Mizuki Moonclaw

Mizuki Moonclaw entered the world in tragedy. With her mother passing during her birth, she was left in the rough and calloused hands of her father. She spent her childhood in a small wooden shack at the outskirts of a village straddling the Windcatch Snowfields, with her father unable to provide more for her and her seven siblings. Despite the the hardship, he proved his devotion to them through his tireless efforts, teaching each of them that family is forged by devotion, not blood.

Growing up poor taught Mizuki the meaning of hunger, cold, and sacrifice. Her father worked until his body broke to feed his family, and her older siblings often skipped meals so the younger ones could eat. Together they would head out into the Snowfields to the north to hunt for food simply to survive, eventually bringing Mizuki along after her 8th birthday. On these trips, Mizuki learned to move quietly, hunt efficiently, and make herself useful to her family. Through her devotion she learned skills that helped her survive, and would pave her path toward becoming a scout.

When she turned fifteen, Mizuki enlisted into the Deristeni Army both to support her family and to carve out a place where her heritage would be judged by her strength, not her ears or tail. She struggled at first, but the nobles in charge quickly recognized her sharp senses, nimble frame, and steady discipline. She was assigned to the Reconnaissance Corps, where she served faithfully for ten years in various units that helped defend a United Esteron against the constant Illistrian incursions. During this decade, she learned the ways of strategy, stealth, and most importantly, the disciplined combat tradition of the Samurai.

But military life did not only harden her. It scarred her.

The state of Warfare and Turmoil in the Illistrian Empire following the beginning of the Korseph Rebellion led several bandit groups and warlord-to-bes to set up within their now lightly defended border regions and vassal states along the Great Divide. These raiders would cross the mountains, pillaging the outskirts of the nations of Esteron. Assigned to help track their movements and prevent these incursions, Mizuki's unit was called upon and quickly became known as one of the best, until one disastrous mission changed everything.

A routine trek over the mountains into Insadmn turned into tragedy when Mizuki’s unit was ambushed within a narrow mountain pass, one she insisted they should take out of a belief would give them a tactical advantage. Their goal was to slip around the warlord who controlled the region and report movements from behind their lines. But intuition was not on her side. Instead, they were caught at night by an overwhelming force—the entire warlord's army moving through the pass into Esteron—relocating to pilfer lands of greater wealth closer to the western Melonic Coast. Many of her closest friends, the family she devoted herself to, and the people littering the villages below the mountains, died because of her decision. Their screams still haunt her dreams. Since that day, she has been slow to trust. Slow to make friends. Slow to devote herself again. Fearing that her judgment might again lead others to slaughter.

Her faith in The War-Maiden, the goddess of duty, honor, and battle, as well as what was imparted onto her by her father, carried her through the worst of those dark nights. She clung to their teachings: Obey your orders. Do what must be done. Honor is worth more than life. Devotion defines family.

Mizuki’s ideals shaped her: she believes utterly in duty and obedience; following commands is the spine of discipline. Her bond is her honor, the one thing she believes cannot be taken from her only surrendered. Devotion to others forges her worth. But her flaw festers deep within her: Mizuki’s hatred for her enemies is blind and unreasoning. When she marks someone as an enemy, she shows no mercy, even if it clouds her judgment.

After ten years of service she left the military due to the "stressors of war on the soul," though she views it as self-imposed exile. For the last three years, she has wandered the land as a Mercenary, sharpening her techniques, and seeking inner balance in effort of rebuilding a sense of worth outside the battlefield. She hopes that, through travel and training, she might one day forgive herself or at least learn to live with the weight of those she couldn’t save. Find a new source of devotion.

Now Mizuki Moonclaw walks the world with quiet steps, her hand always near her blade, her eyes constantly scanning the horizon. She is a warrior shaped by loss, duty, and the hope that somewhere ahead lies redemption.