The three main settlements of Wind Country - Sunagakure, Soons Haven and Soragakure - each exist for a very specific purpose. Sunagakure provides the nation with much of its militaristic strength, specializing in a mixture of the enigmatic arts of chakra and a study of martial prowess that produces many of the dominion's most highly-celebrated mercenaries and soldiers. Soons Haven functions as a mercantile and manufacturing center, containing some of Wind's most cutting-edge engineers both mechanical and structural, as well as being the home of the lauded Merchant Lords who protect what is theirs through a private militia force. Both of these fiercely proud villages are defended by steel, determination and the very elements in which they have been founded, bear allegiance in some way or another to the third - Sora.
Sora functions as the home to many of Wind's powerful lords and nobles, and as such provides both reason and means for its own existence. A powerful trade capital in its own right but not nearly as much so as Soons Haven, Sora is the single largest society upon Wind's easternmost shores, Sora is also the oldest village, predating Sunagakure and and Soons Haven by quite some time. Sora was originally a small fishing society for the first agrarian tribe and in fact one of the oldest families of this tribe holds the mantle of power over this community. As such, Sora's roots grow deep and strong in Wind's dusty soil. Benefiting not only from this advantageous positioning in regards to business exporting and importing goods from around the known world, Sora also has what could be described as the most stable, temperate climate; with Wind Country's ever-present sun, cool winds blowing in from the sea and naturally deep harbors, as well as an exotic culture rising from the mixture of many different systems of belief, cuisine and craft, Soragakure is a popular vacation resort and an even more popular home for those with wealth and influence, bringing the village much of its funds through these two concerns alone.
As mentioned, many of Wind's oldest and most influential noble houses and clans can draw their roots back to Soragakure, making the village the center for Wind's high society as well as the beating heart of the country's government and bureaucracy. Many of Wind's most vital decisions are made here by the ruling Council of Elders, but even these men and women hold fealty to one individual. This is the nation's Daimyo.
The Daimyo
The position of Daimyo has been a consistent one throughout Wind's history, from Sora's earliest roots as a simple fishing village to its modern-day vision and scope. The Daimyo holds authority over all nobility in all of Wind, and exists as a position which is either inherited or bestowed upon individuals considered to be worthy by the passing Daimyo. As such, many families have rested upon the throne of Wind, and vying for the attentions of the Daimyo in the hopes that you or one of your relatives be granted the prestigious position is an ever-constant source of political intrigue in Sora.
The Daimyo holds dominion over all of Wind; while the Kazakage in Sunagakure and the Grand Council of Merchants in Soon's Haven both serve to govern their own settlements and its people, they exist by the Daimyo's decree and approval. These villages may hold some ownership over their people, but it is the Daimyo that owns the land beneath their feet. This is a source of tension for some who desire freedom beyond the Daimyo's decree, but physical altercations have always left these isolationists scattered to the sands in the face of the might of the country's varied military. However, Sunagakure has for decades claimed itself to be a sovereign state, citing that they are the reason for this nation's freedom and some even going as so far as to suggest that the Sunahoshi with their blessing would be better suited for this position of authority. This consolidation of power to a militant community coupled with the loss of prestige and authority for these ancient families was considered unthinkable by such families.
Culture</B><i></i>
There are two major segments of Sora, with a third spanning the two with less defined borders. The poorest of those living within the village are housed by the docks, where the largest ships in the nation are also found. The Trade District spans both this and the Royal District, as the village slowly crawls up the great cliff overlooking the eastern sea. In many ways, the rich of Sora truly are hidden in the sky, for few not of the ruling families are allowed access into this section.
Sora's culture is a melting-pot thanks both to its age and its function as a trade center, and yet in strict defiance of the somewhat insular noble houses. This is no more prevalent than in the docks, where shoulders from all corners of the known world are rubbed together in business, home and family. The architecture of Sora is eclectic and favors organic shapes of earthen hue, but the march of progress stops for no city planner or designer, and electricity has brought both florescent lighting and a tram network to its streets. Greenery is also encouraged within all three boroughs, and it is said that this mixture of pale sand, blue sky and sea and the foliage of countless trees, bushes and gardens is something that one will always miss should they choose to leave the village.
Defense
The vast bulk of Sora is protected by a militia, with one member of every family being conscripted for a period of three years before being given the opportunity to remain as a career. While trained and disciplined, they are a step below the Shinobi of Suna or the commissioned private forces of Soons Haven respectively, and so in order to protect the most important members of the village, the Diamyo has a private force of his own known as the Sovereign. This personal army has been a secret known to only a few, such as the Oracles who have recorded this event as they have every event in their great tomes. While rumors have circulated about the dark and fierce power of the Sovereign, no validated accounts have been made publicly accessible.
