Part of Alts_of_the_World
Welcome to Fantasy Japan.
Here there is a place where Ninja vs Samurai, with many lewd connotations, among others things.
Japan was a mostly mundane place, some magic here and there, but most battles the more traditional way, then an event which comes to be called the Great Fracture occurs.
Magic was few and far between in the realm...and those truly gifted where even rarer, like a handfull of people at most. Then....something occurs. Something shatters one of the more powerful beings in the lands....their magical power flows outward, overwhelming the land and it's people. Various new race appear as people mutate, right down to their very souls. New lands as the surface buckles and shifts do the rampant magic. Shortly there after, the current emperor is overthrown by a previously unseen force. These two events, happening almost at the same time, throw Japan into utter chaos.
Battles between the new "Queen's" Forces, and the neighboring area around the captial. The Queen's samurai, lead by the "Princesses" which at like her generals, they swiftly conquer the surrounding lands. Varies ninja clans also joined in the fighting, not all survived. During the time of chaos, warriors on the battlefield were finding out after a time that devouring opponents increase their own strength depending on the person eaten. Upon digesting or absorbing or whatever else, the predator would often get a portion of the prey's powers. For example, say a mage whom uses water magic beats and eats a fire magic user. The water user unbirths and absorbs the fire user. The Water user would suddenly gain some power over fire as a result. However power gain in this manner wasn't always a guarantee.
Decades have pasted since the Great Fracture, after the ensuing madness, things have....somewhat stablizied. The Queen controls a vast majority of Japan, either directly or though vassals controlled by her High Princesses. The outer regions of Japan are contested or under the control of people whom are against the Queen's rule, of course as the fighting goes on, more and more of the people are giving up the notion of having things go back to the way they were under the Emperor. Who most people assume by now has been in some way consumed by the Queen. The people living in Queen ruled lands have a rough time and a choice. Obedience, or face possible consumption by her armies. People don't openly resist anymore, due to one city that did resist and what happened to it. It was attacked by a Princess and her troops, leaving a lot of townfolks eaten or unbirthed by the aggressors, severely dropping the population. After the townfolks surrendered. The Ringleaders where taken to the capital, they weren't heard from again. Since then...people in her territory don't really...try to fight, just survive.
On the other side of things, the people outside her lands are frantically trying to keep her forces out of their homes, else they risk suffering the fate of being added to the Queen's feeding ground. Often aided by shinobi forces, the people fight a war in hopes of keeping their freedoms as they are. Some ninja clans outright control some territory, and partol it to keep the Queen's goons at bay. The main reason the Queen was gaining so much ground, was that these outlying groups weren't united.
On the magic front. It's later discover that, due to the fracture, a lot of people are capable of magic. Like...a lot of people. After a few years, it's figured out that everyone is born being tied to a single element of magic. The elements themselves being: Water, Earth, Fire, Wind, Lightning. Light and Dark. As stated earlier, there are ways to get access to various elemental types, but you are almost always strongest with the element you are born with. There are some occasions of magic types....mutating. Like Earth turning into....metals or something. Lastly there are a few rare males that had....extra potency to their magic, them called Princes, the Queen and her Princesses hunt them. Princes have very potent magicl power, and thier power....always successfully transfers if someone manages to ingest them. The innately powerful, but few in number, are what people are calling the best hope of reinstating an Emperor. Or at least the surviving ninja clan believe so.
And....on last important detail. When someone gets eaten or absorbed, it isn't necessarily the end. Strange shrine had long been dormant, but with the Fracture, the enormous abundance of magic had awoken these shrines. Each shrine was at least tended to by a pair of miko style ladies, on occassion there is a humaniod entity guarding them. Here it is possible to pull out the souls of the absorbed and bring them back to the realm of the living. How the mikos do this is a secret.....one they seemed intent on keeping even if it means harm would come to them. Because of this, all sides of the conflict have begrudingly deemed the shrines nuetral ground. Why bregrudingly? Well, one princess though they could take over one of the shrines. When she made the attempt, the entity woke up. Madness ensued, and after the dust settled. 32 were dead, including the Princess. When the ruling High princess showed up, the same happened again, however this time the High Princess managed to be the sole survivor. Since then, none dared threathen the shrines again.
Major Factions: Use this map to see the territory of each of the factions still fighting for supremancy.
