Session 25: The demise of Kessho

“The demise of Kessho” is the 25th session of the campaign and the sixth of The Ultimate Sanction arc.

Synopsis
The party stop their travels towards the Village Hidden in the Rain, Keguwa intriguingly asks the new addition to the party, Shouen Inuzuka, what she could be capable of when he teaches her how to use Soul Release. Shouen then gives her a demonstration of the power he possesses. He shows her his ability to tap into the subconscious domain of any living being. He demonstrates this ability on Hyoga Shino, which unexpectedly drags several party members into her subconscious and allows them to see her memories.

Hyoga, Shunji and Tensai awaken in the middle of a snowstorm. Hyoga looks much younger, and Tensai and Shunji don’t look like themselves. The three also have temporary memory loss, and struggle to figure out where they are. They are greeted by a young man called Jaben, who calls Hyoga by name. Upon a few confusing exchanges, he reveals that Shunji and Tensai have taken the forms of Hyoga‘s parents. He reveals that the four of them have been on a fishing holiday on a large iceberg on the edge of their settlement. Jaben, suspecting something to be wrong with the three, takes them back home. The four arrive at the large ice walls of Kessho, one of the few semi-independent cities in the Mirror Universe (i.e. mostly free of Empire influence). At this time, the memories of Hyoga return and she plays out the memories the party are living through as if she were there. Tensai and Shunji however, have a fusion of their own minds and that of Hyoga’s parents.

Hyoga recalls that his parents had fallen ill with a mental affliction, which causes them to exhibit strange behaviour.

Shunji (in the body of Hyoga's father) follows the mysterious sound of chanting within the village, and finds almost all of the inhabitants crowded into a colosseum like area with a large fire roaring in the center. The inhabitants are chanting, while a Shaman in the middle performs a ceremony of sorts. It is revealed that the inhabitants are attempting to commune with the Fyries, whom they believe to be ancient spirits who watch over them; the village is attempting to contact them in order to receive protection against the Empire.

Tensai (in the body of Hyoga's mother) finds the nearest tavern, The Lusty Walrus, and proceeds to go and drink in there. After a few hours, she is blackout drunk. (Many attribute this behaviour to that of the mental affliction Hyoga's mother is suffering at the time).

Hyoga returns to her family home, finding her unique snowflake locket and a childhood toy. She stares over the horizon outside her window, feeling content to see such familiar sights. However, she is alerted to a loud commotion outside her home. She leaves her front door and looks over to the Lusty Walrus tavern opposite. There, the barkeep asks her if her mother is okay, and raises concern about how much alcohol she has drank. As Tensai (in Hyoga's mother's body) drunkenly clambers down the main street shouting and cheering, Hyoga chases after her.

Tensai makes her way to the chanting (where Shunji also is). She causes a ruckus and offends almost everyone present, by interrupting the chanting with her own chanting, saying things such as "Long live the Empire" and other offensive statements. However, it becomes a serious issue when Tensai takes the ceremonial staff from the Shaman and throws it into the central fire. Hyoga, Shunji and Tensai are then arrested and taken to the town prison.

After an amount of time had passed, the town's mayor came to preside over a trial over the three. Where they were found guilty of a number crimes including treason, which carries the death penalty. Although Hyoga had not comitted any crimes, nor did Shunji, the town believes in family punishment. Despite their pleas the Mayor sentenced them to death. Shunji, attempting to free them, used his techniques to transform himself into a Fyrie to fool the Mayor into letting them go. The ruse was not directly sucessful, and may have had negative reprocussions for the village at large.

As the Mayor left to prepare, the three were alerted to a large noise outside. Bright lights of flames came through the small slit like window of their jail cell. After Hyoga broke them out of the jail, they soon discovered that the Empire had come to massacre the village. Apparently, the Empire had detected chakra use in the village (Shunji) which is forbidden by Empire law.

The three attempted to escape. They found a nearby cave which contained the original altar where the contact of the Fyries would take place. On the way, they found no one else alive. The mutilated bodies of men, womenand children litttered the streets. Tensai, hoping to make amends for her mistake, tried to use the old altar to contact the Fyires. After some time, the Fyries responded. Tensai (as Hyoga's mother) begged the Fyries to protect her child (Hyoga). The Fyires agreed to cast a protective luck jutsu upon Hyoga, which would give her innate luck and protect her from harm, however they would take Hyoga's mother in exchange, to which she agreed. The Fyries then disappeared.

After waiting for several minutes, the son of the Shaman (the man who was performing the ritual earlier) turned up. He revealed that everyone was dead and that as far as anyone knew, they were the only survivors. He concluded that it would be unlikely that three adults would escape the village, due to the Empire's extensive patrols. However, Hyoga might be able to escape due to her size and ability to hide. In order to protect her identify, he would erase her memories. Eliminating the probability of the Empire being able to identifier upon her capture. After a hearfelt goodbye, the Shaman's son erased her memories and stored them into a snowflake necklace she had.

The three then faded back to their original bodies. Shouen revealed that Hyoga had tapped into her sub-conscious. Keguwa was impressed and wished to learn more about her abilities. Hyoga, horrified to experience these memories, and more so that they were shared so intimately with others, ran off into the woods nearby. After being reassured and comforted by Shouen, she rejoined the party and they proceeded on to the Hidden Rain.

Trivia

 * This session reveals Hyoga's backstory and the fate of her parents#
 * Hyoga's innate ability to survive events that would otherwise be fatal is now understood to be due to the Fyrie's gift.
 * Shouen demonstrates that Soul Release can tap into the consciousnesses of others as well as his own.