In a world of warring shogunates, raving bands of bandits, and lone rōnin, there stands one beacon of peace among the chaos. A small village nestled in the mountains of Shi Han whose only claim to fame is a festival held every year in the Spring time. With the blooming sakura trees and maple trees which, should the sun hit them in the right spot, seem to exude a green light who's beauty seems to rival that of the sakura trees. Yet, the village of Hang Yi is more than just a tourist destination for above the village lies a small, Buddhist temple. Inside the temple sits a single sakura tree, larger and older than all the rest. Unlike its brethren, it always bears leaves of pink coloration throughout the year. But, only once every fifty years does the tree, Ying Qua, bear a peach which is believed to give the person who consumes it enlightenment.

Yet, a Buddhist monk came from the temple only a few weeks from the festival and asked to see the towns elder. Though the meeting was private, rumors spread that a young cleaning girl had over heard their conversation. As the rumors grew, so did the exaggerations of what it was about. If one asked one person, they would tell you that it was about a vision that one of the monks received from Buddha himself about a band of bandits while another might tell you that the monk was simply asking for some consorts to be sent up to the temple for their use.

Despite this, the rumors faded away as people flooded into Hang Yi for the Festival of Flowers. As more people arrived, more and more outrageous displays of mirth making were performed in the street. By now, most people have forgotten that the monk had even come to the village. Yet, nobody could forget the many warriors who seemed to be coming into the village. Unlike the other warriors, these ones came with weapons normally wielded on a battle field. Some saw it as an omen, an omen which would soon come to be realized. The night before the festival, the very same night that the trees were suppose to reach full bloom, a series of sakura trees caught on fire and were unable to be saved. Nobody quite knows what caused the fire, but rumors have started that demons of some sort caused this. The rumors were quick to be quelled by the Elder of Hang Yi, yet, the very same day, the Elder asked for you and several others to be brought to his estate. And the mirth making of the Festival will continue without you, of course.

The Daiymos
As some of you may have noted, I did not provide any specific names for the daiymos nor the current state of said Daiymos. Why you ask? Well, this is because fo the fact that I am leaving it open for characters to be members of said Daiymos in some fashion. Whether this is a family member of the daiymo or a former samurai is up to you. In the case that anybody does decide to come from a Daiymo, the below sheet is to be used along with the character sheet.

Daiymo Name: (The Familial name)
Shogunate of Residence:(Which shogunate does it reside in)
Status:(What is the current state of the Daiymo)
Family Tree:(Brief description of current living family members)
History:(The history of the Daiymo)
Character Relation to Daiymo:(What is your character's relation)



Monsters/Bandits of Renown:
This section will be discussed later.

Legacies:
This section will be filled with myths created by the player. Myths do not need to come in any format but must be fitting to the Asian theme of the roleplay. These can range from stories about demons to myths of how the world came into existence.

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Age: 27

Gender: Male

Eye Color: Yellow

Hair Color: White

Physical Description: Xun is quite definitely a slim guy and of average height. Standing at a solid 1.75 meters and weighing 65 kg, Xun's weight is more because of his muscle mass rather than fat. Almost always, he wears light clothing or armor in order to be able to move faster through the field. If anything, he hates being slowed down by anything and prefers to always keep things simple when it comes to his clothing. His shaggy white hair is usually really messy, without as much as passing a brush by it every morning. Seeing him with bedhead isn't something odd, and telling him about it seems to make him proud rather than upset. His yellow eyes almost always seem to be tired and about to close down. He's got fair sking and his fair share of scars across his body, though not visible with his clothes on.

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Personality: There are several words Xun knows. Complicated words, words in other languages, and many other things. But there's just one word that isn't in his dictionary. Work ethic. Incredibly lazy and a big slacker, Xun isn't one to run around trying to get as many works as he can, in fact, he only works once a month in a big kind of job so that he can get enough money to live comfortably for a month. There is little to no motivation in Xun's whole system, and if you want to get him to anything, you might as well threaten his life right off the bat, or he won't even budge an inch. He can go as far as hiding away from whoever wants to make him work, in several, over the top places you wouldn't even imagine searching in.

Aside from this, Xun is actually friendly and talkative. He'd be a perfect friend, loyal and someone that would stand up for you if necessary, if it weren't because he is an arrogant *sshole. He cannot stop bragging about himself and whatever little accomplishments he has. To be honest, it seems that in his eyes, there's no space for anyone else but himself. This trait also makes him quite a flirt, and someone quite insistant at that, or maybe not, that's not quite the right word. If you shoot him down once, then he'd probably just move on to the next one, it isn't exactly a matter of trying again and again until he can do it, but more of a matter of not losing heart no matter how many times he fails.

