13org

The Envenomed: Military Science Fiction Deniable Operations

Shot after shot, Alice continued aiming at anywhere she thought it could be a weak-spot as the creature continued charging at them. But no matter her and the others' efforts, the situation seemed to be more and more hopeless as more figures started appearing from the fog and surrounding them. Much to Alice's despair, running didn't see to be an option anymore so they could nothing but try to fight their way.

"If any of you have a plan... The time to put it in action is now!!" Alice said with a very urgent tone on her voice.

Her previous shot at the creature, while not exactly effective, was enough to at least make it flinch, but nothing more. Without missing a single second, she immediately loaded syringe round, containing a corrosive mixture and shot at the creature. If precision, penetrating shots weren't being effective and the creature also seemed to tank most shots, from Salvator's slugs to Kleo's torrent of bullets without many problems as it continued struck Echo trying to force it's way through to get to the more vulnerable members of their team.

With the massive creature's assault on Echo continuing and the other figures starting to attack them from other angles, with one already having thrown Kleo to the ground, desperation started to set in as Alice immediately changed to her sidearm and started to unload magazine after magazine not only at the huge creature, but quickly changing targets at whatever other creature might be approaching them or trying to grab any member of their team before focusing back on the main target.

Fortunately, Ilshar's gamble as he mentioned that the entire ambush seemed to be remotely controlled did pay off and the moment he started working on counter-measures, the creatures were clearly affected, some hesitating for a moment while others froze completely or fell to the ground. Taking advantage of that, Alice immediately turned towards the creature that grabbed Kleo, which was frozen after Ilshar's interference and immediately shot two times, one at the tentacle grabbing Kleo and other at it's head, hopefully allowing Kleo to free herself.

"Whatever you just did, it worked, Ilshar!! Can you trace back the signals to whatever is responsible for this ambush? Even if we deal with these, I doubt it'll leave us alone." she said hopefully as she reloaded her pistol, loading the last magazine she had for her sidearm.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

Miwa listened to Jazdia's words with solemn silence and respect. The weight of her words made it clear of how serious whatever curse that afflicted her was and how urgent her situation was. While it would be harder to do something about her curse without the proper preparation and place, it still wasn't impossible.

The moment Miwa's hands touched Jazdia though, she immediately felt a searing heat in her mind as the curse's true form revealed itself. Shockingly enough, it wasn't anything like most curses Miwa had seen during her time in the temple. The vast majority of curses were born out of malice and their form and appearance reflected that aspect. This one was different though. Taking the form of a pale flaming aura around Jazdia, a flaming halo and shards of light around her back while thorny vines descended from the sky, binding her wrists. Despite it's appearance though, the searing heat Miwa felt the moment she touched Jazdia, revealed the malice behind that curse, almost as if it was claiming Jazdia as it's own, showing an aggressive possessiveness.

While the initial shock and the searing heat were enough to make Miwa flinch and open her eyes wide, instead of simply pulling away, her grip on Jazdia's hands became firmer as she looked not to Jazdia herself but to the curse floating above her with an inquisitorial stare, bearing the pain almost as a direct challenge to the curse itself. Despite the pain, she made sure to hold as much as she could in order to get as much information about that curse as she could, before she let go with an exhausted gasp, recoiling from the pain.

"It... It will be hard... But with a some luck, not impossible." Miwa said after taking a moment to recover herself, carefully choosing her words. She didn't want to lie to Jazdia but at the same time, she knew the last thing the elf woman needed right now was hearing something that would make her even more hopeless.

"It seems to be far different than a normal curse. Without proper preparation and a consecrated place to conduct the ritual... We will need as much information about this curse as we can to try and dispel it... Or at least contain it." Miwa said, turning to Fia with a serious expression before she carefully described to her what she saw and felt as she touched Jazdia's hands.

"The Library... It indeed might be exactly what we need. At least we know what to search for." Miwa said with a determined expression. The pain she felt while holding Jazdia's hands wasn't for nothing. She was able to get a very good look at the curse's form and appearance before she had to let go.

"Even if we do not find a way to completely break it, I am sure we might find a way to contain it. Perhaps for long enough for me to take you to the temple. Regardless, I promise you I will do everything in my power to help you." Miwa said, with a kind smile to Jazdia, another reminder that despite her appearance and personality, she was still a miko.

