Uesugi Kagetora

Wounded and possessed, this cursed swordswoman is on the path of vengeance against the greatest warrior of the age.

## Background

Kagetora is the daughter and second child and of the legendary Uesugi Kenshin. About 10 years ago, Kenshin and rest of her family were killed during a war between southern and northern Chaldae. Flying into a rage, young Kagetora picked up her fallen father’s sword, and tried to attack Lu Bu. The god of martial skill severed her arm and left her for dead.

After he left though, one of his men was less merciful. Another fight broke out as he aimed to rape her, costing her her right eye in the process. Before he could accomplish anything however, she killed him with the family’s sacred urn.

While knowing of the urn’s importance, she really hadn’t cared at the time. The urn had contained the ashes of Fǎng, a great demon of imitation that the Uesugi clan had kept sealed for ages within the jar. The demon considered just possessing the dying man’s body, but felt particularly intrigued by the girl’s burning vengeance. He offered to save her life in exchange for letting her be his host, and the girl accepted immediately.

Yes, Fǎng was quite fond of her indeed.

The family’s castle set to the fire, they fled. Wounded and in tattered robes however, Kagetora eventually passed out. She awoke to find herself saved by the Sanada clan, old allies of the Uesugi. No friends of Lu Bu and the northerners, they were happy to take her in and train her. However, as Lu Bu had pulled out of Souther Chaldae, the Sanada clan had no desire to draw conflict back to their relatively peaceful island. Kagetora thus, set out to become a Rhonin.

## Abilities

### Bonded Demon

Kategora is partially possessed by the demon, Fǎng, who had been sealed by the Uesugi clan for generations. While he could have fully possessed her, he desired to see where her thirst for vengeance would go. Coincidentally, when she was saved by Sanada clan, she was given Demonbreaker, which prevents him from fully taking her over.

Fǎng grants Kagetora supernatural strength, able to wield a Katana that would take two hands easily with her remaining one. Fǎng was once a greater demon of imitation however, and while in a greatly weakened state grants her the ability to mimic spells and techniques she experiences for about a day.

While Kagetora considers using magic in combat cowardly, she is not opposed to shoving a mage’s spell back in their face.

### Skilled Swordswoman

Kagetora is undeniably an excellent swordswoman, though she began her training only in her teens, her single-minded dedication to her goal allowed her to bring himself to the peak of her abilities by the time she reached adulthood. Though fast and agile, she focuses on an aggressive, very direct style. She can use certain sword skills:

* **Eye of the Mind:** A natural talent to avoid danger on the basis of an innate 6th sense, intuition, or prescience, where accuracy of instinct has been augmented by experience - somewhat overcoming the problem of visual obstructions that appear in the course of combat. She is able to see through an enemy’s weapon and style after only a few strikes.
* **Eye of the Storm:** A style of swordsmanship that creates the illusion of a reckless attacker. Kagetora attacks in such a way that it creates opening that are in truth, traps to lead her opponent to in turn, make their own reckless attack.
* **Reduced Earth:** Kagetora can cross the distance between her and her enemy in a flash.  A strange sort of single-minded self hypnosis that allows her to ignore obstacles between her and her foe.
* **Fǎng - Tsubame Gaeshi:** heard of the legendary sword skill of Sasaki Kojiro, Kagetora had sought to learn the skill herself. If it could catch something as agile as a Swallow, surely the great bulk of Lu Bu would stand no chance. The true Tsubame Gaeshi is a miracle of godlike swordsmanship that effectively bends the laws of physics to strike from three directions at once, trapping its foe in a cage of death. Perhaps due to impatience to achieve such a level, Kagetora’s version instead makes use of Fǎng’s power to literally duplicate her blade but for a second. Like the true technique, it requires a level field, or else can only deliver two swings. Due to her shorter blade than Kojiro’s, it is possible to escape the full technique by backing out of it, if one is quick enough.

## Notable Equipment

### Himetsuru Koshirae

The legendary katana of Uesugi Kenshin. It is an expertly made katana made of an unknown mental. A blade meant for fighting demons, it counts as infused with light, and cannot be wielded by them. It even actually hurts the possessed Kagetora to wield, but she has learned to ignore the pain.

### Demonbreaker

When she was found unconscious by the Sanada clan, they initially were going to exorcise Fǎng from her body. But realizing his presence had quickly become malignant, they placed upon her a magic eyepatch that sealed his power within. Though Fǎng possessed her body to see where her vengeance would lead, he had no desire to take her over completely. Not quite trusting him however, Kagetora leaves it on. It also prevents those with such senses from detecting her possession. In addition to containing him, it does actually weaken the abilities it grants her. If removed, it would strengthen her abilities, but also grant him the ability to permanently take over her body...a trump card she has not ruled out should her skill be unable to best Lu Bu.

## Trivia

* Uesugi Kagetora is named after one of the historical Uesugi Kenshin's sons.
* While under cover, she goes by the name of 'Nagao Kagetora', which is actually Uesugi Kenshin's birth name.