Michizane

## As a Character

1,000 years before the beginning of the game, before the Immortal Court was made, Michizane found himself in stark disagreement with his fellow sorcerers. They wanted to move the capital and create the Great Seal, becoming an immortal society free of the demons of the outside world. But Michizane saw this as folly, to him, immortality was a burden, a curse that would cause stagnation in the Court. In many ways, he was not wrong, as that is almost exactly what became of the court after the creation of the Great Seal.

However, the fervor and outright violence with which he protested the idea succeeded only in getting him exiled. So for 1,000 years, he held onto the grudge from this slight, from his exile, and when the time was right, set his plan into motion. He undid the Great Seal, plunging the stagnated Immortal Court into darkness and death, and went as far as to seal the Essences as well to ensure that none could undo his plot and save the Court. Thus setting the stage for the main story of the game.

Strangely, while his actions have obviously caused immense destruction to humanity, it is hard to say if these actions are borne solely from malice or some petty revenge. Michizane seems to truly believe that the Great Seal was a mistake, that humanity is better off without immortality, and that his actions are justified. Even so, when defeated, he accepts his death, and even pleads for his flesh to be used to create new life in the darkened world he has created.

## As an Enemy

The final boss, Michizane has three forms, each stronger than the last and adding more attacks to his arsenal.

1st Form: He has some basic strikes, a slower heavy flip attack, blue fireballs, and a doppelganger ability. He can still do damage in this form, but is honestly fairly easy to deal with if you pay attention.

2nd Form: He gains a better five hit combo, and can now fill the map with the black water-like effect that dragged Raikoh to the land of the dead. Thankfully it just slows your movements like normal water, but it might get you hit so maintain focus. Overall this form is more dangerous, but still manageable.

3rd Form: This is where he pulls out all of the stops, his attacks are even stronger and his melee attacks can inflect black fire now, so getting hit can be devastating. Worse, he gains a lock-on breaking dash which he likes to use rapidly to disorient you and even his own version of the dragon spell which will do massive damage and is very hard to dodge. At this point the only reliable ways to damage him are to use your own dragon spells, or to wait for him to start charging his dragon spell and get behind him to land some physical hits, as trying to hit him from the front is likely to get blocked and countered. However you choose to do it, it is a tough fight, so do not get frustrated if it takes a couple tries.

## Trivia

He is based off of the real life Sugawara no Michizane, a famous Japanese figure. Parts of the character's story even mirrors the real Michizane's history, such as them both being exiled, and the fallout from this. Obviously with considerable embellishment on the game's part of course.

The Sword of Seven Stars he carries is also of note, based off of a Japanese relic the Shichiseiken, or Great Bear sword, named for the seven stars of the Ursa Major constellation inlayed into the sword.