By no means as numerous of those found within Sunagakure, Sora forces are on a very high skill level. It is not unusual for a Sunan shinobi to be headhunted by a Soran noble house for private employment, but situations in which these offers are accepted are few and far between due to the loyalty many feel towards their home village. Regardless, however, Soran nobles have managed to create their own methods of tutoring prospective guardians and have been doing so for generations. The true number of these shinobi is unknown, thanks largely to the secrecy veiling their existence and the controversy surrounding their operations, but the raw talent of these few elite are thought to exceed the downsides of their limited numbers.
Dominion
The exercise of the authority held by Sora and the Daimyo is one that varies depending upon who holds the position of the latter. In times past, Daimyos have become very overbearing and controlling over their vassal villages, demanding input and control over many aspects of the Sunan and Soons Haven governance, but the last few of those to take the seat have adopted a more relaxed approach, citing that each village must grow strong by their own means and according to their own limitations, else Wind be propped up on Sora's single bough. Since the time Sunagakure claimed sovereignty from the Wind Diamyo, Sunagakure has been the the most part isolated. Two years after such a claim was made, the storms came which separated Sunagakure from the rest of the country. The natural apartheid kept Sunans with theirs while Sora and Soons continued to flourish and grow.
Sovereign Academy
Little is publicly known about this Academy besides the fact that it is an education facility that is located in Sora, the capital of Wind Country and that their graduates become a part of the Damyo's private army. The Soverign Academy is not considered a particularly prestigious school and their workings have fallen beneath the notice of the average civilian. There is no application for enrollment as it is by invitation only, this being the only fact that has ever garnered an outsider's interest because exclusion seems to carry with it the promise of 'something special.' What is taught and learned here is not publicly accessible and even rumors are limited regarding this facility, while the Oracles would have the greatest cache if information regarding the Soverign even they are limited to what has already been mentioned.
The Truth
The truth is, the storm as a consequence for Sunagakure's offense against the Diamyo. The Sunahoshi were a dying breed and while Daisuke was a powerful man in his own right, he was unprepared for a personal-level betrayal. On a personal mission to improve relations after they were marred by Sunagakure's independent stance, he was poisoned. He was not killed within the walls of Sora or Soons Haven but rather in the desert itself by an early representative of the Sovereign Academy. When Sunahoshi Daisuke died, his body was the property of the Sovereign, in a dark technique known only to Dark Sages one would have thought but the Sovereign have a rather unusual skill set that had gave them skills similar and drastically limited but the duration and independence unparalleled. Daisuke's body once resurrected could only be given one set of instructions: to create a diamond maelstrom as powerful and great as he was capable of manufacturing and to defend himself if he was attacked. With no end scenario or additional clause, that is exactly what Daisuke did for decades in the desert. Continually command the storm, and the raging diamond sands until he met death a second time. The maelstrom stopped and that could mean only one thing: Daisuke was destroyed utterly and now the Sunans were free to roam.
The Diamyo was of course prepared for this eventuality and has called upon the Sovereign. The Sovereign.
[col]
Saiga
Saiga, member of the Cabal. He was a man dedicated first and foremost to his family, a formally trained fighter but never a shinobi he has had a profound sense of honor. He joined the Cabal in his rebellious youth in search of adventure more than wealth. He rescued maidens and uncovered lost and forgotten treasures during the early days of the Cabal, before their mission changed. Many of his cohorts then shared his ideals -- a desire for adventure and opportunity to test their strength against all matter of desert foe. What remained of pure-blooded demons and Ancients were his quarry of choice, he saw the atrocities that the worst of their kind were killing to commit and actively sought the opportunity to test his fist against their claw.
With time came age and a desire to settle down, have the family he had never had. He had climbed to second in command in the Cabal and despite changes in the roster over the years and the gradual deviation from their original mission plan to one that was more fiscally responsible he never fell from the Cabal's graces even when he left to marry a Wind Country woman in Sora. She was a simple fisherman's daughter with what he would call an 'unearthly beauty.' He was smitten and as he should have been, she was a good woman and together they had three children over the next three years. He became a proficient fisherman as well, enough to keep their bellies full, their bodies warm and their heads dry. He desired no more. A simple life is and always has been the best life in his eyes.
Sadly in Wind Country there was no such thing as a happy, simple life not beholden and begotten to anything. It was not the treachery of the wife or the recalcitrant nature of the warrior that led to their discontent but rather the fact that he was capable and happy that he needed to suffer. He was offered a job with the Cabal to hold Sunagakure a place he like every member of the Cabal felt resentment for, however he was not interested in settling perceived debts. He wanted to stay in Sora and catch another fish, lay in bed next to his wife, tell his children stories in front of the fire. No was not an option, the 'request' was a mere pleasantry as Shouki bared into their house one evening after they had all turned into bed. He broke down their wooden door with his knee and before the bleary-eyed martial artist could get out of bed and order his family into hiding Shouki already had his hand wrapped around his wife's throat. He threatened to snap her into two out of boredom alone but gave Saiga an 'out' -- to join them in their mission to infiltrate and overtake Sunagakure. Cowardice or betrayal would result in her, as well as hid children's death.
