Henziyuno
History
Henziyuno is a historic and sacred site where the hero Inzuyima defeated the Eater of Men, a tentacled horror that infested the bay and demanded tribute. There he found his bride, Atanna, the sea bride. As such, the place has been inhabited since the Gods Time, and each year, when the Hero Quest of the Marriage of Atanna is performed, the seas are calm, the fishing and seaweed harvests are good, and the raiding ships return safely.
Henziyuno is a small and prosperous town, only two days travel north from Tengainzya, one of the main ports of Vormain and a centre of power for the Hairu clan. However, as it sits on the hub of a peninsula there is little road traffic, other than those who trade for the towns' craftspeople's famed goods, and the coastal patrols. Most ships will port at Tengainzya unless they have specific business in Henziyuno, with the exception of the Burning Wave, a small group of raiders that operate out of the town.
The Town
Situated in the Three-Step Lagoon, the town sits nestled in low wooded hills, and straddles the Heron River. The coastal road winds through the city and heads north around the peninsula, to Amishi and Miharu, further north. A low wooden wall surrounds the town, and a southern gate and northern gate are closed at bight to all but those who hold travel passes. Overseeing the city is the Monastery of the Circling Way, a small religious community, who also watch the seas for arrivals and foreigners as part of their sacred duty
Population
About 800 people live in Henziyuno proper, about 450 adults and 250 cildren. Most are peasants but there are three main samurai families - the Heici, the Broken Sandal, and the Golden Mask. Around 300 are farmers and fishermen who live inside the town walls for safety, around 70 are craftsmen. There are perhaps 50 warriors total, including those from the samurai families, itinerant pirates and garrisons from the Hairu.
Henziyuno is primarily a fishing village and as such most of it's industry is related to the sea. Customs men charge tariffs on pirated goods, fishermen ply the waves, divers retrieve treasures, shellfish and seaweed from the depths. Most crafters work on sails, nets and boats, although a small amount of pottery and bronze goods are made locally. The clan trades fro all other things it cannot provide locally - cloth, dyes, medicines, wines and ales, horses, and metals. There is a weekly market in the town where surrounding farmers come and sell their crafts and wares.
Staying in the Town
For outsiders there are a few options. The Circling Way monastery will provide accommodation for a small gratuity, although it is out of the city, and the fare is meagre and the surroundings austere. Within the town, those with contacts or clan relations, or even better, a letter of introduction from a person of influence, might be invited to stay at one of the three samurai clans houses. These are walled compounds where horses can be stabled. Lastly, there are two small inns for travelers, although neither has a stable - horses must be kept in a separate stable.
Government
Strictly speaking, Henziyuno is a protectorate of the Hairu clan, and administers it in the Emperor's name. A headman is appointed every three years, and practically, unless there are issues of health or a petition to the Hairu clan protesting the appointment, this is a position for life. The current headman is Magistrate Chusedui of the Broken Sandal clan. He is in early middle age, and is well respected by people in the town, although some see him as too deferential to the distant clan lords over local matters. Chusedui enforces the law through his Chief Inspector, Imada, and his three enforcers. mostly they detect infringements to the law and bring cases before Chusedui to judge. Their jurisdiction is limited to the town and the farms beyond and they are not equipped or entitled to take on, for example, bandits on the fringes of the civilized lands.
The other side of the government is the local boss, Henekuo the Blue, a small time underworld figure who runs a gambling house and keeps crime and smuggling to a minimum. an uneasy truce between the law and lawbreakers exists that acts as a vital safety valve for the usually tightly controlled townspeople to gamble, drink, smuggle and fornicate outside of the controlling eye of the magistrate. Henekuo runs one of the towns two inns, and an associated gambling house.
Places of Interest
The Blue Man Inn
A small inn with four rooms, this unassuming place also has a back area, where gambling and prostitution take place. The place is run by Henekuo the Blue, but the front man is Ghen, who works hard to keep the place well run.
The Customs House
On the waterfront, Ora the Customsman inspects each boat for goods and imposes a tariff according to his ancient scroll of imports. Books or religious material, or items that might impart knowledge of the world outside of Vormain are impounded as dangerous. Foreign cults are regarded as a deadly danger to sacred lands.
