Rukan Shikura

*"武術世界 / 老年學校 / 參加考試*

*(Wǔshù shìjiè / lǎonián xuéxiào / cānjiā kǎoshì)."*

**Rukan Shikura**, the fabled "never defeated" warrior is the lord and master of Death God Mountain, the latest in the line of Deathkings.

## Background

### Fantasy Past

Lucan Deathcraft was the apprentice of the Dark Fearclaw and is the latest of the line of Deathkings. Therefore, his history is extremely long. Rukan has no memories of his childhood, and his life started as the heir of the Deathkings. For years, Rukan lived alone in the Death Mountain, practicing the skills handed down to him by the Dark Fearclaw. Soon, he became strong enough and emerged as an obscure warrior in wuxia China (Eastasia), under the title of the "Northern Ghost." He became feared for his power in martial arts as well his his mastery of the manifestations of those arts, his thirteen known Familiars. He is speculated to have been born several years before the Tang Dynasty, but could have been born before that as well, making his age more than 1400 years old.

#### The Scholar

At one point when he was close to finishing his training, he asked Suji if he could go down from the mountain to explore the outside world.

She gave him a pretty cryptic answer, but what she meant was that although he could defend himself, he might not be able to protect someone he cared for.

But since he was pretty young at the time he didn't get it, so he went down from the mountain anyway. (His appearance at this time is called the "Scholar.") He went exploring and that kind of stuff, and got along fine.

At one point though, he noticed a girl (who was a Demonslayer) fighting a group of enemies. Those enemies were from a rival sect of some sort, and she was close to being overwhelmed. He decided to interfere (although he hadn't finished his training, he's extremely powerful) and saved her life. (*Author note:* I don't write love stories so I'm not sure how it's supposed to go, but they started traveling together.)

The quote from the narrator is that "The Deathking claims they were only friends, but anyone could look at their faces and instantly tell."

The Demonslayer girl had a very special sword. It was actually a pair of swords but with only one sheath. Soon, she trusted Rukan greatly, enough that she let him use one of the swords. And so they fought together.

In Rukan's lore, she isn't named. She only appears in flashbacks, and Rukan won't name her. (*Author note:* I think her placeholder name for now is "Memoria", but it's highly unlikely that's her real name.)

As for the reason Rukan refuses to name her . . . Rukan's style's true strength lay in the fact that at its peak, he could flawlessly complement another's fighting style. But since he hadn't quite completed his training yet . . .

Although together this Demonslayer and her extremely powerful companion were close to undefeatable, there would eventually be an enemy they could not defeat.

The battle happens off screen. She is mortally wounded and Rukan holds her in his arms. With her dying breaths, she asks him just to move on without her, and not to let her death weigh him down. He only responds that he would cherish their memories together forever.

When she dies, he completely ignores the presence of the enemies and walks away with her body into the rain.

Twelve days later, Rukan returned, wielding both of her swords. The blood of those enemies washed away in the rain.

Later, Suji saw Rukan return. He said nothing, only cremating the Demonslayer's body and scattering the ashes in the lake of the mountain which he and Suji resided (*add link to Death God Mountain*). The Demonslayer's swords would later became the Twin Swords of Reminiscence, and they are the Ninth Sword in the Nine Swords of Heresy.

#### Invincible Five

Rukan stayed and completed his training. Since he learned how to dual wield two swords in the space of twelve days, his favored weapons (in Fantasy Past at least) were Mujihina and Jihibukaidesu, aka the Merciless and the Merciful respectively. A greatsword and a rapier, dual wielded.

Since it was raining when she died, he learned how to conjure rain using Taoist magic/a special kind of qigong that used rain as concealment. When the rain comes and blurs the landscape, you know that the Northern Ghost is coming.

Once he completed his training, in Eastasia he was the Northern Ghost in the land's Invincible Five. The Invincible Five include Rukan Shikura, the Northern Ghost; Sariel Shadowlight, the Western Foreigner; Long Shewang, the Southern Nomad; Hollow Lake, the Eastern Emperor, and Qing Liu, the Central Exile.

### Practical Past

At the end of the Dragonguard war, the Dragonguard's numbers prove too great for even the Invincible Five and they take over Eastasia.

Hollow Lake is missing and rumored to be dead following a siege at his fortress. Long Shewang is on the run with his band of friends. Sariel simply leaves, Ching Liu retreats, and Rukan is stranded from access to Death God Mountain. Technically, this marks the end of the "Fantasy Past" era and the start of "Practical Past."

In Practical Past, Rukan adopts a persona known as the "Fell Slayer." At this point he's really getting involved with the Five Slaying Schools, aka the Shadowslayers, Monster hunters, Demonslayers, Dragonslayers, and Witch hunters.

(*Move to Sariel Shadowlight*) Sariel is an official Demonslayer, and is "friends" with the head of the Demonslaying school.

In Practical Past, quite some time has passed from Fantasy Past's end, so the names and titles of the Invincible Five have pretty much become legend. Only the few people that Rukan interacted with during Fantasy Past know that he's the Deathking and the Northern Ghost in Practical Past.

