Recruitment

“Oh. Isn’t he cute?” Yokuno said in the typically sweet voice of a woman who sees a cute baby.
“Yes, he is,” the Patron Mother answered in a somewhat cold voice.
“He is a handsome, strong boy. Aren’t you my cute little thing?” Again, that sweet voice.
“Yes, he is.” Again, a cold answer.
“I presume that he is healthy.”
“Oh yes. We had him checked by a doctor.”
“When?”
“Just a week ago. The doctor comes here every three weeks for a regular inspection.”
“Well, he certainly looks healthy to me.”

Yokuno took the little boy into her arms. The infant made that happy sound that infants do when they are amused. Yokuno smiled and tickled the boy on his nose.

The Patron Mother watched the scene with a feeling that something wrong was happening. Under normal circumstances she would have been happy to see one of her children enjoying himself so much. Her orphanage was a dark and a sad place. Children didn’t like it very much. No wonder, at it was small, poorly lit,, and always overcrowded, with orphans running around screaming. The nurses who worked here were women of incredible patience and compassion. Only women possessing these two qualities in great abundance could work in such a hellish place.

It was always a joy to see a parent come and adopt one of these unfortunate children. Most of them were born in poverty, and doomed to spend their lives in it. Only one out of five were ever adopted. The rest grew up and left the orphanage to work in some Cardinal forgotten factory for the local Daimyo. Some managed to enlist themselves within the Triads. Of course, most of these ended up dead, killed in some gang war.

However, things were different with Yokumo, assuming that it was indeed her real name. She was coming to the orphanage once every two or three months. She always brought with her a big bag of candies, which she distributed among the screaming children who swarmed around her. Once the last candy was gone, she told the children some fairy tale. The Patron Mother was always surprised how these normally yelling and fighting children just sat down around the woman in silence listening with their gaping mouths to the story. It was almost a miraculous feat.

The children called her “Auntie Yokumo.” Normally such a person would be considered a gift from the Cardinal. But the Patron Mother knew better. Yokumo was all smiling and nice, but deep inside there was something sinister about her. The Patron Mother could never put a finger on it, but there was some detectable dark side to this woman. It’s not that she was pretending to be benevolent. She genuinely was. But it seemed that this is only one face of Yokumo. The other face, the one that the children never saw and the Patron Mother caught a glimpse of from time to time, was… disturbing. A face that was cold, calculating, and deadly.

Aside from that, Yokumo was certainly not a mother looking to adopt a child. Every time she came, she examined the children, especially the new ones. Whenever she had found one to her likening, she took it with her. Usually she only took one, but sometimes two or three. The children were always very young. None were ever more than two years old. Preferably still infants. Mostly boys, but girls were taken as well. The Patron Mother knew that Yokumo visited all other orphanages in Longshore, always doing the same thing – entertaining the children, examining them, and taking those that she liked. Always the same scenario, and never an explication.

The Patron Mother knew better than to ask questions. She had met Yokumo for the first time twenty-two years ago, when she started working as a nurse in the orphanage. Already back then, Yokumo was visiting and taking some children with her. At that time she and Yokumo had no dealings whatsoever. But that changed nine years ago when she became the new Patron Mother. Yokumo made it clear that it is better not to ask any questions. To keep the whole matter quiet, she offered a very, very generous donation to the orphanage every time she took a child. The Patron Mother didn’t like it at all, but the orphanage desperately needed money. Government constantly underfunded all of the orphanages in Mishima. All of these children were commoners or samurai bastards. The government didn’t care about them very much, just as it didn’t about anyone who was not a samurai.

Still, the Patron Mother tried to act. She learned that Yokumo made these generous donations in other orphanages as well. Plus, none of the children were ever seen again, neither dead or alive. It was obvious that Yokumo was just a representative of some powerful organization. The Patron Mother had hired the triad to learn more about this mysterious woman and the people who were behind her. The people from the triad came back few days later. They gave the Patron Mother her money back and told her to leave this case alone. They were visibly scared. She begged them, but they refused to say anything, besides that she should stop inquiring into the affair, at least if she knows what is good for her.

This deeply disturbed her. Who could scare a triad? Who held so much power? After a lot of thinking she came out with a short list of suspects. All of them so influential and powerful that authorities wouldn’t even dare to act against them. She even thought about asking the Demon Hunters for help, but then she just gave up. Her instincts told her that if one of them would ever get involved, Yokumo’s superiors, whoever they were, would destroy the whole orphanage. She just cared too much about the children and fellow nurses to risk their lives. Besides, Yokumo’s money was doing so much good.

“What’s your name handsome?” Yokumo’s question abruptly brought the Patron Mother back to the reality.
“His name is Sato.”
“Well, it is certainly a pleasure to meet you Sato. Who are his parents?”
“You know that I can’t reveal their identities. It is strictly against the rules.”

Yokumo turned towards the Patron Mother. There, there it was. A cold look. A look of a woman who does not like to hear no. The secret, dark nature of Yokumo manifested itself for a brief second. And then, the loving expression returned to her face.

“I didn’t asked about their names. Just tell me something about them.”
The Patron Mother hesitated for a moment. Finally, she started to speak. “His mother is a servant. His father is a samurai.”
“Oh my. Just like in those romantic novels. Two lovers from opposite sides. She, a poor, common girl, and he, a proud samurai. United in love, but divided by class. Unable to show their affection in public, and forced to consummate their passion in secret. Secretly meeting in the middle of the night, hiding from the praying eyes. How beautiful.”
“Well, not really. He just got drunk one day and simply raped her. When it was found out that she is pregnant, he simply threw her out. Without any means to support the child, she left it here, poor girl.”
A slight expression of sadness passed through Yokumo’s face, “Disgusting pig.” The words were quiet, but there was some genuine outrage in them. The two women looked at each other, and for a second there was some sort of understanding between them. Some level of mutual agreement. But the second was gone as soon as it came. They were both back to their positions. A mysterious woman who takes away children, and a Patron Mother who distrusts her.
“He is lovely. I will take him.”
The Patron Mother smiled in response, although there was no happiness at all behind the smile.
“I will send someone to come tomorrow and give you a donation. You know what? This little Sato over here is such a cutie that I will give you a bonus.”
“Your generosity is welcomed Ms. Yokumo. May the Cardinal and the Seven Sages smile upon you,” the Patron Mother said and bowed.
Yokumo was about to leave when the Patron Mother stopped her. “There is one more thing.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh no. The mother left something for the boy.” The Patron Mother took out a small medallion out of her pocket. “It is the icon of Kanji – the blessed sage of unlimited fortune. It belonged to his mother. She left it for him. It was the only thing that she could give him. She hoped that it would bring him luck in life. More luck than she had, anyway. I realize that it is cheap by the market value, but its symbolic value.”
“I certainly appreciate the gift.” Yokumo took the medallion. “Rest assured the good Patron Mother, this boy is very, very lucky. You can’t even imagine what a glorious future awaits him.”

Introduction

Please come in. You are younger than I expected, no matter. Take a seat. As you noticed I don’t have much furniture. I must change my location quite often. I will explain later. Do you want something to drink? I don’t have any alcohol, never got into the habit. If you want, I can make some tea. Yes, that will be nice. Good, hot tea will be a good thing in such a cold day. I really don’t like this weather we have today. At my age I feel it in my bones.

Anyway, I shouldn’t bore you with my sentimental comments. So, for what newspaper you are working? Hmm. I never heard of it. Is it some local thing? Just as I thought. Mainstream newspapers wouldn’t care much about my story. Well, perhaps they would care. It’s just that they would never dare to publish it. The government wouldn’t allow it.

I must congratulate you on your investigation techniques. It is not easy to find me. And to answer the question that you have asked me on the phone, yes, I once was one of them. But I am no more. Why not? Politics! That’s why. Politics are everywhere. Even among them. Oh please! Don’t look so surprised. Why should it be any different among them? Certainly, I will tell you later about their politics. Don’t worry.

However, you do realize that whatever I say, you will never be able to print. No, it’s not a threat. I am an old, tired man. You have nothing to worry about from my part. It’s them I’m talking about. They will never allow this information to be made public. No one knows all their secrets. Not their enemies, and not even me. If this stuff ever leaks out, they will come after you, and your family. And believe me, it will not be a pleasant thing. But you knew that before coming to me? In fact, I’m sure that you knew it all the way back when you decided to write the story? So, why do you want to know something that you will have to keep as a secret? Of course! Curiosity. That beautiful, disgusting human quality. The marvelous curiosity that sooner or later gets us into trouble. Ahem. Excuse me. I sometimes get too emotional.

I think that we should get started. Good, I see that you have brought with you a recording device. Excellent. You won’t miss a word. Now, get comfortable, and prepare yourself. I will now tell you about the Shadow Walkers.

The Lesson

The small valley was actually a part of the garden. While the whole garden was beautiful, this artificially created valley was especially outstanding, at least according to Sato. There was a small waterfall close by. It produced a pleasant, relaxing sound. The water from the waterfall formed into a stream, which flowed through the whole valley and beyond. There were flowers everywhere. There were also tiny birds flying here and there, making happy noises. Together, they formed a fantastic mixture of colors that was nothing else than pure joy for the eye.

Still, all of this, even if breathtakingly beautiful, was just too unnatural for Sato’s taste. A year ago he considered it to be the most beautiful place on earth, but things changed in that year. He had seen the nature. Not the modified, reshaped by humans nature that existed in this garden, but the true nature. The one outside the monastery. A year ago Sato and the rest of children were allowed to leave the base for the first time, under supervision of course. These trips lasted only for an hour or two, and took place once every week, but Sato loved them nevertheless. Long, uncut grass, sun, wind, animals, what can be better? Certainly not some underground garden that looked so pretty to the point of being ugly.

Sato couldn’t wait until he grows old enough to leave the monastery on his own and meditate outside. Most Walkers meditated in the garden. In fact, almost all of them meditated in the garden. Sato was once told that the garden was created few centuries ago precisely for that purpose. Its beauty was designed to ease the mind and help in meditation. Apparently its artificiality was not a problem for most people. Sato wasn’t like that. He saw the imperfection of outside world as something beautiful. He always wanted to explore the world around him, and outside the monastery.

He even planned one day to go to a city. He didn’t really knew what a city is supposed to be, except that it was a place filled with people. Many people. Much more that the few hundred who lived in the monastery. He heard about cities when listening to adult Walkers. They sometimes talked about going to a city for one of their missions. Unfortunately, he was not yet allowed to talk freely to adults. For now, he could only address them if they addressed him first. All he could do was to spy on their conversations. From what he learned so far, their mission always involved “elimination of targets.” He was not sure what it meant. Every day, Sato and other children were given weapons and ordered to shoot at targets. He imagined that when adults were talking about the elimination of targets, they meant in reality practice shooting. But why would they travel to these cities, whatever cities were, in order to train themselves? They could practice shooting here in the monastery, just as the children did.

