Takeda Harunobu

Takeda Harunobu is the newest member to the unnamed party of player characters in Kyllambria. He is a quiet, extremely polite and very modest person, especially when compared to the rest of the party. He is a foreigner to the lands of Kyllambria, coming from the "Far East", leading him to be quite uninformed in the local political dealings, system, religion, talking and behavioural habits. So foreign in fact, that he is even uneducated as to the basics of most of the local geography. By his own words, he is a *samurai*, even though by the **Teikogan** definition, he is without a lord and therefore a *rōnin*. As a samurai, he fights with a *tachi* and *wakizashi*, both staying on his person at all times. His race is that of a mortal human, in juxtaposition to some other members of the party. His simplicity of race does not leave him feeble nor entirely typical for that matter - Takeda is extremely trained both in mind and in body, always keeping his composure and his reflexes on point. His origin, despite all the confusion and problems it has caused him, also grants him a unique vantage point from which to assess this unknown western culture, and in combat also gives him a sense of mystery due to his unfamiliar fighting style.

Class: Ghost Samurai
170
17
14
20
 INT
12
20
10

## Physical appearance

Takeda is a 174cm, relatively muscular man with a rugged and weathered appearance. He cares little for his outwards projection, keeping a very unkempt look, with a barely-grown, unshaven beard, and sometimes dirtied face. He has long tousled black hair that he has, at the least, tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. He has brown eyes and bushy black eyebrows. His eyes are typically narrow and focused, with a sharpness that suggests a deep awareness of his surroundings.

## Clothing and Weapons

### Clothing

His usual clothes are a predominantly black *kimono*, with a white outlining of some sections, and a black *hakama* (wide-legged pants). These garments, which may have once had a primary function of simple elegance and grace, are extremely ragged and cut in several places - there are larger cuts in the material on the arms and smaller cuts on the torso. The right breast of this garment formerly bore some kind of white insignia, but it is now completely unrecognizable, probably due to fighting and the weather, and now only the black undergarment beneath remains. On his left hip the samurai has two black slightly curved scabbards - one for his *tachi* and one for his *wakizashi*. Sometimes he also wears a side pouch on his right hip, most often filled with calligraphy supplies.

### Weapons

***Tachi*** - The longer and more curved of the two weapons in Takeda's *sayas* (scabbards). The blade itself is simply splendid - unlike Takeda's clothing and appearance, the weapon is perfect, there is not a single nick on the blade and the design is quite striking - veins of copper damascus extend from top to bottom along the spine of the steel blade. The *tsuka* (hilt) is equally striking - the base of the hilt is silver, beyond it there is a white painted wooden base, that holds the blade attached with three bamboo pins, it is then wrapped and covered by black leather straps, and then there is an engraved silver base that connects to the handguard handguard.  The handguard itself is made of a black lighter metal and it has a foreign to Kyllambria cultural motif embedded into it with gold. From base to the pointed top edge of the blade, this sword is around 84.9cm in length.

***Wakizashi*** - The shorter and definitely more straight-edged of the two blades. This second blade is definitely no where near the level of the *Tachi* - looking more general issue than something masterly crafted specifically for the samurai. Regardless the blade is in pristine condition, with zero nicks or scratches to be seen anywhere. The handle's base is wood painted black, with a trim of steel on the front and back, after that there is wooden handle attached to the blade with two bamboo pins, it is painted white and then wrapped and covered with black leather straps, beyond it there is a small strip of steel connected to a steel handguard, which then passes on to a steel blade. This. in all intents and purposes. shortsword is just about 50cm long.

## Personality

Takeda is a strange man by any Kyllambrian measure - an unmistakable foreigner in a new land, he walks around in the tatters of his kimono, with a large, almost ceremonial in its' looks (especially compared to Takeda's outwardly appearance) sword on his hip. And yet he moves around with this sharp-edged payday freely, without a care for it should someone might actually go to try and steal it off of him - for he is simply too confident in his senses, so much so that he is certain that he will spot anyone trying to grab at his most prized, and almost only, possession. On the matters of material wealth Takeda's definitely not the wealthiest, but he will surely enough offer to pay with whatever he can regardless if he even has enough money or not. A kind and giving person, Takeda has many times been noted to not take any of the treasure found on his duties for himself, always bringing it back and giving it to the Monastery regardless of the sum, big or small.

