Nexus Biographies

The kingdom of Shinshi long stood as one of the greatest kingdoms in the world. Thanks to the protection of the Chongunate, the kingdom enjoyed untold of prosperity and peace for hundreds of years. Three hundred years after the fateful battle which bore the Chongun warriors from the death of Prince Kwan, a new chapter in the kingdom's history began to unfold. The sixth son and twelve child of Emperor Da-Li had been born.

On that day, dark clouds began to gather in the skies of Shinshi. From the sky a sorcerer appeared to greet the newborn. Valiantly, the Chongunate rushed to protect the child and ward off the visitor. However, even the spirit of war brewing within each of the Chongun's hearts was not enough to repel him. With a wave of the sorcerer's hand, every Chongun felt their armor grow heavier. Soon, he stood before the child and emperor.

"I bring an omen to you sire," said the Sorcerer in a cold, monotonous whisper which only the emperor could hear, "in thirty years time, an army of unparalleled strength will descend upon you. They hail from no country and serve no master. This kingdom has started down a dark path and has become complacent in its military successes. Soon you will seek to use your strengths to conqueror other lands and increase your own wealth. If you are successful, it will bring the world into darkness. This army seeks to prevent your ambitions. There is still time to forget about these needless desires and protect your kingdom from guaranteed destruction."

With that, the sorcerer disappeared into the skies from whence he came. Quickly, the Chongunate recovered and rushed to the emperor to see if he had been harmed. Silently, Da-Li hushed the Chonguns and began to reflect upon the past few moments. It was true, he had already begun to prepare to invade other nations and stretch the influence of Shinshi. He believed it to be for the good of the world, and knew it to be true. The other nations were so barbaric in their thinking and had constantly threatened them, so it only made sense to begin his own offensive.

The thought of the unknown army sent chills down his spine, but he quickly recovered. Shinshi began to calm down and even thought himself to be a bit crazy for even thinking the sorcerer's omen was anything more then yet another meaningless threat to his kingdom. He had the royal army and Chongunate to protect him and no army, be it man, beast or the gods themselves could stand against them. Looking down into his son's eyes, the emperor laughed and told the Chongunate the sorcerer was of no consequence. Hesitantly, the Chonguns believed the emperor and left him to be alone with his son.

After that day the whole kingdom seemed to notice a change in the emperor's stance. Once a man of the people, he became cold and distant. Even his children, six daughters and now six sons, saw little of him. Da-Li frequently met with the generals of the royal army, and slowly persuaded them to see the beauty in his plan to extend Shinshi's influence. Once convinced, the generals began to devise plans of attacks against other nations.

During this time, only one other man saw Da-Li frequently. The servant Taisho constantly attended to Da-Li and served as a teacher for the emperor's children. However, this mere servant would prove to be vital in changing Shinshi's history. The son of a great Chongun warrior who had died many years ago, Taisho was able to learn and perfect all of the Chongun's secrets. However, he decided to forsake his father's profession and follow the path of a servant. Taisho believed early on that the royalty of Shinshi was becoming corrupted, and he thought he could help direct them in a different path.

Taisho frequently advised Da-Li to forget about his thirst for land and power. Da-Li had always listened to Taisho's advice in the past, but in this matter he would not budge. Taisho thought about telling the Chongunate about Da-Li's plans, but he knew the emperor had become weary of him, and that any movement he made around the Chonguns would be watched.

Meanwhile, Taisho could see that his teachings were having a great effect on the emperor's children. Unlike their father, they believed themselves to be servants of the people of Shinshi. They were growing up to be great Chongun warriors. Da-Li would have disapproved of this, had he paid any attention to the children. As they grew older, each child began to question the path their kingdom was heading down. They could smell the stench of war hanging in the halls of the castle. They were never allowed out into the kingdom, but each one found different ways to slip out unnoticed. The effect of the emperor's neglect of the kingdom was apparent to the children as they saw much suffering in the streets. Disease ran rampant, and occasionally corpses could be found in back alleys. Although the kingdom had not suffered from an outside invasion in some time, it was surely feeling the effects of an attack from within.

