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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brown Jenkin" data-source="post: 204012" data-attributes="member: 2572">Notes from MirTo help our readers recap I thought I might provide my views on everyone in our little group. Please understand that these are from my perspective only, and would be happy to see Verick’s take as well, since apparently I am not to be trusted.Hiruma Toshiro: The leader of our group as appointed by Lord Shinjo Jyaku, well ok he is given assignments and we have been recruited to help him. A Crab samurai in name only. Having met other Crabs Toshiro is nothing like them, seaming instead to have many more Crane like aspects. He does not drink, or womanize and even when the object of only lightly veiled insults he maintains his composure and courtesy. These Crane tendencies even come up in the matters of the heart. Toshiro has asked for my help in his attempts to woo his trainer Shinjo O-Hisa, a nice Unicorn samurai girl who is teaching him how to ride a horse. He is a good man at heart even if a little weak willed when it comes to stopping shugenja from messing with his mind.  I can see why he was sent here rather than being given an assignment on the wall.Mindra: Toshiro’s monkey companion. I do not fully understand our monkey, maybe it is something about his race in general, I do not know. He claims that his ancestors instructed him to help protect Toshiro. I can understand Toshiro needing someone to watch over him, but why the interest from the monkeys? The monkey’s magic is also strange, somewhat similar to the Rokugani magic in asking spirits for help, but it is like nothing I have run into before. I will not complain however as his healing skills far surpass mine at this point, which has helped save everyone’s life many times. On the way back from the forest the mystery deepened when we ran into some Naga who seemed to think that the monkey was somehow spiritually attuned to them, or more precisely one of their artifacts. Maybe he can help teach me as well how to improve my bonds with nature and the Oak Father? Toritaka Kazuyuki: the newest addition to our party. Apparently Hida Toshiaki was concerned about Toshiro’s crane like behaviors and so sent Kaz to help Toshiro remember where he is from and how to maintain the reputation of the Crab. Now Kaz is very much a Crab, he drinks to excess and is constantly womanizing, however he does not seem to be getting through to Toshiro as Toshiro seems to be slipping further and further into crane behaviors. Maybe it is that Kaz is lower ranking and does not want to insult his superior by telling him what to do, I do not know. Kaz is a good fighter, maybe even better than Toshiro. He has not shared much with me yet so I cannot fully comment on him. I was warned that those from deeper in the empire are distrustful of us so called barbarians, maybe this is an example of that. Yukiyo: a young unicorn girl who is good with a bow. So far our experiences with Yukiyo have been occasional. She is not a samurai but as a commoner she is quite an exceptional archer. It seems she has sworn some kind of oath to Toshiro and so falls under his direct control. For some reason Toshiro though doesn’t seem to mind her habit of taking off by herself for long stretches. So far she seems nice enough, we have even helped each other learn our respective languages. Volar: an elven mage. Like myself Volar came in from the west on the same caravan. Unlike myself he seems to be here more against his will, having mentioned that he can’t go back for at least 80 years. It is good to have Volar around since he shares my knowledge of the west which gives me someone to discuss things with. Both of us are adventuring with Toshiro for much the same reason, to explore this new land. While neither of us owes any obligations to Toshiro, we have developed some personal loyalty due to shared experiences. Plus it doesn’t hurt that he is our ticket to move around in this land, as without him we would likely be stuck in Bugaisha. Volar seems a little more chaotic than me though, although I have come to expect such things from elves, and it sometimes seems as if he has his own agenda while we are here. As long as he is willing to hang out with us I welcome his company, plus having a wizard on your side never hurts.That brings us to our last companion, and at least for me perhaps the most interesting. Akodo Verick: Our Lion cub. Like Volar and Myself, Verick came here on the same caravan. We call him a lion cub since he is but a teenager who claims to be of the great Lion clan. He says that he is here to reclaim his name and become a great Samurai like his father. So far he has shown that he might have some fighting skills, but mostly he is a teenage boy. While I am used to having men fall in love with me, something about my outgoing personality and divine heritage seems to do that, he seems even more enamored than most. He is almost like a little puppy dog following me around. Unlike the rest of us I can see no reason for him, other than me, to follow Toshiro around, as this seams counter to his goal of reclaiming his place in the Lion clan.  He seems particularly fascinated with my love life jealously putting down any mention of my past boyfriends, in particular he seems to be especially confused over the difference between dating and mating. Maybe someday in the future I might be interested, but first he must grow up a little and stop this 10 year old practice of teasing the girl he is interested in.Well now back to our story (hopefully), although I am sure we will hear again from Verick after this.</blockquote>

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