave him alone in this hostile world. Thus, with your decision made, you're now bound to escort both your Lord and Lady Shiro in a distant journey to the west, bound to protect the both of them from danger all the way through.
*Currently, she's missing, having disappeared from your room as you slept! You must find her.
-Moreover, Lady Shiro carries within her heart the formless soul of your still living master, Lord Kuro. It is your duty to protect the her all the way through the journey.
Lord Kuro, The Divine Heir of the Dragon's Heritage. Your master, a venerable boy adopted and raised by the Hirata Clan thanks to his ancient bloodline of the Dragon's Heritage. Unlike children of his age, he's quiet and generous, has a strong heart, and naturally gives off an impression of dignity fit of an lord. Under the orders of your Father, you have been long charged with the task of protecting this boy under the Oath of the Iron Code, acting as his shinobi, the shadow beneath his form, protecting from an danger and following his will. And ever since then, your loyalty to Lord Kuro has grown into a bond, only strong enough for you to break with the Iron Code and betray your own father to stand by his side, an decision that stands to this very day.
*Currently, Lord Kuro does not exist in any physical form. Rather, his being, his soul even, lies formless inside the Cradle of Lady Shiro, The Divine Child of Rejuvenation, watching and waiting from within her heart as you travel into the west in the search of the Divine Dragon's homeland. It is hoped that by returning the creature's sacred blood to its origins, Lord Kuro will be able to be reborn with his humanity intact, and that both of you will be cleansed from the curse of immortality that the Dragon's Heritage brings. As such, it falls unto you to protect Lady Shiro, and by extension Lord Kuro, until you reach your objective.
Ah yes, the old scrolls of the Senpou Temple. Out of everything that the Interior Ministry feared, much of it laid there, waiting for someone to ransack it down and burn everything...
After rescuing Lord Kuro and bring him into Lady's Shiro's presence in the Inner Sanctum, the two of you had little time work with. Much of the knowledge that the child has acquired about the Dragon's Homeland was but a fragment of truth deduced out of the few texts her few illusory allies could smuggle into her hands. The rest of it was hidden away in ancient libraries deep in the temple's mountain range and if you wanted this journey to be worth in its risk, gathering these scrolls was of paramount importance.
Thus, in the few days Ashina had left, you had scoured the building for the truth within, forsaking everything and everyone left elsewhere for your master's sake…
This was no easy however. The scrolls you gathered were old, written in languages that seemed to predate the Japanese dialects you were born with. Some were written in a different language entirely, making use of kanji in different shapes at different orders. Depending on what or how you read it, the scrolls could carry different meanings entirely, which made it hard to decipher them quickly enough before you were forced to sneak your way out of the encroaching Interior Ministry's shadows.
Fortunately though, much of what you were concerned with was, in a way, properly resolved. Underneath all the texts with the poetry, religion and philosophy put into words, you found not just the recipes of common medicine treatments for both the body and the soul, but also the recipes of the sacred sugars of the Senpou Temple's Candy Factory. In other words, you now have the means to essentially recreate the karmic spirit of Ashina's ancient heroes into an edible receptacle, one you can use to partake in their inhuman might for your own purposes. That alone made the choice of ransacking the temple something fruitful for the long run.
As for the rest like the Dragon's Heritage and its origins, the texts complemented much what Lady Shiro had suspected, filling some gaps with certain answers…
The Dragon came from west into Japan bleeding from some grand battle. Its blood spilled all over the continent, with Ashina being but one land among them. This in turn created the Divine Heirs of the past and all the calamities that came to assail your people in the form of miracles, legends and myths tied into today's history. The scrolls speak of immortals and their followers causing havoc and creating disasters, of men creating their own demons for parley and destruction, and of atoners seeking normality and liberation from their suffering, all of which sounded rather vague in its grandness...
