|
|
|
The Legions: Bios
|
 |
 |
Crab
Crane
Dragon
Lion
Mantis
Nezumi
Tchickchuk
Ratling Thief
Mat'tck
Z'orr'tek
Phoenix
Scorpion
Unicorn
Shadowlands
Other
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tchickchuk: The Great Chieftan
|
|
|
Tchickchuk first appeared in Hidden Emperor 2. Few chieftains are remembered with such honor and reverence as the mighty Tchickchuk. His accomplishments were many, his cunning incomparable, his leadership of the Tattered Ear the finest that any can remember. It was not always so.
At his birth, the shamans believed that Tchickchuk was destined for great things. His blood red eyes and streak of white fur at his chin were a fortuitous combination, a good omen for the future, but Tchickchuk soon proved to be a rather mediocre Nezumi. Though he had the desire to become a chief, he did not truly understand politics and none of the jealous elder Nezumi wished to teach the dashing young warrior. He joined a wandering pack instead, searching for food to support the Tattered Ear.
It was during a hunt through the human City of Lies that Tchickchuk stumbled upon a squadron of Imperial Legionnaires scouring the alleys. Terrified that they were hunting his pack, he fled to safety, only to stumble over the unconscious body of an old human, wounded by a Legion arrow. Overhearing the soldiers below he realized that this was the man the soldiers sought, pack-mate of some human criminal named Bayushi Shoju. On impulse, the Nezumi threw the unconscious human over his shoulder and fled to safety.
Tchickchuk helped the old human recover from his wounds. The man introduced himself as Bayushi Kagetoki, once a prominent teacher among the humans. Kagetoki had been a bit too outspoken in his support of Shoju, and now the humans wanted him dead. Tchickchuk replied that he sympathized with Kagetoki, for it seemed his own destiny would never be fulfilled due to the jealousy of others. The shrewd Kagetoki offered Tchickchuk a bargain. If the Nezumi would help him survive in the Shinomen Forest, he would teach him the ways of a Scorpion courtier. Tchickchuk became the chieftain of his pack in under a year. In three years, he came to rule the entire Tattered Ear Tribe.
Under Tchickchuk's direction, the Tattered Ear became unquestionably the largest and most powerful of the Nezumi tribes. He died fat and old, the surest sign of a great Nezumi leader. His life is spoken of in the most revered legends of the Rememberers.
And now, it seems, legends are needed. The Transcendent, ancient spirits of the Nezumi shamans, are disturbed by events in the realms beyond their own. The return of an ancient chieftain believed long dead has thrown them into confusion. The Legion of Blood's rampage across the Spirit Realms fills them with fear.
Unless one becomes a Transcendent, it is believed that a Nezumi lives on only in memory once he dies. Yet memory can be a powerful thing, especially when the Transcendent themselves take a personal hand in matters. These ancient shamans wish to know the truth of what occurs in the mortal worlds and beyond, and so it is that they have chosen the most cunning of Nezumi heroes to represent them. Out of the dreams and memories of their living Remembers, the Transcendent have woven a spirit of Tchickchuk. He is a thing of dreams, a creature of pure hope. He will find the truth.
Where does such a chieftain belong than a Legion of the mortal world's greatest heroes?
***
Tchickchuk was not a usual sort of Nezumi. Through a strange series of circumstances he had been trained by one of the most clever human courtiers the Empire had known. His path to becoming a revered chieftain was built upon what he had learned from the Scorpion. He had learned subtlety, guile, and manipulation. What's more, he learned much about humans…
When a human died, it was believed that the part him that mattered, lived on. This part was called a soul and all humans had one. All humans would go on forever when they died, though from what Tchickchuk knew of humans they believed that not all the fates that waited for them were good ones. Many humans lived all their lives in fear that their souls would be doomed to one of the darker realms of afterlife. Tchickchuk found it funny. Worry too much about living in a world of pain and misery and the world becomes pain and misery, right? Seems simple enough, but of course humans were never simple.
When a Nezumi died, things were not quite so complicated. Nezumi were not born with an immortal soul that somehow made them worthy. A Nezumi was stitched together from the love, hope, and memories of his tribe, bound together in an individual and given a name. When he died, what there was of him returned to the tribe. If the Nezumi was fortunate, then the deeds he did in life would guarantee that he would be remembered forever. The shamans of his people were so powerful that they could bind their names to memory and live forever in the realm of dream, as the Transcendent. Other Nezumi, no matter how great or small, lived on only in memory.
And that is what Tchickchuk was now. Just a memory.
The Transcendent shamans had retrieved him from the dreams of his people. Tchickchuk was a strange mix of reality and myth, the true exploits of the mighty chieftain named Tchickchuk as well as accomplishments that could only be legendary. For instance, while Tchickchuk clearly remembered being the proud father of over six dozen litters, even he often doubted whether that truly could have happened.