Queen:
The Queen directly holds the central area of Japan, which contains the capital. Here she roasts as her minions violently spread her influence outwards. Once her princesses conquer the country, she'll turn it into her private feeding ground! As for her princess....she allows them to expand however they please. Conflict, intrique, even things like slavery are all okay as far as the Queen is concerned!
High Princess Hoshiko:
Ruler of one the Queen's vassals, Hoshiko, She's currently at war with the remaining members of Ninja Clan Stana, this is a war she's winning to, and then she planns to head north after the other major shinobi Clan. Those in her lands live under a very simple rule. Do as your told, and you'll be left alone. Of course the punishment for breaking this rule is more often then not, consumption on the spot.
High Princess Johanna:
Another one of the Queen's vassals, led by Johanna, is currently coming to blows with the warrior monk clan Jimmu. Unlike Hoshiko, her campaign is more of a back and forth nature. She takes some ground, and after some time, the monks take it back. Johanna finds herself in a war of attrition, and she can't see the end of it. The people under her rule live hectic lives due to the war, and more often then not. They end up as "collateral damage" when the Princess's forces fight the Monks in towns near the border.
High Princess Gunnhildr:
The last of the vassals of the Queen, this headed by Gunnhildr. She isn't currently at open war like the other two high princesses, instead she is fighting a sercet war against the Samurai Clan Isamu. Trying to corrupt or eliminate enough of their leadership so she can march on in and take over. Further south things aren't going to plan. Two of her princess allies have gone missing, and contact with the southern most isle has been lost. The people are subject to her amusements of slavery. Those she deems annoyances oft go missing, to then turn up far off elsewhere as she sells folks to friends and other unruly types. Through this she's taken over most of the markets to, given the merchants that side with her....just seem to have their rivals in chains somewhere else...
Ninja Clan Stana:
Clan Stana has been fighting a losing battle against the Queen's forces, they don't much territory and are mostly trying to survive. Lead by Zosi Stana, due to their leadership being in tatters. She's sent letters out asking for aid from the Monks of Jimmu and the Shinboi of the Akari. She prays she can hang on long enough to have help arrive, if it's coming.
Warrior Monks of Jimmu:
The monks of Jimmu are an odd bunch, least to outsiders. They don't follow the normal religions of Japan, but something of their own creation. THe monks were but a mere single monastery, but as the Queen went on her rampage. While most local were beaten and consumed, the warrior monks of Jimmu defended their monastery with an untold ferocity. The people's desperation drove them to beg for aid from Jimmu....and slowly their influence grew over a province...then further outward. Soon, Jimmu Monks were given leadership roles by proxy....which took some getting used to. The Monks are currently lead by their strongest fighter, Jianhong Song. The strongest monk is always the leader, though this means they have to keep advisors around to help figure out the more...delicate tasks.
Ninja Clan Akari:
Unlike Clan Stana, Akari was doing much better against the Princess forces. Currently fighting Hoshiko's forces to a standstill via things like assassination, kidnapping, and other underworld like tactics. Lead by Mayumi Fujimoto, she is so far leading a successful guerilla war against Hoshiko. She also recently got a message from Stana...but the Akari aren't sure trying to help would be in their best interests...
Samurai Clan Isamu:
Isamu was one of the few Samurai group not swayed toward the Queen's rule. What was just a bunch of mercenary groups, was soon unified by the struggle for survival and over time became what Isamu is today. Headed by a woman samurai named Kaoru Tsunoda, she fiercely maintains the borders of the island her fellow samurai call home. Any intrusion without permission is swiftly meet with steel! Diplomancy is...not very complicated with this fiery group, but if they find anything on the side of trickery, talks will quickly turn sour!
Clan Chinatsu:
Relative newcomers to the scene, but a fledging clan that had some found and defeated two princess, to eventually claim the southern most isle. Having successfuly pushed the Queen's forces off the isle, Chinatsu went around gathering support and growing their clan from the ranks of the angered people. Their leader isn't....that known, someone named Deneb is said to be the head of the clan...others find it odd that this was the same name of the Guardian one of the towns worshipped. In return for the peoples thoughts, the Guardian tamed the sky in order to ensure the town never had any type of severe weather event. Could they be the one and the same being...?
RP Notes and ideas: