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About Aiko

Aiko Tengen was born the daughter of a semi-wealthy family in Echigo, a sub-province of Minkai, located in far-away Tian Xai. The family was borderline nobility, made strong and semi-influential over a few generations by the wealth they earned from their import and export business. Over time, business expanded to the point of being near-dominant, and soon the local peasantry became wholly dependent upon the Tengen family, at which point the regional Daimyo recognized the family’s ascendance into power and granted titles of “landholder” and “Samurai” (in service of the Daimyo, of course). Such minor nobility also required the acquisition of Samurai Retainers and the ability to raise an armed militia in time of war.

Echigo province was a male-dominated society, with family legacies and wealth handed down from father to eldest son. Sons were not only expected to carry on the family nobility, but they were to be trained as warrior leaders; to rule over the peasantry with strong personality and martial pageantry, and to lead men into combat when the Daimyo’s army marched to war.

Unfortunately for the Tengen family, Aiko was an only child, and try as they might, they could not produce a male heir. As Aiko reached her fifth birthday, her parents came to realize they might never have a son. Rather than lose the family fortune and legacy, they decided to train Aiko as if she were a male heir. This was breaking tradition, of course, but if she could be made as strong as any samurai in the land, then the legacy might be kept intact- by force of arms if necessary. And so her training began.

Rather than learn dance, song, and musical instrument, she learned Katana, Naginata, and Bow. She learned the fine arts of Iaijutsu; a killing stroke whilst merely drawing a sword. In the world of well-trained samurai, she was fast becoming a Sword Saint. But not only did she learn how to kill, she also had to learn the family business and keep it strong. By the time she was 17, she could disembowel several foes at once or negotiate a trade agreement with equal diplomatic skill.

As she stood on the threshold of adulthood and inheriting the family business, her parents suddenly birthed a son; a true male heir. Immediately all focus was on the baby boy, and Aiko was left with no value, no standing. Rightfully so, her parents feared resentment and rebellion- murdering one’s siblings to gain power and position was all too common in the lands of Tian Xai- and they had to act quickly before Aiko would strike her brother down and take the family business by force.

In less than a fortnight, Aiko was stripped of all titles and sent away to a hastily arranged marriage with some lesser noble in some distant, obscure province. Rather than face such humiliation and poverty, Aiko quietly gathered up her weapons, armor, and other belongings and stole away into the night, never to return.

For the next two years, she wandered aimlessly throughout much of Tian Xai, completely disillusioned with family, culture, and tradition. However, the way of the samurai sword saint was deeply ingrained within her and she felt unfulfilled. She still needed purpose, a calling, and so she kept on searching for it. Unfortunately, her travels only exposed her to other male-dominated societies, and she felt the sting of her family’s humiliation over and over again.

One fateful day, however, she came across some bandits who were assaulting a carriage traveling along a road, and she intervened. Faced with a well-armed and trained samurai, the bandits quickly fled. Impressed with her martial display and bravery, the rider of the coach introduced himself as a representative of the Lantern Lodge- a faction that was quickly establishing a foothold in a great city on the other side of the world called Absalom. Some time was spent explaining the faction’s goals and how Aiko’s skills as a Samurai and a Pathfinder might be of great value, but the really interesting part to Aiko was the fact that the faction was led by a powerful woman. Combined with her sense of adventure, her diplomatic and business training, and the need to serve a higher purpose, Aiko readily agreed to go to Absalom.

At the age of 19, Aiko stepped off the boat and took her first steps into Absalom.