Toshiro -Captain of the Hold Guard/ Weapons Master

:: OOC ::
Moniker:
JQ
How did you hear about us?:
CoFounder


:: Character Information ::
Name:
Toshiro. a.k.a. Shiro

Pronunciation:
Tow-sheer-oh (Short i, soft r).

Title:
Captain

Honourific:
N/A

Age/ Turn of Birth:
29/473

Gender:
Male

Place of Birth:
Telgar

Place of Residence:
Telgar River Hold

Craft:
Hold Guard/ Weapons training

Occupation/ Role:
Captain of the 1st Squad Division


Character Aspirations:
Toshiro has never had any other aspiration than to serve Telgar by using the only skills he has. Thus, he joined the Hold Guard to put himself to use, in a time when passions and tensions ran high. His life revolves around that kind of soldier’s existence, but recently, there is a woman in his life who has brought a whole new meaning to life, for him. This is something he is willing to explore, hopes to explore, and perhaps these things will change his own outlook on his future, as well as the goals he upholds for his own life. Right now, he hopes he’ll be a good husband and a good father, though he always doubts himself.


Family:
✣Father: [unknown] Adopted father is Commander of the Guard Kondo (46 /455 AL)
✣Mother: [unknown]
✣Siblings: [unknown]
✣Children: Step daughter Thessaly (of Ariadne), daughter Kesa (502) & (Unborn)
✣Other Significant: Kesa (ex-wife/ D), Lord Holder Rihan (473 AL), Trader Jungi, Ariadne (Finace)

Appearance:


✣Face: Matsumoto Takanori/ Ruki of the GazettE
✣Hair:Dark blonde in medium, razor cut layers which can seem a bit unkempt at times, the forward layers covering one half of his face much of the time. Between haircuts, when he lets his hair get a little longer, he’ll pull half of it back into a ponytail, letting his bangs fall forward loosely.
✣Eyes: Dark walnut brown in shallow set eyes.
✣Height: 5’11”
✣Build: Somewhat stocky and well-cut muscular build because of his level of physical activity but his genes aren’t allowing of much bulk as far as size goes. His diet and the types of physical activity he’s involved in also makes him more resistant to building bulk, so his muscle tends to be longer and leaner. In that respect, his physical stature is rather unintimidating.
✣Other Notable Traits:  A scar runs across his left cheek and several scars have been left on his arms from training. Toshiro bears many scars on his torso as well, some from his childhood, and others from deadly encounters. Those more noticeable are one that traces a line across his back from a time he’d been beaten as a child and a thicker scar on his back above the left hip where he’s been stabbed. On the front side of his torso, there remains two very noticeable scars, a deep stab wound above his left hip and another, smaller scar between his ribs. He’s also fractured several bones in his body, including both collar bones, his right hand and two ribs.
✣Style of Dress:  Standard Guard Uniform: Dark Blue shalwar-like pants tucked into and bloused over nearly knee-high boots, with a fitted short sleeved shirt and leather arm guards. A dark blue tunic that wraps around the torso, diagonally crossing the collar and tieing at the right side, is worn beneath a longer, thickly woven overcoat whose length measures about to the knee with cuts up the sides and back for ease of movement and riding. This sleeveless outer layer has no closures and is secured by a wide belt about the waist. It has an open, mandarin collar with a wide, decorative lapel running vertically that tapers down either side of the chest with embroidery that resembles both, the wearer’s rank and Telgar Hold itself. The higher ranking the officer of the Guard, the more fanciful the embroidery. His own embroidery is fairly detailed and blue around the neck, phasing into more crimson embroidery like red stripes down either side of the chest. The sash that creates a flash of colour around the top and bottom edges of Toshiro’s belt are a deep blood-red, signifying his rank also. A long-knife is tucked under the thick belt where it is tied at the back while his long sword and jutte are situated under the belt at his left hip.