But things such as these were not his concern at the moment. When this new Spirit Realm folded over on the Legion of the Dead, Tchickchuk and the other Nezumi memories that had accompanied him were untouched. They saw the wave of illusion that erupted and swallowed their comrades, but were unaffected. Scurrying into the mists, Tchickchuk found that he could see the visions of both his comrades and his enemies. Some souls chose as they chose in life, and with each such choice the Realm of Thwarted Destiny became more stable.
Some souls failed where once they had triumphed, and each time they did the realm grew darker.
Some found victory where once they found defeat. Each time this occurred the sky grew slightly more golden.
Some made no choice at all, and had no affect at all.
One, a strange dragon Tchickchuk had not seen before, lingered in the shadows. It did not merely watch as Tchickchuk did. It manipulated, it coerced, it steered the realm toward their its purposes. At first Tchickchuk thought that surely this was some creature allied with Iuchiban, seeking to twist this realm into a domain of evil that its master could control.
But the more Tchickchuk watched, the more he wondered. If conquest was its goal, why play these games? His Scorpion teacher had taught him that powerful men do not play games - they merely win. Unless, of course, the game was a means unto some other end.
As he sat upon a stone and wondered, a voice whispered in his ear.
"Now ask yourself this, Ratling," the Shadow Dragon said. "If I am so clever as you have seen, how have I failed to notice you spying on me? And why have I not stopped you, little memory?" The Shadow Dragon coiled out of the mists, looming over the Ratling with a predatory gaze.
Seizing upon his first instinct, Tchickchuk ran as far and as fast as he could on all four legs. It was several minutes before he caught his breath and realized what the dragon had even said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ratling Thief: The Forgotten Thief
|
|
|
Ratling Thief first appeared in Shadowlands. Once, there was a great thief among the Grasping Paw tribe. He was known for his ability to go anywhere and take anything. He crafted trinkets from bones stolen from the lairs of the most dangerous oni. He wore shiny metal objects taken from the homes of Crab peasants far to the north. He even took things from other tribes that might benefit the Grasping Paw. Though his chieftain scolded him for causing trouble with the other tribes, he was never cast out, because the elders knew he could never be caught. His name was well we shall come to that part presently. Unfortunately, the day came when this thief developed a yearning for the wooden staff carried by a powerful Tattered Ear shaman. The staff was so gnarled and well-chewed that the thief knew it must be wonderful. He had to have it. But this time, the shaman's magic was too powerful even for such a clever thief. The shaman awoke and was unhappy. The thief fled into the night, but not before the shaman used magic to steal his name forever.
The thief returned to the Grasping Paw to find that no one remembered him. To his horror, he discovered only he could remember his own name. Only he remembered that he was the greatest thief that ever lived. His tribe sensed the curse that surrounded him and cast him out, but he knew that if he could only show them what he could do, they would remember him.
For ten years, the thief lived a meager existence on the edge of Grasping Paw society. He stole greater and more incredible treasures, leaving them all for his former tribemates to find. Sometimes, when he was slinking into the most dangerous places late at night, with only the moon's light to guide him, he wondered if his name was so important to take such risks. In the end, when he died, even he did not remember what his name was.
The Grasping Paw Rememberers do not recall why the great thief aided their clan and showered them with such gifts, but they know that the weapons and food he anonymously left behind saved many lives. They remember him not by name, but simply as the thief. Tales of the Ratling Thief have grown quite popular among the Grasping Paw, causing him to be remembered with strong fondness despite the fact he had no name. When the Transcendent combined their power to create a spirit of Tchickchuk to join the Legion of the Dead, the dream that was once the Ratling Thief was nearby. He saw great potential for adventure in the quest they gave Tchickchuk, adventure that could perhaps increase his own legend and insure he was remembered forever. So clever a thief he was that he escaped the Realm of Dream and followed Tchickchuk. Perhaps during this great adventure he might get a chance to steal a name for himself at last.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mat'tck: The Betrayed Chieftan
|
|
|
Mat'tck first appeared in Soul of the Empire. Mat'tck was marked from an early age for great things. At less than one year of age, he killed a goblin that had wandered into his tribe's den and killed two of his littermates. His mother and the tribe's hunters returned to find him gnawing busily on the bakemono's skull amid the furs where his dead siblings lay. From that day forward, the tribe elders knew that Mat'tck's Name would one day hold great power.
