Is he a beast or a man? More of some or less of the other? No one knows, not even he knows. What is known is that his loyalty to Shiho Hiroto is unquestionable. Eldest Brother would walk through the fires of the 10,000 Hells for him. His word is his bond, and his bond is everything. Being left behind after a Savage Wave raid, Eldest Brother now strides two wholly incompatible worlds, doing the best that he can with what he has. Hiroto saved him from the very worst of humankind’s behaviour, and they have been together ever since.
The element of Metal encompasses not only the substance itself, but the fact that metallurgy and blacksmithing is needed to refine metal from simple ores. Metal is also the element of cogs and gears and represents advancement and technology. The Kami often take shapes of finished products of the smiths' art rather than amorphous masses of the element because of this, even when appearing to a Monk of Ro-Kan, the Kami will be a finished katana or system of gears.
The eagles from across the Jwar Isles come to the call of the Tengu. Great, majestic, aerial hunters, undisputed kings of the sky across most of the empire. Eagles are huge birds of prey, some able to lift off a whole goat using their massive wings. Recently, the eagles have also come to the call of another, a human blessed to carry the Mon of the Eagle clan.
After the great tsunami, many of Ro-Kan’s peasants had to turn from rice farming to other means of providing food. Most followed the Temple's proscription on eating meat but a few, mostly those living nearer to large cities, turned to hunting. Ichiro is old enough to remember the old rulers of the Jwar Isles and comes to fight when they call.
Karu is the leader of a small but noble samurai family. His dedication to protecting his lands and following the honourable path may have gone entirely unnoticed by the world until three princesses of the imperial house were ambushed on his lands. After giving them aid and helping them on their way, Karu left to follow them to aid in their quest, not knowing if he will even be able to find them again.
An eclectic retinue of warriors plucked from the mainland by Shiho Hiroto while on his travels around the Empire. Among the group is a wild horseman of the steppes fighting alongside a strongman wielding a fiery log as his weapon of choice. Then we have a ritually scarred Michi monk trapped in endless suffering supported by two mysterious swordsmen who are identical in both manner and style. Finally, a venerable Shiho banner bearer who has spent countless years alone in the swamps thinking that the Dragon Wars still raged on around him.
