Rushodan

+rep really good read. Clearly well thought out!!

The devil receives her little apology letter, curling the corner of her lips into a bright smile. "Oh, you actually did it. Fantastic." A few alchemy bottles are set to one side, the girl yawing and stretching into the air. "I'll actually have to fulfil my side of the promise now. . ."

**A stack of papers are scattered throughout the lands, copies fixed to the corners of noticeboards and signs wherever people might live.** Do you ever get the feeling that nothing you do is right? This has been my existence for two decades now. I have never truly felt like I belonged anywhere, for wherever I lay down my roots I find them swiftly torn up by those that fear what my kind are capable of. I try to be a good person, I want to be a good person - but the actions of my peers pushes me towards the bad. One can only be subject to the cruelty of man for so long, before their eyes go searching for ways in which they might end their suffering - no matter the cost demanded. I ask then, men and women of the lands, what can I do to earn my place among you? I will not be laying down and accepting my station in life; I will punch and bite and scratch with my claws until I get what I want. Until I get what I deserve. And what is it that in which I crave so much? Simple. It is to belong, to be loved, to be able to live in among you, to go to church at the weeks end and attend the celebrations when they arise in the town squares. I want to be able to sit in the tavern without an ill comment or look cast toward me, to drink and laugh and cry and exist! I want to be normal, to be you. Enough self pity - I make a very simple request of you, reader. When you see people like me, try to show them a drop of compassion, of friendship. That might just be enough to stop them from falling, from becoming another monster. If anyone wishes to come and debate me on the above topic or just make a new acquaintance, then I can easily be found around Caurost. I pray you keep an open mind, I try to be easy to get along with. The first drink shall be on me, should we come to share one. Yours Sincerely, **A carefully printed signature lays at the bottom, displaying "Maeline of Lichtenwald"**

A devil wiped the blood from her lips as she looked down at the body of her defeated foe. The voice in her head justifying this act of brutality: "They came here. They came here to kill children. They were going to burn and slaughter the people of this village." The voices whispered, with the woman unable to disagree with her internal monologue. Still, she couldn't help but feel like there would be repercussions for such actions - no matter how 'in the right' the cursed being felt.

A devil reads through the missive, before showing it to her companion and tapping the headline with a pair of blackened claws. "This is where I was last night!" She chuckles, placing the paper back down and returning to her tea. Instead of praise. . .she found herself being told off for putting herself in danger once more. "Yes. . . I'll be more careful next time." The scolding never seemed to end.

"Huh." A devil flicks through the missive with clawed fingers. "So Celia'nor's darkspawn investigators, known to struggle with finding and removing real darkspawn, is full of and led by warlocks." "No wonder they have to pick on cursed children and random citizens."

It was a bright and sunny morning. The Autumn’s breeze blew gently through the fields outside, birds filling the trees with their song. A crimson-skinned woman sat at her desk, procuring a silvered hand-held vanity mirror and brush to straighten her jet-black hair. Pointed teeth smiled as her purple eyes looked upon what they saw; the devil feeling positively elated today. Everything was going her way, her friends were finally showing her respect and a clear pathway ahead was forged. Yet, as Maeline looked deeper into the mirror - her smile faded. A young, innocent elf peered back with tears forming in her hazel eyes — messy, brown curled hair hanging by her shoulders. The elf was alone, abandoned by all who claimed to want to safeguard her. The devil reached out with her claws to touch the mirror, and the vision faded away. She saw herself once more, albeit her positive mood had been spoiled. To her roommate’s surprise, the mirror was launched at the desk in a brief fit of rage, and the cursed child stormed out of the cabin. She did what she had to do. There was no going back now. OOC: As usual - no metagaming this information <3. This is story flavour, not a missive.

Sermi's death would impact two souls far differently, one long gone . . . with the other just arriving. For Kiyoshi, he had long sworn off his mother's wretched existence. She was like the others, kegare. . .irredeemable. Yet, as the hawk dropped the letter within his hands and his eyes scanned over the contents. . .he could not help but feel sorrow in his heart once more. Sorrow, mixed with relief. It was finally over. The torment finished forever. A pyre would be lit to symbolise the ending of his mother - a last goodbye to the woman that had given him life, and taken much. Another soul had only just met this creature of undeath. . .their relationship new and fleeting. She would not yet find out, but it was only a matter of time until this knowledge became common. Another opportunity and wealth of knowledge lost.

