Samurai

The protectors of the people, the honourable samurai spend their lives preparing for the next battle. When there is no village guard there are samurai, and when orcs come from the forests and The Empire has few soldiers to send, there are samurai. Ruled by a mighty Shogun, these warriors fight for justice for the people, only asking for pay in return.

- An excerpt from an islander's report on the mainland

Qualifications

Most people with the samurai rank are somewhat competent with at least one of the following: katana, kana, spear. Though one does not require formal training to become a samurai, those of any notable rank do have at least a year's worth. Before anyone becomes a samurai they must enter a duel with a recognized high-ranking samurai who tests one's basic ability and gives either a pass, a fail, or an order to train and come back for those with potential but no skill.

Appointment

Generally, samurai become samurai after applying to become one and doing a duel with a high ranking samurai which does not have to be won, but instead one must get the approval of the samurai. That being said winning does guarantee you the position and a nice promotion from the get go. On special occasions the duel may not need to happen and one can simply become a samurai immediately, Shogun Denzurou Matahachi being a good example of this. After earning the title there is a small appointment ceremony where you are presented with a wooden charm with your name in vertical kanji (and smaller vertical hiragana) on it, with samurai in bold, horizontal, hiragana below. Your name is put into the registry and you are now a samurai, awaiting assignment.

Duties

After being appointed a samurai will be given one of four duties roughly correlating to rank in the following order. 1. Be on station for battle with goblinoids near the forests or travel the land is small armies ensuring the protection of the masses (hired by the empire, for low ranking samurai). 2. Be assigned to a village or town as one of a few guardians, responsible for guarding the town from outside threats as well as, if need be, law enforcement. (hired by the ruling body of the town/village, for low to mid ranking samurai). 3. Become the personal guardian who directly serves a wealthy family of even a daimyo. Answers directly to the family, no longer to superiors. (hired by the family, for mid to high ranking samurai). 4. Become part of the Shogun's personal army. (for well trusted samurai).

History

Since the Edo Empire was founded there has been a large demilitarization of all the races, and military is mostly limited to defensive to prevent war. The Empire itself also did this, and it has had a surprisingly small military since the Age of Turmoil. A problem began to arise, however, when smaller villages realized they were without defence and they did not have the resources to gain one. Goblinoid raids on small villages skyrocketed for a few years until the loosely defined samurai class was born, composed of militants for hire who would dutifully protect these villages in return for decent pay and occasionally a wife (or husband). These samurai were mostly unorganized for about 500 years until the first Shogun appointed himself and travelled the land, asking samurai to allow him to be their leader. From there modern samurai traditions began to spread and the samurai slowly evolved into what they are today.

Type

Civic, Military, Generic

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