"Can I count with you as well?" she asked, turning to Fia.

It was exactly at that moment, when Miwa took a glance around her to check on the others that she saw a rather strange scene. Akari, wearing a very revealing swimsuit entering the river after asking for an embarrassed Elc for a bucket to fish and for the other two mercenaries to gather some water for the trip.

"Wha- Akari?! What is this?" Miwa asked, bewildered at the scene she was looking at.

"You! If you want to help, please go upstream to get some water!" Miwa said, angrily walking towards the river as she shooed away the one mercenary who remained.

Approaching Elc, she gently turning him away from Akari delicately pushed him towards the camp where Jazdia was.

"Mr Elc, I think I heard Jazdia mentioning she wanted to talk with you!" Miwa said before she went towards Akari.

"Don't you think it's too shameless to display yourself like that?! At least ask me, Jazdia, Fia or Eblana to assist you instead of asking half of the males in our group!" Miwa said, scolding Akari as she continued fishing.

"I do commend you for the initiative to gather food and water for the trip but you should think better than to show yourself like this!" Miwa continued, still scolding Akari.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

Miwa couldn't help but let out a rather proud smile as she heard Fia commenting about the weapon and praising her. Truth be told, it was far from being a conventional weapon and similarly, it was far from being an easy weapon to wield effectively, let alone master it, something Miwa was rather proud of herself.

"The Ama Matoi is indeed quite an unconventional weapon. Even if the handling is quite similar to a long spear when the wagasa is closed, it completely changes when it is open, becoming an almost completely different weapon. The way one fights with it reflects both the fighting style and the beliefs of the Shirakawa Temple: balance even when fighting. It is both a defensive weapon and an offensive one. If you are skilled with it, flowing between offensive and defensive stances smoothly becomes one of it's main strengths." Miwa explained with a proud smirk.

Accepting Jazdia's offer to sit down with a smile, Miwa quietly listened to Jazdia's inquiry about purifying curses. Even if it was quite subtle, Miwa did catch the almost imperceptible tone in Jazdia's voice, indicating it was something quite important to her. Immediately after Miwa noticed it, her expression changed to a more supportive and kind one.

"It is honestly hard to say. Curses are extremely varied and different, even more so if one is talking about curses from a foreign land..." Miwa said with a thoughtful expression.

"Most simple curses are quite easily purified simply by using the purified water, but for stronger, more complex curses, proper preparation and a purifying ritual is needed. While it can still be performed by a single priest, especially if this one is the Shirakawa Temple's current miko, it requires some knowledge about the curse itself and more importantly the proper location..." Miwa said, a noticeable proud tone in her voice as she mentioned the Miko part, before it quickly changed to a more troublesome expression at the end.

"Normally, purification rituals are made in the sacred waterfall near our main temple deep within the mountains... Should we, by luck, encounter a pure and clean river having both a waterfall and not being tainted by any kind of power, a different ritual supposedly could be made to bless and consecrate it... Although it is exceedingly rare to find a the proper location and conditions to do so..." Miwa completed with a rather troubled expression.

"When this journey is over, I would like to invite you to our main temple. It will be a rather long journey, but I am confident that with enough preparation and research about said curse, it can most definitely be purified." Miwa said, gently approaching Jazdia and speaking in a lower and softer tone, reminding her that despite her looks and personality, she was still a proper Miko of a temple and knew how to help and soothe as much as she knew how to defend and attack.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

"Thank you! I most definitely will! The tea's fragrant scent was exactly what woke me up!" Miwa replied with a smile before looking to Elc, who offered her a sandwich to go along with the tea.

"Is it okay? Miss Jazdia probably prepared those for herself, no?" Miwa asked, looking at both Jazdia and Elc as he quite eagerly ate one of the aforementioned sandwiches.

Miwa couldn't help but chuckle as she heard Fia's words as Jazdia mentioned her putting down her weapon while giving her a strange expression.

"The Ama Matoi? Oh, no need to worry about it. Gods know how many times I hurt myself when I was still young, training to wield it. At this point, it's almost an extension of my body." Miwa said, yawning as she gave a step towards the group.