One day the eldest child, Sanchira, saw an elderly man steal food from a merchant. Quickly she confronted the man and convinced him to give up the stolen fruit. Knowing he was merely trying to survive Sanchira was ready to let the man go when a guard came upon them. He had also seen the whole event and quickly took hold of the old man, pushing him violently to the ground. Sanchira felt an unknown anger building up within her and she furiously pushed the guard away. The guard took hold of his spear and not knowing the girl's identity, lunged at her. Sanchira effortlessly dodged the blow, stepping to the side and punched the guard square on the nose, sending him reeling to the ground, blood gushing from his face.

Several other guards started to come at the girl, when a young man stepped in front of her. The man wore beautiful armor and held a sleek blade by his side. From his stance Sanchira recognized the man as one of the Chongun's Taisho had taught her about.

"I am sure you do not mean this young girl harm, she was merely protecting this man," challenged the Chongun.

"Protecting or not, she has assaulted a royal guard and must be punished for her insolence!" Shouted a guard.

"If you seek to harm her, then I am afraid you will have to face me, and if the pitiful performance of that guard against such a young girl is any indication, I doubt you want that. Aside from that, I'm sure the emperor would have something to say if you sought to harm one of his daughters."

Realization slowly overcame the guards. They knew the Chonguns were not apt to lie, and after closer inspection a few of them recognized the girl.

A spokesperson from the group was quickly selected. "This has all been a big misunderstanding, and we would have never thought to harm a child of our emperor. We hope that our sincerest apologizes and an offer to escort her unharmed back to the castle is enough to atone for this dissension."

"That is for your emperor to decide. However, I sincerely hope you would not harm any child. If you did then I would think little more of you then I do of the rats on the streets."

Disdainfully, the guards looked at the Chongun but said nothing, and beckoned Sanchira to them. Reluctantly she walked toward them and thanked the Chongun for his kindness. Slowly, two guards reached for the old man still lying on the ground. This action was swiftly met with Chongun's blade pressed firmly against one's throat. The other guard was kicked to the ground.

"I trust you were not thinking of bringing any harm to this man your emperor's daughter so valiantly fought to protect?" said the Chongun simply.

The guards grunted and ran to catch up with their comrades.

When presented with his daughter and a report on the disturbance in the streets, Da-Li was outraged. He blamed the whole occurrence on Taisho and his teachings. Quickly he sent two guards to Taisho's room to bring him forward for execution. Quietly Da-Li waited in his throne room for Taisho to be delivered. Growing impatient he sent more guards to collect him whom quickly returned with their heads held low. Taisho had killed the two guards sent to retrieve him and had escaped from the castle. It was quickly discovered that all of Da-Li's children had left; even Sanchira had disappeared despite her room being guarded.

Taisho was blamed for the children's disappearances, however, he too did not know where they went. He was able to reach the Chongunate and warn them of Da-Li's plans before disappearing again, never to reappear in Shinshi again. The Chonguns soon left Shinshi to establish a Sodo in one of the caves surrounding the city. They still vowed to watch over and protect the kingdom, for it was all they knew, but they would not serve it's emperor.

After Shinshi's first attack on one of it's neighboring kingdoms, the Chongunate decided they would extend their protection beyond the Shinshi borders to other kingdoms. If Shinshi choose to fight, then the Chonguns saw little choice but to repel them. Although a mighty force, the Chongunate were far fewer in number compared to the Shinshi royal army. Slowly, the ranks of the Chongunate dwindled down. New cadets were quickly being brought in from Shinshi and any other kingdom that could provide warriors who followed the Chongun's ideals. It was not enough to defeat Shinshi, but they were able to stop it's advances.

Exactly thirty years after the birth of Da-Li's last son, Shinshi made one of it's biggest assaults in the long lasting war. Breaking through the Chongunate and the neighboring kingdom's forces, Shinshi struck deep into the heart of one its neighbors, setting the kingdom ablaze. The Chongunate were pushed back and one kingdom lay defeated. Morale was high in the Shinshi army. The emperor and his generals saw this breakthrough battle as a sign of the stalemate finally being broken.

