Bayushi Kwanchai

Bayushi Kwanchai was the student of Bayushi Tangen and became only the second person to master his technique, the Dark Sword of Bitter Lies (after Tangen himself). He was a nephew of the Imperial Chancellor Bayushi Kaukatsu and served as his yojimbo. Prior to his appointment as yojimbo, he participated in many missions for his Clan which required a disruptive presence. His personality could be described as egotistical, rude, and less than sane, although his loyalty and devotion to duty border on fanaticism. He was a good friend of the mad Hitomi Vedau. Matters of Import, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf
== Training ==
=== Honor's Lesson Dojo ===
Kwanchai gained entry to Honor's Lesson Dojo shortly after his gempukku, patroned by his uncle, Bayushi Kaukatsu. Kwanchai showed little skill under the training of Soshi Tishi. He was uncouth, rude, and often started brawls with other students which generally lost. Kwanchai was frequently berated for his clumsiness and stupidity. Secrets of the Scorpion, p. 20
=== Suicidal Mission ===
Tishi, tired of Kwanchai, tasked him with an impossible mission, expecting the ill-trained Kwanchai to die. He was to deliver a crystal mempo to the Oracle of Earth, who resided in the Twilight Mountains within the Tower of Vines, an area plagued of Shadowlands creatures, restless gaki, and wandering beasts. Kwanchai met the Oracle, without any encounter, in record time, disappointed at how boring his mission was proving to be. Angry, Kwanchai asked by happestance a question, "When will I earn the respect I deserve?", and as any Oracle asked by an human, Hiruma Osuno answered him. He told Kwanchai to journey to the Shinomen Forest, where he would find a small hut in the ruins of the Naga city Iyotisha. Within it dwelled the sensei who would lead him to greatness. Secrets of the Scorpion, p. 21
=== Bayushi Tangen's Student ===
Bayushi Tangen had retreated to the depths of the Shinomen Forest during thirty years of solitude before his hermitage was interrupted by Kwanchai. Tangen refused Kwanchai's demand to learn the secret of the Dark Sword of Bitter Lies; he saw his luck as a curse, and had decided to let the curse die with him. Kwanchai after months of ceaseless pestering, Tangen eventually taught him the technique just to shut him up and send him away. He believed Kwanchai would not truly master the technique, as none of his other students had ever managed to wield it themselves. Not only was Tangen wrong, he had inadvertently found a pupil who was a better teacher than he. Secrets of the Scorpion, p. 26
== Master of the Bitter Lies Dojo ==
After three years in the Shinomen, Kwanchai returned to Ryoko Owari as master of the Dark Sword of Bitter Lies style of swordsmanship. His uncle Kaukatsu encouraged Kwanchai to take on students of his own, sharing Tangen's lost techniques with a new generation. Kwanchai's devotion to his technique led to the formation of the Dojo of the Dark Sword of the Bitter Lies, and unlike his teacher, Kwanchai was capable of truly teaching the technique to his fellow Scorpions. 
== Four Winds Era ==
=== Test of the Emerald Champion ===
In 1158 Four Winds, p. 31 Kwanchai was one of the Scorpion Clan members that participated in the Iaijutsu contest that was organized by Hantei Naseru after Toturi's death to determine the new Emerald Champion. His invitation was arranged by Naseru's ally Bayushi Sunetra, who wanted Kwanchai to realize the true purpose of his mission. Some spoke about the weakness of his techniques, and others claimed that only the manipulations of his clan had allowed him to progress throughout the tournament. In the semifinal match against Shiba Aikune, his only goal was to injure the young Phoenix samurai. Aikune underestimated his opponent and Kwanchai intentionally sliced through the tendons at the back of Aikune's left leg. Victorious, A Tale of Rokugan, by Rich Wulf Kwanchai was angry, believing that he could had won the tournament. Four Winds, p. 56
Aikune was not a pawn of his Clan or any Wind, he entered out of arrogance and pride. Those were two traits Naseru would not have in an Emerald Champion, and the Anvil decided to eliminate him from the dispute. Prelude to Darkness, Part Five: The Pawn, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman
Kwanchai was disqualified for injuring his opponent after the strike, but his goal was achieved as the Phoenix attending the tournament swiftly summoned the kami to heal Aikune's injury. Due to the provision that only Scorpion shugenja were allowed to use magic at the tournament, Aikune was disqualified and Yasuki Hachi won the tournament by default to become Emerald Champion. Kwanchai's interference had inevitably cast doubt on the new Emerald Champion's credibility, as most assumed that Hachi was in league with the Scorpion- exactly the outcome that Sunetra and Naseru had intended. 
=== Otemi's Wedding ===
At the wedding of Ikoma Otemi and Kaukatsu's student Shosuro Yasuko, Kwanchai came perilously close to challenging the Emerald Champion Hachi to an iaijutsu duel. Were it not for Soshi Tishi's intervention, the peaceful ceremony might have dissolved into violence. 
