tw; war, limb loss, death, murder, blood, violence

Of all the chapters in our history books detailing Umbra's troubled rising, perhaps the darkest is the Umbra War. Originating from disputed claims to the throne and growing unrest, it evolved into a massive power struggle involving numerous factions all across the system. For 262 years, divided by fleeting moments of peace, generations fought for the throne- nobles, samurai, bandits, Yakuza, and commoners alike.

It's been more than a hundred years since. And yet, the scars have not truly faded. But the ones burdened with the deepest wounds are the survivors. They remain today- not only having to endure the horrors of the event but also the never-ending aftermath. Even fewer are the ones who knew what life was like before and emerged from the war alive. However, I had the honour of meeting one such survivor.

Nobunaga Yamikawa. A former samurai who now lends his skills and services as a mercenary. Whether it be helping villagers deal with bandits, or doing dirty work for nobles. My family has actually hired him numerous times before. But that was years ago- I was far too young to understand why he was there. My most vivid memory of him, however, was when he saved my life when I was 10. Admittedly, it was him who started my fascination with samurai.

It wasn't until later that I learned who he was- a veteran of the Umbra War. As we delved deeper into our history lessons, my curiosity was reignited, and I wished to learn more about his past. Among historians, he's a controversial figure. Was he a brilliant strategist who gave everything for his home? Or a merciless fighter who left a trail of destruction in his wake? The answers I sought were hidden deep in records. Nobunaga barely wrote down his experiences, and thus I turned to the letters and journals from the people who knew him.

The Yamikawa clan is a distinguished lineage of samurai long predating the war who serve the Hikawa clan. Nobunaga was born to Ichirō Yamikawa and Kaihime Himura in 2470 and was the third of their six children. Like the ones before him, he was trained in the ways of battle and bushido as soon as he could properly hold a sword.

As revealed in his early journal entries, he felt immense pressure to live up to the expectations his family name brought. Most of all, he craved the approval of his aloof father. But it seems that no matter how hard he tried, his older siblings overshadowed him. Despite that, however, numerous writings indicate that he held no grudges against them and got along with his brothers very well. In fact, he was well-liked by the other samurai.

The War

The Umbra War started in 2491 when Nobunaga was 21. The Hikawa clan was a supporter of the Emperor's reign, and thus he was sent to fight the insurgent forces. He started with small-scale conflicts, mainly tasked with driving out raiders and small rebel groups. His first major battle was the Battle of Akano Lake in 2499.

The Uehara clan was among the many insurgencies who sought to conquer Umbra- beginning with Hikawa clan territory, the former Mizushima Province. With the enemy invading on all sides, the Hikawa clan divided its samurai forces to defend various locations. Nobunaga and 79 other samurai were sent to Akano Lake.

There, they faced a unit of Uehara troops led by Tatsuya Mizutani, one of the clan's generals. The Hikawa samurai were far outnumbered, and although they fought valiantly, the group was overwhelmed and slaughtered. Reportedly, Nobunaga was the last to go down. He attempted to attack Tatsuya, presumably as a last-ditch effort, who defeated him and cut off his right arm.

Witnesses of the aftermath described how Akano Lake ran red with the blood of the fallen. After the Uehara clan's samurai left the area, scavengers quickly descended upon the battlefield. As their prying hands robbed the dead, a sudden bright light attracted their attention. What they discovered was Nobunaga in the midst of evolving.

Despite losing his right arm and sustaining several other injuries, he survived. Barely, however, as evident by the scavengers initially assuming he was another corpse. No one else in his group survived. One scavenger was kind enough to drag his unconscious body out and nurse him back to health. A widely accepted theory is that the energy brought on by the evolution allowed him to pull through.

His missing arm did not stop him for long. Using the ghostly energy granted to him by his evolution, he was able to summon a ghost arm in its place. It would soon become a signature feature of him- with many believing it allowed the souls of his fallen comrades to guide him, lending to his later ferocious battle skills.

While his brothers expressed relief that he had survived the encounter, they noted his shell shock and quieter demeanour. His older brother, Hideyoshi, was so concerned that he requested the Hikawa clan's generals to place the both of them in the same unit. In his letters, he wrote that he feared Nobunaga would do something reckless and wanted to keep an eye on him.

Hideyoshi was known for his more unconventional tactics, and that would go on to influence Nobunaga. Hideyoshi taught him to rely on stealth and cunning, something Nobunaga was reluctant to embrace at first. Of a particular note were their “nighttime” raids- in which they would sneak into enemy camps and kill as many in their sleep as they could before retreating.

In 2505, they spearheaded a siege on the Uehara-occupied Nakagame Castle. Hikawa troops diverted the enemy's attention, allowing the two brothers to sneak in and kill as many as they could before their presence was discovered. Receiving a signal from the two, the Hikawa troops broke through the gates and stormed the castle grounds. Amid the battle, Nobunaga came face to face with Tatsuya once again. This time, Nobunaga was able to defeat and kill him, allowing Nakagame Castle to be reclaimed.

