Marishiten/Stories
Quotes
- When Entering Dragon's Roost
- You here for a practice bout? Sure, if you don't mind me wiping the floor with you.
- What is it? You need me to torch someone?
- Good timing—I was getting bored. Shall we fight?
- After Receiving a Gift
- You enjoy this sorta thing, don't you? Go on, take it.
- Thanks for that. Have a little something in return.
- After Bond Level Increase
- You're not as bad as you look.
- With me on your side, victory's pretty much guaranteed.
- Idle After Bond Level 1
- Seems like you're doing well out there on the battlefield, eh?
- You're gonna have to train hard if you want to stay ahead of my blade.
- Heh. You smell like kindness. You better not be as soft-hearted as Ieyasu, you hear me?
- Idle After Bond Level 10
- The little boarlets are my servants. Cute little runts, aren't they? Heh.
- I'm bored out of my wits, so why don't you tell me a nice, juicy blood-and-guts war story?
- The warriors here aren't half bad. The eyes of pure-hearted humans are a sight to behold.
- Idle After Bond Level 20
- Fear not, friend. As long as I remain here, nobody's gonna lay a single finger on you.
- If you ever find yourself lost in the darkness, call on me and I'll light your way.
- You know something? When you're around, I actually don't miss war. ...Which is REALLY disturbing.
Dragon Story Episodes
The Lady and the Boar
Long ago, before Lady Amaterasu
and the shogun ruled the land,
Hinomoto was a country at war.
Hinomoto was split into several
provinces that fought amongst
themselves, each claiming they
would be the one to finally unify
the land into a single country.
One such province was ruled by
a lord with a young daughter.
He was a kind and generous man,
and the people loved both him
and his daughter without reservation.
One day, a hunter appeared and
gifted the lord and his daughter with
a freshly trapped boar. He then bade
them kill it and eat it that very night.
The lord was overjoyed, but the
daughter looked upon the terrified
animal with great pity.
Before the boar could be killed,
the daughter took it to the foot
of the mountains and released
it back into the wild.
The boar rejoiced at its freedom,
and made a promise to the girl:
"If ever you are in dire straits,"
it said, "I will come to your aid."
The daughter simply smiled in return
before shooing the animal away.
Thankful for the girl's kindness,
the boar returned to its happy
life deep in the mountains.
Several years passed, and the
little girl grew into a fine young
woman. She had utterly forgotten
the promise the boar made to her
all those many years ago.
One day, a powerful neighboring
province declared war on the
girl's land.
She knew they could not win a war,
so the woman donned a strange set
of armor and made her way to
Marishiten—a dragon said to be in
possession of great power.
"Mighty Marishiten!" cried the girl
when she finally found the dragon.
"Save our land, I beg of you!"
Marishiten smiled before replying.
"I'll help you...but only if you defeat
me in combat. And if you lose,
your life will be forfeit to me."
When a young woman sought help
from Marishiten in order to save her
land from an attacking province,
the dragon presented her with a
life-or-death challenge.
"If you defeat me," said the dragon,
"I'll save your land. But if I win,
I get your life. Don't think too long
about this, now; it's the best deal
you're gonna get."
The young woman was at a loss.
Though she was clad in armor,
she had never so much as swung
a sword in her life—much less
battled with a dragon.
However, she knew it was the only
chance for her people, so she
steeled her resolve and accepted
the dragon's challenge.
Marishiten cackled and raised
her sword high, while the terrified
woman held her own weapon in
front of her in a trembling grasp.
The sharp clang of metal on metal
rang out, and the woman's sword
went sailing through the air.
Devastated, the woman sank to her
knees, closed her eyes, and waited
for the final blow to fall.
But the fatal strike never came.
After what seemed an eternity,
the woman finally opened her eyes
to see a boar standing between
herself and the dragon.
"Lady Marishiten!" cried the boar.
"Pray spare this human's life,
as she once saved mine when
I had been captured by others
of her kind!"
The woman was bewildered, for she
had forgotten how she saved the
boar as a child. Then the animal
went over to the woman and used
its snout to push her to her feet.
"I promised I would be there to help
you in dark times, did I not?" said the
boar. "Now go! Flee while you can!
I will explain all to the dragon."
At that moment, the woman's
memories of the boar came crashing
back with the force of a wave, and
she fell back to her knees and
hugged the boar fiercely.
Marishiten watched this for a moment
before letting out a deep sigh.
"You shoulda told me this earlier,
boar," she said. "I almost took the
head off your savior there!"
"His...savior? asked the woman.
"Yeah," responded Marishiten. "That
boar is my servant, and you saved
his life. So not only will I spare you,
I'm actually gonna do you a favor."
"I'll save your land and people,
and then we can call it even.
...Oh, and sorry for that whole
'I'm gonna kill you thing' earlier."
The woman brought Marishiten to her
castle only to find it surrounded by
enemies. She bemoaned how fate
had tricked her at such a late date,
but the dragon only smiled.
Roaring with delight, Marishiten
raged across the battlefield and
hewed the enemy soldiers like grain.
Before the day was out, not a single
one was left standing.
The woman's country was saved.
She praised Marishiten's strength—
naming her the dragon of battle—
and swore to pass word of her fury
and honor through the generations.
But how did her descendants pledge
their souls to Marishiten and become
known as the Twelve Wyrmclans?
Alas, that is a story for another day.