Somewhere, Kiyoshi certainly didn't feel like a legendary warrior. His back strained as the 'ame shifted a bale of hay onto a nearby pile. . .finally finished with his work in the fields for that day. A bead of sweat was wiped, with the elf picking up his tools and returning to the small shack in which he called home. He would hope to hear a song like this, someday. But that day would not be today. A bleating lamb greets the shepherd as a single hand moves to calm it, setting down the tools in the lean-to and returning inside for supper. Brief thoughts are given to his old life, to the weapon he had discarded after the battle. Still - it was not the time for him to return.

From harsh beginnings and working with the demonic, to becoming a proud retainer of the Ugokoyama Clan and footsoldier of the Ashigaru; Kiyoshi could look back on his life with pride. Instead of falling into the clutches of the inferi, the yosei eventually found freedom and could now live out the remainder of his life in peace. Somewhere, a plot of land had been established and fields of wheat grown. A small number of cows loitered in the background with the wind whistling through the mali'ame's crops. It was tranquil. A life of fighting is exciting, but the life on the homestead has a simple joy that one would struggle to re-create elsewhere. There was an honour in tending the fields; in leading a life of mediocrity. OOC: This may seem sudden, but it was about time I shelved Kiyoshi. I reached a point in his arc where there was little left to do. He had slipped free from his ties to the inferi, became a member of the Ashigaru and helped kill the red lich. I have a few more ideas to try, but for now Kiyoshi’s story has come to a happy little end. Thank you to everyone that made him who he was <3 Thank you to the people that helped form his story. I appreciate everyone I hung out with and look forward to future adventures on new characters! Happy to answer any questions down below / in dms.

HYPER-WAR HYPER-WAR HYPER-WAR! ! ! "We got him!! We actually GOT him!! Koyo-Kuni and the Shugonate prevails!" Kiyoshi was resting in a clinic bed when the news got to him, having being injured alongside Takemura in the battle. Everything felt a little more hopeful. A sweeter edge to the days of mourning that would take place for the late Shugo.

Kiyoshi recalls upon his first meeting with Haneki; the cherry blossom treating him with such judgement and sharpness. His last was one of happiness and joy. Rest in piece, Haneki. You were one of the better ones.

Three days mourning would take place for the man, the myth, the legend: Uncle O. Kiyoshi looks again at the final letter he received from the Shugo; asking him to speak on some important matter. "I will not let you or Atsuko down again." He shouldn't have agreed to talk about it after the battle. Balls.

I mean, I don't see any reason for this to not go ahead. Seems ideal <3 !

"Well, lets see if this stops inferi and the other darkspawn 'flavours' using Celia'nor as a holiday retreat. . ." Kiyoshi hums.

Kiyoshi casts his eyes over the short missive, a smile crossing his features. "I knew you could do it, Villorik. Make her life hell."

Kiyoshi finds it, and his eyes tear up happily. He loved his Oneesan! The picture is taken and placed into a pocket for safekeeping.

Kiyoshi finds one of these pictures and blinks several times. He hadn't gone as 'Ren' in years. His official name change was made in Sakura long before he parted ways with Juniper. "Someone is messing with me again." He sighs.

Kiyoshi briefly scans the attachment, shaking his head. "The deranged words of an undead lunatic still desperately clinging on. . .eventually you will get the message that a, you are a yokai and b, I want nothing to do with you." He leaves it attached, it wasn't his place to prevent open discourse.

