The Protectors
Author Notes

4/10/09- Sorry, lost the hardrive to my computer and all my writing with it. Hoping to start back up again in a month or so.

The following are character notes that I will be updating and adding to periodically. This, I think, will help explain/ tie the story back together as we move on through chapter 39 and beyond.

DON'T READ THEM IF YOU ARE IN THE EARLY PARTS OF THE STORY. UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED.

Kagome

Heroine, former museum assistant, Protector of the Sword. Thus far she has been proclaimed the Shikon Jewel. Owner of the Bell and Vajra. Mother and Step father passed away 3-4 years prior to the present. She knows nothing of her father. She is 21 at the start of the story and possesses a degree in museum studies. She is clumsy and is learning the ways of the sword from Inuyasha.

Sesshoumaru

Resident anti-hero and token hottie. Former Warlord of the Western Lands. Wrought the nameless sword with the help of The Forger and The Mage to help him end the encroaching war. In present times he is known, by some, as Taisho, the very private, very rich art collector. At the beginning of the story he follows the nameless sword to find the Protector, Kagome.

Aeron Michaels

Former accountant of Worthington Museum, the same establishment that Kagome worked at in the beginning of the story. Is "apprenticed" as the new Mage, by fate and the Miroku. The Mage bequeaths his weapons, the golden bracelets that house his magic, to Aeron. Currently, he has more control over his given powers thanks to Suzu.

Miroku, "The Mage"

Helped forge the nameless sword. Lost much of his magic and power sealing away the demon, Onigumo with Sesshoumaru and The Forger. After which, he separated from his two companions and wandered the earth. During this time he was approached by The Hunters, and was given the option of joining their clan. He refused, and with the help of one of his enemies, Sango, fled from their evil and hid away. He married the huntress, Sango, had two children, a son, and a daughter, Suzu. The Hunters found their family years later and murdered Sango and their son, at which time the Mage hid from the world to save his daughter from further harm. She believed him dead and he traveled to the monastery, where we meet up with him in the story.

The Forger

Was a master of forging/blacksmithing. He helped make the nameless sword. He was once a samurai who faked his death to slip away from the world. Sesshoumaru met him when the warlord wished to remake his father's armor. The Forger was, like the Mage, instrumental in the demise of Onigumo. He has a son, Sota, who was introduced during the monastery stages of the story. Nothing is known about his death or the time after he separated from Sesshoumaru and the Mage. Sota reveals that the Forger died a little over 20 years in the past.

The Legend

This is the Legend of the Three, the Warlord, the Forger, and the Mage, that Sesshoumaru tells Kagome in the early parts of the story. This is the romanticized fable and, partial true history of the three.

The Warlord of the West commissioned a sword to be made to help stem the tide of war rising in Japan. With the help of a master Forger and a Mage they wrought an epic blade. The forging took over a year and a half and when the blade was completed it had a mind and a will of its own. The sword was untouchable and it ordered the Warlord to find the (1st) Protector. The protector, a mediator between the sword and its makers, was a girl from a small village. The Warlord took the girl from her family and brought her back to the sword. She told them that the Warlord was meant to wield the weapon, but at that time, he is unable to touch or hold the blade. The four companions must leave the forging sight and flee from their enemies. At some point during their journey they near the Protector's village and she flees from the men, falling into the fray of battle. She is wounded and killed by the demon, their greatest enemy, and dies in the Warlord's arms. According to the legend, he tells her he loves her and takes the blade from her, and fights against the demon. The Forger and the Mage separate from the Warlord and he tracks the demon on his own. During this time he fights many servants of the demon, collecting the Shikon Jewel shards and begins to reassemble the gem. The Warlord fights with the demon, loses his arm, but wins, and with the help of the Forger and the Mage, seals away the demon to hell. In the process the Shikon Jewel, the nameless sword, and the powers and other unnamed objects are lost from the three companions. When the demon resurfaces, so will the powerful objects, and that is how the three men know when they must find one another and kill the beast again. At this point the three warriors separate again and this signals the end of the so called legend.