“How is your hand?” A concerned voice asked from behind.
Sato turned around. It was Katsumi. She was the prettiest girl in their group. Of course, Sato never told her that. In fact, he never managed to say much when talking to her. He always felt very nervous in her presence.
“I asked how is your hand.”
“Fine.” His answer was fast. He hoped that she will leave him alone, although deep inside he hopped that she won’t.
“You are such a liar Sato. I watched you since the fight. I can see that it hurts you.”

She was right. He managed to loose himself in his thought and forget about the pain, but now it was back. Few hours ago, when playing with the rest of children, he noticed Yoshi, his worst enemy and the group’s bully, teasing Katsumi and pulling her by her ponytail. Sato immediately told Yoshi to stop. The only reply he got was a punch to the face. Before he could understand what was happening, Yoshi was on top of him punching him like crazy. Sato could do nothing else but cover his head and wait until Yoshi calmed down. He did calm down eventually, but that was not the end of the whole affair. Yoshi quickly turned Sato on his stomach and grabbed his arm, twisting it in a very painful angle. He then asked Sato to admit that he is an idiot, a pig and a dozen other things. When Sato told his tormentor to go the hell, Yoshi started to twist his arm even herder. Waves of pain passed through the boy’s little body and he had to clench his teeth really hard in order to prevent screaming, but he did managed to remain silent, except for one more “go to hell” remark. Needless to say, this resistance was not good for Sato’s arm. Yoshi twisted it with all his strength, and he would have broke it, but at this moment one of the supervisors came to them and told them to stop. He congratulated Yoshi on his combat moves, and Sato on his resistance to pain and courage. He then announced that if they still want to solve their differences, they can do so the next day during the martial arts training.

“Let me see,” Katsumi demanded.
“No.”
“Oh c’mon. Maybe I can help.”
Sato very reluctantly rolled up the sleeve of his kimono. The girl immediately started to examine the wounded arm.
“Oh no! Just look at it. It’s all swollen.”
“It’ll be fine tomorrow.”
“No it won’t. I once hurt my arm like this during combat practice. The next morning it still hurt like hell. Maybe one of the Technomancers could take care of it?”
“I already asked. The supervisor told me that pain is a part of life, and that we must learn to endure it.”
“Supervisors say many things. You know what?”
“What?”
“You should put your arm in cold water. It will feel really good. And it will heal faster. That’s what I always do when I’m hurt. I have a scarf with me. If you want I could soak it with the water from the stream and then wrap it around your arm."
“I… Well… I don’t care at all. But if you really want to do it, I won’t mind.”

Katsumi quickly went to the stream and returned with a pleasantly cold and wet scarf. She gently wrapped it around Sato’s arm. The touch of the cold fabric and Katsumi’s delicate fingers felt so good. Sato still felt the pain, but right now it didn’t bother him at all. He wished for this moment to last forever, but as all moments, it didn’t.

“Hey Sato! I see that your girlfriend is taking good care of you. Maybe she should kiss you on the arm. I heard that it helps.” It was Yoshi. He was surrounded by a group of other boys who always followed him around and laughed whenever he laughed. Like any bully, Yoshi had his small gang that he controlled through the force of his personality and violence. “Or you know what!? Maybe she should lick it as well. Combat trainer told us that saliva has healing proprieties. Perhaps you too should lick your arm! Both of you should lick it!” He started laughing, and his gang did the same.

That was it. Sato was now really decided to take on Yoshi again. In his mind he already had fantasies about ripping Yoshi’s arm off and tearing apart his face. He wanted to rise, but Katsumi put her hand on his shoulder. Gently, but firmly, she lowered him back into the sitting position.

“Just ignore him. He’s an idiot. He’s telling these things because he’s too stupid to say anything intelligent. He will beat you again if you try to fight him.”
“I don’t care even if he kills me.” There was a tremendous amount of hatred in his voice. “I won’t let that dog insult me.”
“But don’t you see? This is exactly what he wants. He provokes you so that you attack him, and then he beats you and humiliates you in front of others. If you ignore him, you will show that you are above his insults.”
Sato slowly calmed down as the wisdom of Katsumi’s words sank into his mind. However, he was not ready to give up.
“He also insulted you as well.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me. I really like you.” She kissed him on the cheek.
Sato almost passed out. He didn’t, but instead, within few seconds his face went completely red. So red in fact, that he had to turn his head away. Unfortunately, all of this was witnessed by Yoshi and his pals.
“Oh my goodness! Just look at that! That was so.”

He never finished. His eyes looked attentively in another direction. Other children immediately noticed. It was extremely unusual for Yoshi to stop in the middle of insulting someone. Their eyes followed Yoshi’s gaze. Suddenly, all noise stopped. Sato was still shaken, so it took a moment for his troubled mind to register the change in his surroundings. But even he eventually turned in the direction everyone was looking.

He recognized the man. It was one of the elders. Children and elders never had any contact whatsoever with each other. Elders were the leaders of this monastery. Everyone, including the Deathbringers who were universally feared, bowed before the elders. An aura of authority surrounded them. Children felt it too.

The old man smiled. He approached the children and walked into the middle of them. All those close to him stepped back. No one dared to be within arm’s reach of the elder. It was apparent that the children didn’t know how to behave. They were never told what to do in the presence of an elder. A very long, but in reality very short, moment of silence followed. Finally, Katsumi bowed, just as she had seen adults do when meeting one of the elders. The rest immediately did the same.

“It rejoices my old heart to see that children nowadays still know good manners. But please, don’t be so afraid of me. I can assure you that I don’t bite.” Sato noticed with surprise that the man had warm voice. The elders he had seen so far, including this one, were always emotionless and authoritarian. “My name is Ketsu. You might call me Master Ketsu. I don’t like when people address me as Venerable and Holy Elder. I prefer a simple Master Ketsu. And if you don’t like that either, you can also call me Teacher. This term is also correct, since I will be your teacher. You must feel surprised that I, an elder, came here to see you. So far, you never spoke to an elder before. Things are going to be different now. You are old enough to receive your first lesson. And according to our sacred traditions, only an elder can give it. I know that since the moment you were old enough to walk, you were taught many things. Things such as how to fight with and without weapons, how to take care of your wounds, how to move around unseen by others, how to sneak into guarded places, how to make and use poison, and other things. All of these are skills that you will start using in just few years. And which you will continue using until you die, or become elders, whichever comes first. Rest assured, your training in these domains is not over. In fact, there is still a lot you must learn. However, there are other things that you must learn. Even more important than combat. I will teach you these things.

You are curious about many things. All children are. You want to know who we are, who you are, what do we do and why we do it. It is perfectly natural that you have such questions. But when you asked these questions to your supervisors, they told you to be patient. They told you that the answers you seek will be given to you in time. This time has come. I will teach you about us and this place. This is the lesson of which I spoke earlier.

So sit down and get comfortable. It will take a long time to explain it to you. And believe me. I have a lot to tell you. Meanwhile, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me as I go along.

History

What you must understand is that the Shadow Walkers, like any organization, are a product of long evolution. Since their founding they went through many changes. The Shadow Walkers of today are completely different from the original Shadow Walkers. In fact, in the beginning they were not even called Shadow Walkers. They were just a bunch of thugs organized by one man to help him in exerting his vengeance.

The story began with the birth of a man called Fudgi Tekenshi in 52 BYC.* The Tekenshi family was small, but quite wealthy and powerful. They were samurais, but back then this did not meant the same thing it means today. In the year 52 BYC Mishima was a very different megacorporation from what it is today. In that old Mishima everyone was officially equal, but as with all things, money and political power made certain people more equal than others. Being a samurai was just an honorary title.

Tekenshis were the creators and owners of Tek Flight Industries. Their specialization was to construct all sorts of flying vehicles, ranging from small private airplanes to gigantic air carriers. They might have also produce parts for spaceships, but this is not certain. Don’t forget that this was before the Age of Catastrophe. These flying vehicles were not the primitive aircrafts that we have today, but real marvels of technology. They were similar to those wonders that Cybertronic is producing, but they were even more advanced than that.

Anyway, Fudgi was the second son of the brother of the head of the Tekenshi family. The head of the family, his name is not known, had already three sons. Thus, there was no realistic way that Fudgi could become one day the head of the family. There were just too many candidates before him. But that pleased him. Fudgi never had any political aspirations, or a talent to run the family. Right from his early childhood he was fascinated by machines. He liked to take them apart and put back together. There was no greater pleasure for young Fudgi than to learn how some gadget worked, and to create new gadgets. He frequently sneaked into Tek’s labs where he assisted the engineers in their work. First learning from them, and later teaching them. There was no question in his mind that one day he will become an engineer and control the research department of his family’s company. Fortunately, no one tried to impose a different role on him. The adults were smart enough to see Fudgi’s talent and they understood that his true place was in family’s lab where he was most useful.

However, destiny had other plans for the young Fudgi. His life was pleasant so far, but the world around him wasn’t. The technology that helped humanity in achieving greatness was failing. For some reason all advanced machines malfunctioned from time to time. These failures caused much harm. After two centuries of peaceful, secure life humanity felt endangered. Fear mixed with anger and resulted in war. Corporations blamed each other for the failure of their technology. Soon the First Corporate War started.

Luckily for Fudgi, there was no warfare on Mercury, but the war affected everyone nevertheless. The Tekenshi family made a fortune producing military aircrafts. Their products were unreliable, as all advanced machines were, but the government was still buying them.

Needless to say, such a failure rate was unacceptable. By old, pre-war standards it was even unimaginable. The only thing that saved the Tekenshi family from disgrace was the fact that all other companies suffered from the same problem. Around the Solar System things were going wrong, although there was no reason for them to go wrong.

As an engineer and an inventor, Fudgi was interested in this problem right from the moment when he build his first mechanical toy. It made him furious whenever a machine malfunctioned, even if science dictated that everything should work fine. He searched and searched, but he couldn’t find a cause for this. Why did the machines that operated flawlessly for many years suddenly started to break? Aside from his personal interest, Fudgi wanted to solve this mystery for the good of his family as well. If he could discover the cause, then he could find a cure for the problem. This would help his family and the corporation immeasurably. With perfectly safe technology everyone would buy aircrafts from the Tek Industries. And Mishiman pilots could fly in high-tech killing machines, bringing death with the best equipment in the Solar System.

The official explanation of failing technology back in those troubled days was that it was an effect of sabotage. Fudgi rejected that theory immediately. The scale of the problem ruled out enemy tampering. There were just too many malfunctions to be blamed on human malice. Something else was going on.

Fudgi launched himself into extensive study. He developed multiple theories, and then proved them all wrong one by one. He, and many other researchers, could not grasp the nature of the problem. Something was going on, but he could not figure out what was it.

He was about to give up, when he heard about an interesting explanation. There was a sect on Venus. Although small at the beginning, it was rapidly growing. The leader of the sect was a Bauhaus noble called Nathaniel Durand. This charismatic man claimed that an evil force, which he named the Dark Soul, was using its power to affect human technology. Most people laughed at that, but Fudgi was desperate. He traveled to Venus and gave a generous donation to the sect. His generosity allowed him to meet with Durand. The two men talked briefly about the Dark Soul. Very quickly, it became clear to Fudgi that Durand will not be of much help. The man was not interested at all in studying the Dark Soul and its power. His only goal was to destroy this entity and save humanity. Durand believed that trying to understand the Dark Soul only invites corruption and madness.

