Bayushi Aramoro

Please note: This article is about the yojimbo of Bayushi Kachiko. For other uses of the term, please see Bayushi Aramoro (disambiguation).

Bayushi Aramoro
Born:	Unknown
Died:	1133
Died after return:	Unknown
Parents:	Un-named Yogo Shugenja mother
Siblings:	Bayushi Shoju (half)
Spouse:	Yogo Asami
Children:	Bayushi Aramasu
People

Bayushi Aramoro, called "the Whisper of Steel", was a ninja of the Scorpion Clan during the Clan War. Despite never being in an official position of power, he was a very important figure within the Scorpion, as he worked under the direct command of Bayushi Kachiko.

Early Life

Bayushi Aramoro

Birth

Aramoro was the younger brother of Bayushi Shoju, the Scorpion Clan Champion. Bayushi Shoju's mother had died during childbirth, and several years after her death, his father remarried to a Yogo Shugenja who gave him a second son, Aramoro.

Family

Aramoro was the cousin of Bayushi Uchinore, and uncle of his son, Tsuruchi. He was also the cousin of Bayushi Tetsuo.

Youth

Aramoro was strong and handsome, unlike Shoju, but was the younger son, and he knew he had to serve where Shoju had to rule. The rivalry was a quiet one, as Aramoro knew his place. The two brothers met Shosuro Kachiko, and Aramoro fell in love. He wrote poems, sent gifts and took long walks with her. In the end, however, she preferred Shoju. Aramoro abruptly left the Bayushi Courtier school and entered into the Shosuro school, following the long-standing tradition that the second-born of a Bayushi family would be trained in the ninja school.

Ninja School

Initially the Shosuro sensei refused to admit Aramoro, however when the sensei saw the fire that animated Aramoro, he accepted. In three years, Aramoro became the most promising student.

Aramoro and Kachiko

Aramoro guarding Kachiko

One day during his training, Kachiko came to Aramoro. She told him that she was going to marry Shoju, but there was a complication. She had become pregnant by Doji Hoturi. Aramoro, still in love with her, promised to watch over the boy and to ensure his safety.

Ninja Missions

In 1118 Aramoro was ordered by Shoju to aid Bayushi Sugai to kill the Badger Clan Champion Ichiro Akitomo in the Crane city of Tsuma during the Topaz Championship. Sugai created misdirection, planting evidence of a ninja assassination.

Wife and Son

Aramoro was unable to marry the woman he loved, Bayushi Kachiko. Instead he married Yogo Asami, a girl who was renowned for her resemblance to Kachiko. Asami bore Aramoro a son, Bayushi Aramasu.

Scorpion Coup

The Lion forces led by Matsu Tsuko on the third day of the Scorpion Coup assaulted the Outer Southern Wall, at the Emperor's Gate. Matsu Gohei commanded the Akodo Deathseekers, alongside with Matsu Chokoku with his Lion Medium Elite Infantry, and Matsu Yojo with regulars. They were confronted by Aramoro with his Bayushi Elite Spearmen, Yogo Asami and Bayushi Tangen with their Bayushi Ambushers, and Bayushi Kuritsu with his Ninja Bowmen. Soshi Shugenja employed their magic to defend the city, forcing Lion to retreat.

Aramoro was one of the few Scorpion that Bayushi Shoju relied heavily upon. Aramoro was entrusted to protect Bayushi Dairu, Shoju's son, during the Coup. Aramoro failed, as the boy was killed at the hands of Doji Hoturi.^{[citation needed]}

Scorpion Disbanded

After Shoju's defeat Aramoro followed the orders he had been issued shortly before the Coup began: survival was the priority, because only through survival would the Scorpion be able to find justice and revenge.

Clan War

The Captain of the Imperial Guard Seppun Ishikawa suspected that Kachiko was behind the constant illness of the Emperor. He shared this suspicion with the Emerald Magistrate Ide Makujin who responded that he would look into it. Instead, the magistrate reported Ishikawa's suspicion to the Empress, who had warned Makujin that somebody was sowing suspicion in the Imperial court to undermine the Emperor. Shortly after Kachiko dispatched Ishikawa to defend Crane lands against Lion forces, hoping he would die. She also asked Aramoro to take care of Makujin.

Test of the Emerald Champion

Aramoro saved Ide Tadaji from a ninja assassination attempt at the Test of the Emerald Champion in 1127. They were unable to identify the assassin, as he destroyed his own features with his climbing gear before Aramoro could catch him.

The False Hoturi

When Hoturi was imprisoned by Kachiko, Aramoro tortured him. One of the knives he used was later taken by Jama Suru, and more than thirty years later the blood of the Thunder who was on it was used by Iuchiban to cast the Rain of Blood. Eventually Aramoro brought the Egg of P'an Ku to Bayushi Kachiko, who used its magic on Hoturi, making the evil duplicate known as the False Hoturi.

Surveying the Enemy

Aramoro spied and informed Kachiko about several events. Akiyoshi had been with Toturi, Yogo Junzo was looking for the descendant of Shinsei, and Matsu Tsuko begged Toturi to return. After his report, Kachiko ordered Aramoro to leave her alone.

Evil Within the Emperor

Eventually Kachiko realized the Shadowlands' hold on the Emperor, so she entrusted Aramoro to find a way to kill her husband. The attempt was made through a ninja named Tantoko, but she failed to kill Hantei XXXIX using one of the Jade Goblets of Taira as a weapon in the attempt.

Hidden Emperor

Embittered Son

His son Aramasu blamed Aramoro for his mother's murder, and planned revenge.

