The Skies Above Sekigahara

Something even the Dynasty weeps of...
The Sengoku Jidai (Warring States Era) is known as one of the bloodiest periods in human history, unfolding on a staggering scale and incurring losses that would make the American Civil War look like a pillow fight set to J-Pop. Capitalizing on such widespread suffering, Emperor Talpa of the evil Dynasty attempted to return to the Mortal Realm, with four of the Nine Armors under his thrall as his new Dark Warlords. Opposing him were members of prominent noble clans and bearers of the other five Armors: the first to bear the name Ronin Warrior. Years before opposing armies led by Mitsunari Ishida and Ieyasu Tokugawa would meet at the decisive Battle of Sekigahara, an event occurred in the skies above Japan that nearly brought humanity to its knees. Urged by Mardrena Lockehart-the first Lady Ronin of Typhoon-to set aside their differences to unite against a common foe, the Nine led by Hai-Riyo the Sun Emperor managed to drive the Dread Enemy from the heavens at great cost. Fearing damage caused by widespread panic-and not one to be upstaged by the heroics of Hariel-Tokugawa would later embark on a brutal campaign of censorship to scour the valiant deeds of the Nine from memory, his suppression so complete, not even the descendants of those first Ronin Warriors knew what happened. Only those who were there personally and still live remember the haunting encounter...

Note:

This is an alternate history/speculative fiction take on real-life events and figures that coincide with events loosely mentioned in the RWOAS and OVA Message. Thangien history records details differently but this comes from the perspective of humans in the past on Earth.

The Conflict

Prelude

Powerful feudal lords, or daimyo had jockeyed for supremacy for centuries with the coveted title of shogun and the unification of Japan as their prize. Victories secured with a hefty price of blood brought fleeting periods of relative peace and security only for the ruling lord to perish or be supplanted and the cycle begin once more. The blood-soaked ground was as sweet nectar for the Emperor of the Nether Realm, allowing him to entice four Armor Heirs to his side, twisting the Four Seasonals into the Dark Warlords. But as a flame attracts moths, so too did the years of upheaval draw a mysterious Power from the Heavens. As tensions between former allies threatened to explode among the nobility and Talpa's generals wreaked havoc across the land, the skies above the plains began to darken from something other than thunderclouds...

TotalitaryCityship1b.jpg

Great Structures Like Upended Cities by Mardrena

Made in Blender

Deployment

Most battles during this era took place on horseback or on foot with a handful of naval engagements. Aside from the Armor Bearers, the rank-and-file of the clans found themselves terribly outmatched by swarms of creatures they could only perceive as demons.

Battlefield

A wide plain nestled within looming mountains and home to a rather unassuming village of little note at the time.

Conditions

Dark overcast, heavy dust in the air, dry soil, hard pack.

The Engagement

Eye-Witness Testimony: Former Dark Warlords

"Battle raged across the land for days on end, neither side ready to back down…” Sehkmet frowned and glanced at Anubis, who nodded solemnly. Sehkmet sucked air in through his teeth and turned his gaze to the table. “The sky seemed to burn and a sound like that of a dry wind tearing through a paper wall made combatants on both sides pause. …and then they came… They rained from the heavens like the tips of arrows piercing the clouds. They flew of their own accord, arcing and diving-”
“You’ve seen them! The ones from my dream! You’ve fought them!” Cye exclaimed and jumped to his feet. “I suspected as much when I saw the look on your face…” he said to Anubis.
“I couldn’t confirm it until now, but given recent events…yes…I do believe the foe we fought back then and the Enemy we expect to face in the End Tide are one and the same.”
“We’ve lived in the Mortal Realm long enough to get a grasp for modern concepts of science fiction and we strongly believe that they were indeed aliens,” Dais commented.
“They kept shouting at us in our own tongue, about how we were ‘flawed’ and that they wanted to ‘correct the mistakes of the One’,” Sehkmet added, shaking his head in disgust.
“Wait wait wait…if such a large scale attack occurred, how come there’s no written record of it? I’ve never heard of extraterrestrial sightings from that era, even in regional legends,” Sage argued. Anubis fixed him with a rueful glance.
“Sage…the reason you don’t read about this in history books or even wives tales is because aside from myself and the other Armor Bearers,” Anubis gestured to Dais, Sehkmet, and Cale. “No other mortals survived the battle. The Enemy attacked on a scale never before seen. Not only were there the sky-borne vessels to contend with, but great structures like upended cities in the heavens. As armies from both realms withered away, only the Armor Bearers held fast."