He never joined the Five Slaying Schools, only remaining a really uneasy ally due to his sometimes conflicting interests with the schools.

Multiple storylines happen during this period, including an interaction with another one of my main characters, Nero Harrowing.

Sometimes Rukan works with Sariel. Some major storylines happen when he goes to Eveningsong, the capitol of the magical world.

Also the full extent of the Bloodknives' organization is formally introduced, being touched on as multiple sects and groups back in Fantasy Past.

## Appearance

Generally, he is a very good looking bishounen, with delicate and soft girlike features; big eyes, straight nose, perfect lips. Although they harden when he turns serious. Older concepts depict him sometimes growing a mustache and a beard (this is not true). Of the eight bishounen, he has the most feminine appearance.

Rukan's defining feature is his androgynous eyes. They are framed with thick and heavy lashes that lend to a profoundly seductive and alluring aura, and the irises are dark, azure blue mixed with the darkness of space and hints, streaks, and clouds of pink and violet. They also seem to be sprinkled with stars. His irises flare bright pink whenever he is experiencing extreme emotions (by "extreme," it means anything that is not in equilibrium). This eye color is described as being "entralling as a nebula", "like staring into the wells of the galaxy" and as "deep as a crystal". The black pupil set against these colors are like "a black hole that draws you in with its gravity but also reflects your soul." From a distance or a passing glance it seems like an ordinary dark eye color. The pink eye color is described as "even more menacing than a demon's eyes." During the Future Modern timeline his eyelashes turned white due to injuries.

Sometimes he is seen wearing glasses. Not because he needs them to see; they are special glasses that dilute the pink streaks in his eyes.

Another feature of his eyes is that his pupils dilate and contract at will, with visible results. Eye contact with him is disorienting due to this feature.

His hair is incredibly beautiful, which he and Loren inherited from their mother Lenore. It shortens as the timeline progresses (which also tones down the girl features). Rukan has thick tresses of mostly black hair of varying lengths, with shimmering white or streaks of gray depending on his timeline. The longest is past his waist. It is usually longer the further it is from his face. Typically his hair frames his face with one bang hanging over it. It often ripples gently in the wind and turns white when the light catches it at the right angle.

In its longest form, he usually wears it down or (rarely) ties it back, although he is sometimes seen with feminine hairstyles because any woman whom he asks to do his hair is unable to resist "doing" it completely. Usually he just ties it loosely to the back or to the side (ponytail or messy bun). This also projects the illusion of having short hair. In his classic Deathking hairstyle, a small group of hair directly behind his head is tied together without gathering strands from the front of his head. It never reaches exactly shoulder length; it is always slightly longer or slightly shorter.

Once he cut his hair short but it actually made him look even more like a girl.

Rukan has a lithe and slender frame, although with slightly accentuated muscles that come naturally from some of his physically demanding tasks. Male and female acquaintances alike have described him as "sexy" at some point --- much to his annoyance. His hands are quite feminine, and oddly enough remain relatively unscarred despite years of combat and crafting experience. He also has long slender legs that make straight males declare themselves gay.

Despite these features, he is instantly recognizable as male, thanks to his wide shoulders, narrow waist, and something in his general demeanor (even though taken individually and overall his features are feminine). It's only because of this that he hasn't been labeled a "trap." If he crossdressed he would be practically indistinguishable from an actual female.

"I saw the Reaper. And he was beautiful."

"All he needs is a choker and expose his legs a bit more and we'd never be able to tell just from looking that he's actually a guy."

Most people are taken aback by his youthful and feminine appearance, especially given the fearsome reputation of the Northern Ghost. His knowledge and attitude are not consistent with a young person; his eyes hold years of wisdom and experience; his slender look do not fit with a person who is supposedly unmatched in combat skill.

## Known Weapons and Heirlooms

### Nine Swords of Heresy

The Nine Swords are Rukan Shikura's nine iconic weapons. The word "heresy" is derived from the Latin word "haerticus," which means "choice." Indeed, the Nine Swords vary greatly in terms of usage, design and abilities. The first eight are grouped in pairs:

* Mujihina and Jihibukaidesu comprise the balance between Power and Elegance,
* Malleus Maleficarum and Corpsemaker of Hemorrhaging comprise the balance between Purity and Corruption,
* Chokutanto and Malady Crossbow comprise the balance between Closeness and Distance,
* Wooden Sword and Jade Flute comprise the balance between Physical and Magical, or Constance and Variation.
* The last sword, the Twin Swords of Reminiscence, symbolizes Unity.

While as the Deathking he uses the Nine Swords often, later he uses more common weaponry and those he trusts most use the Nine Swords instead.

* **Mujihina**

To be added.

* **Jihibukaidesu**

To be added.

* **Malleus Maleficarum**

To be added.

* **Corpsemaker of Hemorrhaging**

To be added.

* **Chokutanto**

To be added.

* **Malady Crossbow**

To be added.

* **Wooden Sword**

To be added.

* **Jade Flute**

To be added.

* **Twin Swords of Reminiscence**

To be added.