There is a legend in Japan that dates back to the Age of Kami. It is a legend that is rarely spoken of, and even then, in furtive whispers and never in the dark. The legend tells of the Decline of the Kami brought on by the Lord of Evil and Demon of Destruction, Maou-Hakaiki Zanshin and the heroes who fought against the darkness. The legend begins with the ascension of Shogun Kira Tsunayoshi, great grandson of Kira Bennosuke, as Supreme Warlord of Yamato. Fifty years before, when Bennosuke had risen to power and became the Shogun, he had commissioned five castles. One was built on the sacred mountain of Shourinzan, to honor those that gave their lives for him, and to appease the souls of the vanquished. The other four were built around the mountain in line with the cardinal directions, each honoring one of the four gods whom had aided his rise to power. Bennosuke awarded four of his most capable and loyal retainers the four lower castles to act as both guardians for the shrines and as protectors of the kingdom. Bennosuke ruled Yamato with a fair and just hand. The four deities, Susano-oo-no-mikoto, God of the Sea and Storms, Amaterasu-oo-mikami, Goddess of Sun, O-Kuni-Nushi, God of the Land, and Raiden, God of Lightning, were given the place of Official Deities of Yamato. Daily obeisances were made to the four Gods and certain days of the year were set aside for them. As time passed, the people gradually forgot the days of strife and grief from war. Trade flourished, there was plenty to eat, and there was always something new and interesting to entertain one's self. Yet in time, the people grew soft and faith wavered. Years later, Bennosuke passed away and was succeeded by Kira Tsunayoshi. Kira led the people through a shallow life, and they began to worship more sinister gods. But the gods were not without terrible punishment; Tsunayoshi awoke with the terrible knowledge that he was dying. He ordered that anyone that could save him come to the castle immediately; each failure resulted in death, each worse than the last. When all hope was lost, an old monk with very thin arms clutching a bamboo staff, came to the castle gates and demanded to see the shogun, claiming to have an elixir of immortality, he was escorted to the shogun. He gave the shogun a sake cup, filled with an evil smelling liquid, the shogun drank it. He then rose from the bed, fully rejuvenated. The next day as this soldiers paraded before him, the monk turned to the shogun and said it was possible to produce a vast quantity of the elixir so it could be fed to the soldiers, assuring victory in any battle. There was a malevolent fire in his eyes, and records of the account say that a pair of oni horns were seen for a moment on his head. It was undoubtedly agreed that the shogun was no longer human, but the evil demon Zanshin, the dark warlord. The elixir was said to be made using ancient scrolls from China, and when digested, it would make the drinker immortal, but at a terrible price. The gateway to the drinker's soul would be opened, allowing it to be engulfed by an evil spirit, inhabiting the body, preserving it for all time. The Dark Warlord immediately ordered for the monk to mix up a huge batch of elixir. A great cauldron was brought to the center of the courtyard; the monk stacked huge piles of cordwood around the cauldron and lit the large mass of wood. He began to throw in a mix of rare and strange ingredients into the cauldron. He began summoning poisonous insects and gathered them in a bag, which he also threw in the cauldron. The heat became too hot to handle, but the monk still stood near, somehow protected by the burning fire. Two days later, the fire died down, and the monk declared the potion to be ready. The shogun gathered his entire army and announced the news of the elixir. He said that any man who did not wish to take the potion, step forward. Thirty men did. Suddenly, the shogun made a quick series of hand gestures, ten of the men died vomiting their internal organs out, ten more died when their heads were violently ripped from their bodies by an unseen force, and the other ten died as their skeleton ripped itself out of their bodies. The Dark Warlord just stared at the mangled piles of flesh, then bellowed out a command. "This shall be what happens if you do not follow my orders! This shall be the fate of our enemies! We will be victorious, we shall crush all that oppose us, and none shall be left standing before us, now drink the elixir of victory!" The men drank the potion in horror, and the Dark Warlord drank in the sounds of the awakening beasts, and answered with a roar of his own. As night passed, Shenerite's castles changed watch at sunrise, the armies of the Dark Warlord waited for this opportunity. With lightning force, they crashed the gates, leaving piles of dead bodies in their wake. They broke into two columns, one smashing into the outer citadel, and destroying the night watch as they were entering the castle, and the day watch as they were gearing up. They rushed up the stairs killing soldiers as they lay sleeping in their beds. The second column chased down the defenders that ran to the armory. Defenders frantically grabbed as much armor and weapons as possible, some giving their lives to allow their comrades to don their armor. As the defenders collapsed before the onslaught, they came upon the body of Shenerite's wife; she committed suicide by slitting her throat rather than face the fate that awaited her. Shenerite had been taken to the top of the castle, where he assumed he would die. As the soldiers mounted the steps to the shrine room, they mysteriously turned back and ran down the stairs. The retainers remained vigilant, in case they attacked again. They looked out the window and saw that the main part of the army had retreated back to the mountain fortress. Turns out that the Dark Warlord had recalled the soldiers, assuming Shenerite was dead, a mistake he would later pay forBig time. Shenerite gave an order to his remaining retainers, "Bring me the head of Kira Tsunayoshi, the gods have given us one last chance, and we must not fail!"
