Gensoukyou:Honjou Shiren

Background
The Honjou house was a reputable family of Onmyouji, tied to the famous Onmyouji from long ago, Abe no Seimei. Most descendants were strong onmyouji that protected and served the districts they were assigned to, some who were even talented and powerful enough to serve the court and capital directly. Even so, their reputation could only last them so long. At the turn of the nineteenth century, the imperial court underwent a state of decline, and with it the recognition of onmyoudou and those who practiced it. Even with the substantially powerful Onmyoujis that the Honjou house produced, the emergence of science had caused many to view the art of Onmyoudo as nothing but superstition, and its practitioners, cultists. The Honjou family gradually thinned out as its branch members left one after another, till only the main family was left to uphold it.

Honjou Douren, the then head of the Honjou family, moved the family’s operations to an area said to be saturated with youkai and turned to the more offensive forms of Onmyoudou; exorcism of spirits and youkai, intent on regaining recognition through dispatching offending youkai that would harass the citizens there. The sons of the next generations were trained in exorcism, dedicated to dealing with youkai that intend on feasting on humans. Even so, their reputation was never spread far, and the world at large continued to dismiss onmyouji as crazed cultists.

Decades later, that same area was eventually sealed within what would be called “Gensoukyou”. The family head in charge, Honjou Tenrin, along with the other notable family heads that ended up in the Human Village, became leaders of the land. Tenrin, grasping on the motivations of his ancestors, pushed himself and his descendants to become the village protectors, knowing that should the Honjou house prove its worth and put a dent in the youkai population, their lost reputation would return, and the house itself would gain far more political power within the village.

Thirty years prior to present day, a son of the Honjou family was born, and another the following year. They were named Kouen and Shiren respectively. From young the two showed exceptional spiritual power. Their father, intent on carrying the intentions of their ancestor, forced them to undergo vigorous training both physically and spiritually, shut out from the outside world with only written textbooks and their father for company. Despite their father's harsh standards and treatment, each brother had the other to converse with, and so carried each other's burdens to get through their childhood.

Seventeen years later, both brothers were finally allowed limited access to the outside world. Shiren, who observed the politics and situation in the human village, gradually hated his father, who seemed to use them as little more than stepping stones to further the political clout of the Honjou family, ignoring the welfare and feelings of his own sons. Despite being young and inexperienced, they were often sent with the militia to defend the village, a message from their father to prove the worth of the Honjou House.

Two years later his brother was dispatched with a group militia troops to exterminate a group of youkai beasts that had been plaguing the village, all of them too young and deranged to have any form of sentience. They underestimated the youkais' strength, and every one of them fell in battle. With this failure, Shiren’s brother's life was lost to youkai, but to their father it was merely an unfortunate loss, nothing more. News of his brother’s death never reached Shiren. His father decided that grief and sorrow would only hamper his son’s growth, and so hid the truth with lie after lie.

The following year Shiren was sent into a similar mission, a final gamble that his father made. He and the other militia were ambushed by the same group of beast youkai they were to exterminate. The men were slaughtered. Shiren, panicked by the impending death that would await him next, ran for his life, only saved by the time he’d bought with the protective ofuda he carried.

He lost consciousness soon after from the trauma and fatigue, but before his body would be feasted on some passing youkai, he was found by a fairy, whose caring deposition led her to save his life. He chose to stay with the same fairy and her companions, having no desire to be puppeted by his father, and had already considered his brother, his only pillar of support, dead. He lived his life as a hermit, studying in a makeshift shack, occasionally visited by his new friends. There he realised that not all youkai were malicious, and the need for a balanced world. He gradually drifted away from his family’s doctrine, till he would treat youkai with the same attitude as he would with others of his own kind. And, when he had learnt of the spellcard system, readily adopted it as a nonlethal way to solve disputes.

