Hiko Moriten

*"Breathe, Hiko Moriten. For you are your own man."*

## History

“Breathe,” was the first word that echoed in Hiko’s mind. Through the darkness that found itself inking his vision, and the pitch black that had his mind emptied, a searing word that etched itself in the back of his mind, like a divine brand which pulsed with an indescribable pain, before his eyes opened. Water clouded his vision, and filled his lungs, and he shot up in the middle of the lake with a sputtered cough, and few hacks. So much for breathing. Hues of sky scanned the immediate area about his own form, and he remained sitting in the rather shallow lake, rubbing at his head some.

“Where..” he muttered, trying to gain his bearings, and those very things bore themselves on his own magically humming blade, dug a few inches into the ground, the very blade itself being the drawing focus to Hiko’s brain. Then, it came again, like a burning ring in his ears and the back of his skull.

“Breathe,” again, it shot through him, and he took another breath, filling his lungs with the much-needed air that.. He had somehow forgotten to take, and he felt a bit more alive, then. Color flooded his senses, alongside the other four. The rough feeling of the wrapping of his blade’s hilt, the smell of the water melded with the nature around him, and the taste of the crisp air and lake water on his tongue, addled with the damp feeling of his clothes sticking to his skin and scales, and most of all - the chilling feeling of cold water on his four horns. He hated that feeling most of all. How cold it was.

Pulling the blade from the ground, he inspected it, the Senjinkabi, but in a more common tongue known as the Thousand Blades Under the Sun, often categorized by its ability to perhaps be more than a single blade atop the hilt when held a certain way, or in a certain grip. This very blade was known as an artifact built from the far planes and imbued with magics to almost make the blade seem like one it was not.

His sword found purchase into the air, a single swing causing a shrill cry, much like a screech of a forlorn ghost, then drawing it back, he thrust, crackling through the air like a lightning rod, going through the numbers of elements, and eventually landing on a normal downwards slice, which, had the sapphires in his eyes an undertone of slight red, and a steam peeling from his body as he gripped a bit tighter on the blade, an obvious wielding like a barbarian holding their own axe, before he breathed out, following the same motions until Senjinkabi clicked in its sheathe, and Hiko ruffled his hair, trying to make certain it was mostly dry, until he looked back, once again to find a lack of wings. A sigh escaped, and he continued his walk, hand in his pocket.

Hiko was by no means a normal ‘spawn’, and ‘experiment’ would better fit the description, as the laws of a Regulator dragon likely do not coincide with mating to any form of human or otherwise humanoid species. However, some things align, and some are far from luck, as from a young age, Hiko’s life was not his own. Often known as a conduit for a great dragon, the life of the young Sheng boy’s was not lived on his own, but for the length of another. This, paired with his family, in the world of the Chishiki clan, his rather rare condition made him some form of royalty, if royalty had lended itself to self-preservation of life and life of another dragon’s own dwelling inside of him, of course. Though, barring that, he lived life as a normal royal child, despite all the turbulence surrounding his own life.

Raised in the world of self-defence, martial arts, and following similar regimen to Samurai, alongside the magical arts of becoming a spiritual medium, so he could converse with the law-bound Regulator dragon within him, and learn a way to bolster his mind and body with the practices of other spirits, as sleep was lost upon the boy, however - this gave him time to focus on seances and devoting himself to the knowledge of a Champion spirit. Often as a measure of control more than anything, and a way to combat the influence of the law-bound Regulator dragon in him (although the teachings of such a dragon did stick, fairness and desire to follow established laws), it soon came to the cusp of adulthood that the features of the dragon itself had begun to sprout on Hiko’s body, to which, the court began to very much revere a half-Regulator. Though, this, to the young man meant that the life of the dragon which, was a father figure more than his own father was, was coming to a screeching end. It was not defence of his life anymore, but defence of Hiko’s own.

The years following the slow-bleeding death of the Regulator dragon were much nights where he was taught about the law of the universe, and the balance of it all, imparting fragments of knowledge upon the boy in ways that few were allowed to experience, although most of it would be lost to time. There was no godhood from the Regulator dragon itself, but perhaps the traits Hiko could find himself honing in time. With these in mind, however, he continued his close study with the Champion spirit, eventually happening upon the calling artifact, the Senjinkabi. An immaculate blade with the relic spirit of the knowledge of many blade Champions being housed within. This certainly made it easier to channel and work with the knowledge of the spirit, alongside his normal daily martial training.

Though, as the years progressed - so did the impending doom of the Regulator dragon, and alongside that, his eventual transition of eyes from gold-flaked to a gemstone sapphire, and scales crawling across the back of his neck, finally, the forming of small nubs of horns poking through his sandy blonde hair. These transitions took him from the very touching of puberty into his years of manhood, growing into full-fledged backwards-pointed horns, and that luckily found it’s way to coincide well with how his hair naturally behaved. Though, with the knowledge of the dragon, also came the flaws in the system of the current society. There was the distinct lack of order, and the flaking of laws from officials of the higher ranks, and the lower ranks, though, Hiko mostly kept this to himself when he consulted the Regulator dragon, making notes of the system and how to improve it, but also being told it was not his place to be the one to do such things. He was merely a vessel - and not quite his own distinct personage, however, he could keep order in his own way, his schedule, regimen, all these factors culminated to the optimal ordered schedule to improve his training in the quickest possible fashion.