✣Possessions usually found on persona:
✣ID Badge
✣Standard Issue Jutte (non-lethal arresting weapon that is similar to a slender night-stick with a hooking hilt when unsheathed)
✣Standard Issue Longsword (similar to a katana)
✣Standard issue arresting rope (attached to and knotted for easy unwinding access to the pommel of Jutte. The rope is very sturdy but only about 3-4mm in diameter making it easy to carry.)
✣Small purse for marks


History:
✣Late 473 -Born to a family he does not remember, it was when he was about five years old that he was abandoned at the school for the Hold’s Guard where his adopted father Kondo found him.  Kondo had never married and had always wanted a son, so he took the boy under his wing. At the time, Kondo ran the martial school by himself, enlisting the boy as one of the students there who would become a Guardsman in service to Telgar one day. Toshiro's growing up at the Guard training hall as a live-in student ended up with him being raised more as an indentured servant until he was old enough to start training with other kids.

During his growing up, Toshiro never really had a proper childhood in the sense of familial relationships nor normal play time. His teacher was his father, his school was his home, the classmates who either avoided him or hated him were his siblings. Kondo and other staff at the Guard Hall were all he had; his loyalty to them and his love for them ran deeply. This however, did not mean that he shared an openly father-son-like relationship. Most people do not know that he was “raised” by the current Commander of the Guard and he only met with his adoptive father in private periodically. Their relationship however, is a close one, but due to Kondo’s running of a martial institution where he was required to care for many individuals including the training of other children, he had a hard time to not show favouritism toward the boy publicly.


Time for a talk. -Thread revealing more details on his childhood.

✣By 481, at the age of eight, Toshiro became involved in the training drills with other children and picked up his first weapon. Because he was an orphan and smaller than they were, even though he existed as the unofficially adopted son of the Weapons Master Kondo, who was their teacher, Toshiro was the focal point of much ridicule. Bullied on a daily basis, beaten to blood and swollen bruises by the other children at times, the boy became very quiet and began to form a resolve of his own.

Kondo only observed the children from a distance, allowing them to resolve things on their own. At first he’d attempted to interfere, but that only worsened the situation for Toshiro. After that, the boy told him not to interfere, causing Kondo to fear he would only further wound his adopted son’s pride by not allowing him the chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his peers. So, even if it pained him, he would wait to see what happened. And indeed, one day, when he’d reached the age of 8, his son’s eyes filled with that growing resolve and Toshiro fought back. Toshiro was highly obedient. He honoured his adoptive father and was not disruptive of the peace of things, no matter how much torment he’d been put through by the other kids attending the school.

Sincere Beginnings -Toshiro’s Childhood History Thread

So it was, at a later age, when he'd turned 12, Toshiro finally fought back in a proper tournament of skill, attesting to what he had learned in his classes over the previous 4 years.

Toshiro nearly lost the spar between himself and the oldest bully of his class, but even when time was called, he climbed back to his feet to fight again. When Kondo allowed the children to continue, Toshiro fought as fiercely as he ever had, and ended up as the victor. The boy had finally, on his own terms, and on legal terms, demanded the respect of all of the other children. He may have been the youngest of them, the smallest of them, but he would show them that he was the most fierce.

✣Toshiro continued his training with great success throughout his growing up. He was always quick to learn and master new techniques and forms. By the time he’d entered the equivalent of a Sr. Journeyman’s level of skill, he was only 15 (488). And By the time he’d reached the age of 20 (493), he was awarded a certificate as a Swords Master. He had mastered every skill and blade they gave to him and he had begun transforming the patterns he’d been taught into his own variants and style for field use.


✣In 489, at the age of 16, well before most men were allowed to join the Hold Guard, Toshiro began working in official service to the Guard. The start to his service in the Guard was inspired by the impassioned desire as a young man to want to make a difference in the world, during a time of great conflict, and was only allowed because of the pressing need for more men. Toshiro though, was given the chance to prove to them his ability, and thereby admitted to join their service.

