His vision was blurry and his heart raced as he began to wake. Wracked with pain and disorientation from a terrible fever. The voices a mix of hushed worried whispers could be heard not far away. As he tried to find the source the world churned and scenes washed over him. Many were memories familiar yet distant, Some aligned with the voices, some unfamiliar, some were not even his own.

.....Many Years before.....
          Hibiki-kun... the words didn't escape from his lips as his brother checked his pulse and the peasant boy beside him padded a wet cloth across his head. Hibiki looked up to someone who stood just outside his vision and shook his head with clear concern on his face. It was unlike him to allow emotion to creep in through his on. When was the last time Hibiki was concerned for me? Kaji wondered as his thoughts and consciousness waned back and forth between similar moments in time, but one was most prominent.
         "I'm sorry, -sama. He is to unstable to return to his post. The water kami are no longer responding to heal his wound, and this fever is no ordinary sickness. No magic is working." Hibiki states with a matter of fact tone, his mannerisms holding his ground. Clearly unsettled by the persistence of the general, he bows shortly when the figure turns abruptly and walks away. His crimson eyes slowly fall onto Kitsu Kaji for a moment. A hint of worry and pity crosses his face seeing his younger brother in such a pitiful state. But when he sees Kaji's glazed eyes meet his own his demeanor returns to that of contempt and he adjusts his posture.
          "Continue to treat the fever and change the bandage every few hours. You will notify me if his condition changes. A yojimbo will be placed on his door. If he begins to turn, she will end him quickly" He commands the boy, trying not to allow his concern to be heard through his words.
          "What about these black tendrils, s-sama? W-Would it not be b-better to cut out the corruption?" The boy asked hesitantly, stammering on his words as he realizes he spoke aloud.
          Hibiki's eyes coldly glance in the boys direction but past him and the boy wordlessly falls to the floor in an a pleading and apologetic bow. The Lion shugenja needed not say anything for the peasant attendant knew he overstepped by questioning a samurai. Turning away and standing in the door Hibiki spoke quietly but just loud enough for the boy and Kaji to hear. "It's your own fault. If you allow the corruption to take you then no one will ever believe you and your weakness will disgrace us. Your a bushi." the words carry his disdain. "Weakness will not be excused, especially from a Taisho." The words drift into Kaji's mind as his consciousness wanes yet again.

....shifting and churning again....
          When his eyes adjusted it was not Hibiki in the doorway but an unfamiliar reptilian figure looking down at the much older but still the same peasant kneeling beside him. This time speaking in another tongue than their own. It took several moments for the words to translate in his mind. "It is not the shadow ... it is old wound from before the shadow... please, my Lord must have ... discretion in this." The peasants words trail off clearly uncomfortable in the topic. His accent still strong from only recently learning the common tongue of worlds.
          The robed reptilian figure glances over as their eyes meet for a moment but he turns again as a voice from outside the door is heard, an inquisitive playfulness lilts in their tone. "As I said, I pulled them through the portal, they were already injured and he collapsed only moments after. The potion didn't work, some kind of curse I figured... but that scar there... it doesn't seem to pour miasma like the others, and he seems to be telling the truth."
          The Reptilian sighed. "I'll verify with my Lady Knowledge before I proceed further, but he is stable for now." He said thoughtfully, The reptilian's voice was surprisingly soft-spoken but it was still masculine. He adjusts his spectacles as he continues "Fhi Shi, The king's guard asked for you about 20 minutes before you arrived. Never said what it was for."
          "Really? How interesting, I guess I've been stirring the pot with my recent successes..." Fhi Shi hisses with glee from outside the room. The figure can be heard leaving. 

          Pain and exhaustion overcome him and again he is thrown into fever dreams.

~Foundations~

           The Lands of Rokugan were particularly delicate and precious as it was the birthplace of all things. Spirits were extremely abundant here and the realms required stabilizing and regular maintenance or they would bleed together like wet watercolor paints. The heavens created three seals that acted as pillars that kept the more invasive realms from overpowering everything. If not for these seals, there would be no maintenance or power that could stop them from consuming the world.
          The Religions around Rokugan varied wildly, but all of them had certain similarities and entities which only validated Rokugani beliefs. The sun and moon ruled the heavens, They bore the many founding entities such as the Elder Jinn of the burning sands, The akasha of the Naga, and the Great Kami of Rokugan. The Rokugani believe the Great Kami were the children of the Sun and moon.
           The story tells that all things were created by the nothing through it's fears doubts and desires and that it regretted what it had done and wanted to erase it. It whispered to the Moon and poisoned his mind, and the Moon ate his own children fearing they would be his demise. The sun gave her children tools to protect themselves against the moon but she would not stand against her husband. The great kami cut their way out of the moon's belly and fell to the material earth. One of them had already died in his belly and one of them was struck by Lord moon as he escaped and fell far to the south with such force that he tore a hole into the realm of evil and was corrupted and consumed by it. The rest fell into various parts of Rokugan. The Great Kami lost much of their divinity in their fall but still retained some of it, allowing them to live hundreds of years and to take various forms while performing miracles for the humans that fell to their knees before them.
           They found the humans there in various warring tribes, and remembering the teachings of their mother they began to unite them and teach them. They took husbands and wives bearing children with their sacred bloodlines. Their most loyal and closest friends received divine blessings upon their bloodlines creating the Samurai cast. From there, those blessed by the Kami were also the protectors of the people, charged with the duty to protect, guide, teach and govern them. 

 ~The Celestial Order~

         Only those who shared the bloodline of one of the 9 Great Kami were considered nobility Kuge Samurai, and those who share indirect or a bestowed bloodline of the Kami were Buke samurai. Those who fell under the protection of Samurai who also accepted the celestial order became the peasantry of Rokugan often referred to as Bonge and heimin and made up the vast majority of people there.
          On the lowest caste there were the Burakumin who were treated as undesirables by the majority. They were either foreigner Gaijin or Henin, those who carried filthy bloodlines or did filthy jobs such as butchers handling raw meat and leatherworkers;  grave diggers, prostitutes and lastly slaves who bore the derogatory term eta. Rokugani believed that if you were born into the eta caste then you have seriously wronged in a past life that your karma was so filthy that you were born to spend your life trying to cleanse it through service and bearing mistreatment.
          Rokugan was xenophobic by imperial decree since foreigners rarely upheld the tenants of bushido honor and were generally offensive to the delicate subtleties of the Rokugani culture. This cultural disparity caused Rokugani to view Foreigners with both curiosity and caution, but many treat them as lesser humans. There are many in the higher casts of society who thought gaijin are to peasants as coyotes are to dogs; uncivilized, filthy, and in desperate need of reeducation. 