"Besides... It is more than just a weapon. It is also used for purification rituals. The weapon is just one of it's aspects. It is equally capable of defending and even... creating." Miwa said with a rather proud smirk as she held her weapon with one hand pointing downwards as she quickly stabbed the ground. From where the spear met the ground, a hole was left, from where crystalline, cold water began to pool.

Crouching down, Miwa took some of that water with her hands as her spear rested leaning on her shoulder, before she gave a deep breath and in one go, splashed the cold water on her face.

"Whew! That helps a lot! I'm definitely awake now." she said chuckling as she stood up.

"Oh, the water is perfectly clean, drinkable and purified, should you need it for something. A small perk of being a Miko from the Shirakawa temple. Normally it's used for purifying rituals... But there are no rules saying that it can't be used like normal water, despite being sacred." she said laughing.

"I swear I normally am not this bad at waking up! It's just that... Well... Yesterday was a particularly exhausting day... I was walking for quite a time before I fortunately encountered you guys, after all." Miwa said, justifying herself with a rather embarrassed chuckle.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

Despite Miwa's resistance to handle money directly, Fia's words did have some truth to them. Even if a little, it was always very convenient having at least some money in hands. Her words also did make Miwa think a bit. Although it was true that she left to this 'mission' she undertook on impulse and it was true that it was her first time getting far away from home, it was not like she wasn't confident on her skills and more importantly, knew her own limits.

Miwa did notice a rather sad and regretful tone on Vesemir's voice as he spoke. While she did not know much about Elves, she knew superficially of their history and how keen they were to hide their past. Even though she didn't know exactly which was that past. Another doubt that did arise was... How old exactly was Vesemir? The way he spoke, his tone made it sound almost like he had personally lived through the past he referenced.

"The elders of my temple... Of most temples to be honest, do tend to be quite blind and resistant to changes. Leaving the temple to prove them wrong was the only way I could think to make them see an alternate path for our temple, other than just slowly being forgotten and fade away. I am more than confident both on my own skills and my own limits. I do recognize that I do not know much about the world outside my temple and my homeland though... And this knowledge ends up being as important than skills to any adventure." Miwa said with a chuckle to both Fia and Vesemir.

"With that said, learning is the ultimate goal of this journey. Both for me and for my temple. For that, I will be in your care." Miwa said with a smile, both to Vesemir and the few members that were still awake at that late hour, including the silent knight with green armor.

While Miwa didn't want to be rude and ask something that might offend Vesemir or dig into memories he wasn't fond of, her last words were a subtle nod that should he be willing to discuss, she was more than willing to hear about the tragic past Vesemir mentioned.

---

The night was a very quiet one. Differently than others might have expected, Miwa didn't have much both sleeping in a tent and sharing it with Akira. While she would be fine sharing it with anyone else, it was a bit more comfortable with Akira, since she was a somewhat familiar face, being from her homeland, after all.

Miwa woke up with the fragrant scent of the tea Jazdia was brewing, getting out of her and Akira's tent leaning on her weapon with a rather sleepy expression and rubbing her eyes.

"Good- Hnnng! Morning everyone!" Miwa said as she stretched before she walked near to where Jazdia and Elc were.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

"Once again, I am very grateful for both your hospitality and your trust." Miwa said, bowing as she received the bag of coins, putting it inside her clothes before she looked to Akari with a warm smile and gave a silent, thankful bow as she accepted a bowl of stew before sitting down near the others.

Receiving the bag of money directly felt a bit strange for Miwa, almost as if she was merely being hired as a mercenary. While there were many ways she and other members of the Shirakawa temple could be clearly distinguished from mercenaries, should the temple accept her proposal, it would still be beneficial both for their image and for the temple for a rule to be made stating that no member of the Shirakawa temple would accept direct payment and simply ask for a donation to be sent once the job was over. Regardless, such matters were more fit to be pondered about once both the job was over and Miwa was back to the temple.

"Truth be told, I would be in quite some trouble should you have not accepted my offer." Miwa said with a chuckle as she heard one of the elf women mentioning how easily Doctor Vesmir, their employer, secured another helping hand for their expedition.

Despite the somewhat casual talk between the two elf women, Miwa couldn't help but notice the weight of the words Jazdia spoke. Judging by her words, it was undeniable that Jazdia was an experienced ranger, particularly regarding the Lands of Twilight. She knew well both how to navigate these lands and the dangers that it offered, so it was understandable that she had some strong opinions about those that didn't give enough thought at how dangerous the Lands of Twilight were.