History Thread Part 1. The Exchange of Destinies

His service however, ended up quite different than he had initially imagined. Soon after the start of his evaluation and training, it was the goal of his ranking officers to allow him to assist in less dangerous missions to initiate him into the service. Toshiro's near-fanaticism however, had him racing to the forefront of battle -well ahead of emotional preparedness, even if he might have argued differently.

Toshiro has always been dutiful and sought perfection in carrying out his orders. There has only been one real incident of note where Toshiro ever tested his authority by being questionably disobedient. The incident involved a man had been a known friend of his adoptive father & then became a turn-coat who’d been suspect in a murder. Initially the incident was supposed to be kept in the dark because of his rank in the Guard. In private however, after another Guardsman had already been ordered to care for the situation, the current commanding officer passed the knowledge on to Toshiro, understanding that his words would spur the young man into action; he understood Toshiro's want for that first taste of blood.

Because Toshiro was just barely 16 at the time, he was still considered by ranking officers as too young to care for the situation. Angered that the traitor could betray his father's trust, Toshiro disobeyed the order to not get involved. Toshiro took it upon himself to secretly investigate the suspect. As a quietly angry youth, all of the officers including his adoptive father knew that Toshiro was eager to draw his first blood, and upon hearing of his disappearance with the suspect, rushed to stop him. It was too late for them to intervene at that point. Their suspect in the murder was already slain by Toshiro, becoming the first man he’d ever brought death upon.  

History Thread Part 2. The Lost Turns -As it began

History Thread Part 3. The Lost Turns


✣After turns of service, trying to help bring peace back to Telgar, Turn 494 AL,  life took an unexpected turn. He was tiring of the service -again, without being able to admit it. So, when chance offered up the hope for an interesting new start to a little different life, Toshiro was silently glad of it. Even if he didn't quite know what to expect to come after.

History Thread Part 4.Life's Unexpected Turns.

Toshiro's reputation began to precede him, the Chorong Rebels learning that it was he who provided Telgar's advantage when it came to putting a stop to their Agents, and so Toshiro's superiors ordered him to take a temporary furlough for an unknown length of time in order to hide himself and become forgotten. Their Agents would be at a loss for some time before they could locate him, and the confusion his sudden disappearance would cause them, could work to the Guard's advantage. He would leave Southern Telgar Hold where he'd been stationed at the time, to live in Southern Telgar's countryside with a woman whom he was protecting. In order to hide their identities, they would marry and live under different names. For the sake of convenience. For the sake of companionship. For the sake of redeeming Toshiro's heart.

History Thread Part 5. Happy Eventuality?

History Thread Part 6. Alternative Perspectives

History Thread Part 7. Finding a sheath for the sword.


✣After the uprisings in Telgar had come to an end, close to the end of turn 495, Toshiro and Kesa were prepared to move back to Southern Telgar Hold together. Toshiro was smiling again and he and the woman he'd been married to for the last turn, were happy in eachother's company. Just before their return to the Hold however, events took a turn for the worst.

History Thread Part 8. An end to all ends

History Thread Part 9. An end to all ends 2

After that, Toshiro burned their home and disappeared.


✣In the spring of turn 496, his orders had been to return to Southern Telgar Hold with Kesa. But, from the time of Kesa's death, Toshiro's murderous nature had returned. Grief stricken and angered at her passing, the sword's sheath was gone; he could only go back to fighting. Duty to the Guard and to the Hold stayed his hand from wanton murder. In order to quench that thirst, he would have to find his own foe to face. His vengeance would only be found in tracking down the Rebels who remained.

Toshiro wrote his Commander, letting them know the details of her death and that he would not be able to fulfill the order given to him. Instead of returning to the Hold, he wrote that he would be pursuing his own man-hunt. Knowing that Telgar had already asked too much of Toshiro, and realizing that Toshiro had no choice but to follow a path of his choosing in order to resolve even a little of the anger that stemmed from the loss of Kesa, his Commander took care of all the technicalities of keeping him on a leave of absence, so to speak. The Commander was consistently on the lookout for Toshiro, but unable to keep track of his movements.

