Nano
procrastination symphony
Key to an Oath:
Interest Check
Interest Check
Story
物語
When the god Izanagi returned from his descent into the polluted Land of Yomi, he bathed himself within the waters of the plain of Awagihara to purify his body. As he rose from the Tachibana River to dry his body, the droplets that fell upon the earth beneath his feet imbued the land with supernatural energy. From these shed impurities, the strange apparitions known as yokai sprung forth.
In the days of old, malevolent spirits were little more than myths passed down to warn children and weary travelers of the dangers of the night. “Beware of the Yamauba who tricks merchants and feasts on their flesh,” they’d say, among many other stories. However, as the yokai grew in number and strength, the creatures thought to exist only in folktales gradually crept out from the shadows of the night. Compared to the yokai whose natures bestowed them with supernatural gifts, the feeble humans could do little but cloister themselves within the precarious safety of their villages and cities.
The need to protect themselves gave rise to various human-invented techniques to combat malevolent spirits. When the yokai invaded the human capital of Kanoe, a woman who went by the name Chisato purified the city with the mystical arts she wielded. Her discipline would later become known as onmyodo, while the ones who learned the practice became known as onmyoji. This field of study would later branch off into nine main disciplines, with each headed by the nine clans of the Imperial Alliance.
Though not every human was suitable to practice onmyodo, the power of the Nine Clans as well as the influence of the art would carve out distinct territories separating humans from yokai. Fear spurned hatred, and the two races became deadlocked in a constant struggle to stand their ground. From time-to-time, the leaders of the respective sides attempted to make amends, having become weary of the endless millennia of fighting. However, peace talks would never fall through, leading the racial tensions to fester into something far worse than what they had been prior. That is, until a common enemy happened to draw the attention of both sides.
The third year of the Seiun (星雲) Era marked the official recognition of a cease-fire, signed by the Empress, Chief Commissioner, and the three Demon Lords. Initiated by Chief Commissioner Ichimoku Souya, his decision to reach out to the Demon Lords of Mount Kasumi, Onigashima, and Firefly Forest caused a stir within the Imperial Alliance. Amidst the accusations of “desiring to hold hands with monsters” and betraying the human race, the Chief Commissioner remained resolute in his decision. However, rather than a gesture of goodwill towards the yokai, the onmyoji believed that the situation in the nation of Kouka had turned dire enough to require the two races' cooperation.
Kyonshi, corpses reanimated by the power of grudges and resentment, had always been malignant creatures that attacked any living beings indiscriminately. Whether they be driven by the unfulfilled desires of their past selves or drawn to the flow of life, they had always been a menace whenever one appeared and attacked the humans or yokai. As a result, the denizens of Kouka always took care to grant the dead proper burials, even if the body must be buried in a nameless grave. However, the past decade saw a steady rise in the number of Kyonshi seen skulking about. Worse yet were the spelltags found upon the defeated corpses of the Kyonshi, evidence that the corpses were being manipulated by a much more sinister force.
In accordance with the ceasefire agreement, the treaty was signed to authorize a collaborative effort to more efficiently eradicate the Kyonshi infesting various areas in Kouka. In addition, several teams of onmyoji and yokai were assembled for the specific purpose of tracking down the source of the spelltags creating and manipulating the Kyonshi.
In the days of old, malevolent spirits were little more than myths passed down to warn children and weary travelers of the dangers of the night. “Beware of the Yamauba who tricks merchants and feasts on their flesh,” they’d say, among many other stories. However, as the yokai grew in number and strength, the creatures thought to exist only in folktales gradually crept out from the shadows of the night. Compared to the yokai whose natures bestowed them with supernatural gifts, the feeble humans could do little but cloister themselves within the precarious safety of their villages and cities.
The need to protect themselves gave rise to various human-invented techniques to combat malevolent spirits. When the yokai invaded the human capital of Kanoe, a woman who went by the name Chisato purified the city with the mystical arts she wielded. Her discipline would later become known as onmyodo, while the ones who learned the practice became known as onmyoji. This field of study would later branch off into nine main disciplines, with each headed by the nine clans of the Imperial Alliance.
Though not every human was suitable to practice onmyodo, the power of the Nine Clans as well as the influence of the art would carve out distinct territories separating humans from yokai. Fear spurned hatred, and the two races became deadlocked in a constant struggle to stand their ground. From time-to-time, the leaders of the respective sides attempted to make amends, having become weary of the endless millennia of fighting. However, peace talks would never fall through, leading the racial tensions to fester into something far worse than what they had been prior. That is, until a common enemy happened to draw the attention of both sides.
