During the year of Maho 534, goblin aggression from the highlands began to mount and pressures across the lowlands forced many of the human clans dwelling there into an uneasy alliance to secure their borders. Part of this alliance was a provision of arms and training to fend off the increasingly antagonistic skirmishes from the goblin held lands. This new found alliance brought force of arms and coordination to the scattered ranks of the human defenders, superior supply lines and craftsmanship evening the odds against the more prolific goblin hordes. Several years passed in stalemate until the still increasing goblin numbers and their swift, merciless tactics gave way to open warfare across the plains.

Despite heavy losses, the goblins' decisive actions and ferocity led them to seize massive swathes of territory and were poised to conquer every province in their path. The human forces, driven from their ancestral homes, were in retreat. Despite their superior tools, they simply did not have enough to arm enough of their swordsmen, leading to heavy tolls amongst those that could not get the necessary equipment. It was obvious a new strategy was called for. To some dissatisfaction, the united clans appealed to the Hakkenshi, the eight houndfolk clans of the forests, and their numbers and resources supported the human forces.

Bolstered by the swelling ranks and green magic, the alliance began the slow process of reclaiming their territory and started focusing on developing a different power: Enchantment, a form of magic the goblins had proven unable to cope with. With need for considerably less training and resources, the enchanted swordsmen swept through the goblin hordes, the risky stratagem proving its worth quickly and far outpacing the previous scramble to produce equipment to arm themselves with. Though victorious, backed by a new warrior sect armed with the secrets of enchantment, the problem was ultimately still unresolved. They had only driven the goblins back to their original lands, their strongholds where their own magics held more potency.

Seeking some way to end the war for good, the Alliance bought the assistance of the Ningyo merfolk, promising them portions of the reclaimed coasts and inland rivers for their own as well as a hefty sum of gold to be paid. The merfolk's contributions, though subtle, provided the extra leverage needed in the final battles and ultimately disrupted the goblin's abilities to wage an effective campaign and mobilize their troops. In a final decisive battle, the war came to a close.

Having fought such a war of unprecedented scope, every side had suffered heavy casualties in both life and resources. The alliance realized that provinces' infrastructures had been devastated beyond estimation. Under their authority, they formally consolidated power under a new regime of councilors. The Hakkenshi, Ningyo, and Humans would provide much of the command structure, but seeking to avoid more bloodshed, they also appointed a goblin representative to speak for their people, offering a say in the coming leadership as a means of truce. However, this responsibility hid an unforeseen edge, for by agreeing to join the alliance, the goblins were expected to be held responsible for the damages of the war, and given the extent of the damage, they were put to work restoring much of what their aggression had destroyed, effectively making them a serf class under the new regime, forbidden from wielding weapons or practicing destructive magic.

The assembled samurai armies divided equally across each of the newly reformed provinces and given stewardship to land of their own for their services. Many chose to retain their positions to act as a formal military to ensure peace during this time and further, to seek to continue honing their nascent skills in enchantment, which many had come to recognize as the key that had turned the war in their favor. A number of schools were formed by samurai tired of the bloodshed, but equally bound by their oaths to pass on their talents to another generation.

With all this, the first year of the Reiki Era was formally recognized in the year Maho 541, the final year of that period.

In the year 722 of the Reiki Period, the Ningyo Sovereignty declared independence from the Allied Empire. This withdrawal sent shockwaves through the council and outward into the world. The economy had long been controlled by the merfolk, and without the taxation of the primary trade routes, which outright belonged to the Ningyo, the government threatened to collapse. To make matters worse, the merfolk began levying tolls for use of the trade territories, further weakening the fragile economy.

Financial ruin seemed inevitable, and the social strain on the antiquated caste system threatened increasing social unrest. Into this void, almost as if by prayer, goblin mechanists stepped in. Negotiating for these artificers and goblin merchants, the goblin councilor called for a restructuring of both the council, as well as the infrastructure of the provinces to better facilitate the spread of artifice to fill the heavy void of the Ningyo's former responsibilities. The council agreed with a mixture of relief and reluctance and in Reiki 724, the ruling council officially disbanded, ending the era and giving rise to the Ministry, made up of many of the same leaders, but demonstrating a marked increase in goblin influence.

Amongst the many reforms brought during the early years of this period was the formation of the government controlled military, an act which essentially made the samurai obsolete. Without purpose, many sword schools collapsed and the ronin were quickly folded into the new military structure and taught how to use rifles and other firearms instead of relying on their previous methods. However, many schools survived, and ostensibly fearful of an armed uprising by these people, the ministry officially passed an edict that these schools be disbanded and their practices ceased immediately.*

Despite the edict, many schools held to their convictions more tightly than others, refusing to disarm and retire from their centuries old practices. They had sworn an oath of bushido to their lands, to protect them, and though some saw such traditions as outdated in this changing world, their honor was more important than the empty proclamations of noblemen who had seized power amid chaos.

*Many speculate this was, in fact, a move born of revenge for their defeat generations ago, as well as assurance that the armed forces would rely on artifice rather than enchantment, a set of tools more readily dealt with by their magics should the soldiery rebel in some way.

News of the edict had outpaced the couriers carrying it, but even their arrival did nothing to dispel the disbelief of those at the school. The masters had read the missive serenely, thanked the courier and given him a message of their own to pass to the government:

"You have broken our oaths. We shall not lay our swords down for those who would do the same with their honor."

