The Seven Virtues
by Rich Wulf
A plume of ominous black
smoke rose over the craggy mountains. This was a quiet place, many days’ from
any cities of note. On any other day, the warning might have gone unseen. Today,
a band of samurai in the green armor of Emerald Magistrates, led by the Emperor’s
herald, followed this lonely road back to Toshi Ranbo. With a swift gesture and
a simple command, the samurai galloped toward the smoke. When they arrived,
they found a tiny village. The temple at its center was crackling with flame.
“Bandits,” Shoin shouted
to his men, and they charged toward the city at a gallop.
When they arrived, there
was no fighting in the village. Monks and farmers hurried from the temple to
the nearby stream, carrying buckets of water. Corpses lay strewn about the
roads, the battle obviously too recent for them to receive a proper burial.
Miya Shoin shouted quick commands to his troops, turning their strength toward
dousing the burning buildings. As he approached the temple he saw seven
familiar kanji inscribed above its gates.
Honesty. Courage.
Compassion. Courtesy. Honor. Sincerity. Duty. The seven virtues of bushido.
“What has happened here?”
Shoin asked a passing monk.
“The village was attacked
by bandits, sama,” the monk said, keeping his head bowed respectfully as he
spoke to the Imperial Herald.
“But you have dealt with
them?” Shoin asked.
“No, sama,” the monk
replied. “The villagers here are not warriors, and my sect has taken strict
vows against violence.”
“Then how did you protect
your village?” Shoin asked.
“Seven heroes,” the monk
said. “Each embodying one of the virtues that protect this temple.” The monk
studied Shoin carefully. “You are a shisha, a collector of legends and teller
of tales. This is a tale worth hearing, sama.”
“Then tell me this tale,”
Shoin replied, “and I shall make certain all the Empire remembers it.”
•
Bushido
is the code that governs the life of every samurai. Those who embody the seven
virtues are remembered among the Empire's greatest heroes. This will be the
tale of seven of those heroes.
The
identities of these seven heroes will be determined by a series of seven
tournaments. The faction played by each winner will determine a hero’s
identity. This will result in an Experienced version of an existing
personality, naming them as one of the seven champions of bushido.
Further,
these seven characters will appear in a multi-part weekly fiction, telling the
tale of their heroism. If the Shadowlands claims victory in any tournament, the
hero will instead hail from the highest placing Great Clan faction, but this
hero will bear the Shadowlands Taint.