"Many are the reasons that would lead one to undertake such dangerous ventures. Some might be easier to understand and empathize, but others might be a bit more complex and personal... Sometimes even appearing to be foolish to others, but important enough to make them risk themselves despite knowing the dangers that await them... Assuming they really know the dangers of the Land of Twilight and aren't merely fools who overestimate themselves, that is." Miwa said as she calmly ate from the bowl she was given.

"Regardless, I am happy to know we have an experienced ranger in the group as it is my first time coming to the Lands of Twilight." Miwa said, with a reassuring smile towards Jazdia.

"As for my reasons for being so far away from my homeland in such a risky venture... The short answer would to restore the former glory of the Shirakawa temple, both financially and regarding it's reputation." Miwa said.

"The Shirakawa temple was once well known in the Far East as a bastion of hope and safety in a land plagued by internal conflicts and wars. Where most temples would only offer aid and peaceful, passive resistance to the horrors of wars, the Shirakawa temple took on it's own hands the task of maintaining order and ensuring that innocent would not be dragged into conflicts they had no hand in starting." Miwa said, already halfway done with her bowl of stew.

"The little martial arts we used to train solely for defense was gradually developed with time, turning into Shirakawa Ko-ryū, feared by using spears and naginatas, seamlessly transitioning from defensive stances to offensive ones and mixing rituals and sacred dances into flowing strikes, allowing Shirakawa priests and monks to summon torrential rains to stop enemy armies and using the power of sacred, purifying water in combat." Miwa continued. It didn't take much for one to realize how proud she was of her temple's history as she told her story.

"In the last 60 years, when the peace the Shirakawa temple fought so hard finally arrived to the Far East though, the temple lost something very important to it. A reason to exist. With a new era of peace, the protection of the Shirakawa temple became unnecessary... As it did the temple itself. Those who knew of the temple and it's history are either gone or in the evening of their lives and the newer generations see the temple as a relic of the past, faded to disappear and remain only in books of history. In order to prevent that, I, as the next Miko of the Shirakawa temple made a proposal to the elders... To start offering our aid to those who need, working as adventurers. In exchange for our help, all we ask is for a small donation to be made to our temple and for our history and our temple to be remembered and kept alive." Miwa finished, letting out a deep sigh as she finished the bowl, handing it to Akari with a smile.

"Anyways, thank you for the food! I was starting to get real hungry! Especially since my last party was kind enough to abandon me without leaving anything behind..." Miwa said, rolling her eyes with a sigh as she mentioned her last party.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

Surprisingly enough, Miwa wasn't received with nearly as much suspiciousness as she expected as the kunoichi immediately approached to greet her, offering her some food and a place to rest. While Miwa wasn't exactly as naive to trust anyone she met, particularly regarding food, it would be foolish to deny a good chance to rest and depending on how the group reacted, even a group who would be either willing to hire her or at least would let her accompany them to a safer location.

"That's a relief! I'll gratefully accept! I thought I would have to wander by myself through this annoying forest. Although, out of everything I would meed inside the Land of Twilight, the one thing I wasn't expecting to meet was a kunoi-" Miwa began talking and approaching the kunoichi with a smile before stopping herself as soon as she noticed that one of the members of the group already putting his hand on his weapon and a rather sharp stare coming from the woman with a cup of tea on her hand.

"I am grateful for your hospitality, but it might be better for me to stay where I am for now... At least until we both feel a bit safer around each other." Miwa said, her tone changing to a much more formal one as she closed her wagasa and raised her hands, clearly looking at the man that promptly assumed a combat posture, making sure he knew she didn't have any intention to fight.

"Before anything, I guess introductions are in order. My name is Miwa Shirakawa, the current Miko from the Shirakawa temple. I volunteered to escort a group of scholars to the Land of Twilight but unfortunately... They proved to be much less competent than I anticipated and ended up running away after encountering a few mutant dogs and the huge dragon flying in the distance..." Miwa said with a polite bow, finishing with a heavy sigh of disappointment.

"Since they left me with no map or anything, I had no choice but to wander through the forest hoping to find a road or another group... I won't ask you to trust me just yet, but if you could be kind enough to at least let me accompany your group for a while I would be grateful." Miwa said with a traditional estern bow.

