Avenger

Background

On the magical world of Ansuz, alone in a sea that the people of the Manmarch call Endless, lies the mystical Island of Huathe.

Many years have passed since the time when as an infant, he had first seen its golden shores and emerald rice meadows. A servant brought him, braving the distant leagues of the ponderous ocean, from lands to which he had never returned. His loyal servant laid him, an orphan, at the steps of the Temple of the Light, praying that the monks would care for him, for she was frail and dying of a hideous curse.

Monks have lived on the island for centuries, dedicated to the worship of their god, Mithras, He Who Speaks the Holy Words of Power, Supreme Master of Unarmed Combat. They live only to help others resist the evil, which infests the world. Seeing that he was alone and needed care the monks took him in and he became an acolyte at the Temple of the Light. Nothing was made of the strange birthmark, shaped like a star, which he carries on his thigh, though he remembered that the old servant insisted it was of mystical importance.

The most ancient and powerful monk of them all, Naijishi, Grandmaster of the Dawn, became his foster father. He gave him guidance and training in the calm goodness of Mithras, knowledge of men and their ways, and how to meditate so that the mind floats free of the body and rode the winds in search of truth.

From the age of six however, most of his time was spent learning the Way of the Tiger. Now, he is a Ninja warrior, an outstanding master of the martial arts and a deadly assassin who can kill the most powerful enemies unseen and unsuspected. Like a tiger, he is strong, stealthy, agile, patient in the stalking of prey, and deadly. In the Manmarch and the Land Of Plenty, the fabled Ninja: known as the 'Men with no Shadows', are held in awe – the mere mention of Ninja strikes fear into people's hearts. But he is one of the few who worships Mithras and follows the Way of the Tiger. He uses his skill as a bringer of death to rid the world of evildoers.

At an early age he hung by the hands for hours on end from the branches of trees to strengthen his arms. He ran for miles, his light-footed speed enough to keep a thirty-foot ribbon trailing above the ground. He trod tightropes as agile as a monkey. Now he swims like a fish and leaps like a tiger: he moves like the whisper of the breeze and glides through the night like a shade. Before he died, Naijishi taught him the Ninja's Covenant:

Ninja No Chigiri:

' I will vanish into the night, change my body to wood or stone: sink into the earth and walk through walls and locked doors. I will be killed many times yet will not die: change my face and become invisible, able to walk among men without being seen.'

It was after his foster father's death that he began to live the words of the Covenant. A man came to the island, Yaemon, Grandmaster of Flame. Using borrowed sorcery he tricked the monks into believing he was a worshipper of Mithras from the Great Continent. He was indeed a monk, but he worshipped Erebus, He Who Helps the Powerful to Subdue the Weak, and Wicked Men to Rule Fools. Yaemon slew Naijishi – no one could match him in unarmed combat, and he stole the scrolls of Kettsuin from the temple, which could bind Mithras in Inferno for eternity. Once more he knew the pain of loss for he had loved Naijishi as a father. He slew Yaemon and took back the scrolls of Kettsuin after swearing an oath to Mithras that he would avenge his foster-father's death…. And he is avenged.

He had been trained in Ninjitsu all of his life. His senses of smell, sight, and hearing have been honed to almost super-human effectiveness. He is well versed in woodcraft, able to track like a bloodhound and cover his own tracks. His knowledge of plants and herb lore enabled him to live off the land. He is at the peak of physical fitness; able to run up to fifty miles a day and swim like a fish. His training included horsemanship, a little ventriloquism, meditation, the ability to hold his body absolutely still for hours on end, perfecting his balance, and the 'Seven Ways of Going' or disguise. However, most of this training has been in stealth, hiding in shadows, moving silently, and breathing as quietly as possible, enabling him to move around unseen and unheard. He is also a master of Taijutsu, the Ninja's art of unarmed combat.

He has nine other essential skills. One of these, Shuriken-Jitsu is always taught to a Ninja in training. The type he specialises in are 'throwing stars', small razor sharp steel disks of metal. He can throw them up to a range of about thirty feet with devastating effect. He has eight other specialist skills; Arrow Cutting, Acrobatics, Immunity to poisons, Feigning death, Escapology, Poison needles, Picking locks, detecting and disarming traps, and Climbing.

And so, with these skills and weapons at his disposal, he is now ready to take another step in the Way of the Tiger. The time has come for me to tell you who he is; He is Avenger, the most powerful warrior of them all….