— Foes From Another World Ch. 14

The Armor of Gea-or World Armor-is used for the first time, allowing Hai-riyo to lay waste to the Enemy in the Heavens, but its chaotic power and interference from a unknown party cause him to lose control and attack his own forces, forcing Anubis to put him down to protect the other Armor Bearers. With the Sun Emperor dead, the surviving daimyo are quick to capitalize on the power vacuum.

Outcome

Talpa recalls the Dark Warlords to the Nether Realm and Mardrena Lockehart takes to wandering the countryside alone. Kaosu the Ancient One-the only human to have made contact with the leader of the Thangien war host-sets to forming the Mystic Alliance to create safeguards against both the Dynasty and the return of the Enemy. The other Five return to their respective clans to resume their roles in history. Personal honor prevents them from using their Armors against fellow Men to sway battles in their favor.

Aftermath

Following the Battle of Sekigahara, Tokugawa secures the shogunate but demands retainers swear an oath of silence regarding the attackers from the Heavens. The Mouri clan chafes at first but eventually acquiesces and the Date clan tentatively agrees. The foreign-born Bearer of Hardrock retires from participation in combat to establish his family. Breaking with his brother and unwilling to let Hai-riyo's sacrifice be forgotten, Yukimura Sanada refuses and is ultimately run to ground at the Siege of Osaka. The Hashiba clan is forced into hiding to avoid being exterminated. Hai-riyo's surviving children are secretly adopted into the Sanada clan under Yukimura's brother Nobuyuki and eventually absorbed into the bloodline.
Tokugawa considers sending assassins after Mardrena Lockehart but because she is a Westerner, he ultimately deems her a negligible threat and focuses on governing the nation. Kaosu largely remains under the radar, eventually traveling abroad to other lands to establish contact with other mystics. Because Tokugawa's decree carries the weight of divine right, his followers and descendants eagerly enforce it...gleefully and brutally.

“There a particular reason you’re against this expedition? Besides the obvious you being one of the few living survivors of an attempted invasion by a powerful alien civilization,” Ryo asked as he seated himself next to Anubis. The Elder Ronin turned his soup cup from side to side.
“No good can come from that armor. It brought more grief than joy, and those that should have been grateful for surviving the Enemy’s onslaught were killed by their very savior…”
“Anubis…If I didn’t know any better…I’d say you look afraid.”
“Afraid? No, Ryo. I am not afraid, I am terrified! I know what that armor is capable of.”
“Both your account and Cye’s vision indicate these guys have it in for us…”
“Ryo, having several tons of brick and mortar dumped on your head would make you see anything. How can we be so sure ‘they’ are even still alive? For all we know, Gea’s power could have scoured them clean from the far reaches of the heavens!”
“And what if it didn’t? What if they survived? What if all those endless hordes you fought were just the tip of the iceberg? Think about it Anubis; you and the others put up the fight of your life. You gave it everything you had. You don’t think that would’ve told the Enemy ‘hey, these guys are serious business. We gotta take a different approach with them’.”
“We’ve spent so long relying on the strength of our bodies and spirits, I am loathe to find ourselves dependent on such an armor. I saw what happened to Hariel…to suffer such a fate…I would not wish it upon anyone,” Anubis said sadly before taking a sip of his soup.

— Foes From Another World Ch. 14

Historical Significance

The murals seen briefly in the Temple in Jewel Lake in OAS Episode 33 "In Search of Secret Treasures" offer one of the rare visual accounts of what happened, only the artists interpreted the alien attackers as yokai such as demonic oni featured in classical Japanese mythology. It managed to avoid Tokugawa's purge thanks in large part to its location as well as the extremely powerful mystical wards established by Kaosu.
Spoiler Warning: Planned Content!
God Wars

