Tanchyo

The north of Kagejima is dominated by vast expanses of sheltering forests and seemingly endless stretches of whispering bamboo. These woods grow both dense and sparse, and are crisscrossed with winding paths, game trails, and faint tracks. Visitors to this dim, mist-haunted place always say they feel watched. They are correct. The spirits are strong and active in this part of Kagejima . Most are connected to the great trees that the locals bind with cord and hang with tamagushi as offerings. These majestic sentinels have seen ages of the world come and go, and they whisper on the winds to those willing to listen. Or so it is said 

Travelers often find themselves turned about on the twisting paths, lost in the beauty of the trees, or confused by the strange sounds that surround them. Many are also confounded by the lack of villages or towns. Men have wandered for days and seen only trees, yet they have been only a stone’s throw from thriving communities, for the people here live in the trees. Dozens or hundreds of feet above the forest floor, clever dwellings dot the boughs and trunks, connected by walkways and rope bridges. Villages can stretch for miles, completely disguised by the canopy, and all are riddled with odd turns, secret entrances, hidden spaces, and the ever-circling birds that are the eyes and messengers of the people. These are the lands of the Tanchyo clan

Kagejima does not encourage unreserved hospitality or unconsidered welcomes. The island’s peculiar nature and contentious history enhance natural caution around strangers. Though open war among clans has been rare since the founding of the Moon Court, the covert violence has persisted. Combined with the strange and sometimes terrible things that dwell just out of sight all across the island, this has produced an insular, cautious populace slow to trust newcomers.

Even so, the Tanchyo often seem aloof and distant, even by the standards of Kagejima . Life in these spirit-haunted woods has given them a strikingly different outlook than their neighbors. They seem to consider themselves above the concerns of others. Perhaps they do have more in common with the spirits of air and earth that surround them than with their fellow clans. They have often acted to defend the forests from the encroachment of humanity, claiming it a sacred duty to keep their lands pristine for the enrichment of coming generations. They are elusive and evasive, even to those who regularly deal with them. Merchants, craftsmen, and even diplomats can spend decades dealing with the Tanchyo and never see so much as a glimpse of their famed tree villages. They, like the clans they house, are an enigma that much of Kagejima is just as happy to leave unexplored.

The exact location, size, and number of these villages and tree-towns remains a secret the Tanchyo guard jealously, even from the Moon Princess. Those trusted few who are lucky enough to visit, describe twisted paths and bridges into mist, shadowed passages and hidden doors which hide the entire community within the forest. These amazing feats of carpentry are not the only examples of the Tanchyo’s mastery of woodwork. The clan’s longbows are unsurpassed on Kagejima and highly coveted in the Sun Empire (where they have appeared only as gifts to exceptional individuals who did great services for the Tanchyo or Kagejima ). Ingenious climbing gear and a lifetime in the forest canopy allow this clan to move through the trees with a grace and speed no one could match on the ground.

For all their remove, Tanchyo make loyal, insightful, and warm friends; sometimes to a fault. Their families tend to be small, one or two children is the norm, and exceptionally close. They tend to “adopt” others, forming close circles of intimate friends. These tight-knit groups serve to connect villages and the clan as a whole. Outside of their wide lands, the Tanchyo see others as social butterflies, and are slow to trust. Once accepted, though, these friends receive all the loyalty and close association the Tanchyo would give each other at home, which is sometimes almost smothering to outsiders.

While few could ever claim the mercurial tengu as friends, the Tanchyo count them as close allies. Flocks of tengu frequently nest around Tanchyo villages. In time, and after years (sometimes decades) of close cooperation, a flock might join a village outright. This merging is often sudden, even surprising, as tengu begin to build nests in the crooks and boughs between the clan’s homes and walkways. Tengu guard secrets well, and while they are mortal creatures, they are closely linked with the ancient kami that inhabit Kagejima , often making the reason for their decision alien. Despite this, Tanchyo villages that have been joined by tengu flocks are considered blessed. The tengus’ connection with Kagejima and the realms of kami afford the clan aid, protection, and otherworldly insight that only heightens the clan’s aloof nature

The Tanchyo have raised archery to an art. Every clan on Kagejima uses bows, but the Tanchyo’s warriors favor them above all other weapons. The first lessons their children learn, it is said, are how to keep a sure foot on the ropes and how to draw back a bow. The running, fourteen-hour battle of Utuchi River—when Tanchyo archers leapt from tree to tree and rained arrows on Sun Empire invaders—is a prime example. In the hands of the warriors that the clan trains and sends to the Moonlight Tournament, the Tanchyo’s signature weapons are every bit as graceful, beautiful, and lethal as the finest of swords.