Character Biographies 1-3

Still got a bit of work to do, but I finally got around to combining Kumo's and my ideas for three of the characters.

Utani Nobuhisa (鵜谷信久), Lord of Utani Fief
-Age: 39

-Background: The second of four sons and the fifth of seven children, Nobuhisa grew up fully expecting to be a loyal companion and servant of his brother, the much elder Nobutada. His upbringing was normal, and his relations with his siblings and family were warm. In order to fill into his projected role as an assistant to his family’s governance, he eagerly took interest in studying government and civic architecture in Kouyama, one the few of Joukagoku’s southern cities large enough to house a true library and center of learning. In his twenty-first year, just as he was completing his studies, he received a shocking letter from home: The flying pox had struck Rokugan, carrying away with it Nobutada and Kamie, Nobuhisa’s favorite sister. He was now the lord of the grief-stricken and disorganized fief.

Three years later, the war began. Utani’s reputation as a small and distant plot of land, along with the chronic labor shortages caused by the plague, left it free of the machinations of the western coalition. Nobuhisa was able to maintain the fief’s state of semi-independence for thirteen more years by stalling and relying on the westerners’ fear of burning their much-needed resources fruitlessly. In the meantime, he leveraged his education and, with the help of his brothers and subordinates, raised the economic output and living standards of his people to new heights.

The news from the north has spelled the end of the current state of affairs. Utani’s strength and wealth has made it a more attractive target for the weary westerners, who need every scrap they can get to rebuild and prepare for crushing the winner of the war between the center and east. In addition, now that the coalition is no longer fighting, they can spare the resources to take the land by force. The Utani could make the crossing difficult, especially with the help of the Ginga and their warriors, but it would drain the land with a force no disease could ever hope to do, and for no gain. Subordination is the only option. The trick now is to convince the Ginga to think the same.

-Personality: As befitting a leader, Nobuhisa has three faces: A private one, one for his subordinates, and one for his people. Before his friends and loved ones, he is warm and fatherly, always ready to laugh at a joke or listen to a well-told story. Similarly, he is known among the common folk of his fief as being a paragon of virtue and good governance, a rock in bad times and a beacon in good. While talking business with his subordinates, however, a different face emerges. Strict and straight to the point, he will badger you until he sees the results he wants.

-Sword Style: Conservative. Nobuhisa will wait for you to make a poor choice of attack before countering. His aim is to exploit your weaknesses rather than to establish any particular strategy. He can be defeated if he is unable to analyze your style or his defenses are overwhelmed before he is able to.

Sakakibara Mitsube (榊原光部), Loyal Retainer of the Utani
Age: 25

Background: There’s a reason Nanzo has its name. It is the Joukago name for the people who first inhabited the island. Tall and spry, these Eren, as they called themselves, hunted and fished and grew millet in their mountain valleys until traders from Joukagoku began to make the crossing into their land. When it was made known that the demands of the distant king had become too great to be borne, soldiers followed. The Eren, lacking both the mobility of horses and the strength of worked iron, were defeated, scattered, and subjugated. A sleepy little kingdom still rests on Nanzo’s southern shore, where even the hardiest of the Joukajin fear to tread, but most of the remainder of the nation have been at least somewhat incorporated into the dominant Joukan culture.

Mitsube, the first son of a wealthy noble household, was taught by his wetnurse the full gamut of Ereni children’s stories, from Squirrel and Bear tales to the legends of the founding kings to the oral memoirs left by the brave and broken fighters who had lived long enough to retreat from the victorious Joukajin. Coupled with his father’s abhorrence of the Nanzo, this inspired within him a desire to learn more about them. He began sneaking out of the mansion and onto the streets of Rokugan, where he learned of the wishes of the commoners, Eren and Joukajin alike. As he approached adulthood, he began to style himself a gallant and a noble protector of the people. As his father happens to be in charge of maintaining the army, it fell upon him as heir to fulfill Lord Utani’s call for one member of each noble household to attend a meeting with the Ginga.

Personality: Despite passing his age of responsibility, Mitsube retains his carefree nature. He understands the gravity of his self-made calling and of his endeavors, but as of yet he has had little experience in actually being called to show proof of his dedication. His faith in his ideals, however, is unshakable, and if called upon, he can become a fierce champion indeed.

Sword Style: Disabling. Mitsube will use the full brunt of his weight and arm strength to ensure that you can no longer swing or block effectively. His aim is to end the fight with a minimum of bloodshed. He can be defeated if you outlast him and drag him into a long and painful battle that he will no longer wish to fight.

Ginga Jiemon (銀蛾治右衛門), Newly Acceded Lord of Ginga Fief
Age: 16

Background: The land of the Ginga fief is a constant enemy to its inhabitants. Not granted the benefit of southerly winds that the coastal men enjoy, it is cool in the best part of summer and frigid in the worst part of winter. The terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, resisting crossing by all but the knowledgeable and the prepared. The roads that connect the mountain fortresses of the samurai and the little towns that cling to them for protection are impassible for four months out of the year. Self-sufficiency is king, as are the little lords who ferociously watch over their little parcels of land. To rule, you must have the strength to ensure these little lords don’t dream themselves bigger ones.

Jiemon grew up having absorbed little of this. Weak and sickly, he spent most of his time reading by the light of a roaring brazier. He received a lavish education at the hands of the monks of the Stone Pearl, learning well in excess of the traditional samurai curriculum. Despite his father’s encouragement, he found it difficult to practice with his sword for more than a little bit of time and neglected its use. He looked forward to the spring of his seventeenth year, as his maturing body finally had the strength to venture far enough beyond the walls of Kinomiya Castle to visit his father’s vassals and to begin the process of growing into the role destiny would provide him.

Unfortunately, two events would shatter that hope. The first was the sudden death of his father, having contracted a fit of coughing after tumbling into a ravine during a hunting trip. Jiemon was not granted the time to gather his men before the second event occurred—the death of the western claimant to the Sparrow Throne. His vassals have no reason to trust the leadership of a boy so divorced from the Ginga warrior culture, and he must find his voice quickly before more northerly elements come to challenge them.

Personality: Privately, he’s soft and shaken up by both the recent tragedy in his life and the responsibility that has been suddenly shoved upon him. Publicly, he can have none of that. The crest of the Ginga is a stylized bear’s claw, and he must show the strength of a bear in rounding up his unruly subordinates, lest he lose control over them. This unaccustomed mask is already beginning to fray his nerves.

Sword Style: Unsteady. Jiemon is unsure of his abilities and has not solidified his style. His performance and choices in any given spar will be unduly influenced by his mood and his previous fortunes. He can be defeated shortly after he is first struck and his confidence is shattered.