The loss of the stronghold and its general caused the Uehara clan's foothold on Hikawa territory to slip, and it was forced to retreat shortly after. This victory earned Nobunaga great prestige and his talents were recognised by his comrades. However, his father and a few higher-ups expressed concern over the “unscrupulous” tactics employed by the two brothers. They were then separated into different units, with Nobunaga placed under the command of his oldest brother, Ieyasu, who was told to “rein him in”.

That worked with little effect. Although their views initially clashed, Ieyasu eventually came around after the Siege of Akiyama in 2507. Faced with an invasion from the much larger Fujimori clan, Nobunaga managed to convince Ieyasu to follow his plan. They trained the commoners who inhabited the Akiyama stronghold to fight and hired bandits to add to their numbers. Days before the siege, they would launch ambushes to dwindle the enemy force. And when it finally came, they stood their ground. Although the Fujimori troops managed to break into the stronghold, they were eventually beaten back and had to retreat.

Ieyasu began tolerating Nobunaga's tactics and let him continue. While unconventional, he figured it was better than the alternative that was defeat and would give inaccurate reports to their superiors to avoid scrutiny on his younger brother. After the Battle of Takahashi occurred in 2511, however, he would find Nobunaga's actions increasingly difficult to cover.

The Fujimori and Kurosawa clans formed a brief alliance and launched an attack on the Takahashi area. A unit that Nobunaga's younger brothers, Masamune and Yoshitaka, were a part of was sent to fight off the invading force. Nobunaga and Ieyasu's unit was supposed to provide reinforcement, but on their way to the battle, they were ambushed by Fujimori troops. The delay proved consequential- the battle was already over when they reached Takahashi. The Hikawa troops had been slaughtered by the overwhelming force.

In Ieyasu's journal, he recounted he and his unit walking through the lifeless field. The atmosphere of gloom became suffocating as it became clearer and clearer that there were no survivors. He wrote about how Nobunaga ran ahead, screaming Masamune's and Yoshitaka's names, only to be met by silence. Nobunaga then ran out of his sight, before Ieyasu heard him cry out in despair. What they discovered were their brother's corpses, strung up on nooses in an act of desecration.

Consumed by anger and grief, Nobunaga began employing increasingly brutal tactics. But it was during Ieyasu's campaign against the Uehara clan that it became a cause for concern. Disobeying his commands, Nobunaga would take a small number of like-minded samurai and carry out his plans. These included burning down buildings, taking civilians hostage, decapitating and displaying the heads of Uehara samurai to send a message, and other grisly acts. Ieyasu attempted to get him under control to no avail.

It finally came to a head in 2423, when the Fall of Ikeda Castle happened. After a failed siege of the castle, the two brothers got into an argument, with Nobunaga accusing Ieyasu of needlessly wasting lives and disappearing shortly after. When their unit launched another siege, they broke open the gates to discover corpses littering the courtyard. Nobunaga had, at some point, acquired a poison before sneaking in and slipping it into the garrison's rations. Where and how he obtained the poison is still a mystery. Faced with little resistance, they executed Lord Shouhei Uehara, resulting in the destruction of the Uehara clan.

Although it was a victory, Nobunaga was called to face judgement. His actions proved divisive. In Umbra's traditionalist society, his abandonment of honour and the samurai code he was raised to uphold was and still is, met with harsh criticism. Standing in court, Nobunaga made an impassioned speech to justify his actions.

“Look around you! The wolves are not just at our door; They have us completely surrounded! How can we hope to win against an enemy who overshadows us in power and size? How many losses will you suffer? How many more lives will you senselessly sacrifice? Your rigid adherence to the code will only lead to ruin. I refuse to do nothing and let those insurgents destroy our home!”

His brothers stood up to defend him, with Hideyoshi pointing out that they'll need every advantage they can get if they want to stand a chance against the stronger clans while Ieyasu said that ‘dishonourable' tactics will need to be used if they wish to preserve more lives. More spoke up to voice their support, accusing the other side of blindly following traditions while they were at war.

Eventually, their daimyō, Lord Kazuki Hikawa, delivered his verdict: Defend the throne at all costs, even if it meant giving up everything they knew.

That paved the way for the Hikawa clan's brutal reputation that continues to this day. What the clan lacked in power and size, it made up for through its pragmatism and ruthlessness. And it was its divergence from the code that allowed it to pull through the chaos of the war. While I do not approve of the clan's actions, I do understand it was a necessary evil. It had already suffered so much loss- it could not afford to lose more when everything was at stake. History might've painted the clan as brutes, but the truth is that war makes men mad.

The war went on for far longer than any would've anticipated. How long can one keep fighting? How much horror can one endure before breaking point? No matter what was done, Nobunaga could not save everyone. His friends and allies fought and perished, soon replaced by young souls who would meet the same fate. As the years of battles continued with no end in sight, the mounting deaths took a toll on him. Most notable were the deaths of the rest of his family, apart from Hideyoshi and Ieyasu.