The message was clear. They would not surrender under the auspice of "progress". Centuries of slow mastery and refinement had forged them into a weapon meant to protect the people and traditions of the lands. Their craft would not fall victim to a bureaucratic system simply saying they were antiquated. They had too much pride to let themselves be shamed so. The school would rather die than see what would become of them in this new world where greed fueled peace rather than sacred oaths and traditions. They knew they would die for their defiance, but they would rather die well than live poorly.

The masters released any student who wished to go of their oaths, freeing them of the enchantments that made them members of the school. They need not suffer for what was coming. Very few left.

Saigo chose to stay.

Still a young man, Nodeshi Saigo had studied nearly all his life to live up to the legacy of his fathers. He knew he would likely never die an old man, only the greatest swordsmen who lived might do so, but he had not expected to die quite this soon. Regardless, besides his commitment to bushido, he felt betrayed by the men whose rule he had sworn his life, magic, and sword to defend. He labored under no illusions that the world faced a crisis of wealth, but the lords that made the council still sat in power in this new government while they tasked others to give up the very core of their beliefs. Why? Not for honor, but for gold. For progress using the goblins' artifice.

So he chose to stand against the soldiers, shoulder to shoulder with his brothers and teachers and die. For his honor and to prove a point. Wealth could not buy everything, least of all loyalty.

It was a slaughter.

The armies had arrived with guns and many of the members of the school had been mowed down. But they had broken the enemies lines, forced them into retreat. The soldiers had run in the face of their resolve and skill. The enemy came with ten times their number and armed with the weapons of cowards, and the soldiers had still fled in terror before their onslaught. Saigo and his comrades were defeated, but they had not lost. Which was a very small comfort as the survivors been dragged off the battlefield and arrested for treason. They were to be executed for defying the new regime.

However, the surviving masters appealed to the lords that if they were to die, could they at least do so as samurai should instead of as common criminals? Perhaps it was a sense of guilt, respect, or some vestige of integrity, but their captors agreed. The remaining members of the school would be allowed to commit seppuku, to sacrifice themselves for their ideals.

Kneeling upon the sand amid his comrades, Saigo felt the hot sun above and gentle breeze on his bare shoulders. As deaths went, this one was not so bad. He had faced fearful odds and now knelt to die for the ways of his fathers. Unlike his brothers, though, Saigo did not look away from these men whose command had wrought this. He stared into their eyes, each in turn, willing them to feel his rage and resentment, hoping it would spoil their joy and remind them of the greedy cowards they had become. They did not deserve the loyalty of men such as he and this was the result of their desire for wealth and prestige.

Gripping the knife, knuckles white, Saigo centered himself and prepared to strike. With a single thrust, he drove the dagger at his stomach... and cut open reality. The world fell away all around him, darkness so impossibly bright, hung together like clouds rushing by.

He awoke, shuddering and confused, in, he presumed, the afterlife, skin and nerves raw with his death. He didn't know what to expect, but this had not been it. He still felt very much alive. It took hours, longer than he would care to admit, but Saigo finally surmised he was not dead. That meant very little to him at the time, but he came to realize that it should.

He had been spared from his fate, honor intact. His death was not meant for that day, but the meaning it would have had still burned bright within him. He, the sole heir of the school, swore on that day that he would never be so used again, by anyone, and he would find some way to avenge his fallen comrades no matter the cost. After all, it seemed there was now only one master worth swearing his service to: Himself.

And with that, he embraced his destiny as a planeswalker. That was close to thirty years ago, and he has never wavered since.

Saigo would be called, politely, a stubborn man. The hot rage of his youth has been tempered by time into an implacable will that will let nothing stop him, least of all the pampered whims of the privileged. He has set out to become as strong as possible, so that none may dictate his fate save himself.

However, that does not mean he knows no loyalty or compassion. If he calls you a friend, then he will slay or be slain in your defense, and he has not forgotten his strict sense of honor, defending those who cannot defend themselves... but always for, at least, a token price. The more you have to give, the higher the cost of his sword. Should he ever feel that he has done enough, that will be the end of his service. You did not buy him, after all, only his temporary service.

While normally reserved, if a bit rough around the edges, there is one thing that will instill in him a cold fury that cannot be matched. Because of the events that brought about the end of his previous life, he has a deep seated and towering hatred for artifice, particularly guns. Any machine that would trample people under its wheels in the name of progress, he has no qualms destroying. This attitude has come to give him an appreciation for nature and a connection to the powers lurking in the natural world. Though he does not like, nor trust it, otherwise benign artifice goes unmentioned. He would be loathe to admit the convenience is nice, but he is not such a fool to dismiss the usefulness of some modern artifice.

Saigo is a man of average height and somewhat broad figure. His long hair is generally kept tied back at the nape of his neck and he has thick sideburns as well as piercing eyes, all a dark brown. He is known to wear rather nondescript clothes, given to choosing a sleeveless tunic of whatever cut the locals wear, baggy pants, usually tucked into leather boots, and a thick sash around his waist. He also carries with him a half cloak, usually slung over one of his shoulders. The only remnants that might speak of his origin are the decorated arm guards he wears, as well as his katana, though where he might have gotten either is a mystery.

Of equal mystery are the tattoos that run up along one arm, fully covering him from wrist to chest. The only clue is the fact that they seem to be of kor origins and each piece of complicated inkwork seems to have a specific meaning, glowing as Saigo channels his armor in greater intricacy.

When calling his aura, it begins as a nondescript, languid glow that rises off of him, but as he concentrates, it becomes more and more defined and complex, forming armor plating, helmets, masks, or any of a number of other configurations, including weaponry. However, calling the full extent of his abilities, he can animate his aura itself, taking the form of massive ethereal animals acting out actions in accordance to the stances and katas he performs from within.