[!] Over the past few weeks, a yosei in Oyashi garb had travelled to most of the major population centres, placing up small handwritten documents written with quill and ink wherever he could. The below information can be taken in character and addressed as such. Nameo wa Kiyoshi, To my friends, companions and most importantly those who regard me as a 'yokai associator', this letter exists to hopefully clarify some of the events that have taken place when it comes to me acting poorly. For those who still feel some contempt for myself after reading this, there are tabs you can tear off at the bottom of this missive and burn. If there are no longer any tabs, then if necessary, take the entire missive and cast it onto flame. . . if it will help you. I politely request it is left up however, so others may make their own decisions. Starting with the history, many of you know that my adoptive mother is Sermi; murderer of the queen of Haense late Amaya, demon and otherwise evil schemer. Now going by O'zen, a spirt that refuses death. She was not always like this, Iie, long ago she adopted me out of a terrible situation and presented herself as a wholly positive influence on my life. She encouraged me to do better, got me a place in the Ak'vei academy, which eventually allowed me to meet my now-mentor Atsuko. I would have done anything for her, which clouded my judgement for years to come. Back then, hai, I admit that I worked with the Inferi and completed tasks for them. I provided myself with plenty of excuses to mark what I was doing as acceptable. It was not, but hindsight is often clearer. Eventually, I reached a crossroads in my life. I still believed I could 'save' Sermi, but she was not a woman that wished to be saved. I misled myself into believing that if I stayed by her side I could one day rescue her from the clutches of the Inferi. Being the idiot I once was, I fell into the same trap with Naya. I threw myself at the Inferi over and over again, did what I could to try and rescue the above pair from destruction, demo, as the saying goes. . . You can lead a horse to water, but you can never make it drink. Sermi was drunk on the power the White Cat, Sarryn, provided. I do not blame Sarryn for this, everyone is free to make their own decisions even if they are absolutely terrible. The day came when my mother tried to murder me. I told her that I couldn't do it anymore, that I couldn't exist around her while she was a warlock. The pain and suffering I saw was breaking my heart and ruining the other relationships I was starting to form. Sermi offered me a hug with open arms, told me she understood my decision. . .and then drove my own Tanto into my back. If I had not been wearing armor, I surely would have perished that evening. Sarryn, in disguise, offered to help treat my wound after my mother had been subdued. I thanked the 'stranger', who promptly set me alight with malflame. I don't know if they took pity in me or decided I wasn't worth killing. . .but Sarryn and Sermi left me there which taught me the most valuable of lessons. If you love a demon, the only thing the demon will ever love back is the climb for power. They lust over it - there is nothing else they desire. Any affection or care they have for you is false and if you are reading this and thinking to yourself 'well, my inferi is different, they love me' you're an idiot. They will discard you the second you are no longer useful. After this, my then-partner's son tried to assassinate me by shoving me into a drydock. The move was dishonourable and completely unexpected. In fact, I had taken him to one side to say I hoped to be more present for him and his mother. . .the war in Koyo-Kuni was taking its toll and requiring my presence. I was coming back refreshed, with a new positive outlook. That was the one thing he managed to kill that evening. Now, I remain a Retainer of the Ugokoyama Clan, with Ugokoyama Atsuko as my sensei and Ugokoyama Danzen as the clan head. I will serve the Shugo, my clan and Koyo-Kuni within the Ashigaru with hope to repay the mistakes I made in the past. For anyone I have hurt with my foolishness, take this as an official apology. I have cut all ties with anyone with any Yokai relations and hereby present myself as an upstanding citizen. To those that doubt me, I will take any test you wish. For those that still take issue with me and refuse to believe this missive, I'm easy to find. If you take nothing else from this, at least take the following: Yokai (inferi, frost witches, undead etc) are largely irredeemable. They are not for you to try and show compassion to. They must be kept away from the people of the land, banished from our public spaces and exterminated when the opportunity presents itself. To those demons that wish for redemption and regret their decisions, falling on your own blade would have the most positive of outcomes one could hope for. (Note: Cursed Children do not count for the above - they did not ask for the situation they find themselves in and whilst it is smart to treat them with caution, compassion should keep them on the right path. Treating cursed children poorly simply results in others like Laelia and Sermi going down the wrong path) Concerns, questions, complaints to my bird, arigatou. Signed, Kiyoshi, Retainer of the Ugokoyama Clan [!] As promised, there would be eight small parchment tabs a person could tear off and do. . .well. . .whatever they liked with.

Skin: - Attire skin [2] Bid: - 18 Discord: - Rushodan IGN: - Rushodan (You predicted the future! Scary. . .)

Kiyoshi nods his head. "Those guards are certainly mean and judgemental. One refused to search me when I entered the gates because I was an elf and therefore a 'non-threat'. . ." He certainly agreed with the missive. "I COULD have been a threat . . ." The 'ame sighs, before returning to his cup of tea.

An elf reads the missive, before tossing it onto a nearby fire. "Nani? People writing up more lies. . ." He muses, shaking his head. "Masaka. . ."