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Donu-Ishu

The third Emperor was dead, and he had left no heir. The nobles of the Wang Kingdom were dead or in exile. Evil ruled all. These were the conditions when the hero Donu-Ishu took up his katana and began fighting evil.

Many historians, looking back (as historians are wont to do), are hesitant to declare Donu-Ishu a hero. He was, after all, a man of many vices; he gambled, drank to much sake, and carried on several affairs as torrid as they were famous. More than once, he stole crutches from an orphan child for a drunken thrill. Most traditional scholars, however, find these things irrelevant in comparison to the deeds Donu-Ishu performed during his lifetime.

Donu-Ishu's story is recounted in the second volume of Oriental Tales of the Wang Kingdom. He first entered history in 2,282; it was then, after years of battling evil, that he gained such renown that the lieutenants of The Shadow Lord personally marked him for death. Many wandering heroes had faced this challenge before, and fallen. But Donu-Ishu showed unexpected resolve when he slew the contingent sent to put an end to him.

Realizing that they would continue to attack until he was dead, Donu-Ishu decided to take on their tactics; to band together for greater power. Over the course of the next year he assembled The Donu-Ishu Seven, a group of the most renowned wandering heroes, to combat the Shadow Lord.

Together, their skills grew. In 2,289 they attacked the bandit stronghold at Stara Zagora, killing all 200 villains there. By the 2,290's they were receiving messanger pigeons from all over the Wang Kingdom, calling for their aid. Donu-Ishu realized that to help everyone, they would have to a deal with the source of the problem; the Shadow Lord himself. The Donu-Ishu Seven searched high and low for the exiled nobility; in time, they raised a 2000 man army consisting of patriots, friends, friends-of-frends, well-wishers, a few people who were bullied into it, and the last descendants of the three ruling clans of the Wang Kingdom.

The army fought it's way through the countryside, trading advances in land for heavy casualties. By the time they reached Miyazaki and the imperial palace, the army numbered but 500 men. It was the year 2,300.

In a desperate gamble, Donu-Ishu led his Seven into the palace alone; they fought their way from room to room, in hopes of reaching and assassinating the Shadow Lord. Along the way, members of the Seven fell until only Donu-Ishu was left. He entered the throne room and battled the Shadow Lord one-on-one. While what followed is not clear, evidence suggests that the Shadow Lord broke Donu-Ishu's neck with his bare hands.

Though they were dead, and the Shadow Lord lived, they had succeeded in one way; the Donu-Ishu Seven had killed so many men fighting their way in that the Shadow Lord could no longer defend the palace. He gathered the remains of his bandits and fled before the waiting army could finish him off.