During the Battle of Okabe in 2538, Nobunaga's unit was hit by an ambush. Amid the chaos, he was unable to save his younger brother, Kenshin, who fell to an enemy blade. In 2542, Nobunaga and his father reportedly had a fierce argument, with Nobunaga leaving for battle shortly after. He returned to find that his home had been attacked by traitors, who killed his parents and family retainers.

Perhaps as a way to cope, he threw himself into battle after battle. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost. But he learned and adapted, always coming back with renewed ferocity. With bloodstained blade and armour, he carved through enemy troops without second thoughts and struck fear into the hearts of many. His brutal tactics and combat prowess earned him various monikers, such as “Oni no Nobunaga”, “Demon Warrior”, and “Crimson Demon of War”.

“I did what I had to do.” was a phrase he often spoke to defend his actions. Yet, he was not free of guilt. Hideyoshi's journal reveals that Nobunaga often confided in him. He expressed regret over what he's become, tiredness over constant warfare, and sorrow over the lives lost. Those brief moments of vulnerability remind us that Nobunaga was just like everyone else- a person plunged into devastation and suffering they had no control over. And like everyone else, he did what he could to stay afloat.

As he changed, so did the world around him. Rival clans with resourceful leaders began to learn from the Hikawa clan's tactics, and then came a time when the clan faced its tactics being used against itself or countered. Soon, it found itself in a race to stay ahead. One of the clan's most significant milestones was introducing firearms into Umbralish warfare. A Shizukawa blacksmith, Tetsuji Nishiyama, had uncovered pre-Evacuation records detailing firearms. In 2643, he managed to successfully recreate a matchlock gun- the tanegashima. Lord Kouji Hikawa saw great potential in this new weapon and ordered the manufacturing of more.

The firearms saw their first proper use at the Battle of Kimura River in 2638. Nobunaga was in charge of the unit sent to fend off an invading unit of Kurosawa troops. The guns proved effective, able to penetrate through armour and picking off many hostiles before they could cross the river. In the end, they drove out the Kurosawa samurai with minimal losses. News of the defeat of a powerful clan caused by a new weapon was too great to be ignored. The use of firearms rapidly spread to other clans and throughout Umbra, changing the way battles were fought.

Post-War

In 2753, the Draconian army marched into the war-torn system, bringing about the end of the Umbra War.

Umbra began to rebuild and enter a new era, but the horrors of the war were still fresh in the population's mind. Nobunaga, having spent the vast majority of his life in near-constant battle, understandably, wanted to leave everything behind. Taking off his battle-worn armour for good, he walked away from the samurai life. His armour now stands in the Shizukawa Peace Memorial Museum, one of the many reminders of the grim nature of war.

Nobunaga retired to Aoki Village, located on the outskirts of the newly formed Shizukawa Prefecture. Setting aside his weapons, he picked up a pen and attempted a new life of peace. He spent the next few years collecting and recording Umbralish myths and legends. There is evidence that he also wrote books of poetry, but those have been lost to time.

As revealed in the letters between him and his brothers, peace was something that eluded them. War had been all they've ever known and done. Nobunaga himself described how it continued to haunt him, expressing regret over what he's done. In 2761, a noble from Fukumiya Prefecture came seeking him out. She offered him a large sum of money in exchange for him killing a rival noble family- which he accepted. That was the catalyst for his mercenary work. He left Aoki Village after carrying out the job, choosing to wander restlessly across Umbra and working for whoever paid well, mostly nobles with grievances. Despite this, he kept in close contact with his brothers.

In 2861, Nobunaga took his first steps off-world- a contract had him chase a target who fled to Caligo. Afterwards, he began accepting contracts that had him travel to other systems, finding that they often paid more. More and more, he'd travel outside of Umbra, eventually picking up the attention of mercenary groups. One crew of note is Icarus Mercenary Corps. While he frequently moved from group to group, he has been consistently working for Icarus, even during its early years.

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to speak with him one last time. As luck would have it, he came to Yamashiro Prefecture for a contract and I was able to find him before he left. We ended up going to a teahouse, where he then kindly answered my questions. Though at some point, the conversation deviated into a discussion of our personal lives. When I brought up how warriors like him were inspirations for me, however, he wasn't pleased.

“I'm not a hero. I've hurt many people, and I do not deserve forgiveness. [...] I did what I did because I had no other choice. We had no choice. We were raised as weapons, to be used by people like you, Takehiko. And we… I, will have to live with that.”

He then told me he will be moving away from Umbra to join Icarus as a permanent member. He will return to Shizukawa Prefecture beforehand to bid his brothers farewell, but they plan on still keeping contact, of course. The Yamikawa brothers have been continuously supporting each other, and for Nobunaga, they were what kept him going, even after all these years.

What can a soldier do when the fighting is over? It was all Nobunaga knew, and what was he without it? His childhood was cast aside and he was thrust into a battle of life-and-death for more than half his life. Even as he leaves for the stars, he will continue to fight, just as he did before.

Yet, I hope one day, he’ll finally be able to find peace.

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