Hiro Takarada always dreamed. He dreamed in his home nation of Diguo. He dreamed under the stars. He dreamed on land. He dreamed on the water. He dreamed of the stories his parents told of far away lands and places outside their country. He loved listening to and reading stories of legends, other peoples and cultures. His favorite stories were of Shi Zhu Huang’s rule, increasing the size of the Distorian navy, supporting the exploration of the seas, discovering many islands, and opening diplomatic relations with foreign entities for the first time. He admired the first Emperor Cui Shi Huang’s speed of conquering all the neighboring states around Huang guo within 50 years, and forming Diguo, which is still surviving to this day. He liked the story of Zhu Yu ascending the throne as Emperor Shi Zhudi and founding the Shi chao dynasty, lasting 500 years and is still strong to this day, brought about peace to the empire, the vassal states, and with rival factions.
His father told him the story of Chi Shi Huang’s assassination leading to unrest of the empire as pretenders claimed and fought for the throne. He warned of backstabbers and the importance of protecting one’s self.
Hiro learned the art of calligraphy from his mother and discovered that the delicate strokes of a simple brush speaks more than the strike of a steel sword. He learned the art of sword dance from books and stories, while his twin sister, Kasumi Takarda focused mainly on combat.
Hiro’s passion was in seafaring and learning how to steer a junk ship. He would often force his sister to come with him to the docks as he spoke with sailors and fishermen about the creation, workings, and maintenance of their ships.
Hiro Takarada wished to see the world and sneaked on a boat to Arcas, not knowing that his sister followed him on board. During a great storm, they were pushed into the sea by the force of the waves slamming into the boat.
He woke up with his sister in a temple of cloud and mist.
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