Template:KG, Hijusu, trait/contract clanboxThe Kagayaku clan hails from Kaze no Kuni and possess a special dojutsu, enabling them to see in total darkness as if whatever they were looking at had a light shined upon it. They are also often very intelligent beings.
Ideology[]
The phrase 'loyalty to no man' is perhaps the most apt description of the Kagayaku Clan. Though bound by the laws of the country they find themselves in, they are forcibly bent to the will of the Kage. Only by necessity do the Kagayaku find themselves obeying the laws of the country they find themselves in, for the Kagayaku generally have no loyalties except to themselves. All members of the Kagayaku are known to be fiery individuals, often ranging from one end of the spectrum to the extreme.
Loyalties to themselves often finds a Kagayaku on the wrong side of the law, be it acts of small time thievery or outright defiance. There is little that a Kagayaku brings to his or hers Village economically, but they are renowned for their intense military skill and intelligence. The great hindrance that the Kagayaku tend to bring to their Village is often outweighed by their uncanny abilities as soldiers and as tacticians. From time to time, this hindrance outweighs their abilities and many often find themselves on the wrong side of the law, which is why many bend the knee to the Kage; it is an easy choice between freedom and imprisonment. It is perhaps far stretched to say that the Kagayaku follow a prescribed ideology, rather that the Meiseigan wielders tend to follow the example set before them by others with an attraction to the underbelly of society.
Clan History[]
The Kagayaku were first sighted inhabiting the deserts of Kaze no Kuni roughly one century ago, they were known more as a ragged tribe than an organised clan as the Hyūga were, often fighting amongst themselves when they had no one to fight against. Almost all of the tribe at the time possessed the Meiseigan; the doujutsu ability to see in the dark as if it were day and gifted with incredible intelligence. Though intelligent the original Kagayaku tribesmen were aggressive, xenophobic individuals who prescribed to no authority but themselves. From time to time a new leader would rise, showing some promise and possessing great control of the Meiseigan who seemed to offer some kind of semblance to the Clan but these were quickly replaced with just as power hungry individuals as the last.
Eventually a woman, named Kagayaku Norahiki would rise to the top of the Clan, possessing such great control of the Meiseigan that she became fabled in the new-founded shinobi villages. Her intention was to aid in the building of Sunagakure, the last of the 5 shinobi villages to be built, in order to secure her clansmens place in the evolving world. Her skill outmatched all others in the Clan and initially members of the Kagayaku followed suit; they would descend from the desert with the intention of becoming one of the founding members of Sunagakure.
This was not to last, however, no sooner had the olive branch been extended to Sunagakure did the Clan turn on Norahiki — their cut throat dispositions winning out over loyalty. Norahiki was assassinated while she slept and a new leader, Kagayaku Honiri, arrived on the scene who instantly severed any tie with the shinobi nations. Instead Honiri aimed to attack those they had originally wanted to help causing a war that saw the Kagayaku hopelessly outnumbered. Many of the Kagayaku spread out from Honiri’s reign, following word of other Shinobi villages being founded and others following their own path to glory.
With the outbreak of the First Shinobi War many of the Kagayaku fought on behalf of several Villages, many representing the banners that they had settled under; Hi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni being the most heavily invested in. It was not long before the years saw the Kagayaku fighting against one another under the banner of a shinobi nation. These Kagayaku who could wield the Meiseigan were seen as great strategists, able to command the flow of battle as well as fight well on their own, though more often than not their command was marred by their brutish personalities.
The original clan had moved on from trying to blend with society and continued to become a hindrance in the Kaze no Kuni desert, often raiding and pillaging those who got in the way of their nomadic travelling. They almost entirely ignored the war, using the opportunity to secure their own land within Kaze no Kuni and proclaiming themselves as the revived, true Kagayaku. This was not to last. Having heard rumours of well trained bandits killing and taking over villages nearer and nearer to Sunagakure the Kazekage sent out a task force to eliminate or capture the Kagayaku. Not one to run from a fight the nomadic Kagayaku fought with ferocity but were outmatched by the sheer forces of shinobi over their precious few. Some members surrendered to the Sunagakure shinobi, accepting imprisonment to death and others, like Kagayaku Honiri, fought to the death using their Meiseigan to fight almost entirely in the dark when the sun had fallen.
When the First Shinobi War ended the remaining Kagayaku were firmly seeded in to other shinobi nations, though some family still remained in touch with one another some almost entirely cut themselves off from their clansmen, allowing the Meiseigan to die out in their lineage. The main branch of the Kagayaku (those who had surrendered during the skirmish with Sunagakure) had enlisted under the banner of the Kazekage, given their semi-freedom for service to the country. Over the years the main branch flourished while outlying branches in neighbouring Villages continued with their own existences, from time to time a leader who had become the most talented Meiseigan user would become the mouthpiece for all the existing branches of the Kagayaku. Seldom would the branch members wish to converse with their kin in other villages however, though all recognised the most talented it did little than govern the relationship with the shinobi nations.
