The Fall

A former devout student of his God's teachings, he was an angel that wanted to see smiles on everybody's faces no matter what sort of dangerous things he had to do to get that result. He considered the biggest betrayal in his life as the time he learnt that he had been guided down a fine line in his entire existence - controlled by God without his consent. Joining the Rebellion and consequently cast out of Heaven for murder and bloodshed, Seire transformed into a lust demon. Quite appropriate for a thrill-seeking, pleasure pursuing man such as Seire.

Seire was no different from his siblings at first. They pursued everything they could in their newfound freedom. He found comfort in women, men and anyone in between. The joys of destroying the landscape, the laughter of his siblings as they wrecked havoc, their flushed faces as they sought extreme activites pumped the blood in him. Yet, over time, they separated to chase their own dreams and goals. Seire had no such thing. He was a man who lived in the moment, seeking the highest emotion of the present time, never looking too far ahead.

The Journey

Seire made his debut in the peaceful days of Toudaishuu, when cities had been erected and the land existed in quiet harmony. It was by chance that he arrived to Eastern Continent, a new land with new people, new culture and more fun experiences to be had. But the more he did these things, alone, the faster he became bored. He had been seeking refuge in a brothel in Toukagen, surrounding by dancing girls donned in silks of all colours, the best rice wine and music that would make anyone stop and listen. A seraph could make money appear from nowhere, and he was a fountain of cash that the head mistress could get rich off of, making Seire an esteemed youkai guest.

Out of the window he saw them, humble monks who seemed to ignore everything around them. They appeared to be giving something to the general public, no, those were the poor citizens of the slums that would come and admire the pretty buildings and the equally pretty aristocrats. Such smiles of gratitude were all too similar to his days in the heavens.

Interesting. He wanted to try that too.

He renamed himself Sou, which wasn't a particularly creative name, as it only meant 'monk' (僧). However, history remembered his name as another character entirely. To the books, he is credited as 'conception' (想), marking the beginning of a future legend. Young Sou, or Soumaru, began his journey alone. He had no company, and had to learn the basics by himself. What it meant to be selfless, to let go of everything that made him him. Needless to say, he struggled a lot to understand this concept. But Sou was not the type of person to give up, and eventually Sou found himself in a small group of monks who travelled around the country to enlighten themselves, making their journey west.

At the time of their arrival to the quiet villages of the west, major families were beginning to form, particularly the Zhouma and the Hongxing clans. Sou witnessed with confusion as the monks were persuaded and pressured to assist the Hongxing Clan in scamming the villagers. Since monks were so revered and respected, they were instructed to falsely predict disasters, making defenseless families come to the Hongxing seeking protection in exchange for anything of monetary value; rice or money. In return, the Hongxing would reward the monks graciously for helping them milk the poor common people. Disillusioned, Sou quietly left this travelling group without a word of farewell, questioning the meaning of monkhood.

Seeking a more effective way to distance himself from former identities, Sou concocted a new method of what it meant to be a monk; he became a komusou, a monk of egolessness. A mask covered his features, hiding his eyes and face from the world as a symbol of a removal of self. He adopted the ways of a youkai-like, carefree spirit, tutting tunes on a flute he made himself. His songs spoke of stories the men of Toudaishuu had never known before. The strange and extravagent man that appeared in the Eastern Continent disappeared as fast as he came, replaced by a humble monk.

This kumusou would loop around the country, criss and crossing, seeing new things every time he made a round trip. Eventually he would become a common sight, but even in the beginning when he was a nameless nobody, he was already performing miraculous feats. And not even for the sake of fame, but purely out of the desire to protect the people of the continent.

The Period of Water came without notice, and the Great Flood surged forward without discrimination. It washed over western villages flat, ruining miles of crops and sweeping thousands of people away from their homes and families. At this time, Sou had returned to the village that he had come to many years back, where the influence of the Hongxing Clan had only grown stronger. The villagers had nowhere to flee, and were fervently praying on their knees to the Zodiacal Gods. Sou pitied them, and he made his stand in the center of the village, facing the tidal wave without fear. He lifted his blade, and the wave was carved into two, splitting before it could even touch the perimeter of the village, and avoiding the settlement entirely. But before the people could thank him for such a miracle, Sou had already vanished into thin air. Seeing the grateful smiles of these villagers had been enough payment for him. He had already fallen in love with the country he called home.

As the people lost faith in the Zodiacal Gods, the new 'angels' that had been created by God following the Rebellion and banishment of the Old Seraphim, Sou watched on and watched as the people of Toudaishuu began the roots of self-growth through cultivation. Sou was one of many cultivators who helped forge the Sugari no Ontachi, the royal blade of the Kirin of Toukagen, the court head.