That night, a beautiful maiden descended upon the Chongun sodo. She wore plain steel chain mail and was unremarkable in almost every way, except in her hand shone a fierce white blade. In the center of the blade shone a blinding jewel.

"I seek an audience with your Avatar, if you would allow me," requested the maiden.

"I am the Avatar, and if it is sanctuary you seek then you need not politely ask for such things, my lady." gestured a distinguished looking Chongun.

"No not sanctuary, vengeance against all the wrongs committed by my country. I seek to strike down the army Da-Li has corrupted with his false promises. I seek to protect the people of the world from such tyranny, and hope that by shedding their blood tonight, I can bring an end to this war."

"A rather large goal, and one that I am sure we all share with you. However, we have neither the resources or the people to mount any kind of offensive at this point."

"We can not prolong this war anymore then it has already. I know you are aware we can not win in our current condition, and waiting will not improve things anymore. You are simply prolonging your warriors' suffering and providing false hope to the people relying on you."

The Avatar's reaction impressed the woman, as he showed no anger at all about her comments. "You are right, of course, and I suppose we all know it to be true. However, bowing down and accepting defeat has never been our way, and we have sought many quick methods to end this."

The girl laughed, and eleven other blades began to shine behind her slowly, revealing eleven other warriors - five women and six men. "I think I may be able to provide such a method."

Soon, Magistrates of the Chonunate were sent across the land to meet with rulers of several nations. Promises of a swift victory with minimal loss enabled even the greatest enemy nations to create alliances under the Chongunate. The twelve warriors who appeared before the Chongunate quickly distinguished themselves as not only fierce fighters, but also as cunning strategists. They were declared the twelve heavenly generals for the miracles they preformed in battle. They also proved to be masters of medicine, saving many soldiers from infected wounds. Their white blades were able to easily cut through the strongest armor and slice other, lesser weapons in two.

In one month, Shinshi's forces were pushed back to Shinshi's original boundaries before the war. Gone was the outstanding morale that the Shinshi forces bore from earlier victories. Soldiers began to defect from the once mighty army, further dwindling their forces. Then, to the surprise of all other combatants, an edict was handed down from the Chongunate and the twelve heavenly generals. Shinshi, on the verge of defeat, was still a force not to be ignored, yet victory was proclaimed.

The other nations were outraged by this decision and began to advance further into the kingdom of Shinshi. Fearing the destruction of their kingdom, the people of Shinshi revolted, overthrowing Da-Li. Even that did not satisfy the thirst for vengeance in the invading army. The Chongunate, unable to stand for the destruction of Shinshi, stood against the very army it had created, and was able to stop their advance. Slowly, the army began to give in, and the strong bind holding the many different nations together began to weaken.

Eventually, all the kingdoms gave up their onslaught, leaving Shinshi to recover. The blood of the former emperor Da-Li was called for by the people. Despite the anger many Chonguns felt against the man, they stood up for him and protected him from harm, offering him sanctuary in their Sodo. Da-Li brushed aside the offer and choose to exile himself from the kingdom he once claimed to love. What became off him there-after is unknown.

Shortly after the exile of Da-Li, the twelve heavenly generals visited the Sodo once again. With them they carried their mighty weapons - not in one hand, but in two outstretched ones. Each general knelt before one of the eleven magistrates and the Avatar, offering their mighty sword to them.

"These weapons are called Shinsho. There is nothing holy about them as the rumors we have heard seem to suggest. However, only the strongest and most dedicated warrior can wield them. They are not unique, more can be made but only if you possess the will and fortitude to go through the strenuous forging process."

The Chongun's gratefully excepted each Shinsho. The general who knelt before the Avatar stood up and began to whisper in his ear. She told him how the blades could be forged, and what trials would be necessary to prove one's worth to wield one.

Silently, the generals turned away from the Chongunate and walked outside the Sodo. A fine mist began to spread, fully encompassing the generals and then just as quickly as it came it dissipated leaving no trace of the generals behind.

Author: PyroAce