Overall, Fudgi was disappointed, but he did learned one interesting thing. Something that proved to be an important lead. Durand told him that there are people who serve this Dark Soul. Perhaps these people could provide Fudgi with more information about the force that was corrupting technology?

It is not known how Fudgi entered into contact with heretics. He never talked about it. Most probably he started asking questions and attracted someone’s attention. Of course, today such questions would very soon land a man in an interrogation cell beneath a cathedral. But these were the days before Inquisition. Besides, no one believed in silly stories about dark powers and evil servants. Heretics were able to operate without fear of discovery.

Fudgi was initiated into a secret cult which Algeroth – the Dark Lord of Technology, as he was called. Fudgi’s affinity with technology granted him a position of a Technomancer. He became quite familiar with the Dark Technology. Perhaps, familiar is not the right word. He felt in love in it and understood it like no one else. In just six years he rose to the position of the Master Technomancer. Such a rapid progress is unheard of, even among those who worship the Darkness.

During these six years Fudgi changed drastically. His original goal of finding the solution to the malfunction of advanced technology was abandoned. Even his work at his family’s research department became secondary. He no longer cared for human technology. Now he had something much, much better. The dark science created by the Darkness was absolutely more powerful, and flexible. Fudgi no longer felt restricted by the limits of human knowledge. With the Dark Technology he could create absolutely everything. His imagination was the only limit.

When Fudgi received his new title of Master Technomancer, it became apparent that he could not lead a double life anymore. He already paid little attention to his official work, and his new duties demanded all of his time and dedication. It was time for him to retire from human life and isolate himself from outside world in safe, dark walls of his temple. Of course, before doing so he had to find some way to “retire” from human society. He was after all a famous figure in the scientific community. He couldn’t just disappear. It would attract too much attention. After some thinking, his fellow heretics concluded that death was the best form of retirement.

Fudgi was surprised by how easy it was to fake one’s death. Using his skills with the Bio-Technology, he had grown a clone of himself few weeks earlier. This clone, who was nothing more than a mindless, soulless piece of meat, was killed and left in Fudgi’s apartment. The whole family was deeply saddened to learn that their beloved Fudgi was killed. The murder was blamed on competition. There was nothing unusual in such a presumption. The times became desperate. Not just for Mishima, but for the whole of humanity. As the war was increasing in violence and madness, so too did the people. Within Mishima many families fought secret wars for power and wealth. While some amount of hostility always existed, even in the Golden Age,* the amount of murders, bombings and aggressive takeovers rose to terrible level. Everything that humanity accomplished since the Exodus was crumbling. But the saddest part was that people did not saw it as a tragedy, but as an opportunity to gain power. Unfortunately, it made perfect sense that someone killed the brilliant head of Tek’s research department in order to damage the Tekenshi family.

Fudgi locked himself up in his cult’s temple and began his duties as a good, responsible Technomancer. For the following eleven years he worked hard, assisting fellow heretics and developing his own personal projects. During that time he cared little for the outside world. His universe was limited to his lab and the dark corridors of the temple. It was not unusual for him to stay in his lab for weeks, struggling over some project with only brief periods of rest.

However, even if isolated, Fudgi did checked from time to time on his family. Even if a heretic, he still loved them. Obviously, it was a terrible shock for him when they were all killed. The attack occurred on a warm summer night. The attackers were all masked. They burst into the house and butchered everyone – the family, the servants and the guards. Although it was never officially discovered who was behind the attack, everyone knew that the Naga family was responsible.

The Naga’s were all a bunch of snakes. Even before the war, they were renowned for their shadowy ways and dishonorable dealings. It was widely known that they had extensive dealings with the Triads. They always used gangsters for all sorts of dirty tasks, but because of their influence and wealth nothing was ever proven. When the war broke out, the Nagas were the first family to use it as an opportunity for expanding their empire. They already had their fingers in pretty much every business type, except the military. Before the Age of Catastrophe, humanity was peaceful. Wars belonged to the past and the armies were little more than symbolic reminders of past glory. Weapon producers were few in number. After all, the demand for their products was not very high. The war changed all that. Military production skyrocketed. The Nagas immediately smelled a good business opportunity. They aggressively started to buy out all companies involved with production of military equipment. Those who refused to give ground to Nagas were forced to “become more cooperative.” The Tekenshi family refused to sell their beloved enterprise to some dogs who didn’t even understand the meaning of honor. For this, they had to die.

Fudgi immediately went to his Necromagus and demanded for the Naga family to be killed. He wanted revenge and he wanted it right now. The Necromagus replied him that it was impossible. The Nagas were numerous and very powerful. Being one of the most villainous families in Mishima, they had plenty of enemies. The most powerful Mishiman families tried to bring them down for generations. If such powerful people failed, how could a small group of people achieve it? Besides, the heretics were busy elsewhere, working hard to prepare the world for the arrival of their master and his army. However, the Necromagus promised Fudgi that once the master arrives, the heretics will come out of shadows and all of their enemies will first know fear, and then the coldness death. The Naga family will share the fate of others.

Fudgi was not satisfied, but he had little choice in this matter. Reluctantly, he returned to his lab and stayed there for few months. He worked like crazy, hoping that the work will allow him to forget and make the pain go away. Of course, it didn’t. During that time he did a lot of thinking. Slowly, he lost his faith in Algeroth, and even himself. All the dark arts he had mastered, all the heretics and all of Algeroth’s powers, they were not able to save his family. If he only could have known about the Nagas’s plans. He was so obsessed with his work that he was not aware of the danger that threatened his family. Perhaps he could have saved them. The terrible guilt was slowly eating Fudgi’s soul. The thought of vengeance turned into an obsession. He was willing to sacrifice everything for it, and to face every obstacle. He was even ready to fight Algeroth himself should it become necessary.

After these few months Fudgi finally emerged from his lab, but he was now a completely changed man. He had a mission. He had a plan how to exact his revenge, but he needed the support of other heretics. The problem was that he couldn’t count on such support – at least as long as he was not the one giving orders. He had to take over the temple, and he knew a man who could help him.

His name was Tagana. He was the captain of the Destroyers. Before becoming a heretic, Tagana was a gangster in one of the Triads. His job in there was to take care of any and all business that called for violence. Even before embracing the Darkness, he already had many murders and other violent deeds on his conscience – assuming that he had a conscience. Tagana’s only goal in life was to gain as much power and wealth as possible. He chose to join the cultists only because he figured out that with them he could gain much more than with his triad.

Fudgi found it very easy to play on Tagana’s ambition. The man lusted for power, but lacked the necessary skills to gain it. A good leader has to combine violence with diplomacy and muscle with wit. However, Tagana thought that violence was the best solution in every situation. No wonder the Necromagus charged him with the leadership of Destroyers. This position allowed him to engage in as much violence as he liked. However, no one thought that Tagana could climb any higher in heretical hierarchy. Everyone thought that he was where he belonged – except for Tagana himself.

Fudgi convinced Tagana that with his help he could gain the power he desired. In fact, he could gain much more. As a heretic, Tagana was destined to remain forever a slave to Algeroth and the Dark Soul. However, by betraying the cult and going rogue, he could achieve so much more. Fudgi pledged his allegiance to Tagana and promised him that he will assist him any way he could as long as Tagana was willing to carry out retribution on the Naga family.

Fudgi’s proposal was accepted. Tagana managed to convince other Destroyers to follow him in his betrayal. No one else was included in the plot. No one else was necessary. On the chosen day Fudgi released poisonous gas into the temple’s ventilation system. The Destroyers went inside with gas masks and quickly eliminated anyone who survived the gas attack. The whole massacre took no longer than fifteen minutes.

Once the gruesome task was done, the traitors moved all the necessary equipment and weapons to another location. They didn’t wanted to stay in the temple for its location was known to heretics from other cults. Among heretics there is only one punishment possible for treason. Once the temple was striped of everything that was useful to the conspirators, the place was blown up. The explosion and fire removed all traces of what happened. Other heretics assumed that the temple was either destroyed by followers of another apostle, or those zealous Light Warriors* serving Durand.

Meantime, the traitors established their base in Longshore and started to offer their services for all those who could afford them. The Destroyers were after all excellent soldiers. Plus, the Black Technology transformed them into superhuman fighting machines. There was a demand for such men. And thanks to Tagana’s contacts within the triads, they never had to complain about lack of work.

Fudgi didn’t mind. He recognized that the group needed money in order to take on the Naga family. Also, he understood that the others didn’t cared at all about avenging the Tekenshi family. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that Fudgi was their only Technomancer, they wouldn’t even try to harm the Nagas.

Tagana called his group the Black Comrades. Within few years they became the most famous mercenary terrorists in Mishima. Powerful people hired them whenever they had need of professional, absolutely illegal help. Tagana kept his word and carried out Fudgi’s revenge on Nagas. The Comrades performed many acts of terrorism and assassination against this powerful family. Fudgi wanted it to be slow. It was not his intention to wipe out the whole family, as they did with the Tekenshis. Rather than that, he wanted to destroy them step by step.

The Black Comrades started carrying out a series of assassinations and terrorist acts aimed at the Naga family. They first began by destroying Naga’s holdings. Then they started killing children in order to cause maximum pain to the adult members of the family. They also killed all close friends and associates of the family. Once this was done, they moved up in their assassinations until after seventeen years Ukatsu Naga, the head of the family, was the last one to remain alive. He was the one who gave the order to slaughter the Tekenshi family, and for this reason Fudgi had special plans for him. He sent a letter to Ukatsu in which he explained who he was and why was the Naga family reduced to a single member. Ukatsu was to suffer the worst punishment. He was to be left alive. Fudgi wanted him to spend the rest of his days watching the Naga empire, or rather what was left of it, falling apart. He had to live knowing that there is no one left to inherit family’s fortune. All Ukatsu and previous heads of his family created was to be divided after his death and taken away by strangers. Ukatsu had to live, only to know that his family will die with him.

He tried to find Fudgi and avenge himself, but he failed. The Black Comrades were pretty powerful by now. Besides, most of the Naga fortune was lost due to the terrorist attacks. The Naga family, or rather its last member, was only a shadow of its former self. Ukatsu couldn’t do much against his enemies. The old man died four years later, knowing that he will never have vengeance.

Fudgi stayed with the Black Comrades until Ukatsu’s death. Meanwhile, the group grew in number. New recruits were recruited and trained. The organization started to expand. However, all of this had little importance for Fudgi. After seeing the Naga family wiped out, he found himself without any goal in life. He looked at his present life and realized that it was pointless. He was always a man who had some passion and a definite goal. At first it was the desire to solve the mystery of malfunctioning technology and love for engineering. Then, his love of human technology turned into love for Dark Legion’s technology and willingness to master it. Finally, vengeance became his sole reason of existence. And now, he was empty. There was nothing further for him to do. He felt no loyalty to the Black Comrades. For him it was always a business deal. Tagana was to receive power and control over his own organization, while Fudgi was to get his vengeance. Now the deal was over.

