The Legend of Daidoji Hayaku
After the war with Fu Leng, the Crane sorrowed over the loss of its Thunder. Lady Doji’s cother children tried to console her, but she wept night and day. She had visions and dreams which told her that Konishiko was still alive somewhere in the Shadowlands, and despite her clan’s attempts to rid her of these thoughts, still they returned. Hayaku was a silent child, thoughtful and solemn even in play. He had not inherited his mother’s bright laughter nor his father’s joy in the sword. Although he studied iaijutsu with his brothers, he excelled in raw combat, tactical strategy and warfare more than precise discipline of the Kakita. When he heard that Lady Doji believed her daughter to be suffering in the Shadowlands, Hayaku swore to journey into the darkness of the southern lands and seek the lost Thunders.
Hayaku went to the Crab Wall and spoke to the Hida, but they told him he was on a fool’s errand, and would not give him aid. So he traveled into the Shadowlands alone. Over three years later, Hayaku returned. The horrors he had seen had changed him – his body was more muscular, and his face was creased as if with age. His hair, once long and dark, had been turned white by the sights he had seen. His voice had been lost, and a great scar ran across his throat as though the claw of some great beast had torn at his flesh. He came to the Great Hall of the Crane, and knelt silently before his mother. In his hand, he held the sword which Yasurugi had forged, the sword which Konishiko had carried on the Thunders’ quest. Without a sound he handed it to Lady Doji and as soon as her hand touched the hilt, the blade sang a single pure note of joy. The twins had, in a way, come home.
Since that day, the wielder of the Crane Clan Ancestral Sword has always been chosen by the single joyous tone which the blade makes upon the first touch of its rightful owner. Hayaku was given the surname “Daidoji” – “Defender of the Doji” – by his parents, in recognition of his bravery and faithfulness. His children became the proud house of the Daidoji, sworn to protect their kinsmen and keep the secret of what Hayaku found in the Shadowlands many years ago. Even today many Crane dye their hair white as a sign of tribute, as a mark of their loyalty to the clan, and in remembrance of Hayaku.
After the war with Fu Leng, the Crane sorrowed over the loss of its Thunder. Lady Doji’s cother children tried to console her, but she wept night and day. She had visions and dreams which told her that Konishiko was still alive somewhere in the Shadowlands, and despite her clan’s attempts to rid her of these thoughts, still they returned. Hayaku was a silent child, thoughtful and solemn even in play. He had not inherited his mother’s bright laughter nor his father’s joy in the sword. Although he studied iaijutsu with his brothers, he excelled in raw combat, tactical strategy and warfare more than precise discipline of the Kakita. When he heard that Lady Doji believed her daughter to be suffering in the Shadowlands, Hayaku swore to journey into the darkness of the southern lands and seek the lost Thunders.
Hayaku went to the Crab Wall and spoke to the Hida, but they told him he was on a fool’s errand, and would not give him aid. So he traveled into the Shadowlands alone. Over three years later, Hayaku returned. The horrors he had seen had changed him – his body was more muscular, and his face was creased as if with age. His hair, once long and dark, had been turned white by the sights he had seen. His voice had been lost, and a great scar ran across his throat as though the claw of some great beast had torn at his flesh. He came to the Great Hall of the Crane, and knelt silently before his mother. In his hand, he held the sword which Yasurugi had forged, the sword which Konishiko had carried on the Thunders’ quest. Without a sound he handed it to Lady Doji and as soon as her hand touched the hilt, the blade sang a single pure note of joy. The twins had, in a way, come home.
Since that day, the wielder of the Crane Clan Ancestral Sword has always been chosen by the single joyous tone which the blade makes upon the first touch of its rightful owner. Hayaku was given the surname “Daidoji” – “Defender of the Doji” – by his parents, in recognition of his bravery and faithfulness. His children became the proud house of the Daidoji, sworn to protect their kinsmen and keep the secret of what Hayaku found in the Shadowlands many years ago. Even today many Crane dye their hair white as a sign of tribute, as a mark of their loyalty to the clan, and in remembrance of Hayaku.