The Circling Way
A mystic monastery dedicated to moving Jenjuism, this place is dedicated to mystic insights, and martial arts practice. It sponsors an annual tournament and the winner is awarded the red shirt of Gunnui. The current head is Abbot Osodero, a female martial arts instructor and master of unarmed combat.
Broken Sandal Clan Compound
A large walled mansion, this place also acts as the local seat of government. Messages arrive here, orders are carried out, and official records are kept here. But this is also the ancestral home of the Broken Sandals, an ancient warrior caste clan. Although the magistrate executes the will of the Emperor, the Broken Sandal is ruled by the matriarchal Innaga-Hue who manages the clan wealth and was instrumental in gaining the position of magistrate for her nephew Chusedui. The head of the family guards is Gengo Twelve-Swords, who famously died but was returned from the lands of the dead with a dozen swords gifted to him by his ancestors.
Three-Step Lagoon
This serene lagoon is the mouth of the Heron river, and forms a deep and calm port for the ships who ply the coast. A long sandbar protects the lagoon, and local officials measure depths every year to ensure the bay is deep enough for the ships. The lagoon teems with life - shellfish, crustaceans, and flatfish, and the lagoon is full of fishermen and men with nets and scoops during the warmer months. The 'Three Steps' refers to three extremely deep parts of the lagoon where Inzayuma stepped forth to defeat the Eater of Men.
Oshino Wood
About an hours walk from the village inland is a tangled skein of woods and brambles known as Oshino's wood, after the ancient kami that resides there. Fox hsunchen and wild spirits are known to reside there - not necessarily evil, but scornful and careless with human life.
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People of the Town
Henekuo the Blue
Henekuo is a middle aged man, wiry and dressed on good peasant clothes. Henekuo has always been fascinated by games of chance and this has led him to a life of low-key crime, running a brothel and gambling house with the tacit approval of the warrior clans, and buying and selling smuggled goods from the traders and pirates that visit the ports nearby.
Henekuo has a halo of wiry red hair, and is covered in a network of spidery tattoos. He loves games of skill and chance and never misses an opportunity to play a new game or indulge in Ogo, the pebble game, his favourite. Henekuo is married to Ama Two-Cauldrons.
Innaga-Hue
Innaga Hue is in her fifties, a matriarch of the Broken Sandal clan and the true ruler of the warrior caste of Henziyuno. In her youth she was a champion archer and huntress, but as her duties grew greater she spends less time in the wilds. Her daughter Amari-A is currently finishing school at the capital, and Innaga advises her nephew on the best actions to take. Innaga is advised by the witch Tohomi, who has warned her that a great change is coming, and as a consequence Innaga's greatest impulse is to maintain the status quo and their ancient way of life. She consequently disapproves of the pirates and the wealth they bring, but will do nothing against it while they are blessed by the Hairu clan.
Innage is a slightly overweight woman with long grey hair. She has a red tattoo of a swallow on her right hand.
Chusedui, Head Man of the Warrior Caste
Chusedui has led a life of relative privilege, and does not let those he meets forget it. He is deferential to his aunt Innaga, and visitors from the capital, but to most others he is remote and haughty. This extends to his dealings with the Heici and Golden Mask clans, who tolerate this condescension as long as Chusedui does not overreach his power. Under his leadership the boat is never rocked. however, Chusedui has ideas of gaining some influence with the Hairu clan, and seeks to elevate his position by taking gifts from the pirates in the area, unbeknownst to his aunt.
Gengo Twelve-Swords The head of the household warriors, Gengo is a middle aged man with jet black hair with a single shock of white. He sports a large moustache and is tall and heavy-set. He is slow to move but near indestructable once he draws his sword. He was killed in a duel and brought back to life by a White Nun. He now owes them for his life and must assist them if asked. He takes this very seriously. He will not speak of his time in the Hells, but it is known he has a dozen extraordinary magical swords he returned from death clutching in his arms. He rotates their use, but will not discuss them or their powers. One was stolen once and Gengo took three mens lives to retrieve it, not sleeping until it was done.