"I can assure you I won't be a burden. I am more than capable of taking care of myself and I am sure my skills will be of use in keeping your group safe. I do not require any payment and should you decide my presence was helpful, all I ask is for a donation to be made and sent to the Shirakawa Temple in the far east along with a small letter with your endorsement." Miwa said, standing up as she looked at the group, waiting for their reply.

"Should you be interested, I would be glad to tell you a bit about the Shirakawa temple, it's history and the reason for a Miko of a temple known to only have one Miko per generation to be so far away from her homeland. Over a bowl of stew and a place to rest, of course." Miwa said with a warm smile, hoping her willingness to partake of their meal would show them that she was prepared to take the first step to establish mutual trust between them.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

As Miwa wandered by herself through the inhospitable forests of the Land of Twilight, she couldn't help but think that the Elders of the Shirakawa temple did have some good points for resisting her idea. Regardless of how she explained, adventuring work was still kinda similar to mercenary work and similarly, there were many aspects of it that were very... unreliable...

At first, she thought she was quite lucky to stumble into an expedition going to the infamous Land of Twilight right after she left the temple. While dangerous, the Land of Twilight was undeniably attractive to many different kinds of people. From merchants and treasure-hunters to even scholars and depending on the contracts Miwa accepted in the name of the temple, not only it could bring some decent sized donations based on the final rewards of the expedition but it would also bring some recognition to the temple in it's new endeavor.

The group that ended up hiring Miwa in particular seemed to be one of the decently sized ones going to the Land of Twilight. Not only consisted of a medium sized caravan of scholars from a famous academy but it also seemed to have a rather reliable team to escort it. Unfortunately, Miwa had grossly overestimated the competence of her employers and their team... The first encounter with the creatures from the Land of Twilight was already enough to shake the morale of the caravan, with Miwa only barely being able to create an opening for them to flee. Already shaken and afraid, the finishing blow for the entire expedition was the huge dragon they saw flying over their heads. Without saying a single word other than screams, the entire caravan ran away, leaving her behind mumbling angrily.

"Unbelievable! I already sort of expected those scholars to be somewhat spineless but to think the rest of the mercenaries they hired were all incompetent cowards as well! All it took were one or two mutant dogs walking in two legs and they were already shivering in fear before even trying to fight..." Miwa said to herself, grumbling as she continued walking, the wagasa part of her weapon open as she held it above her head, not only to shield her for the elements but also from the particularly annoying vines that dangled from many of the trees above her.

"And to make things worse there's all these damn bushes and vines everywhere! I swear... They could at least have abandoned me near a road or something!" Miwa complained, cutting a particularly dense bush with the tip of her weapon with a fluid motion before resting it on her shoulder once again without closing the wagasa.

Stepping over the cut vegetation, she took a moment to swipe a few leaves off her skirt. The moment she looked up, she let out a small gasp, surprised as she finally realized that she wasn't alone in that clearing.

"Umm... Hi... Sorry for the intrusion... You guys have quite a... peculiar group, don't you? You wouldn't happen to also be lost... right?" Miwa asked, confused, surprised and a bit embarrassed, hoping they didn't pay attention to her small outburst.

Duplicitous Ruins in the Land of Twilight

Shirakawa Miwa

---

	General Information Name - Shirakawa Miwa Age - 18 Species and Gender - Human / Female Hair Color - Black Reason to join - Financially helping her temple and try to restore it's influence, respect and glory.

Detailed Appearance

Standing at 1.58m (5'2") Miwa's is mostly seen using a traditional clothes. The predominantly blue upper part with light blue, flowing motifs give Miwa a bright, jovial appearance while the black and gold skirt, sporting the same flowing motifs and the traditional geta she uses give a more traditional touch to her ensemble. One noteworthy point of her attire is that it's quite different from the more traditional clothes from others from her temple, being the closest she can use that is still considered to be proper for a Miko while not restraining her movements. Despite being a young woman, her hairstyle and young face do give her a rather childish appearance, which does somewhat fit Miwa, given her jovial, cheerful and extroverted personality.