"Check it out, the gallery over there has a special exhibit going on. Maybe we can swing by on the way home," Brianna suggested. Cye glanced across the street and spotted the art museum advertising rare classical paintings. His breath caught in his throat when he spotted a familiar figure: a young girl with short red hair tied up in a bushy ponytail and brilliant green eyes. She wore somewhat antiquated attire but didn't seem to draw any attention from passersby. She waved energetically at Cye, beckoning him to join her across the street.
"Um...Brit, you go on ahead. I'll meet up with you later. I've got something to check out real quick..." Cye assured and patted her on the shoulder before heading for the crosswalk. Brianna looked puzzled but continued on her way, trusting his actions. The little girl waited patiently as Cye made his way towards her. "How can you-?"
"I can appear any time I choose, it is no great effort on my part," the little girl said matter-of-factly and turned and walked inside the gallery. "Normally it would go against my principles to intervene like this, but I believe this warrants your attention." Cye glanced from side to side as patrons lingered infront of pieces, blissfully appraising them. "Don't worry, they can't see me," Suzunagi assured. "I thought some of these works lost long ago, but it seems one of my father's former partners managed to leave the country with them safely in his possession. In any other situation I would be offended that someone try to pass off Father's pieces as his own, but in our case it works out for the best since they survived intact."
Cye didn't know how to react when they came to stop infront of a large oil painting nestled in an ornate gilded frame. The style looked haphazard, almost slapdash as if the artist rushed to set to canvas the images consuming his mind. The subject seemed straightforward enough: a woman cradling a man in her lap, only the two of them wore Armor. Fiery hair hung down the back of the woman and she caressed the young man's face wistfully, magenta armor covering most of her body. The man clad in red armor lay limply, either unconscious or expired, a sword resting on the ground a few inches away and what looked like a helmet further behind them.

SkiesAboveSekigaharab.jpg

Murdina's Grief by Mardrena

Original color pencil drawing with paint.net oil painting filter

Cye stared at the painting, eyes widening in dawning shock as he spotted what looked like a severed metallic arm lying off to the side, fingers tipped with razor-sharp claws. The artist seemed to go out of his way to depict the puddle of bright bluish fluid dribbling from the limb. Further behind the two figures lay a dismembered torso trailing wires and cables in a pool of the same bright bluish fluid. Cye's gaze strayed to the upper corner of the canvas.
It looked immense, like a disc, or an upended city. It trailed smoke and fire as it sank towards the horizon, filling the sky in its death throes. What...what am I looking at here? Cye thought, bewildered.

"If that idiot Tokugawa hadn't been so obsessed with his 'legacy' and his 'rule', Humanity might've been better prepared for the future, and maybe I wouldn't have been forced to recreate the Five Armors in the first place! But I digress. This is old history. You know the Enemy you'll face, just not when. This next piece deals with a subject far more immediately pressing," Suzunagi sniffed and walked further away to another large painting. Cye moved to follow and glanced back at the first painting. The woman had to be Mardrena Lockehart, no mistaking it with the color and design of the Armor...but who was the man in red with the long black braid? It couldn't be Yukimura Sanada...was that Hariel in his last moments?
"Father could have been a powerful ally and advisor to the shogun, but the Tokugawa clan believed the average person couldn't handle such knowledge. Tokugawa viewed himself the 'stern, wise parent' and common Men as little more than children that needed to be 'scolded and protected'. He elevated himself to near sainthood, but his ignorance and that of his progeny might have caused incalculable damage to humanity. At least the Date clan had their heads screwed on right and agreed to help Father's associate escape with his legacy intact. That brings us to this..." Suzunagi came to a stop infront of the painting.
"I used to puzzle over this piece...why did Father put so much detail into it and not the other? What was the subject matter? Even with his same gift of foresight, the meaning escaped me, but given what we've since learned about your Outworlder allies, it's starting to make sense..." Suzunagi's young face wrinkled in a pout. Cye walked up behind her and gazed up at the canvas, nearly as tall as he. It reminded Cye of pictures he'd seen of the Last Judgement by Michelangelo.
There was no mistaking the three figures in the foreground: Roth, Thangien Goddess of Victory, Witheren, Thangien Goddess of Righteous War, and Eyurodin, Thangien Goddess of the Forge. In the background Cye could see the collapsed ceiling of a colossal structure: Thananagreia, the Citadel-Chapel in Bainshaebo. Sunlight spilled through the opening, and what looked like a cadre of demons and dragons flooded into the interior. Females clad in strange gilded armor with wings of cloth and metal rose up to intercept.
Witheren and Eyurodin stood to either side of Roth, weapons raised in defiance. Roth herself held her sword drawn and shoulders squared, high pearl-white shoulder crests framing her silvery hair. In the center of the painting loomed an immense shape like the sinuous neck of a dragon or a towering standing figure. Its body shone faint blue with a barely discernible grid of white lines covering the surface.
"What...what is this? How-?" Cye stammered.
"Y...Y...Your Father was a man of incredible foresight for such an event to have touched his mind so..." The two whirled around when the heard the voice: a soft triple-echo melding into a rumbling boom. Instead of her divine attire, she wore a padded blue ski jacket with white stripes over the shoulders and blue thermal pants tucked into yellow hiking boots. Yellow woolen gloves covered her hands, which hung lazily in the pockets of the jacket. Despite her civilian attire, she could not disguise her eyes: Black irises and steel-gray pupils. Suzunagi gazed up at the tall Geod warily. Roth tilted her head down at her and smirked. "Come now, dear child. There is no need for animosity between us." Cye couldn't help but make a face upon hearing Suzunagi being called a "child" despite being hundreds of years old, but then again Roth likely had her beat by several thousand years...
"So, you know what all this is about?" Cye queried and pointed at the painting. Roth stepped past them and reached forward, placing her hand on the canvas.
"I...I...I do..." she muttered. "Gigamatamur...This is no doubt a sign that the time draws nigh, that I be called to face my ancient foe, the author of atrocities, the orchestrator of Geodo's destruction. This Doom is mine to face..."
"Hey! Lady! No touching the exhibits!!" A security guard rushed over, hand raised in warning as he reacted to Roth but ignored Suzunagi. Roth flicked him a glance and he froze in fright.
Patrons watched in confusion as the guard sat perched on a stanchion nimbly, scratching his head and making sounds like a monkey.
"There is something to be said about the capriciousness of gods..." Suzunagi commented.
"Please...if I were really in a dour mood...I would have turned him into a monkey instead of making him act like one," Roth grumbled.