However, hidden amidst the tales of regret and ambition, you soon came to learn about the immortals who forged the paths that you had stumbled into, as well as the one you now seek to cross. The Creation of the Mortal Blades, The Rite of the Immortal Severance; The Purification Ritual and The Dragon's Return... There were many attempts to either destroy, escape or spread along the blessing the Dragon's Heritage across the entire of Japan, with many collapsing on upon failures or ending up unresolved, their fates left to mystery in forms of battles, journeys or mourning passages.
"..."
And certainly, you couldn't help but to listen as Lady Shiro continued to study and read the scrolls while you carefully sharpened the ever-rusted cutting edge of Sabimaru with a whetstone...
With each spark, the poisoned powder that clings on the metal dances as your fleshy hand passes on top of it, smearing both the stone, your fingers and the cloth where the blade lays with the lethal rust of deadly poison, just waiting for the moment you make the mistake of cutting yourself with it. Such is the danger of maintaining this weapon that you must keep at least one antidote powder nearby just in case you start feeling numb.
After hearing about those mystical battles written in the scrolls, it more than clear to you that the poison of Sabimaru was something couldn't part yourself with, especially when remembering its majestic effectiveness against the otherworldly Okami women back on Ashina. Yes, those lightning-taming monstrosities deserved their fate vomiting and falling on their knees after the hell they brought upon you in the Fountainhead Palace. As you had learned in the hardest of ways, when facing monsters that your Kusabimaru couldn't handle, a touch of cruel pragmatism becomes a much-needed necessity to defeat them. And seeing how well poison can wear down your opponent on his spot, Sabimaru had quickly become your favorite tool for the task, leading you to favor it when heading out in this journey.
Unfortunately for you, not all monsters fall that easily to poison. On the contrary, some are born with it on their veins, being able to either throw it with a spit, carry it in their fangs or even, embarrassingly enough, spew it from their arses to throw with their hands, creating clouds of absolute awfulness to smell and succumb from...
In any of these cases then, your only option is to make them bleed slowly, with one cut here and there, slashing out one by one until the beast becomes weakened enough for the deathblow so you can finish it off. Such fights however can be rather brutal to endure as obviously the monster would ravage and thrash everything on its path in the attempt to kill you. One mistake and you are dead, crushed under the creature's strength that no mortal man can match on his own. In fact, you remember well the horrible feeling of sensing your bones shatter and regrow after your entire guts were splattered on the ground. Resurrecting from that is not a comfortable experience, that's for sure.
So, to help you avoid such situations, you came quickly to rely on a certain bundle of grey feathers that seemed to phase in the shadows, with their forms wavering in place as if they wanted to disappear…
The Mist Raven is most certainly a legend turned true, an artifact that carries the spirit of the bird that eluded even the most determined of hunters, always fading away in to escape any danger. It is the perfect tool for a shinobi, letting you to evade even the most lethal of strikes while placing you into a position to strike back on the moment's notice. Combined with Sabimaru and your other weapons, any enemy could be dealt with, regardless of their might, for again, even against monsters, one mistake and even they may die to your blade. Thus, the feathers had to come with you since they are another vital tool to have for any situation. It's the Mist Raven that will keep you conscious and alive so that you may defend your protégée and accomplish your objectives.
This then leaves you with the last tool, the one weapon that makes you pause: The Divine Abduction...
Yes… you stare at the finely preserved autumn leaves of the fan leaning on the wall and scowl. Not once this thing has decayed since you had taken it from its shrine… Not once it had stopped summoning its mystical breeze into the room even as it lays idle on its corner. You don't know how to judge this but it seems it's Buddha's blessing remains as strong as ever, keeping the fan in a pristine state regardless of time or use. In fact, it is as if the thing had its own immortality, destined to forever gather and drag the winds of the world around itself.
Safe to say it, the Divine Abduction scares you in a sense. Its power of sprinting a soul away carries a meaning you can't quite comprehend. By itself, such blessing sounds innocuous, carrying only a spiritual purpose as to draw one's attention to either Buddha's teachings in some sense, or maybe to keep one aware of the nature of the world in truth by the will of the Gods. But, in the hands of an opportunist, of one who is driven enough in his personal objectives to make use of such power… All meaning is lost in the favor of its utility as a weapon...
