Shiro Tagachi

Description
Shiro Tagachi, also known as Shiro the Betrayer, was the bodyguard of Emperor Angsiyan, the 27th Emperor of Cantha. Two hundred years before the present day, he killed the very Emperor he was sworn to protect at the Harvest Ceremony in Kaoya Zun Temple and was slain for his betrayal. His death wail triggered the Jade Wind that swept the land, petrifying the Echovald Forest and turning the Jade Sea into solid jade.

In the PvE campaign in Factions, Shiro returns to threaten Cantha once more.

Location

 * Kaineng City
 * Sunjiang District mission.
 * Imperial Sanctum mission.

Skills Used

 * Battle Scars
 * Echoing Banishment
 * Meditation of the Reaper
 * Impossible Odds
 * Riposting Shadows

Shiro's Betrayal
Shiro was a powerful warrior in life. One day, he was told by a Fortune Teller that he was destined to greatness. He ignored the Fortune Teller, taking her to be a rambling fool, but later returned to her to hear more. This time, she told him the Emperor admires and trusts him, and would bestow a great honor upon him. Soon after, the Emperor decided to appoint Shiro as his personal bodyguard.

Convinced of the Fortune Teller's gifts, he returned to her to listen to more of her words. This time, however, she told him that the Emperor was planning to kill him. He did not believe her at first and struck her down in rage. With her dying breath, she told Shiro that the Emperor would attempt kill him at the Harvest Ceremony in Kuan Jun Temple. She also told him that he would have to make a choice at that moment: either Shiro or the Emperor would die ("Him or you").

At the Festival, the Emperor told the guards to allow his retinue and Shiro to enter with him into the Temple. This was unprecedented and against the Emperor's earlier instructions. The Guard Captain had to relent to the wishes of the Emperor, though he did not do so unhesitatingly. Shiro remembered the words of the Fortune Teller and was convinced that the Emperor was setting a trap for him. When the Emperor bowed his head down to pray for the blessings of the goddess Dwayna, Shiro came up behind the Emperor and slew him. He had made his choice. As the powers of the slain Emperor surged into him, he was finally given over to evil.

The champions of Cantha who were present at the ceremony rushed to avenge their Emperor, but Shiro was without match in the use of the blade. The fight was entirely one-sided, and soon only two warriors remained to challenge Shiro: the Luxon champion Archemorus, and the Kurzick champion Viktor. Even they did not have the power to stop Shiro by themselves.

The tide of the battle was turned by the assassin Vizu who shadow stepped behind Shiro and, before Shiro even noticed it, had crippled and disarmed him. The Kurzick and Luxon champions then attacked Shiro with his own blades&mdash; the very blades that slew the Emperor.

In his final living moments, overcome with pain, rage, and malice, Shiro let out a terrible cry that caused a Jade Wind to sweep across the lands of Cantha, petrifying the forest and turning the sea into pure jade. The three Heros who bested Shiro also perished in the event. The Kuan Jun Temple itself did not survive the Jade Wind. Right before the Sea solidified around it, it sunk to the bottom in a huge whirlpool that has come to be known as the Unwaking Waters.

It is not yet known whether the Emperor had actually planned to kill him or whether Shiro was manipulated by the mysterious Fortune Teller into slaying the Emperor.

After Death
It is revealed in the Factions Campaign storyline that Shiro has become an Envoy, a shepherd of the souls of the dead who leads them to the Mists. It is possible that by slaying the Emperor and absorbing his power, Shiro obtained the ability to become an Envoy. Unlike other Envoys, Shiro does not guide the newly dead to the Mists, but rather binds them in the material realm as constructs to serve him.

Shiro returns in his spirit form to the land of Cantha, leaving a trail of Afflicted and Shiro'ken bound spirits in his wake. With the players hot on his trail, Shiro gradually comes closer to his unannounced goal. He manages to capture Emperor Kisu and hold him hostage in his own palace, with the goal of returning to the mortal realm and breaking his original curse. The curse can only be broken by repeating the deed that cursed him originally: spilling the blood of the imperial line.

Master Togo and Brother Mhenlo lead the players through Raisu Palace and rush to save the Emperor. They arrive just in time, but when Master Togo approaches the throne, Shiro makes a surprise appearance, knocks everyone down, and takes Togo away to the Imperial Sanctum before anyone can react. There, Shiro reveals that he sensed Master Togo was also of the imperial blood line; he slays Togo and breaks his curse to return to the mortal realm. At that moment he ceases to be an Envoy, which is ultimately his undoing as he can now be killed.

Mhenlo leads the players on a quest for revenge, aided by several of the NPCs who have participated in the Factions Campaign, including the dragon Kuunavang herself. They find and kill Shiro, and the adepts of the Oracle Suun seal his mortal form in jade. Shiro finally dies a normal death, and his spirit comes into the keeping of the Envoys who have a special place in the Underworld planned for him.

Trivia

 * Shiro's Blades (Seen above) can be aquired as a weapon at the end of the PvE campaign.