Born far-east of the settlement of Kurai-Kuni, within the lands of surrounding provinces, Choso's older brother, Raizen, learnt authority through manifests and ledgers, the lack of food and the surplus of timber... however, Choso learnt it through the men themselves, dockmasters leading their crews, working like tight units, almost as if military. The trust that these men had was unmistakable. Men of the harbor held important positions; one mistake on a lift could crush a limb, sink a ship, and cost the livelihood of a family. For Choso, order did not come from the rank that his older brother and father had held in running the docks as clerk and dockmaster respectively, but rather, from the trust they held. Dockmasters were not raised up to their rank from mere competence, but from trust. Even as a young child, Choso possessed something that the most able of seamen noticed. Men listened when the young child spoke. Adachi, from father to two sons, held a name amongst the docks of the commonfolk whose villages and settlements were oh so ignored. Raizen studied the ledgers and Choso studied the men.
Kaen Adachi, looking to provide for his two boys, gave up the life of a dockmaster, though important work with much honor, it did not pay as well as it needed to. Choso's father formed a unit that served as a mercenary group to protect trading vessels whilst their mother looked to run a small dockside shop. The brothers were exposed to harsh stories about foreign travelers and violence at a young age. Conflict was commonplace, after all, the family and the village as a whole were far out of sight of any nobility, and therefore any protection.
Eventually, upon becoming of age, Choso entered the martial service beneath the mercenary corps, serving as a guard for caravans, leading his own small detachment of fathers and brothers with similar intents to provide. When the money wasn't appealing enough, he joined several wandering mercenary companies, facing battles, skirmishes, or benign, boring caravan escorts. It was both "fun and games" and "serious work" for the young man, serious work being self explanatory, but the fun and games, well, traveling to portions of the realm as well as Her commonwealths was a sort of hunt. Surviving the turmoil of each region while gaining the coin of each held some sort of thrill. Though, with such in mind, Choso still carries himself with the restraint synonymous of someone much older than himself, it came as a result of spending his entire life around working men, hardened soldiers, mourning brothers, battlefields littered with metal, or, the small, quietly deafening moments at a campfire after a skirmish, where there would be half the number of men at it than there were the night before.
He, and men like him, had bled for causes they rarely cared for. Now, looking to spread his purpose outside of mere survival, he pushes to answer the question of "who are you, and what do you want to do..." If that is living by his blade or finding some semblance of humanity in a quieter life, that is yet to be found.
No matter how far he may go, however, peace may not actually ever be found for him:
"Adachi? Hmph, I've heard that name a few times before. Quiet guy, some sort of sellsword from the north-east. Heard he's the reliable type, minor-clansmen."
A minor-clansmen he was indeed, however, for how much longer would his name-clan be minor?
The traveller has just arrived in a small town. As they look around, their gaze is met with run down houses and shops. They duck into one of the shacks, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the small room, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town?" She begins, then pauses to study their face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a chair, “Where do you come from? What do you hope to make of yourself?”
Choso Adachi pauses at the doorway, scanning the shack, the way the candles flicker, and how the shadows bend throughout the room. His eyes, ever so vigilant, put up a convincing farce that he understands what controls this bizarre environment; however, realistically, "What the absolute hell is going on..." he thinks to himself. Feigning comprehension after gauging the room, he takes his seat, and never underestimating the "old hag," rests his hands out of sight on hidden hilts and blades.
"You seem to act as if you already know of me, or even know of me?" he says calmly. "My home is far, far from here. A realm you may know as Yong Ping, though, my home is much more secluded than the cities within the ministries." He looks back at the doorway and around the room before continuing.
"Hope, it's funny you mention such. I'm still figuring that out, like the eb and flow of the river against a rock, my way will carve itself, I'm sure." Choso's exhaustion is evident, telling the story of a man who has travelled for quite some time. "Coin. It is what I hoped to make myself gain. I have spent my entire life bleeding for causes I care nothing about, it is what kept my men alive, it is what kept my family alive, it is what has kept me alive. But now, I feel as if I want to become something, or someone more than that. If you can understand?"
He rises from his place at the table, "I'm sure you have something to say, more to ask. For now, I must think, however."
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