Their home burned to the ground, Toshiro wandered Telgar as he pleased, effectively disappearing off the map for more than a turn.Though, there were rumours of a rogue swordsman wearing a crimson sash, running lingering groups of rebels out of hiding from time to time. Toshirowas never able to locate their leaders though, and eventually realized that continuing to do so was futile. They were already defeated men, whether dead or alive. And if they ever wanted to show their faces again, any of them, he would be sure to put a stop to them.

Toshiro never made it back to Telgar Hold to visit his adoptive father Kondo. But before he returned to Southern Telgar Hold to his old Commander, he traced the trail back to where a little cottage home once stood. There, he created for Kesa a discrete burial site with a few stones piled under a tree nearby. Taking her crimson sash from his arm, he tied it around one of the stones, deciding to leave his memory of her there with it.


✣Some time after his return to Southern Telgar Hold in the autumn of 497, Toshiro was granted the rank of Captain of the First Squad Division. When Telgar River Hold began being constructed in 498, he was assigned with the First Division to follow Rihan there and the Guard even assisted in some of the early stages of construction, especially surrounding the completion of roads to the area. Now that enough of the hold is complete to require some more expansive measure of security, one more division has been assigned to the minor hold. The First & Third Divisions are assigned there for Rihan’s use and at times are still put to use in helping in hold construction.


✣Regarding his relationship to the Lord Holder’s son, it was Toshiro’s father who was engaged in giving Rihan private instruction in swordsmanship, beginning at a young age to help teach him restraint and self-control. Since Rihan attended the school, but at different times than the regular classes, Toshiro had some freedom to interact with Rihan socially and often became his partner in sparring. The two boys, being the same age, were always friendly toward eachother, even if Toshiro tended to restrain from too enthusiastically expressing any feeling of friendship.  After all, he was an orphan and Rihan was a Lord’s son. Part of him wanted to believe that he had no right to be friends with him -but...Rihan never questioned him about such things and never expressed they could not be friends; much the opposite. In any case, his friendship with Rihan is something he keeps rather quiet about and that few know about.


✣More recently, Toshiro met a woman, Ariadne, whom he learned that he could love, and whom became pregnant with his child. Like himself, the woman’s family has a background of being Holdless. She herself, is a drudge, acting as an apprentice to the healers of Telgar River Hold, and lost her previous husband to an accident while he was serving in the guard.

Her family seems to understand him, in that way, being as duty driven as he is, and they are warm and welcoming of him. Toshiro gets along alright with them, though he doesn’t yet feel as though he fits in. They seem to be glad at least, that Ariadne is moving on with her life, instead of being stuck in the past, thinking about her previous love. Toshiro however, is unsure if he is fit to be her husband, feeling as though he’s unable to fully dedicate himself, seeing as his position in the guard, his past, sometimes do not allow the kind of time to devote to her as he would like. He does also get along with Ari’s daughter, Thessally, and is glad that he and Ari will have a baby of their own.


✣Unfortunately for them both, just after Toshiro asked Ariadne to marry him, he was charged with traveling to Southern Telgar Hold to investigate suspicious activity at a fight club there. The Lord Holder had reason to believe there was some kind of Chorong Rebel involvement.

The return to Southern Telgar Hold

While he was investigating, Toshiro happened to be present during the murder of Ermon, the Lord Holder’s son. While the real killer escaped, Toshiro was captured by the Hold Guard, unable to do anything in his own defense, given his circumstances. Toshiro had been under cover, and was not allowed to give away his identity just yet. Of course, he hadn’t anticipated the Guard giving him such a hard time of getting out of prison, either.

While contempt for Ermon’s killer swirled around him, he was unable to give many details as to the real killer’s appearance, and so suspicions continued to remain pinned upon him. It was all just considered a ruse to escape the inevitable punishment a murderer deserved. Of course, the Lord Holder’s son, Rihan, trusted in his friend’s loyalty and devotion, so within four days of his capture, Rihan had organized his escape.

