Maki is overjoyed at Shiho Hiroto’s return to Jwar and believes it is only a matter of time before there is a change in the Prefecture’s leadership. Maki is well versed in killing and ambush and moving with stealth over and under the land. Her family were soldiers for the Eagle, and she has been raised with them, fighting the guerilla war since she was old enough to hold a knife. Out of sheer necessity, Maki learned to fight with two blades instead of one.
Keita was old, even at the Battle of Sagoya, and even though he wished to stand and die with his clan, his orders were to protect the children so that the Shiho clan stood a chance of surviving. Keita has honoured that final order every day of his life by keeping them safe with his blade and teaching them the finer points of swordsmanship as they grew. Yet, there is something to Keita that makes people want to bow even deeper in his presence. Perhaps it is his lordly demeanour and inherent nobility?
The Shiho’s Ashigaru were once the pride of the Jwar Isles and made up a small but significant part of the Imperial armies that the Emperor relished taking into battle. But that was then, and this is now, and right now, the Takashi Ashigaru are considered the best-trained troops, patrolling the Jwar Isles keeping order for the Prefecture. Still, the Shiho’s fighting men have been together since the usurpation, and the loyalty they show each other is matched only by their commitment to the fallen Eagle Clan.