Biography: Born in the Shogunate of Qing, Xun was trained since he was a little boy to become a mercenary. He knows how to wield a sword expertly and how to move stealthly, unfortunately though, he wasn't one to have a work in the military, or in an organized mercenary group. More than soon enough, Xun was not only expelled from the army and mercenary group he was once a part of, but also from the Shogunate itself, due to his extreme lack of work ethic, or interest in work, at the very least.

After such an event, he started wandering the whole country, in search for a work big enough to feed him for at least a month. Coming across such work wasn't as hard as one would think, but actually getting it done is actually quite hard. Most of the scars he bares in his back are a result of this, but it also helped him become the skilled man he is today. Still, he has decided not to turn to being a criminal because it would be completely terrible to being deprived from his freedom, as his wanderlust has only grown stronger with the passing years. He also made it a custom of his to go to the Festival of Flowers.

History: WIP

Place of Birth: Qing Shogunate

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Weapon of Choice: A pair of ninjatos, as well as several throwing knives.

Personal Affects:

• A bag with all of his belongings, which include a photo of his family, a really old and rusted wakizashi, a maneki neko, a bag full of coin, a light sheet he uses whenever he needs to sleep outdoors, and whatever food and other things he might find in his way.
• A pendant he always has around his neck

Other: He often likes to think of himself as a ninja.

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Got everything, I think, just need to add the story. Might add it tomorrow or later today.

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Age: 26
Gender: Female
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black

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Personality: While she often easily disguise herself physically and socially as a delicate flower of a young girl, she is anything but. She's often a bit mischievous and her first language seems, at times, to be sarcasm. While not dressing as a dim witted young beauty to acquire information or sneak into places she perhaps shouldn't be allowed, she often goes about in the much safer guise of a young boy. She's often more comfortable dressed as a boy if only for the ability to be a bit more smart mouthed as a cheeky, growing boy. She isn't all cheek and sarcasm, though. She can be quite stern and serious at times. She has a very professional demeanor in front of her employers once she's been hired. Despite this, she can often be caught acting very much the idiot child even when money's involved.

Theoretically, she has a code of ethics. Only, no one's seemed to have cracked it yet. It is a little known fact that making deals with her won't always guarantee she'll hold up her end. And, despite her rather steady income, she still has a bad habit of pickpocketing people she doesn't like... or people that have something she wants... or if she's bored... or if they look like a challenge... or look too easy... or-- okay, maybe just reference back to uncracked code of ethics above.

Biography: After being kidnapped from her home, she was sold as a handmaid to a low ranking nobleman's daughter in the Qing Shogunate. She learned to read and write a little from the young lady, as well as how to portray proper elegance. She even took the opportunity to begin training as a body guard for the lady. But after several years, she ran away to seek out her family. She continued her training in the use of an iron fan as both a defensive and offensive weapon and soon fell into the art of qi blocking.

History: Moon-Hye was stolen from her family at a very young age. She cannot even remember her family name or the faces of those who bare it anymore. Nor can she remember much about her village. She was sold rather quickly into the house of a kindly low ranking nobleman and made into the handmaid of the man's daughter. As they were both around the same age, they took to each other almost more as playmates than mistress and servant. But as they grew, their statuses were enforced more strictly and they were forced to grow apart by degrees. Still, the lady taught Moon-Hye how to read and write her basics as well as other various skills that would eventually help Moon-Hye develop her dim witted but elegant young beauty facade. While in the service of the nobleman's daughter, she also manage to convince him that it would be wise for her to learn some arts to protect his daughter. They all lived in troubled times, after all. She trained for several years in defensive and offensive techniques of war fans and in the stealth and precision Qing is known for. But soon she knew it was time to leave and find her home. And so, she slipped away into the night.

After a bit of time begging and pickpocketing while disguised as a boy, she drew the attention of the man who would teach her how to manipulate qi. They traveled together for many years, far and wide. But, again, their paths were fated to part. Called back home to fight, he returned to his family's home and took to the battlefield to bring them honor. Moon-Hye chose, instead, to continue wandering and began to walk the line of assassin and bodyguard. Her proficiency with such innocuous weapons as well as her every growing skill with qi techniques have allowed her to develop a bit of a reputation that she gladly upholds. While she has no more master to train under for her qi techniques, she still experiments with those who cross her and hopes to some day become a master herself. Of course, what better way to find poor souls to practice on than to follow the rumors of money to be made at the beautiful Festival of Flowers!