Backstory

While the Shirakawa temple is now considered to be a minor, less known temple in Miwa's country, it was once incredibly important and powerful, particularly in times of war and turmoil. Unlike other temples who often refused to take part in wars and conflicts, the Shirakawa temple was not opposed to this idea, often step forward both to bring order and restore balance to the land. Despite that, the Shirakawa temple was known to rarely, if ever take an actual side in any war, instead intervening only if innocent lives were in danger. Tales of a small group of Shirakawa priests stopping an entire army using their powers and martial arts were not uncommon and perhaps the most noteworthy fact about those tales is the fact that while they weren't opposed to the idea of wounding and incapacitating enemy soldiers, they rarely if ever killed them, fighting in a strictly defensive manner.

Their traditions, deeply rooted in actual combat, paired with the powers that were bestowed to them by the spirits from the sacred river made both male and female priests from the Shirakawa temple fearsome combatants. The Shirakawa faith believed that balance was important and necessary in all things, meaning that sometimes, uprooting some weeds was necessary for the rest field to prosper.

But as the times of war and civil unrest ended, the presence and importance of the Shirakawa temple gradually faded. With the arrival of times of great peace, the Shirakawa temple was gradually forgotten as other temples rituals and beliefs more adequate to times of piece became more famous. While peace was something the Shirakawa temple always fought for, it was inevitably leading it to it's own demise.

Miwa, the sole daughter of the Shirakawa family's main branch and the one who was being trained to be the next head Miko of the temple, despite having been born in a time where the temple still had a semblance of it's former glory, could quickly perceive how difficult the times ahead would be for the temple.

Despite loving and respecting the temple's rich history, Miwa knew that it was necessary for the temple to open it's eyes to the present instead of living in the glory of it's past. Her suggestion was simple: to take jobs as adventurers. While most elders saw her suggestion as greatly offensive, viewing adventurers as nothing more than mercenaries, Miwa had a different view. By not accepting payment and merely asking for donations, they wouldn ot only they would still be helping people, but would also keep the martial heritage of their temple alive.

It took a lot of time for Miwa to convince the elders of her temple to even allow her to go on a pilgrimage to undertake adventuring jobs under the name of the temple, but after a few years and a lot of discussion, she was finally allowed to go under one condition: Should she be successful in her endeavor and bring positive results, both in the form of donations to the temple and recognition without staining it's image, history or honor, the elders would agree to let Miwa have more influence on how the decisions regarding the temple's future. If not, she would be immediately lose the position of Miko.

Passives

Shirakawa Ko-ryū: Traditional fighting style from the Shirakawa temple, focusing mostly in wielding spears and naginatas. It is famous for seamlessly flowing between defensive moves, counter-strikes and offensive moves in a continuous flow. Miwa's signature weapon makes the Shirakawa Ko-ryū even more dangerous, being able to easily deflect blows or hiding her next attacks by opening her wagasa.

Ame-yu: Miwa's techniques and skills are able to create water by gradually rising and condensing the humidity in the atmosphere. After some time, the humidity rises to a point that rain begins to fall, covering the battlefield in a unnaturally calm water mirror, allowing Miwa to use her 'Mizukagami Tsuki' skill and enhancing her other skills. Her training and powers as a Miko from the Shirakawa temple also allows her to effortlessly move through water, be it the layer of water created by this passive or not, going as far as making her able to walk above it.

Spells

Mizukagami Tsuki: Opening her wagasa in front of her, Miwa momentarily obstructs the enemies from seeing her in a brief, spinning dance. Attacks directed at her as she is doing this ritualistic dance are parried and redirected by her wagasa. The dance ends with the wagasa spinning in front of her before Miwa disappears and it falls to the ground, completely sinking into the water mirror created by her passive and disappearing. A moment later, appearing high above her target with her weapon, she dives down in a powerful thrust. The moment the tip of her weapon pierces her enemy and touches the water mirror, making a single ripple disturb the water mirror before her and her enemy sink into it, reappearing high above the battlefield before crashing down. Should Miwa miss her target with the initial attack, this skill fails. It can only be used if her passive has completely activated.

Shizuku Ugachi: Using the rear end of her wagasa-spear, Miwa jumps high in the air, where she can chose either to immediately dive towards her target in a precise, powerful thrust or open her wagasa and float for a brief moment before deciding either to strike or cancel her skill, simply gliding down to the ground. Should her passive have completely activated, if she chooses to glide down, she can spin her wagasa, creating water needles and making them fall on her enemies from above.

