Tatsumura Masamune
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Shogun of the Tou Fuu Shogunate
"You think this is something, you should hear about the Celestial Porpoise!"
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Post by Tatsumura Masamune on May 2, 2007 22:12:32 GMT -5
The long path of this samurai began nearly 237 years ago by the common knowledge of time. When a simple blacksmith in the northern lands of Rokugan became lost in the Spine of the World Mountains. The freezeing winds of the mountains nearly claimed his life. Until through the freezing snow and chilling winds, a lone figure appeared. A Yuki-on-na (Snow Spirit). She helped the lone blacksmith to a nearby cave, where she tended to him. The weather refused to let up, trapping the man in the mountains for many months. In time, the blacksmith and the yuki-on-na laid together. Several months later, the spirit gave birth to a child, but soon disappeared afterwards, leaving the blacksmith with the newborn, and suddenly clear skys. The blacksmith raised his son the best he could, until their village was attacked by No-Oni (demons) when the boy was 11. The no-oni slaughtered every person in the village, and cut the blacksmith and his son down, and took the katana the blacksmith wielded. The boy watched the light leave his father's eyes, and would have died himself, if not for the sudden arrival of the Imperial Legions to drive the no-oni off. He was sent to live with his uncle after he recovered.
For years, the boy would traveled the expanse of the Empire. Learning what he could of the art of the sword, and about the no-oni that killed his father. When the boy was 27, he had grown into a powerful young man. Skilled in the art of the Iaijutsu Masters of the Crane's Kakita family, and understanding the powers he inherited from his mother. He traveled beyond the Kaiu Wall, into the heart of the Shadowlands. There, he found the demon that killed his father, it still wielded the sword his father had made. The battle was long, as the no-oni sent legions of mindless undead and lesser oni. The battle proved taxing on the young samurai, pushed to the edge of his limits, he had used all the strenght in his body, until only he and the no-oni stood facing each other. The samurai sheathed his katana, and watched the dmon before him. The no-oni, in it's arrogance, leaped into the sky, and came down with all it's wieght to crush the young samurai. As he was about to strike, the samurai drew his blade. Two flashes accured, but what exactly happened no one knows. The end result was the samurai layed on the battlefield for several hours, as his enemy layed in two pieces, some 20 feet apart.
When the samurai awoke, he took up his fathers sword. Even after all the years it had spent in this dark place, it remained untainted. A true testiment to the craftsmenship of the Kakita artisans. He would take the head of the no-oni back north, to the Kaiu Wall. There, he left the head, and the katana that was used to kill it with a Crab bushi. He headed for the nearest port, and took the first boat leading to gaijin lands. He would cast off the name of Kakita Tenkazu, and take his fathers name, Masamune.
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Tatsumura Masamune
Moderator
Shogun of the Tou Fuu Shogunate
"You think this is something, you should hear about the Celestial Porpoise!"
Posts: 335
|
Post by Tatsumura Masamune on Dec 31, 2007 12:53:10 GMT -5
Though it was believed his journey was more or less uneventful, Masamune spend several years in the gaijin lands of the west. The most notable event being a bizarre storm that occured as he left Rokugan. When he returned to Rokugan after what only seemed like a handful of years, he encountered the same strange storm again, and found what he believed to be only a handful of years, had turned out to be more then 35 years. Some how or another, Masamune's travels had taken him to another plane of existance, one where time moved apprently more slowly then in Rokugan.
He went in search of anything of his old life, finding only a single old man, who at one time, had been a fellow student with him in the Kakita Dojo. The old man informed him of the happenings of the last 35 years, most of which was univentful, with the usual skirmishes between the clans, and few notable events. Masamune had no idea what to do. The world he knew was gone, and for some reason, he hadn't changed with it. He became a wanderer, going here and there, living off the land as well as he could. He for all better reasons, was no more then a ronin now. There was no convicing anyone that he was who he said he was.
During his travels, he found himself in the lands of the Shosuro Family, of the Scorpion Clan. While passing through a village, he encountered a number of bandits, attempting to take the local food harvest from the villagers. Masamune stood to defend the villagers, and managed to kill all of the bandits, but not before being wounded with a poisoned blade of the leader. Masamune passed out, as his eyes closed, he felt that this was the end for him.
But it wasn't
He awoke three days later in the comfort of a soft blanket, and warm fire. The room he was in was to well made to be the simple home of a peasent. After awaking, and making his way out of the room, he found he was in the home of a noble samurai. The home of a one Shosuro Saigo, the local lord of this particular village. The villagers had informed him of Masamune's actions, and the lord made sure that he was cared for. When Masamune met the lord, Saigo informed him that there were some things that needed to be discussed, but would be done at Shiro Shosuro.
