Isawa Ujina
From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings
| Isawa Ujina | |
|---|---|
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| Born: | c.1078 |
| Died: | 1128 |
| Parents: | Isawa Nodori |
| Siblings: | None |
| Spouse: | Doji Ninube, Isawa Ieku |
| Children | Isawa Tadaka, Isawa Tomo, Isawa Kaede |
| Titles: | Master of Void |
| People | |
Contents |
[edit] Ujina's Birth
On the day Ujina was born, a white wren flew into the room where his mother lay in labor. The bird circled the room then landed on the window sill. One of the midwives declared it a good omen for the child's life, as "birds bring joy, and the wren is a wise animal." The other midwife corrected her, saying, "This wren is the color of sorrow. It is not natural, and it heralds misfortune in the child's life." The second midwife was dead before she hit the floor. Isawa Nodori, Ujina's father, had just entered to hear the woman's words and had cut her down. Blood splattered the wren, which then flew away, back out the window. Nodori instructed the remaining midwife to clean up the mess and to never speak again of the incident or the foolish woman's words. She never did.[1]
[edit] Ujina's Childhood
Ujina grew quickly into a tall, slender boy. He was fast and agile, and showed great promise with a sword. Everyone knew, however, that swordplay would be only a hobby for the boy, as he showed great promise not only as a shugenja, but as a Void shugenja. He was approached by the Master of Void when he was eight years old to begin his training as an Ishiken. When the Master of Void came to his parents' home, though young Ujina had never seen the man before, he treated him with the familiarity of a favorite grandfather. Though Isawa Nodori was embarrassed by his son's actions, the Master explained that he did know the boy intimately, though their connection in the Realm of Void. The Master explained the need for Ujina to come and study with him and learn to control his powers, and Nodori quickly agreed. Three months later the Master returned a took the then nine years old Ujina with him to study.[2]
[edit] Ujina's Gempukku
For ten years, Ujina studied with the Master. His gempukku came and went, and though Ujina did return to his home and family for the ceremony, it meant little to him. His training began when it was necessary and ended when it was finished. It was less a coming of age ceremony for him; to Ujina it was simply an occasion to see his family again. At the age of nineteen, Ujina returned home to his family. His father insisted that he be treated with the respect due his station, but Ujina fraternized with the servants whenever Nodori was not looking. Ujina could sense every person's dreams unfolding and their blood flowing. He could not bring himself to be an elitist because of the station of his birth when he knew so intimately that he was truly no different than any other person he met.[3]
[edit] Doji Ninube
When he was twenty, Ujina met Doji Ninube, the daughter of a Crane Clan nobleman whose lands bordered Ujina's father's. The two became enamored with each other and were engaged to be married.[3]
[edit] The Disappearance of Ninube
Two months before their wedding, Ninube was taken during a journey to see her fiancée. Ujina was touching the Void at the time, and found himself in a strange situation where the world around him froze in place and the details bled away. It lasted for only a moment, until Ujina heard her voice calling his name, then the world returned to normal in a rush of colors and sensations. Ujina did not know what had happened, but for the first time in his adult life, he was afraid. Ujina would not embrace the Void again for many days. Ninube did not arrive as scheduled. Four days after she should have come to his home, Ujina reached into the Void to find her, but he found nothing. It was not simply as if she had been lost or killed, but as if she had never existed. Even her death would have left traces of her soul's passage to Yomi, but Ujina could find no trace of his beloved whatsoever. When she was six days late, Ujina left his father's home and traveled to see Ninube's family. There, he learned that she and her entourage had left on time, but on the journey, Ujina saw no trace of them. Search parties were sent out, but found nothing. Emerald Magistrates were called, but they also disappeared without a trace. [4]
[edit] The Rescue of Ninube
Finally, another Magistrate arrived: a Dragon named Kitsuki Kaagi. Kaagi and Ujina went in search of Ninube. They found and rescued her, but the things they saw during their quest made Ujina fearful for the second time in his adult life. Additionally, the midwife's prophecy came true as Ujina lost his right arm and was scarred terribly attempting to save Ninube. Ninube stayed by Ujina's side, nursing him back to health. As soon as he was well enough, the two were married in a small ceremony, attended only by their respective parents.[4]
[edit] Ujina's Hardships
Life for Isawa Ujina did not improve. Soon after his wedding, his father took ill with an unknown but rapidly debilitating disease. After a month, Isawa Nodori could no longer walk, and after two months, he could not even talk. Through his illness, Ujina could not stand to be near his father. Nodori, always a proud man, felt nothing but revulsion for his crippled son and for himself, and Ujina could feel his father's thoughts as if they were his own. Ninube was a diligent nursemaid for Nodori, but his condition never improved. He died without ever showing any signs of recovery. Additionally, the household servants, with whom Ujina had shared a special friendship prior to his maiming, also looked upon him with pity or revulsion. To shut out their thoughts as well, Ujina spent most of his time alone, locked in his chambers. [4]
