Monsters Haunt Amongst And Against Us;

[Warr]

Bakemono no Ryoujin (Hunters of Monsters)

In the beginning, there was darkness, followed by light. Death, followed by life. Stone, followed by Sea. Demons, followed by humanity. This is the cycle, this is the path. The world is life and death, death and life, a cycle that is unending, and we are meant to make it so. Humans bring both darkness and light, as the paths dictate. They can devolve into demons, monster, Youkai, if they allow their spirits to be corrupted. This was how it began, and why we had to raise from the darkness to cut it in twain and bring forth light.

Monsters hide amongst us, haunting to help humanity and hurt it, and it is our job to make sure they don't do the latter.

The Bakemono no Ryoujin, Ryoujin Youkai, or Obake Kariudo as they are invariably called, have been amongst humanity for as long as anyone can remember. Though they are generally seen as beneficial, their powers are often frightening in origins, and so mysterious that even shinobi-nin are seen as less dangerous. They are a necessity, like shinobi-nin, but generally hated. This makes it so that despite Bakemono no Ryoujin exists in all classes of society, and there are shinobi-nin, Samurai, Monks, and even farmers who are monster hunters of varying degrees, it is not a dominant factor in their lives or society. Many members of the various secret societies of monster hunters and demon slayers which the para-organization contains, in themselves would not even seem to be hunters of monsters, and disappear as soon as they appear, with a monster or a haunt suddenly halted, children no longer snatched in the night by Obake.

They are dual, like fate, and life, like humanity itself, and they are hated and feared because of this. Power comes from the balance, and many of them are watchful to keep their humanity with this love to slay monsters, it has been well known for the members of Bakemono no Ryoujin to lose themselves in the hunt and become worse monsters than the creatures they hunt.

Index

Addendum 1: The Story of the Demon and the Farmer

Addendum 2: The Story of the Katei Clan's Demise

Addendum 3: The Story of the Misguided Hunter

Addendum 4: Za Majo-Ryoujin, The Witch Hunters

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Edited November 26, 2008 by Warr

[Warr]

The Story of the Demon and the Farmer

Years ago, an amount of time not exactly proven, but claimed by tradition to have been two thousand, four hundred, and sixty-two years ago, there was a village. A village as peaceful as any other village, a village that popular history situates near the river valley which leads from Denchi no Kuni to Hi no Kuni, a village in the mountains which was quiet and farmed, with no Daimyo or standing armies to bother it. With no one to protect it.

It a village without a name, for it had no need for one. A village which let the ages pass by, like the seasons. A village like a rice stalk left unpicked, prime for the taking and the devouring. A village which soon found itself in hard times, simply because of a single creature, which sneaked its way into the lives of the villagers. A Demon, or Bakemono, happened upon the village. A creature which picked up and devoured children from the village as they went from the nearest stream to get drinking water. A creature the survivors of the attacks wailed as resembling a giant centipede, with glowing red eyes.

After the first attacks happened, and nearly six children had been taken at a time, eight in total, the young men of the village began to go with the children, carrying weapons which though simple were thought to be something that could possibly fend the creatures off. The beast, which the villagers had named, Ōmukade, had not been seen for months, and things returned to as close as normal as they could be, with young men from the village traveling with the children carrying weapons, and the people of the village trying to mourn their dead the best they could.

Time passed, and the village was soon into the next spring, when another catastrophe happened. Either through poison or disease, people begin to fall ill as if it was a plague. The Centipede Bakemono, Ōmukade, had poisoned the village's water supply, dipping his stingers and spirit into the water itself to weaken the village so that it could feast.

The village surely would have perished in the weeks as it waited for the village to collapse, had it not been for the great guardian spirit as popular tradition would later dub it, the Kutabe, a creature which meandered to a young farmer who many thought to be a bumpkin, and told him simply.

"Inscribe my image upon your home and young cups, and you may find a cure."

The farmer did as the creature, which resembled one of the goats he carefully took care of, ordered. He saw it as a divine mandate, so time passed, and he drank from his cups, slept in his bed, and felt no ill effects of the plague, even urging some of the other villagers to do so, and getting quite a few to.

On the exact second week from the first incident of the 'plague' coming, the Ōmukade attacked, bringing some of it's offspring along. It attacked, and the farmer followed 'Kutabe-sama's' previous advice, striding onto the field in clothes marked with the image of the goat like creature, and he charged the Ōmukade with a hoe, fighting the beast for many minutes, before finally felling it with the hoe he had carved the image of the Kutabe into.