The third year of the Seiun (星雲) Era marked the official recognition of a cease-fire, signed by the Empress, Chief Commissioner, and the three Demon Lords. Initiated by Chief Commissioner Ichimoku Souya, his decision to reach out to the Demon Lords of Mount Kasumi, Onigashima, and Firefly Forest caused a stir within the Imperial Alliance. Amidst the accusations of “desiring to hold hands with monsters” and betraying the human race, the Chief Commissioner remained resolute in his decision. However, rather than a gesture of goodwill towards the yokai, the onmyoji believed that the situation in the nation of Kouka had turned dire enough to require the two races' cooperation.
Kyonshi, corpses reanimated by the power of grudges and resentment, had always been malignant creatures that attacked any living beings indiscriminately. Whether they be driven by the unfulfilled desires of their past selves or drawn to the flow of life, they had always been a menace whenever one appeared and attacked the humans or yokai. As a result, the denizens of Kouka always took care to grant the dead proper burials, even if the body must be buried in a nameless grave. However, the past decade saw a steady rise in the number of Kyonshi seen skulking about. Worse yet were the spelltags found upon the defeated corpses of the Kyonshi, evidence that the corpses were being manipulated by a much more sinister force.
In accordance with the ceasefire agreement, the treaty was signed to authorize a collaborative effort to more efficiently eradicate the Kyonshi infesting various areas in Kouka. In addition, several teams of onmyoji and yokai were assembled for the specific purpose of tracking down the source of the spelltags creating and manipulating the Kyonshi.
Afterword
後書き
This roleplay takes inspiration from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, and Natsume’s Book of Friends. Knowledge of any of the aforementioned series is not necessary for this roleplay. Some familiarity with Japanese folklore is preferred but not required.
Hello hello~ Thanks for stopping by Key to an Oath! (｡•̀ᴗ-) If you remember the original version of this roleplay from six years ago, no you don’t. That dumpster fire doesn’t exist. Many things have changed since then, though the core concept of the plot itself remained the same. In any case, I wanted to quickly mention that though I based a lot of things off of pre-existing myths, I also made a lot of things up for the sake of fitting certain ideas into the roleplay better. Please don’t go crazy looking for references to the info in this roleplay because chances are you won’t find it.
I’m currently looking for about
This roleplay is NOT first come, first served (sans anyone I tagged). Currently there are
Hello hello~ Thanks for stopping by Key to an Oath! (｡•̀ᴗ-) If you remember the original version of this roleplay from six years ago, no you don’t. That dumpster fire doesn’t exist. Many things have changed since then, though the core concept of the plot itself remained the same. In any case, I wanted to quickly mention that though I based a lot of things off of pre-existing myths, I also made a lot of things up for the sake of fitting certain ideas into the roleplay better. Please don’t go crazy looking for references to the info in this roleplay because chances are you won’t find it.
I’m currently looking for about
8 people
including myself, though this number may be subject to change. That said, this roleplay will have a pre-screening process in the form of an application. More info regarding that can be found on the application page, but most of the stuff you write in it will be recycled into the official character sheet.This roleplay is NOT first come, first served (sans anyone I tagged). Currently there are
5 open slots
, and I’ll be picking the applications that I feel best fit the roleplay after the deadline on November 20th
. This is a hard deadline with absolutely no extensions. Please plan accordingly and get things done early in order to avoid emergencies getting in the way. To clarify, this is a short application submitted as part of a pre-screening process prior to writing the official character sheet.Rules
規則
Before you express interest, I need you to agree to a few house rules:
- Participants are required to join the roleplay’s Discord. I’ll be PM’ing a link to those interested.
- Faceclaims should be anime or a similar style.
- A minor level of independent research is required for the roleplay. I don’t mind if you play a kappa and tweak some parts of the original legends, but don’t change their entire identity by making them a fire yokai.
- This will be a semi-text heavy roleplay. Please make sure to read everything, or you’ll have trouble following certain things in the roleplay. This includes other people’s sheets. Even if your character isn’t familiar with other characters and wouldn’t know such information, don’t waste other people’s hard work.
- A soft-requirement of a post per week will be upheld during the first month or so of the roleplay. I expect the posting speed to go down a bit afterwards, but I won’t tolerate long absences without being notified beforehand. You don’t need to give me any reasons or excuses. Just tell me when and how long you’ll be gone/busy.
- I’m not going to perfectly balance the number of humans and yokai, but given the theme of the roleplay being unification of the races, I won’t skew the ratio more than 3:5. On the other hand, I don’t care about gender balance in the slightest.
- No metagaming, powerplaying, etc. You know the drill.
- Questions? Concerns? Ask below.
Code by Nano
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. This upcoming week will be a bit busy but I'll try my best to get something in after my vacation!
