Character introductions.

[ShininShado]

Age - 26.
Height - 5'7"
Weight - There are no scales and how would he know in English pounds/kilos?
Physique - Stout, large upper body.
Hair - Short hair, clean shaven face, with small goatee.
Main garb - Green robes, dark green for ceremonies.
Feet covering - Simple wooden sandals.
Jewelry - Simple necklace of leather with jade token medallion.
Weaponry - Bo staff is main weapon of choice.
Main relegious belief - Buddhism, with emphasis on Bodsittavas and the Pure Land Sutra.
Profession - Monk/Teacher of the Taifuunome Temple of Enlightenment.

Upon turning of age, Shinin Shado was sent to serve in the Daimyo's army from his small rural village. Though from the agriculturalist caste, his father is brother of the wife of the Daimyo. His father, pulling some strings, Shinin achieved low rank in the Samurai caste. After four years of military service, he works his way up to a lower ranking field marshall. Most of their battles are upon the battlefield. Serving under a brutal warlord, he sees his fair share of brutality and bloodshed.

This reaches its boiling point as on a regular "tax" collecting round. Upon entering a small township, the warlord goes to the Temple. After requesting due taxes for the Daimyo, the head monk tells him they do not serve the Daimyo and that they have taken a pledge of poverity in observance of their believes. Seeing ornate statues and intricate woodwork the warlord is in disbelief! The warlord and the men under his command start to kill the innocent monks, and most of the inhabitants of the small village. Shinin never touches his weapon. Resolving to leave this sqaud, Shinin waits for a good oppurtunity to do so. Though honorable and noble, he was no spiller of innocent blood for the sake of a power-corrupted warlord. Upon return from that fateful day, a band of brigands jumped his sqaud.

A beautifully sunny day, as the warlord's party marched through a forest on a heavily traveled road, ShininShado daydreams of owning his own farm and starting a family, drinking saki and relaxing in the sunshine. Out of the blue, one of the soldiers next to him falls to his death, a shuriken strikes him in the neck. Two more soldiers fall before the band even sees where they are being attacked from. An ambush from brigands! Shinin counts 15 brigands. Readying his spear for combat, he charges two of the brigands with bows, he strikes one directely in the head. The other now noticing the threat, fires at Shinin, a near miss. Shinin strikes him in the abdomen and moves up with a sweeping motion, spilling the wayward archer's inards. Shinin surveys the area, and sees the melee had taken its toll on his sqaud. From first glance, every last soldier dead or in the process of dying, and no sight of any other brigands. Luckily as he rushed the two archers, the main force of the warlord's party fought toe to toe with the other brigands upon the road as Shinin fought the archers in a clearing not far. Though better trained and equiped, the warlord and his crew were used to spilling the blood of innocent folks, and their combat skills had grown rusty. Shinin sought those he had formed a bond with from his squad, and all of them had perished. He then went to examine the warlord. An older man with constant grimace upon his face, he was still breathing. Not for long... Shinin's honor came from his heart and not from following a corrupt pawn of the Daimyo. Shuriken and arrows lay embedding in trees, bodies lay everywhere upon the road, some that tried to run with wounds upon their backs. A bird chirped in a nearby tree, the sun shines through the trees, and Shinin climbed upon the warlord's steed.

Nearly seven years have passed. Shinin now resides at the monastery, not far from his home village. His parents have passed away from old age. Poetry and studying the Sutras at the temple are his main past times. He carves wooden toys for his son when time permits, and is faithful to his wife. This life suits him, and Buddha has shown him that chasing dreams do not give as much satisfaction as grasping truths. One of his many poems:

Spirit of Wind

The second wave, came now charging,
with him its ranks,
with the Family Sword in hand,
he rushed into their flanks,
for a moment he saw the Sun,
he saw more... remembering fun,
from the sword so strong, the sun did glisten,
and as his heart did start to listen,
the sound of war, no longer in his ear,
nor the sound of any fear,
the Family Sword was all heard,
it struck one foe down, another... then a third,
as it did, the sword carried by the wind,
the last one standing in the end,
the battle waged and the battle won,
I was standing when it was done,
I looked at the death on the field,
and swore that I would never wield,
another weapon until the day...

I bring peace into the fray.



Shinin Shado aspires to have the wisdom one day to help bring peace to the warring lands he lives, and the compassion to help those in need.

[MattyQ]

(OOC: The Nobuwa Ryuu below is similar to the one on the roleplay forum, reformatted a bit for the MMO as Ryuu was developed for the late 16th century originally)

Name: Nobuwa Ryuu
Alias: Ryuuchi (Little Dragon), Shokubai (Catalyst)
Age: 27
Height: A couple sun less than six shaku (About 5'6")
Eyes: Deep black
Hair: A trim, thin mustache and slight, pointed goatee. His black hair, which falls to the center of his back, is often done up in a bun, the rest left to hang smoothly to above his shoulders.