           The celestial heavens were very involved in the early days of the Empire of Rokugan. Each of the clans were founded by a Great Kami and thus had their own lineages of samurai and Nobility. Only in more recent generations were clans bestowed by the Emperor, who also not only bore the bloodline of the Great Kami but also the blessing of the Celestial Heavens which allowed direct communication with heaven. This meant that to defy the emperor was to defy heaven, and only he could bestow a change of caste as he spoke for heaven, with only very rare exceptions to this.
          The emperor's powers were more than just words though. He could bestow divine titles, and those divine titles actually granted divine powers associated with those titles. The Fortunes are an example of this. There were several fortunes that existed before the empire was created, but many were created after. They were gods of their title's domain, for example the Fortune of Persistence was once a Samurai, who refused to give up and persisted in his causes even after death. He found portals to the realm of the living from the realms of the dead, returning over and over to champion his people. The Emperor gave him the title Fortune of Persistence and he became a god that ruled the domain of persistence, powers which surpassed even the Emperor himself. It was more of a matter of purpose though, the Emperor was the representative of humanity who spoke to the heavens, and then dictated the will of heaven on the material world. He technically bore no divine powers of his own, but the heavens blessing granted when he was anointed Emperor meant that the decisions he made would be upheld by the heavens. So if he decided to name someone a fortune, the heavens would grant that person the divinity even if they were already dead. Whatever purpose the new title gave them would be all encompassing, and they evolved into something new, a God entity of that title's domain and purpose.

         Many changes happened to the Celestial order over the centuries. Even the Sun and the Moon were replaced by mortals who were replaced again by the Celestial Dragons after; but a few things remained a constant. The Heavens and thus all of creation were bound by the Celestial Court with the Sun and the Moon ruling just as the Emperor and Empress ruled over the Rokugani mortals. There were the Dragons who Ruled their elements and their respective Cosmic Purposes. There were the Fortunes who were the Gods of their respective Domains. Then there were the Ancestors, ruled by their respective Great Kami who all died over the centuries, bearing stories best told for another time. The Ancestors were scattered among many planes based on their deeds and their karma and the memory their kin hold for them. Their souls in waiting, resting or facing punishment until their rebirth. Based on their Karmic history, a soul would be reborn into the class that it deserved, and face a life with challenges appropriate for its stage of development and enlightenment. A soul was to be reborn and follow the same cycle until their soul is refined and eventually reaches a state of pure enlightenment. What that meant was not explained as it was supposed to be incomprehensible for mortals to understand.

~The Kitsu~

The Kitsu family have a rich history spanning 1200 years serving the Lion clan. They were most notable for their Shugenja. Shugenja were magic users and also considered non-warrior Samurai, who relied on prayers to elemental spirits to activate their magical spells. But magic users in the the lands of Rokugan were extremely rare, and families relied on strict control of their bloodlines to keep their magical potency alive. They also claim heritage to the ancient Kitsu race, hence their namesake. 

          The Kitsu Race was one of the original 5 ancient races of Yokai who ruled the lands before people became protected by the Great Kami. They were large shape-shifters whose natural form were bipedal lion like humanoids, with a spiritual connection to the enigmatic fifth element, the void. Kitsu were able to exist in both the physical and the spirit realms and travel between them at will. Their purpose was to balance the spirit realms to keep them from causing instability on the physical realm.
          Before the Great Kami fell, there was a war between the 5 ancient races and the Foul, which was just another aspect of the nothing. The Kitsu refused to partake, believing the foul could not affect them because of their connection to the void. But one Kitsu defied their pride's orders because he believed the foul was dangerous to the balance and needed to be stopped. So he took a contingent to the ancient city and activated a magical device that was said to be able to protect the world. With great power comes great cost, and the Kitsu failed to control the device and the magic went awry. It ripped through the ancient city trapping it and all who dwelled there in crystal. It destroyed the army of the foul but left the 5 races in shambles and disarray. The Kitsu responsible and any who followed him were cast out of the physical realm and banished to the realm of slaughter, Toshigoku. The rest of the Kitsu became slightly detached from the spirit realms, making their abilities to travel them more difficult and greatly weakened.
          Then the Great Kami came. Akodo, one of the Great Kami made war on the Kitsu believing they were a threat and not realizing their intelligence. They were exterminated down to only a remaining 5 Kitsu left, still weakened from the fall of the 5 races. Only then did the Kami see the intelligence behind their eyes as the Kitsu dropped to his knees before the great Kami, pleading for the lives of his children in a language the Kami did not understand. Akodo regretted what he had done, realizing he had exterminated an honorable race of people. So he offered his 5 daughters to the remaining 5 Kitsu, that through their marriages the Akodo could make amends through generations of dedication to the Kitsu race.

          The new family was named after the race they had destroyed and dedicated themselves to maintaining the balance of the spirit realms and protecting the physical realm for them. This also started a deep respect and reverence for the ancestors, as even though the Kitsu race was dead, they still watched over the veil. Due to their bloodline, Kitsu shugenja became known for being able to see and interact with spirits of those who have died and calling upon ancient ancestors for their aid and protection. They also discovered ways to traverse the spirit realms for short periods. It was still however rare. Such a bloodline became fiercely protected, those with magical talents, shugenja, were cultivated, those without, bushi warriors and courtier politicians, were kept close incase their descendants manifested any latent talent.
          The Kitsu had become a sacred bloodline and those with the closest lineage still bore one or more of the Yokai's distinguishing features even after 1200 years. Gold or Red colored eyes; Red, ginger or curly hair; more of a fair yellow tan to their skin tone. Young Shugenja often had stronger spiritual senses and could see non elemental spirits as well as the normal elemental ones. These aspects became so strongly desired that those who did not develop the spiritual senses were often overlooked and shunned by their own family. They were also often used in political bargaining since there were still a chance their children could develop the senses and their striking features were a rarity that other clans and samurai houses often sought.

~A Brief History~

1200 years of history is a lot of time to cover and such an explanation is hardly needed to get the picture.