The Period of Fire was were Sou shined most. Becoming a well-known name to the Kirin of that time period, he was often called upon to assist in conflicts. One of which was a response to the prediction that the star-readers had given with great oncoming misfortune; that a war was brewing, led by a demon of fire. Calling himself a god, he was to bring onslaught and death to the common people, with his end goal a complete takeover of the country. Sou would not hear any of it, not even if it was from his own sibling. His brother Zaleos would respond to his calls for assistance, and began to involve himself in protecting the citizens. Sou could do little to help with the Arms War aside from being a very competent and successful general, and it was also around this time where he met Oktai, whom he would take under his wing. His major appearance was in the Cannon Invasion, in which warships had been brought over for a frontal assault of Toukagen itself. This time, other seraphs were not willing to let Savnock do as he pleased; as Vinea and Leraikha came to assist Sou, the four of them pushed Savnock back until he was kicked out of the country, subjugated and defeated, seemingly killed to the masses.

From then on, Sou became Souseihou. The mask came off, and from the shell emerged a changed angel. It's hard to believe that the angel who participated in the murder of his fellow siblings became this enlightened being. Philosophical, a worrier of the future but also not. A protector, a bodyguard, but a man who would sit down and drink with you. The one that all the children and all the old ladies loved. A warrior disguised as a humble monk, the cultivators would whisper. A man with power above even sect leaders, hiding under a straw helmet, flashing cheeky smiles as he appeared and disappeared. This komusou dived in and out of trouble as he pleased.

The Later Days

Souseihou would flash in and out of people's lives in the Warring States. He was never involved in any wars, beliving it to be the problem of youkai and mortals, and not somebody of his status, and focused on training Oktai and saving those who would be unfortunate enough to get themselves caught between the strife of men. He went back into the wanderer's life, giving advice to those who needed it, and watched on as an observer. He was also beginning to accept followers who were interested in his teachings, though at this point they weren't even a sect, and their teachings revolved around copying Souseihou's lifestyle and had nothing concrete (this would later make them students with the most pure and 'raw' teachings).

The next time Souseihou added more to his already impressive resume was the era known as the Phantasmagoria of Bumuoki. Souseihou and his students were one of many cultivators who banded together to take down the antaognistic sect, and witnesses recount the moment Souseihou fell 10,000 cultivators with a single blow, washing them away with strong winds.

After sealing away the tyrannical Bumuoki, his followers were officially instated as a sect. They transformed the dead forest that Bumuoki had used as his base of operation and 'soul garden' in a lush paradise where they would use to learn their teacher's ways. Many new students came forward. There were those who were just like him when he was younger, in that lavish building. There were also cultivators who were too used to how sects worked, in sparkling buildings and worn text and scrolls. Souseihou would do it another way. Living in the mountains, become one with the lakes and the earth. To be something with nothing. To be one with the bare necessities. This lifestyle came with a name; Tengu. The Tengu Sect.

His name, at this point, was widespread. There were even songs sung of him, and a particular one is one known by all:

"... his mighty leap can cover a million miles,
the wind trembles, and even the land will split under his feet.
Think of him whenever you have hardships,
because he's always there when there's danger.
With one blow, he downs warriors of a hundred battles.
Bearing a heart of virtue like the gods,
ten thousand people pass on his good name,
his story, a thousand families tell,
his golden wind will blow forevermore
clearing the impurity of this mortal world."

Embarrassed, and having taught for so long, Souseihou eventually retired and gave the leadership of the Tengu Sect to his closest student Oktai, who continues his teachings to this day. Souseihou disappeared back into the shadows of the country, believed by the common people as a warrior who only returns when the country is once again caught in chaos. The monk himself adopted the identity of a common youkai, blending back into the people as an ordinary hermit.

Many years after the Fall of Xanadu, the country would be plunged into the Period of Silence. Angry that the city was being torn apart by something he said was "completely stupid", Souseihou spent most of his days in the deepest part of the forest. Around this time, he encountered a young girl that had seemingly fallen from the sky. After getting to know her, he gave her a name; Misosazai, after a bird that made similar movements to her. This girl would eventually become the new Kirin of Toukagen after receiving the Kirin's Mask from his fellow seraph Osse. She became one of his students and under his tutelege, became well-versed in Toudaishuu culture, plants, cultivation and more. Considering that a long time ago he was also a foreigner, this is a grand achievement. Souseihou assisted her several times in the palace by retreiving things she needed from outside for her, or even infiltrating the palace upon request if needed. He became one of her advisors when she rose to the Momoka Throne and is still credited as her beloved teacher.

After some time into the Golden Age of Exploration, Souseihou tried out some dungeons himself, only to find it a bit too strenous for him. After stating that he wanted the 'youngsters' to get the spotlight, he began to socialise among the new generation, who were already getting used to life where the relationship between east and west were getting less strained. He became a local at a small soba noodle shop in Toukagen where he would meet Sagi Gansükh, a young mortal girl who would become his future and first wife. Because he is a seraph, they were unable to have children of their own, but adopted a son and a daughter, as well as a chicken that was manipulated to have long life through some unsightly experiments in a malicious cult. They remained together for 60 years, and although Souseihou offered to extend her life, she vied to die naturally so that she could reincarnate and 'see him as soon as possible'.