My Own Legacy

Janurary 21st, 2014.

I couldn't believe it. I absolutely, positively could not believe it.

"As of today, you are known as Tarot Warlockiller, next in the line of Yulana Ninjas!"

No. No way. Why would they give me a stupid nickname like that? It doesn't even make sense! If I'm a ninja, at least give me a cool nickname, like Fireeater or Lightning Dancer! But Tarot Warlockiller? Anybody outside of the village is going to laugh! They're not even gonna take me seriously!

"Now, you have to put away those knitting needles and all that origami paper. Those are for children, not for ninjas. Our ways are manipulating nature, hiding in the shadows, assasination. You don't want to embarass us, do you?"

The elder did have a point. Knitting and making origami wouldn't make people take me seriously either. But the name would make sure nobody took me seriously, even with their dying breath.

At least I could train myself to make a knitting and origami jutsu. Probably better than cutting myself on these shuriken. Swords are overrated anyway. They're fast and lightweight, but our swords get big dents the minute it clashes with armor. If I'm getting a sword, I'm looking elsewhere for them. Not here in the village.

Mom wonders why I look so sad today. "Your name is a whole lot better than what your dad got: Dirk Light is his!"

Thanks for the encouragement, mom.

Today's dinner was riceballs and miso soup. I also knitted a blue and purple scarf. I donated it to an old lady down the road whose husband died a few days ago. She thanked me for the offer and we had dinner under her roof. It felt nice, cheering someone up like that. Her smile almost lit up a room, especially since its the first time she did so in days. 

Goal for the next week: training, training, training!

Janurary 28th, 2014

My brothers are starting to tease me. They both made fun of me for not choosing the glorious katana to fight with and instead choosing knitting needles and a spear. They called me names and took my precious knitting yarn and dragged it through the mud.

Before they could have teased me again, I made sure their own clothes shrank several sizes with my new jutsu. Now they're complaining about how tight their briefs are. I went off to buy more yarn and fabric in the meantime, knowing that my training is paying off.

The elder handed me several scrolls on elemental jutsus our ancestors have used over the generations. I took a quick glance at them, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to incorperate them into the style I'm making now. Maybe later.

Merchants who have made contact with the Star People arrived, and they brought a new recipe called Macaroni and Cheese.  I bought a few boxes of macaroni, which apparently came with cheese powder. Weird. After I followed the instructions on the box, I tried some.

I went overboard with buying the rest of the merchant's stock. Even my brothers couldn't resist!

They also wanted to sell these gun thingies, but we declined. I think everybody thinks a katana is better than a gun. We might be proven wrong, though.

Tonight's dinner was poached salmon on a bed of jasmine rice. I managed to make 100 origami swans in the last week. I used them to attack a strawman. Think it went better than expected, especially since I channeled my chi into them so they could come to life. Maybe I should try a bigger sized swan, though?

Next week's goal: Knitting enough hats and sweaters for the remaining bits of winter. Our shaman has kindly warned us that snow and ice will pelt us, so we should stay warm. I think I will try to knit socks, too. The last thing anyone needs is to die of the cold.

February 4th, 2014

Cold winds are hitting hard. Nobody has left their houses, nevermind the village, for the past week. That also means things are boring as heck and I'm left playing Chinese Checkers with my brothers. I reached my goal, though, so I'm glad that the disadvantaged were able to get those wares in time! 

I trained a bit more in my origami and I made an origami spear. I hit my little brother with it on accident and he cried so hard. It was a tiny little papercut too, but he said it hurt a lot! I quickly grabbed some bandages and bandaged it up, but a little thought came to mind...

What if I could kill people with a ton of papercuts? What if they felt worse than they looked?

Today's dinner was more rice than I could ever hope for. Yum! I didn't knit anything; my hands were tired from making a lot of knitted items over a weeks time. Someone actually called me Tarot Warlockiller and I cringed pretty hard. That name is still horrible...

Goal for next week: Try not to freeze.

Februrary 6th, 2014

Today, there was an emergency: someone tried to raid our village! Actually, some people!