          Most recently the Destroyer war was a war caused by a Gaijin Deity, Kali-Ma, that attempted to conquer the world. She had traveled with her armies through the south and became corrupted by the festering pit of the realm of evil, Jigoku, which existed since the fall of the Kami. Rokugan finally stopped her in the Scorpion Clan's lands and only after major sacrifices were made that reshaped the dynamic of the Empire. The war ended in 1173, but the empire was ravaged by terrible plague, starvation, and taint marred the land and its people.
          The Corruption from Jigoku, the Realm of Evil, was referred to as Taint. It was a sinister plague that spread like a disease but also like a chemical weapon. It affected mind body and soul, as even death was not a reprieve from it. Victims who succumbed to its effects would present signs of paranoia and madness, with extreme urges towards violence, cruelty and filthy behavior. Their Bodies would develop symptoms similar to that of radiation poisoning, and demonic mutations would eventually begin to appear. Their soul would be stained and have various afflictions and curses. The elements within them would become unstable and they would be unable to center, separating them from the void which was believed to hold the composition of all things together. Their bodies forever wracked with pain from horrific mutation, or unable to feel pain at all as their nerves dissolved from being burned away by the taint. If The victim did not eventually die which most did, they became lost to the will of the realm of evil. No longer able to distinguish their own feelings and actions from the control of the realm's will. Taint spread the same way that radiation did, as well as any blood born plague. Additionally those who gave into the Taint became emboldened by it. They became stronger the more tainted they became gaining unholy powers as their souls became twisted unnatural entities. If a tainted creature died the taint would make it rise again as an undead. If they were tainted enough they may retain their sentience and become an extremely powerful undead. Even the lost were not immune to further corruption, only their bodies so suffused with negative energy that they would no longer die from normal means. The continual uses of the realms power would continue to add to their strength and madness until all traces of humanity were gone and all that remained were lesser nameless demons.
          Taint was not restricted to the living, as it was actually the will of the realm greedily trying to spread. It affected the ground and items, vibrating an unnatural, invisible aura just like radiation. Those that came in contact with tainted items, creatures or land were at risk for its effects which were not always readily apparent. But sometimes the taint was so thick that the land would begin to warp and change. It would manifest on negative emotions creating toxic and downright dangerous environments. tainted water would contain contaminants and poisons. Sometimes looking, smelling and tasting like perfectly clear crisp water but was actually corrosive acid that waited until it came in contact with skin before burning it away. The wind would carry voices and illusions in addition to unstable and dangerous weather. Normal trees and bushes would become carnivores and be able to move on their own. The dirt would look like normal soil and then crack open into gaping maws to consume any unsuspecting entity. Creatures were viscous and mutations were utterly miserable, not only making the creature grotesque but were often painful tortures within themselves. Tainted entities and landscapes were not just dangerous to the non-tainted but they fed on the misery of their own as well. Sometimes becoming more powerful by the spread of misery.
          One common substance was found in highly tainted regions, obsidian. The Black crystalline glass was inherently negative and once it began to harbor taint it held it forever becoming an unholy beacon. Evil entities would craft obsidian into malicious weapons that left malign tainted wounds. They would also carry obsidian to protect them from the damaging effects that sanctified areas had on the tainted.
          Things were not completely hopeless as there were ways to combat the taint. Carrying sacred substances such as Jade was a minor protection from the corruptive aura. Powdered Jade was sometimes used in water filtration developed by the crab clan, which purified the drinking water. Crystal and Jade were often used on weapons developed specifically for tainted creatures since it overcame the corrupted carapace of some creatures and demons. Crystal, so long as it was pure and still bore divine energy did not degrade from usage. However Jade did, it would become softer and eventually crumble away into stone and tar like sludge when exposed to corruption for to long, at which point it would no longer offer protection. Pure divine crystal was extremely rare. Rokugani people were not technologically advanced enough to determine what caused crystal to be divinely pure. Diamonds did not hold the same properties, nore did any other crystalline substance. The crystal had to be pure white or crystal clear like glass without inclusions, and it was typically found in giant geodes deep in the ground submerged in fresh water. Only a few crystals in the entirety of the geode would bear the specific properties that allowed it to contain divine energy. They were priceless pieces highly sought by the clans.
          Jade petal tea was eventually developed by a monastery within the empire. It was grown from lotus in a pond that was held in a giant bowl of natural jade. The tea was then suffused with minerals, salts and herbs. The suffusion took a century to develop the right balance and the proper cultivation of the lotus took another two centuries to develop. Making the infusion highly sought and extremely valuable but also very limited. The monks worked with organizations all across rokugan to distribute the substance as fairly as possible. Drinking Jade petal tea would stave off the effects of the Taint, completely disconnecting them from the powers and the whispers of evil. It was temporary though, one tea ceremony would only last for a few days. This temporary affect however allowed many to keep the corruption from spreading and some even found that with the help of the tea they would be able to reverse the taint in their body. Most would use the tea to prepare themselves for Seppuku, so that their death could happen with their mind in tact.
          Ritual suicide, Seppuku, was used in the most extreme cases of dishonor to protect the samurai's family from social shame. Samurai were so dependant on their reputation that shame could mean the death of their entire family line. Though being tainted was not illegal in and of itself, the taint often led to shameful behavior and risked the reputations of not only the tainted person but those around them. A severely tainted person who could not take their own life would be executed at the first sign that they have become a danger to others.

           During the Destroyer war the leader of the Realm of Evil made a deal with the Empress. He would withhold the taint from those who did not take it willingly, in exchange his people would be allowed to roam free and have their own clan. He sealed the deal by sacrificing himself to kill the Destroyer God of the Gaijin. But the empire was not ready to embrace his corrupted Samurai. He knew this and built in a safeguard. The Samurai who was to lead his clan was descended of the original imperial bloodline and bore the sword of the first emperor. He also did not stop the spread of the Taint, only withholding its effects on those tainted. As people drank tainted water, ate tainted food, had sex with unknowing carriers, stopped treating open wounds with purifying agents... the Taint continued to spread rampant beneath the eyes of the gullible populations. On the surface was political upheaval, the new Spider clan made allies in every clan and spread their doctrines of Shorudo, the path to power, an antithesis to honorable Bushido.

          The rise and fall of the Dark Naga happened after the Destroyer war. This enforced the Emerald Empire's push to expand their knowledge and acceptance of outsiders. The clans were given permission to colonize the Destroyers lands on the other side of the continent. Some were even given permission to study gaijin technologies including the infamous black powder used in cannons and rifles. It was the beginning of the age of exploration for the Rokugani people. But it was also the beginning of the end for their sacred homelands. The Spider clan's workings expanded their corruption, not only physically but socially. Many began to adopt the path to power in addition to the path of bushido as they found that the path to power allowed for individualism which was never present in Rokugani culture before. It bred a dangerous level of selfishness among the samurai caste, abuse of power becoming more common than honor.
          In the year 1200, the spider clan was unhappy with their lot in the empire and what they had gained from the Destroyer war no longer satisfied their greed. It was revealed that Diagotsu Kanpeki, the spider clan champion, was a direct descendant of the true imperial line stolen by the spider a generation before when the Celestial sword of the Hantei family accepted him as it's wielder which was also only possible with the blessing of the heavens. With this to fuel their ambitions, the spider clan declared war on all the empire, leading a well planned surprise attack upon the three seals that kept the realms from bleeding together. With the seals broken, the realms became unstable and all out war broke out all over the empire. The effects of the taint stopped being withheld, and those unknowingly tainted suffered the full effects of it as if a nuclear meltdown had taken the land. The spider clan's roots spread throughout the other clans created enemies within. Some clans were unable to fight due to the civil upheaval, collapsing under the infighting. Eventually a concentrated effort was made to evacuate civilians to the colonies in hopes that they would be safe...

