Shiro Tagachi

Shiro Tagachi was the bodyguard of Angsiyan, the 27th Emperor of Cantha. 200 years before the present day, he killed the very Emperor he was sworn to protect at the Harvest Festival in Kaoya Zun Temple, and in return was slain for his betrayal. His death wail triggered the Jade Wind that swept the land, petrified the Echovald Forest and turned the Jade Sea into solid jade.

Shiro was a powerful warrior in life, and the tales of his prowess received the attention of the Emperor, who both desired power and desired the use of power in keeping a tight control over his kingdom. Shiro was not entirely surprised by the Emperor's attention, as it was fortold to him by an old woman, a Fortune Teller, who also warned him that the Emperor eventually desired to kill Shiro. She warned him that Shiro would have to make a choice at the Harvest Festival in Kaoya Zun Temple &mdash; either him or the Emperor.

Incident at Kaoya Zun Temple
At the Harvest Festival, the Emperor bowed his head down to pray for the blessings of the goddess Dwayna. Shiro came up behind him and slew him in cold blood in that holy place. He had made his choice, and 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 into the tower behind Shiro, and used her last remaining energy and Shadow Arts to cripple and disarm him. The Kurzick and Luxon champions then attacked Shiro with his own blades, the very blades that slew the Emperor.

In his final living moments, overcome with pain, rage and 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.

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. However, unlike normal Envoys, he does not guide the newly dead to the Mists, but rather binds them in the material realm as constructs and the Afflicted.