 They were draped in black, wearing clothes that looked a lot warmer than I could ever knit. Steel swords and axes were at their side until they attacked, where their weapons clashed against our katanas or lodged themselves in someone's throat. Most of our weapons were no match for them, so we relied more on our jutsus. Fire, water, air, and earth was slung at the burly bandits, holding them off just long enough...

Or so we thought. One threw a bomb into the Elder's house.

...We couldn't save him in time. He was an old man; he couldn't fight, not at his age. His chi was too weak. And now, he would never get the peaceful rest he always asked for...

I stepped up to the bandits with hatred in my eyes. Of course, they laughed. Women shouldn't be fighting, in their eyes. They laughed and laughed and laughed, spit flying into my face.

They stopped laughing once I lodged my knitting needles into their comrade's eyes, making sure to gouge them out as painfully as possible. The next place my needles went through was the back of his head. He was dead before he even hit the ground.

I didn't wait until they gained their composure. I drew out my lance and made a shish kabob out of a few men. My fingers curled up into a fist before it connected with one bandit's nose. I used my Knitting Jutsu (Thread Jutsu? I never thought of a name for it) to let every thread on their clothes come loose, leaving their bodies bare to the incredible cold, raw and feeble. Those last few bandits had a taste of angry origami swans pecking at them, their bodies cut and cut and cut by their sharp beaks until their bodies could no longer take the pain.

Any bandit that wasn't killed ran off like a chicken. Cowards. They'd probably die of the cold without their clothing.

For the rest of the day, though, everybody seemed...scared of me. Probably because of how merciless I was against those bandits. If I were in their shoes, maybe I'd be the same.

Plans are being made for the Elder's funeral. His grandson,  who insists on being called Albion Noblebrand, would become Elder in his place. Never really liked him. He's a bit too powerhungry for my taste. He tried to force himself on me one day. He was lucky to leave with his sack still intact...

 I didn't have dinner tonight. I didn't do anything else. I was just wallowing in sorrow and anger for the rest of the day.


Februrary 18th, 2014

The new elder- excuse me, Albion Noblebrand- was quick to try to outcast me. It started with a rumor, a rumor that I was the one who brought about the cold winds, so that I may profit from everybody's misery. That I was the one who brought the bandits, so I could be called hero soon as I killed them. Nobody believed him at first, but as time went on, people were starting to become more and more scared of me. Scared of their clothing, thinking that I'd use it to choke them to death in their sleep. Scared.

My family didn't believe it at all. They treated me normally, which I could appreciate. My brothers even praised me for my cool tactics and wished me the best in improving them. They all withstood the insults of being the family of a 'demon child'. They laugh about it at dinnertime now, a giant joke. I hope it turns out to be one, for everybody's sake.

Tonight's dinner was takoyaki. I sewed up some gloves for my brothers, since theirs were worn down to nothing. No idea how that happened.

Goal for next week: Make a delicious dinner!


Februrary 20th, 2014

Someone died of strangulation earlier in the morning. Now everybody is calling for my head, claiming that it was I who did it. Who else other than me? I saw the man as a threat to my power, blah blah blah-

I got tired of it. Especially since Albion Noblebrand, the smug asshole, did a grandiose speech on how I should be removed from the village. Or even better, publically beheaded. You know, as a warning to my mom not to give birth to another girl like me.

I got tired, so before he even officially exocommunicated me, I gathered my belongings and left the village. Not without kissing my family goodbye, though! My family is the most important thing, after all! I just hope they don't get the backlash from anybody, or there'll be hell to pay.

As I left the village behind, I wondered... what new life lay ahead? What was beyond? Would I meet the Star People, or, even greater, the Kobbers? People who wouldn't look down on me for whatever reason they could make up?

I should make my own legacy, so that nobody will forget Rumia Ryoto... or... maybe I should go with Kelashandra. Yeah, Kelashandra...

Tonight's dinner was roasted rabbit. I traveled pretty far before finding a cave and using it as shelter for the winter. Too tired to make anything.

Next week's goal: Find another village. And maybe make clothing that's less lewd than what I have now.