The Hunt Begins

Aramoro, without mask

In 1130, the Emperor Toturi I disappeared and Kachiko knew that the Scorpion Clan would be exiled when suspicion fell upon them. Aramoro suggested the ninja Matsu Hiroru could be used in the search for Toturi. In a meeting in Otosan Uchi, Kachiko tasked Hiroru, aided by the ronin Ginawa, with the quest to find Toturi.

Scorpion Exile

The Emerald Champion Kakita Toshimoko commanded that the Scorpion be exiled to the Burning Sands with a heavy heart, harboring doubts about their guilt. Aramoro and a number of other Scorpion members defied the exile, and remained in the Empire at Kachiko's request, casting aside their masks so as to not be recognized. He was then known only as Aramoro. While Aramoro's heart wanted to follow his clan into exile, he promised Kachiko he would follow her wishes.

Scorpion Deal

In 113o, in the Month of the Serpent, Aramoro journeyed to the Islands of Spice and Silk to make a deal with Yoritomo. Yoritomo was to hold the lands of the Scorpion Clan until their inevitable return from their exile to the Burning Sands, and in exchange, Aramoro left Yoritomo his son, Bayushi Aramasu, as a hostage. Aramasu travelled to Mantis Clan lands bearing maps and secrets so Yoritomo could further his power in Rokugan and fulfill his promise to Aramoro.

No news from Burning Sands

Aramoro lost contact with the Scorpion in the Burning Sands, and was unaware of their fate.

Madness of Toturi

Gift of the Emperor

In 1132, after the return of the missing Toturi I, he held a contest called the Gift of the Emperor. The winner of the contest would win a boon from the Emperor, and all clans were invited to attend, each sending one candidate. The winner of the contest, a ronin candidate entered by the Dragon Clan, was revealed to be Bayushi Aramoro. Aramoro immediately requested control of the lands formerly occupied by the Scorpion Clan. The Scorpion were not restored to their place as a Great Clan until later, but Aramoro had once again returned control of their ancestral lands to the leadership of the clan. He had defeated Mirumoto Uso in the finals. As winner Aramoro was also gifted with the Sword of the Sun. The Dragon Clan, who was instrumental in the Scorpion victory, became the most trusted ally of the Scorpion Clan over the next few decades. ^{[citation needed]}

Return of the Scorpion

In 1132 the Scorpion, under Kachiko's rulership, returned from the Burning Sands, accompanied by Lady Shinjo and the Moto. Bayushi Yojiro returned the Ancestral Sword of the Scorpion to Kachiko, who ordered to Aramoro to hold it and keep it safe. Aramoro became the Lord of the Shonin provinces.

Aramasu's Betrayal

Aramoro realized his son had betrayed the Scorpion, revealing everything to Yoritomo: agents' names, secret routes, stolen records. Scorpion spies in the Islands of Spice and Silk had been purged. Aramoro swore revenge.

War against the Shadow

The Goju had been revealed in the Empire and began to act more openly after Shosuro's escape from the Chamber of Crystal below Kyuden Hitomi. Aramoro ordered Yokuan to find Shosuro, and also to send Shosuro Nishiko to hunt the Goju.

Enduring the Shadows

As a Shosuro Shinobi Aramoro wore a Shadow Brand, a direct link to the Lying Darkness which grew in many of his kin, who were seduced and devoured by the Shadows. But the Darkness could not give him what he wanted, to make Kachiko love him, so he resisted the Darkness' influence.

Shinjo

When the armies of the Unicorn approached the Imperial City in the Assault on Otosan Uchi, the Emperor Toturi I tried without success to bribe the Scorpion Clan, offering their lands and title to be returned in exchange for the death of Shinjo.

Twenty-Seven Days of Darkness

Onnotangu was dead and Amaterasu had fled the Celestial Heavens, beginning the Twenty-Seven Days of Darkness. On the nineteenth day Hitomi met Kachiko at Shiro Yogo. Aramoro wished to follow her, but Kachiko took Bayushi Hisa instead.

March to Volturnum

The Empire's armies knew the Shadows were gathering in the ancient troll city of Volturnum and rallied an army led by Saigorei. The general was met by the new Scorpion Clan Champion, Bayushi Yojiro and his yojimbo Aramoro. Yojiro gave Saigorei one hundred thousand katana, nagamaki, naginata, and arrows - all of purest crystal. These weapons decided the fate of the Battle of Oblivion's Gate. In return, Yojiro requested that the clans should know that they lived not because of their honor, but because of one Scorpion aiding the restoration of the Scorpion Clan to Great Clan status.

Battle at Oblivion's Gate

Aramoro himself led the Scorpion forces at the Battle of Oblivion's Gate, while Kachiko proceeded to contain Shosuro.^{[citation needed]}

Death and Return

During the battle at the ancient city of Volturnum, Oblivion's Gate opened, allowing passage between the mortal realm and the realm of ancestors. Aramoro ordered his men to join him in committing seppuku, and they then used Oblivion's Gate to attack the rear of the army of the Shadow and assist the returned spirits.

See also

Tainted Aramoro in an alternate reality

• Bayushi Aramoro/Meta

External Links

• Bayushi Aramoro (Shadowlands)
• Aramoro (Hidden Emperor 3)
• Bayushi Aramoro Exp KYD (1000 Years of Darkness)
• Bayushi Aramoro Exp2 (Fire and Shadow)
• Bayushi Aramoro Exp3 (Soul of the Empire)

References

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