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faithful . honest . benevolent
Those who met Sarnor could say very little about them personally, but something they may admit: "The Sonoda is wise and true."
Clan Sonoda was revered for their intellect, yet their selflessness. Despite Sarnor being among the more secretive of her family, she was certainly one of the kindest, and did work wherever she could, even after her clan had passed. Against her father's word, and sadly against her health, she would continue to risk her well-being and even her life to aid Ezo.
Never the less, she was a sharp creature, who often read a person well before even meeting them. For all those she saved, she pushed to give them the ability to think as quick as she, so that they may never face the problem again. Sarnor made grand efforts to show her brilliance and candid nature, to which she challenged her shogun leaders and other samurai.
secretive . ruthless . wary
For all that she bore, she was a remarkably quiet soul, her words canny and short - with an inclination towards total silence. She spoke of her clan only in benefit, and said very little in regards to who she was or how she felt. Any who learned of her, heard so by word of mouth and her actions.
She was a cautious being. She trusted only that the people she helped could sustain themselves forever onward. It was said she was tense even around family. She was a stone-still creature, and it seemed no one could perceive her, even in ticks and voice.
This amounted to incredible relentlessness; her motives were never clear, but she was sure as hell going to achieve what she wanted. Tirelessly, she'd fight - tearing through her enemies, wearing down the shogun to hear her pleas.
strenuous . sapped . preoccupied
Eventually, though, she began to wear down as well. She extended herself quite extroardinarly to her efforts, much to her detriment. She is used to simply doing and doing, ever afraid to waste a single day as every moment counts...
It was clear, as ghostly as she was, that Sarnor kept to her thoughts. She'd run endlessly over scenarios, past, present, future.. real, fake. She'd roam over possibilities and failures, stuck in a loop of what she wanted to do vs what could happen.. and vs all she had fucked up before.
The Beginning. . .
Clan Sonoda was a force unmatched in the land for years. Although peaceful alongside their brethren, Clan Yamada, their gentle farm and trade lifestyle belied the ferocity of their abilities in combat. The females were esteemed healers, the samurai indomitable beasts. Each generation revealed a leader ever willing to face the new challenges presented to his clan, and Sarnor was no different.
When Lady Koizumi failed to produce a male heir, Lord Sonoda instead placed his faith in his eldest, Sarnor. At a young age he encouraged Sarnor to abandon her feminine future and pursue, instead, the life of a samurai and the future Lord of Sonoda. He compelled Ryūjin to bless his child to ensure his clan's prosperity, and struck a deal with the god.
Early on, Lord Sonoda could raise Sarnor under the blessing, and create a whole new samurai that would remain untested. Something to put the fear of the gods in those who dared to face them...
The Middle. . .
Legends spread swiftly of "amarugamu" - the amalgam - the "will of the gods." Lord Sonoda's son was a vicious creature, who could take the form of any animal familiar to him, easily decimating his opponents while still maintaining the samurai code. Day and night he was feared; for the creature that may hunt by sunlight and by moonlight seemed an impossible foe.
And when the mongols invaded, everyone turned to Clan Sonoda for help. The matrons worked to heal and donate, the samurai continued their defense and onslaughts. These new enemies, however, began to match the Sonodas in combat, and things soon seemed worrying. Aided by chinese, korean, and even fellow japanese, the mongol forces were quite a a step above those who'd come before. Lord Sonoda was wary, but unafraid.
It was in the moments of near defeat that he reached a breakthrough. He, too, would learn of the mongols and their people. The cultures, the languages, the tactical and yet brutish brilliance. In time, he was able to harmonize with one of the Khans: Ogden, a relative of the famed Khotun, Kublai and Genghis. Here.. Lord Sonoda could establish a bond and perhaps a way inside of the mongols, before he inevitably became a servant to their whims and knew the only way to power was by becoming a mongol soldier himself.
Sarnor would not have that.
The Now. . .
So, she killed him.
Of course, this outcome more than unsettled the mongols. When a frightened survivor returned following Sarnor's rampage, they became wary of returning to the site, and decided to focus elsewhere for the time being - until they could find an ally just as suitable. Troubled by this turn of events as well, where Clan Sonoda became mostly extinct, Sarnor's sister Faolana fled to Tsushima. Hoping to let her clan pass in peace as a legend, Sarnor sold the estate to Clan Yamada, and left to live instead in the forests.
It was here she focused her efforts on mending the forests and those who had suffered, as well as honoring those fallen with proper burials. She'd keep the wilderness alive and well, defending those nearby from mongols, and strumming her biwa on late nights to ease the anxious souls...
Until recovered by an ancient rival, the Lord Ryou. Now he might have gotten her pregnant, wip, f
- Warmth
- Water
- Winter
- Silence
- Illness
- Arrogance
- Draw them as anything! Any animal, plant, humanoid, object, demon.. etc!
- MUST maintain all injuries (at least missing eyes!)
- Can be drawn with any plant / fungal matter on / around their body. They're like a moving garden
- Kind of spectral / glowy like a wisp or ghost; a light to guide you
- Thought to be the source of Onikuma, Kodama, and other legends
- Collects unburied remains, intact or otherwise
- Gentle biwa strumming resonates deep within the forest...
