Urakami Koro

Urakami Koro
General Information
Full Name:	Yo-Urakami-Ko-Kokoro
Race:	Celestial Elf
Gender:	Female
Age:	56
Date of Birth:	18th of Konkokerinat, 446
Country of Origin:	Nipangu
Appearance
Hair Color:	Black
Eye Color:	Green
Height:	5’10”
Weight:	170lbs.
Additional Information
Aliases:	So-Koro, The Mute Swordsman, Koko (If you call her that one without her expressed permission, she will try to hurt you.)
Religion:	Koro has no master but herself.
Creed:	Blood grants no superiority, and those who believe it does should burn.
Occupation:	Blacksmith/Mercenary/Fisher
Income:	Low
Marital Status:	Single
Player:	Leigh

Biography

Birth and Early Childhood

Urakami Koro (born Yo-Urakami-Ko-Kokoro) was born in Okabe-Oh, Nipangu on the 18th day of Konkokerinat, 446 AT to Yo-Urakami-Ko-Haru and Yo-Urakami-Ko-Kyoko, her father and mother respectively. As both scholars and Celestial Elves, the Urakami parents were considered low-ranking nobility, hardly known by anyone outside their district. They never gained the attention of the Imperial throne, but Haru and Kyoko held onto every scrap of their status with all of their might. Thus, as Kokoro grew, they became bent on molding their only child into a better scholar than either of them could become. They tutored her in writing, reading, rhetoric, and the technicalities of research and analysis. While this knowledge and its application made Kokoro a budding intellectual and gave her an edge over her peers, it would play a role that her parents would never expect, nor would they ever come to accept.

Formative Years

Kokoro had grown to hate her parents by the time she was ten years old. Initially, she thought it was their status that caused these feelings, but she quickly realized that it was how they acted upon this status that angered her. They took great pleasure in the worship they received from the commoners with no reciprocation, and something about that ate at Kokoro like nothing else. Thus, she didn’t want anything to do with her parents’ endeavors, nor their wishes for their daughter. Fortunately, she had an outlet: The city.

Starting at age twelve, Kokoro began venturing out into Nipangu, disguising herself as one of the many common folk and taking part in their lifestyle in whatever capacities she could. To hide this practice from her parents, she claimed that she was “studying” during her many secret outings. She would continue picking up various skills that her parents had deemed “below” her such as cooking, washing clothes, and many other aspects of self-care until she turned nineteen, when she made a connection that would change her life.

First Apprenticeship

One particular civilian Kokoro found herself observing was Nariyoshi Iemasa, a blacksmith known by his friends as “Masa.” He noticed the young Elf spying on him one day, and while some people have been affronted by this, he welcomed Kokoro into his shop, and let her watch from a closer vantage. From that day on, she would return to his shop every time she snuck out, and Iemasa found himself heartened by the Elf’s interest. Thus, he allowed her to be a helper of sorts around his smithy, and she became even more invested in the practice of hammering iron into something useful. By the passing of one year, she had learned the basics of forging, and had even begun learning how to use the weapons she made, as low-quality as they were at the time.

Combat Studies

The interest Kokoro held in swordplay didn’t fully emerge, however, until she saw two people, rival kenjutsu students, dueling in the street while she was fetching some materials for Iemasa. Their movements, their technique, the raw passion they fought with enthralled her instantly. She ran back to the workshop and surprised Masa with an excited retelling of the story. The smith had some foundational knowledge of kenjutsu, so he agreed to teach her the basics. Just like taking a hammer to steel, Kokoro quickly picked up this skill, and within a year Iemasa had nothing left to teach her. So, with a heavy heart, he told her that if she wanted to learn more, she would need to attend one of the many martial arts schools Nipangu was home to, and thus she would have to stop working at the smithy. The decision tore her apart, but her intense desire to learn the way of the sword outweighed her penchant for smithing. Thus, she began devoting almost all of her time outside the house to observing how the rivalries between students violently unfolded throughout the city.

