Jintoro

While the Darkness of Siroth roots in the soul of every Demonspawn, not all surrender themselves to it. One such Demonspawn is Jintoro. His father, Hintoro, was a mortal commander in the Mikage Autocracy armies, until the day he accepted Siroth as his lord and master and was elevated to Demonhood. Later he sired Jintoro, who grew up learning the way of the blade by his father’s side. Compared to many Demonspawn Mikage leaders, Hintoro was restrained, but suppressing the rebellion sweeping Yakai still required brutal measures. Jintoro witnessed massed executions and torture, and while his father claimed that the rebels behaved no differently, and that allowing them to win would herald in chaos in Yakai, Jintoro could not throw off doubts in the Mikage regime which grew as he became older. Jintoro later joined the Mikage armies, serving in his father’s retinue and witnessing more brutalities. As they inflicted ever-greater atrocities, Hintoro privately expressed the beginnings of regret to Jintoro. His uncertainties continued to grow, until the Battle of the Western Track, a clash that changed the wavering course of both men. As Hintoro’s column advanced along the borders of the Mistwood, a Sylvan force ambushed them. Jintoro fought hard alongside his father, but could not save him from the flurry of Sylvan arrows that struck his body. With his dying breath, Hintoro implored his son not to waste his existence as he had done, but put some good back into the world. Initially however, Jintoro only wanted revenge. After the Sylvan melted back into the trees, the surviving Mikage retreated from the Mistwood’s border as swiftly as possible, but not Jintoro. He advanced deeper into the forest, hunting for those who killed his father. Exactly what transpired beneath the dark canopy is known only to Jintoro and the few Sylvan who escaped his jagged, crystalline blade – a cryomantic sword called Blood Freeze. All that is certain is that unearthly howls were heard echoing from the trees by the withdrawing Autocracy soldiers. Weeks later, long after he had been given up for dead, Jintoro re-emerged carrying the antlers and beast-skulls of the Sylvan he had slain. His rage dissipated, and brooding on his sire’s last words, Jintoro found he had no desire to rejoin the Mikage. He deserted, avoiding both the Autocracy and the rebels. Treated with fear and suspicion by the common folk due to his association with the Mikage and Demonic form, he lived as an outcast, until one day he came across a village being pillaged by Autocracy outriders. On a similar impulse to the one that had sent him into the Mistwood, Jintoro attacked and slew the soldiers, saving the villagers. At first the peasants treated Jintoro fearfully, recognizing that the cyan-fleshed warrior in the Mikage armor was a Demonspawn. He showed he meant no harm by surrendering his sword to them, an unprecedented act. Though he was not fully accepted, the people let him live in a shack on the edge of their village. Days later, when another band of Mikage raiders were spotted approaching, Jintoro requested his weapon back. Deciding it was worth the risk, the villagers did so, and he wiped out the attackers in short order. Convinced now of his good intentions, they permitted him to keep the blade. Soon, stories of the ‘Demon-Knight’ who fought to protect the common folk spread. Peasants from other hamlets in the war-ravaged area traveled to where he was staying, hoping to find safety from Mikage warbands. Jintoro had not intended to become a savior of the people, but it seemed a fitting way to pay back his family’s legacy of darkness. He formed those who were willing to join him into a band of warriors that fought steadfastly to defend common folk as Yakai descended further into chaos. It was only a matter of time before this unaligned element came to the attention of the rebellion. They sought out Jintoro, wary of his Demonic nature. Some leaders among the uprising recommended he be slain, especially those who noted the trophies taken from their Sylvan allies. Others sought to recruit him, but Jintoro stated bluntly that he would not take sides in the ongoing war, but would fight only to protect commoners. Unable to agree, and unwilling to make an enemy of the villages under Jintoro’s protection, the rebellion’s leadership chose to leave him be. After the Mikage’s destruction, an uneasy peace settled across Yakai, but for Jintoro it was fleeting. One morning, a number of villagers from the settlements he had sworn to protect were found riddled with Sylvan arrows. Soon, other people went missing. It was clear to Jintoro that the Sylvan had not forgotten the legacy of the Battle of Western Track. Realizing that his presence was making the villagers a target, the Demon-Knight of Yakai took up his sword and set out for the Mistwood, and a final reckoning with his fathers’ killers.