Though, it was not until his mid-20s that the looming threat of the Kuchiku did turn into the ever-present one, and those very same people found themselves at the seat of power a mere three years later. Though, those events had a large importance in his life, as the fall of the Chishiki clan marked the death of the Regulator dragon, and the loss of their link, but also the delve into the wide world. From a life of shelter and training bore a resentment that would travel across a sea and into a whole different world of it’s own design, the seething hatred not for the Kuchiku in particular, but for those who had taken his own father figure from him, had seared itself into his mind, into his very core and stuck like an unquenchable itch for creating his own twisted sense of order in revenge for the loss of his partner and mentor.

“Breathe.” It spoke again, this time, in a more commanding tone, but instead of the calm lethargy that he had pulled himself from the water from, his eyes snapped open to screams - the sounds of battle, fire crackling across the room immaculate he was placed in, and smoke clouding his vision and lungs. An instinctive hand found itself grasping at the Senjinkabi for comfort, but comfort was the last thing that he desperately needed. What he needed, was safety - and this, was the furthest from it. Perhaps the assault had mounted to it’s climax, but there was no point in sitting around to watch such a thing.

Recently, there had been light practice of flying, but nothing too extensive. It was enough to control himself for short distances, however, when he attempted to roll from bed, his body found itself stuck, the smoke and darkness crawling across the floor to island him on the bed he had found himself waking up in, and before he knew it, he was amidst a sea of black, hands clutching desperately against the Senjinkabi for some form of security and comfort that this situation didn’t allow him.

Moments that felt like hours seemed to pass in this darkness before a voice, disembodied - feminine, rung out across, shearing said sea of black with streaks of white-yellow light, with each word she spoke.

“Alone,” was the first word offered, creating a streak of light to pierce the pitch, landing against his chest.

“Unfortunate,” followed, casting another light that showed his draconic features, namely the horns atop his head.

“Vessel,” came, the spotlight now against the man’s form, darkness encircling the edges and threatening to swallow him whole.

“Do you wish to become yourself?” The voice offered, Hiko staring out into the darkness, but simply breathing out, giving a slow, confirmed nod. He could not lie that there was a measure of anger in the fact that he never was Hiko, he was the vessel for the Regulator dragon, and that measure was very much pinching at the back of his mind now, and bubbling to the surface - his own identity.

While treated like Hiko working with the Regulator, he was never that, to the peers around him, only to the spirits he seanced, and even then - they felt something off with their medium. While he mulled over this, attention was brought back when the words became sharp, fast, and demanding.

“Choose,” was the simple command, and a hand extending in an offer of swirling white-yellow and pitch black extended before the man, blazed with a sea of sapphire scales and similar eyes, to which, Hiko reached a hand up and grasped onto her own, squeezing tightly, indicating his choice.

There was not a moment of time for reaction before he could feel the scales peel from his skin, and his wings almost rip from his back with a breathless cry, hunching forward, gripping tightly onto the Senjinkabi itself, as the features of most of the draconic influence had been torn from him, leaving a half-scaled, horned humanoid, gasping for his very life, with a pain unexplainable coursing through his veins.

“You are half human, and half-draconic. No longer are you mere mortal vessel of another species. You have been granted fortune from misfortune. Treasure the life you have, because it is now in your control. You are no longer bound by the Shengese, or the Kuchiku, you are your own. Abandon your title and take your string of fate.” With that, the hand gave a press to Hiko’s chest, and he slowly drew onto his back, the darkness consuming him, only to be banished and bathed in a warm, revitalizing light.

Then, for the first time in many, many years, Hiko woke up. His head escaped the pillow and glanced around to his surroundings, the Senjinkabi by his side, and then to the closed door, the man reaching up a hand to rub idly at his eyes, then his head, as he felt the queasiness of the rocking ship now, giving a small churn of his stomach and it’s lack of contents. Though, he stood, and his wings were gone, though, the horns and some immaculate patterns of scales did remain, noting he was still of a particular heritage, but he could plainly see the humanoid features that made him… Him - which he had lost over the years to the Regulator’s influence. Then, for the very first time without having to be commanded to, Hiko did breathe. He brought a breath in, and took in the musky scent of the boat. While disgusting, it was a scent he found familiar, and real. This, was all real.

He was himself.

## Appearance

Standing at a relatively tall height, Hiko topped out with brown hair, sapphire eyes, and four horns swept back alongside his do. Besides that, he was of average, lean build, and held scales along his neck and back of his jaw, tucking away into whatever garb he wore.

## Personality

Often quiet and laid back, Hiko kept to himself and to his blade, quietly glancing around and becoming more of a spectator than the one in the light.

## Aspirations

To be the best dragon boy there ever was.