Suigetsu no Kaeshi: A counter-attack using Miwa's signature weapon. By opening her wagasa and spinning, she is able to easily parry melee attacks and redirect projectiles as long as they don't carry enough impact to knock her down. After parrying a melee attack she can swiftly sweep the opponent's weapon to the side and pierce them with the back of her weapon. If her passive has completely activated, the moment she spins her wagasa to parry an attack, she disappears from behind it, leaving a copy of her weapon to fall down and quickly turn into water as she appears behind her enemy, piercing them. In this case, if she redirects a ranged attack, as long as it's not too far away, she can still teleport behind her enemy.

Equipment

Ama Matoi: The signature weapon of the miko of the Shirakawa temple, a hybrid between a wagasa and a spear, it is a weapon believed to be sacred by the Shirakawa temple, being passed down to the Shirakawa temple's Miko of each generation. It is an incredibly hard weapon to use effectively even by Shirakawa Ko-ryū users. Barely useful as a weapon to those who are not trained in the Shirakawa temple's martial arts.

Mundane Skills

Prayers and rituals of purification: Despite the emphasis on martial arts, the Shirakawa temple is still a religious temple and Miwa, as a Miko was trained in traditional rituals of purification.

Glossary

_{Miko - Medium or priestess
Shirakawa - White River
Ko-ryu - Old Style
Ame-yu - Rain approaches
Mizukagami Tsuki - Thrust into Water Mirror
Shizuku Ugachi - Piercing Raindrop
Suigetsu no Kaeshi - Counter of the Water Moon
Ama Matoi- Shrouded in Rain}

13org's characters

Shirakawa Miwa

---

	General Information Name - Shirakawa Miwa Age - 18 Species and Gender - Human / Female Hair Color - Black Reason to join - Financially helping her temple and try to restore it's influence, respect and glory.

Detailed Appearance

Standing at 1.58m (5'2") Miwa's is mostly seen using a traditional clothes. The predominantly blue upper part with light blue, flowing motifs give Miwa a bright, jovial appearance while the black and gold skirt, sporting the same flowing motifs and the traditional geta she uses give a more traditional touch to her ensemble. One noteworthy point of her attire is that it's quite different from the more traditional clothes from others from her temple, being the closest she can use that is still considered to be proper for a Miko while not restraining her movements. Despite being a young woman, her hairstyle and young face do give her a rather childish appearance, which does somewhat fit Miwa, given her jovial, cheerful and extroverted personality.

Backstory

While the Shirakawa temple is now considered to be a minor, less known temple in Miwa's country, it was once incredibly important and powerful, particularly in times of war and turmoil. Unlike other temples who often refused to take part in wars and conflicts, the Shirakawa temple was not opposed to this idea, often step forward both to bring order and restore balance to the land. Despite that, the Shirakawa temple was known to rarely, if ever take an actual side in any war, instead intervening only if innocent lives were in danger. Tales of a small group of Shirakawa priests stopping an entire army using their powers and martial arts were not uncommon and perhaps the most noteworthy fact about those tales is the fact that while they weren't opposed to the idea of wounding and incapacitating enemy soldiers, they rarely if ever killed them, fighting in a strictly defensive manner.

Their traditions, deeply rooted in actual combat, paired with the powers that were bestowed to them by the spirits from the sacred river made both male and female priests from the Shirakawa temple fearsome combatants. The Shirakawa faith believed that balance was important and necessary in all things, meaning that sometimes, uprooting some weeds was necessary for the rest field to prosper.

But as the times of war and civil unrest ended, the presence and importance of the Shirakawa temple gradually faded. With the arrival of times of great peace, the Shirakawa temple was gradually forgotten as other temples rituals and beliefs more adequate to times of piece became more famous. While peace was something the Shirakawa temple always fought for, it was inevitably leading it to it's own demise.

Miwa, the sole daughter of the Shirakawa family's main branch and the one who was being trained to be the next head Miko of the temple, despite having been born in a time where the temple still had a semblance of it's former glory, could quickly perceive how difficult the times ahead would be for the temple.

