Kyoshi Shogunate

"“The sword has to be more than a simple weapon; it has to be an answer to life's questions.”"

With the Scarlet Moon Empire long since gone the Kyoshi Shogunate can rightfully claim itself the oldest of the human nations. Ruled by a military dictator called a Shogun, the Kyoshi are proud, feared warriors who have long since tested their might against the warring clans of goblins and lizardmen to the east.

214 - Foundation
Tired of the lawlessness and corruption of the crumbling Scarlet Moon Empire and far from Scarletia, the people who had for so long lived in the north eking out a meager living selling grain and facing constant assault from Lizardmen and Goblins from the east, made a fateful decision. Packing what little they had they set off into the forbidden north where demons and fairies tormented anyone foolish enough to enter their domain. When they first came upon the Shien forest, protected by the mountain range of the Shields to the south, they found only peace. Instead of the death they had been warned of they instead found only benevolent woodland spirits who were curious of humans and sought only to learn from them. They lived as one, in harmony with the spirits that resided there and the two learned from each other. It was not long before the the strongholds of Urgith and Urtza became aware of this growing human presence across the mountains, cut off from the old empire across the Shields and war parties were dispatched. Lizardmen tribes and goblin hordes, locked in an endless war of their own both saw opportunity in the weakness of man and so made their way into the forests, bringing with them their conflict.

In those first dark years many Kyoshi were killed or worse, taken back to the dead lands beyond. They were mostly defenseless but the spirits of the forest were not. Seeing the ferocity of the enemy, they began to teach the Kyoshi the use of magic and the art of the forge. With hammer and anvil they constructed weapons and armour, with time and training they developed the skill to use both. Steadily, the Kyoshi fought back, adapting to war quickly. For a time they enjoyed great success, side by side with their hosts the humans protected the land and drove back the hordes. Yet this only emboldened the attackers, now believing worthy enemies had emerged and so the raids continued. Over time some of the humans believed the defense of the forest was not enough and wished to take the fight to those that had wronged them. The spirits pleaded with them to remain, that to embark on such a campaign would change them forever but one warrior, Omashii Muto was convinced that to truly be free they had to take destiny into their own hands and rid themselves of their foes once and for all. A skilled warrior and respected leader he convinced many to go with him, leaving the spirits to mourn the inevitable shadow that would taint their journey into the Shadowrealm.

They were gone for twelve years. Twelve long years of war in the inhospitable lands that only the hardiest of races could endure. As the spirits had feared they were changed in the firelands of the sunken forge and when they returned they brought back with them the ferocity of the foes they had defeated. Omashii had taken the title Shogun, from the Old Common 'Fire Lord' and in doing so set his people down a path that would define them until modern day. They grew into a warrior culture, periodically descending over the mountains into enemy territory to make war with whoever they could find. In this time they became further skilled with the forge, creating weapons of war but also honouring the spirits that had taught them the skills they had used to survive. Capable of great beauty, the Kyoshi express themselves not just through battle, but poetry, song and art and it was in these early days they built the great city Kikowara high in the mountains.

511-514: The War of Red Snow (Expansion and Defeat)
In 511 an ambitious Shogun, Tenshi Bakura, spied opportunity in the south. The peaceful Halfling lands of the Hearthome Valley were what lay between the mostly human controlled north and the elven Holy Kingdom of Ormindreal to the south. Recognising they were lightly defended and of considerable strategic value, Bakura ordered his forces across the blood marshes and into the meadows and hills of the little folk. They were met with little resistance, the halflings were a simple people with no appetite for war. The Ormindreal however were not so gentle, though content within their own borders they had long held an unwritten treaty with their peaceful neighbors and had been their protectors, marched north in force.

The Kyoshi, long since prepared for this inevitable development unleashed their engine of war, turning the valley into a furnace of industry it became the forge for their ambition. The Shogun himself led the first charge as the human forces clashed with the ancient elves for the first, and only, time of the age. The Kyoshi were skilled, long since hardened by their wars in the shadowrealm but the Orimdreal were the controlling power of the continent for a reason and they met the skill of their enemy with that of their own. For three years they decimated the halfling lands until the Bladesinger and crown princess Morathi Omarel, an elven warrior of great renown met the Shogun on the field of battle. Tenshi Bakura had felled many warriors but in Morathi he found his match and then some. She moved like the wind, her blade imbued with magics the Kyoshi barely understood. As Bakura struck, she vanished, as Bakura parried she passed through his guard like rain. The Kysohi were stunned and could only watch as the strongest among them was humbled. When Bakura swung his final strike, Morathi sliced the blade in two and held her own to the fallen foes throat. It is said she offered the fallen Shogun one opportunity to yield and return to his lands and swear never to return. He did and in return she gave to the fallen warrior the blade she carried, a Moonblade named ‘Ansrivarr’ which in the elven tongue means memory. The blade has forever remained with the Shogun as a memento of the promise made and the respect for the elves mercy.

813-828: The Trinity War
Considered by many to be the instigators of the conflict, where once they had ridden south and been defeated they now spied opportunity in the north. The Knightdom of Tendra was untested in war and a worthy adversary, if they could be soundly beaten then the merchants of Hexan would follow quickly after.

The first battle of the war came as a Kyoshi war band rode east from Shintori in an attempt to take Montlés. The Tendra were caught unaware and mobilised too late, arriving in time to see the town burning to the ground. The High Table were deeply troubled and petitioned the Hexan for financial aid, reasoning that conflict in the north would eventually draw them in. Unconerned, the Hexan were quite content to see the conflict develop and so the Knightdom went to war. When the Tendra reclaimed the town, the Kyoshi were surprised at the ferocity of the enemy force but had hardened themselves in their conflicts over the many years of their history. Abandoning the north they rode east, striking out at the farmlands and trade routes of the Hexan, massacring any forces that stood in their way. As the war seemed to turn in their favour, the Kyoshi were frustrated when goblin forces from the west seized their opportunity to take advantage of the war. Now fighting on three fronts the Shogunate were in danger of being overrun and as they secured their borders a loose alliance between the Tendra and Hexan forces pushed them back beyond the Shield mountains. Having come so close to domination of the north defeat was a hard truth to accept for many, not least the sitting Shogun Ryo Hasashi, who rather than face the shame of surrender is said to have jumped from the highest tower of Kikowara.

In the following days his daughter and successor Mai Hasashi had seen enough of war and had the wisdom to bring it to an end. She personally signed the treaty that staved off the alliance and to many, saved the Kyoshi from destruction. Whilst to many she was a savior, to others she had bent the knee and disgraced the Kyoshi for all time, she became known as the ‘Broken Sword’ and reviled among the ruling classes.

952: Resurgence
After almost a century of isolation the Kyoshi made their presence known once again. Word came to the other nations of a mighty host marching into the west. Some saw it as a desire for vengeance against the goblin tribes who had cost them greatly, others as a desire to bring peace to a land of eternal conflict.

Regardless of the truth, the campaign was short-lived and seemingly successful. The Kyoshi quickly managed to rebuild much of the force they had lost in a relatively short space of time and although they have shown no aggression there are many that believe it is only a matter of time before this old agitator fans the flames of war once again.