As the centipede monster was fell, the Kutabe appeared for a moment, smiling at the farmer, and then disappeared. As incidents of the Ōmukade's counterparts in other parts of the region continued, the farmer turned hunter, Bai Ze, vanquished the other Ōmukade, advising the people in the region on how to combat such beasts and their dreadful poisons.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Warr

[Warr]

The Story of the Katei Clan's Demise

Some time after the events in mountainous village which was plagued by Ōmukade, the story of the beneficial Kutabe spread, and people began to forget that Bakemono, just like humans, were creatures of darkness and light, beauty and violence. They began to think that some Bakemono were divine spirits, despite the fact that their instinct told them otherwise, that tingle up their spine should have been enough after all.

In this time and place, the Katei (or Riverbed) clan, a minor clan in what would become the Country of Water, was guilty of forgetting such a thing, at least for the most part. The clan, which were a mixture of farmers, fishers, and swordsmen, as many clans within Mizu no Kuni at the time, lived by and ruled over a good sized stretch of the nearby river, and a branching off waterfall.

Their land seemed blessed to them, until one day, when one of the son's of the clan's head was logging near the beautiful waterfall. As he was logging, he took a break, and there he suddenly saw spiders, who began to entwine his legs in their silk at an immense pace. He quickly cut those threads of silk off, and ran, carrying the threads of silk, the silk continuing to grow after him. Without pause, the resourceful young man tied the silk to the nearest and heaviest stump of a tree he could find, tying the threads to it, and running. He knew the threads would have pulled himself into the plunge pool of the waterfall, and as he left the scene, he heard the words, "Kashikoi, Kashikoi", "how clever, how clever".

Time passed, and the clan stayed away from the waterfall, until one of the younger brothers of the young man who had previously encountered the spider-silk, came to log in the forest. As he logged, he let go of his ax at the wrong point, plunging his ax into the plunge pool.

Forgetting his brother's warning, the young man dove directly into the pool, or at least moved to, when a seductively beautiful woman arose from it's waters, holding the ax, which she handed him the ax, and told him simply.

"Do not tell anyone of this incident."

The younger son of the clan kept his promise for a time, until one day when he got just a tad too drunk, and he spoke out, glorifying the incident, and falling asleep soon after. He would not wake up, and though no one bothered to realize it after he was dead, there were small traces of spider silk upon him as he died.

His statement had reversed his brother's, and the people of the clan soon began to head to the waterfall in drove's, worshiping the spider woman, the Jorōgumo, as if she were a kami. The only one who did not was the older brother of the dead boy, who noticed the silk and promptly went to the nearest shrine, where he prayed to his family's patron kami, Ebisu. He prayed for three long days, as the Jorōgumo corrupted his family, both in mind and in body, and made them think -him- the demon. He prayed three long days for answers, for a solution, for a way to slay the Jorōgumo.

There was no direct answer, but a worm slithered past a jumping fish, or he imagined it so, for a moment. It was given as a sign as to what to do, and the boy realized that if he could bring her out from hiding, he could strike at her heart.

Without a moment's pause, he prepared his armor, marking it with the signs of Ebisu, or Susanoo, and of Amaterasu, in hope that they would protect him. He marched into battle with a sword, and a spear, and he soon found himself fighting his own clan, whom he could feel even as he saw them, had changed. They were no longer those whom he had loved, they have been perverted into Youkai, and there was no pause from the boy in slaying each and every one of them as they charged forward, feeling no remorse in the fact that he knew only by slaying the beast and those entrapped by it could he be sure his family would move to the afterlife as they should.

Nearly two hours passed of the boy swinging and swinging, cutting down his family, before he stopped, picking up his father's ax, which had fallen beside him as he fell his father, and striking a tree into the waterfall's plunge pool, as a challenge and a demand for the Jorōgumo to leave her abode.

She did, and the boy and she fought, strike against strike, blade against blade, her poison and her dark magics not affected the boy because of the talismans he had given himself for strength, and his blade moving slightly stronger from what it was before because he did not run into her attacks, he instead made her leap towards him so he could attack her instead of bothering with defense.

Several minutes of hard fought battle passed, and the Jorōgumo was slain, this boy, the last of his clan, wrenched by guilt. It was then that the Daimyō of Water Country's army arrived, dismayed at the scene and not realizing what had happened. The beast was clearly seen for what she was, but the boy was covered in the blood of his own family, and seen as just as much a Bakemono as her from the gore and blood covered him.

