Ronin and Giri: The tale of Okuyama Yunoke

[CrazedElkPie]

A well preserved journal found amongst some rubble and ruins that, when opened, contains the life and story of the Ronin Okuyama Yunoke. Various drawings, entries, haiku, and more are scattered amongst the pages in both common trade tongue and the Japanese language.

[CrazedElkPie]

When one returns to himself to consult his past, he must also be sure it does not cost him his future. Given the life I have lived and the one I have lost, I can only pray my ancestors take true pity on me this one last time.

I pray they pity this drunken man they must witness. I pray they pity this Wakō I became when my chance at an honorable life was stolen. I pray they pity this Ronin who wanders and takes work from all manner of Lord or worse. I pray the promise is kept: that her retrieval brings me an end to this life of banditry...

I pray that I would be returned to a life of honor, of Giri, of something more than what I am now.

And so I have boarded a rickety Atakebune owned by some old Wakō I know. They claim we will arrive safely at the city of  Nagasaki where I will make the rest of my journey on foot. The captain is far too confident in both his abilities and his vessel. And so, I pray one last time, that we make this voyage safely so that I may be spared once more the shame of failure.

I already refused my seppuku once. I am not sure I would refuse it again at this point.

[CrazedElkPie]

Strife

Unknown horizons

Peer through the mist and we'll be

Shattered, but alive


The sixth son of a sixth son, I was no closer to being in line for Lordship than my sister, Omi. This did not mean I was not cared or provided for: on the contrary I was looked at with some favor as sixth sons were a good luck charm.

Being that we were impoverished nobility I had to balance both my noble learnings alongside more practical, day to day life. It gave me humility, something you find lacking in many Bushi and Lords in abundance. It also gave me ideas on how I might deal with my foes in... Dishonorable ways as my father would say. Yet his tacit approval and my continued service to him ingrained in me that I was on the right path.

However, much like cherry blossoms in the wind, my modest life was not to last. Our lands were coveted by our neighboring Lords and in a time of such upheaval it would be up to us to defend them. Eighty Samurai arrayed against hundreds, with hundreds more Ashigaru among them. We gritted our teeth, charged forward...

And I remember waking up in my bed. Wrapped in bandages. Disoriented and fawned over by a woman I did not know. As my eyes gained focus I realized I shock this woman wore a Tengu mask. Richly lacquered and with impeccable detail, she wiped me down with clean cloths and cleaner water. But my exhaustion was so severe, so all encompassing, that I let the darkness claim me again.

Perhaps if the Kami were watching they would take me in my sleep, I thought. Keep me from facing this shame and dishonor I know I've not been spared. But of course... They did not.

[CrazedElkPie]

To say I am overwhelmed is a gross oversimplification of my new reality. To keep myself from going insane... I have simply accepted every rumor, story, and drunken sighting as having been true. Oni, Yokai, Obake... All of it is real. Always been real, perhaps. Truly this is hell and I am here to suffer for my lack of honor, for my willingness to act underhanded.

But... I find myself able to lend aid to those here. Be it blade or anecdote from my homeland, I can help those around me, have already helped those around me. The one blessing I have is that the creatures here can still fall to my steel. I'll keep my promise to my new comrade and see him through his trials. Perhaps then I can reclaim the tattered remnants of my pride.

And then I'll seek out a fine cask of Sake before finally ending my life.

[CrazedElkPie]

Duty

Tired legs stand in snow;

Dull brown eyes watch spiders dance;

The shaded man stings.



As I often do after my meditations and the practicing of the katas, I try to reflect on the day's events with a clear eye. Nevermind that this clear eye has a bowl or two of the local drink, Tsuika. A rather enjoyable, if crude, attempt at plum alcohol. It is not like the plum wines of home, but when in Kyoto...

No matter. This land I find myself in, Barovia, is quite a beautiful place. Vibrant forests teeming with life and a hardy, if superstitious, people work its lands. A massive lake, soon to be frozen over, is easily the jewel of this land. I have spent many hours getting lost in its beauty.

Beauty. That's what you could use to describe the Kumo-Yokai, the spider demon that plages this place. I could easily see this one wandering late at night to drag the unwary to their doom. Against my better judgement we let her speak her piece. As is the case with Yokai, their tormented spirit cries out for vengeance.

"Turn over the woman who issues those challenges to me, and the attacks will stop."

She negotiates from a position of ignorance, not understanding she is the spider in the raven's beak. That we let her leave was perhaps an even greater stroke of ignorance, but the hand is cast. We can only now track her down and banish her spirits from this realm.

As well, I encountered someone I could only describe as Ninja. There, and then it wasn't. Stabbing, slashing, a trained being of death. Between it and it's minions, me and the others were hard pressed but ultimately forced to retreat. Several of our party were grievously wounded and eventually, we all would be. Should I get another chance... Well, we shall wait and see.