Abbot Osodero
Osodero is a devotee of Jenjuism, the mystic discipline of stillness in the midst of movement. This ascetic movement teaches hard work and forebearance, and strict martial discipline. Once a year Osodero organises a martial arts competition, which is part ceremony and part heroquest. The winner is invited to instruct the next year. Osodero was a travelling fighting monk for many years before winning the tournament and retiring to the monastery, eventualy becoming it's head. He has a military bearing, and is lean and muscular. He wears his hair in a huge topknot.
Ondo Green-Eye
Ondo is the head of the Heici clan, one of the three warrior clans of the town. Ondo is in his early thirties, and active to the point of hyperactivity. He is known to hunt frequently, and unusually has his own sailboat, which he uses to fish and sail for his own amusement. Sometimes he will even travel with pirates on their expeditions. He cares little for the staid morals of the town bureaucracy, and his eyes are always on an adventure and glory. He has one brown eye and one green eye, the result of an adventure on a remote island.
Ondo is a small wiry man with an intense gaze. He wears a full beard. Unknown to all, the unmarried Ondo is carrying on a romance with a fox woman in the western forests.
Jono No-Breath, Headman of the Peasants
Jono is a good natured and jovial diver of pearls and other treasures. He can stay underwater for seemingly impossibly long periods of time, and he uses this skill to talk at length on any topic. He is passionate about the welfare of the town and it's people, but is often unsure of what to do about it -on the one hand he respects the ancient ways of life, and in other ways he sees how the Hairu and the pirates have bought money and stability to the town. He is proud of his abilities to bring money to his family through his craft. He speaks of the deep waters where he swims, and the sirens who live down thee, calling from him to join them.
Huto the Hunter
Huto is the primary hunter of the town, and a devotee of the hunter god. He has the ability to speak to the creatures of the forest, and kills them with the gentle cut to ensure their spirits pass tot he next world. Huto is very holy, and has great reverence for all the spirits and kami of the woods and the seas. Huto has a full black beard and long wild hair tied back into a ponytail. He has a wife, Seiro, and many children. He often disappears into the woods for weeks at a time.
Inspector Imada
Inspector Imada is the chief tariff collector and policeman of the town. He is an intelligent and methodical man and a keen student of human nature. He is above any corruption himself, although he sees and accepts some of the bribery and corruption in the town around him as a necessary evil. He has a professional respect for and friendship with Henekuo.
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Tohomi the Sea Witch
Tohomi is a stick thin woman in her early twenties with pale green skin. She is a servant of water spirits, and serves the Kami of the lagoon. She has access to a number of spirits, both from nature and the land of the dead, and can prophecy with some accuracy, although not with reliable frequency. As a child Tohomi fell overboard and drowned - but washed up seemingly alive, but different. She enjoys speaking to spirits and the living, and enjoys the company of both, though never at the same time. She can often be heard alone laughing and chatting to the invisible world.
Inu Inkfingers
Inu is a clerk serving the three warrior families of the town. He writes messages for them and translates letters that arrive from afar. He is also archivist for the town and keeps many records - mostly of lineage and records of birth and wills and deeds. He relishes his role as keeper of secrets but will not give them up easily.
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The Hero Wars in Henziyuno.
Henziyuno is largely a sleepy little port nestled on coastal hills, with fine hunting forests and a sedate river running through it. A status quo seems to exist within the town, with little conflict. So what will propel adventure and change in this place? What will the Hero Wars bring to Henziyuno?
Magasta's Daughter!
Long Sleeping, the mother of monsters awakens and threatens the outer islands, crossing into Vormain itself. She is horrific to behold, and in herself she also spawns many other creatures that herald her arrival. While not chaotic, she is destructive, and she threatens many coastal towns and outlying islands. At the Emperor's order, the pirate fleet is sent to intercept it to prevent the great creature setting foot on the sacred soil of Vormain.