Mat'tck proved equal to every expectation. He was not only the strongest and most ferocious warrior the Crippled Bone had ever seen, but he was the largest as well. His brilliant white fur was an oddity, and a liability that might have gotten another Nezumi killed, as deep as his people lived in the Shadowlands. But though Mat'tck was easier for predators to spot, he was far more difficult to kill. He used his weakness to advantage, drawing enemies into well prepared traps. Countless Shadowlands beasts fell to his claws and primitive weapons. It was a surprise to no one that Mat'tck one day became chieftain of the Crippled Bone.
Unfortunately, though Mat'tck survived many foes, it was a friend who eventually cause his demise. The shaman Te'tik'kir constantly advised Mat'tck to move north and unite the other tribes under his rule by force. Mat'tck refused, claiming that he would not abandon his tribe's territory no matter how desolate the Shadowlands were. Te'tik'kir grew desperate, and secretly visited the Dark Oracles, and struck a secret bargain with them, hoping to drive the Crippled Bone north and force Mat'tck to obey his friend's counsel. Mat'tck did not expect the Elemental Terrors‚ assault, and only with Te'tik'kir's aid did his tribe survive at all. He was furious with himself for his failure, but traveled north and claimed new territory. Before Mat'tck could attempt to unite the Nezumi tribes, however, the Dark Oracles betrayed Te'tik'kir. They attacked again, this time killing Mat'tck and nearly destroying Te'tik'kir himself before he drove the Oracles away and fled into the Shadowlands with the surviving members of the tribe. Since then, Te'tik'kir has been cursed - unable to die until the One Tribe he desired truly comes to be.
Mat'tck has shared in his friend's curse. His spirit has been unable to pass into memory, and restlessly occupies the place in Yume-do reserved for Te'tik'kir. He now knows of his friend's betrayal, and for decades what remains of Mat'tck has been consumed with anger. His anger is not reserved for Te'tik'kir, however, even now he cannot bring himself to hate his friend. The agony the shaman has endured in the intervening years and the curse he bears have been punishment enough. Mat'tck reserves his hatred for Jigoku, the realm of evil, whose servants brought his pain and Te'tik'kir's about. As the human heroes gather to take the fight against evil, he can do no less. He finds it odd that two other Nezumi, creatures who do not believe in an afterlife beyond memory, find themselves in this Legion. He finds it odd that so many others are misplaced spirits and those who have defied death in some manner. He wonders if it is a coincidence at all, or if this legion of restless spirits has been brought together for a purpose beyond the one they know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Z'orr'tek: The Name Keeper
|
|
|
Z'orr'tek first appeared in Soul of the Empire. Z'orr'tek was born to hunters of the Crooked Tail tribe. Unique among the Nezumi, his tribe understood that there were other threats in the darkness beyond the beasts that crawled from Heaven's Grave. There were things hiding in the shadows that could take the most precious treasure a Nezumi possessed: his Name.
Unfortunately,Z'orr'tek did not recognize the threat his tribe's great enemy posed until it was too late. As a young warrior, he and his pack-mates hunted through the plains near his home for food. In the dead of night, their Dark Enemy struck. Despite the stories he had heard all his life, Z'orr'tek was unprepared for the horror he witnessed, and stood by while a pack-mate was dragged away in the shadows, his screams of terror echoing across the plains. Z'orr'tek was shamed among his entire tribe, his Name mocked for seasons as a coward and a failure. He was left to guard the warren when other hunters went out, for none of them wanted him by their side.
It was while guarding the young litters that Z'orr'tek encountered the Dark Enemy once again. His fallen friend, taken so many seasons before, came to the warren to claim the young. His face was gone, his snout a dull, featureless lump. Z'orr'tek fought this time, and drove the Enemy away only after the lost Nezumi had bitten him deeply on the shoulder. The Crooked Tail called him a hero, and forgot his past sins, even though it took days for him to recover from his wound. When he finally awakened, he had dreamed of the Enemy and how to fight it, and a long tooth lay upon his fur where it had miraculously worked free of his flesh. By chewing on the tooth, Z'orr'tek could at last remember the name of his fallen friend, a name the entire tribe had forgotten: Jes'kik.
For years, Z'orr'tek kept the teeth of those who fell to the Dark Enemy. He risked much to acquire them, but knew that so long as he kept the teeth, those taken by the Enemy would never truly be lost. He was an old rat by the time the human armies marched south to the lost troll city, but he accompanied them anyway. He told all who would listen of the Dark Enemy, and how to fight it. He stood by when the warrior Hochiu destroyed their Enemy, and he felt relief at long last. The Names of the taken would be remembered now. Z'orr'tek's task was done. He died upon the battlefield at Oblivion's Gate to claim his place among the remembered departed.
When the Nezumi Transcendents summoned the memory of Tchickchuck to fight alongside the Legion of the Dead, so too did they summon Z'orr'tek. His dedication and valor are legend among the Nezumi even today, and few doubt his ability to stand against the darkness, no matter its source.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