After a lot of thinking Fudgi decided to leave. He just wanted to go back to the world and try to find some meaning of life for himself. Unfortunately, contrary to other people he was not lucky enough to age and die. Long time ago, soon after becoming a heretic he used the Bio-technology to make his body immune to aging. He could still die due to injury or disease, but time could not destroy his body. There was always a possibility of committing a suicide, but some sparkle of humanity in Fudgi’s soul still clung to life. Deep inside he still hoped that there was a possibility for him of finding something worth living for.

Tagana was not very pleased when Fudgi announced that he was planning to leave. Fudgi was Comrades’ only Technomancer. Without him they couldn’t use the Black Technology anymore. That was unacceptable. Tagana first threatened Fudgi, but at this point the old Technomancer no longer feared death. He told Tagana that if it was his fate to die, he would die. And that no threat could make him stay. Therefore, Tagana changed his strategy and begged Fudgi to stay at least long enough to train someone who could replace him. He appealed to his sense of duty and argued that he owed it to Tagana for killing all the Nagas. With great reluctance, Fudgi agreed to stay just for a short while. It took him three years to find a group of people suitable to become the next generation of Technomacers and to train them. After that, he left.

No one knows what happened to him afterwards. There were few rumors of him being sighted here and there thorough the following centuries, but none of these rumors have ever been confirmed. Did he find some reason to live? Did the heretics or the Inquisition hunt him down? Maybe he was unable to find happiness and took his own life? Or perhaps he wanders the world up to this day searching for something worth living for. No one knows.

* BYC stands for Before the Year of the Cardinal. The Cardinal’s Calendar starts with the Congress of Luna. It was at this congress that the delegates from all corporations and important freelance organizations officially recognized the legitimacy of the Brotherhood and agreed to follow Cardinal’s Commandments.

* Golden Age lasted from the Exodus to the outbreak of First Corporate Wars.

* Light Warriors were the original Inquisition. Durand recognized right from the beginning the need to hunt down heretics, but he couldn’t do so legally because his sect had no legal right to do so. Besides, before the arrival of Dark Legion in 27 YC no one believed in heretics and the Dark Soul. Thus, Durand organized a clandestine group of warriors who secretly waged a war against heretics. After the Dark Legion invasion corporate leaders had no choice but to believe Durand and his stories about the Darkness. They agreed that there was a real need for an organization responsible for protecting humanity from heretics. In 28 YC the corporate leaders officially recognized the legitimacy of the Inquisition.

First War Against the Brotherhood 114 YC – 115 YC

It shouldn’t be really called a war. It was actually a persecution. But lets start from the beginning.

In the century that followed Fudgi’s leave the Black Comrades did not change too much. They were still a bunch of assassins for hire under the command of Tanaga. Just as Fudgi, he too made his body immune to aging. Under his leadership the organization became more sophisticated and well organized, but it was still an organization of mercenary thugs. Tagana was enjoying great wealth. Due to the fact that he did the dirty work for pretty much every family who ever required such a service, he became a respected, in the way powerful and dangerous criminals are, and feared man among the elites. He was invited to every major part in Longshore and, on a single occasion, he was asked to attend the birthday party of the Overlord himself. Just as it is today, back then such an invitation was the highest sign of recognition and respect a man could receive in Mishima.

He was not the only one. The black Comrades grew in numbers and expanded to the whole of Mercury, and the other planets as well, although their presence there was limited to Mishima owned territories. In order to control his vast, criminal empire, Tagana set up the so-called captains to administer the other regions. While those men were not as “popular” as their supreme leader, they did managed to make a name for themselves. They too were frequent guests in the homes of local nobility.

Meanwhile, the Black Comrades started to move into other domains of illegal activity as well. While violence remained their specialty, they became involved with gambling, prostitution, drug dealing and everything else that was bringing money. This was not done just out of greed. Tagana had a dream. He wanted to unite all the triads, through conquest of course, under his leadership and thus create the greatest criminal empire in human history. Then with this mighty army of criminals he planned to take over Mishima. Once this was going to be done, there was nothing left for him but to establish control over the rest of humanity. This goal might seem impossible for us to accomplish. Humanity was never united before, although many had tried to unite it in every possible way. Still, Tagana had two qualities that allowed him to think that he of all the people could accomplish this mighty task. He was power hungry megalomaniac and immortal. A dangerous combination. He did not fear death, and therefore, he had plenty of time to realize his far fetching ambitions. However, immortality is just a word, and death was coming to claim him.

In the year 114 YC Tagana accepted a contract that was soon to prove fatal for him and his organization. He was hired to kill Nicodemus – the bishop of Longshore. The request came from Lord Heir Taketsu. He despised the bishop who for the past decade mingled in internal Mishiman politics. Taketsu could no longer tolerate Brotherhood’s attempts to take over Mercury. After the war Brotherhood desired nothing else than to steal the power away from the megacorporations and control humanity. The Brotherhood defended itself by claiming that it desired only for humanity to obey the word of the Cardinal. Through strict religious control the Brotherhood was supposed to keep humanity safe and prevent the return of the Dark Legion. Nicodemus was simply following Cardinal’s policy.

The Lord Heir cared little for Brotherhood’s excuses. They were a threat to his power, and Nicodemus was a living personification of that menace. Taketsu wanted to send a message all the way back to Luna.

He invited the bishop for negotiations. On his way from the Longshore cathedral Nicodemus was supposed to be killed by the Black Comrades. Things were not going to be so simple, however. Brotherhood had its eyes and ears everywhere. Nicodemus was informed about the planned attempt on his life and made necessary preparations. When the moment of attack came the assassins found out that Nicodemus was not in his car. Secretly he had taken another route. However, what the killers found was a squad of elite Brotherhood soldiers. The shooting that ensued was brief, but intense nevertheless. Most of the Comrades were killed. Only few made it safely out of the killing zone.

This event would have been of no importance, except that during the battle Brotherhood soldiers noticed that the assassins showed superhuman physical abilities. Such abilities have not been seen since the war against the Dark Legion. The bodies were taken for autopsy and the shocking truth was discovered inside them. All of the Black Comrades were enhanced with Biotechnology.

This revelation sent a shock wave through the Brotherhood. After the Dark Legion had left, all the remaining heretics of Algeroth have been either hunted down or forced into hiding. While the followers of other apostles still remained active, they were not judged to be as dangerous as those who served the Prince of War.

Now, the Brotherhood was faced with the existence of powerful heretic organization still relying on Algeroth’s technology. Of course, the Brotherhood was aware of the existence of the Black Comrades before, but they were always considered to be nothing more than a bunch of brutes. No one knew about their origins. It was a closely guarded secret. Tagana had enough sense to know that should the truth be known, heretics and the Inquisition would have mercilessly hunted down him and his men. Now the truth was known.

Brotherhood leaders decided to use direct and official approach. Since the very founding of the Brotherhood, Mishima was the megacorporation that opposed it the most fiercely. Exposing the fact that a vastly powerful, heretical organization was working in Mishima with the approval of the ruling class, and then destroying that organization would greatly enhance Brotherhood’s popularity among the lower Mishiman classes.

And so it was done. The Black Comrades were declared heretics and a crusade was launched against them. It was quite easy for the Inquisition to destroy the organization. Over time the Comrades grew so sure of themselves that they almost stopped hiding. The triads were happy to direct the inquisitors in the right direction as well. Tagana’s plans for conquering all the triads was not well received for obvious reasons. Many triads who tried to oppose the Black Comrades in the past suffered heavy casualties and some were even completely wiped out. Now it was time to settle old scores. Indeed, some Comrades were killed by the triads out of revenge, and not by the bullets or fire of the Inquisition. The Mishiman elites also decided to support the Brotherhood on this one. Because of their association with the Black Comrades their reputation was tarnished. They were eager to redeem themselves. The Comrades suddenly found themselves all alone fighting against the whole solar system.

Tagana was one of the first to be captured. He was tortured extensively and burned alive right in front of the Longshore cathedral. His death was shown on television across the Solar System. Other Comrades shared a very similar fate, except that their execution was not publicized to such a degree. Within few months all the might and power of the organization was reduced to nothing. Out of few thousands members the Comrades were reduced to a hundred of desperate people hiding from the hunters. It seemed that all was lost, but one man was to save them.

Fritzger’s Reforms 115 YC – 127 YC

The captain in charge of Black Comrades on Mars was a man named Jonathan Fritzger. Fritzger was an oddity. He was one of the few non-Mishimans to be recruited by the Black Comrades. Illegitimate son of a Capitolian freelancer and a Mishiman woman, of all the foreigners he was the one who climbed the highest in the Comrade hierarchy. Due to his familiarity with Mars and the fact that the Mishiman presence on the Red Planet was still very small, and thus Mars was not very important, he was granted the title Captain of Mars.

He worked hard on improving the Comrade’s position on Mars. Since there were few Mishimans there, Fritzger tried to make a name for himself and his group among the Capitolian corporate elite. This did not work very well. Capitolian businessmen distrusted the Mishiman organization. Besides, they were not as aggressive as the Mishiman families. Capitol always believed in tough, but fair competition. Acts of terrorism were not very popular. Therefore, Fritzger had a hard time expanding due to the lack of demand for his services.

The Brotherhood persecution found Fritzger and his men well prepared. Well, at least comparing to other Black Comrades. Martian Comrades, contrary to their brothers on other planets, were hunted by the Capitolian police. Unlike Mishima, Capitol did not tolerate professional groups of foreign assassins on its territory. For this reason, Fritzger and his men had to hide from the authorities. Secrecy and avoidance of detection were well known to them. Due to this fact, the Inquisition had a lot of trouble rooting out Comrades on Mars.

Still, Fritzger understood that it was only a question of time before he and his men would be eliminated. He had to act fast, and he did. Using all of their resources, the Martian Comrades hastily constructed a small, underground base deep beneath the sands of the Great Rust Desert. Once the work on the base was finished, all the workers were killed in order to keep the location secret. Fritzger and his men moved in immediately and locked themselves up in the shelter.

The Brotherhood never managed to find them. Except for the Comrades, no one knew about the location of the base, and there was no contact whatsoever with the outside world. During their hiding, Fritzger reorganized the organization. In order to avoid past mistakes, he imposed strict secrecy in their dealings. He also forbade them from killing Brotherhood members, unless they threatened the organization or were secretly heretics. To break with the past, he gave a new name to his men. From this moment onwards, they were to be known as Shadows.

The change in name was more than a symbolic gesture. The term “Shadows” suited the new reincarnation of the organization much better. Within few years, Fritzger turned this band of brutal killers into a group of sophisticated assassins relying on finesse and stealth rather than brute force.

Finally, Fritzger wanted to make sure that there will be no second Brotherhood hunt. If his organization was to survive, his men had to stay undetected. To help in achieving this goal, he ordered the Technomancers to create a device that would destroy the bodies of any slain Shadow. No body, no autopsy. No autopsy, no detection of Biotechnology. After few years of extensive work the Technomancers came out with an enzyme that completely consumed the body upon death. From this moment on this device was installed in every single Shadow. And it is the very first Biotechnological enhancement a Shadow Walker receives up to this day.

