The Black Knight was one of Hime more interesting creations. Ethereal weapons and armor are made of chakra strings that have been layered and beaten into a more solid and stable state. However, Hime wished to experiment with other forms of energy. Energies which people could use just like chakra. Originally, she made a request for one who could produce natural energy. One who had made a strong bond with a contract came to her shop. Hime had him produce spoils of ‘chakra string’ but instead of dipping into his chakra pool to make them, he used his natural energy.
Examining the spoils, she was able to determine that there were minor differences than the usual chakra thread. She believes it would act in the same way. After several days of laboring, she made a suit of armor. She could not really tell any differences from all her other creations. Thus, she claimed the experiment a success.
She then decides to commission a member of the Senju bloodline. Unlike the first guy, a Senju can produce natural energy with a holy affinity. The prospects of creating a holy weapon had Hime excited and she was glad to have gotten a willing participant. Again, she receives spoils of natural energy, and she could feel the difference radiating from them. With eagerness she goes to work and after several days of labor, she makes another suit of armor just like the first. Remarkably similar to the last one. In fact, she could not tell the difference. She is not sure why, but somehow during the process the natural energy lost its holy affinity.
Hime knew that there were three alignments: Spiritual, Cursed and Holy. Her ethereal weapons naturally have a spiritual alignment. If she recalls right each one was greater than the other in a cycle. Holy beats cursed, curse beats spiritual and spiritual beats holy. So, it was not that the natural energy lost its holiness, it was that the spiritual nature of her craft overwrote the holy affinity. In which case energy with a curse alignment should theoretically maintain its cursed nature despite the spiritualness of her craft.
Once again, she sends out a request, but this time it was for a dark sage. Fortunately, enough a dark sage was willing to aid her in her experiments. Once again, a man makes spoils of chakra thread, but this time it was made out of what is called cursed energy. Just by holding the spoils she could feel the dark power lying with them. With renewed vigor she goes to work and after several days of labor, she makes yet another suit of armor. This one however is the Black Knight which she now currently uses as her signature weapon.
It was a success as the cursed energy indeed was able to maintain its cursed alignment despite the spiritual processes that go into making an ethereal weapon. From this she created a cursed puppet that for some reason seems to be a little clingy. The connection between her and the puppet seems stronger than usual. Normally when Hime wields a puppet for the very first time the movement of the puppet would be rough and jagged till she gets used to it. This puppet moved smoothly from the start. This puppet was less like a tool and more like an extension of herself. It was like an extra appendage in how it moved.
Due to the ease of control The Black Knight quickly became her go to weapon in a fight. After a while she began to notice different little oddities of the puppet. There were times when she was not even pulling on the strings and yet it moved to her will. It was like she was controlling it but not completely on a conscious level. None of these aspects were bad and in fact she wished she could make her normal ethereal puppets to act like this.
This morning something truly strange happened to Hime while she was using The Black Knight. She was given a private exam. The exam was merely a spar against the teacher with the rule of not using any ninjutsu or genjutsu. Hime shone like a star. Her speed was quick and movements fluid. She was able to switch from weapon to weapon with ease and was skilled in each one. She put amazing strength into her strikes and was able to endure attacks. The weird thing is that the Black Knight was out during that entire spar, and she swears that there were times that the roles were reversed. There were times in that match that she felt like the puppet and The Black Knight was puppeteering her. She won the spar and passed the exam, so she cannot really complain. However, she does wonder if the Black Knight had a will of its own. Either way it will still be her go to weapon.
After a month has come and gone, she begins to ponder the nature of the Black Knight. She knew that it was made out of cursed energy from a dark sage, but these qualities seem more than just an alignment. It is her understanding that dark sages have the power to bring the dead back from the grave. They use this corrupt energy to reanimate the deceased. Could it be possible that this corrupt energy has the ability to bestow life? It would indeed answer most of her questions about the Black Knight. She was starting to think this weapon was more trouble than it is worth, but it was still the best weapon she ever created.
