In a time before time, three men were a part of a party that now stood at the pinnacle of the world. They had saved the world, and the gods were eternally grateful to the party of epic adventurers who had saved the world from near-certain destruction. Thus, they were granted wishes along with a type of immortality unique to each one. An ancient elf was rendered completely ageless (with his memory solidified to compensate for the wear that long years exacts on the mind), a human was given powers not unlike a lich that enabled him to immediately respawn at a certain shrine every time he died (within limits), and a half-breed Moon Elf was given the rare gift of enhanced reincarnation, with all basic combat skills remaining perpetually intact with each succeeding lifetime.
Many eons have passed since then, and the world has long entered the new Age. Masamune's story in his current lifetime is a rather strange one, and it has been so long since his previous life that his previous legend has long passed from memory. Born in a rapidly declining kingdom to the East, Masamune's first years were marked by the endless wars his grandfather fought to keep his small kingdom alive, against the aggression of both the Jade Empire to the far East, as well as other nations apt to take from those they could afford to attack.
Masamune was the youngest of his siblings, and because of this was eventually the only one that his two Masters (Severus Black and Vrael Stormhold) ended up rescuing and getting out of the Kingdom of Valeria, which was eventually swallowed by the Jade Empire through some backroom treaty. While Masamune and his siblings kept their Princely titles in perpetuity, they were still expelled from the kingdom and given a modest sum of gold as compensation for lost territory, to be used to pay for retainers and their move to other lands.
Masamune's own few retainers, before they dispersed, managed to use his share of the treasure to contract a pair of two masters to continue to protect and train the ten-year-old child in the respectable art of not dying. The two local legends were paid to train the child for both apprenticeship and journeyman years, and for some obscure reason they refused to mention why they accepted the comparatively paltry sum of gold for the job. Until Masamune became a Master in all the crafts they could teach in his own right, the contract was to hold for a minimum of fourteen years -- seven for apprentice-level and another seven for master-level training.
Severus Black, the human mercenary, knew much of the ways of the Samurai, and taught Masamune how to hold and use a sword, and use it with his grossly limited magic power. In addition, he taught the young man his own method of "diplomacy," meant mostly to strong-arm opponents into never low-balling him when negotiating a contract. In addition, he taught the child how to use Qi, a force common to the peoples of his homeland, so that Masamune could hone his dexterity and agility to levels unheard of in the region.
Vrael, the assassin, was Severus Black's unlikely long-time companion, and ended up passing most of his knowledge onto Masamune, specifically the art of unarmed combat, knife-throwing, espionage, and other things essential to the survival of one given to a life of stealth. In addition, Vrael taught Masamune the art of leadership, at least from a master assassin's point of view, in anticipation that the young man eventually got his kingdom back.
After a time, fourteen years passed after Masamune's escape from his homeland. After various journeys and adventures, the contract the two men originally signed to protect and train the young man finally drew to a close. They collected their final payment from the young man they spent all these years training, and after passing on some of their spare weapons, rare artifacts as keepsakes, and some important advice, they parted ways to attend to other business that they had long postponed during their ageless lives.
It's been just over five years since Masamune parted ways with his masters, and in that time he has picked up odd jobs here and there, in an effort to replenish his always-empty wallet. Since then, he was elected to become a Guild Master at a city called Firenzia, because his sword-craft was peerless in the city. However, his guild mates and fellow Masters quickly grew jealous of his rapidly growing reputation in the city, and resolved to murder him using a rival guild.
However, Masamune's friends within the Guild uncovered the plot against his life before it could be enacted. Masamune promptly quit the Guild on unfriendly terms, in the process reporting its leaders to the authorities for shady business practices. With Masamune gone and the Guild destroyed from within, he earned himself no small share of enemies in Firenzia, They've been in endless pursuit since, out of a desire to avenge their lost livelihoods in Firenzia.
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