~Names and Beginnings~

          His given name was Kitsu Takeo, and he was the second son of the third Noble house of the Kitsu family, born in 1173 of the Rokugani calendar. He inherited golden eyes which was his most striking feature as they even had a metallic luster to them that made them look like liquid gold. His long straight almost black hair was tinged dark scarlet, and his skin tone was a standard light tan, making him bear a very strong Kitsu blood appearance for how diluted the Kitsu had become by this point in the empire. Takeo however did not inherit the spiritual senses and was thus unfit to become a shugenja since he would not be able to see and interact with the elemental kami. The most he would experience was occasional chills when spirits were present but that was about as far as it went. The struggle to be seen in his family made him a smart and tactical bushi, and we was lucky enough to train in the esteemed Akodo Tactician's Bushi school to be a leader within the Lion clans massive armies.
           Kitsu Hibiki, his older brother by two years, was the inheriting child of their household and also shown to be a prodigy in both spiritual matters and water magic mastery. Hibiki did look down on Takeo for being a bushi, and was often intimidated by Takeo's leadership skills and jealous of his martial prowess. He would have bouts of paranoia that Takeo would try to seize control of their house and usurp his position as head of house. But Takeo had no such thoughts or feelings and would only acknowledge Hibiki's fears with attempts of appeasement and sacrifices of his gains. He was sometimes annoyed and even hurt that Hibiki thought of him that way but when it came to his family Takeo was dutifully obedient and genuinely wanted their happiness even if it meant sacrificing his own. You could even say he was an idealist and generally took things at face value rather than thinking about people's motives.
          Kitsu Kana was his younger sister by 3 years. She was beautiful and kind hearted, known for her generosity and naive playfulness. She was great at bringing people together and often acted as a stopgap between the brothers, turning anger into playful annoyance and bringing a smile to everyone's face. She was definitely the light of the family and doted on accordingly.
           Takeo had a fairly good and happy childhood despite the turmoil Rokugan was experiencing following the Destroyer war. He was close to his parents and siblings, and was raised in the traditional lion clan ways. They were lucky to be born in the sacred Kitsu family, as the Lion guarded them heavily against the plagues and threats experienced by the empire.
           At the age of 7 the children of the house were sent away to school, as was typical for lion families. This instilled a sense of unity and brotherhood among the samurai. Takeo was lucky and was accepted into the prestigious Akodo war college, known for cultivating some of the empire's most skilled war tacticians and generals ever seen. His brother Hibiki was accepted into the Kitsu Sodan-Senzo Realm Walkers. This was an extremely rare path, as not only was he a skilled spiritualist who would commune with the ancestors, spirits and Kami, but as a Sodan-senzo he would work directly with the spirits to stabilize realm rifts and help spirits pass to the realm they truly belonged when they would get lost. They sometimes even walked into the spirit realms for short periods, a dangerous and prestigious ability that no other clan save the fox could claim. Shugenja were only just being granted battlefield permissions, and the traditionalist mentality of the lion and Kitsu schools reinforced peaceful monistastic approaches to life and magic. Being in different schools made things difficult between the brothers as they rarely saw each other and their training was almost opposite in philosophies. Their Father spent much time tutoring Takeo in swordsmanship and archery, often away from the family. The extra attention often made Hibiki jealous, as their father never felt the need to tutor him since he was already so masterful in his shugenja studies. Emotions were good for magic, and water kami were particularly receptive and responsive to emotional extremes. He needed to be sure that Takeo, however, would not be emotional. As samurai bushi were not to show their emotions in public, it was unseemly and caused uncertainty in subordinate military ranks. The jealousy only grew as the boys got older, and Takeo controlled his emotions by internalizing them, giving him a masterfly blank and unreadable expression even when the emotions boiled underneath.

          When Takeo turned 12, he visited his family home for the winter holidays like they had done every year since starting school. He and his brother arrived earlier than their father who was away advising military operations. Hibiki left Takeo in charge of watching Kana for a few hours while their mother was handling business for the household. Kana wanted to go shopping, so he took her out into the market. It was a beautiful day, the snow was not harsh or bitter cold and the sun was shining. He turned his back for only a moment when a trinket caught his eyes in one of the stalls. It was an innocent and simple mistake. Something must have caught her attention as well and she wandered off. He turned around and Kana was gone, just like that. He could not find her in the small crowds of citizens that lazily shopped the market. There was no trail to follow. No signs of struggle, no footprints in the snow, so sign of her whatsoever. Takeo began to panic and he looked tirelessly to no avail. Fear filled his heart, he was supposed to be responsible for her. What could have happened? Nightfall came as he continued to look, Hibiki was already furious, and he would have to face his mother soon enough. 
          Kana was found a day later, and the news shattered their world. She was unconscious and in critical condition. No one knew how she had gotten so far outside of town, the peasants that found her were able to locate their family luckily enough, but it was to late. The local healer believed she might have been run over by horse and buggy by the looks of her injuries. She was not able to tell her story, however, as she soon died from her injuries before ever waking. Takeo was crushed by his guilt, and Hibiki capitalized on it and never let it go. Their mother, Kitsu Rey, forgave him by blaming herself for not being there, but she was still taken by grief and became withdrawn.
          Worse yet, their father, Kitsu Sota, did not return home when expected. A storm rolled in bringing terrible winter weather. The News reached them weeks later when the messengers finally came through that their father had been killed in a skirmish just when winter began, stranding the messengers. Grief drew the three of them apart. Their mother became quiet and reserved, no longer involved in the things she loved. She tried to be there for her boys, but she ultimately insisted it was time to grow up and their duties would not wait for them to heal. There was no longer the playful laughter that used to fill their family house. Instead replaced with silent brooding.
          The peasants that had discovered the girl took a significant risk when they brought the girl to her family in such a condition, if the samurai thought they had any involvement in her disappearance or her brutal condition they would have been hanged for sure. But the Kitsu family instead rewarded them for her return, choosing compassion rather than suspicion. They were given a position as servants of the house. Their safety guaranteed in the luxury of samurai wealth in exchange for serving the samurai in all their needs. With the empire in such upheaval this was a very generous gift to the peasant family who would be almost completely shielded from the plagues and famines that ravaged the continent near collapse.
           Hibiki took over the house as was planned. He had learned enough to handle the affairs well without the help of others. He did not hesitate to take credit for anything that Takeo accomplished over the next couple of years, but Takeo did not mind. He did not want the spotlight, or the glory. He just did not want to be a burden and the guilt of what happened to Kana was of constant intrusion. Despite his best efforts he was never the one to bring a smile to Hibiki anymore. Any successes he made was met immediately with suspicion and coldness and he couldn't help but long for times which were long gone. He often spent his days daydreaming of the fun they used to have when it was still the three of them. His musings often only interrupted by his friend from school, Akodo Yamato. He had other friends to, but yamato quickly became part of his inner circle, and seemed to be the only one who really understood him. 