After a year of studying in this way, Kokoro then approached Okudo-Ryū, a women’s academy founded by So-Okudo-Sen-Natsu I and headed by So-Okudo-Sen-Natsu II, with a sword of her own making at her waist. Natsu smiled at Kokoro’s respect for the blade, but could clearly see that her fighting skill was mediocre at best. A few preliminary tests later, she determined that Kokoro was worthy of attending the school, but that she would need to work harder than most to catch up with the other students; after all, “A swordswoman cannot survive on respect alone.” She immediately started training in Kenjutsu, which slowly branched out into sword-drawing arts like Battojutsu and Iaijutsu, and even more exotic techniques like Kusarigamajutsu after several years of practice (and quite a bit of convincing). But even with the extensive instruction she received, Koro was never satisfied, and she couldn’t fathom why until she once again witnessed the way rival students from the men’s schools fought; she believed that her own technique, that the curriculum for women, was not enough for her to become a well-rounded fighter.

Love Life

To her pleasant surprise, her parents remained oblivious to her training and continued to believe the “studying” lie. Her web of falsehoods would begin to fall apart when she was thirty-three, however, when she quite literally bumped into a student of Tenrai-Ryū; a human named Hara Kazuyuki (formally Jo-Hara-No-Kazuyuki), or “Kazu” for short. Kokoro was walking to a bar called Matsuri (known by Westerners as the Jasmine Flower) after a long day of practice when she collided with Kazu, who was carrying home a bag of various fruits and vegetables. Frantically apologizing, Kokoro rushed to pick them up and put them back in his bag, but they had already become quite bruised. While Kazu insisted that she need not worry herself, Kokoro knew that he was only saying so due to her race, and was angered. He adamantly refused when she offered to pay for the damaged produce, so she insisted on buying him a meal at Matsuri, which he reluctantly accepted. At first they sat awkwardly at the bar sipping their drinks, occasionally making eye contact.

Kazu, like all humans, was unused to receiving hospitality from an Elf. But the moment Kokoro mentioned her studies in Kenjutsu, his ears perked up. He had never heard of Okudo-Ryū, but he had always been interested in how women were educated; he knew that their training was different, and little else. Once Kokoro and Kazu mentioned their interests in the other’s fighting style, they began meeting almost every day after their training session to teach each other the material they had learned. Socially unacceptable as this was, they did it in secret, away from the prying eyes of their respective schools. Their study partnership evolved over time, and blossomed into a forbidden romance after only a year. The two made plans to flee Panguro, to find a place where they could safely live together, but their efforts would amount to naught after a fight between Okudo-Ryū and their rival school, Chinmoku-Ryū, broke out in the streets of Okabe-Oh.

Allegedly, the fight was a result of an argument over the tuning of a shamisen; one student believed that Ni Agari tuning was optimal, whereas the other asserted the superiority of San Sagari. Neither of them had the maturity to admit that tuning varied based on vocal range, and they began dueling. As groups of students from both respective schools happened to be nearby, they joined in, turning the duel into a full-scale brawl. Kokoro happened to be heading back to Okudo-Ryū after a training session with Kazu to pick up a Kusarigama in hopes of making one herself when she saw the altercation from a distance. Protective as she was of her fellow students, dove directly into the fray with her sword drawn. But as skilled as she was, she could not fend off the Chinmoku-Ryū students that encircled her using just Okudo-Ryū techniques. In a move that would save her life but shatter any hope of a life with Kazu, she quickly switched to Tenrai-Ryū, which threw her opponents off just enough to best them.

As the fight died down, students from both schools gaped at her; some were amazed at her swordsmanship, but the ones who recognized the signature Tenrai-Ryū forms were shocked; there was no way Kokoro could have learned the techniques that she had just shown off, unless a Tenrai Ryū student had secretly taught them to her. Thus, accusations began flying in her direction from all sides. When this came to light among Kazu’s peers, life at Tenrai-Ryū became a tense, perpetual game of Whodunnit; someone had spilled the school’s secrets, and nobody was going to stop until they found the traitor. The couple could no longer meet due to the constant pressure weighing on both of them, in addition to the implications of their relationship just existing. Unfortunately, this would be the least of Kokoro’s concerns.

The fight, as large-scale and loud as it was, had more than a few witnesses. Two of these witnesses, who just so happened to be riding by in their servant-driven carriage, were Urakami Haru and Urakami Kyoko. And who would they catch sight of but Urakami Kokoro, their daughter, gracefully parrying every strike that was thrown at her? Not only were they shocked by this development, but also angered; they had thought she was studying the art of scholarship for all of these years, and Kokoro had lied to their faces, time and time again. This was unacceptable. They deeply discussed how to punish her when she arrived at home again. The plan they hatched would ensure that their daughter would never disobey them again. That is, if they ever got to enact it. Kokoro had no intention of ever seeing them again, though. Without the will to look back or the chance to say one last goodbye to Kazu or even Iemasa, Kokoro made off with as many of her essential belongings as she could, donned a mask and a farmer’s hat, and fled to the nearest port, where she stowed away on a Berjeron vessel called The Abiku bound for Drache.