Regrettably he joined a band of monsters to destroy even greater fiends.|
Daimyō Ishii Shirō
Born into this position of power once held by his father, Daimyō Ishii Shirō is the third of his family's direct line to fill this seat. The position of Daimyō being a station of ultimate power and authority, it is often given to the eldest son of the former Daimyō except in a case where there is no heir apparent and the Daimyō is then determined by the previous Daimyō when his health begins to fail. Daimyō Ishii Shirō's grandfather Ishii Rao took over position of Daimyō fifty five years ago, the Soka family had held onto this position for nearly ten generations prior. He was willed the position much to the surprise and chagrin of his heir apparent, a woman named Soka Ai. Soka Ai was a well-loved darling of Sora, betrothed to Ishii Rao before she backed out the last minute. Some believe that the late Daimyō Soka Gon hoped that passing the mantle of power over to her former fiance would bring her back into his arms. Ai, however believed that her former husband to be falsified the will and was directly responsible for her father's death. There was never any proof of this matter, but considering all things it was a likely truth.
The present Daimyō Ishii Shirō is known to be a stern yet brilliant man. He has two sons, Ishii Shouki - a bastard he reared as a young man with a woman named Fuu who has been documented as a whore in history books and a legitimate son Ishii Susumu, heir apparent. His wife died during childbirth of their daughter Sango. Shouki, their oldest has always demonstrated great fighting skill as well as a reverence for the God that they all share and has spent his youth training his body and honing his skills to be the perfect killer. He is quite mad, but most men with his skill-set share this trait. His younger brother and heir apparent is considered to be the gentlest among them, a scholar more than a warrior he has spent his days locked away in the various libraries of the world learning all he can. He is presently located in Tea Country. The daughter, rather unloved for her part in the death of her mother has had a rather unfortunate life. Locked from public sight for the most part, some believe her to be deformed while others whisper the possibility of abuse. All that is known for certain is that the Daimyō plans to marry her off in the near future to solidify an alliance with possibly Otogakure.
Over the past few decades the Diamyo has been building a personal army capable of strange and terrible things. Little is truly known about the Sovereign just yet but it is said that his eldest son will be acting as the general.[/col]
The storms were no more making the trek across the desert simple for the still battered martial artist. His skin had become dark in the unrelenting light, hardened by the battering sands even in his 'peaceful' state where the slightest breeze would pick up scalding hot sands and slap him across the face. He felt like he was on fire, his flesh marred by the heart and his legs cried for respite. He needed to get home, or rather to the Diamyo and pray to whatever god that might listen that his family might live.
He knew he was getting close, the air was cooler here and the sands gave way to dry grassy fields and eventually even wooded areas. Wind Country was not comprised entirely of desert, the natural geography of the landscape did possess a large arid space, however the coastline was lush and green. The temperate climate felt cold in contrast as he rushed through the woods. Please don't be too late. Please don't be too late. His mind pleaded.
The smell of salt and fish greeted him, this was a bouquet that some would find offensive but not he. There was no hesitation, no lingering despite his lungs that protested. He had run almost the entire distance without rest and despite his spent vigor his determination compelled him to continue on. Their home was humble, two stories and made entirely of wood that had gone grey in the salty air. The shingles were worn but in good repair, as was the well-loved window-boxes filled with his wife's prized flowers that seemed wilted. The door was unlocked, the latchbolt not set the door swung open without even the need to turn the handle. As soon as it opened a terrible stench seemed to slap him in the face, the scent of old and rotted meat.
<B>"Youko?" Saiga called into the empty house. His chest heaving from air-hunger.
There was no answer...
"Youko!" Saiga repeated, panic in his voice.
There was no answer...
Saiga dashed up the stairs and ripped through the door to their bedroom where he found the source of the smell. His face pale with trepidation as his shoulders slumped and all the air in his body left him. He saw death, but was thankful. It was not her that he found there, it was rotting meat all the same but it was not human. It appeared to be decaying chicken, a dozen if he would take a guess piled on top of the bed. Old blood that long ago went dark left him a message on the wall: "I know you are here to kill me. Cut, coward, you are only going to kill a man."
She was not there, that was not necessarily a good thing, but at the very least it was possible that she was alive.
* * * * * * * * * *
The Palace.
"Where is my wife! Where is my daughters! Where is my son!" He cried down empty halls, his only response was the echo of his own voice.
He would find nobody there, not his wife not his children. All he found was his wife's wedding-band left seemingly purposefully on top of a desk. He clutched the tiny golden band in his hand tight enough that it left its mark on his palm. "Dam you."