Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Uchiha_Arthas" data-source="post: 5366318" data-attributes="member: 94127">History: LONG READ, Feel Free to skip if wanted.Born in disgrace: DC= 15Many of the myths and legends regarding this blade have been deemed fairy-tales by Scholars today as have the tales of it wielders. Eons ago, a noble elven warrior mage took his bastard daughter into his house as her Tengu mother (his lover) had recently died. The fact that the child from his affair was coming to live with them greatly upset his wife and their children, the fact that half-breed children were looked down upon in noble elven society made the matter even worse. Thus they and the majority of other nobility treated the child poorly. Some time after the father perished in battle against a demon lord with his blade having broken as he struck the blow that banished the demon back to the Abyss. With her father’s death the family’s treatment of the half-tengu child worsened but stopped shy of actual abuse. Taking the broken pieces of her father’s sword the child whose name was Ayane returned to her mother’s people who trained her in the Sublime Way as they had her father years ago. While the Tengu were kind, the ways of their society prevented them from truly embracing Ayane as family. At best she was a visiting student like many from other races, who came to visit the Tengu. Ayane proved to be a prodigy in the Sublime way and had a strong will despite or perhaps because of her past and became their top student of her generation. As was the custom among the Tengu school for such a student, she was expected to commission a blade of her own according to a vision she would receive while meditating. During this vision she met her parents for one final farewell and acting on their instructions the child had the remains of her father’s sword reforged into the hilt and guard of her new sword while utilising a magic ritual to combine the bones of her mother’s remains into one and fashion them in to the blade. She then placed the gemstones her parents had given each other on the blade where it met the hilt and then placed the gem her parents had given her when she was born on the hilt. When the blade was complete and having new found pride in her birth due to her vision of her parents she vowed never to again allow herself to be belittled, put down or ill treated because of her birth as she had been when she was young.Vengence for Comrade and Kin: DC= 20For a time Ayane took to the life of a wondering sellsword, looking more to increase her skills and knowledge of the Sublime Way then to make money. Her skills increased with every battle and she found that her blade also gained in strength to match her own growth. She became known for her intimidating aura and the lightning speed of her attacks. She spent more then a century on this path when the news of a new demonic invasion of the elven lands led by the very same demon who had slain her father came to her ears.  Ayane joined the war effort, acting on more of a desire for revenge and to honour her father then actual concern for the elven nation or her half-siblings. While her ability and honourable intent were praised many elven samurai came to realise that Ayane had little regard for the laws, traditions or honour that consumed a normal samurai’s life. The truly insightful among them realised that she had little regard for most moral debates and was consumed only with her own skill in the nine-fold path as well those matters that directly concerned her, such as vengeance for her dead father or matters that affected those she cared about. Eventually she avenged her father by slaying the demon lord in a terrific battle on his home plane. To Thine Own Shelf Be True: DC=25During the war Ayane fell in love with another elven noble whom she had fought beside and had even been one of the few elves to treat her kindly when she was younger and the pair were soon to be married. However her lover’s family were aghast at a half blood polluting their line no matter how much of a heroine she was and made arrangements for another noble pure elven family to call in the marriage contract they had agreed to long ago. While polygamy was accepted in elven society, to Ayane the fact that she would not be her lover’s sole wife rankled. The fact that she would be ranked and treated as her lover’s second wife hurt. The fact that her children would also be ranked below the other wife’s children was nearly unbearable due to her past. However it was the fact the first wife was her half-sister and belonged to the same family that had mistreated her in her youth and that her lover actually cared somewhat for that sibling pushed the young warrior over the edge. When the time came for the formal betrothal between the two, Ayane made an appearance to vehemently and publically insult both noble families including her fiancé before calling of her engagement and leaving. Neither family could stand the insult she paid them however and sent assassins after her as well as encouraging their members to formally challenge the heroine to a duel. The assassins were easily dispatched by Ayane but those noble family members who challenged her received a different treatment. While Ayane left them alive, she publically humiliated them first making it obvious that they were no match for her and begging for their lives before sending them back horribly crippled, scarred and broken.  Sorrow: DC=30Finally the public humiliation became too much for the noble families and they prevailed upon the only warrior who might stand a chance against Ayane, her former fiancé who was now married to her pregnant half-sister. Pointing out that unless they re-dressed the public humiliation they had received from the half-tengu, both families honour, reputation and political standing would be ruined and the majority of their elders and youth would be forced to commit ritual-suicide they persuaded the reluctant elf to challenge his one time fiancé. When the two former lovers met in a secluded area to duel they found themselves evenly matched. Neither could truly bear to harm the other but Ayane could not bear to bow her head to those who had mistreated her for her birth and young noble could not allow his family to suffer the dishonour of her insults any longer. Ayane eventually disarmed her opponent and had him at her mercy when the match was interrupted by the interference of Ayane’s half-sister. Using the element of surprise she managed to injure and disarm the tired Ayane who quickly responded by drawing her kodachi and lunging to attack the one who had injured her. However before she could reach her half sister she found herself stabbed with her own blade by her one time lover who had acted on instinct to protect his pregnant wife.          The young noble took Ayane’s body and buried it in secret to prevent it’s desecration by her enemies. Upon returning home he was celebrated for his skill and found that he had became famous for slaying such a skilled foe as his wife had not spread the details of the duel as her interference would be regarded as dishonourable. It is said that in later years when his only child reached the age of majority, the noble returned to the glade where he had fought Ayane and took his own life in atonement with her blade that he had kept with him for the whole time while leaving messages far and wide through out the known lands relaying what truly happened in the duel and it’s cause, while bequeathing Ayane’s sword to the Tengu clan who had cared for her briefly. Extra Info: In this Elven Empire’s time, half-elves with any other species were greatly looked down upon; it was also believed that each person was associated with a type of gemstone which matched their personality/life similar to horoscopes currently. It became fashionable for nobles to have one or two of the gems associated with themselves placed on items they wore or own. Personal designs became common; one could have a gem for their clan/family while another for someone they cared deeply for such as a spouse, sibling, friend etc. Such gems had power of a sort for their owner.</blockquote>

Verification