Exodus

Kokoro’s hiding place didn’t last for long on the voyage. Hardly even a week in, she was caught below decks eating from the Abiku’s supplies. They would have either thrown her overboard or reported her to the authorities at the next port they landed in had they not seen her face and ears; the consequences of harming a Celestial Elf would certainly not be good for business. As per usual, Kokoro refused to use her race to her advantage any more than she had to, and offered to help the Abiku’s crew on their journey, even if that meant learning how to sail. She introduced herself as “Koro,” and realized in doing so that this was her opportunity for a fresh start; the moment she got to Drache, no one aside from Nipangu natives would care less about her race. Or at least she hoped so. The crew understood the mechanics of operating their ship well enough to teach it, and Kokoro was able to become a competent boatswain, as well as a fisherman.

When The Abiku finally docked in the Darian River port, Koro was almost hesitant to leave. The crew had been more of a family to her in the short time they had together than either of her parents, and even the students at Okudo-Ryū (if they had turned on her so quickly, surely they did not deserve the title of “family”). But as much as she enjoyed sailing, she could not make it her lifestyle. Thus, with a heavy heart, she bade the crew farewell and entered the sprawling streets of Drache, where her journey would truly begin.

Personality

• Quiet
• Direct
• Cold
• Secretive
• Analytical
• Calculating
• Dry humor

Physical Description

Urakami Koro is a young Celestial Elvish woman. Her skin is the color of sand, her hair is short and black with two strands on the sides that just barely reach her shoulders, and her eyes are almond-shaped with slightly more of a hood than the average Pangui. She usually wears a dark green kimono with a neutral-colored scarf, a conical hat, and a mask over the lower half of her face to hide her identity. She is far taller than the average Pangui woman, standing at a solid 5’10” with slender features. Judging her as scrawny would be a mistake, though; just the sight of her arms will reveal that her muscles are extremely toned, and pissing her off will reveal that this physique came from decades of studying the blade.

Abilities & Skills

Mundane Skills

• Research. Her early childhood was filled with scholarly lessons from her parents. As a result, Koro knows how to efficiently find information, and is quite tenacious when it comes to seeking answers.

• Swordsmanship. Due to her time at Okudo Natsu-Ryū as well as her years of independent training, Koro is very well-versed in Kenjutsu, Battojutsu, and Iaijutsu. Because of her focus in sword-drawing arts, she has become skilled in the art of ending fights quickly, whether dueling or facing multiple opponents.

• Kusarigamajutsu. One particular weapon that caught Koro’s eye when they first came to Okudo Natsu-Ryū was the Kusarigama. As hard as it was to control, she was not allowed to learn its many forms and techniques until later on in her training. That being said, as soon as her instructor put one in her hands, it became her hyperfixation. Her proficiency didn’t come without a few mishaps (and perhaps a concussion or two), but she can utilize the weapon’s chain, ball, and sickle in equal measure.

• Blacksmithing. This Celestial Elf found no pleasure in the frivolousness her parents raised her to have. Instead, when she took to the streets to live the life of a commoner when she was supposed to be deep in her studies, she became engrossed in the practice of blacksmithing. With the help of local smith Nariyoshi Iemasa, she was able to acquire the skill of forging weapons, armor, and tools. She still has a long road ahead of her, though.

• Seamanship. When paying her debt to the Berjeron traders she stowed away with, Koro became a competent boatswain. She doesn’t sail too often anymore, but the skill still remains deep within her muscle memory. The same goes for fishing, albeit she has far more opportunities to fish than to sail, and she sometimes uses this talent to make an extra crown or two.

Magic Skills

None

Equipment

Weapons

• Katana
• Wakizashi
• Kusarigama (usually not carried)
• Kunai x2
• Shuriken x6 (attached to bracers)

Armor

• Light armor, similar to gambeson
• Bracers with 3 shuriken attached to each, for the purpose of trapping weapons

Tools

• Blacksmith’s tools

Goals

Koro wishes to become both a notable mercenary and swordsmith. Currently, she has no other specific goals, as her journey to Drache presented a clean slate.