The Nameless Sword

Is forged by Sesshoumaru, the Forger, and the Mage in eastern Japan about 500 years in the past. It was made to be a neutral piece of necromancy but develops a mind of its own. It is heavy and weighs a great amount due to the spells cast upon it. The hilt is red, the metal is dark. It is shaped like a katana, but the blade width is wider. There is a perfect circle missing near the tip of the blade and Sesshoumaru uses this to amplify his spells. Part of his power resides within it and it is difficult to control. It has a direct connection to both Kagome and the first Protector, and relies heavily upon these two women. The Mage, in the monastery chapters, believed that Kagome gives power and control back to Sesshoumaru via the blade, as they learn to trust one another.

The Shikon Site

This is the place, where, at the start of the story, the blade is unearthed. This is in Japan, in an unidentified forest. Though, in later chapters, we find out that it is within the realm of the earth goddess, Kaede, and her great protective tree. It is inaccurately named because of confusion with a local legend. A spirit once resided in the woods and sold its soul to the demon, Onigumo, for power, this gaining a piece of the Shikon Jewel. The spirit grew very powerful and tormented the local villagers. They believed the creature's name was Shikon. Sesshoumaru fought with the spirit and killed it, reclaiming the last half of the broken jewel, just before he fought Onigumo for the second time and sent him to the underworld. This is also the site where Onigumo appears again and where, Kagome, using the power of Kaede's great tree, blows up a cliff face.

Shikon Jewel

Origins unknown. Was, as it is believed, intended for good. It was incomplete 500 years in the past, when Onigumo possessed it. Sesshoumaru completed it and lost it when he sealed the demon. It, like the nameless sword, has its own mind, but is much, much more powerful. It is believed to be modeled after the four Shinto souls of wisdom, courage, friendship, and love. The Mage reveals, in later chapters that some believe the jewel to be an embodiment of the earth itself. Recently, it has been claimed that Kagome is the Shikon Jewel.

1st Protector

A young woman that the nameless sword deemed as the mediator between itself and Sesshoumaru. She dies at the hand of Onigumo and relinquishes some of the power of the sword back to the warlord. Sesshoumaru believed she was chosen because she gave human qualities to the weapon that neither he, nor the sword, possessed.

Onigumo

Resident bad ass son of a bitch. He is a demon from hell who, in the past, desired to rule over Japan. In the legend that Sesshoumaru tells Kagome, he is the one who stems the war that pushes Sesshoumaru to create the nameless sword. He kills the first Protector. He also finds the Shikon Jewel, though it is unknown how he came about it. He is thrown into the underworld by Sesshoumaru, the Forger, and the Mage. He reappears four years prior to the start of the story, but the only reason we know that is because Sesshoumaru senses the reappearance of the sword. Onigumo has only met with our heroes once but has sent multiple enemies to kill them. He wishes to possess the sword and/or Kagome. Preferably both, I am sure. Currently, he is in the south of Japan, with an un-named forger.

Kagura

An extension of Onigumo, created from him. She is a demoness with control over the wind. She was killed once, but reappeared with Onigumo in the present. The demon has accused her of treachery and in recent chapters she has been plotting his demise.

The Priestess

She and Inuyasha were in love in the past, after the demon Onigumo was defeated. At the beginning of the story she is found at a little temple on th outskirts of an unidentified village. She healed Sesshoumaru's arm and possesses an enormous amount of power. She knows the way to Kaede's prison, but it is not revealed how she knows this. Inuyasha tells Kagome the woman's history with him during their stay at the monastery. Inuyasha and the priestess were in love. Onigumo's followers found Inuyasha and used the priestess against him. She was forced into servitude by powerful magic and went after Inuyasha to kill him. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha stopped her and they stripped her of their enemies magic. At this time Inuyasha left her to Sesshoumaru's will and he has not seen her since. For reasons unknown, Sesshoumaru let the woman live, though she is a former shell of herself, and her soul is not whole. Sesshoumaru has said that he does not trust her.

