Wanderers #2 - Xi Didura

Yu Danh Hao

Quick Facts	...
Place of Origin	Qin Loc, Yu Danh Hao
Race	Katcyakin
Ethnicity	Byrnese
Magic Type	Spirit Calling
Mentor Spirit/God	Rein
First Appearance [Book/Chapter]	Tears for the Moon God / Prologue

Last week's post covered Hanuman the Elder, the first Cloud Man, and the one for whom the Halls of Time were constructed. This week's post will cover another Cloud Man, Xi Didura: the sole acolyte Rein, the greatest sword maker in the Waxing World, ever took on.

All mortal memory of Xi Didura in the Waxing World has been erased by the time of the events in Tears for the Moon God; however, as is the case with all katcyakin imprisoned in the Halls of Time, some echoes of his acts during his time of freedom remain to remind of his legacy. What remains of Xi's legacy is perhaps the most concrete and, at least to the mortals of the Waxing World who are studied in sword making (and the lore surrounding certain blades), the most mysterious.

Rein Mountain Swords

Swords of a quality to match those produced by the mountain spirit, Rein, are scattered across the Waxing World, but they belong to an unknown maker. The existing lore surrounding their creation insists the knowledge of Rein's swordcraft must have been stolen by a particularly beguiling someone, or coaxed out of him by some other means just as cunning. Rein, according to the histories, never took on an acolyte, and so those who have encountered these near perfect counterfeits have come to embrace numerous, often wild conspiracies about their origins.

Rein Mountain Swords and their counterfeits share some qualities in common that make both varieties prized weapons by their owners and the sword makers and scholars who study them:

• They never pit or rust, and need no sharpening.

• They take in the iron and carbon from any blood they come into contact with, reinforcing them.

• They reject other impurities in the substances they come into contact with when used.

• They give off scents reminiscent of flowers, with each having a unique odor.

• Each possesses a unique "trick" which is bound into the metal, and can be awakened by the owner of the sword.

But they also possess certain qualities that differentiate the two varieties of sword from each other. Most notably:

• Rein Mountain Swords are bound blood and soul to one master. They can only be awakened by their proper owner, and that person is the only one who will ever have access to the "trick" unique to them.

• The counterfeit swords exude a much stronger odor. While a Rein Mountain Sword exudes a faint, floral odor which may only be noticeable if a person holds the sword up to their nose, the odor which emanates from any one counterfeit is perceptible from a much greater distance, especially when the blade is swung.

The truth?

Xi Didura approached Rein following the usual forms. To obtain a Rein Mountain Sword, one must best a hand selected opponent in single combat at the summit of the mountain where Rein keeps his temple. But unlike so many who came before him, and so many who would come after, he elected not to choose another mortal person to challenge for his right to claim a sword from the spirit. He chose to challenge the spirit himself.

The terms?

Were Xi to last more than ten minutes against Rein, he would take him on as acolyte and teach him his ways. A normal person would have struggled to last half that time against him, would likely have died without inflicting a single wound. But as a Cloud Man, Xi possessed the ability to skew probability to increase the likelihood of negative outcomes for his opponent. Be it a spirit or a mortal, his opponent would come under the effect of his birthright as a katcyakin, and Rein was not an exception. Blows that should have landed went wide, cuts that should have ended his life barely pierced his skin. He lasted far longer than the agreed upon ten minutes, and in the end, the match between them was called as a draw, with both the man and the spirit leaving their conflict satisfied. Xi, because he received exactly what he wanted (a Rein Mountain Sword, and training in the spirit's secret arts); and Rein, because he had met a mortal person he might one day come to see almost as his equal.

In time, the two developed a kinship that would last much of Xi Didura's life; however, their bond would eventually sour. Rein's demands of the Cloud Man were singular and simple. He ought never to make a sword for a man undeserving, and never for his own gain. In violating the spirit's terms, Xi opened himself to a manhunt that spanned two continents, eventually landing himself in Ur, where he intended to spend the rest of his days in isolation.

The Raukha Cartel

But as he practiced his swordcraft, more often selling his works to those with the capital to afford them than to those whose skill might earn them a sword of such quality, another entity was rising in power half a world away. Under Rauth Ku Lau's guidance, the Ruakha Cartel was founded. It's reach had begun to expand into far flung lands, from Gora to Yu Danh Hao and Ul Sadh, as its most elite members increasingly adopted ruthless tactics to spread their influence to its limits.

Rauth Ku Lau had his sights set on an all consuming power he believed would set him up as an equal to the gods. In his pursuits, he discovered the works of Xi Didura, and having little to lose from courting him, sent his agents to track him down.

Xi was reluctant to work for him, whether to make weapons for his various officers and assassins, or for the man himself, and rejected the attempts of those agents to recruit him, sometimes violently. But Rauth Ku Lau was not one to take no for an answer, and eventually stumbled onto a weakness he might exploit. Xi Didura had a wife and an adopted daughter he had left to themselves when he took flight to Ur, seeking safety. He believed the journey to Ur would be too dangerous for them, and that they would ultimately be safer and happier should they remain far away from him. When the Raukhas discovered his family, they moved to capture them, used them as bait to lure him out of hiding, and compelled him to make a sword for Rauth Ku Lau with a power to aid him in attaining the thing he desired more than anything. Godhood. An unconquerable throne.

For his actions, and the dire consequences the Raukha founder with his newfound and mighty weapon laid against them, the Gods saw fit to imprison Xi Didura in the Halls of Time, and rewrite the histories to exclude him. Though his legacy lives on in the form of those swords he created in his time of freedom, he himself has been forgotten.

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