There was no pause from the archers as they shot the boy dead, but his story was preserved by a wandering monk who had followed the boy with interest, sensing something important about him.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Warr

[Warr]

The Story of the Misguided Hunter

Approximately a decade following the events which lead to the Katei Clan's demise, there were small groups of monster hunters which had begun to grow in skill and renown throughout the world. Groups of warriors who had splintered from the tradition of monks or the tradition of swordsmen, and whom had great skill in slaying the various monsters which roamed about the countryside.

Anyone who wished to learn the arts were taught them, in the foolishness of the masters of Ryoujinjutsu (The Art of the Hunter) -as it was called at the time by some romantics-. These students grew at various paces, and some faltered, dying in their first hunts.

Others lost their reason for fighting in the first place, and began to hunt the monsters as viciously as the monsters hunted humankind. One hunter in this time was of the name of Hiya, and he was true to the name's meaning, fire arrow. He fought fiercely, and was an excellent shot with the bow. He had entered the school of Ryoujinjutsu to learn to protect himself, and to avenge a grievous wound upon his family by one Bakemono.

He quickly grew physically and in skill, but mentally would not prove to be a master. His master warned him of the path he moved towards, but he did not listen, instead taking the equipment and running from the dojo. He traveled for days, before looking for clues of the Bakemono whom had attacked his village, finding none. He continued this, for three years, traveling, taking food from people's fields as he did, and constantly questioning people as he did.

As time passed, he grew in legend as a vagrant, and though he did kill a few minor bakemono whom were possible threats to villages, he did not stay for long or seem to be happy about doing it. He was still looking for his own enemy, after all.

As he traveled, people remarked on his lack of love for life, and his ferocity towards nearly everything. He grew in hatred, and in paranoia, and by the end of his tenth year of traveling, his tenth year searching for revenge, he happened upon a town which was decorated with statuettes of various Kami and beneficial Bakemono. His paranoia and unhealthy life style, along with his hatred, perceived those things differently, and as Bakemono.

He sliced the statuettes into pieces, and when villagers approached him about it to inquire as to why he did it, he flew into a rage. Without qualm, the man killed nearly half of the village, blood covering his body as he did, and he would have likely moved on to kill the rest of the village, as well, if it had not been for his long time enemy, the Bakemono he had chased this far, an Oni, stepped towards the hunter, a snarl on his face.

"WHAT HAVE YOU JUST DONE?" It roared, it's green eyes almost glowing against it's deep red skin.

"I have killed your followers, you monster." The Hunter spat.

"I'm the monster, kid? Really? You're the one who's went around killing and stealing for the past ten years. I've watched you..."

"DIE."

The hunter charged the ogre like Bakemono, who took the attack head on, not even moving to block it.

"Have your vengeance, child. Misguided as it is, it must be given. I cannot allow myself to fail protecting these people, as I failed with your village... So kill me now! Kill me and leave these people be!"

The hunter's rage did not cease, and he finished the beast. He finished the beast, and then realized what he had just done. He remembered back to the time, and the fact that warriors from outside of the village had been there, they had fought the Oni, they had been the ones who killed his kin, not the Bakemono. It truly had tried to save them all.

Honor, Virtue, and Respect demanded a simple thing of this misguided hunter, and he promptly commit seppuku. He was buried in the town along with the Oni, with a marker clear as a testament to the world.

"Yin and Yang are in every thing, and first glances may be deceiving."

Edited November 26, 2008 by Warr

[Warr]

Za Majoryoujin (The Witch Hunters)

Even in times past, there have always been two separate schools of thought towards the practice of 'Ryoujinjutsu', the first path, a 'middle path', which seeks to bring balance in the world and protect humanity from the immense strength of monsters, but not slay them entirely, as that is beyond their might of place in the universe. The second path, the more violent, and zealotous path, that of the Majoryoujin, the Witch Hunter.

While both have the same calling, slaying monsters, the Majo-ryoujin are far more primal about it. They see it as a predator seeking prey, and sometimes they have been known to slay beings they -perceived- to be Bakemono.

They are a smaller group than their kin, and despite this, far more formidable, because typically their training of body and mind is far more intense. What might take months of partial study for their compatriots takes months of intense full day demanding study, for the Majo-Ryoujin.

They are not entirely unified, but many of them bear a holy symbol or two, and move with a warrior, almost predatory bent. The school of the Witch Hunter's teaches one to be fierce in body and mind, and to show little pity or compassion for Bakemono.