Despite his kindness, Takeda has on some occasions been insulted by the people he comes across. He takes no offence to it, either because he is not prideful enough to take the insult to heart, and sometimes simply because he doesn't understand what is being said to him, due to him being new in the language. Despite the language barrier, he is really curious and interested in learning more about the land he has come to, frequently asking for a simplified explanation or synonymous word to the one he doesn't understand. He is internally quite annoyed with himself to have to ask others for explanations in the middle of their sentences just so he can grasp the meaning of the information said to him, but sadly there is no other way.

Takeda is a deeply spiritual person, often meditating whenever possible, especially when in a more serene and scenic location like the cliffs of the northmost mountain range. This meditation has instilled in him a deep calm in all situations, and has granted him an even greater patience in all matters. With it Takeda can stay perfectly in wait in most locations, remaining unaffected to anxiousness, boredom, or to the trepidations of anticipation as shown in his appearance in Fjarl's Rest, quietly observing Shiraori and Grey's actions from higher up, before stepping down to help after he has figured out their intentions. This moment of respite in meditation is almost like a ritual to him after almost any altercation where he has had to kill a person, seemingly "regaining" some of himself through following through with it.

Harunobu is, by many accounts, an excellent warrior, with an extremely unconventional, or at least peculiar, fighting style. So unconventional that he has been seen simply standing in the face of multiple enemies attacking him, with his own sword sheathed, calmly talking of "duelling the leader" to "negate bloodshed" to deaf ears. This want for duelling matches is born out his inherent and deep respect for the Teikogan ***Bushido*** (warrior code) and its' relation to his own thoughts on combat. There is also the fact that Harunobu's duelling prowess is quite impressive for a mortal man, so far with a total of 39 armed duels and 0 losses and only 3 minor injuries.

Despite his rugged appearance and definitive warrior profession, Takeda has a deep, almost adolescent, enjoyment of the finer arts the world has to offer. He is quite commonly seen practicing his traditional Teikogan calligraphy on empty sheets of paper, as well as writing out short, unrhymed poems, and he also has been found playing the flute on occasion. These more artistic and finer activities also seem to have a sort of relaxing and even healing effect on Takeda, in the same way that meditation does.

In simple adjectives, Takeda can be described as a kind, calm, generous, patient and modest person with a profound enjoyment of the finer arts, whatever they may be. When finally forced into an altercation, he is a collected, perceptive and strong warrior, but most importantly profoundly honourable.

## Belief system

As a human Teikogan, Takeda's belief system is heavily influenced by the cultural norms and philosophies of his homeland. Through them, he has been brought up to be a person of humility and gratitude for every moment of life given to him, and even wishes to be able to instil this gratitude for life into the minds of others who may be too eager to throw away their one chance in their earthly body.

One of the biggest influences on him is the idea of ***Shin-Gi-Tai***, the idea of striving for a strong body, but more importantly, a sound mind. This idea, albeit with slight differences in the total meaning, has led him to a routine of repeated meditation and sessions of self-improvement, be it in the way of the sword, the arts or simply his own body.

Obviously coming from a military background, the greatest influence on his way of thinking is the unwritten code of the warrior, **Bushido**, which idolises the qualities of a warrior to the maximum. To reduce the code to the fewest words possible would produce this: righteousness, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honour and loyalty. Takeda, and as he imagines, every self-respecting warrior, strives to embody these qualities. His deepest thoughts dwell on Bushido's principles of honour and the matter-of-factness of its statements that "*once lost, it can never be recovered*". Unconsciously, he deeply refuses to accept the idea that something once lost can never be regained, and sincerely believes in the reformation or positive change of character that is possible in all beings. He also acknowledges that there is a certain naivete in this idea, that he could easily be exploited and lied to if he were to be upholding such a belief constantly, but he sees this unwillingness to change and still be dishonest as "a fault of the liar, not of the one being lied to".

A believer in the Teikogan religion of ***Kamiyo***, Takeda has a unique perspective on the Western world and its intricacies. Learning the monk concept of ***Tomuki-no-jiko*** relatively late in life, most simply the "*idea of the authenticity of a thing rather than its material value*" is another important aspect of how he views the world. This near-ancient teaching identifies materialism and greed as deplorable aspects of character, describing a "*hidden beast with a bottomless stomach*". With the way he has led his life over the past few years, and with the many people he has seen, merchants and nobles alike, he too shares an opinion similar to that of the original idea, that a focus on material possesions, or of any power over others, is a deep imperfection of the character and should be a cause of introspection in the person therein.

Here are some proverbs that additionally explain his belief system, most are his own and some are of different wise masters of past ages:

***"As long as you live, keep learning how to live."***

***"Always be a little kinder than necessary."***

***"They who give have all things, they who withhold have nothing."***

***"A person's true wealth is the good he or she does in the world."***