If the campaign goes off really good, maybe we could continue it onwards?<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">About Kenshin</div><div class="spoiler_body">"Oni and Goblin aren't the only monsters in the Empire; but they're the ones the people don't know about."--Hida Kenshin <br/><br/>When the other Clans are busy hiding their faces behind silk fans, the Crab are putting on helmets. When the other Clans are busy exchanging honeyed words, the Crab sharpen their swords. While the rest of the Empire kills itself over pointless squabbles and trifling insults, the Crab throw themselves at an enemy countless in number, inestimable in malice; and all for what? So that those pompous bags of winds can keep trading half-truths and veiled insults in their fancy gardens! <br/><br/>Crab are brusque individuals, but Kenshin has seemingly taken this almost to its logical conclusion. There is no real room for nicety; not to strangers, at least. Not to the Unproven. And even then, when someone is Proven, the niceties can only go so far, because a kind word won't save you from being killed by an Oni's tetsubo; only good steel, and the will to kill can save you from that. And some times, you know... some times, monsters aren't just goblins, or Oni. Some times, the real monster is our fellow man; and some times, they need to die, too. <br/><br/>While in the field of battle, Kenshin can enter into an almost Zen-like state of tranquility, outside of the fight, away from the blood and the carnage, life is more difficult. People are difficult. He's expectant of, and accustomed to, the people of the Empire playing their stupid word games, and political maneuvers; acting as if they were some grand general when all they are weak and pathetic thralls that would come back as zombies if they spent even a few hours in the Shadowlands. To say that Kenshin has a lot of anger and animosity would be... a very astute observation. <br/><br/>It is also a good observation to understand that while he struggles to uphold the tenets of Bushido, when push comes to shove, he sees his first duty as killing monsters--and to a lesser extent, protecting people from the predations of said monsters (though he would be loath to admit he does this for any reason besides some sort of self-righteous "I have to do it because no one else will", or a feeling that the other Clans don't know what the "real threat" is).<br/><br/>At seventeen years old, Kenshin is still quite young, and susceptible to the follies of youth. While his warrior prowess, and special skills beyond that make him a good candidate for defending the Wall and going on Shadowlands excursions, his lack of maturity is a serious problem. It was generally agreed upon that sending him out on a Musha Sugyo, to experience the lands beyond the Empire, and to see what it is they fight for, would be the final touch that his education needed; that it was something he simply could not learn in the Dojo, even though his Sensei had otherwise done a remarkable job in tutoring him.<br/><br/>An interesting fact about Kenshin is that he has a strange power among the Bushi, and actually received some tutelage from a Shugenja named Emi to hone this power. When he was still young, no older than 13 or 14, he sensed a great malicious energy. He begged his Sensei to send warriors to investigate it, throwing an uncharacteristic hysterical fit until they did so. It's a good thing they listened to the youth, for a band of monsters had managed to find a way past the wall, and were intent on causing harm; but they were quickly foiled.<br/><br/>After this occurred, his time was spent training both his body, with Sensei Noetha, and his mind with Sensei Emi, who taught him more about the universe, and the strands of webbing that connect everything together; how to understand the strands, and how they pull and tug on each other. How to "see evil without eyes". She also subjected him to harmful spells and incantations, to acts of seduction, and other such arts that he was made to resist; such long term exposure and training to resist the seductive forces of evil, as well as the more direct applications of magic have left him with a willpower as strong as the lacquered armor he wears. <br/><br/>While he uses his power to seek out monsters to kill them, this has led to many people misunderstanding things; more often than not, people believe that he is cursed, and that he is actually the reason the monsters attack in the first place (when, in fact, he simply finds their location, determines where they are going to strike, and moves to either intercept or warn the inhabitants).  That he invariably gets outraged over how people treat him (especially when they see how thoroughly he butchers the remains of said monsters; even bandits), he has gained an understandable reputation for being something of a wild animal.<br/><br/>He finds the daily maintenance of equipment to be a peaceful endeavor, but one he often does not get to engage in. <br/><br/>His parents, though; they have high hopes for him. They pray that he will return from this pilgrimage a new man, a better man. That he will come back with the maturity he needs to best serve the clan. They have faith enough in his skills, for sure; they even bequeathed their ancestral blade to him, a Zanbato (a nearly seven foot long sword), inlaid with Jade. This is a fabled "Oni-killer" that was wielded by his mother's father, Ken'ichi, for whom Kenshin was named after; and unfortunately, took after. Ken'ichi himself was quite the wild warrior who ran roughshod all over the place, though none would dare to question his might or skill.  <br/><br/>He hasn't had very much time to spend beyond Crab lands, but what time he did spend has been primarily in the lands of the Lion clan. They eventually saw past his bad reputation (both the undeserved and deserved), and came to accept him as a respectable warrior, a relatively good strategist and commander; and they found that he shared many of the traits they exemplify. This mutual goodwill that was fostered has softened his opinion of the Empire's people somewhat, and Kenshin definitely views the Lion as 'good people'--he'd even happily marry into them, because he thinks it would strengthen the Crab clan--though he couldn't linger with them for too long. Still, he can count on a few people in those lands as friends, and they have helped him take the first step he needed to shed out of his childish demeanor.<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">What most people have heard</div><div class="spoiler_body">Hey, you didn't hear it from me, but...that Ronin? <strong>carries a sword larger than he is?</strong>, It isn't for show. I heard he only <strong>fights duels to the death</strong>, and that he <strong>butchers the corpses</strong> afterwards, so that their souls will never know rest. <strong>That's why he's cursed!</strong> <em>You'd better not associate with him, or else the unclean spirits will come after you, too! </em> That red armor... <strong>it must make it hard to see all the blood on him.</strong> <br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Equipment/Stats</div><div class="spoiler_body">Knife, Wakizashi, Katana, Jade-inlaid Zanbato (Torōrukirā (Troll Killer)), Tetsubo, Crossbow, Lacquered Armor, Traveling Clothes, Traveling Pack (Containing: Blacksmith's hammer, flint and tinder, rope (50 feet), week's rations, whetstone, lantern, small tent, wicker umbrella, blanket, bottle of umeshu), 3 koku. <br/>To give an idea of how big a Zanbato is: https://i.imgur.com/Cmf7T7j.jpg<br/><br/>Earth: 3<br/>Fire: 1<br/>Water: 2<br/>Air: 1<br/>Void: 3<br/><br/>Fitness 2<br/>Command 1<br/>Tactics 2<br/>MA (melee) 1<br/>Survival 2<br/>Meditation 1<br/><br/>Resilience: 10<br/>Focus: 2<br/>Composure: 8<br/>Vigilance: 2<br/><br/>Status: 30<br/>Glory: 52<br/>Honor: 40<br/><br/>Sixth Sense, Indomitable Will, Armament, Whispers of Doom, Ferocity. <br/></div></div>