by A series of torn pages found at an old inn in Aldmerrow. It seems to be from a history book of sorts.
Historians will tell you that the fall of any authoritative or ruling body in Sakigake was the work of the inside wars between clans and houses, but those in Ketsushio will tell you otherwise.
Ketsushio, which translates to "red salt" in Chizu, is an island in the middle of a landlocked lake. To access it, one has to burrow through a solid mountain that closes over it like an earthen dome. This used to be easier back in the day before the wars broke out and there were strange pathways and boats that allowed you to surface on its red shores. However, those days are over and to get there, one has to be willing to dive down and swim to surface. Oh, and then you have to deal with the locals.
Ketsushio used to be filled with people who welcomed outsiders. One couldn't blame them, as they were closed off from society. The people here were a little different, too. I don't mean in the sense that they had cat ears or bird wings or hoofs like most of the Enkidu-folk. No, they had...surpassed adapting by mere bestial means.
Pale folk with deeply colored hair and dark eyes, those in Ketsushio had learned to adapt to the world around them by changing their bodies entirely. They were, for lack of better terms, shape shifters--people who could change size and form the same way you can your shadow. Shadow folk, if you will. Granted duration it took to "shift" a certain way depended on the person. For some, it took months for their fingers and nails to grow as sharp as talons and recede to will. For others, it only took a week to change their appearance entirely to that of another person. You could call shifting something that needed both skill and inherent talent. However, I'm getting ahead of myself. You wanted to hear why the wars in Sakigake broke out.
Ketsushio was not only known for its shape-shifting citizens. Like the rest of the rest of the Enkidu, the shadow folk were skilled in the art of weaponry. However, they did not bother with adding bullets or cannons or gears and thingamabobs. No, their reasoning was that the simpler and more precise the weapon, the better, the more perfect. Ketsushio dedicated itself to the simple craft of sword crafting. Beautifully long and elegant, short and piercing, thick and robust, these swords came in different shapes and sizes and had abilities none like any that physics and magic could fathom through normal means.
The Shadow folk could not use magic much like the rest of the Enkidu, but that one of their swords could be as shiny and fragile as glass but easily brush against a tree and destroy it is hard to understand. Some say it is something the Shadow Folk could maneuver due to their strange nature, others insist it was the Forge God's blessing on them. Whatever the case, what should have been only an art for the small, earth-trapped island became what was responsible for much bloodshed.
Years before the Oracle would predict the many wars, an established sword maker in Ketsushio left the island to visit the outer regions of Sakigake. He presented himself to a then young king and in as a gift honoring him, he presented him with a ruby red sword. Sharp on one end, blunt on the either, light and longer than a meter, it seemed so fragile that the young king had assumed it was for decorative purposes alone. Enthralled by its beauty, he placed the sword above his bed in his chambers.
Nights later, screams broke out. The servants in the castle screamed to find his lady bloodied and severed. The king himself seemed to have gone mad, slashing the long red sword as if he meant to kill. However, his own carelessness and drunken-like rage resulted into him slashing himself and bleeding to death. No one knew what had caused it. Others say he had learned his lady was in an affair. Others said he had gotten ill. Others, still, will tell you the sword was cursed.
Whatever the case, the death of the young king caused the rift between clans and that is where the story aligns more with history. Behind it, yet, was the same sword maker fashioning a thousand more swords he claimed were replicas of the kings and would guarantee to victory against any weapon of any size or fashion. The sword maker tried to make allies and he also pointed out who he wanted as enemies. People say he was the sole catalyst to the war and that when it was over, only Ketsushio would still be standing on its ground at the end.
Historians will tell you that the fall of any authoritative or ruling body in Sakigake was the work of the inside wars between clans and houses, but those in Ketsushio will tell you otherwise.
Ketsushio, which translates to "red salt" in Chizu, is an island in the middle of a landlocked lake. To access it, one has to burrow through a solid mountain that closes over it like an earthen dome. This used to be easier back in the day before the wars broke out and there were strange pathways and boats that allowed you to surface on its red shores. However, those days are over and to get there, one has to be willing to dive down and swim to surface. Oh, and then you have to deal with the locals.
Ketsushio used to be filled with people who welcomed outsiders. One couldn't blame them, as they were closed off from society. The people here were a little different, too. I don't mean in the sense that they had cat ears or bird wings or hoofs like most of the Enkidu-folk. No, they had...surpassed adapting by mere bestial means.
Pale folk with deeply colored hair and dark eyes, those in Ketsushio had learned to adapt to the world around them by changing their bodies entirely. They were, for lack of better terms, shape shifters--people who could change size and form the same way you can your shadow. Shadow folk, if you will. Granted duration it took to "shift" a certain way depended on the person. For some, it took months for their fingers and nails to grow as sharp as talons and recede to will. For others, it only took a week to change their appearance entirely to that of another person. You could call shifting something that needed both skill and inherent talent. However, I'm getting ahead of myself. You wanted to hear why the wars in Sakigake broke out.
Ketsushio was not only known for its shape-shifting citizens. Like the rest of the rest of the Enkidu, the shadow folk were skilled in the art of weaponry. However, they did not bother with adding bullets or cannons or gears and thingamabobs. No, their reasoning was that the simpler and more precise the weapon, the better, the more perfect. Ketsushio dedicated itself to the simple craft of sword crafting. Beautifully long and elegant, short and piercing, thick and robust, these swords came in different shapes and sizes and had abilities none like any that physics and magic could fathom through normal means.
The Shadow folk could not use magic much like the rest of the Enkidu, but that one of their swords could be as shiny and fragile as glass but easily brush against a tree and destroy it is hard to understand. Some say it is something the Shadow Folk could maneuver due to their strange nature, others insist it was the Forge God's blessing on them. Whatever the case, what should have been only an art for the small, earth-trapped island became what was responsible for much bloodshed.
Years before the Oracle would predict the many wars, an established sword maker in Ketsushio left the island to visit the outer regions of Sakigake. He presented himself to a then young king and in as a gift honoring him, he presented him with a ruby red sword. Sharp on one end, blunt on the either, light and longer than a meter, it seemed so fragile that the young king had assumed it was for decorative purposes alone. Enthralled by its beauty, he placed the sword above his bed in his chambers.
Nights later, screams broke out. The servants in the castle screamed to find his lady bloodied and severed. The king himself seemed to have gone mad, slashing the long red sword as if he meant to kill. However, his own carelessness and drunken-like rage resulted into him slashing himself and bleeding to death. No one knew what had caused it. Others say he had learned his lady was in an affair. Others said he had gotten ill. Others, still, will tell you the sword was cursed.
Whatever the case, the death of the young king caused the rift between clans and that is where the story aligns more with history. Behind it, yet, was the same sword maker fashioning a thousand more swords he claimed were replicas of the kings and would guarantee to victory against any weapon of any size or fashion. The sword maker tried to make allies and he also pointed out who he wanted as enemies. People say he was the sole catalyst to the war and that when it was over, only Ketsushio would still be standing on its ground at the end.