Indeed, many were the souls that fell to your blade when colorful winds snared them from their spot in a spin. Only the most cautious and skilled of warriors could resist and survive the decisive blow heading their way after being briefly "abducted". In your hands, the Divine Abduction went from being an artifact of sacred nature into a deadly tool of a shinobi; and that's for reasons not even you can describe as to why or how...
At some point, you thought that its blessing would fade in time, leaving you with nothing but a harmless fan that could serve as charm. And yet, after the punishment delivered to the monks of Senpou Temple, after your incursion into the Fountainhead Palace and even after the invasion of the Interior Ministry, the spiritual power of gods never left the red leaves of this mystical thing.
Perhaps there is a greater purpose for this; perhaps there's some kind of fate waiting for you in your travels. None can say for sure...
In any case, you are more worried about staying ready for it than otherwise. Once you finished sharpening and cleaning your weapons, the room's futon awaited for you, with the weight of your restlessness making you succumb to sleep.
CAN YOU!?
Amidst the lull of unconsciousness, your senses seemed to expand even as you cannot control them. The smell of ash is strong in your nostrils; The taste of iron pools from your mouth and heat grasps your skin as you hold in your hands what appears to be a blade, a katana of sorts, whose edge is tattered and cracked, rusted with overuse and smeared a constant blood that just drips on and on at the pace of your quickened breath. Fire glows in the distance all around you, casting shadows everywhere and screams could be heard echoing far away, their pain, distress and torture made explicitly clear...
It took time for you get adjusted to such overwhelming changes before you finally realized what happened to you. Or more likely, what you are.
Your skin had turned red! It feels rugged and tightened, rigid akin to a reptile yet slim and livid in the same texture as human flesh. Your hands had grown, with pointed claw tips replacing the fingers, much like your feet that felt the same, holding up legs that became enlarged with monstrous muscles pulsating out of your torn up trousers. Both your shirt and cloak were gone, leaving your chest and arms exposed while they bore the same features that seemed to consume your body whole, giving you the appearance of a Oni (Demon).
Caught in the shock, you briefly touch your head in reflex, panicking shortly as you felt the enlarged fangs protruding out of your mouth as well as the multiple horns growing from your forehead before something stole the control of your body, making you bend and look down at the pool of blood at your feet to see your reflection on it and force you to stare at those black-surrounded red eyes who glared back with sheer malice and frenzy that now consumed your face.
It was that moment then that you saw what you, or rather the now apparent demon you became, had done…
In a guttural roar to the skies, the sea of corpses flooding the streets on your feet came into view. There were soldiers, samurais, villagers and foreigners all dead on the ground, their bodies hacked, slashed, maimed and butchered, all desecrated equally and indiscriminately by your hand. Indeed, it all came back to you now. The memory of the slaughter, of the carnage you have indulged. You killed them for merely standing in your way, for merely breathing your air, for merely... existing. Hell, with a wave of your hand, your katana sweep forth, decapitating hundreds of heads and painting the very ground with their blood. You did it all with rage branded in your face, feeling that burning fury of a berserker, uncaring and unwilling to hold any manner of reason or consciousness as you burned anything and everything in sight.
"Maim, kill, burn... maim, kill, burn... maim, kill, burn..." Was the chant out of your throat during the onslaught. It just came out of your mouth, reserved and hoarse from all the ash and the screaming. Yet, even as your demonic self felt constrained in his voice, the memory of the slaughter slowly but surely made you regain your vigor over time, a sensation made only stronger when you spotted the figure of one distance soul still-living in this madness of a nightmare…
"...!?" That soul carried a familiar face, an old face, wrinkled, bearded and rugged, with a long, long braided hair that went down to his very feet in the ground.