—-
Today marks her 17th birthday and she was to perform a rite of passage. Within Crater City is a demon blacksmith. This demon long ago taught her ancestors the way of creating ethereal weapons. On this day she is to take her finest work and offer it up to the demon to judge her skill. Hime was extremely nervous as she has never met him before and has heard stories of what happened to those found unworthy.
When she came to the place, she could not help but stare. The door was so huge that she could not even reach the handle. However, dangling next to the door was a thick rope. Pulling the rope, a large bell chimed. Then she would hear heavy footsteps approaching and what opened the door was definitely not human. He was massive and muscular. Big bushy facial hair adorns his face while ram horns sprang out from his crown. “Are you a child of Ryu?”
“Y-yes sir. I have come for you to judge my work as is tradition.”
“Okay then. Show me child. Show me how well you practiced the craft.”
Hime was a little surprised at the request. She kind of figured that she would be let into the house first, but she was not going to argue with the immensely large demon. Thus, she summoned her Black Knight out of a storage scroll. "Here it is, sir. My finest creation."
The demon picks up the suit of armor with one hand and looks at it carefully. It almost looked like he was holding a doll with how small it was compared to him. The demon strokes his beard and smiles. “This is truly impressive, child. I applaud your ingenuity. To use corrupted energy instead of chakra is an interesting concept.” He then looks down at Hime with a very concerned look on his face. “It is a magnificent creation you have here, but I am worried that it may come at a cost. Tell me honestly child, have you experienced anything strange while using this armor?”
Once again Hime was taken off guard as she did not expect him to figure that out simply by looking at the suit of armor. “Yes sensei. There are times where I feel that it has a mind of its own. I find myself almost connected to it when using it and I am afraid I might lose myself if I keep it. Please sensei, I offer this armor for you to keep.”
The demon lets out a joyful laugh that makes the ground tremble beneath her feet. “Of course, little one. I would be glad to accept this gift. May I say it is wise for you to give it up. Should you have kept it, it would have likely corrupted your very soul.” The demon turns around and begins to walk inside. “Come in, young one. There is someone I would like to introduce to you”
Hime, once relieved that she passed the test, was now starting to wonder if the trail was not yet over. "I would be an honor." She does what she is told and enters the large estate. Once she was far enough inside the demon closed the door behind her. With there being no way for her to open that door she was starting to feel a little trapped and her nerves were on high alert. The demon would then walk past her and down the hall. “This way. Follow me.”
Examining the spoils, she was able to determine that there were minor differences than the usual chakra thread. She believes it would act in the same way. After several days of laboring, she made a suit of armor. She could not really tell any differences from all her other creations. Thus, she claimed the experiment a success.
She then decides to commission a member of the Senju bloodline. Unlike the first guy, a Senju can produce natural energy with a holy affinity. The prospects of creating a holy weapon had Hime excited and she was glad to have gotten a willing participant. Again, she receives spoils of natural energy, and she could feel the difference radiating from them. With eagerness she goes to work and after several days of labor, she makes another suit of armor just like the first. Remarkably similar to the last one. In fact, she could not tell the difference. She is not sure why, but somehow during the process the natural energy lost its holy affinity.
Hime knew that there were three alignments: Spiritual, Cursed and Holy. Her ethereal weapons naturally have a spiritual alignment. If she recalls right each one was greater than the other in a cycle. Holy beats cursed, curse beats spiritual and spiritual beats holy. So, it was not that the natural energy lost its holiness, it was that the spiritual nature of her craft overwrote the holy affinity. In which case energy with a curse alignment should theoretically maintain its cursed nature despite the spiritualness of her craft.
Once again, she sends out a request, but this time it was for a dark sage. Fortunately, enough a dark sage was willing to aid her in her experiments. Once again, a man makes spoils of chakra thread, but this time it was made out of what is called cursed energy. Just by holding the spoils she could feel the dark power lying with them. With renewed vigor she goes to work and after several days of labor, she makes yet another suit of armor. This one however is the Black Knight which she now currently uses as her signature weapon.
It was a success as the cursed energy indeed was able to maintain its cursed alignment despite the spiritual processes that go into making an ethereal weapon. From this she created a cursed puppet that for some reason seems to be a little clingy. The connection between her and the puppet seems stronger than usual. Normally when Hime wields a puppet for the very first time the movement of the puppet would be rough and jagged till she gets used to it. This puppet moved smoothly from the start. This puppet was less like a tool and more like an extension of herself. It was like an extra appendage in how it moved.
