Hiro Saki
Hiro Saki: The Oni of Steel
b. 1562- d. 1593 / rebirth. 1593Origin
A Poor Blacksmith Stumbles upon powerful Magic
A blacksmith's apprentice with no noble birth, Hiro Saki, stumbled upon an entrance into the dwarven megastructure and came across dwarven automata and books about the creation of mechanical protectors. Hiro wondered what it would be like to be a machine. He began studying the dwarven artifices and eventually learned a fledgling of the written dwarven tongue. Years passed until he finally built himself an automata of his own style. It looked like steel samurai that stood 10 feet tall. The leaders of prefecture, Clan Ambo, and Jito Ambo Shu eventually found him and marveled at his craftsmanship, and put him to work building the Clans Armor and Weaponry, but Shu Ambo, the head of the clan, found out about Hiro’s research into soul transfer and did not approve of the tampering of ancient magics that held such awesome and amoral power.
The Great Fire of 1590
In 1590, lightning struck their pagoda to the Five Buddhas and the village caught fire. Thousands perished in the fire: a third of the population. Hiro Saki took this as a sign that this life is to be treasured, no matter the illusion the Samsara seems to represent.
Ethical Conflict with the Jito and The Soran Civil War 1593-1594
Shu demanded Hiro dismantle his magnum opus, but when Hiro refused, Shu had him killed. Maybe it was his studying of the dwarven magic, maybe it was sheer force of will, but Hiro's soul reincarnated in the giant samurai automata. The eyes from behind the mempo (mask) shone pure white. Hiro had somehow avoided the river of forgetfulness in his reincarnation and came to Shu’s bedchamber as he slept, now a metal monstrosity. He told Shu that he would not kill him if he agreed to let him be Jito. Shu, terrified, but full of pride laughed at him as a katana blade (Kage's Wrath) the size of a large dog removed Shu's head.
Hiro took over the Clan through bloodshed and put his own family as the rulers of the prefecture: Many of the other Clans did not support the transition and broke off. Hiro needed to punish the defectors and show the other Clans that he was not to be trifled with: Thus the Soran Civil War began. Of the four main original clans: Nagao, Ambo, Takahashi, and Oe, the second most influential was Takahashi. Takahashi Kazan was the leader of the clan and defected, along with clan Nagao, against the rule of Hiro Saki. The Civil war was bloody and hard-fought, but only lasted a few years.
Some believe that the souls of Kazan and Shu were devoured by Hiro, some think they are trapped in immortal mechanical bodies, and some think they simply reincarnated. The Takahashi Clan became less powerful, but Hiro, decided to spare the clan and offered the 8 year old son of Kazan: Kenji to lead the clan under Hiro’s guidance. Kenji accepted and grew up to believe his father a dishonorable traitor. Hiro destroyed Clan Nagao almost entirely except for the matriarch Asaji Nagao, who mourned her family and fled Sora.
The First Forged: 1594
In the aftermath of the Civil War, Hiro resumed his work and made his first batch of Forged from the mortally wounded on his side. He collected the souls of those that died opposing him, somehow fueling his own magic. The first batch of the Forged were created by Hiro’s own metallic hand. His first creation: a Ronin by the name of Kenshin that he hired to join his cause. He made Kenshin a warforged machine and granted him eternal life and the position of Samurai for Clan Saki.
Hiro's Rise to Shogun
Shogun Yamato, fearing the power of Hiro Saki and his magics, offered Hiro the position of Jito to Sora. Having secured himself as sovereign over the land and knowing the shogun would not dare overstep, he agreed to the terms the Shogun set for a few years, but in 1605, upon the completion of his device to crate more forged soldiers, he demanded that Yamato forfeit the title of Shogun. Yamato had no choice but to agree and he became a monk on one of his islands, making Sora the seat of power of all the islands in Taiyoshima.
Eden's Threshold
Hiro's main focus was the continued work of making eternal life and so he designed and built a massive bridge that automating his forging of souls into new mechanical bodies. Hiro made many Ronin who had fallen in battle his personal gaurd, but wanted to expedite the long and arduous process of transferring a soul. The bridge achieved his goal and he finished it in 1605 CR.
Kenshin's Betrayal
In 1742, the first forged by the hands of Hiro, the Samurai Kenshin, who had loyally served at Hiro Saki's side for years, became disillusioned with the concept of eternal life. He plotted unsuccessfully to shut down Eden's Threshold. Caught by Hiro Saki, he was sentenced to a 20-year exile in Crecas, where, to redeem himself in the shogun's eyes, he must gather intelligence on the proceedings of foreign lands before being allowed to return to Sora.
Current Status
Ruling the Shogunate of the Dawn
Current Location
Date of Birth
6th of Refuse, 1562
Year of Birth
6562 CR
-4818 Years old
Family
Children
Height
10ft
Belief/Deity
Satya & Kiyoshism
Founded Settlements
Ruled Locations
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