=== The Onisu Unleashed ===
In 1159 after the death of Daigotsu's bodyguard, Goju Kyoden, all of the Onisu were unleashed over Rokugan. They should have infiltrated the homes of the Four Winds and killed until their own death. Bayushi Kwanchai was at Ryoko Owari Toshi, Hantei Naseru's headquarter, when Fushin and Muchitsujo attacked the city. The commander of the Scorpion force, Bayushi Katai, attempted to sacrifice her soldiers to kill the onisu (a betrayal which served to make Fushin stronger), but Kwanchai and Bayushi Shixiang realized the plot, however, and instead engaged the onisu in single combat. Kwanchai utilized the mad tactics of his sensei Bayushi Tangen, directly attacking Fushin. His self-sacrifice weakened the onisu and Kwanchai was able to burn with pitch and drag both Fushin and himself off the side of the bridge. Nightmares, Part II, by Shawn Carman
Many people thought that Kwanchai had died, but some time later he reappeared to serve his aunt the Imperial Chancellor Bayushi Kaukatsu as his yojimbo. Towers, by Shawn Carman Kwanchai, burned and wounded, was recovered from the river by servants of Kaukatsu. He was tended and his face repaired. 
=== The Shadowed Tower and the Imperial Court ===
Kwanchai helped his uncle Kaukatsu to find and capture the Shadowed Tower members, protecting the Imperial Chancellor from Bayushi Atsuki's organization. He was personally responsible for apprehending Kaukatsu's treacherous son, Bayushi Ogura, when the latter attempted to strike down his father. Kaukatsu, who had always believed in the usefulness of his nephew, took him as his yojimbo to follow him in the Imperial Court. Rebuilding the Court, by Shawn Carman
At the court, he became great friends with Hitomi Vedau, and the two extremely unconventional warriors had a lot of fun terrorizing easily spooked courtiers. 
== Family ==
Kwanchai was once married to Moshi Nao, who died in childbirth. While his Scorpion lords were not always completely sure they wanted his line to continue, they arranged his marriage with Bayushi Hisako some years later. At the time of Kwanchai's death, Hisako was pregnant. Vengeance, by Shawn Carman
== Stepping Down as Sensei ==
In 1168 Kwanchai and his students supressed an uncontrolled riot at Ryoko Owari. Seminars Fictions 3, by the Legend of the Five Rings Story Team The peasant uprising larger than any in history wracked the City of Lies. Only the students at the Dojo of Bitter Lies saved the city from destruction. Bayushi Shaiga (Rise of the Shogun flavor) After his initial success, he quickly grew tired of the position of head sensei and passed it off to Bayushi Sharaku. The best students of the Dojo had been assigned to the Shogun's troops as a gift from the Scorpion Clan Champion. 
== The Khan's Defiance / Dying Effort ==
In 1169 during Moto Chagatai's daring winter assault on the Imperial capital, Kwanchai was in attendance as Bayushi Kaukatsu's yojimbo. The Truest Test, Part II, by the Legend of the Five Rings Story Team When Kaukatsu brought a small entourage to watch the Battle of Toshi Ranbo from one of the castle balconies, they were attacked by gaki, and though Kwanchai performed as admirably as he could against a horde of hungry ghosts, his charge was inevitably killed by the dead spirits. The Truest Test, Part III, by the Legend of the Five Rings Story Team These gaki had been planted by Chuda Isoruko and Daigotsu Rekai to spy on the Emperor for the Shadowlands two years ago. Dealing with Shadows, by Brian Yoon
=== Studying the Gaki ===
Kwanchai begged for the right to commit seppuku in atonement for his failure to protect Kaukatsu and was refused. A Scorpion's Strength, by Brian Yoon Subsequently, Kwanchai began a campaign of revenge, studying the hungry dead and how to fight them. He arrived the Plains of Thunder, the place where the Jade Championship had happened this year. In the place The Mikado was located he knew the spirit of Bayushi Takaharu, executed murdered of Seppun Shogo, was haunting. Kwanchai used a Toritaka spirit ribbon and an Imperial scroll to hold the gaki so he could question it. 
=== Vengeance and Death ===
In 1170 these efforts culminated with a one-man endeavor to see the gate to Gaki-do from the Imperial City closed forever. The process, researched with the assistance of an unknown Phoenix and aided with the unwilling assistance of a few gaki themselves, required that he voluntarily cross over to Gaki-Do and bind the ghosts there by providing them a source of food. Meeting the ghost of Bayushi Shoju shortly before the process was completed, Kwanchai raved about how he has grown tired of watching those he cared about die (presumably his first wife Moshi Nao and his son), simply because Heavens would not let him die until it was finished with him (first said by Hitomi Vedau). He had chosen to face certain, inescapable doom and redeem his honor rather than live in disgrace and shame his unborn child. Before passing through the opening gate, Kwanchai warned the spectre Shoju to never harm his family, and dove in with both swords drawn. News of his death reached the Scorpion through a spy located on the balcony who reported it directly to Bayushi Paneki. Shoju's soul was released from Gaki-do, after he swore Kwanchai's daughter would grew strong and proud, watching over her all his days. Vacant Throne, p. 100
== Legacy ==
His daughter, Bayushi Kanihime, would eventually marry the Scorpion Champion Bayushi Nitoshi. Daughters and Kharma, by C. Thomas Hand Nitoshi, Shoju's soul Bayushi Nitoshi (Emperor Boxtext) reincarnated, was born the same year Kwanchai redeemed Shoju. Third Leg of the Race for the Throne: Scorpion Temptation result
== See also ==
* Bayushi Kwanchai/Meta
== External Links ==
* Bayushi Kwanchai (Gold)
* Bayushi Kwanchai Exp (Winds of Change)
* Bayushi Kwanchai Exp2 (Rise of the Shogun)
Category:Scorpion Clan Members
Category:Gaki-do