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I've spent hundreds of years killing humans, now I protect them. I stand to defend those who can't defend themselves. It is my honor, the way I choose to live. Shit, what have I gotten myself into?
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— Himself
Born into the kuge aristocracy of the Japanese Muromachi period of Japan, the man now known as Tachi Saito was not expecting his life to take quite a dramatic turn. At age 19, the blood of a vampire was slipped into his drink, making him one of the living immortal vampires, a member of the Jade Court. With some time he embraced this new life and began to make the most of it. He became rich, trained alongside the samurai of the time, fought in war, and began traveling. After a few hundred years in Asia, and a few various names, he moved to America and settled on his current name, Tachi Saito. He has been there for a little over a hundred years. Now, he's looking for a change of scenery from the open plains of Oklahoma where he was, and he decided the city of San Francisco would be best.
Personality
Being from Japan, and having trained with the samurai and become a great warrior, Tachi lives by the Bushido code heavily. He is always polite, and he acts with dignity and grace. He has money, but prefers not to show it off, it's not important to him. He puts his money to good use helping others, and his love of mortals has lead him to be very protective of them, wanting to make sure they would be safe from the dangers that lurked beyond their knowledge. He usually seems to have a sense of formality about him, in the way he acts and speaks, however, because he is able to adapt and learn new cultures, he can also appreciate more casual conversation and activity. He attempts to blend in with modern teenagers and young adults, especialy with his knowledge of pop culture references, but he's not always the best, especially with a lot of the old ways still embedded in him. He doesn't like to get angry, and prefers to resolve things peacefully if possible, and refuses to fight unless it's absolutely necessary and he's pushed over the edge, which takes a lot. However, heis fiercely protective of and loyal to his friends and loved ones, meaning he'll do almost anything to make sure they're safe.
Background
The Beginning
Born into the kuge aristocracy of the Japanese Muromachi period of Japan, Tachi Saito, as he is now known as, started out quite happy. He lived in Kyoto, japan's capital at the time, as part of the emperor's court. However, when he turned 19, someone, who he still doesn't know to this day, slipped some vampire blood into his drink. He went crazy, and upon drinking the blood of and murdering a peasant, he became a vampire. He ran away immediately, completely unsure what to do, but he was found by some members of the jade court. They got him in and mentored him, helped him to embrace who he was, helped him to realize that he would get opportunities not many would ever get. One of his mentors encouraged him to pursue the training of a samurai, and taught him much. He pursued the training and became good at fighting. He fought in the civil wars going on at the time, though he preferred to disguise himself and switch sides often, he did it more for practice than anything. After the wars ended, he continued to train, eventually mastering swordsmanship, and later, the art of the bow and arrow. He joined the Korean invasion in 1592, and, upon seeing the atrocities commited by fellow samurai, he stayed behind to look for more civilized lands.
China
He found this civilized land in the form of China. He spent a lot of time there, learning about their culture. He also mastered the language. It was there that he started becoming a protector of mortals. He fell in love with a beautiful Chinese girl, and at that point he swore to protect those who could not protect themselves from dangers like himself as long as he could. Unfortunately, the relationship didn't last. When he told her who he really was, she was not so accepting. She was terrified of him from that point forward, no matter how much he tried to tell her he would not drink from her, or hurt her in any way. This left him quite sad and depressed, and he still remembers her to this day. He tried again with other women, but to similar effect, though he still has a weakness for falling for mortal women.
The Rest of Asia
After a considerable time in China, he moved on. He didn't spend as much time in the rest of the places he visited, but it almost seemed as if there wasn't a square mile of Asia that he hasn't touched. He went everywhere, and learned as much as he could about many different cultures and languages. He knew knowledge was the key to success, or one of them anyway, but not only that, he was also curious. He also kept up the slaying of true monsters, continuing to train his skills with a sword and bow. He also met many, fell in love with many, befriended many, and made many enemies.
