Higashato
Higashato was a Bog Hag Supai of the Shadowlands. [1]
Kuni Harike Temple[]
In 634 Kuni Harike sacrificed himself to defeat the Kusatte Iru in the Plains of Foul Tears. Shortly after his demise Higashato took his body and skin. Using her foul magic, she appeared many times to the monks that prayed at Harike's shrine dressed in his skin and convinced them that the only way to battle the Shadowlands was to understand it. By 1050 she had them reciting blasphemous texts and carving stone oni statues. [2]
Kusatte Iru Idols[]
The monks told the villagers of the nearby Kyuden Toketsu to beware the evil, giving the peasants idols to defend against it, which would keep them safe from harm. They were unaware the idols were made in obsidian, ressembling the Kusatte Iru. [3] The goal of Higashato was to avoid the Kusatte Iru raised from its slumbering. [4] She managed to appoint a weak-minded simpleton, Koshi, as the abbot, who was twisted over time and became fanatically loyal to her. [5]
Kyuden Toketsu[]
In 1088 the nearby state of Kyuden Toketsu was inherited by Yasuki Nori. Higashato slowly eliminated members of Nori's household, taking their skins and disguising herself to fit into the house. She murdered the geisha Suko and claimed her skin, and she managed to become Nori's concubine in 1123. Her plan was to draw powerful samurai to the valley so she might expand her collection of skins. Finally the disappearance of Nori's personal physician and shugenja convinced him to request the aid of a group of magistrates. [6]
Magistrates Arrive[]
The night the magistrates arrived Higashato killed Enyi, a stable-boy who could be a witness of the next murder, Yasuki Kyume, Nori's karo and seneschal. She later killed one of the magistrates. [7] She had already ordered to kill all the monks but three this same night. [5] Nori was overwhelmed by the events and committed seppuku. He left the entire valley to Suko. [8]
Successful Ritual[]
Higashato already had sacrificed the last three monks in a foul ritual when the magistrates appeared. She had the Harike's Obsidian Stone, the one Harike had used to put the Kusatte Iru in its slumber years ago, and claimed the Armor of the Sun and Moon, the armor bore by Harike's yojimbo, to stop the massive oni to awake. The group bargained with her and eventually agreed, as the lesser of two evils. [9]
See also[]
References
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