Twelve Paladins

**"Insignificant being be gone!"**

The **Twelve Paladins** (Japanese: **十二 ()  義侠の士 (ぎきょうのし)** , *Jūn Gikyounoshi*) are the largest organization of Paladin Knights that serve as the personal bodyguard to members of the main Futakuchi Family household; most notably, they have also sworn a separate pledge of allegiance to a Deity that is worshipped by both the main and branch households from whom their power is derived. In some manner, they could be considered ascended demigods/demigoddesses. They are alternatively known as the **Twelve Apostles** (Japanese: **十二使徒**, *Jūnishito*); as technically they serve a specific deity as well as the main Futakuchi Family household.

## Overview

The Twelve Paladins are the personal bodyguards of the main Household of the Futakuchi Family (consisting of Régine, her unnamed husband, and her two sons; Daichi and Kenji) and hand-chosen by them to serve as their personal protectors. They are required to be a member of their own gender, as the Paladins are required to watch them at all times in order to ensure their safety. Most notably, even branch members of the Futakuchi Family have their personal Paladins, while the Main Household is guarded by the Twelve Paladins; the twelve most powerful Paladins in the history of the Futakuchi Family. They have a semi-divine nature due to being partly mortal and partly a god/goddess.

## History

### Historical Lore

The Twelve Paladins were founded during the Takanawa Clan`s existence; becoming the twelve most feared followers of the Christian Mythology and teachings. Gradually, their numbers dwindled during the persecutions of practicing Christians in Japan until only three members of the Twelve Paladins remained. Faking their deaths, they fled into isolation in the high-elevation Japanese Mountain known as Mt. Tate, where they remained for hundreds of years rebuilding their numbers and retraining members of their clan for the Twelve Paladins. Around this time, they began venturing down from their mountainside home and started amassing large amounts of wealth and prestige; this allowed them to marry into newer and more powerful clans. once again they were thwarted and massacred by the thousands until only the members of the Takanawa-Tsukumogami remained as the last surviving branch family of the Takanawa Clan. The Takanawa was dropped and they became the Tsukumogami Clan; a clan of simple people who lived modestly despite having amassed a large amount of wealth and power; since ancient times, they were considered some of the most humblest nobles as they gave freely to the poor and cared deeply for those employed underneath their service. They eventually obtained even more wealth and prestige, when a daughter of their clan married a son of the Japanese Imperial Family, bringing them to prominence. Unfortunately, she died in childbirth and her younger sister (Artemis) became the head of the Tsukumogami Clan. The remaining Twelve Paladins all fell in battle, defending specific temples from being disturbed by evil Yōkai.

### Current Lore

The Twelve Paladins are a highly trained unit of a combination of male/female members; they are stated to have been trained in all manners of weapons and have a reputation for encouraging highly questionable training methods such as: dropping their students off a cliff in order to teach them to swim, attempting to spar with their students at all hours of the day, attacking their students without warning them, and giving them a pile of books, ordering them to read the books in order to gain knowledge. Most notably, they are known for their proficiency in their respective weapon and display master-level skills and abilities when wielding them in conjunction with their natural physical prowess.

## Ranks

Members of the Twelve Paladins start out as trainees, having been recognized for their respective skills and abilities and sent to train in a specific school that coincides with their respective base skills and abilities.

## Apprentice Paladins

The Apprentice Paladins serve as the personal protectors of the teenager children of the branch families and aid the older and more experienced Paladins in their respective duties. Due to their inexperience, they are usually not chosen to guard anybody in the branch families of any importance, instead guarding the illegimente children or various mistresses of the various branch families of the main Household of the Futakuchi Family.

## Members

* Mafuyu (Water Paladin) †
* ---- (Fire Paladin) †
* ---- (Wind Paladin) †
* ---- (Space Paladin) †
* ---- (Earth Paladin) †
* Ayumu Takanashi (Wind Paladin)
* Shizuru Takanashi (Fire Paladin)
* Rue Tachibana (Water Paladin)
* Miho Amakata (Space Paladin)
* Sasuke Tachibana (Space Paladin) †
* Makoto Tachibana (Wind Paladin) †
* Haruka Tachibana (Fire Paladin) †

## Major Deities

* Aiichiro-no-Kami-sama (Water Deity; destroyed); Apostles― Nagisa―Became Water Deity
* Nagisa-no-Kami-sama (Water Deity); Apostles― Mafuyu † & Rue Tachibana
* Hashira Sakuya-Hime (Earth Deity; Apostles― Unknown
* Shinobu Sakuya-Hime (Gravity Deity); Apostles― Unknown
* Giyuu-no-Kami-sama (Purification Deity); Apostles― Unknown
* Konohana Sakuya-Hime (Flower Deity); Apostles― Kanao Chrysanthemum, Aoi Chrysanthemum, Kanae Chrysanthemum, Sumi Chrysanthemum, Grace Chrysanthemum, and Shinobu Chrysanthemum
* Konoha Hime-sama (Protector Deity of Hokkaidō); Apostles― Sai Sakuya
* Raven Hime-sama (Protector Deity of Kyūshū); Apostles― Scarlet Saikaidō

### Minor Deities

* Enyo Hime-sama (War Tactics, Bloodlust, Rituals, Archery, Hunting, Poison, Diplomacy); Apostles― Sakura Sakuya

### Deceased Paladins

* Mafuyu; First Water Paladin
* First Wind Paladin
* First Fire Paladin
* First Gravity Paladin
* First Space Paladin
* First Earth Paladin
* Eris Enyalius; Second Water Paladin

## Symbols

* Dove―Peace, Innocence―Worn by trainee Paladins
* Tiger―Strength, Courage, Honor―Worn by the Master Paladins

## Strength

Homolôïa; the ancient texts and scriptures of the persecuted Christian members of the long-destroyed Takanawa and Tsukumogami Clans, detailed the strength of the Twelve Paladins as reaching the levels of several legendary Japanese figures including the likes of Tomoe Gozen, Kusunoki Masashige, and many more. They were toted as the strongest force of Christian soldiers even assembled and were expertly trained, handling even the most difficult of weaponry with ease. Most notably, due to their half-divine origins, they were notably more restrained when unleashing their true strength, more powerful than any ordinary human, and capable of standing on their own without much trouble.

## Trivia

* Among the Twelve Paladins; there is significantly more females than males, which shocks outsiders tremendously, as females are generally perceived as less strong than males.
* Interestingly enough, an ordinary human whether male or female can be turned into a demigod/demigoddess by one of the Twelve Paladins, simply by ingesting some of their blood; this seems to "link" them in a sense.
	+ This "linking" allows them to inherit the power of the Paladin it belongs to, though the inheritance process is noted to be rather painful for both Paladin and the person linked to the Paladin.
* The name for one of the Deities; Hashira, means "Pillars" in English, seeing as Hashira is the Deity who rules over Earth, and any form of Island or Landmass it is a fitting name.
* There is only one known male Paladin at this time; the First Water Paladin, Mafuyu. It is hinted at that there is more male Paladins but their names, as well as the Deity to whom they have sworn loyalty is unknown at this time.