Last Name: Sugihara
Appearance:
Age: 40
Height 6' 2"
Weight: 210 lb.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Gray/white
Personality Profile:
General Health:
Deity: Ken is a student of the Way of Shou Lung, and
Profession: Former farmer and retired warrior, now abiding in balance
Habits/Hobbies: Brewing and drinking tea, learning to read, fishing, meditating
Languages: Kozakuran, Shou, Common
Weapon of Choice: Single-edged blades
Background:
Ken tells his story around a campfire. The listeners are members of a caravan traveling to the Sword Coast in the year 1351.
"I was born on the island of Kanshu, on a farm near the town of Iewara. My family's farm was one of the few farms on Kanshu. Now, Kanshu is in a land called Kozakura, which is far from here. But perhaps some of you have heard of it. Life was simple there, and I remember my childhood fondly.
When I was twelve, a small trading ship arrived at Iewara from the nearby nation of Wa, as it did every year. On this year, one of the traders brought his niece with him. Her name was Xing, and her parents were farmers too. We were about the same age. While the ship stayed at Iewara for two days, Xing played with the local children.
Xing was very pretty, and it did not take long for the boys to start showing off in front of her. We did this by taking sticks and playing at sword fighting. She enjoyed our antics; I still remember how she laughed and laughed that day. Imagine our surprise when Xing suddenly picked up a stick, jumped into our midst, and disarmed us all! While we stood there stunned, she ran back to her tent with a great smile on her face.
I had to know how Xing learned to fight, so I ran after her while the other boys complained to each other. I was, of course, quite smitten. I caught up to Xing at her tent and asked her to tell me how she disarmed all of us. She tried to show me, but teaching was never one of her strong points. Her uncle, however, came by and saw her trying to teach me. He was kind enough to give me my first lesson in swordsmanship that day. Xing and her uncle left soon after that.
For a whole year, I practiced what Xing's uncle taught me, thinking to impress Xing if she came back next year. It was hopeless, of course. She had the benefit of learning from her uncle almost every day, whereas I had daily chores.
When Xing returned to Iewara the next year, she laughed merrily as she knocked all of us on our backs. I walked with her back to her tent, where she and her uncle gave me another swordsmanship lesson.
And so it went for the next few years. Xing would come, best all the local boys, and then I would go learn something new from her and her uncle. After a few years, the other boys grew tired of getting bested by a girl. They stopped coming to see Xing when the ship made its yearly visit.
When Xing came to Iewara in my seventeenth year, I was the only one waiting for her. After she defeated me again, we sat under a tree and had tea. We spoke at length then, more than we ever had before. By the time we finished our tea, I knew that I wanted to marry Xing.
I worked hard for the next three years to prove myself capable of taking over my family's farm. By the time Xing visited Iewara in my twentieth year, I was running my family's farm. That day, it took Xing an entire minute to defeat me. I found it difficult to stand after that fight, so I had to ask her to marry me from the flat of my back. She said yes.
We were married that year. Our wedding was small, but her parents seemed to enjoy it. They prayed to a strange goddess for our happiness. This goddess was from your lands, and her name was Chauntea.
The years I spent with Xing were the happiest of my life. We farmed and sparred every day.
In my twenty-fifth year, Xing's uncle arrived with news of a new ruler who had came into power in Wa. This ruler, a "shogun," encouraged hostility against followers of the foreign goddess Chauntea. This meant nothing to me, but Xing was distressed enough to follow her uncle back to Wa that year. I wish I had gone with her.
Xing did not return the following year. Her family was killed that year in the Juzimura Rebellion of 1337. When I heard of this, I abandoned my farm and traveled to Wa. I had to see for myself if Xing was dead.
She was.
I could not return to my farm in Kozakura after that; there were too many memories there. I also feared drawing the shogun's attention to my family; I had become an enemy of the state during my time in Wa. So fierce was the shogun's hatred of Chaunteans that I thought he might reach into a neighboring country to eliminate a 'Chauntean sympathizer.' And since the island of Kanshu is not even technically part of Kozakura, there is really not much stopping the shogun's influence from reaching my family. I figured returning to Kanshu would be testing my luck too much.
I have been traveling ever since."
Goals:
Learn to read
Learn more about the goddess that his wife died for
Possible Plot-Hook Ideas and Misc Facts:
- Ken is intelligent, but he has never had the opportunity to learn how to read and write.
- He is very well traveled in Kara-Tur, having left home at the age of twenty-six. He has been wandering for fourteen years. This is his first time in Faerun, however.
- In his travels, Ken became involved in many political conflicts. In fact, one of the reasons he has traveled so far from Kara-Tur involves disillusionment with an activist cell of the White Way in Shou Lung.
- Ken wants to learn more about Chauntea, since his wife died for her. The Chauntean priest Edmund has taught Ken about the Chauntean faith, and has all but converted him.
- He has heard of Tymora and Lliira, and finds that their dogmas resonate with him. He sees no point in dwelling on the tragedies of the past. Indeed, he may fear it.
- Edit on 5/20/15: Ken very recently came into a large sum of money. It is more money than he has ever seen, and certainly more than he knows what to do with. He is considering his options.
- Edit on 10/26/15: In the last several months, Ken has settled into a quiet life in Ulgoth's Beard. He is fond of saying that he moved to the Sword Coast to die a quiet death. However, he has recently been roaming the Coast and diving into dangerous dungeons by himself, without much regard for his own safety.
- Edit on 7/26/21: Ken's near-suicidal behavior years ago almost resulted in his death. However, his life was saved by a druid of Eldath who also had extensive knowledge of Chauntea's teachings. She nursed Ken back to health and has been teaching him her ways for the last five years. Recently, she revealed her past involvement with the Juzimura Rebellion and the fact that she knew his wife. She gave Ken some of Xing's belongings and then departed east.
- Ken's age and his brush with death have left him much weaker than he used to be. For this and other reasons, he no longer lives by the sword.