          Finally He graduated gempukku, the coming of age ceremony. It was arduous since he had to name every one of his ancestors and something significant about them leading all the way back to the founding of the Empire and Akodo himself. When a child becomes of age and passes his gempukku around the age of 15 he becomes a man, and he sheds his given name for one he chooses. Takeo chose the name Kaji. The term meant The destructive flame and often had connotations of being cursed. He thought it was appropriate, since the day his sister died he had strangely sour luck. Being unable to see spirits he often though she blamed him and had cursed him. While his Brother Hibiki (who kept his given name) always seemed to be doing well. Hibiki never acknowledged if these suspicions were true despite being able to speak to the dead. In fact, after his father's and Kana's death he would not speak of the dead around him. They also were always compared to each other much to Hibiki's dismay, which continued to apply pressure to their already strained relationship. Always Kaji was reminded of his failure and a general depression from lack of self confidence began to permeate his personality.
           Kaji was to young to be held responsible for the incident and it was generally ruled as an accident, but people in Rokugan were very superstitious people. It was a bad sign that he had failed to such a large degree before he had even had his gempuku ceremony. But against the odds, he strove against the resistance. His mother leaned into her duties to get her through the grief, and he was determined to do the same. Even if it meant he would not get the credit for his efforts, as it didn't matter to him if others knew of his accomplishments. His ancestors would and the heavens would and that was all that mattered to him. After all, to be a samurai was to serve. And Kaji served his family faithfully trying to make up for his mistakes.
          The youngest son of the peasant family was given to Kaji when he was old enough to do chores and to be his manservant. Daisuke was responsible for everything Kaji needed, from tending to his horse, to helping him don his armor. He became his personal chef and taste tester, he washed his clothes, and drew his baths. A personal servant helped with all menial tasks so that the samurai could focus on their Duties as samurai. Samurai were expected to keep their body and soul pure, this means that the servant would handle money to keep the Samurai from touching the filth of coinage; they would handle the animal the samurai hunted, and prepare it for a meal. They would do anything that a samurai could or would not expose themselves to. Daisuke was only a child approximately 8 years old, but children learned to work young, and working for their lord from an early age improved their efficiency and experience so they would know the most minute details of their individual Lord's wants and needs. And Daisuke was given his name for the joy he took in being helpful, he actually took pride in his work and worked hard. 

           Kaji and Hibiki were assigned to the same unit, as military service was the way of life for samurai families. Hibiki eventually became the Karo, an advisor for the Commander which generally kept him out of combat. The empire was in chaos, and there was war between the empire and the Dark Naga. The war was an easy distraction which the spider clan capitalized on, growing endlessly more powerful.
            Things were not all bad for Kaji though, he had friends and he was betrothed young. His closest friend Yamato grew to be friendly rivals. Yamato was a silly character who was very skilled at making jokes out of all things, had chosen to encourage rivalry and competition to keep Kaji from receding into his brooding thoughts. He was often seen as a bully, but there were always hidden truths and wisdom in his games. He had a way of bringing Kaji out of his depression and they became good drinking companions as they grew older.
            Kaji Married the pretty Akodo Emika. He did not love her but he respected her. Marriage in Rokugan was almost always arranged. The empire strived to maintain and cultivate their bloodlines, and they carefully controlled who were allowed to marry who. This is why there were geisha houses, a place that samurai could allow their emotions to show without consequence. A place where they could enjoy life and be human. Samurai often took concubines since most marriages were loveless and rarely lustful. There was respectful structure to it that kept such things behind closed doors and without incidents, as there needed to be harmony and disrupting harmony was strictly forbidden, especially in the traditionalist lion clan. Kaji and Emika pretended to be happy, but they were not unhappy either, it was a harmonious close friendship between them. They were partners after all, and family partnerships were the strongest and most important. They had two children, a boy and a girl about two years apart. He loved his children dearly and went to great lengths to make time for them.
          Kaji was not one for spending time at the geisha house as it rarely suited him, but he did eventually take a ronin concubine, a woman who chose to serve under him in his army. The affair was kept secret, as such a scandal would put shame to their house. There were no children born from it, as far as Kaji knew, but this was a love like no other. He did not know it at the time, it was not an obvious thing, as he did not pine over her at all hours like a teenager. Instead it was more subtle, it was substantially more than a close friendship with benefits. The world would melt away when he was with her, he would lose track of time and she was like another piece of himself. He could conquer anything with her at his back.

          Emika went into labor with their third child about three years after the birth of their daughter. Complications throwing their household into chaos. His second son, was stillborn, and Emika died hours later as neither the midwives nor his brother's shugenja magic were able to stabilize her. Yamato warned Kaji of the Ronin concubine, suspecting her involvement in Emika's condition that led to her untimely death. But Kaji wouldn't hear of it, he couldn't believe she would do something like that nor could he fathom Yamato's suspicions. Yamato grew furious with Kaji for not believing him. Lying was against the bushido tenant of honesty, to disbelieve another samurai was to question his honor.
          Much of the following year was a blur for Kaji as he struggled with the loss of his wife and stillborn child. It may not have been love, but she was still his friend and companion. He was withdrawn and depressed. Kitsu Rey, his mother, took over many of the responsibilities caring for Kaji's children during this time while he attended his duties. She tended the shared family estates as it was since as she was getting older the clan asked less of her these days.
          Somehow during this time Yamato got himself into some kind of serious trouble. He lost face publicly and an investigation got launched against his household. Kaji was unfortunately on autopilot, and barely noticed as the drama unfolded for the good part of a year. He avoided Yamato during this time despite knowing he could be there to clear the air, he instead was wrapped up in own depression. It was not intentional, but he ultimately never made the effort to be there for his friend.