After twelve long years of exile beneath the sands of the Great Rust Desert, the Shadows were ready to reenter the world. However, Fritzger understood that his organization was too weak to start operating on Mars, and Shadow resources were almost completely exhausted. The organization needed large financial support, and the most lucrative contracts were on Mercury. The Brotherhood might have destroyed the local Comrades, but they could not put an end to the demand for their services. The Mishiman families still fought wars for supremacy. As long as the Shadows remained in the shadows, they were assured a long and prosperous future. And so in the year 127 YC Fritzger and his small army left the darkness of their underground Martian base for the darkness of the caverns on Mercury. Just like the legendary phoenix, the Shadows were reborn in the fire of the Inquisition and emerged as a stronger and deadlier organization.

Second War Against the Brotherhood and the Neronian Schism
334 YC – 372 YC

The Neronian Schism provided the Shadows with the opportunity to get revenge on the Brotherhood. While few of their members perished in the interrogation cells in the past two hundred years, the memory of the First Brotherhood War was still alive. During the Schism the samurai class decided to permanently separate Mishima from the Brotherhood. This decision was not well received by the Cardinals. Although during that turbulent time the Brotherhood was divided into a number of factions, all of them felt that it was completely unacceptable for a megacorporation to live without obedience to the teachings of the Cardinal.

As a result, even as Brotherhood was torn apart by a civil war, it fought against Mishima. Exactly what followed is a vast subject. Through the past nine centuries countless historians have written countless books. I suggest that if you want a detailed story, you should read their writings. However, absolutely nothing was written about the role of Shadows in that conflict. It is understandable, after all, Shadows were one of the most secret groups in Mishima. Their descendants, the Shadow Walkers, are even more secretive.

To make a long story short, it was a time of plenty for the Shadows. The ruling elites used them to eliminate many influential Brotherhood officials. And when the Brotherhood instigated massive worker revolts, Shadows were busy killing off the rebel leaders. Although the internal laws strictly prohibited harming Brothers, Shadows mutually agreed to suspend that particular law for the duration of the Schism. They felt that at that point the Brotherhood was so weakened that it could do nothing to the Shadows. Besides, it was a good opportunity to settle old scores. And there was plenty of money to be made.

While Mishima would eventually win the struggle and kick the Brotherhood out without Shadows, there can be no doubt that their assistance was crucial in speeding the process. By killing important officials and rebel leaders, Shadows prevented in many cases an outbreak of open war, or helped to end it, thus saving hundreds of thousands of human lives.

However, the Neronian Schism marks a milestone in the history of the Shadow Walkers. It was at that time that the Shadows gained a new member. A very famous man who made the Shadow Walkers what they are today. His name is well known. He is a despised, although misunderstood, figure in Mishiman history. The man was named Yokoto Satsumi, but history renamed him as the Heretic Sage.

Yokoto is quite famous, so I will only offer a brief reminder of his actions. He was one of the students of Yorama – the Sage of Battle. Like many of Yorama’s disciples, he was a young samurai who became attracted to the teachings of the Sage. Yorama was teaching his students the importance of honor, loyalty, discipline and meditation. For Yorama battle skills were only secondary in importance. They were mere tools to be used in achieving greatness. What counted was the way of life, not how to wield a sword.

Yokoto was to become Yorama’s most famous student, but not for following his master’s teachings. To the contrary, he became the opposite of his master. Up to this day many samurais tell their sons about Yorama to teach them how a samurai should be, and then they tell them about Yokoto to show how a samurai should not be.

However, there are those who admire Yokoto. Of course, not publicly. The Shadow Walkers certainly do. They owe so much to the man. But let’s not rush things too much.

Yokoto always considered Yorama’s teachings to be nothing more than a fancy pile of bullshit. All those talks about honor and better way of life bored him. For him it mattered little how a victory was achieved. After all, in the end the winner is always a winner and the looser stays a looser, no matter whether the battle was fought honorably or not. Needless to say, Yokoto pretended otherwise. Yorama would never accept a dishonorable man as his student. The young samurai was pretending to abide to his master’s philosophy, while he concentrated all his efforts on learning combat techniques and mastering the Ki.

Yokoto’s deception could not last. As it is widely known, Yorama discovered what kind of snake he had among his disciples. He could not accept that such a disgusting individual had tricked him into teaching him ancient battle techniques. Yokoto was taken to his master where he was sentenced to death. However, the clever student immediately challenged the Sage to a duel. At first, Yorama announced that he is under no obligation to accept a challenge from a man with no honor. But the student knew how to play on his master’s major weakness – his sense of honor. He insulted Yorama and told him that a samurai who does not fear anything, as Yorama was, should always accept a challenge, especially if he was insulted. The Sage finally agreed to fight Yokoto.

The story of the duel is quite famous. It was called Duel of the Bridge, because it took place on a bridge. After exchanging few blows it became apparent that Yokoto did not stand a chance. It seemed that the fight would be over within the matter of seconds, and indeed it was. Yokoto threw a handful of sand into Yorama’s eyes. The Sage was blinded. His student took advantage of this immediately. He struck fast cutting off his teacher’s hand. He wanted to sever his head as well, but other students who stood at both ends of the bridge witnessed the whole scene. Outraged at Yokoto’s dirty trick, they charged to save their beloved master. Yokoto chose to save his own life and jumped into the river.

He reappeared again few months later. This time on Venus where he organized his own private army. Allied with one of the heretic cardinals, he attempted to take over the Mishiman holdings on the Green Planet. Surprisingly, he was successful. All of Mishima’s territories were conquered. Later, Yokoto managed to wrestle even more land from other megacorporations. Up to this day, one-forth of all Mishiman possessions on Venus were originally obtained by this man. Curiously, no one ever gives him the credit, although no one minds exploiting this land.

Anyway, it was at that time that Yorama came to Venus with his men and tried to oppose his former student. The two men pitched their armies against each other and fought a brutal war for three years. Terrible atrocities have been committed on both sides. Interestingly, while there is plenty of information about the bad things that Yokoto’s men done, there is almost nothing about those committed by Yorama. Maybe because Yorama focused on slaughtering the workers and peasants, while Yokoto led a crusade against the ruling class and engage in slaughter of samurais and their families.

The war lasted for three years. During that time no one was able to gain the upper hand. Finally, the standstill came to an end when Yokoto sent a message to Yorama. He asked for another duel. The winner was to take all. The looser was to die. He promised that this time there will be no dirty tricks and no jumping into a river. Of course, Yorama refused. The news of his decision reached the Overlord who wanted to end the war on Venus as soon as possible. He ordered Yorama to accept the challenge. The old samurai was enraged, but he followed the order because a good samurai always does what his master asks of him.

The two met in a small village called Sepu. The village was located in neutral territory. Both men agreed to bring with them only three bodyguards each. Of course, Yokoto brought more men with him. In fact, he had a small army of snipers hidden nearby. On his signal they started shooting. Yorama was the last one to fall. He tried to reach the treacherous Yokoto, but failed. The Sage of Battle died on that day.

Without his leadership his army collapsed. Yokoto immediately exploited the situation and attacked. Within few weeks all his enemies were either dead or fleeing Venus. Meantime, the news of Yorama’s death deeply shocked the Mishiman society. Such a treacherous and dishonorable act was unacceptable. People urged the Overlord to hunt down Yokoto, but he could do nothing for the moment since the Neronian Schism plunged Mishima into a civil war. At the moment it was impossible to launch an invasion of Venus.

While this was going on, Yokoto declared independence. He and his people broke away from Mishima and announced the beginning of a new nation. It was not supposed to be just a new megacorporation, but a country in the style of the old nations from Earth. He also planed to create a new society; completely changed and far removed from the oppressive Mishiman way and the teachings of the Cardinal. It was at that time that the Venusian Mishimans started calling him the Ninth Sage.

Understandably, this declaration was not well received in the other parts of the Solar System. The new order that Yokoto was trying to create was a threat to the Brotherhood and the megacorporations.

Unluckily for him, the Neronian Schism finally ended and the Brotherhood was united again. The first thing on their mind was to destroy Yokoto’s empire. He was declared a heretic. It didn’t take long before his lands were under attack by Brotherhood forces. The other megacorporations soon joined in officially supporting the Cardinal, as all loyal believers should do, but in reality hoping to regain their lost territory and perhaps gain a little bit more. The Overlord became afraid that if he allows foreigners to crush Yokoto, they will keep all of Mishiman holdings on Venus for themselves. An army was hastily organized and sent to Venus. The force was led by no else than Toronaga – the Sage of Justice. For her killing Yokoto was a personal mission. She wanted to avenge the dishonorable death of Yorama, and there was nothing that could stop her, short of her own death.

Her spirit and dedication proved crucial in the fight against Yokoto’s empire. Most of the victories against the Heretic Sage, as he was nicknamed, were her doing. As the story goes, Yokoto lost everything. Finally, he and his remaining men were surrounded in Quanto. The Sage of Justice launched its final assault on the city, and after gaining control over it, she attacked the royal palace. Yokoto marched out with his personal guard to meet her. He died bravely at the edge of Toronaga’s sword. All of his men were either killed during combat or executed afterwards by impaling. Yokoto’s body was burned and the ashes scattered in the wind. Thus, Yokoto was denied the honor of having a grave, the ultimate punishment in Mishima. His name was forever cursed, and on the night following his death, the Cardinal gave personally a sermon in the Luna cathedral where he cursed the heretic and prayed to the Light for Yokoto’s soul to be cursed and lost forever in the Void. That was the end of Yokoto.

Wrong! That was not his end at all. What I am about to say is known only to the Shadow Walkers. No one else outside of them knows it. The truth is that Yokoto was not killed at the battle for Quanto. He only wanted humanity to think so. The man who died there was one of his fanatical followers. Few days before the battle he had a plastic surgery that transformed him into Yokoto’s duplicate. When Toronaga assaulted the palace, he marched outside dressed in his master’s battle armor and died in order to save the life of the man he loved.

Yokoto had a plastic surgery as well. With a new face he left Venus and returned to Mercury where he decided to start a new life. Of course, his adventurous spirit did not permit him to just lead a simple life. He still dreamed of big things. And he knew the people that could help him. Those people were the Shadows.

Yokoto knew the Shadows quite well. In the past few years he frequently used them to eliminate certain people who stood in his way. The Shadows had a way of life that impressed Yokoto. He contacted them, but not to hire them, but to be recruited among their ranks. He presented good reasons to convince them to do so. Aside from being excellent warrior, one of the best in the Solar System, he was a master of Ki. He promised to teach them this strange and new power. You must understand that back then Ki was not as widespread in Mishima as it is today. The Sages were the first ones to master it. Later, they taught it to their disciples who started teaching Ki to their disciples. When Yokoto contacted the Shadows, there were only few dozens of people in Mishima who knew how to learn and use Ki. The prospect of learning supernatural powers and Yorama’s battle techniques was very appealing to the Shadows. They could become the best fighters in the Solar System. Yokoto was invited to join the organization.