Place of Birth: Unknown. Declared Qing

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Weapon of Choice: Iron fan, hands
Personal Affects:
- 1 hanbok
- 3 sets of boys clothes (hat included)
- Bathing supplies
- Travel food
- Two fans
- Bed roll for camping
- Spark rocks
- Money earned in previous job
- A wooden comb given to her by the nobleman's daughter
- Flask for water
- A few utensils and small cooking items
- A bag to put it all in

Other: Crazy addicted to sweets. She doesn't usually have any on her or even eat them in massive quantities but she will never turn down daifuku or sweet candies. They are extremely effective bribery. Just remember, even with bribery, follow through is not garunteed.

Age: 20
Gender: F
Eye Color: An unusual case. Her left eye is a sea green, whilst she keeps an eyepatch over her right eye. The reasoning for this? Her right eye is a literal moonstone, and despite looking normal and having a pupil and iris that can move, she is completely blind in her right eye.
Hair Color: A grayish-black.
Physical Description: Aika's physique is a strange combination of femininity and warrior's code. Muscles that are firm yet smooth, a body tones for response -- fight or flight -- yet deceiving "small", to put it to her advantage. Standing at 5'7'', and with a weight of 138 lbs., her strength is outstanding and she's better on par to fight with a man than a woman's body should.

Personality:
[Responsibility]
The younger sister of the next in line of a daimyo -- this requires a need to be responsible for people. Corruption of any kind is unacceptable as a fact, for if anything should happen to her older brother, she would need to take responsibility until circumstances would smooth out things appropriately.
[Honor]
Anyone born of a daimyo's family is one that needs to have honor without restriction. Whether it be to defend the weaker, poorer citizens, or to take on a duel to the death for the sake of retaining the peace. Without a care to danger, or to consequence, it is in Aika's nature to be a chivalrous individual. This...can sometimes have her mistaken as a very effeminate man, since it's not the most common thing for a woman to go defending the peasants and those of more unsavory professions.
[Unaware]
What even if being taken care of by other people? Her brother rarely does that, and it's usually tough love. She's used to taking care of other people.
Biography:
A symbol to the Tongai by public means -- Aika is the younger child born of the third leading Tongai Daimyo. She was born with a grace of the Moon God, it is believed. Her right eye was a stone of Tsukiyomi himself, clear in color and glowing with the moon's light. While some thought her blessed, to stare into that eye caused the whispers of the full moon to overtake the mind and bring madness. While some thought her cursed, she could see through the eyes of the others -- glimpses of events yet to come, and sometimes she could help.

With eye hidden to protect the people whilst the desire to follow in the steps of her father, Aika tries hard to maintain the length of "The Wandering Caretaker".

History:
[REDACTED]
Place of Birth: The Tongai Shogunate

Weapon of Choice: A katana forged of a curious design. With dust of moonstone, shards of iron, and gentle sparks of glass to portray the true "starlit sky" of the night time. She has a habit of carrying crushed moonstone sand for general purposes.
Personal Affects:
Aika's Moonstone Eye is a blessing and a curse to be born with. To gaze upon her eye slowly induces madness in the viewer as time progresses on, from simple shivers of the spine and tensing of the body to full-blown hysterics if left in her presence long enough should she stay within appropriate view to see her eye for all it is worth.

Alternatively, her eye is capable of "seeing" glimpses of future events through the eyes of others. From a first person view, she can see simple moments -- basic "limited clairvoyance". This usually leads to her trying to be the big damn hero, even if she is.

[INVENTORY]
- Moonblade Katana
- A large sum of gold pieces kept to give to those in need or basic necessities
- Spare eyepatch in case hers breaks
- Crest of her family and status
- A pocketwatch forged for her sake
- Basic traveling essentials
Other: Her name translates into "Lament of the Full Moon".

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Daiymo Name: Kagennotsuki
Shogunate of Residence: Tongai
Status: Well-renowned for both mystical ways and public affairs.
Family Tree: Current family members include:
The Head - Reigen Kagennotsuki:
The Father of his two children, son Tsoreka, he is a kind-hearted man that took it upon himself to treat all of the people under his domain as family themselves. To treat them as children to himself -- he is a daimyo that only holds light in the eyes of those who speak for him. As a result of this, however, he is not one to partake in meetings of war or stratagem in times of crisis due to his desire to maintain the peace.