America to Present
After a few hundred years in Asia, he decided it was time for a change of scenery, a big one. In the 1880s, he moved to America. He learned English, and learned as much as he could about the American culture and their way of life. It was when he moved to America that he began to train with a dagger instead of a sword. He still trains with a sword, however, as it's not as easily concealable, he doesn't use it for self defense or slaying monsters anymore. He became just as good with a dagger as he did a sword, learning and embracing the different techniques required to make such a short blade useful. Because of his training, his speed and agility became even better than they were before. He also started to embrace a lot of the more modern technology as it came out, even investing in it and making large returns. He learned the way of business and capitalism and exploited it. He had some heavy losses, but he was smart, and, over time, became very successful and rich. He regularly makes very large donations to charities to support good causes. Since becoming rich he's always put others before him, preferring to use his money to aid those who are unable to aid themselves rather than live a life of luxury and high class. He's also been a traveler, never staying somewhere for more than about 10 or 15 years. Not only has he been investing in new technology, he's also embraced it. He's even kept some of the older technology to remember the times. When cars came, he learned to drive. He never learned to fly an airplane, however, but it's something he does hope to learn one day. When computers came, he learned them, embraced them. He was never, and doesn't want to be, a computer geek genius hacker, but he's not dumb. He's also embraced the new cultures. He's also embraced new technologies in weapons, mainly to do with the bow. He's built compound bows that most humans could never use, but that have enough power to do far more damage than most compound bows normally could, using his enhanced strength to allow him to use them effectively. He also enjoys crossbow use, though compound bows are still his favorite. His lack of a luxury life, generally preferring to live in a small house or apartment, somewhere he can rent, has allowed him to easily move from place to place, with few belongings to take with him. As such, he's now moving away from Oklahoma. He loved it there, and he's now going to attempt to make a new life in San Francisco. Will he make it? Only time will tell.
SIGNATURE ABILITY
Shadow Strike
Very, very few times in his life has Tachi been able to pull this off, but if Tachi or someone he deeply cares about are in grave danger, and there is absolutely no other way out, and all other resources are exhausted, Tachi can turn to his shadow strike ability. He can turn shadows solid, and with the exceptions of truely, truely immortal beings such as gods, the shadows can take the lives of anyone Tachi considers an enemy. Unfortunately, that could end up being someone that really isn't an enemy, because by the time this ability comes out, Tachi is usually so angry that he has little to no control. He would also rather not use this ability if possible because after he does, he usually sleeps for about 2 days, sometimes more, and needs to feed far more than usual to replenish his energy.
SKILLS
Tachi not only trained as a swordsman, but also trained in archery. He didn't keep up that training so much until he had to start staking bad vampires. At that point he picked up and mastered the bow, and in more modern times, the crossbow.
Tachi picked up art at some point. He's not exceptionally good at one particular thing, but he's competent in sculpting, crafting, painting, and drawing. This has served as a form of income in the past.
Edged Weapons - Expert Level
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Tachi started training in swords with the samurai during the earlier stages of his life, not that long after he became a vampire. He became very good with lots of intense training and practice, eventually becoming a legendary master swordsman, even if he was never well known for it. He has continued his sword training, even to this day, though he picked up the dagger a while back and became as much a master with that as he has the sword, and it's now the weapon he chooses to carry at all times in case he must defend himself.
Horsemanship - Competent Level
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Tachi is good at horseback riding from his days training as a samurai, but in modern times, he doesn't use it, and therefore is no longer a master of it.
Tachi, through not only his life in Japan, but also his travels throughout Asia, has picked up almost every language spoken there. He, of course, has remained fully fluent in Japanese, practicing if he doesn't need to use it for extended periods of time, and he has either full, or at least passing, fluency to almost every other Asian language, as well as full fluency in English.
Through his time on Earth, Tachi has learned a great deal about not just his own kind, but other kinds of vampires. Not just that, but also demons and other types of monsters. He's learned a great deal about magic as well, even if he isn't able to use it. He's probably forgotten more lore than most mortals will ever learn in a lifetime.
Being from Japan, Tachi grew up in a society where poetry was something you just had to know. As such, he's good at writing it, and it's one of his hobbies. He does sometimes make money off his work as well.
Stealth - Competent Level
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Tachi is rather sneaky when he wants to be. He is able to move nearly silently, and hide in the shadows, but his heartbeat tends to give him away to those with enhanced hearing.
Bloodlust is a problem for Tachi, but over his lifetime he's gotten very good at resisting when he must. He's also put his own happiness aside to protect what was more important. He's very disciplined, and also extremely brave, almost never showing fear, even in a losing battle. He's also very resistant to compulsion, and it's very difficult to sway him in the wrong direction, even for the best of the best.
ABILITIES
Power: Feeding - Enhanced Level
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Able to take the power of other beings through feeding on them, vampires of this type are able to enhance their abilities temporarily by drinking the blood of other beings. In general, blood functions as something similar to an adrenaline rush that provides a boost to standard vampiric qualities such as physical bonuses and senses. This benefit is up to a twenty-five percent boost in most cases, though if the vampire feeds upon a being of particular power, they may also temporarily gain some of that power, even temporarily gaining some of that being's abilities. (Please consult with staff for any particularly exotic effects, as they may require plot approval.) This lasts for generally no more than an hour, but it can last as long as a plot demands. Not all beings can be fed upon in this manner, but slayers and some types of demon are well known possibilities.
Power: Healing - Enhanced Level
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Barring certain poisons or items tailored to be especially hurtful to their kind, a vampire of this type can and will heal from virtually any injury. Even in the case of losing limbs, they can either reattach it in seconds, or they can regrow it, although the latter may take days to accomplish.