Immediately after joining them, Yokoto began to explore his Ki abilities more extensively. After few years he developed new powers and established the Path of the Shadow. But he did much more than just teach fancy abilities to his new friends. He used his charisma and persuasion to gain more and more power among the Shadows. He taught them their philosophy, which became quite popular.

After ten years he was a highly placed member of the organization. Even if he was not the official leader, many of the Shadows considered him to be one. His teaching became so popular that he was considered as some sort of a guru. Indeed, the Shadows started becoming more and more like a cult, with Yokoto’s philosophy as its religion.

The Shadow leaders were not pleased at all with this development. They considered Yokoto to be a threat to their power, and they were correct. Yokoto wanted to become the supreme leader of the Shadows. As time went by and his popularity increased, he became more and more daring. He started challenging the leaders and even announced openly that he was the best person to lead the Shadows. Most of the people in the organization agreed with him. He was regarded as an excellent leader and a visionary by the majority, and like a god by a minority. Dark clouds began gathering among the Shadows.

The storm came in the year 385 YC. Just twelve years after joining the organization, Yokoto finally decided to grab power. It is important to note that although he desired to take over the organization right from the beginning, it was the leaders who started the war. It was well in their power to assassinate Yokoto, but they refused to do so. Such an act was just too dangerous. The troublemaker was greatly popular among the lower ranks. His death could lead to only one thing – an internal war. But there was another way.

What if they could cause Yokoto’s death indirectly? What if his death could not be linked to the leaders? But how could they do it? Well, Shadow’s life is dangerous. Not all assassinations go well. Sometimes, some people get killed on the job. Yokoto was a Shadow. As every Shadow, he too participated in assassinations, quite willingly, I must add. All the leaders had to do was to make sure that something bad happens to Yokoto during one of his actions.

They told him that they had a job for him. A job that he will certainly like a lot. They ordered him to take a team and kill no one else than Toronaga. For the past few years the woman was working hard with her newly found order, called the Order of the Demon Hunters, to root out all evil from Mishima. Unfortunately, her perception of evil was skewed, at least by Mishiman standards.

She did not limited herself in her hunt to heretics only, but she actively hunted and ruthlessly eliminated the triads and many samurais. For her, the triads’ illegal activities and petty conflicts between powerful families were totally unacceptable, even though these things were going on since the founding of Mishima. Needless to say, she made herself many enemies, but no one could officially oppose her because she had personal protection and the blessing of the Overlord.

The leaders told Yokoto that someone very powerful wanted the woman dead. It was not technically a lie. Many powerful men wanted to see Toronaga dead. But so far no one hired the Shadows to kill her. Still, Yokoto didn’t asked many questions. In fact, he was pleased with this task. It was Toronoga who invaded his small kingdom on Venus after Yorama’s death. And it was she who in the end defeated him. He had some personal issues that he wanted to settle with the woman.

Of course, in reality it was a trap. The leaders warned Toronaga about the attack. When Yokoto and his team launched an assault on Toronaga’s home, they were greeted by a dozen of young Demon Hunters. The details are not known, but one thing is certain. Yokoto was the only one who managed to get out alive. All of his men died in the very short battle that followed.

After he managed to get away from the pursuing Demon Hunters, Yokoto started thinking. He quickly deducted what really happened. He understood that there was no turning back now. The war with the leaders started, and now he had no choice than to fight it and hope to win.

He immediately returned to his local base and gathered all the men who were there. He made a ling speech in which he told them that the Shadows will be better off under his leadership and that he will lead them into greatness. It was the beginning of a new age, at least according to him. All he asked from the fellow Shadows was to accept him as their supreme leader and to assist him in bringing to justice the scum who betrayed him. Their fear led them to the death of fellow Shadows and a betrayal of all others. Such an act was considered to be treason. And among Shadows there is only one punishment for treason. The leaders had to pay.

The men in the base enthusiastically agreed to follow Yokoto. When the news spread, vast majority of the rest did the same. Within few days the leaders founded themselves with only a hundred or so of faithful followers. Those who managed to escape Yokoto’s purge sought refuge in the main base of the Shadows, which was located on what is today the Forbidden Isle, not far from Longshore. The island had good defenses. Yokoto could take it, no doubt, but he wanted two things. First, he did not desired high casualties among his troops. And there was no doubt that such casualties would occur should he launch an attack on the main base. Second, he wanted the leaders to die in an ironic way.

Thus, he sent an anonymous information to the Demon Hunters that the Shadows had their main base on the Forbidden Isle. Toronaga always considered the Shadows to be heretics and worshipers of the Dark Soul. She personally led the attack on the island. It was a long battle. Ancient chronicles say that it lasted for a whole day and a night. This is probably an exaggeration. Still, it certainly took few hours for the Demon Hunters to clean up the dark corridors of the base.

Toronaga was convinced that she won a great victory over the Shadows. Moreover, the base pleased her. So far she was forced to train her warriors on her small estate. This freshly conquered base could serve the Demon Hunters nicely. Sure, it still stank with the stench of the filthy Shadows, but after few years in the presence of strong warriors devoted wholeheartedly to the Light and some redecorating, the place would be ideal. And thus the monastery of the Demon Hunters was created. And even up to this day, it covers the Forbidden Isle where thousands of young men train extensively to fight the Darkness.

Meantime, Yokoto assumed complete control over the organization. Finally, he could enforce the changes he wanted to put in place. While there were many changes both in the way the organization was organized and its main philosophy, the most significant event was the change of name. Yokoto developed a new philosophy mixed with an original school of Ki and fighting style. He called it the Way of the Shadow. And since his men followed the Way of the Shadow, he renamed them as the Shadow Walkers. It is a name that is used and known up to this day. It is the name that inspires fear.

Unfortunately, Yokoto was not able to finish his work. A little setback occurred under his rule. Although he was busy reshaping the Shadow Walkers into what he envisaged was a perfect society, he still had to deal with external matters. After Toronaga turned the Forbidden Isle into her private base of operations, many senior Shadow Walkers complained and demanded revenge. The island was their old home. It was intolerable for them that this zealous bitch was training her men there. These voices became louder and louder within the Shadow Walkers. They first asked, and then demanded from Yokoto to kill the old hag. He himself hated the woman with a passion. So it didn’t take much convincing before he started preparations for the assault on the Forbidden Isle. The goal of this attack was not only to kill Toronaga and to retake the old base, but to wipe out the whole order of the Demon Hunters before they could become too dangerous.

The attack took place on the day following the winter solstice. The Demon Hunters celebrated the solstice as a holiday. Therefore, it was believed that they will be tired the next day, and thus, they will be an easy prey.

The initial stage of the attack went well, but once the Shadow Walkers had been detected, things went downhill for them. While it is true that the Demon Hunters were tired, contrary to the Shadow Walkers, they were fanatics who were quite willing to die for their cause. I must say that although today the Shadow Walkers are as zealous and fearless as the Demon Hunters, back then they were not. The battle quickly turned into a disaster for them. As much as a hundred Shadow Walkers were killed. The rest fled. Only twenty or so Demon Hunters perished. However, the mission was a partial success.

Yokoto achieved his goal. He did kill Toronaga, although he paid for it with his life. During the attack he sneaked into the old woman’s living quarters and surprised her while she was still putting on her armor. If Yokoto expected a quick kill, then he was in for a disappointment. Toronaga defended herself fiercely. Her powers made her a formidable fighter despite her advanced age. The two rivals exchanged blows with lightning speed. Finally, Yokoto prevailed and landed the killing blow. However, as the old Demon Hunter collapsed, with a final act of sheer will she pierced the Shadow Walker with her sword.

Yokoto, gravely wounded, managed to leave the chamber. He was immediately taken away from the Black Citadel by fleeing Shadow Walkers. They took their dying master and tried to take him to their main base where a Technomancer could give him medical aid, but they ran out of time. Yokoto, the Heretic Sage, Scourge of Venus, Grand Patriarch of the Shadow Walkers, died in the year 391 YC on a boat fleeing a botched attack on the Demon Hunters. That was his true end. His death marked a new beginning for the Shadow Walkers, and the merciless war with the Demon Hunters still continues up to this day.

Kori’s Madness 546 YC – 550 YC

And so we arrive at the year 546 YC, two centuries after the death of Yokoto. You probably know what year it was. It was the year of a brief civil war known as Kori’s Madness. I’m sure that you know the story well, but the role the Shadow Walkers played in it is not a public knowledge, just like everything that involves them. I will just briefly remind you what happened back then.

Kori was the hatamato of Lord Heir of Mercury Sengsu. Kori came from the Kodju family. They were an old and powerful clan who played an important role in Mercurian politics for the past two centuries. In terms of power and wealth, they were second only to the family of the Lord Heir himself. Traditionally, for the last six generations a Kodju was serving as a hatamato to the Mercurian lord Heir. In other words, Kori and his family were almost at the top, and he wanted to change that.

Kori was a very ambitious man. He craved power, like every samurai, but contrary to many others, he had enough courage and arrogance to try to grab it. And his goal was impressive as well. He wanted more than just to replace the Lord Heir. He wanted nothing more that to become the Overlord.

In the year 546 YC, Kori felt that he was powerful enough to make an attempt to grab power into his greedy hands. All of his preparations were finished and all of the pieces were in the right place. All he had to do was to put his plans into motion. Unfortunately, he required a certain group of individuals to assist him. You already know who these men were.

Indeed, Kori was in need of good assassins. He already made use of the Shadow Walkers in the past, and now he was going to use them again. But this time things were different. The target was someone very important. Someone highly placed. The target was no one else that the Overlord himself.

At first the Shadow Walkers refused. Such a thing was never asked of them. They were assassins, but they were still loyal to Mishima. In their eyes, just like it is for every Mishiman, the Overlord was the living embodiment of Mishima. Killing him was unthinkable.

But Kori had a very attractive proposition. He promised much more than a handful of filthy money. He offered the Shadow Walkers the opportunity to finally come out of the shadows. He promised them that once an Overlord, he will legalize their cult and impose their religion on all of the Mishiman people. Finally, the teachings of Yokoto could reach the masses and become the new faith, just as the Heretic Sage desired. The Shadow Walkers wouldn’t have to hide anymore. They could live openly and become the new rulers of Mishima.

Kori’s offer caused a controversy among the leadership of the organization. Some condemned his proposition, branding it as treason against Mishima and lies. They argued that the man was a snake. He would certainly use the Shadow Walkers as he pleased and then turn his back on them.

The others saw things differently. They too believed that the Shadow Walkers should be loyal to Mishima, but not to the Overlord. In fact, it was that very loyalty to Mishima that put the Shadow Walkers under obligation to accept Kori’s offer. After all, the Shadow Philosophy was superior to all other religions. It allowed for a creation of a superior society. This society should not hide in the shadows. To the contrary, the rest of Mishima should be transformed into that society. All Mishimans should live in the same way as the Shadow Walkers do. Taking over Mishima and leading it into a new golden age was their duty.

As for the fact that Kori couldn’t be trusted, well, he was just a man. The Shadow Walkers planned to use him the same way that he planned to use them. Once he was no longer necessary, the Shadow Walkers planned to eliminate him and carry on with their plans.

