Shinzukana Michi

Player: Sarah | Race: Wood Elf | Class: Rogue (Inquisitive)

Spotify playlist

At first glance, Shinzukana (Shinzu to her friends and family) can be intimidating, this is cultivated due to her distrust of other races. She is approximately 6ft tall and slender, with auburn/copper coloured hair usually tied in a long plait. Her skin is a coppery colour common to wood elves, and unlike humans and other races, blushes green when embarrassed or out of her comfort zone. Her eyes however are a vivid green and carry an air of watchfulness leaving people to feel that she can see when they are hiding something.

She carries her Tora-gun armor in her pack, which while being too visible to often wear in a city, she cannot part with and has often come in useful. This is a dark green tunic and sleeves that seem to appear brown when moved. It is a thin, flexible leather but it is strong due to elf craftsmanship. The colours appear to flow and move into each other as if it was alive and the eye struggles to focus on it in a beautiful mirage effect. A bronze fabric sash, which can also be used as a bandage or sling, goes around the waist held in place by a tiger head clasp in bronze.

Born to Qiang Feng, general of the Tora-gun, and Nintai, an elder of the Rasa clan, Shinzu grew up in a close knit, nomadic community within Lockbox, always aware of her responsibility to her people and to the forest.

As soon as she was old enough, she entered training for the Tora-gun (Tiger army). This force is skilled in stealth and defense to protect the community from the semi-sentient forest they live in, and also to protect the forest from outsiders. This is a noble task and a worthwhile one in exchange for the isolation and security that Lockbox offers.

Shinzu completed the training at 100 years old, beating the next best candidate Jiran by a year. Shinzu excelled in both the long and short bow, as well as bladed weapons and her skill at acrobatics and stealth enables her to disappear into the forest at will. This achievement made her family incredibly proud and she chose her adult name to reflect this, Shinzukana Michi, The Silent Path. Shinzu spent the next 50 years protecting her people and developing her skills.

Five years ago, this idyllic lifestyle was rocked when an unknown and unseen intruder managed to pass through the forest and the clan's defenses and stole artifacts from the clan. Much of what was taken was money or precious objects kept only for trade if required, not valued terribly highly by the clan and easily replaced. They also stole the Rekishi, a text containing the history of her people, the forest, the Great Move, when Lockbox split from Orchestra, and a great famine that occurred over a 1000 years ago. Since the text was stolen, the forest has become more clingy and quick to anger. Attacks from the Torn Veil are more fierce and there are more demons rushing the forest attempting to gain entry.

The Rekishi is more precious than anything else to the wood elves and volunteers were sought to travel outside of the forest to recover it, at any price. Only five people volunteered; Kasia, Hito, Rimano, Tiaki and Shinzu. After 2 years searching for the Rekishi, the trail lead Shinzu to The Thousand Houses where the trail went cold.

Having not heard from or about any of the other four volunteers for some time, Shinzu assumed that they had either died during the search or returned home empty handed, she later learned that this was true for Kasia and Hito, however Rimano and Tiaki remain lost, and resolved never to give up herself.

Determined to not return home until she had the Rekishi, she remained in Thousand using the skills learned during her training to uncover potential leads or information on the whereabouts of the text or the person who stole it. Her skills in acrobatics and stealth have been surprisingly useful in a city, and her willingness to use methods that are not always completely legal due to the importance of her task has gained her contacts in the criminal underworld. It is worth noting that while her actions may not always be strictly legal in the eyes of Thousand, they are moral and there are lines you don't cross.

These methods have gained her a bit of a reputation within the city, even if they are not sure who exactly she is, and she has always managed to stay below a level where she might actually be in danger from the law. She has been arrested once for "looking shifty" and found the experience of being lock up so unpleasant that she decided to be not locked up again.

This experience however did lead her to meet the group of people she is currently travelling with. Working with these people gives her a sense of purpose as their journey is one to protect the whole plane of existence, including Lockbox. Initially Shinzu decided to travel with the group as a way to escape confinement and pass the time until she can pick up the Rekishi's trail again, however as she grew to know them, she decided to make an exception and generally trust them despite her distrust of other races.

She feels good to be part of a team again, to know people have her back as she has theirs, almost like the Tora-gun although not as controlled or highly trained, and the longer time goes on, the more she feels that this journey, and the one to find the Rekishi are heading in the same direction.

Trivia:

Shinzu's given childhood name was Tanoshi Michi (the joyful path)

She hates being indoors and will always be near an open window if possible. She has been know to climb out the window without the group noticing

Shinzu will avoid fire and underground if possible, but she is not afraid of entering any space if her journey demands it or if someone needs help

Shinzu values freedom and the ability to choose your own direction.

Shinzu also currently owns a chicken who releases dry ice from under its wings. It is currently living in Tera's basement

Contacts:

Members of the Tora Clan of Lockbox Forest:

Qiang Feng (Forceful wind) - Shinzu's Mother, general of the Tora-gun. She is tall like Shinzu but has brown hair and Hazel eyes. She can come across as serious due to her responsibilities to the tribe, but has a fun loving side and find joy in playing harmless pranks on her family

Khanzi - clan elder, Khanzi is wise, and has pale tattoos on their body

Lauka - Khanzi's grand-daughter, a druid and believed to be the reincarnation of Lostrian, one of the original Elves of Lockbox

Kaisa - one of the five volunteers who left Lockbox in search of the Rekishi, she found Hito's body and brought him home

Hito (deceased) - one of the five volunteers who left Lockbox in search of the Rekishi, he was killed in Thousand

Rimano and Tiaki (missing) - the last two volunteers to leave Lockbox, their fate is unknown, considered lost.

Jidan - fellow member of the Tora-gun, knows the forest and is very skilled, but he knows it, bit of a dick. He was always second to Shinzu in both skill and favour and is resentful of this. Shinzu cannot resist pointing this out whenever they are together.

Other contacts in Lockbox Forest:

Nintai - Shinzu's father, he is the Elder for the Rasa clan within Lockbox

Gear:

Rule of Rose

Longbow, uncommon, requires attunement.

A tall longbow made of dark, seemingly living wood and intertwined with thornless vines. At the bottom of the bow is a bright red rose in full bloom.
Effects:

• This bow and any arrows fired from it count as magical
• After attunement, the wielder of this bow can cast the Druidcraft cantrip at will
• The rose at the base of this longbow holds a ruby worth 50 gp at its centre, which can be harvested with no ill effects. The rose grows a new similarly-valued ruby every 1d4 weeks.

Scrap of Ceronde's Mantle

Cloak, rare, requires attunement.

This scrap of nereid mantle is made of a fine purple-coloured silk, and ripples like water at the slightest movement.
Ceronde will suffer ill effects if this shroud is sold, lost or destroyed
Effects:

• The innate magic of this mantle allows the wearer to cast the Shape Water cantrip at will, and the Speak to Animals spell once per long rest.
• The wearer can communicate telepathically with Ceronde for up to ten minutes once per long rest so long as both parties are on the same plane of existence

Thieves' Tools +1

Item, uncommon, does not require attunement.
A set of metal thieves' tools made by Sekket as a gift for Shinzu. There is nothing outwardly remarkable about this set, but it is very well made.
Effects:

• Add +1 to any thieves' tools roll

Shinzu's Tora Armour

Rule of Rose

Scrap of Ceronde's Mantle