Clothing: Ryuu is generally clad in a simple offwhite kimono of flax linen with the hems and sashes of a jade green.

Weapon: Nobuwa Ryuu employs a unique style of bokken. It has been modified so that the hardwood is merely the shell around an iron core. It weighs more than a standard katana (about 5 lbs versus 3), but is not heavy enough to be cumbersome. All the edges are blunted, so as to limit harm. The idea is to wear down the opponent versus killing them.

Beliefs: Buddhism is a focus of Ryuu's life. He studied and practiced Zen for much of his young life, though spread through other Buddhist branches. Now he encompasses Zen, Pure Land and has studied deeply into the life of the Bodhisattva.

Profession: Ryuu is a travelling teacher of the Taifuunome Temple of Enlightenment.

Nobuwa Ryuu was born to Nobuwa Kuso, owner of the respected Nobuwa Inn in Edo. At the age of five, Ryuu was sent to one of the military schools in Edo that had been setup by the Ashikaga. He was one of five students who studied under Kouhei-sensei, a strategist of some fifty-odd years. He became practiced in kenjutsu, though was more interested in the pursuits that strategy and Zen Buddhism offered.

When he was sixteen, Kouhei-sensei (now in his mid-sixties) took his now sole pupil and travelled through Musashi province (where Edo is located) and the surrounding. Ryuu was apalled by the wide-spread poverty that he found and the decadence in which many daimyos and magistrates lived. He swore an oath during the journey,

"Should in my life I ever stray from a path of justice; should in my life I deny ever a request of need; should I in my life I ever lose myself in a pool of gold, and become a hungry ghost; should in my life I ever strike out for reasons other than defense; should in my life I ever forget this oath, may I be forever foresaken Enlightenment and lost from the wheel."

There was such fire in his words and eyes that Kouhei-sensei began to refer to Ryuu as Ryuuchi (Little Dragon). The teacher-student relationship was much more one of a father and son.

Upon returning to Edo, Ryuu delved back into his studies, focusing even more on military strategy. The young man had an incredible aptitude for it, and surpassed his master in ability by the age of eighteen, when he accepted a position to ride as strategist with a section of the forces of the Ashikaga shogunate.

He had been order to assist the leader of 500 Ashikaga samurai in dealing with a small rebellion of two hundred farmers, merchants and artisans of a village that had been refusing to pay their taxes to the local magistrate. The field was unbalanced to a ridiculous extent, and to compensate Ryuu ordered the weapons of the samurai to be bound in fabric so that they would not kill the farmers. They won an overwhelming victory, in which none of the samurai were killed, and only a minimal number of the civilian rebellion. Almost all of the remanants of the force were arrested. However, following his unorthdox strategy style and his oath, he went to the daimyo of the province and demanded the release of the prisoners after explaining what the situation had been. Although the daimyo allowed their release, he was deeply insulted by Ryuu. Ryuu would never work with the Ashikaga again.

This suited him, and he travelled throughout Japan for the next several years, sharing his teachings and learning from others. He learned much of philosophy and life and Buddhism.

When he was 24, he returned to Edo to find that his master Kouhei had passed away. He did not return to the Nobuwa Inn, for his father and he were no longer on speaking terms due to Ryuu's oath. He mourned his sensei, but vowed not to fail him in his oath.

Ryuu was travelling through Kozuke province when he came across a band of farmers who were preparing to fight back against a force sent by a local magistrate. They had been taxed nearly to starvation, and had finally refused to pay. With Ryuu's help and strategy, the fighters were able to drive back the samurai. They thanked him profusely for his help, and though he was offered many things, he shook his head. About thirty of the farmers had been killed, and Ryuu mourned for them. The father of one of the farmers spoke with Ryuu when he stayed with the family for the night before travelling on.

"You are a good man, Nobuwa Ryuu. There would have been many more deaths had you not assisted us, and we thank you. We shall spread your tale amongst others like us so that they will know who you are. You shall be known as Shokubai. There is a place where you may find others who share your oath..." The old man related to him as Ryuu and he shared a conversation, "Travel to Taifuunome, young Shokubai. May your path be smooth."

Ryuu bowed his head low to the elder, and thanked him. The rest of the conversation that night was light, and Ryuu shared in a cup of sake with the family.

The next day, Ryuu departed upon a horse that the farmer had insisted he take. It was a good steed, extraordinarily swift, though young and wild at first. They came soon to trust each other, and Ryuu named the horse "Kyoufuu" (Raging Wind).

It wasn't long before Shokubai found himself at the steps of Taifuunome. It was here Shokubai found a new home, and he made a pledge to serve. However, he could not abandon his oath, and so he continued to travel in the areas around Taifuunome, returning every few weeks, sometimes for months and sometimes for only a few days.