Back at that time, the seat of the Great Patriarch was occupied by an elder named Hertui. He was a man who sided with the radical Shadow Walkers who desired to follow Kori’s plan. He asked the Council of Elders for an advice. After a long debate the elders came to a conclusion that Kori’s offer must be rejected. However, Hertui was not satisfied. He used all his power and authority to ignore the decision. He accused those elders who voted against his proposal of being short-sighted fools who were simply afraid of change and who betrayed the Great and Honored Master Yokoto by refusing to impose his teachings on the rest of Mishima. Then, he ordered to arrest those elders who were unofficial leaders of the opposition. He had them executed few days later. It was the first time in Shadow Walkers’ history that a Great Patriarch imposed his will on the Council so brutally and ruthlessly.

A message was sent to Kori that the Shadow Walkers accepted his proposal. He first told them to kill the Overlord, but to make it look like a natural death. It was done few weeks later. The old man was poisoned. No one suspected the truth. The Overlord was already old and his health was steadily degrading over the past years.

According to his will, Lord Heir Sengsu was to become the new Overlord. This was not surprising. Everyone knew that the Overlord always favored Sengsu. The Lord Heir embarked along with his whole family on the finest battleship of his fleet and set course for Luna. According to the tradition he had to come with his entire family to Luna where he was to be crowned. The two other Lord Heirs were expected to attend the ceremony as well.

However, Kori had other plans. He now ordered the Shadow Walkers to eliminate Sengsu along with his whole family. This was done according to his wishes. A small band of Shadow Walkers sneaked into the ship while she was still on Mercury. Halfway through the voyage, they detonated a bomb on board killing everyone inside, including themselves. Their sacrifice is remembered up to this day and often told to young Shadow Walkers as a reminder that they must be ready to sacrifice their lives at any moment should it be demanded from them.

This event was totally unexpected. The Lord Heir was dead, and so were all of his descendants. No one from his family could replace him as the Overlord. Thus, the Lord Heir of Venus announced that he will become the next Overlord since Venus has the largest Mishiman presence after Mercury. The Lord Heir of Mars objected, of course. Meantime, Kori was busy back on Mercury.

According to the ancient law, should the Lord Heir die without leaving any descendants, his hatamato is expected to take over and rule with his family. Kori immediately declared himself the new Lord Heir. He was an extremely powerful man, and few people objected. Those who did, found themselves dead shortly afterwards. The Shadow Walkers made sure that Kori was unopposed on Mercury, because he needed firm support back home if he was to proceed with his plan.

What followed next was unbelievable. Kori publicly announced that he should be the Overlord. He accused the two other Lord Heirs of assassinating Sengsu with his family in order to grab the Overlord’s crown for themselves. He also said that the old Overlord wished for a Mercurian Lord Heir to replace him. Since Kori was now the Lord Heir of Mercury, it was logical for him to become the next Overlord.

Of course, his declaration was not well received by the two remaining Lord Heirs. They laughed at him and told him that if he desires the Overlord’s throne, he will have to fight for it. And so he did.

Kori went with a fleet of battleships to Luna in order to force his coronation as the next Overlord. Lord Heir of Venus and Mars immediately did the same. The three fleets met near Luna’s orbit. There can be no doubt that there would have been a battle, but the situation was peacefully solved, sort of, when a fleet of Brotherhood ships arrived and threatened to get involved.

For the next four days four fleets circled around the planetoid, their canons pointed at each other. During that time diplomats hastily engaged in negotiations. The crisis ended when the three Lord Heirs agreed to come personally to Luna and to discuss the situation in the presence of the Cardinal himself.

However, peace was still far away. Kori’s attempt to gain foothold on Luna’s soil was just a diversion to lure the fleets of other Lord Heirs away from their planets. The Mercurian battle fleet was divided into two parts. The first half went to Luna, while the other half arrived at Venus few days after the Lunar crisis. Venus was chosen because it held the greatest concentration of Mishimans after Mercury, and because the Venusian Lord Heir was Kori’s strongest opponent. Kori wanted to destroy the opposition on Venus, thus forcing the weak Mars to accept his ascendance on Overlord’s throne.

The plan worked only partially. Mercurian battleships quickly destroyed the few Venusian ships that were still guarding the Green Planet and started bombing Mishiman cities from orbit. Venusian Mishimans were defenseless. Their fleet was few days away returning from Luna and they had almost no anti-spaceship weapons. All they could do was to hide underground or in the nearby jungle as bombs fell down from hundreds of miles.

After two days of non-stop bombing, the Venusian Lord Heir finally decided to swallow his pride and asked Bauhaus to intervene. So far the Bauhausian battle fleet remained neutral. Kori assured the Homebuilders that they will not be targeted. Bauhaus was willing to tolerate this attack because they were trading extensively with Mercury and they did not wanted to risk upsetting Lord Heir Kori. Besides, they had a lot of trouble with the Venusian Mishimans. Bauhausers hoped to profit from the attack by moving in and wrestling precious land away from weakened Mishima.

However, the Brotherhood had seen that Kori’s actions might lead to a new corporate war. Therefore, the Cardinal personally asked the Duke Electors to support their Venusian neighbors. Reluctantly, Bauhaus demanded from the Mercurian ships to leave the orbit, or face the finest of Bauhaus space navy. Kori was not ready to face Bauhaus, yet, so he pulled out his forces. Even so, some hundred thousand Mishimans perished in the orbital bombing.

The attack led to retaliation. The forces of Venusian and Martian Lord Heirs united. Curiously, they were joined by Brotherhood’s space navy. The Brotherhood decided that Kori was too dangerous to remain in power. The attack did not go well. Mercury had powerful defenses. Because Mishiman civilization was located underground, orbital bombing was useless. Moreover, local forces were able to bring anti-space missiles to the surface, fire them and quickly change their position before they could be targeted. This cat and mouse game lasted for a week and cost the invaders many ships.

Perhaps Kori would end up winning in the end, but his political career and life were both cut short. On the eighth day of attack he was found dead in his bedroom. His head was missing. Exactly who did it remains a mystery up to this day. The general opinion is that he was taken out by Shadow Walkers. This of course is not true. Shadow Walkers supported the man up to his end. The Grand Patriarch Hertui hoped to use this war to take over Mishima. Thus, he was the last person who wanted Kori dead. But the question remains; who killed him?

There are two other suspects. The first ones are the Demon Hunters. They were aware of Kori’s dealings with the Shadow Walkers and they openly criticized him when he assumed the position of Lord Heir of Mercury. Their refusal to swear loyalty to him led to a brief, but bloody persecution. There can be no doubt that they marked him for assassination. However, it is rather doubtful that it was them who killed Kori. First, Demon Hunters always denied it, and we all know that they never deny their kills. In fact, they are proud of it. Secondly, stealthy assassination and trophy taking is not in their style. They prefer open assaults. Then again, they were in desperate situation back then. So who knows?

The other possibility is that the assassination was carried out by one of the Brotherhood’s assassins. They are called Mortificators and they specialize in that sort of killing. This theory is quite probable. Brotherhood viewed Kori as a great threat to peace. Some even wondered whether he was a heretic. Who knows? Maybe he was?

Anyway, the fighting ceased after Kori’s death, but only for a brief moment. The invaders were allowed to land on Mercury. The Kodju family, from which Kori came, was wiped out to the last one. But that was just the beginning. The two Lord Heirs broke their initial agreement with Mercurian Daimyos and started confiscating their land and giving it as a gift to Martian and Venusian samurais as a gift for good service. The Mercurian samurais could not tolerate such an insult. Small conflicts erupted between local and foreign nobles. As it always is with civil wars in Mishima, the commoners were the ones who suffered the most. The war grew in intensity and quickly engulfed all of Mercury. After three years the Brotherhood had to step in again and return things to normal. But before the war stopped, over one million people lost their lives.

Going back to the Shadow Walkers, the war had a deep impact on them. The Grand Patriarch lived to see the destruction that his actions had brought to his home corporation. Because he lusted for power, more than a million of fellow kinsmen were now dead. His popularity within the organization dropped all the way to the bottom. It was made clear to him that he must resign from his position, or face assassination. He was a broken man, and thus he agreed. However, there is only one way to resign among the Shadow Walkers. And that is death.

Hertui called the Elder Council and many others for a special audience. At this ceremony he apologized for his mistakes and asked the Shadow Walkers to not appoint another Grand Patriarch at his place, so that his mistake could not be repeated by another power hungry Patriarch somewhere in the future. Afterwards, he committed a ritual suicide. His wish was respected. From that day forward, the High Elder Council had ruled the Shadow Walkers.

Fifty Heads Campaign 1237 YC

Since their founding the Shadow Walkers became the most feared and mysterious organization in Mishima. Everyone knows about them, and everyone fears them. Due to endless wars between Daimyos, the Shadow Walkers turned into the ultimate weapon a man can use against his enemy. Their reputation and combat skills made them invulnerable. Despite the best efforts of the Brotherhood and the Demon Hunters, the Shadow Walkers continued to gain influence and power uninterrupted. True, some of them perished from the hands of the Demon Hunters or Inquisitors, but the casualties were always low. No one could pose a serious threat to the cult – until 1237 YC.

It was the year when the Shadow Walkers had their first conflict with a new power, one that is as mysterious as they are. It was the year when Cybertronic started the Shadow Project.

The name of the project should provide a sufficient clue to what it was all about. Cybertronic wanted to learn more about the Shadow Walkers. The mysterious megacorporation was especially interested in the Biotechnology possessed by the cult. They decided to start by capturing few of the Shadow Walkers alive – something that was never accomplished before.

The Shadow Project actually began in 1232 YC. Cybertronic’s scientists knew that all captured Shadow Walkers dissolved within minutes after their capture. Apparently, they had some ability to trigger the enzymes in their body and cause their own death. This fact made any study on living Shadow Walkers impossible, since it was impossible to keep one of them alive. In order to get over this problem, some sort of neutralizing the enzyme was required.

As mentioned before, in 1232 the Shadow Project began. Cybertronic agents managed to get their hands on some of the goo that was left from dead Shadow Walkers. Exactly how they did it is not sure. Most probably they managed to lure few Shadow Walkers into a trap and killed them.

The samples were sent to Cybertronic labs where they were studied extensively. It took the scientist two years before they managed to come up with a drug that temporarily could deactivate the enzyme contained within Shadow Walkers bodies. The next step was easy.

Cybers, pretending to be Mishimans, hired Shadow Walkers to kill a certain Cybertronic official. This of course was a trap. The Shadow Walkers were attacked and shot with darts containing the new drug. Thus, they were unable to commit suicide. Once this was done, they were shot again, but this time with another drug that put them to sleep.

The prisoners were taken to a secret lab located on some asteroid. It is not clear what exactly followed. There can be no doubt that the Shadow Walkers were put through countless medical tests and experiments. They were also interrogated. Shadow Walkers are extremely resistant to all torture, but Cybertronic had their own tricks. It appears that after many months the men were finally broken.

