Akito Hatsuyari
⠀
”A summer’s passing;
The verdant foliage must
Yield to brightest red.”
⠀
⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀Haiku
Akito Hatsuyari, Age 9
⠀
Poet and Martialist
Soldier of Doma
Balmung | Crystal
History of the Hatsuyari
The Hatsuyari family of central Doma traces its lineage back over 300 years, to a humble footsoldier in the Doman army. As a reward for outstanding service during the deposition of King Seien, the Rijin elevated his family to samurai rank and placed him command of a castle on the country’s northern border. Their ancestor's post was situated on a trade route between Doma and the Azim Steppe – Its walls sheathed in gleaming iron plates to resist any possible Xaela invasion from the north. The iron-armored castle, Koutetsu-jou, was one of many expected to form a "great wall" protecting Doma from the Steppe.
However, decades turned to generations and no invasion came. Without an imminent threat, the northern border became clearly regarded as a backwater, and royal support turned to other places in the kingdom. Eventually, one son of the family decided to seek greater fortune in the fertile lands around the One River, where Doma’s capital was. Leaving the guard post to the rest of his brothers, he abandoned the name Kotetsu and took the name Hatsuyari to honor the family’s tradition of spearmanship.
However, despite the wealth of opportunity in central Doma, fortune always seemed to fall on others before it fell on the Hatsuyari. Their string of bad luck reached its climax when their relatives to the north, having gone long years with no contact and facing a succession crisis, elected to adopt a Xaela as heir rather than pass the castle on to the other branch of the family. Although they still had their name, rank, and small landholdings in the Glittering Basin, their relatives' decision effectively cut off the family from any chance to reclaim their former status.
It took a century later for their fortune to turn, and the liberation from Garlemald for them to reclaim the castle. Yoshiatsu Hatsuyari, the clan patriarch, had cast his lot in with the Doman Liberation Front and achieved a reputation as a tactical genius. Unlike the wealthy samurai lords of Monzen, wiped out in the first rebellion, the less-conspicuous Hatsuyari were able to enter hiding under Yotsuyu's reign. When the second rebellion succeeded in restoring King Hien, Yoshiatsu led his forces north in a whirlwind operation and reconquered the castle from its Imperial occupiers before the other branch of the family had a chance to assemble. Arguments between samurai clans were hardly high on the list of priorities in the newly-freed nation, and so although their rivals continue to protest, realpolitik keeps the castle in Hatsuyari hands.
Akito, The Youngest Son
Name: Akito Hatsuyari
Race: Au Ra Raen
Nationality: Doman
Age: 21 Summers
Birthplace: Kusakari, Yanxia
Personality: Traditional, Idealistic, Earnest, Doubtful
Alignment: Lawful Good
Likes: Salt-grilled fish, Autumn, The forest
Dislikes: Morally-grey situations, His own inexperience, Being caught unprepared
What do you know of Akito?
Martial Arts
Akito is an accomplished spearfighter, and ranked highly in a number of martial-arts tournaments during his teenage years. Many of these were held in the Doman capital and featured contestants from across the Far East and Garlemald, so his name has been heard fairly widely.
Kusakari
Akito is originally from central Doma, around the community of Kusakari by the One River. Although he comes from a family of samurai rank, in his youngest years he was often found in the forests and rivers of the area, where he may have met others, including commoners.
Kotetsu Castle and Tetsuka Village
Located on a trade route leading through Doma from the Steppe to the Ruby Sea, a number of commercial travelers pass through the town that Akito's family now controls. Akito himself serves as captain of the town guard, which keeps him tied down in the village, but also allows him to encounter these travelers himself.
Family History
Akito's family has only very recently achieved anything of note, liberating Kotetsu Castle from the Garlean occupiers and taking command. They don't have a large network of support that a more established samurai family would have, and are likely looked down upon for it. They are very much "new money" in the world of Doman politics.
Allies, Friends, and Others
Matilla Bairon
Constant Companion, Source of his Song
After helping save the Xaela stranger from a Garlean slaver, Akito felt guilty for the injuries she incurred in the process, and insisted on helping with her recovery.
As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened to both of them.
Seal of the Hatsuyari
House crests – kamon – are common among Doman and Hingan families, and the Hatsuyari are no exception. Their crest features a pair of crossed Eastern-style spears, yari, above the "one" numeral written in Doman calligraphy. The spears indicate the family's pride in their martial tradition, while the numeral is a firm declaration of their intent to exceed at it. In other words, as a whole, the Hatsuyari family crest boasts of their status as "#1 with a spear;" something which Akito has every intention of proving to be the truth.