Inuyasha

He is the half brother of Sesshoumaru and thus, a half demon. Inuyasha's mother was human. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father died in battle and Inuyasha's mother died in a siege. Sesshoumaru defeated Onigumo when Inuyasha was a child and hid his younger brother away to keep them both safe. At times Sesshoumaru trained Inuyasha, but the brothers spent most of the earlier years separated. Inuyasha lived in a smal village where he fell in love with the Priestess. When Onigumo's followers discovered Inuyasha they warped the Priestesses' soul and used her against him. Following this, The Hunters came after Inuyasha and together with Sesshoumaru, the two brothers fought and nearly obliterated the entire clan of sorcerers. Sometime after this, closer to the present, Inuyasha was sent to Tokyo to hide from both their enemies. Inuyasha wears a Buddhist rosary that helps him control his volatile powers. Currently, he is training Kagome and helping with the quest for the Shikon Jewel and the Nameless Sword.

Sota

He is introduced in the monastery chapters as the blacksmith. He is a self proclaimed mediocre forger. He is the son of the Forger. It is revealed that the Mage took in Sota after the Forger's death. He was raised by his father to the age of 8 and was taught a few of the Forger's techniques. He is the Elite Watcher of the monastery. He tells Sesshoumaru where to find a master blacksmith that was taught under his father.

Suzu

Suzu is the Mage's daughter. After the Mage and Sango married and had their children, the Hunters reappeared and killed her mother and brother. The Mage told his daughter to go into hiding as he himself did. Suzu does not find out until she meets Aeron, that her father had lived. After the death of her mother, Suzu grew up and joined the Hunters, though, at the time, she did not know they were responsible for her family's death. The Hunters figure out who she is and use her to go after Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru spares her and saves her life, hiding her away in Tokyo, where we meet her when Aeron is sent to her. She is a mage like her father and a warrior like her mother. She is considerably older and given that her father lived for so long it can be assumed that she has a century or two under her belt. She is proficient at many weapons and possesses an incredible amount of magical control, as is seen when she helps Aeron control his magic.

The Hunters

The Hunters are a group of mortal men and women who believe that they should hold ultimate power over all. To accomplish this end, they hunt down all beings with magic and power to steal it for themselves. They have been known to offer saftey to other mortal mages, sorcerers, and necromancers, as was the case with the Mage, who refused them. Sango was one of the the huntresses. The Hunters first sought after the Mage but with the help of Sango, he escaped their clutches. After this, the hunters went after Sesshoumaru, then Inuyasha. The two brothers banded together to fight the clan and killed most of their enemies. At some point after this they reformed and came after the Mage, killing Sango and his son. Suzu survived and later joined their ranks, only to be rescued by Sesshoumaru.

Sango

Sango is a former huntress/ demon slayer from the clan of Hunters. Suzu reveals that Sango was taken from her family when she was young and believed that she was serving the emperor, when, in reality, she was a pawn of the Hunters. She never fully believed in their cause and when she was sent to kill the Mage, she refused, and instead, fell in love with him and helped him escape. Sango is the original owner of the Bell and Vajra and was fluent in many languages. Suzu says that she was both beautiful and deadly.

The Watchers

The Watchers are a band of magical people from or living near the monastery. Sota is the elite watcher. It can be assumed that the Watchers helped protect the monastery and conveyed information up and down the mountains.

Kaede

Kaede is a great and ancient wood spirit. Sesshoumaru knew her in the past, and had traveled through her lands. There is a great tree near the Shikon Jewel site that is the manifestation of her power. During the times after Sesshoumaru defeated the demon, she migrated north because of the encroaching humans and the destruction of her lands. There, in a small village that Sesshoumaru and Kagome, and later Inuyasha, Suzu, and Aeron pass through, is a small temple that was once dedicated to her. In the present time, Kaede, with her waning power, was trapped and imprisoned by a vengeful serpent demon who leeches magic from the earth goddess. When Kagome meets Kaede, the spirit is dying. She tells Kagome to "complete the whole" in order to end their quest. In recent times, Kagome and her companions returned to save the captive spirit.