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[b]Name:[/b] Ryza Shiro

[b]Age:[/b] 22

[b]Guild Band:[/b] Red Hawks

[b]Archtype:[/b] Theoretically skilled, completely unproven.

[b]Backstory:[/b] Ryza was born into the Shiro family, one known for its keen swordsmen and long history of serving the empire in some way. When Ryza was young, she chose acrobatics as her hobby, finding herself among a small group of other young girls, practicing for shows. When she came came of age at eighteen, her family made her choose a martial dedication, as was their way. Knowing her family's history, she didn't complain and quickly chose the Kusagi Empire's traditional way of the sword, Seishin.

Ryza was enlisted into the capital city's best Seishin school. The school demanded her complete dedication, and so she had to move out of the Shiro estate and live in the school. One month into her lessons, Ryza and the rest of her classmates had to make a pact to one of the many Oni spirits residing in the school. It was the way of Seishin, any dedicated swordsman had a guardian spirit, one that acted as an extension to themselves. When she was brought into the school's Oni chamber, she saw a vast collection of masks, each of them a spirit, each of them studying the new faces in silence. Oni were nothing new to Ryza, her family had a number of Seishin Swordsmen, so she wasn't intimidated by the demonic visages the Oni appeared to be.

She met an Oni that she eventually made the pact with. The Oni's face was reminiscent of a Kusagi tiger, a prized beast in her homeland. The pact, was in exchange for the spirit's servitude, Ryza needed to practice the way of Seishin swordsmanship daily for two hours. It was the same pact every Seishin swordsman made to their spirit.

For three years, Ryza practiced as a student in the school, rarely stepping foot outside of the complex. When the time came to take her apprenticeship exam, she did well. Oni and Ryza worked together in the harmony that any Seishin swordsman was expected of, two hours of practice every day made sure of it. Ryza had become an apprentice Seishin swordsman, and was no longer bound to live in the school. She could take a master and learn from him elsewhere in the world.

Ryza returned home and quickly found her uncle to be her master. Shinto, an old man in his sixties, was a master Seishin swordsman. He didn't hesitate to accept Ryza as his apprentice and quickly took her around the Kusagi empire, wherever his services were needed. One day, a courier came Shinto, he was given a letter with the Imperial seal. It explained that the Shiro family was always held in high regard by the royal family, and requested that Shinto travel to the city-state Meduzart to act as a bodyguard and adviser to a Kusagi diplomat. He answered immediately and took Ryza with him. The two traveled by airship.

When Ryza and Shinto arrived, they were greeted by the diplomat. Ryza wasn't so focused on the Kusagi man, she had never seen a western city before. She was in awe of the entirely different architecture and societal customs. It was all so fascinating for Ryza. For a year, Shinto served under the diplomat. Ryza, under no such assignment, was left in their home while Shinto did his job. She had gotten bored remaining home, honing her art, and decided to walk the streets a bit. She eventually came across the Adventurers Guild. She took a peak inside and and was captivated by the variety of different people there. But a peak was just that, and she left moments later. Upon coming home, she saw two officers of Meduzart standing outside. They were there to inform Ryza that her Uncle Shinto and the diplomat he was sworn to protect, were both killed in an airship crash.

Ryza was left in Meduzart without a master and away from her family. She didn't have the money to return back to Kusagi, or the letter of Imperial Summons that Shinto had gotten to order them to Meduzart. She was stuck, and needed to find a way. Remembering the Adventurers Guild, Ryza sprung to action and joined up immediately. The Red Hawks had caught her attention the most. She was completely unproven, having never had a taste of real combat in her life. But the recruiter had heard of the prowess of Seishin swordsmen, and recruited her in good faith and high hopes.

Now Ryza serves the Red Hawks band, intent on earning the money to return to Kusagi and finish her training. As she can not elevate to a full fledged Seishin swordsman without the approval of a master.

[u][b]Skills and Abilities[/b][/u]

[b]Seishin -[/b] Ryza is an apprentice in traditional Kusagi swordsmanship. Seishin is composed of a variety of stances.

[b]Graceful -[/b] Seishin requires light steps and precise movements. Ryza has a natural grace about her, both in sword fighting and just about every other moment.

[b]Flexible -[/b] Acrobatics and conditioning have made Ryza quite flexible. While not something developed from her apprenticeship in Seishin, it works hand in hand with it.

[u][b]Equipment[/b][/u]

[b]Katana -[/b] The traditional weapon of the Kusagi Empire. While technology has progressed and soldiers of the empire now use firearms, the katana is still issued to each and every one of them. It is the heart and soul of Kusagi society. The art devoted to the Kusagi katana, Seishin, is open to all citizens of Kusagi blood, military or not. Ryza's katana has no striking features, it is an apprentice's katana that was forged by her school's master like every other one. It is still just as sharp as any legendary blade however.

[b]Family Insignia -[/b] Ryza wears a necklace with her family insignia. The insignia shows a faceless human in an elegant dance with a long, serpentine spirit.

[b]Apprentice's Robes -[/b] Ryza wears white robes with scarlet trimming. The school emblem is embroidered on the back and right breast of the robes. The robes are light and loose fitting, allowing for comfortable motion while practicing Seishin.

[u][b]Spirits[/b][/u]

[img]http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium/oni-mask-tiger-keith-diffenderfer.jpg[/img]

[b]Name:[/b] Oni

[b]Age:[/b] 450

[b]About:[/b] Oni is a spirit that appears as a Kusagi Demon mask. It isn't known if the mask is the entirety of its body. The appearance would define Oni as a simple spirit, but the intelligence and pact required to bind Oni suggests that it might be a humanoid. Oni is known to the Kusagi as a Guardian Seishin, as Seishin directly translates to Spirit. Despite the Kusagi military having been trained in Seishin, only true Seishin practitioners are bound to spirits such as Oni, that are all strangely named Oni as well. Oni is just like every other Guardian Seishin, appearing as a mask, though the features of the mask vary from Oni to Oni. When summoned, the Seishin swordsman wears the spirit like their own mask. Oni doesn't talk, it just seems to follow Ryza's will and when it expresses itself, Ryza somehow knows.

[b]Skills and Abilities:[/b] While they're all named Oni and they all seem to be masks, they all vary in their abilities. Ryza's particular Oni, when summoned, forms a protective bubble around her. This allows for Ryza to charge through most gunfire so that she can get into range with her katana. This isn't Oni's only use, but it is definitely its favorite. On some occasions, Oni will form a sort of field around the edge of Ryza's katana to make it supernaturally sharp, or it will combine its strength with Ryza's for fierce blows. These are at the demands of Ryza, but out of preference, she enjoys being safe from gunfire.

[b]Pact:[/b] Despite its simple appearance, Oni demands a more complex pact. The Oni seem to all enjoy helping Seishin practitioners finesse their art. As such, the usual pact with Oni is for it to serve as the Seishin swordsman's guardian, in exchange for two hours of practice per day. This practice might be in attained through meditation, sword practice, or even through true combat. As long as the art of Seishin is somehow applied daily.