"Okami no Banshi, welcome to Aoshima" Lord Senzo said with a smile etched on his face.
The wardens bowed in respect, Lord Senzo gestured for them to sit, "make yourself at home, feel free, wolf wardens are always welcome here" he said in a very jovial tone.
"I was saved by a warden once in the past, he didn't even tell me his name,... This was before I became a Lord of course. Since then I vowed to always be welcoming to any member of the wolf Wardens."
"Arigatou Senzo sama" Masaki Taisho replied. He took off his helmet as he sat down and the other wardens followed. As they sat down, a certain warden caught Lord Senzo's eye. The most distinct part of this warden was the color of his hair; white as snow on a mountain top, tied up in a knot and his eyes, golden like the sun.
"Hoshigami?" Lord Senzo muttered to himself, but tge walls of the hall carried his words far and the ears of every warden heard it. Wasuren's face scrunched up slightly, he severely disliked being recognized like this.
The wheels in Lord Senzo's head turned as he squinted his one eye. "The son born outside Raizen's vows!"
Wasuren's face scrunched up even more, but he held himself back from expressing any more emotion. He did not want to disrespect Lord Senzo, he came here for work and work only, all other things should come second. While he thought to himself Senzo spoke;
"I was there the night your mother brought you to the Hoshigami estate, a bold woman was she." Senzo said with a smile "I never learned your name.."
Wasuren's heart sank to his stomach at the mention of his mother. He felt his temperature drop, and he froze completely.
Senzo awaited a response from Wasuren but as the seconds moved by, he received non. Masaki taking note of this banged his fist on his chest and spoke out " forgive my comrade Lord Senzo, it is not a topic that bodes well for him."
With raised eyebrows, Senzo realized what must have happened, "All is forgiven, it is a fault on my part for asking such a sensitive question. Anyways let's get down to business."
"We were briefed before our arrival by Lord Raizen. It appears the horde attacks have increased and become more overwhelming for the Aoshima samurai." Masaki Taisho spoke.
Lord Senzo sighed, "it pains me to admit but yes, the horde is on a level where my samurai can't compete without major casualties. If I had known that this would happen, I would have accepted the Hoshigami's rulership sixteen years ago when Raizen visited."
As Wasuren listened, the pain in his chest increased for he realized that the catalyst for his birth was a simple mission undertook by his father.
"Rest tonight, take a tour of the village if you have to. It must have been a long journey, tomorrow I will send someone to escort you to the site of the last attack.
The wardens were led to the military house in Aoshima, it was not as big as theirs in Kajuraro but, they would manage and they would be living with the rest of Aoshima samurai.
They did their best to settle in and made sure not to get in the way of the Aoshima samurai. However some of the wolf Wardens wanted to take a tour of the town and Masaki Taisho insisted that they move in pairs, two in each group. They were welcome but that does not make them less strangers.
Wasuren left with a fellow samurai, a young man about Wasuren's age. He was tall with a long face, and short scruffy brown hair. His eyes were black. Nothing stood out about him except the constant smile on his face, he resembled your everyday average samurai. He bore no stories of his own but those that came with his name. Kiyoshi Kuma, from the Kuma household.
The Kuma household is not a household that is directly under the rulership of of the Hoshigami clan. They are are an independent clan who live deep in the mountains of Hinokagura. The Kuma clan formed an alliance between them and the Hoshigami in order to avoid conflict. Although outwardly they would seem to be under the Hoshigami banner like other villages, the truth is they are their own people.
But, despite their defiance when the Hoshigami tried to bring them under its banner, the Hoshigami clan did not push further because of the strength of the Kuma clan. You see, the Kuma clan were a clan of warriors much like those in the Hoshigami clan, but that isn't what sets them apart from others. What sets them apart is the blessing that they have been given by the mountain deity; Oyamatsumi no kami.
Long before the banners were raised and before the formation of clans there was a man who lived high in the mountains.
His name was Kuma.
The mountain was poor. Winters were cruel, and food was never plentiful. Yet Kuma shared what little he had with his wife and child and with the mountain itself, taking only what was needed and leaving offerings of rice and salt at the old stones where the spirits were said to reside.
One winter night, a stranger collapsed near Kuma's home.
He was a tall man, broad-shouldered, dressed in tattered robes stained with blood and earth. His eyes were dark and deep, like roots stretching into the dark soil.
Kuma and his wife were hesitant at first.
Bandits had been seen on the lower paths, and travelers often brought death with them.
But Kuma carried the stranger inside.
He fed him a portion of the food meant for his family, and gave him the warmest place by the hearth. When the stranger asked why, Kuma only said:
"It was this same mountain that I found refuge long ago, and if the mountain led you to my doorstep, then I will give you refuge too."
Before dawn, the bandits came.
They burned homes. They cut down men. They laughed as they climbed higher, believing those in the mountain weak.
Kuma stood before his home with nothing but a woodcutter's axe and shaking hands. He was ready to protect his wife and child.
It was then the stranger rose.
His form did not change — the world around him did. The fire bent toward him. The ground stilled. It felt as if time had been slowed to a stop.
"You fed me when you had nothing, you took me in. You showed kindness to the mountain, for that, you shall be it's fang, you shall be it's claws , you shall be it's guardian."
The pain came like thunder.
Kuma's bones cracked and stretched. His skin split as fur burst forth, black and thick as night. His roar shook snow from the peaks and sent the bandits fleeing in terror.
When the sun rose, the mountain was silent again.
Kuma stood alone, half man, half beast.
The stranger was gone.
But his voice lingered in the stone and wind:
"Your blood will carry my shadow."
"Your children will guard this land."
"And so long as the mountain stands, the bear will answer."
From that day onward, the Kuma bloodline was no longer fully human.
They became guardians forever answering to the mountain. Although the Kuma clan vear the same gift, the gift is expressed differently in each family member, and even the most unassuming member of the clan is a beast in disguise.