Masamune would spend the next several days explaining what he was doing in Shosuro lands in the first place, and how he had such formal training. In time, the daimyo of the Shosuro family, granted Masamune a rare gift, the Shosuro name, and the right to train in the Shosuro Dojo. Masamune was honored but attempted to decline, beginning to inform the daimyo all about himself, and how he had nothing, and could not prove helpful to the Scorpion. The daimyo simply smiled, and said, "If there is nothing of your past left, then we will help you create a new one."
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Tatsumura Masamune
Moderator
Shogun of the Tou Fuu Shogunate
"You think this is something, you should hear about the Celestial Porpoise!"
Posts: 335
|
Post by Tatsumura Masamune on Mar 3, 2008 12:52:19 GMT -5
After a number of months, Masamune found himself a wealthy samurai. The Scorpion had managed to convience the Kakita that the the "young" man known as Shosuro Tenkeda was in fact the son of Kakita Tenkazu and a little known Shosuro courtier. The Kakita family gave in when the sword of Kakita Masamune was shown as proof of such a claim. Years of compensation were awarded to Masamune, who generously gave over 3/4 of his new fortune to the Shosuro for their help in helping retrieve a small piece of his former life. In return for their help, he became one of their agents. He took to the training he received at the Shosuro Butei School with excellence. It was here that he learned the arts of deception and disguise.
Over the course of the next 50 years, Masamune continued to learn all he could in the arts of war and deception, and not only from the Scorpion, but from the other clans as well. His training amongst the Scorpion Butei allowed him to mask his true idenity from the other clans of Rokugan. He learned open field tactics and the deepest belief in Bushido from the Akodo, the art of the seige and defense of said seige from the Kaiu. From the Shiba, he learned the art of defensive fighting, where we learned the two-sword Niten style of the Mirumoto, which he combined with his teachings from the Kakita to create a hybrid art with the sword. In response for this opportuninty to do all this, he passed information back to the Scorpion so that they could continue to do as they always had.
After passing several generations of life, Masamune began to notice the effects of what his mothers blood had done to him. It had made him immortal, and granted him control over snow, ice, and the freezing winds. But there was also a physical notice on his body, his skin and continually grown paler over the years, until one day the Daimyo of the Shosuro said that he resembled a man of snow. It was true, he had grown as pale as the snow in which he commanded. Once again, the Shosuro made a use of this new abilities, having him train with the Soshi Shugenja, and finally having him train with the Shosuro Ninja.
When the Kirin clan returned from outside Rokugan's borders as the Unicorn Clan, Masamune was on of the first sent in to infiltrate and discover what he could of these returned "outsiders." It was during this time that he mingled with the Shinjo, and through his contact with them, learned the gaijin calvary tactics they used, as well as the large amount of knowledge they hold in regards to the gaijin outside of Rokugan. It was during this time that he worked hand and hand with the Hiruma scouts of the Crab clan when the Shinjo offered to help train them for causing damage to the Crab during their reentry into the Empire.
After three years with the Shinjo and Hiruma, Masamune felt a need that he must explore the outside world once again. Though the Shosuro were hard pressed to let one of their most effective agents go, they knew they would have to. He left his family lands and affairs to Shosuro Kenji, a Jushin (A term used to be derogatory towards "Honest Scorpion") Scorpion samurai of low birth that had served under Masamune for some years.
Masamune once again cast of any guise tying him to the Scorpion, or any clan for that matter, and once again set sail for the west, once again, finding himself caught in the mysterious storm.
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Tatsumura Masamune
Moderator
Shogun of the Tou Fuu Shogunate
"You think this is something, you should hear about the Celestial Porpoise!"
Posts: 335
|
Post by Tatsumura Masamune on Apr 2, 2008 7:15:22 GMT -5
Masamune found himself in familier lands once again. And much to his understanding, it had changed, but not nearly in the ways that Rokugan had changed. His theory was true, time moved more slowly on the other side of the storm. He made a moments thought of this, and then headed further inland in this land of gaijin.
For years, Masamune simply moved from place to place, never settling to long in one spot. He became exposed to the cultures of more then just the gaijin of these lands, but also to the cultures of the elves, and the dwarves. He particpated in wars against giants, ogers, trolls, orcs, goblins, drow, and demons. He made his way throught the lands of Ered Dauth, before he finally started to return east. Along the way, he came across a unit of mercenaries and a small town. The mercenaries called themselves, the Crimson Guard.
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