Tejina

Please note: This article is about the ninja shadow-magic. For other uses of the term, please see Tejina (disambiguation).

Shadow Brand Ritual

Tejina, meaning "illusion", was a form of shadow magic practiced by ninja, associated most often with the Soshi family of the Scorpion Clan. Tejina was sometime also called shinobi, kage-do.

Unique type of magic

The Soshi family specialized in one craft: deception. Their magic was dedicated to misleading enemy perceptions and protecting the agents of the Scorpion Clan. To this end, they had developed many unique spells and an entirely new type of magic: the Tejina.

Source of Power

Shadow magic provided many advantages for the Scorpions. As other shugenja studied the Five Elements, Soshi had tapped into raw shadow, discovering that it, like the other elements had it's own kami.

Shadow Brand

Shadow Brand

Using unique powers, the Soshi "imprinted" samurai with the raw element of shadow, branding a kami directly onto their skin and making them one with the element. This process was long and painful, but also highly useful for Shosuro spies. So Shadow brands were a diluted form of the raw Shadow substance that the Darkness used when it creates minions.

Ritual

The shadow brand was called kage yakiin, and the recipient was placed in a dark chamber with a Soshi Shugenja. There was always a single candle lit during the ceremony. The recipient seldom remembered the event; excruciating pain was often the sole memory. When the ritual was over, the Scorpion had gained a black pattern across his skin, much like a tattoo. However, the brand faded to near invisibility when in direct sunlight, resurfacing only in near-darkness. Also, those who possessed kage yakiin reported the brand burned when directly exposed to light. Shadow Brands were only administered to hand-picked Soshi or Shosuro individuals, and rarely would one individual gain more than one Shadow Brand.

Bargain

A messenger of Darkness came every year and chose a handful of Shosuro students. They finished training in isolated compounds sleeping through the days and attending classes at night. Their masters taught them to become one with the dark. By the end of their 'training' they had become a part of the Darkness. It could then use their forms at will, wear their faces, know what they knew.

Dangers

A Shinobi

This magic was very dangerous prior to (and during) the War Against Shadow, as the Lying Darkness could turn the branded individuals into its mindless minions, the most notable of which was Shosuro Nishiko. After the end of the war in 1133 the Shosuro Daimyo Shosuro Yudoka gave to the Shosuro Shinobi new duties; to chase the corrupted pawns of the Darkness that had survived.

Nearly Abandoned

The Soshi family rediscovered in 1151 the Shrine of the Shadow's Eye and reclaimed the abandoned shrine. They attempted to redevelop Tejina to be safer and usable without attracting the Shadow Dragon's attention.

External Links

• Shadow Brand (Dark Journey Home)
• Shinobi (Time of the Void)

References

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