[edit] The Master and Ninube
The only company that Ujina would keep, other than his wife, was the Master, who visited him regularly at their home. The Master did not see Ujina's disfigurement, but his pain, and did his best to alleviate it where he could. Though he visited regularly, he did not visit often, and when he did, he did not stay long. After his visits, Ninube would often confide in her husband that she felt the Master did not like her. Ujina did his best to reassure his wife that it was simply that she did not know the Master and was unused to his manner. [4]
Nevertheless, alerted to a possible situation, Ujina decided to observe how the Master interacted with his wife. During one of his visits, the Master was sharing tea with Ujina when Ninube entered the room. The Master put down his teacup and placed his hands on his knees, nodding respectfully to Ninube. As the woman busied herself tidying the room, the Master never changed his position, nor did he take his eyes off of her. After a moment, Ninube excused herself, and the Master picked up his tea once more. Ujina asked the Master if he did not approve of his wife. The Master replied simply, "I do not know her." He went on to explain that he knew every ant beneath the foundations of Kyuden Isawa and every fish that swam in the seas, but he did not know Ujina's wife. "Do you?" the Master asked. Ujina had no answer. The Master left Ujina's home the next day.[5]
[edit] Isawa Kaede
Two months after he had last seen the Master, Ninube told Ujina that she was pregnant. Jubilant, Ujina sent word to the Master, but his sensei would not come. Five months later, Ninube delivered Ujina's first child shortly before dawn in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. The noise was terrible, so no one could say for sure if the child cried when it came into the world, but its eyes were open from its birth, observing all of its surroundings. As the midwife swaddled the little girl to take to her father, she saw for the second time a blood-stained white wren sitting on the window sill. The midwife handed the child to Ujina, and when Ujina looked into her dark, opened eyes, he realized what the Master meant about Ninube. He went into the tower room where the child had been delivered and looked at Ninube. Ujina had to think to recognize his wife, and even then, realized that he recognized her as someone whom he had known years before, not someone with whom he had daily spent the last several years. Ujina handed his daughter to the midwife and sent the pair from the room. Returning to his wife, he found that it was difficult to see her face at all, and that her features seemed to bleed away at the edges of his focus. He did not know what the thing lying in the birthing bed was, but speaking with it, he found that it had killed his father and his fiancée. Ujina promised to destroy it, but the thing replied that Ujina could not destroy that which he did not know. With that, the figure flew forward, sending dark barbs flying at Ujina. He twisted and absorbed the blow with the already-ruined right half of his body. Ujina then told the thing that he did know her: she was his daughter's mother. With that, he reached into the Void and unmade the creature. Ujina went downstairs to where the midwife had his child. He took his daughter and told her, "You are Isawa Kaede. And you will grow strong and happy." With his words, some of the darkness retreated form the eyes of the infant and she began to make the soft, normal noises that babies make. Ujina turned to the midwife and told her never to speak of the incident again. The woman only nodded. The next day, the Master arrived. "You have seen through the last illusion," he told Ujina. "You are the Master of Void now." [6]
[edit] Ujina's Second Wife
A year after the death of Ninube, Ujina married Isawa Ieku. She bore him Isawa Tadaka and Isawa Tomo, but she was never fully accepted by Ujina. Ujina felt that she could not understand him because of the knowledge that was imparted to him through the Realm of Void. Ujina apparently desired her companionship, but felt that his calling created too large a rift between them. [7]
[edit] Ujina's Curse
The barbs with which his first wife attacked him on the morning of Kaede's birth were highly poisonous. The plague they carried was one of darkness, and it would fight Ujina for the rest of his life. Ujina kept the darkness in check merely through the force of his will and his control of the Void. [8]
Ujina provided the distractions needed for Isawa Kaede to escape with the Imperial Heir during the Scorpion Coup in 1123.[9]
His efforts took a great toll on his body, but in the tumultuous time after the Scorpion Coup, Ujina began investigating the Shadowlands. The additional strain caused him to become twisted and corrupted, not even looking human. Eventually, Ujina was forced to become the Nameless One in an effort to fight the curse and the corruption. [10]
| Preceded by: The Master | Master of Void (c. 1100) - 1124 | Succeeded by: Isawa Kaede |
[edit] Endnotes
- ↑ Way of the Phoenix page 79
- ↑ Way of the Phoenix page 79-80
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Way of the Phoenix page 80
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Way of the Phoenix page 81
- ↑ Way of the Phoenix page 82
- ↑ Way of the Phoenix page 82-83
- ↑ Way of the Phoenix page 73
- ↑ Way of the Phoenix page 83
- ↑ Clan Letter to the Phoenix Clan (Imperial Herald v.2 #4)
- ↑ "Shadowlands", Imperial Herald 1.4
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