Cybertronic became interested in Deathbringers. According to the testimony of the captured Shadow Walkers, Deathbringers were strongly enhanced with Biotechnology, plus, they possessed unique supernatural abilities. The Shadow Project aside, they could become an interesting addition to the Ascension Project.*

Cybertronic troopers raided one of the monasteries with orders to capture as many Deathbringers and Technomancers alive. Needless to say, capturing such formidable warriors proved extremely difficult. Many Cybers perished in the assault, but the Board of Directors judged these casualties acceptable. In total, as much as four hundred soldiers took part in the operation. Despite many loses, they secured the monastery and everything that was of interest to the Directors. Once this was done, they blew up the rest.

This attack deeply shocked the Elder Council. Not since the First War against the Brotherhood more than a thousand years ago did anyone pose such a threat to the cult. What followed next can be only described as mass hysteria. It started among the Elders and spread to the lower ranks quite quickly. It was believed that Cybertronic was planning to wipe out the cult. This is of course silly. Cybertronic has other things to do than sacrifice precious resources in order to eliminate some group of assassins in another megacorporation. In fact, it was quite probable that Cybertronic was satisfied with the booty from the attacked monastery and intended to leave the Shadow Walkers alone.

Nevertheless, few among the Shadow Walkers believed that. What most of them believed, was that there was an urgent need to send a message to Cybertronic so that the megacorporation leaves the cult alone. Shadow Walkers had to prove that they were not a force to be provoked. No one could attack them and escape without suffering consequences.

After some debate, the Elder Council prepared a plan of action. They wrote down a list of fifty prominent Cybertronic officials. The list comprised famous scientists, distinguished military commanders and the best managers found in Cybertronic. You might say that these fifty men were the elite among Cybertronic’s elite.

Once the list was made, it was given to the Deathbringers. Their orders were clear. Soon the assassinations started. Within few days half of the people on the list were dead. In all cases their bodies were discovered headless, their bodyguards dead as well. Cybertronic first assumed that it was under attack by the Brotherhood. All of their important people were placed under guard and restricted to Cybertronic’s facilities. This didn’t helped too much. The Shadow Walkers continued killing. Many of them died, but they always came back.

The situation caused much distress to the Directors. Because they could not figure out who was going to be a target, they had to protect all of their important people. This meant that they had to concentrate a lot of their resources on protection, and even that proved to be futile. After four months the Shadow Walkers finished their grim job. Fifty Cybers were dead. Many more of their lesser citizens died protecting the TIFFs. At the end, a truck was found parked near the Cybertronic’s HQ on Luna. Inside were the fifty heads belonging to the fifty victims. There was also a letter. In this letter the Shadow Walkers officially asked the Board of Directors to stop harassing them and raiding their monasteries. In case of a refusal, they promised to create another list, this time composed of a hundred names. Should this too fail, they were going to make a third list made of a thousand names. This was going to continue until the Cybertronic stops or until there will be no Cybertronic anymore. They also said that there was just one last thing before the Shadow Walkers could call it even. They planned to destroy the base where their captured brothers were held. And the Board of Directors could do nothing to prevent it.

The Board of Directors immediately reinforced the base where the captured Shadow Walkers were studied. It was impossible to sneak inside. But that was fine with the Shadow Walkers, for they didn’t planned to sneak inside at all.

The base was defended by a number of anti-spaceship weapons, as well as by two Cybertronic battle ships. Shadow Walkers bought three small spaceships and loaded them with explosives. Two contained normal explosives, while the third one held something special. The three approached the asteroid where the base was located. Immediately, the two battleships came out to meet them. Two of the Shadow Walker ships were sent forwards. They crushed into the Cybertronic ships detonating the explosives onboard. This provided sufficient enough to destroy Cybertronic’s battleships. The third ship made his way to the asteroid past the defenses and crushed as well. However, this one did not carried normal explosives, but something far more deadlier. There was a nuclear device inside. Don’t ask me how the Shadow Walkers got their hands on something like this. Maybe they stole it from Mishima’s military. Or perhaps they got it from one of the Lord Heirs. Don’t look at me like this. Lord Heirs make extensive use of the Shadow Walkers. Maybe instead of money the Shadow Walkers asked for a nuclear bomb. Knowing how much they can charge for their services, it actually would be much cheaper for a Lord Heir to give them one of his nukes rather than pay in cash.

Anyway, the explosion not only destroyed the base, but it shattered the whole asteroid. This event proved very distressful for the Board of Directors. Even more troubling than the loss of fifty prominent TIFFs. Here was an organization that wiped out a large Cybertronic facility and destroyed two of its battleships proving along the way to the megacorporation that their security was not as good as they thought. So far only the Dark Legion could pose such a threat.

Cybertronic decided to keep a closer eye on the Shadow Walkers. The Board of Directors launched Project Brightness. The goal of this project is to neutralize the threat of the Shadow Walkers, but without an open assault that would only lead to retaliation and severe loses. The project continues up to this day, so far with little success.*

* Ascension Project is another project developed by the Cybertronic that I created at one point. To offer you a quick description, the Ascension Project is a study of people with supernatural abilities (heretics, Art users, Ki users and psionicists) in order to understand how these powers work, which could theoretically lead to Cybers mastering them. I will describe this project at some later point in time.

Now 1250 YC

The Shadow Walkers are probably the best organization of assassins in the whole Solar System. They are more than a bunch of assassins for hire, however. Through their thousand-year-old existence they evolved into a small, but nevertheless sophisticated society with its own religious beliefs and a way of life. But they continue to grow and transform. They feel that it is time of change for humanity. They believe that soon a time will come for them to leave the shadows and lead humanity, or at least Mishima, into a new age. They prepare for that day, for it will surly come soon.

Come. Lets continue our story. Take another drink and make yourself comfortable. There is much more than I have to tell. This is just a beginning.

Timeline

55 BYC	Imperial Conquistadors land on Pluto. They find an artifact and by touching it allowed the darkness to seep into the system. Few minutes later all contact with the expedition is lost. Within days advanced technology starts malfunctioning.
52 BYC	Fudgi Tekenshi is born.
49 BYC	The Great Solar Exchange Net collapses. Chaos and anarchy immediately follow. Order is finally restored few months later. The collapse of the net is blamed on corporate terrorism.
48 BYC	The First Corporate Wars begins.
20 BYC	Fudgi meets with Nathaniel Durand. Somewhere around this time he is recruited by followers of Algeroth.
14 BYC	Fudgi is granted the title of a Master Technomancer. In order to retire from public life, he fakes his death.
3 BYC	The Tekenshi family is wiped out by the Naga clan.
1 BYC	Together with Tagana, Fudgi organizes a revolt in his temple. The traitors destroy the temple and establish the Black Comrades.
0 YC	The Congress of Luna takes place. Brotherhood is officially recognized as a legitimate organization.
2 YC	Black Comrades finally feel powerful enough to attack the Naga family. They start their campaign of terrorism against the family.
16 YC	The war against the Nagas is over. Ukatsu Naga is the only one allowed to live.
23 YC	Ukatsu Naga dies of old age. Fudgi plans to leave the Black Comrades, but Tagana convinces him to stay for few more years and train a new generation of Technomancers.
25 YC	The Treaty of Heimburg is signed. The First Corporate Wars end. Cartel is created in order to allow for quick, efficient and peaceful negotiations in the future.
26 YC	Profiting from peace, Imperial sends an expedition to Nero. The Conquistadors find and open the First Seal of Repulsion. The Apostles of the Dark Soul first appear on the Dark Planet, and very soon contact with the expedition is lost. The same year Fudgi leaves the Black Comrades. No one ever hears about him again.
27 YC	Dark Legion invades the Solar System.
28 YC	Inquisition is officially recognized by the megacorporations.
52 YC	The Venusian Crusade takes place. Algeroth is defeated. His army becomes confused and divided. Individual Nepharites start fighting among themselves. Humanity starts winning.
86 YC	The last known citadel is destroyed. Dark Legion is officially forced out of the Inner Solar System. Heretics stay behind, but no new servants of Algeroth are recruited since he is missing and presumed dead.
114 YC	Tagana is hired to kill bishop Nicodemus. The assassination is botched and the Brotherhood discovers that the Black Comrades are ex-heretics. They start a crusade. Black Comrades are hunted down.
115 YC	The crusade against the Black Comrades is over. Almost all of them are dead, except for the Martian Comrades led by Jonathan Fritzger. He constructs a secret base beneath the Great Rust Desert where he hides with his people. Black Comrades go through a lot of restructuring during that time. They are renamed as Shadows.
127 YC	Fritzger and his men emerge from their secret base. They travel to Mercury where they offer their services to the needy.
334 YC	Second Neronian Schism begins.
348 YC	The Eight Sages leave the Brotherhood and start restructuring Mishima.
354 YC	A young samurai named Yokoto Satsumi is accepted by Yorama as one of his students.
359 YC	Yokoto’s true nature is revealed. He challenges Yorama to a duel. The Duel of the Bridge takes place.
360 YC	Yokoto organizes his private army on Venus and starts conquering as much territory as he can.
364 YC	Yorama comes to Venus in order to stop his old student.
367 YC	Yokoto challenges Yorama to a second duel. Yorama is treacherously killed.
370 YC	Toronaga comes to Venus to avenge Yorama’s death.
372 YC	Neronian Schism ends. Yokoto is defeated. He officially dies at the siege of his royal palace.
373 YC	Yokoto comes back to Mercury. He joins the Shadows.
385 YC	Shadows’ leaders ask Yokoto to kill Toronaga and lure him into a trap. This leads to a civil war among the Shadows which ends when the Demon Hunters attack on the main Shadow base at the Forbidden Isle.
391 YC	Yokoto attack the Forbidden Isle and kills Toronaga. He dies from his wounds shortly afterwards.
546 YC	Kori Kodju assassinates the Overlord and the Mercurian Lord Heir. He attempts to become the next Overlord.
547 YC	Kori is killed by an unknown assassin. The civil war between the Mercurian and foreign Daimyos begins.
550 YC	The war ends, thanks in large part to pressure from the Brotherhood. Grand Patriarch Hertui commits suicide. The Elder Council becomes the supreme ruling group among the Shadow Walkers.
1103 YC	The Founding Day takes place. Cybertronic emerges as the fifth megacorporation.
1142 YC	Imperial officially sends an expedition to the Outer Solar System. They did so before, but these missions were always secret. Now, they openly defy the Cardinal. Other megacorporations follow and send their own expeditions.
1144 YC	Imperial expedition to Pluto vanishes. The rescue expedition disappears as well. Other megacorporations are suspected.
1152 YC	The Second Corporate wars begin.
1158 YC	Dark Legion invades for the second time. Algeroth is back and kicking.
1161 YC	Doomtroopers are established to fight the Dark Legion.
1232 YC	The Shadow Project is launched.
1236 YC	Cybertronic captures a group of Shadow Walkers and starts experimenting on them.
1237 YC	Using information gained from captured Shadow Walkers, Cybertronic raids one of Shadow Walkers’ bases. In response, the Fifty Heads Campaign is organized. After its end Shadow Walkers destroy the base where the Shadow Project is based.
1238 YC	Project Light is launched.
1250 YC	The present.

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