About Ieyasu Uchida
Ieyasu polishes off another cup of sake. "It was a good choice. Besides, you have to be a monster before you can become more of one. I don't see that in you. I have seen plenty in my day. Speaking of which..."
The old man clears his throat. "I was a peasant in the Shikigan District of Jin Zhao, under the rule of Emperor Hiratasuka, one of the most despotic rulers the country had ever known. As was custom, when I was 12, I was taken from my family and pressed into military service. The Emperor was notorious for sending his army against dissident towns, subjugating them...or eliminating them. Yet, fate intervened and I was never involved in such cruelties. Instead, the yokai had grown angry at Hiratasuka's ways and the destruction of their homes. They sent legions of oni and other fantastic beasts against the civilized races. So began the War of Spirits."
Ieyasu pours another drink. "The first time I raised a sword, I fought against a tsukumogami, an object that had come to life. It was a pair of straw sandals. How my fellow soldiers laughed as I swung against a pair of sandals that kept kicking me in the face. I recall that battle fondly. I made peace with my adversary and realized that Hiratasuka was the source of our problem. However, not all yokai were open to conversation.
"A group of oni were terrorizing a farming town and we headed there with all haste to put a stop to it, but many of us were inept in combat and only three of us survived the massacre. The town was razed and women dragged off. Despite my own amateur status, I pursued the beasts, bloodied and tired. I found them in a cave and challenged them all. I was a brave idiot. However, whatever gods watched on favored me with a sword to smite them all. In a matter of minutes, they laid dead and I survived with nary a scratch. I freed the women and fell in love with one. Okada Ishi was her name. Oh, pardon...you'd call her Ishi. Ishi decided to join me on my journeys since she was a Miko, a shrine maiden. She had the power to heal my wounds and I was very fortunate for that."
Ieyasu looks at the cup of sake before drinking it. "The military had fallen apart in a few short months, the yokai nearly driving us to the brink of extinction. I fought on with Ishi and my enchanted sword, liberating villages as I went. My senses began to pick up the unnatural auras of yokai and other manner of demons, daemons and devils. They too joined the fight, only for the sake of causing more trouble. I fought against all manner of beasts...the worst being a giant boar named Akuma Inoshishi. The beast was far too clever, far too powerful and far too fast. He trampled Ishi in our battle and I ended up breaking my shoulder before our fight ended. Akuma Inoshishi escaped and I had never seen him again...though word often reaches my ears that he wanders the countrysides of Jin Zhao.
"My shoulder healed with help, but my heart never did. I quit my wandering and headed for the capital. With black rage in my heart, I challenged the Emperor to a single duel. I yelled to the heavens and the yokai appeared to witness our fight. If I were to win, the yokai would retreat and leave us in peace. If I were to lose...well, Jin Zhao would be a different place, wouldn't it? As the Emperor lay dying, I swore that I would no longer fight. It's a promise I have kept for many years, though I feel that I may break it soon."
He looks into Konstantyná's eyes. "I went home...and my family was gone, dead or fled. I picked up a hoe and planted rice for the first time in ten years. After the harvest, I made my first batch of sake and some clouds lifted off my heart. I entered the Silver Star Brewer's Competition, a competition open to the world, and won for ten years straight. Then I knew what I would do with the rest of my life. I opened a bar in Jin Zhao, but it wasn't long before people wanted to see a 'legendary hero' instead of tasting excellent sake. Several Emperors wanted to employ my services as an advisor, so I got fed up, left Jin Zhao and came here. I believe that is all the story I have to tell."