The Next In Line - Tsoreka: The oldest child and only son of Reigen. His life has devoted to the study of balance -- martial arts, swordsmanship, the title of daimyo for him to take, and the care of his younger sister when needed for the mark placed upon her birth. Between his father and himself, he is actually sent as an emissary to meetings of war and rebellion potentials in place of his father, for he has potential and capacity visually surpassing his own creator's.

The God-Touched - Aika: The youngest and only daughter of Reigen, Aika functions as a direct link to the needs of the people due to her desire to keep unfairness from spreading where she can. By nature of her eye, she grew up to resent such poor treatment and follow a combination of her brother and her father's way.

Others? - Illegitimates/Others: Surprisingly, there are none to speak for. A close-knit family such as this still mourns occasionally over the death of the daimyo's wife. The only important political figures that would remain other than the main family would be the retainers they choose.

History: The origin of the Kagennotsuki family's reach of power comes from the teachings that the current Daimyo follows himself. Where others fought for scraps from the previous lord to take up the mantle, Sakemoto Kagennotsuki was but the beginning of a mere soldier. A samurai without a home and one without a family, yet he treated each man as his equal no matter his position or birth.

A way of life. A way of honor. And for that, be was known as the "Wandering Caretaker".

He who took of a man even if the man ambushed him. He held no grudge, he held no animosity to fellow being, and it caused...distress, for those that found a dislike for a man so generous.

And thus. A duel issued. A duel to the death -- to rid the violent Tongai of it's only saving light. And accept it, Sakemoto did.

The ruling warlord of the time -- Daigatsu Saratobi -- faced him in a single match, Dragonfly-styled swordsmanship chosen by his preference in hopes of felling the man quickly. However...

It was a duel that held no logic.

He fought Sakemoto, but the latter did not unsheathe his sword. Every powerful strike, the man simply placed energy into avoiding until Daigatsu had eventually run down his energy. One misplaced step, one show of poor swordsmanship, and he was rendered without a weapon. Instead, his own soul pointed at his throne as Sakemoto held the warlord's katana at his throat. But rather than a killing blow, it found the dirt below them instead to be its resting place.

And words that could never be loved down.
"To kill another man so senselessly is to live without any sense of honoring the soul at their side and the passion in their eyes. You do not deserve the title of 'Warlord'."

Such a burning passion for equality, to honor, is what made that man rise in place of the one he had spared -- yet, Daigatsu was not left without anything. He was instead appointed as the first of his retainers -- given a title of honor to earn as Sakemoto shifted to usher in his own sense of justice: a Daimyo that taught his people of kindness, of fairness, and of proper action.

Character Relation to Daiymo: The daughter of the Daimyo. Should he and her brother pass away, she is to take over as the ruling Head.

<Snipped Quote from McHaggis>

Shimzau Hana is accepted. She may be added to the Characters Tab.

<Snipped Quote from Missy Mina>

Moon-Hye is accepted. She may be added to the Characters Tab.

<Snipped Quote from Shiinen>

Aika Kagennotsuki is accepted. She may be added to the Characters Tab.

<Snipped Quote from Hebigami Shiho>

Zhang Li Xun is accepted. He may be added to the Characters Tab.

Both the Kagennotsuki and Shimzau Daiymos are accepted and will be added under the Daiymos section.

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Age: 36
Gender: Male
Eye Color: Ocean Blue
Hair Color: Dark Brown

Physical Description: Botan stands at 5' 8'' with a moderate build that isn't lean nor bulky. His body is well toned and carries the scars of his past. The only signs of aging would be the distinct notice of gray hair and a few wrinkles that lie on his face.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Personality: He is a rather silent man, rare to start conversation amongst the company of others giving the impression of a man who is impassive to many when in truth he is quite the opposite. He cares for his fellow man and still holds the ideals and honors of what it means to be a samurai even if the title has been stripped from him. He is a loyal warrior willing to give his life to protect the innocent and bring justice to those who are not. He carries the scars that he has on him as proof of his honor, to show that even if he is ronin he still upholds his master's values that were taught to him.

Biography:
He was trained to be a samurai, beginning training in his young teenage years. Botan showed his strengths through perseverance and dedication, never giving up in his training. He and his fellow samurai protected the village that they lived in from those who would try to harm the citizens. He was honored to work with such a master that he had and his comrades became his brothers and a few sisters as well who were given the same honor. He brought honor to his family. The good times though would not last.