It was the face of your father, the Dai Shinobi Fukurō (Great Shinobi Owl), who, just by his appearance alone standing ready to fight, broke every dam or barrier that held back your unending hatred for his very existence.
From that point, you simply… blacked out. Your mind, your eyes… They just shut themselves, not allowing you to see what would happen. Either it's because of the shock, or maybe the fear of what you would do, the fact remains that you just couldn't see the outcome of that scene.
Or rather, perhaps you don't need to see it, for you already know the result, "(...The death of a shadow…)"
Yes, you knew what it meant. You knew what the vision meant, what message it carried, not the mention the reason for it. This is something you have started to suspect it was happening a long time ago ever since you started suffering from these nightmares...
Karma: -12112
You're starting to become a Shura, a Demon of Hatred.
Ever since you've slain your own father, something had changed in you. The weight of regret, ressentiment and remorse just began to surge in your soul, bringing images and feelings of fire and hatred. This was the karmic debt that you, as a shinobi, began to collect with every death you delivered for the sake of your master. In the religion of Buddhism, one must refrain from killing living beings regardless of their nature, for every action carries with it the karma that will one day turn the cycle and affect you. And now, because of your actions, that very cycle is encroaching upon you, itching itself the dharma down to your very soul.
You remember well when you started to have these visions of slaughter and madness. At first, they seem random and meaningless, dealing with strangers you couldn't recall ever meeting. But in time, things began to shift in a much horrific tune, and the familiarly was surfacing through victims, culminating in a rather dark scenario where you killed your acquaintances and allies, until the day you even turned your blade on your own master, Lord Kuro, killing that very child in cold blood.
That was when you came to learn the term Shura, for it came out of your father's desperate mouth after you ran a sword through his chest in a particular vision. And that's after you had slain a certain doctor and another old man renown as a sword saint on top of Ashina Castle...
Thus, it all goes downhill from there. How long it will take for you to turn is unknown, but, it certain to you that the more lives you take, stronger will be the madness that assails you, until you just lose yourself completely to the need to kill.
Until then… The visions of blood, death and fire would continue, just as it's happening now...
"…Urgh *cough, cough*... ! *cough*... What?" Smoke enters your nostril once more, and it starts to suffocate you, shaking your body into spasms of coughing and stroke before you finally rose from your bed to saw your every surrounding shrouded in grey clouds, "...!?"
This was no dream anymore, this was real. Your room inside the ship was consumed by an highly intense smoke and heat that shook you off from sleep with a coughing fit! There were screams echoing from outside, followed by shouting and crackling laughter as something dire seemed to be happening out of the sudden.
Immediately then, with Kusabimaru in hand, you looked forth for your protégée only to find her missing and front door of your room opened, giving you but a small glimpse of the corridor. This brought shills in your spine as worry and panic settle for a minuscule second before adrenaline kicked into action, prompting you to recover your tools and blades.
Lady Shiro was missing, and with her, so was your master Lord Kuro. You don't know where she is nor you know her condition. You don't know what's happening to the ship or what caused theses flames but it's easy to assume its nothing good. Thus, quickly stretching your body and warding off any drowsiness, your recall your skills and move out with haste.
+New Objective: Find and Protect Lady Shiro AT ALL COSTS.
+Character Sheet Updated.
+Dramatis Personae Updated.
The Shuinsen is a rather big vessel, able to hold about 200 passengers in average alongside tons and tons of cargo that the many merchants need to barter out of Japan. Two-thirds of these passengers composes the ship's crew and the many household guards who defend the vessel from pirates and thieves, while the remaining one-third are the merchants and travellers such as yourself.
Knowing this, you can only stare in a bit of awe at the sheer mess that has occurred down in the passenger quarters…
The corridor was littered with bodies, not dead bodies per se, but instead a bunch of either unconscious or groaning individuals, crying in pain from several non-lethal wounds from sword cuts and short-shafted arrows. It appears that whoever did this wasn't keen on taking lives, or at least not from those who couldn't fight back. And given the desperate sounds of screaming and begging coming from the rooms nearby, the aggressors must be there.