This was proven even more so the case when, during the Second Shinobi War, the Kagayaku in different Villages fought against one another once more even at the behest of their then leader, Daisuke Sei, who urged the Kagayaku to untie under the one banner once more. Sei was killed in the shinobi war by another Kagayaku. As it has been for generations since the Kagayaku are now more of a collective term for the Meiseigan wielders, rather than a family or kin. There are small pockets of the Kagayaku living in many of the villages across the nations and all recognise the abilities of the best Meiseigan wielder, though they might not hold any loyalty to them.
Now in times of peace the leading Kagayaku leader corresponds mostly with the law of each village where the Clan resides, for the individual Kagayaku often gets up to more misbehaviour than most. Those who cannot be contained by the laws of the land, or those who become missing nin, are held accountable to the Leader of the Clan, who has the responsibility to get rid of the rogue Kagayaku.
Even more recently however came the news that the old leader of the Kagayaku, Seiun Riki, was killed in combat against Nisshoku Rei, another possessor of the Meiseigan and one who had been causing a great deal of grief for Kaze no Kuni. Rei’s reaction to being unceremoniously added as Clan Leader after her release from imprisonment and her own psychopathic nature has left an unsure future for the Kagayaku. For now, Rei has allowed the Kagayaku to continue their own singular existences so long as she is left alone… though there is the potential for a challenger one day to appear.
Clan Hierarchy[]
There is no massive hierarchy for the Kagayaku Clan, for the clan itself is spread throughout many villages with no real ‘headquarters’. However all Kagayaku acknowledge only the most talented and intelligent of Meiseigan users. This individual is recognised as the Head of the Clan and all members (members being those who wield the Meiseigan) acknowledge the title and strength of the Clan Head, if only out of natural selection than loyalty. The Clan Head isn’t technically a set role and generally do little in the way of ‘ruling,' more often than not they are seen as the mouth piece for their rag-tag band across all of the Villages and are often sought out to deal with those truly troublesome within their Clan to preserve the tentative peace each Kagayaku has with their Village. The spot for the Clan Head can be taken from the previous head by besting them in combat or if the Clan Head gets bored of having to deal with the Clan, which happens in most occasions.
Secondary to this every so often the Kagayaku produce offspring that possess incredible control of the Meiseigan, while they do not have to be the hereditary offspring of the Clan Head, the Head can choose to keep them as their protege and are often seen by others in the clan as the Clan Heir. Whether or not the Heir actually takes over the Clan when the leader is beaten or steps down is entirely up to fate since any Meiseigan wielder can take control of the Clan. This position, however, is seen as more of a chore to the free spirited Kagayaku since it is primarily the Head that deals with the village authority.
Meiseigan[]
The Meiseigan is a unique doujutsu which allows the wielder to be able to see in total darkness as well as being able to discern what they are looking at. Like all doujutsu, there are differing control of the Meiseigan. An untrained user would only be able to see properly in a dimly lit room when activated. Similarly an older (or the extremely young) Meiseigan user would not be able to control the Meiseigan very well, since eye tissue naturally deteriorates over time or is naturally weaker at a young age.
A Meiseigan user in their prime would be able to see completely uninhibited in total darkness up to 1.5miles (2.4kms) using their eyeshine. They are also able to discern when objects in their field of vision are moving in darkness, for example if a kunai in their field of vision was moving or if a person was moving in their field of vision. Though the Meiseigan, in theory, can be done in naturally lit environments to detect movement it is inadvisable since the user is more sensitive to natural light while using the Meiseigan. Trying to detect anyone while in daylight renders the user momentarily blind (two posts) while their eyes readjust to their surroundings.
Advanced users of the Meiseigan are capable of varying the level of shine sight, while users cannot inherently use the ability in broad daylight without drawbacks, they are capable of altering the level of night vision in certain scenarios. A prime example of this would be being able to react to a flashbang or strobes of bright light in the dark. This prevents opponents from blinding the user straight away if they are capable of catching the attack/change in environment. It also aids in helping against the flash of katon and raiton attacks during total darkness, where the Meiseigan user is capable of altering how much the tapetum lucidum reflects in order to cope with the sudden shift in brightness. Periods of elongated, intense bright light acts much the same as using the Meiseigan during the day, meaning the user will have to deactivate their doujutsu or suffer the consequential two post blindness.
Meiseigan users activate their doujutsu at will, it is not always physically present in the eyes. When activated the doujutsu uses the users tapetum lucidum to turn their eyes reflective.* While there are upsides to the Meiseigan, the obvious drawback of the physical is that an opponent would also be able to see the Meiseigan in the darkness since they are reflective, though they must be at close proximity.
*The tapetum lucidum is a scientific categorisation for the mirror-like reflection that occurs in an animals eyes. For example when a cat/dog gets caught out by the flash their eyes are reflective. This is what I am intending for when the Meiseigan is activated.
Kagayaku Intellect[]
The Kagayaku are also capable of legendary levels of intellect. Almost all Kagayaku members possess ‘prodigy’ levels of intellect, they are able to easily read a situation and analyse their opponents. Many of the Kagayaku across the lands have become vital to the strategies of battles and have become key players in their Villages. However part of the reputation of the Kagayaku is their fiery disposition and proclivity for breaking the law, leaving many untrusted and disliked in society. Whether the Kagayaku member uses their intellect for good or evil is up to them.
Clan jutsu[]
TBA