Of Family, Faith and Loyalty

On the Fouth Day

Toshiro remains in hiding, unable to return home to his fiance, who is near giving birth.




Personality:
✣Strictly follows the Code of the Guard: (see below also) Due to the fact that he was raised by the man who is now the Guard’s Commander, and has never known any other way of life, he is very dutiful and loyal to the Hold, the Guard, and to his adoptive father personally. His upbringing as a live-in student at the Guard Hall has likewise taught him a great respect for hierarchy and authority.
✣Has a heart of good intentions that ends up being corrupted.
✣Soft heart for the people and things he loves, but due to the nature of his upbringing in multiple facets, Toshiro is rather less compassionate towards most people.  Though he values duty, honour and respect, he does not feel as though those things necessarily require him to preserve other people’s lives. There can be honour in assisting bring death to others when there is duty to require it be brought about, there can be respect shown in how you end another’s life. He is known for being one of the more eager of the captains to draw blood. He relishes such opportunities and at times pushes the boundaries of his authority and rank in order to carry out such tasks.
✣Psychopathic: Depending on what he says, he’ll come off this way at first. He enjoys making that first impression on people however. He’s the kind of person that, after awhile of being around him, tends to get easier to warm up to.
✣Loves laughing: but only around close friends and retains an odd, though small, bit of charisma and warrior-like chivalry that would perhaps cloud the perception of him being as blood-thirsty as he is.
✣Cagey: He won’t talk openly to most people and keeps his past well concealed.
✣Compensating for any lack of confidence, he wears a disaffected air of “just-don’t-care-what-you-think”; which might make him seem more like a rebellious punk than a squad division captain.
✣In order to break through people’s defenses, egoism, and vanity to talk to them on what he sees as a more even, ground-level, he tends to address people rather casually. Some of this may be due to the fact that he has a difficult time with his own self-confidence, so it’s easier to keep people on his level. All the same however, he dislikes when others are egoistic and self-absorbed so he does his best not to acknowledge that aspect in others.  
✣Usually keeps most of his thoughts to himself and answers a lot of things indirectly. Toshiro is known for not being the greatest at communicating his thoughts through words, so is more likely to become involved in duels than a match of words. This can be frustrating for other people, including his own squad division as well -but maybe that just makes his division all the more exciting?
✣When he is instructing his squad division, he can be too quick and sharp in his admonishment, making him a strict taskmaster and sometimes difficult to please.
✣Doesn’t care for formalities much and tends to seem rather serious and quiet though around his comrades, he can display a great sense of humour and enjoy having fun with them.





Shortcomings:
✣Toshiro’s strong suit isn’t necessarily unfaltering confidence, but it may not seem so by the self-assured way he carries himself.
✣Jokes about killing people... Of course, that doesn’t come across as ‘funny’ to most.
✣He can speak his mind in a way that comes off as unabashedly forward to those he cares about, but even though words may sting, there is typically found within them, a deeper-lying concern but this probably just makes him seem even more rough around the edges.
✣Prone to violence -only a strict sense of duty restrains him.
✣Rather psychopathic
✣Not incredibly wise in the way of politics and chooses not to be politically correct a lot of the time.
✣(He is a case of injured man-ego >.> srsly)


Mannerisms/ Habits:
✣Runs his hands back through his hair habitually when he’s flustered.
✣”Ooh?", “Aiiiish!”, “Oi!”, "Heh.", "Yo!"
✣Usually sleeps or rests sitting up with back against a wall in repose with his sword leaned into his shoulder, one arm curled around it or hand upon it.
✣Has a tendency to rest his left arm lazily atop his sword where it's secured to his belt at the waist, like an arm rest.
✣Has a habit of calling his adoptive father a “nuisance”, even when in truth, he loves him.
✣Can frequently be found sitting on the steps to a porch -either of his house or of the guard hall.