           It wasn't until the ronin that Kaji was still infatuated with was revealed to be a 'Maho-tsukai' that he snapped back to reality. Blood magic is not only illegal but a dangerous thing that attracts the kensan, evil kami, and invariably taints the caster and often those it is cast upon. A person does not need to be able to interact with kami like a shugenja to be able to call upon the kensan. Instead they barter with blood and soul to get cursed magic that spreads corruptive taint. Kaji could not argue with the findings of the investigation, even though he could not see it. He could not see her doing such a thing, but the law in Rokugan was swift and ruthless. As a samurai he was bound by the dictates of honor and he had to cleanse the stain this would leave on his family. Enraged and heartbroken, Kaji took it upon himself and killed her. It was better than the execution that would have awaited her, he justified. But it was a difficult, emotional thing for him and he could not stand to discuss it. He never felt pain like the depths of what he had done and it haunted his every waking moment, and he could not sleep. Note that to be found having a physical relationship with a Maho-tsukai was a filthy thing. To even admit that he had feelings for such a filthy, evil person would shame his family, so he could not even share his grief. He had killed before, but this hurt on a level he did not know he could feel.
          Kaji was deeply grief stricken and haunted by what he had done. Yamato was cleared of the crimes held against him as finding the Maho-Tsukai proved his innocence, and thus protected him and his family from the brutal torture and executions reserved for such offenders. But the damage to his reputation was irreparable. Reputation in rokugan was far more important than what people thought of you, it determined everything. Status and who you served, to where you could live, who you could eat with, what you could buy, literally everything was affected by reputation. To make matters worse, Kaji barely acknowledged him, after all Yamato had done for him over the years. He had tried to warn him! He had tried to show him the truth! To think a ronin would get in the way of their friendship, it was sad really. Yamato had enough and disappeared. Leaving Kaji to his grief alone. Nothing seemed to draw him out of it now, even his duties suffered in his depression.

~~The beginning of the End~~

          It was not to long after, the pain was still fresh, that the end of empire was well on it's way. Hibiki as head of house had their mother moved to the colonies, along with Kaji's children and his own children for their combined safety. Not to say the colonies were safe, but turmoil and war was brewing and a catastrophic cataclysm inevitable. Hibiki also thought it was an opportunity for their family to take advantage of some of the opportunities the new lands offered. He and Kaji, however were to remain behind, as their duties required them on the battlefield. Kaji was thankful for it. He did not want his loving children to see him in the despicable mindset he was trying so hard to hide. He now only had Hibiki and Daisuke. Yamato had disappeared, in his betrayed mindset he cast off his name and defected from the lion clan becoming part of the spider clan and taking the name Goju Itachi. Such an act made him an enemy, it became a duty of all Lion clan samurai that if they were to cross his path they had to kill him. Hibiki still looked down on Kaji, and the young Daisuke was only 11 years old so couldn't possibly understand where Kaji was at in his life right now. So in a sense, he was still alone.

          The battles against the spider were fierce, and Kaji made it up to Taisho, a captain's rank which put him in command of an entire legion. Somewhere along the way he became injured. The wound was deep on his hip, and it became infected despite his brother's efforts to clean and heal it. The Kami were less inclined to respond as the land became more corrupt with the veil between realms thinning. The wound also grew corrupt looking, dark veins spread from the infection. Methods that revealed taint did not register him as tainted, but they both were suspicious as it began to drain the life out of him. He was plagued by recurring fever so intense he was unable to determine real from apparition. Between the wound that would not heal and the terrible things he witnessed happening across the empire Kaji began to resign himself to the fate that seemed to loom over him. Haunted by the the terrors he had done and the terrors that were happening around him, he was desensitized.
           Half the Scorpion clan torched their people and their lands and surrendered to the vengeance hungry lion as the other half seemingly defected to the spider. Only for them to fail at their ploy to betray the spider and be slaughtered to the last man was particularly humbling. The Lion clan was brutal in their treatment of the clan they thought were traitors, only to find that the scorpion clan had sacrificed themselves to try to stop the spider from the inside for the empire's sake. But even then they lost. The empire was falling into darkness, hope was quickly fading.

          Kitsu Kaji received the order by their commander, who was being advised by his brother Hibiki. Kaji was to take the bridge and guard it, allowing no one to pass until the refugees can be safely evacuated. Kaji and Hibiki both knew it was a suicide mission, no one would survive as a legion would not hold off the spider forces and Oni. Both also knew Kaji would guard it to the last man. He took the order without question, no expression on his face. He did not look upon his brother one last time, as he had already resigned himself to whatever fate became him. Hibiki, did not say anything, as doing so would be to question his lord. But his eyes followed Kaji as he turned and walked out the tent never to return, a pained expression seemingly escaping but trying to be strong. Perhaps he thought this day would never come and Kaji would always be a pain within his shadow. Perhaps he thought Kaji would fight it. Perhaps he thought Kaji would be angry that his brother would allow it, maybe it was regret. He didn't know. Perhaps he had imagined it and Hibiki didn't actually care.
            Among the Spider that harassed Kaji's force on the bridge was a familiar face. Goju Itachi, his closest friend and now sworn enemy. Somehow not surprised, Kaji accepted his Duel. Duels in war were always to the death. Itachi was always the better swordsman and Kaji fell upon Itachi's blade. The blade pierced just below his heart, straight through the other side. Blood filled his lungs and frothed as Itachi twisted the blade causing more pain and ensuring the lethality of the wound. He leaned into his ear and whispered something, but Kaji could not hear it as his body convulsed his death throws inadvertently. Hints of pain in Itachi's eyes mixed with betrayal and hatred. He pulled the blade out slowly, savoring the moment as the blade resisted being withdrawn from Kaji's ribs. Kaji fell upon the ground the rain so appropriately baptising Kaji's last moments, his eyes following Itachi's shadow that moved away.  He was not angry, somehow in that moment he was at peace, even as he saw his legion was decimated. He accepted it, and he felt he could let go. He had done the best he could, he found an honorable death, the end was a justified release.