Power: Immortality - Basic Level
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Vampires of this type will never die from the passage of time alone. Unless their existence is ended by some means specific to their kind, it will continue.
Power: Physique - Enhanced Level
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Provided they have regular access to blood, vampires of this type enjoy vastly increased speed, strength, agility, and stamina. They possess strength enough to bend metal, demolish doors, and toss an average human a considerable distance away with little effort. They are quick enough in short bursts to dodge projectiles or seem to vanish and reappear several meters away, and they can run at low highyway speeds for extended periods of time. They are able to fight for hours without needing any rest. Not least of all, they are considerably more durable than any human and are able to take significant damage.
Power: Shadow Travel - Enhanced Level
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The shadows hold many secrets, and Tachi has learned a few of them. He can warp and bend them around him and hide himself better, but the most important is he can use them to travel. He has many limitations, however. For example, he can travel, say, 50 miles in a matter of seconds with not too many issues, but if he tried to travel 5000 miles, it may take several minutes, and it would tire him drastically.
Power: Vampire Senses - Enhanced Level
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The senses of this vampire type are enhanced well beyond human norms. They are able to see perfectly well in the dark, with the hearing of a wolf and a preternaturally keen sense of smell. This is most especially true when it applies to blood and types of blood.
ADVANTAGES
Over the years, Tachi has made quite a few lasting allies, from other vampires to a few fae and other magical folk. These allies may have Tachi's back when he needs them most, though they are mostly scattered across the world, especially those who travel like he does, but the biggest advantage to having these allies is that they tell him things. He more or less has a free newsline as to almost everything going on in the world regarding supernaturals at any given time, everything major enough to mention, meaning he often knows more about current affairs than most.
Most vampires of this type are controlled by the beast within. The curse causes them to become monsters without a heart, to kill left and right, however Tachi was unwilling to let himself become that way. Well, he was at the beginning, but when he fell in love with a Chinese girl he decided he would change his ways. Killing monsters all the time helps a lot with his lust for murder, and over time he's built up extremely good willpower, and is able to resist temptations like that.
Tachi owns an extensive collection of swords and armor, everything from the sword he started training with and other swords made at the time to more modern swords made from materials meant to be extremely tough and sharp, some even strong enough that he is unable to bend them, and armor that he wore when fighting alongside the samurai to modern, light weight, but very tough armor that he sometimes wears when fighting. He also owns a large collection of daggers, including the one he prefers to carry, made of silver. Among this collection is a matching set of 2 daggers that he's been known to carry at times as well, meant to be used with one in each hand.
Being immortal means Tachi's had a lot of time to save up. He's also fairly smart with investing, especially in new things that could promise a better life for the future. Because of that, he's got quite a large amount of money, and therefore doesn't need to work a day job.
Tachi has always been willing and eager to keep up with the times, including new cultures, technology, etc. Therefore, though he may be old, he's not stuck in traditional ways, nor does he have a lack of knowledge when it comes to phones or social media, etc. This doesn't mean he's a computer expert hacker geek, however.
WEAKNESSES
A blood-starved vampire is a danger, just like any hungry predator. Vampires of this type are no exception. They must fight the thirst, and without a steady supply of blood (animal or human), the risk of berserker rages grows.
Vampires of this type are severely weakened by contact with the blood of the dead.
Tachi is very proud to be bound by the code of Bushido. Rectitude or justice, courage, benevolence or mercy, politeness, honesty and sincerity, honor, loyalty, and character and self control. However, this means he cannot do anything to break this code, and he must always remain an honorable samurai, even in modern times.
Tachi has spent many years alone. Although he doesn't show it to many, he is a very fragile and vulnerable person under the tough exterior he usually portrays. He often questions whether he's doing the right thing as well, and sometimes makes mistakes, some small, but some very large because of this.
Naturally, Tachi has made a few enemies over his lifetime. Mostly, they were other vampires, either of his type or various others. He has, however,angered a couple of minor demons as well, among other small things. He's fortunate, or smart, enough not to have bothered anyone that could actually do much to him, however, though if all his enemies managed to team up against him...
Tachi has always had a weakness for mortals and falling in love with them, even if he can never make it work. It's not just mortals, but mortals with no supernatural abilities, regular humans, which means he does not feel safe telling them who he truly is. Due to his past experience, he's found that mortals hate and fear him, which has made him afraid to reveal the truth to them, even when he cares for them. He refuses to turn them because he fears that doing so might destroy who they are as they confront the realities of being a vampire.
Although this type of vampire is vulnerable to sunlight, it is to a lesser extent than most, and will only cause severe sunburns, but will most likely not kill them. However, they do tend to be weaker and more drowsy during the day.
