Masahiro the Bell Monk

<i>‘If I must slay the foes of heaven for ten thousand years to quieten my ghosts, I shall. If each day of those ten thousand years were itself ten thousand years, I would struggle on throughout those eons. And if not even an eternity of righteousness can save me, then, hopeless, I will still fight forever.’ – Masahiro the Bell Monk</i> * Masahiro was known as a healer, philosopher, and martial artist, devoted to protecting Valley Uplifted to the Heavens, a famous monastery located in a secluded Yakai vale. Seven times a day, Masahiro struck the monastic bells with his great club, announcing times for prayer, eating, exercise, and study. He mentored many pupils and was acclaimed for the perfect harmony between his powerful body and wise mind. His calm, friendly demeanor masked terrible secrets and a grim past, however. Masahiro was once Mazaka, one of the elite Pale Mask Corps of the Mikage Lord Takana. Of all the hardened killers amongst these terror troops, Mazaka was perhaps the most vicious and dedicated. He and his men would dismember half a village suspected of harboring rebels and force the other half to parade around the outskirts of town bearing their loved ones’ limbs attached to long poles, weeping and wailing as blood dripped onto them. This served to draw out rebels from nearby hills and forests. The frenzied, grieving attackers were easy prey for the Bloodless Demons. Takana was pleased by Mazaka’s depravity, and offered to make Mazaka a nobleman under his vassalage, and the chance to ascend to Demonhood. But the cruel aristocrat demanded something in return: Mazaka’s children. His sons would become Takana’s eunuchs and his daughters Mikage concubines. Mazaka had been willing to oppress and slaughter thousands of strangers, but the prospect of his own progeny being ripped from him awakened him to the evil of the Mikage. When he refused, and threatened to leave the Corps, he was attacked without parley nor quarter. His Pale Mask was damaged – a grave disgrace, were he still loyal to that cause – and he barely escaped with his life. He kept his shattered mask, to match his broken soul, to remind him always of his sins, and to hide a face whose reflection he could not bear to see. His misery was only compounded when he discovered that his family, for whom he had sacrificed everything, had been unable to escape Takana’s wrath. Takana’s minions had slain them all by the time Mazaka reached his home. Mazaka traveled to Valley Uplifted to the Heavens, having heard it was a place of rebirth and refinement. He was wracked with grief, guilt, and self-loathing, and only with the help of the monastery’s mystics could he hope to achieve inner peace. He gave his name as Masahiro, and became Masahiro the Bell Monk, a polar opposite of who and what he was before. Over many years, Masahiro was so thoroughly reformed that the <color=#774418>Arbiter</color> took note of his moral transformation. Before he became too old to fight, she asked him to serve her in a Shard, and told him that to do so would put true redemption within his grasp. Masahiro himself is not convinced that even an eternity of holy service will cleanse his soul, but he will struggle forever, regardless.