The Second Great Yokai War

Early Stages

With the cooperation of "Hitokiri" Sakakibara , the first Yonkishi to be freed from their seal was Setsuna the Flood. Another two months would pass before Sayuri the Pestilence and Agito the Famine would be freed from their respective seals. A short scuffle with Sayuri's simulacrum in the Kita-Yama mountains proved just how dangerous a threat the Yonkishi were. Freeing Mugen the Death from his seal in Tengoku took the longest as the presence of The Saint of Tranquility, Saiha el-Ryugamine and his most powerful Ayakashi Asuramaru made infiltration near impossible. But as luck would have it Saiha perished during the Fall of Babylon giving the Yonkishi and their Disciples the chance they needed to devastate the city, kill Asuramaru, and free Mugen.

The Battle of the Grindstones

The war began in earnest once the survivors who'd gathered in Abe no Seimei formed a Resistance to start fighting back. The Resistance was comprised of the Onmyouji of Abe no Seimei, The rangers of the Twilight Enclave, the samurai of Miketsukami , and the Yokai forces of Tsukuhana. The first major conflict of the war was the Battle of the Grindstones. A force of Disciples led by Katsuhiko Banshou cut their way through the rocky wastes gathering allies and killing the Yokai who refused to join them. Tsukuhana and her Tengu troops were able to keep them at bay long enough for a counter-attack against the Disciples' encampment could be made. After several more skirmishes and a chase that lasted through the night, the battle came to an end when Nozomi appeared and devastated the area with a Meteor Swarm. The few survivors were confronted by Mugen and the other Yonkishi and given a final warning: submit or die.

Taki-Hoshi Liberation

The liberation of the Great Cities began shortly after. Taki-Hoshi, which only remained standing because of Setsuna's whim, was the first to be liberated. After defeating Sakakibara and most of the Disciples in the city the Resistance team evacuated its people to the wetlands surrounding the O-Mizu to avoid further damage to the city. When the time came to face Setsuna the Yonkishi's power over the torrential flood changed the terrain itself, creating a new lake north of the city. Believing that the Resistance was no match for her, Setsuna made the mistake of holding back during the first part of the battle. By the time she realized her mistake she was already on the back foot, ultimately resulting in her defeat at the cost of Ameno Yuuna's life.

Hayakawa Infiltration

Using information extracted from Setsuna's captured soul, the Resistance began planning their next line of attack. It was decided that in order to rattle the usually stoic Agito, Sayuri needed to be the next one to die. Sayuri had made Hayakawa and the surrounding area into her personal experiment grounds, using her miasma to terraform the city and its inhabitants into a lair of twisted monsters. Infiltrating the city by means of Mizuhara Rei's old teleportation sigil, the Resistance found themselves amidst the ruined city. Sneaking their way past the creatures that roamed the streets they encountered Sayuri's simulacrum who raised a twisted Slaughter Worm to distract them while she returned with the real one. With no choice but to remain in the city, the Resistance spent the night in what was left of Daimyo Shimazu Nariakira's estate. The following morning, Sayuri returned with her simulacrum and the battle began. The battle was hard fought, but in the end Sayuri fell; but not before taking two Sanada Yukimura and Musashibo Benkei with her.

The Sabaku

After recovering from the battle with Sayuri, plans were laid to strike Agito. However, reports from other Resistance members indicated that rather than take a city for himself, Agito had opted to deliver a warning to Miketsukami before retreating to the desert to give the citizens time to evacuate. Unfortunately, Daimyo Miyamoto Suzuha did not acquiesce to his request and the Resistance was forced into battle with him. Agito proved to be much stronger than either Setsuna or Sayuri, living up to his reputation as the strongest in martial combat, and after a brutal combat that claimed the lives of Vuzath Zadarath and Sanada Yukimura (again), he was defeated and his soul trapped.

The Battle of Abe no Seimei

Immediately upon returning to Abe no Seimei after defeating Agito, an attack was launched on the temple complex by the Disciples and their allied Yokai forces. The battle was fought in the rain under the cover of night and the fighting was chaotic, bloody, and brutal. The attackers led once again led by Banshou and Nozomi had caught the defenders off guard and were cutting through them with ease. The tide of battle turned when Mifune returned and chased off the remaining attackers. The fighting lasted only a single night but casualties on both sides were high.

The Siege of Tengoku

Two days after the Battle of Abe no Seimei, the Resistance rallied the entirety of their remaining forces and began marching on Tengoku. Joined by the Kitsune of the Kita-Yama and other Yokai allies from the Glimmer, the battle hinged on how long the Resistance could hold out against superior numbers and foes until Mugen could be sealed once more. While the Resistance clashed with the Disciples and Yokai outside the walls, a small team was sent into the city to defeat Mugen. They found him atop the palace's highest tower staring up at a glowing red rift in the sky above him, something writhing against it from the other side. Joined by Banshou and Nozomi, Mugen began his attack. The fight against the last Yonkishi was more difficult than any of their previous battles, partially because of Mugen's abilities and partially because so much was riding on their success. The tower was destroyed during the course of the battle, sending the combatants plummeting to the ground where it continued without pause. After forcing Mugen into his final form the remaining fighters finally managed to seal him away, ending the Second Great Yokai War.

The Conflict

Prelude

The road leading to the Second Great Yokai war was one 500 years in the making. Those who fought alongside the Yonkishi were not limited to Yokai. Thousands of fanatical humans flocked to their army to serve as servants and foot soldiers. The most loyal of these fanatics were given a small portion of a Yonkishi's power and became known as the Disciples of the Yonkishi.
After the Yonkishi were defeated and sealed away during the The First Great Yokai War, the surviving Disciples fled and bode their time until an opportunity to free their masters came. Living among the population, they passed down stories and knowledge to their sons and daughters, conditioning and brainwashing them to follow in their footsteps.
After 500 years of waiting, planning, experimenting, and researching, they finally decided on a method to destroy the locks binding the Yonkishi: by simultaneously destroying the shrine and the Tochigami within.

Start Date

1353 AB

Ending Date

1354 AB