Close to half a decade passed. The Honjou house had lost everything, ironically due to the Head's persistence in regaining the original glory that the family had enjoyed. He died alone soon after, the cause of it only speculated though never truly confirmed, though many agreed that it was partially due to the sudden, great loss the house had incurred. Without a heir, the Honjou house crumbled and was soon forgotten by everyone.

But then rumours started. About a young man who recently joined the militia. His power proved to be exceptional despite his age, and there were talks that he might be an onmyouji, a rarity considering that their existence had almost all but faded away. Despite him having little experience in real combat or even rank, the heads that governed the village motioned to meet this young man out of curiousity. When his identity as the heir of Honjou was exposed, he was urged to take on the role as the Honjou family head and recover the position his father once had. He refused, but with the persistence of one of the leaders, agreed to take the position of advisor, his responsibilities ranging from providing governing advice to carrying out orders. At the same time he retained his minor position in the militia, emphasising the need to protect the village as was customary of the traditional onmyouji.

Personality
He is straightforward and honest in his speech and intentions, perhaps too blunt at times. He remains neutral no matter who he is addressing, and is rarely swayed by temptations or flattery. He holds a general suspicion toward strangers and even those he is acquainted with. In speech, he takes a rather 'matter of fact' stance. He readily points out flaws and problems, but only if it is significant enough and is backed with evidence.

He is fairly calculating, but sudden changes in the situation tend to throw him off. He finds trickery to be beneath him, and believes diplomacy to be the best method to solve disputes. Though he understands his role as a protector of the village, he dislikes needless bloodshed and prefers to avoid it if possible.

As such, he will usually flee if confronted with battle alone, even if he is likely to win. If he cannot do so, he is more than likely to propose playing under the spellcard system rather than outright life threatening combat.

He is determined and resolute in following through his decisions, although not foolish enough to risk his life in the attempt.

Power/Combat
Power level wise, he is about high green, perhaps even stronger. Despite reaching levels above what might be perceived as human limits, it is said that he has yet to reach his full potential.

His basic form of offense is ofuda, paper talismans to purify, exorcise and ward against attacks. They can cause great damage to youkai if even one hits, and make durable barriers and seals if cast as one, but require some amount of power to invoke, and are limited in supply. Regardless, they give incredible flexibility in these three forms of assistance. While not on the usual use of ofuda, Shiren can utilise them for minor healing, clotting small wounds and revitalising physical strength (but not mentally).

In dangerous combat, Shiren makes use of paper shikigami, summoning spirits to inhabit specialised paper vessels. They can take any form, usually beast-lke, but always in relation to the task that they are to take. It is possible to enhance his own physical ability,. such as fusing a shikigami with his feet to enable quick and speedy movements or even the ability to fly, as well.

Shiren can activate a maximum of five shikigami, proof of his strength as an onmyouji, but directing shikigami for extended periods of time can quickly drain his resources, more so if there are multiple. As such he is only ever shown to summon a maximum of four, and even then the cost is great enough that he normally settles with two or three in order to survive sustained combat.

Because he specialises in the offensive form of onmyoudo, he has little in the way of divination or any other ability that would normally be associated with onmyoudo, but because of the anti-youkai specialisation, he has an edge over youkai opponents, but is rather limited in dealing with others such as humans. Even so, his lack of experience constantly shows, and he is often set at a disadvantage when dealing with unpredictable opponents.

Physically wise, he is very fit due to constant training as a child and in the militia, although his strength lies in dexterity and quick movement. His ordinary clothing are deceptive in that regard.

Mental training has strengthened his mind's ability to react, often far faster than his limbs can possibly react. He can make calculated moves, but ultimately he is restricted by his slightly above average speed.

He carries a short, one handed blade that was passed down the family as a ceremonial sword. Simply named as Hyouken, or "water blade", it boasts the ability to clear ones mind and is invaluable in performing ritual exorcisms. Whether or not those abilities are truly legitimate can be disputed, but it does have a pointy and durable blade than can be used to cut down offending youkai, especially when it is enchanted by Shiren himself.