Skills/ Likes:
✣[Swordplay]:His life revolves around it.He is a master of it in many ways, and yet he’s always searching for ways to improve his style.
✣[Ariadne]: The light of his life. Though he may devote himself too greatly to his duty as a Hold Guard, he is falling deeply in love with Ari, and looks forward to a better future together with her. The only thing that keeps him from this is himself, however. Toshiro tends to feel unworthy of happiness, and has likewise become addicted to his own strife.


Unskilled at/ Dislikes:
✣[Arrogance]: Appreciates when people are a little more realistic than to pretend that somehow everyone else in the world is a lesser being. One thing he learned during his training in Arms was that there will always be someone greater than you.
✣[Lack of dutifulness or loyalty]: Due to not only the societal expectations he grew up with, but also because of the militaristic lifestyle he lives by, he has a difficult time understanding or wanting to tolerate those who are not dutiful to their superiors or lack fealty of any sort. He finds those kinds of people weak and dislikes them.


Fighting Style/ Weapon of Choice:
Beyond the use of hand-to-hand combat, the Jutte is the first weapon the Guard is allowed to call upon. Typically, this is preferred by the Guard over hand-to-hand for the sake of implying that the Guard are above brawling and employ a more refined method of carrying out their work. The Jutte is a non-lethal stick-like weapon made of iron, used to disarm and disable trouble makers; the cord knotted at its end used to bind their arms to keep them from fighting back when they are arrested. A Jutte is solely employed for use by the Hold Guard and is viewed as a badge of their authority. Jutte are a sheathed on the same hip as the sword and would appear to be a long-knife to those unfamiliar with the weaponry of the Guard.

If the situation calls for any more serious measures however, the longsword is used and may be used in unison with the Jutte, but this can only be achieved by the strongest members of the Guard as the level of skill and strength required to do so are significant. In a typical encounter involving the drawing of a blade by a Guard member, the fight is over so quickly that bystanders were probably only vaguely aware that any swords had been drawn at all by the time a victor was determined. Such is the level of skill maintained by the Guard. (Drawn out sword fights are for the fun of spars [and movies]).

Toshiro owns a set of short swords but doesn’t typically carry them since they are not standard for the uniform of the Guard however, these seem to fit his fighting style better than the longsword...which just means that he’s not as enthusiastic about using the standard longsword form the Hold Guard are taught. In turn, this implies that he enjoys breaking loose with the double short-sword, releasing the force of destruction that he is fully capable of.

The double short sword is often what Toshiro used during the rebellion, as he was given a certain freedom in choice of weapons considering his particular duties as a man-hunter, as he tracked down Agents of the rebels. Toshiro utilized the techniques he'd been taught by his adopted father at a young age, apart from the typical training of the Guard, in order to set himself apart from others and overcome any enemy in his wake. The certain set of techniques passed down to him from his father figure have been passed to him alone, and no other. Kondo has taught him that their unique brand of techniques was passed down from the original settlers. The combat style being considered too vicious, it was apparently abolished and put out of use by men. However, a secret sect of those who once practiced it, continued teaching their way, passing their tradition down from master to apprentice, one by one, in order to keep the knowledge alive. Toshiro and the Commander Kondo are the only ones who now practice this ancient way.

:: Crafter Information ::
Craft:
Hold Guard

Turns in Craft:
20 turns

Rank:
Weapons Master since the age of 20 (493 AL) & First Division Captain of the Guard.

Location of Journeymanship:
Telgar Hold. Currently stationed at Telgar River Hold under Lord Holder Rihan.

Specialization:
Primary: An ancient set of combat techniques passed on to him by Commander Kondo, his adopted father and swords master.
Secondary: Standard methods taught by the Guard:
✣Hand-to-hand, grappling, throwing, basic pressure points, etc.
✣Non-lethal force by use of the Jutte and arresting cords
✣Long sword
✣Short sword or long knife

Personal style/ preference:
Double Short sword