The Wizard Cult
The introduction of the Cult of Dormal and the increased importation of goods through piracy has led to much knowledge being introduced into Vormain. Most is kept in the black vaults of the Emperor's most devoted scribes and scholars, but a few have escaped. One tome of wizardly magic, with some accompanying tools was captured during a pirate raid and was not reported tot he authorities. It has led to a small but powerful secret cabal of wizards, who are using their power secretly and subtly to influence the Imperial Court and consolidate their own power. Priests who normally receive divinations of threats to the Emperor are getting only confused and garbled messages, for what reason it is not clear.
Their leader maintains his own unsanctioned assassins guild. The cult is unknown and its discovery will most likely set off fear and paranoia in the ranks of government, with many innocent people implicated. No doubt the cult has already selected its patsies in that eventuality.
Pirate Rebellion
The Pirates are becoming wealthy - wealthy enough to be able to challenge the stablished rule in many places. In others their wealth is destabilising the existing social order and making nobles and warriors chafing at parvenu pirates. There have been scuffles, arrests, and executions. Things will come to a head very soon, and it is unclear whether the new warlords or the established regime will triumph. Many pirates have feet in both camps - how will they rect when forced to choose?
The Duma-Tiwa Conspiracy
Three lesser clans are chafing under the Hairu hegemony. Without a legitimate way to challenge the power of the clan, they have set up a secret agreement to thwart and stop the Hairu clan and undermine their wealth, power and influence in any way they can. One of their main plans is to ensure the death of the heir to the Hairu clan. They will deal with anyone and anything to help make this come to pass.
Hidden Chaos
Long isolation and stagnation have led to two dark chaos cults - Thanatar and Krarsht - to thrive in secret amongst those with dark desire and ambition. Their goal is to overthrow the Sun Emperor once more, and re-enact the Great Darkness to bring their Gods back into power. The Skull Witch Henzo-Ai has been gathering his power, and treading long forgotten paths in the Hero plane to gather power and challenge the power of the gods.
The Schism of Jenju
A warrior monk travels the hero plane and discovers the lie of Jenju. He returns and spreads the heresy of the White Ginko Tree. After much agitation the monk is crucified for heresy but the old paths of questing for the Jenju cult are damaged and the cult is split into two. At the great tournaments the heroquest of Jenju the Champion must be enacted - who will win?
The Wolf Fox
In times of wealth, time can be taken to clear land for rice paddies for leaner times. But too much land has been cleared by the greedy, and the Kami of the wood is angered - she sends Jupnir, the wolf fox, to drive away the people and punish them for their lack of respect. The wolf fox spreads disease and devours those who enter the forest, and gathers the enemies of mankind to its side.
The Quomb Revolt The silent Quomb who neither eat nor sleep have worked as suicide slaves for the Vormaini since the Dawn. Taken away from their homeland they slowly weaken and die, but they are nonetheless common as slaves throughout the isles.
But the unheard of has happened - there have been instances of Quomb rebelling, killing their masters, or trying to escape. Nobody is sure what has prompted this but every slave owner is keeping a watchful eye on their quomb.
Rumours abound of a Quomb who heroquested to survive away from his homeland, who wages a guerilla war on behalf of his people.
Pirate War
There is much wealth to be made on the high seas - so much so that the number of pirates has increased tenfold in the last ten years or so. But ships are increasingly avoiding the seas around Vormain, and many conquered areas have already been looted. The pirates are starting to squabble, like so many little barons, about their conquests and spoils. It is only a matter of time before this spills out into full blown war between the pirate barons, and only a short time again before that war spills onto the shores of Vormain. Furthermore, with so many younger warrior sns seeking their fortunes as pirates, there is a shortage of skilled warriors in Vormain itself. Many suppressed foes and dissidents are finding this an ideal time to make ready their plans, whatever they might be.
Expedition to Monster Island
The Emperor in his divine wisdom has ordered a secret expedition to Loral Island. Why,nobody knows - only a single sage who must be protected at all costs knows. Warriors and nobles vie for the favour of the Emperor by volunteering for this suicide mission.
The Path of the Wanderer
Many have taken to the path of the wanderer - emulating the Storm God's wanderings by walking Vormain and righting wrongs. But many of those in power resent these wandering bounty hunters and justice seekers, however they have rights from their cult and their standing in society. Several corrupt minor nobles have already been taken down by these meddlers. How long will the powerful stand by and let this threat stand?