~~The End Brings Dawn Anew~~

           What happened after that moment is speculation at best. So many possibilities could fit. Kaji Had died, and the world was right, or so he thought. But yet, it wasn't. He was alive again and when he came to consciousness on the bridge it was a bright sunny day. Spring maybe? Not fall, he had definitely died in the fall. He was alive again but forever changed. The Kitsu spirits had invaded his consciousness and body. They were intent and desperate on finding a cure for this sick world. They spoke to him, and he was certain he was going crazy. The taint must be whispering to him, the land is corrupted and dead. He saw nothing and no one, he was alone. There were no signs of how long had passed, but here on the bridge were none of the bodies of the thousands that had died. The trees were still dead, but unnatural growth had taken the lands, a sickly yellow blanching of the grasslands typical of kensan rot that would happen after long exposure to their auras. Perhaps the dead became undead and walked away?
           The wound that had claimed his life had long healed leaving a grizzly scar on his chest and back. The wound on his hip had also closed and scared a ghastly scar. Thick black lines and veins still remained under his skin, it still throbbed a painful bite to be remembered, slowing his movement and reactivity aching with arthritic pressure. Worse yet his mind was in a constant haze. A brain fog so heavy that his memories were blurring together. His mind was compensating for the addition of the inhuman spirit that resided within. Why did it chose a failure like me? Was it desperation or madness from the corruption that was clearly and presently spreading across the ancestral homelands of the Kitsu? He was not even sure he had actually died, perhaps it had revived me as my life was slipping away. Perhaps Im not even in the material realm, am I actually in Toshigoku, the plane of slaughter. It was known to be the closest realm to the kitsu lands due to the history of bloodshed and battles fought here for a milenia. The spirit did not have answers for him, and mostly seemed wholly unconcerned with anything that Kaji was concerned about. It did occasionally offer guidance, but it also wanted control, and Kaji found he would sometimes lose control to it. Completely blacking out chunks of time, after experiencing maddening pain.
             There were stories, more like legends of Kitsu spirits inhabiting humans. But it was seen as a gift. This experience seemed more like a curse. The Kitsu seemed honorable, but it was not the noble creature in the legends for its honor only extended when it was not utterly consumed by it's bloodlust and instinctual urges. Leaving Kaji with a lasting and constant fear of the agony that accompanied it's awakening, let alone what horror awaited him when he would find himself again. It wanted something, searching for a cure for the spreading darkness. Intent on the duty it had to fulfil that was stronger than it's lust, but only barely. It believed and worshiped the sun and moon, it respected him and maintained a healthy respect for life, but perhaps Kaji was stretching these truths. Perhaps he was trying to reason why he would allow this union and not commit seppuku on principal. But, perhaps it was sent from the heavens like it claims. Either way it was here to stay, and it had a purpose. Which was more than he could say for himself at that moment. As far as he was aware everyone thought he was dead, and the empire he sacrificed everything for had fallen.

          Kaji generally avoided the roaming groups of spider clan members that littered the ruins of Rokugan. Instead he was more concerned with survival, and the large gaps of time lost from the emerging ancestral spirit as well as his own weakened mind left him always guessing what day it was or how much time had passed. He even started to loose older memories and begin to write everything down in a desperate attempt to maintain who he was. He began to spend hours in prayer, hoping that his family were safe and found peace. He struggled with the reality that as far as he was aware, he had died an honorable death sacrificing himself and his legion so that refugees could flee to the colonies, and since he was alive his duties should lay with his clan, who were now in the colonies. He wondered what their family's duty is now since their sacred duty to protect the ancestral home lands was being neglected. Perhaps that is why the ancestors brought him back. Did this mean he was now a ronin? 
          Eventually he decided simply that he was Kitsu and as such he had made a vow to protect the ancestral homelands. No one else was here to do it, and Kitsu Kaji was dead, no one would be looking for him anymore, nor would his clan call upon him. It was time to take a new name to start the rest of his new life. He also determined he had not been released his name by his ancestors and therefore was not a ronin, therefore he kept the Kitsu family name and became Kitsu Saigonomono, which meant The Last One. It was not the norm, and his traditional values grated against this new reality.
          Saigonomono made his way to the spine of the world mountains that spanned the length of the empire and bordered his homelands and waited for a clear day. Shock however was what awaited him. He was not protecting the ancestral lands from the taint and the spider that had claimed it, but something far worse. The horizon was black, a black smokey wall spanned it from the ground to the sky blocking out the late day sunlight. It spanned as far as his eyes could see from north to south. A full regiment of Spider samurai stood at the base fighting some monsters that seem to spew from the shadowed mist. But most disturbingly the wall of shadow suddenly lurched forward and swallowed the fleeing army. Not one of the samurai in multiple legions escaped as the wall of shadow consumed a few miles of land in crane clan territory. There were no words that could describe the sheer magnitude and scale of what Saigonomono was witnessing. The wall of miasmic death was beyond any story ever written. Surely it was something that escaped the pit of Evil, or Perhaps the Shadow Dragon released its vengeance upon the world. But even still this was beyond even the death of the first Sun and Moon. There was no force divine or magical known to the Rokugani that could have drawn such power and destructive force.
          "This is why I brought you back," the words echoed in his mind as the Kitsu spirit attempted communication. "We must find a way to stop it and cleans the ancestral homeland of the shadow or it will consume the world." Finally, the command was simple and his purpose was clear however impossible it seamed. He headed out immediately, hoping that he could find the colonies and enlist the aid of his people, surely someone would listen. 
          Mid-evil and early renaissance times were difficult times to travel distances as large as he had ahead of him. Saigonomono had never been to the colonies as the distance was akin to someone from Korea traveling to western india by foot. He only knew that was where the Rokugani had fled when the empire had fallen. It was not long on the road that he stumbled upon another familiar face. Daisuke was on the road, he had maybe aged a year at most, the boy fell to his knees at Saigonomono's approach in tears and began begging him to come with him and continue to serve him. What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be with Hibiki? Of course he didn't turn the boy away even though he knew this was going to be a dangerous journey. He was his servant afterall and he had a duty to protect him. There was also the part of him that realized he had gone his whole life with servants doing all the basics for him, that he didn't even know how to cook rice on his own. He needed the boy just as much if not more than the boy needed him.

.....................