Despite loving and respecting the temple's rich history, Miwa knew that it was necessary for the temple to open it's eyes to the present instead of living in the glory of it's past. Her suggestion was simple: to take jobs as adventurers. While most elders saw her suggestion as greatly offensive, viewing adventurers as nothing more than mercenaries, Miwa had a different view. By not accepting payment and merely asking for donations, they wouldn ot only they would still be helping people, but would also keep the martial heritage of their temple alive.

It took a lot of time for Miwa to convince the elders of her temple to even allow her to go on a pilgrimage to undertake adventuring jobs under the name of the temple, but after a few years and a lot of discussion, she was finally allowed to go under one condition: Should she be successful in her endeavor and bring positive results, both in the form of donations to the temple and recognition without staining it's image, history or honor, the elders would agree to let Miwa have more influence on how the decisions regarding the temple's future. If not, she would be immediately lose the position of Miko.

Passives

Shirakawa Ko-ryū: Traditional fighting style from the Shirakawa temple, focusing mostly in wielding spears and naginatas. It is famous for seamlessly flowing between defensive moves, counter-strikes and offensive moves in a continuous flow. Miwa's signature weapon makes the Shirakawa Ko-ryū even more dangerous, being able to easily deflect blows or hiding her next attacks by opening her wagasa.

Ame-yu: Miwa's techniques and skills are able to create water by gradually rising and condensing the humidity in the atmosphere. After some time, the humidity rises to a point that rain begins to fall, covering the battlefield in a unnaturally calm water mirror, allowing Miwa to use her 'Mizukagami Tsuki' skill and enhancing her other skills. Her training and powers as a Miko from the Shirakawa temple also allows her to effortlessly move through water, be it the layer of water created by this passive or not, going as far as making her able to walk above it.

Spells

Mizukagami Tsuki: Opening her wagasa in front of her, Miwa momentarily obstructs the enemies from seeing her in a brief, spinning dance. Attacks directed at her as she is doing this ritualistic dance are parried and redirected by her wagasa. The dance ends with the wagasa spinning in front of her before Miwa disappears and it falls to the ground, completely sinking into the water mirror created by her passive and disappearing. A moment later, appearing high above her target with her weapon, she dives down in a powerful thrust. The moment the tip of her weapon pierces her enemy and touches the water mirror, making a single ripple disturb the water mirror before her and her enemy sink into it, reappearing high above the battlefield before crashing down. Should Miwa miss her target with the initial attack, this skill fails. It can only be used if her passive has completely activated.

Shizuku Ugachi: Using the rear end of her wagasa-spear, Miwa jumps high in the air, where she can chose to either to immediately diving towards her target in a precise and powerful thrust or open her wagasa and float for a brief moment before deciding either to strike or cancelling her skill, simply gliding down to the ground. Should her passive have completely activated, if she chooses to glide down, she can spin her wagasa, creating water needles and making them fall on her enemies from above.

Suigetsu no Kaeshi: A counter-attack using Miwa's signature weapon. By opening her wagasa and spinning, she is able to easily parry melee attacks and redirect projectiles as long as they don't carry enough impact to knock her down. After parrying a melee attack she can swiftly sweep the opponent's weapon to the side and pierce them with the back of her weapon. If her passive has completely activated, the moment she spins her wagasa to parry an attack, she disappears from behind it, leaving a copy of her weapon to fall down and quickly turn into water as she appears behind her enemy, piercing them. In this case, if she redirects a ranged attack, as long as it's not too far away, she can still teleport behind her enemy.

Equipment

Ama Matoi: The signature weapon of the miko of the Shirakawa temple, a hybrid between a wagasa and a spear, it is a weapon believed to be sacred by the Shirakawa temple, being passed down to the Shirakawa temple's Miko of each generation. It is an incredibly hard weapon to use effectively even by Shirakawa Ko-ryū users. Barely useful as a weapon to those who are not trained in the Shirakawa temple's martial arts.

Mundane Skills

Prayers and rituals of purification: Despite the emphasis on martial arts, the Shirakawa temple is still a religious temple and Miwa, as a Miko was trained in traditional rituals of purification.

Glossary

_{Miko - Medium or priestess
Shirakawa - White River
Ko-ryu - Old Style
Ame-yu - Rain approaches
Mizukagami Tsuki - Thrust into Water Mirror
Shizuku Ugachi - Piercing Raindrop
Suigetsu no Kaeshi - Counter of the Water Moon
Ama Matoi- Shrouded in Rain}