"This is truly a dark day for our town". The shogun rubbed his forehead in irritation, as he gazed at another report. Indeed, it has become a stressful time for the town of Blue Flame, what with the lack of appropriate forces, poor resources, and the constant attacks upon the roads in and out of it, but they still manage to hold their ground as best as they could. The shogun gave a frustrated sigh after reading the report of another invasion of another nearby town, demolished from the assault from the Karakuri, vicious mechanical beings that run for only one purpose, to destroy every civilization and rebuild everything in their image. This news brings forth great problems to Blue Flame, as it happens, that town provided arms for the soldiers in case the assault should begin on the Blue Flame, without it, they have to skirmish off skill and luck. "Very dark, indeed..." shogun Hajime muttered. Hajime stood from his sitting position and made his way to the window of his quarters that overlooked the town, and looked across the shadow-enveloped Blue Flame. The people trudged on through the grey mists to their duties begrudgingly, children staring outside of their homes with frowns on their faces, the guards pacing back and forth the entrance to the castle, the foot-soldiers wandering the grounds, short, specially trained chimps brought up in the castle and have developed a human-like mind, needless to say they make good troops. Mind you, the Blue Flame wasn't always this grim, it used to be a happy and bright town, until the mists came, and from then on everything seemed to change. Crows started showing themselves around the castle, children have been getting sick from staying out at night, trade between other towns has been rapidly decreasing, even the shogun is starting to doubt it will get any better.
The shogun Hajime is a proud man, standing at 6"5 and a warriors' physique, one cannot complain about one's appearance. He possesses a pair of glittering blue eyes and a short white beard, and going grey in his fifty years of living, that gives him a warm, friendly appearance, yet when you look into his eyes, you can see that his will is as hot as a fire. Before, he looked over the Blue Flame with a gentle hand, dealing with problems with a soft touch, and striking strong in combat alongside the town's most proud warriors. Now, he must look at everything with a paranoid eye. It is enough to leave him permanently heavy-hearted and stern-faced. Hajime closed his eyes to the town, wishing that if he opened them again in the future, it will become what it once was. Just then, the door opened, the shogun turned to face the person, to find one of the guards has come inside, no doubt to tell him he has an important visitor. "Sir, you have an important visitor" he stated, how expectant. "Tell whoever it is to come in then, i finished my personal business tonight, anyway" Hajime ordered in his naturally deep voice, and the guard scurried out of the room to fetch whoever it was. A moment later, he came back and opened the door for the visitor and told him to go right ahead. The sight of the figure that stood before him gave him a surprise. "Well, it seems a lot has changed since i was last here" said the visitor, as he shut the door behind him, he then smiled and said "and you also, how are you, father?".
The shogun stared at him for a moment, registering that he was actually there, Hajime finally spoke and replied in a happy tone "Shien! What a surprise to see you again, son!" and with that he went over to his son that he has not seen in over five years and gave him a crushing bear-hug, Shien then said, in a strained voice thanks to his fathers' superior grip, "It's good...to see you too, father..." and with that, the shogun released the armor-clad twenty five-year-old. He was dressed head-to-toe in a crimson red suit of armor adorned with golden patterns, metallic horns sprouting here or there, and a helmet bearing a familiar sigil on the front. "Wait...I know that mark..." his father said, noticing the sigil, "thats the mark of-" Hajime stood a step back, his eyes widened in surprise. "You joined the Six Samurai!" the shogun laughed with delight, he never thought his own son would even MEET the legendary heroes, let alone BECOME one. The Six Samurai are a special collection of warriors that strive to obtain peace, they only help when they think they should, or if the deed is worth their time and effort. No one knows WHERE the Six Samurai Reside other than that the roundabout location of their residence, which is in the deepest part of the Ancient Forest.
Shien just looked at him, and responded in a voice that seemed ominous, "I did become one of them, until I became shogun..." this drew his fathers' curiosity to a peak. "Y...you became shogun! Well, I'm REALLY impressed now, so tell me, what is the name of your new ruling domain?" he asked inquisitively, though found it odd that his son was drawing his blade. His son then responded with a voice that would send shivers down even a gods' spine, "It is called the Blue Flame."
Hope you enjoy the preview of what is yet to come, any advice or idea's are appreciated.
I, and many others I assume, have looked at the Six Samurai cards and said "This'll make a great story!", either that or you don't care for the archetype or cards in general, if that is so, then why are you reading this? At any rate, here is my version of the tale, enjoy. The first chapter is a little short, but that'll change once i get the thought process moving again.
On a side note however, note that I am calling the town "Blue Flame", when it should be called "Shien", however, for simplicities sake, I decided to translate the towns' name to "Blue Flame" to prevent confusion to... well you know...