          The days blurred into weeks which blurred into months and then years.  They struggled and searched and fought. Everywhere they turned they found the wall of shadow and it's forces at their heels. Hope that the colonies were still out there was fading. What he thought was a duty to his ancestral lands had only grown in purview as the wall of miasmic shadow threatened the world. It was an impossible task.
          Over the years he had grown stronger and more resistant to the kitsu spirit residing within, now sometimes remaining awake behind the Spirit's control. Like riding passenger and no one can hear you or see you. There was a time that he discovered others that bore a similar fate but not with a Kitsu spirit. It was different they would change into wolves or bears or hybrids of them, they were still themselves but beastial, not sharing their body with another. 
          The legends of Kitsu choosing a host like this did not include the madness and bloodlust that this ancestral spirit he had come to know as Luag had. Luag was driven to utter madness and bloodlust with the rise of the full moon. Only hunting live prey and the consumption of their organs lessened it giving him some semblance of a personality again. But he was still impulsive and moody, searching out conflict or to satisfy other urges. There was even a time that Luag destroyed an entire village leaving bodies splayed for a mile in all directions, their innards eaten and their corpses left to rot. Saigonomono couldn't help but be repulsed by the unclean activities, making him even less inclined to seek release of his own needs and in constant prayer and in search of redemption. He couldn't help but think about what ritual must have went wrong to create this. That perhaps they were tainted and this was how it twisted him. Perhaps there was influence from the realm of slaughter somehow. Perhaps the Obsidian moon hates their union and cursed them by exerting her influence on their transformation each cycle.
          Daisuke still remained by his side after all these years, still serving as his personal servant and maintaining matters that Saigonomono either didn't want to deal with or couldn't. He said he saw Kaji fall on the battlefield from where he watched, and that he surely did die. But Daisuke's memories were also fuzzy, or perhaps he was simply not willing to share what he knew and feigned ignorance. It was only now that he had taken the name Saigonomono that he had begun to grow close to him as their status never really afforded them more before. He had become Saigonomono's most trusted person, but Daisuke has always preferred to remain the servant. Never really accepting anything that breached that and allowed him to be more, perhaps in Saigonomono's best interest. He listens and offers advice but remains a loyal servant standing at his side. Daisuke never shown fear of Luag either, and is suspiciously ok with the whole ordeal. He helps by making preparations for the moon days, helps keep track of information to help Saigonomono remain himself and remember things he forgets. There was no sign that he had ever been scratched or bitten even by accident, and he helps to remind Saigonomono to take care that others are not exposed. Not wanting Saigonomono to bare the burden of spreading the taint or the curse. They were never quite sure which it was, but it was surely contagious, as most things like this were. 
          Even after years the haze and the memory loss continued, albeit at a slower pace. Saigonomono became compulsively meticulous about preserving memory. Daisuke had grown so much older, he was becoming a young man, but sometimes even he was confused. He never answered Saigonomono's prodding about it either. Saigonomono found that his memories were the most precious to him. For all the sadness there were good memories as well. He never hated his brother, in fact he found himself missing him a lot. He never hated Yamato, and was greatly saddened by who he became. There was a part of him that was glad it was him in the end who took his life. His last words to him... he couldn't quite remember, just out of reach. These memories so easy to forget as he became immersed in the Gaijin ways that were so different. He could barely remember the smell or taste of teriyaki, or the sound of the Gong that rang every day at his school. Death and the Lycanthrope have had a heavy toll on his mind. He clings diligently to everything he was and what he had. It was ingrained in him that these ways and these things were better than the gaijin's, gaijin were uncivilized. Luag was so instinctual that if he lost his way of civility he feared he would devolve into nothing more than an animal. The ancestors and where he comes from should be the last thoughts on his mind when he dies again, else he might not reach his ancestors. What then?

          It was like starting over, his memories so diluted and frayed he could barely wield his katana with the proper skill he had been trained, the lessons and muscle memory becoming rigid and uncertain. She came to him like a mother to her child. She answered his prayers. A momentary questioning, Wasn't the Fortune of Duty a Man? He hadn't long been a Fortune when the empire fell... But as her aura washed over him it was clear. It didn't matter. Gods can be who they needed to be to whom they needed to. He was humbled instantly in awe of her. It was love, but for what she represented. He had always tried to lean on his duties especially when things got hard, just as his mother had taught. He trusted his teachings that destiny was chosen to help him find enlightenment. He could always lean into his duties to be guided through and that they were the way to salvation. Her aura reinforced it, his duties so clear. He had been chosen. His dedication to the Bushido tenant of duty had been recognized by the Fortune themself. Doubt left his mind and his fears and desires were immediately insignificant. Words were not really necessary, he knew the heavens were listening to his prayers. His devotion validated and his dedication to his insane task vindicated. The Fortune of Duty supported his cause, and she needed him to continue his quest, he was her champion and in that moment his faith was no longer blind. He responded to her call by diligently working harder, dedicating to his duties with a zeal he had never had before. Surprising even Daisuke when he began to be able to call upon her blessings and divine magic.

          Magic in Rokugan did not realy bear a difference between divine and arcane. The Unicorn clan was the clan given permission to wield foreign magic. It was different because it did not require communication with the elemental kami. That on its own made it taboo, because to the average Rokugani it was indistinguishable from Maho. Not every Maho spell required blood sacrifice, but it drew on the evil realm nonetheless. The only acception to this was when the Fortunes or the Elemental Dragon's chose a champion, and their magic was a blessing from communing with them. Saigonomono accepted the divine gift of Duty without question. It gave him purpose again beyond whatever madness he thought he was adhering before, and who was he to question her wisdom. He found a new determination, he would put all he was into his tasks for her.

          His task still seemed impossible. The Miasma was a sinister force that reminded him both of the demonic corruption and the magic of the Shadow dragon. Contact with it could infect you. But it was not the same as the corruption of the realm of Jigoku. It was its own form of corruption, all consuming. It would drive all creatures insane, their bodies would wither away slowly being replaced by miasma until there was nothing left. Creatures from it were viscous and predatory, trying to spread their corruption without heed to their own lives. It was like they were created from the miasma as they were endless, coming in waves as the miasma pulsed. No one knew where it came from or how long it had been spreading. No one had a power that could affect it that it didn't find a way to circumvent. It blanched out the color of world turning everything grey and black. It sucked out the life force of the living, draining the soil of life giving bacterium making the ground into inhospitable clay and shale before soaking up the negative shadows and birthing sludge and viscous shadow forms both plant and animal like. They fed on the darkness and suffocated the light, devouring hope anywhere that bastians resided. Every time Saigonomono found a lead, it was crushed, but he persisted. Until one day Daisuke and Saigonomono found themselves surrounded.

          They retreated into the temple, the last building that could hold as a stronghold. Their injuries were severe and not healing naturally. Daisuke was barely shouldering Saigonomono on his feet, exhaustion overtaking them both. There was no escape, and Saigonomono was out of magic and no longer able to call upon Luag for aid. He fell to his knees in prayer, making preparations for the likelihood that this was the end. 
          Duty answered his prayers, the air began to warp and twist splitting open before them. What waited on the other side was a Blue humanoid holding a scroll that was burning up in his hands as he finished the clumsily casting it. Daisuke didn't let the confusion stop him from pushing forward through the spacial tear, the two of them stumbling through the portal. Saigonomono lost consciousness shortly after only hearing the mysterious humanoid's words barely as the world swam. "Hahaha, yesss!!!   ... I successfully summoned someone to help me defeat the great evil... I can't believe it worked, Im not even a spell caster!"