On the year of his twenty fifth birthday, his master was killed changing the fate of all those that had been under him. It was deemed an honorable death one through combat from what was examined on the body but Botan did not believe this to be true and chose to become ronin as to seek the truth. His fellow samurai chose separate paths some committed themselves to being into the villages own personal army merely becoming one of many of the warriors that protected it, though with better skills with a blade. Some chose to join their master with an honorable death while others went to seek out new masters who would let them join. His village became one with no samurai in the end.

History: Optional

Place of Birth: Tongai Shogunate

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Weapon of Choice: Nagamaki

Personal Affects:
-Money from his occasional hired jobs.
-Tanto just in case his nagamaki is not with him he has something to use, be it for combat or an honorable death.
-Bed roll since a luxury to sleep indoors is not one he is usually accustomed to in his wanderings.
-An old worn pendant that belonged to his master. He does not wear it but looks at it when he needs guidance on his wandering.
-Spare set of clothes. Even being ronin he has a sense of needing to look at least presentable at the festivities.

Other: N/A

TONGAI. o/

And thank you for accepting me.

I'll have my character up soon, just being slow on my part.

<Snipped Quote from Argetlam350>

Botan Ichihara is accepted. He may be posted in the Characters Tab.

That makes a total of five accepted characters. Then there is Pie Flavor's character who's history is all that is needed to be worked on. So, that will make six once he is done. Until then, let's start some conversation.

Conversation One:

So far, this has gotten far enough that I feel it is time for me to reveal the one thing which placed the idea of this in my head. Here it is, Chris J. Nairn's The Year of the Snake. It just popped up during my daily look through my subscriptions and I decided to listen to it. Lo and behold, I got the idea for an Asian inspired roleplay. Of course, I don't really have an inkling of what I was going to do for it but then I just started writing and what we have today is what was created.

Conversation Two:

As a Dark Souls fan, I personally find it really cool to see Alonne's model used in this. Personally, I think he fits the role of a samurai really well. Particularly, he fits the role of a wandering rōnin. He comes from lands far from that of the Old Iron King and helps him rise from the meager beginnings of his kingdom to a powerful lord. Yet, at least from my stand point, it was this meager beginnings that Alonne was drawn to. He felt he could help the Iron King and thus stayed with him. Once the Iron King was powerful enough to guide himself, Alonne left for he felt he had achieved his goal.

Now then, let the life of conversation flow through this thread like a river flows from a mountain or ocean.

<Snipped quote by Argetlam350>

Conversation Two:

As a Dark Souls fan, I personally find it really cool to see Alonne's model used in this. Personally, I think he fits the role of a samurai really well. Particularly, he fits the role of a wandering rōnin. He comes from lands far from that of the Old Iron King and helps him rise from the meager beginnings of his kingdom to a powerful lord. Yet, at least from my stand point, it was this meager beginnings that Alonne was drawn to. He felt he could help the Iron King and thus stayed with him. Once the Iron King was powerful enough to guide himself, Alonne left for he felt he had achieved his goal.

Now then, let the life of conversation flow through this thread like a river flows from a mountain or ocean.

That's the reason why I choose his armor, plus I loved his boss fight. Though I believed he left the Old Iron King for other reasons, he is a rather interesting character indeed from the game.

I feel like a prick for being the only person who doesn't have some kind of suicide method.

"FUCK SUICIDE YOU BETTER KILL ME UNTIL I DIE" logic sounded so good though. OTL.

@McHaggis
It's not shame! IT IS PRIDE.

Moon-Hye also doesn't have anything for an honorable suicide... but she's not really asamurai type and I think her questionable honor has been established so I can't say it's necessarily a desirable boat to share with her lol @Shiinen

Would there be any room in this for an authentic ninja character? Oh, and is there any particular reason we aren't allowed to make characters over forty?

You know what I feel there would be way too many people if I were to actually join in. Think I'm going to retract my interest for now, that said I wish everyone luck.

Well, considering the dangers of the world in general and the general lack of health care in the world, I would say that the average life expectancy of is around 32 years old. Which, is the same life expectancy of medieval china. So, any older than forty would not be hard to do but the characters are more than likely not going to have the safest or healthiest lives. Also considering that bandits are a common sight, characters aren't likely to make it much further in life than fifty years. Considering that no character is perfect in a fight, getting injured is nearly a sure fact. So, I would consider it pretty lucky to live past the age of forty to forty-five. Heck, even Shogun Izami, with the strongest Shogunate overall, is only fifty-three years old and his father died at the age of thirty-eight.