Ayuka's page

Yamanouchi Ayuka was originally from a rural area in Minkai. She comes from an environment where family was important and more so, family honor. Her grandparents were famers beholden to a lord who was fortunate enough to have his own samurais. Her grandfather, Yamanouchi Kenta, was working in the fields one day and heard a child yelling for help. He followed the sound and came upon a young boy struggling to keep his head above water in a small lake where their family often fished. Without hesitation, Kenta dove into the water and brought the child to shore. Turned out that the boy was one of the lord’s sons and as a reward, Kenta’s son was allowed to train with the lord’s samurais. This is how Ayuka’s father, Yamanouchi Katsu, became a samurai.

Ayuka grew up listening to tales of honor and bravery as told by her father during meal time. His stories of samurai as honorable defenders of their homeland and its people made Ayuka dream of becoming a samurai and fighting along with her father once she got older. If Ayuka’s mother had still been alive, Ayuka may have chosen another path in life but unfortunately Akiko had passed away when Ayuka was very young leaving the greatest influence in her life to be her father and grandfather. She spent a lot of time with her grandfather who now lived with them in his sunset years. He taught her how to fish, hunt, and even how to till the soil. As much as she loved her time with her grandfather, she planned on following in Katsu’s footsteps.

When Ayuka was a teenager, the lord that employed her father died and his oldest son inherited the land. Even though Nakamura Heikichi had been an honorable man, his son was not. Nakamura Shoichi began to treat his people more like slaves. He was also dishonest and began dealing with those who had questionable character. All of Shoichi’s actions were motivated by greed and his desire to align himself with those who promised him power. Ayuka was beginning her training as a samurai during this time. She knew that they were supposed to follow the order of the warrior which included protecting the life and lands of the lord with her life; however, the lord’s actions were making it harder to do so especially since he treated his people as he did. A few of the more experienced samurai, Ayuka’s father included, tried to counsel lord Shoichi but he refused to listen. After about a year of things deteriorating, the people who worked for the lord revolted and Ayuka and her father decided to help the people instead of protecting their lord. Katsu knew that this would be viewed as disgraceful regardless of how dishonorable their lord was acting and he didn’t want his daughter to be publicly disgraced. Therefore he sent his daughter away and told her that he would meet her in Shokuro. He told her that they couldn’t travel together because it would be easier to find them. Looking back on the situation, Ayuka knew she should have known what her father was planning especially when he gave her his katana for safe keeping. But she was young, trusting, and respected her father’s wishes and so she left for Shokuro expecting him to follow. Instead, Katsu made it known to Shoichi that he alone was responsible for helping the people in their revolt and committed seppuku.

News of Katsu’s death eventually reached Ayuka once she was in Shokuro and began asking about her father when he didn’t arrive as expected. It was in that moment that Ayuka questioned her choice to become a samurai because she had seen corruption in lord Shoichi and wasn’t sure she could pledge herself to another knowing that she may not align with his character. As she spent more time in Shokuro, she learned that embracing the way of the ronin allowed her to still remain a samurai without being beholden to a lord. This changed the direction of her life and in memory of all her father had done and taught her, one of her edicts was to protect the lives of those oppressed and marginalized by society who had no one to fight for them. The other edicts were similar to the order of the warrior, she just couldn’t be beholden to a lord after her experience in Minkai.

Once in Shokuro, she hoped to become part of Toriaka’s military to further her training. She knew that Toriaka was himself a ronin and believed him to be honorable based on the stories she had heard. Since she already had started her training as a samurai, she was readily accepted. In return for her training, she was expected to serve in the military for at least three years which she had no problems with considering she had nowhere else to go. As part of the military, everyone was taught a skill that would help the collective. Ayuka was assigned to learning how to craft and repair armor. The years passed quickly and Ayuka soaked up as much technique as she could – both with sword and without. It was during this time that she was introduced to the path of the Sword Saint. Even though she could ride and wasn’t afraid of horses, she always felt more at peace going through the drills while using her father’s katana than she did atop an animal. When she used the sword, she felt closer to her father’s spirit. It was for this reason that she decided to become more than just a samurai, she would be a sword saint.

During her years in Shokuro, Ayuka made a few close friends. She had started her training with Hiengan and Qiao was a year behind. As they learned and spent time together, Ayuka felt like she had siblings for the first time and once again belonged to a family of sorts. The year that Ayuka finished her military commitment, Hiengan told her that one of his brothers had gone missing in Goka and he planned to go look for him. He asked Ayuka if she would be willing to come with him since he may need help. Hiengan knew that Ayuka had spent more time in the wilderness than himself which would be beneficial for travel. Having finished her commitments to Shokuro, Ayuka decided to go with her friend to Goka because he needed help. Since Qiao still had another year of service, she had to stay behind in Shokuro.

Ayuka and Hiengan were in Goka for a week before they were able to find out what had happened to his brother. His brother had been frequenting a gambling house and became indebted to an Avistani crime lord. It turned out that the games were fixed at the gambling house and impossible to win. This method was used in order to force unwitting people into slavery. Finding this out was an affront to Ayuka and she willingly went with Hiengan to attempt a daring rescue of his brother. Unfortunately the rescue proved to be harder than they expected and Hiengan as well as his brother were killed. Forced to leave their bodies behind in order to stay alive, Ayuka ducked through a door and was surprised to find a caged girl. She pleaded with Ayuka to free her and she’d help her get out of the building. Breaking the lock, Ayuka freed her and the two escaped. Unable to take the time to think things through in the middle of the street, they stayed together and found a safe place to hole up until things started to make sense again.

Ayuka stands 5'3" and is deceptively strong for her build. She has long black hair which she keeps tied in a bun and her eyes are amber. She takes pride in her Tatami-Do armor which was crafted for her in Shokuro and is often polishing it and her weapons in her free time. She wears a necklace around her neck which her grandfather gave her when she was accepted to become a samurai which is the kanji symbol for mountain, which is the first part of their family name. She carries a katana as well as a wakizashi along with a longbow which is slung across her back. She travels light with one bag but after spending time with her, you begin to think she has more gear than you thought.

Due to her mother passing when she was young and her grandfather spending time with her outdoors, Ayuka is quite a tomboy. She never really learned the things that one may expect. She lives by her ronin edicts which causes her to strive to be truthful and courageous, respectful of her elders, and loyal to her friends. She does her best to conduct herself with honor and integrity but has been learning lately that this is hard to do in certain situations. She has a soft spot for those who are wrongfully enslaved or marginalized by society and will try to help them if asked.