Legacy

Even though the Ancient was mostly successful in his efforts with the Three Sacred Treasures, the AnimArmors, the Six Swords, and the Dekahedron, humanity at large went on through the centuries unaware of their narrow brush with an extraterrestrial invasion. Hai-riyo/Hariel was relegated to an obscure myth and even the guardian families of the Five Elemental Armors forgot about the nightmare their ancestors fought.

In Literature

Suzunagi's father would attempt to revive the event, incorporating it into his play "Legend of the Five Warriors" under the guise of a whimsical portrayal of mystical armors. When the shogunate caught wind of the play, they quickly descended upon the troupe, laying waste to the sophisticated stage and slaughtering much of the personnel, resulting in the death of Suzunagi and her mother. Her father was executed for treason under the pretense that he attempted to stoke fear of the unknown to the populace. Appalled by the shogunate's heavyhandedness, the Date clan used their naval resources to secret survivors of the troupe out of the country where they found refuge in Europe, senior members absconding with intact pieces of art portraying the event as well as other curious images.

Technological Advancement

Even though human armies on the ground had access to early firearms, the rank-and-file fared poorly against Totalitary drones, their lacquered armor being cut to pieces by razor sharp claws and their iconic folded steel swords breaking against the metallic-armored demons. Hai-riyo used the Armor of Gea to completely destroy any wreckage of the city-ships themselves, ensuring no fragments would remain to be exploited. However, centuries later and completely unknown to either faction, a fragment of the first Thanged-Earth Transgalactic Gate's destroyed orbital ring would enter the atmosphere and detonate in the skies above Siberia, pancaking miles of forest causing the Tunguska Event.
Planned Content

It is while retrieving this fragment and realizing it is a relic of the Totalitary invasion that Ryo and Sage first meet Sarah Ann Goode, the bubbly xenohistorian who runs afoul of the Men-in-Black.

Murdina's Grief by Mardrena

“Come on Anubis, if you know what all this is about, spill it-” Ryo growled
“Don’t press me about it, Ryo!” Anubis snapped abruptly. Ryo blinked, startled by the desperate anger in his voice. “It’s something that even the Dynasty weeps of…” No one else spoke while Anubis seemed to struggle to collect himself. “As we are now…as we have been this past year…is not the first time Ronin Warrior and Dark Warlord have stood united…”
“But, you guys aren’t Dark Warlords anymore, so-” Kento quipped until a withering glare from Anubis made him cringe in his seat and gulp the rest of his words down.

— Foes From Another World Ch. 14

Conflict Type

Battle

Battlefield Type

Land

Start Date

Late 1500's (unknown)

Ending Date

Late 1500's (unknown)

Conflict Result

Pyrrhic Victory: Totalitary is routed but the Armor Bearers quickly disband, returning to their respective factions with humanity at large unaware of the attempted invasion.

Great Structures Like Upended Cities by Mardrena

“That was the first time ever that the Nine stood united alongside the Lady Ronin. Together we drove back the initial assault…and yet the Enemy’s numbers seemed without limit. They bent all their forces against us. Even the might of Inferno could at best keep them at bay."

— Foes From Another World Ch. 14