However, before you could even attempt to sneak into the rooms, one of the still conscious souls, a well-dressed woman with pristine clothes spotted your presence and let her eyes go wide, staring at your drawn blade before begging, "Please! Please, save me from those monsters I beg you!"
"...!" This stunned you in place for a second, wondering how to react or feel when a shout bark out from the rooms.
That was when you saw them, the assailers, men and women clad in a dreadful glamour, adorning a bleak purple segmented armour that seemed to shine akin to metal, yet it moved and bent like leather. It looks absurdly foreign to your eye, carrying a design that feels completely off from this world, from the tip of their feet to the hornet helmets from where their hair flows behind. There's barbs, pointy edges and opulent trimmings of gold that just screams everything else but any Japanese pirate that you ever knew or heard about. Their eyes were inhuman, their face condescending, and some helmet-less individuals had pointed ears out of their ash paled skin tone. And covering that bizarre armor is some kind of cape or cloak made from a hide or skin similar to a crocodile, except massively fancy in its greenish-azurite color.
As for their weapons… They remained strangely normal at a glance, being heavily fashionable scimitars for blades in hand while others carried what appears to be some kind of handheld, bulky-looking, bow-like weapon; one similar to those crossbows you rarely saw in the hands of normal Japanese bandits. If they are anything similar, then they should fire the same short-shaft arrows are the press of a trigger, much like the firearm guns of the ashigaru…
"*Condescending Gibberish*"
"*Annoyed Gibberish*"
You hear them talk to each other as you took your stance, looking completely uncaring to your presence. They seemed to treat you as nothing more than an ant given the tone of their strangely elusive language. Now, while this clearly reveals that their are the foreigners responsible for this attack, you inability to speak in their tongue also means you won't be able to interrogate them either, which is a problem...
Not that they cared anyway, for in the next second after the talk, one man fired his crossbow at your direction and launched not one, not two, but four bolts right into your face almost at the same time, barely managing to score a bullseye on your skull before you intercepted them with Kusabimaru. This drawn quite the eyebrow from the pirates as they now looked you at intrigued.
You on the other hand can only sweat slightly in response. That was close, decidedly so. Though the bolts are slower than the pellets fired from guns, the sheer numbers of them reminded you of Isshin and that pistol of his… Dodging and deflecting him alone was one thing to deal with, but dealing with ten of these men? Half of which carry that same crossbow? Now that's a fight that could end up killing you.
But then again, since when you truly feared death?
Your blades are ready, your tools primed, so all you have to do is go ahead and deal with these fools. The only question is: How?
[ ] - How do you deal with them? Write-in.
Agility5 (High. You can run faster than a human being on foot). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Swordsmanship6 (Superior. You are two times more skilled than any common soldier in melee). Current Progress to 7 (Monstrous): 0/10 Marksmanship4 (Decent. Your aim is more fit for short range throwing skills than being an archer.). Current Progress to 5 (High): 0/10 Strength 4 (Decent. You have lean build, stronger than a normal warrior but still nothing special). Current Progress to 5 (High): 0/10 Posture 4 (Decent. Your guard stance can withstand most common blows or a single monstrous attack once). Current Progress to 5 (High): 0/10 Vitality 6 (Superior. Thanks to the Dragon's Heritage, your health is absurdly supernatural). Current Progress to 7 (Monstrous): 0/10 Reflexes 5 (High. You react and strike against danger far beyond any other trained men). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Composure 5 (High. Your mind is absurdly sharp, far above most trained fighters). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Intelligence5 (High. You are considerably smart and talented. Able to learn everything with ease). Current Progress to 6 (Superior): 0/10 Personality 2 (Solid. As in, thick as brick when trying to entertain people. You're trained to kill not to talk). Current Progress to 3 (Average): 0/10