We are all defined by our history: The Majo-Ryoujin was born from the massacre of the Katei clan, the stories which were passed by that wandering monk of the slaying of that clan incited the fires of some young men in some villages, and they strove to learn the warrior arts, and the arts of the mystics and the priests. To divinity of body and mind, they strode, to divinity which they saw as the only way to defeat beasts such as Bakemono, whom had such power that many of them could hide in plain sight, in the clothes of humans.

As the Bakemono no Ryoujin grew in size, various branches and styles broke out, and they proved to be a great line of defense for a village or a country, especially with the fact that they stood before the times of shinobi-nin and the arrival of ninjutsu in it's modern form. Though many of the branches form what we now call the 'Majo-Ryoujin', the most defining of them, the Kintosu, are the most infamous, the most deadly. The singular branch proved to be extinct, despite the fact it's teachings live on in texts.

The Kintosu 'Clan' of Bakemono no Ryoujin grew in prestige as warriors and witch-hunters, demon slayers, problem solvers in their home country, the Country of Water. They were a favorite group under the Daimyo of the Water Country. It was inevitable that the Daimyo die, and when he did, his two sons fought over the position, his older son a young man trained in the arts of Ryoujinjutsu, and the arts of proper Samurai, thought that the title was his and should be. His thought was such that he even strode to erase the evidence of his father's wish, written clearly in his father's epitaph.

The Second Son was to be given the throne, the Country, the Realm. He was to be the next Daimyo, because though his brother was cunning and strong, the younger of the two had a far better spirit. The realm broke into a civil war, and the Kintosu sided with their lord without a thought, the younger of the Daimyo's sons striding to find help anywhere he could, and finding some Samurai who would stand and fight, and some groups of samurai who's descendants would become the shinobi-nin of the future, 'clans', as the Country of Water had formally called them. People who trained in swordsmanship and more secret, mystic arts.

People who clashed against the elder son's armies and the Kintoku with a ferocity to match demons, a ferocity which was unmatched up until that point, the very elements being brought to bare against the samurai of the older brother. The battles were not entirely honorable, but swift and decisive, the clans which had rallied under the younger brother quelling the older brother's army in a number of skirmishes, ambushes, and outright battles.

The war lasted all of three months, and many died, particularly from the Kintoku, in the process. In the end, there was no explanation that the Kintoku could find viable for the weapons their enemies had brought to bear upon them, and after much discussion the group of Bakemono no Ryoujin decided simply.

The members of those clans were evil beings who were either Bakemono in hiding and whom had the younger daimyo wrapped around their fingers, or they were descendants of such Bakemono, or worshipers of such beings.

Hunts for those clans which had displayed such awesome powers soon occurred, and there was a shadow war about within Mizu no Kuni. The Kintoku striking against those whom had showed strange powers, and being either entirely successful or failing absolutely. In most cases, it was the latter, the clan's fighting off the fierce warriors at great cost upon themselves, but surviving. In the case of the Abou Clan, the former happened. After a night of fierce struggle between the two, the Abou trying to escape and the Kintoku chasing them, there was no man, woman, or child who bore the name or the lineage of the Abou, -the Tree Toad- clan still alive.

It was a foregone conclusion that such an action would go unpunished, and the brunt of the new Daimyo's army and the armies of the clans of the country descended upon the Kintoku, slaying them to a man, in retribution. It was perhaps this which began the Country of Water's tradition of 'Blood for Blood, Eye for Eye', but this has not been proved entirely true.

The clans and the army of the Daimyo were harmed severely, too, many falling sick or dying from wounds soon after the battle, and the legend of the Kintoku was cemented, they had stood against many, simply because of their physical and mental skill. They were the preemptive Majo-Ryoujin, and they are for the most part the same, down to philosophy.

The ferocity of the Majo-Ryoujin is the likely cause for most of the Bakemono of the world having fled towards the Wild West, and the areas of the world which are less civilized and still have 'dark places' within which the monsters may hide.

In Modern Times: The Majo-Ryoujin have become far smaller in number, primarily because the fact they cannot feed themselves and hunt monsters zealously at the same time, with the fact that many countries openly deny Bakemono existing, since there were far fewer Bakemono in the world, and many had begun to doubt they had ever existed in the first place.

Combine this with the hatred they are given by many and the mistrust by others, and few Majo-Ryoujin could gain students, fewer still keep them in the dangerous line of work and the fierce training it requires for so long to become a true practitioner of the art.

In many places, they are seen as bullies, or held at arms length from fear or distrust, as some shinobi are held.

Edited November 26, 2008 by Warr

[Warr]

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