Due to the ease of control The Black Knight quickly became her go to weapon in a fight. After a while she began to notice different little oddities of the puppet. There were times when she was not even pulling on the strings and yet it moved to her will. It was like she was controlling it but not completely on a conscious level. None of these aspects were bad and in fact she wished she could make her normal ethereal puppets to act like this.
This morning something truly strange happened to Hime while she was using The Black Knight. She was given a private exam. The exam was merely a spar against the teacher with the rule of not using any ninjutsu or genjutsu. Hime shone like a star. Her speed was quick and movements fluid. She was able to switch from weapon to weapon with ease and was skilled in each one. She put amazing strength into her strikes and was able to endure attacks. The weird thing is that the Black Knight was out during that entire spar, and she swears that there were times that the roles were reversed. There were times in that match that she felt like the puppet and The Black Knight was puppeteering her. She won the spar and passed the exam, so she cannot really complain. However, she does wonder if the Black Knight had a will of its own. Either way it will still be her go to weapon.
After a month has come and gone, she begins to ponder the nature of the Black Knight. She knew that it was made out of cursed energy from a dark sage, but these qualities seem more than just an alignment. It is her understanding that dark sages have the power to bring the dead back from the grave. They use this corrupt energy to reanimate the deceased. Could it be possible that this corrupt energy has the ability to bestow life? It would indeed answer most of her questions about the Black Knight. She was starting to think this weapon was more trouble than it is worth, but it was still the best weapon she ever created.
—-
Today marks her 17th birthday and she was to perform a rite of passage. Within Crater City is a demon blacksmith. This demon long ago taught her ancestors the way of creating ethereal weapons. On this day she is to take her finest work and offer it up to the demon to judge her skill. Hime was extremely nervous as she has never met him before and has heard stories of what happened to those found unworthy.
When she came to the place, she could not help but stare. The door was so huge that she could not even reach the handle. However, dangling next to the door was a thick rope. Pulling the rope, a large bell chimed. Then she would hear heavy footsteps approaching and what opened the door was definitely not human. He was massive and muscular. Big bushy facial hair adorns his face while ram horns sprang out from his crown. “Are you a child of Ryu?”
“Y-yes sir. I have come for you to judge my work as is tradition.”
“Okay then. Show me child. Show me how well you practiced the craft.”
Hime was a little surprised at the request. She kind of figured that she would be let into the house first, but she was not going to argue with the immensely large demon. Thus, she summoned her Black Knight out of a storage scroll. "Here it is, sir. My finest creation."
The demon picks up the suit of armor with one hand and looks at it carefully. It almost looked like he was holding a doll with how small it was compared to him. The demon strokes his beard and smiles. “This is truly impressive, child. I applaud your ingenuity. To use corrupted energy instead of chakra is an interesting concept.” He then looks down at Hime with a very concerned look on his face. “It is a magnificent creation you have here, but I am worried that it may come at a cost. Tell me honestly child, have you experienced anything strange while using this armor?”
Once again Hime was taken off guard as she did not expect him to figure that out simply by looking at the suit of armor. “Yes sensei. There are times where I feel that it has a mind of its own. I find myself almost connected to it when using it and I am afraid I might lose myself if I keep it. Please sensei, I offer this armor for you to keep.”
The demon lets out a joyful laugh that makes the ground tremble beneath her feet. “Of course, little one. I would be glad to accept this gift. May I say it is wise for you to give it up. Should you have kept it, it would have likely corrupted your very soul.” The demon turns around and begins to walk inside. “Come in, young one. There is someone I would like to introduce to you”
Hime, once relieved that she passed the test, was now starting to wonder if the trail was not yet over. "I would be an honor." She does what she is told and enters the large estate. Once she was far enough inside the demon closed the door behind her. With there being no way for her to open that door she was starting to feel a little trapped and her nerves were on high alert. The demon would then walk past her and down the hall. “This way. Follow me.”