Shiro Tagachi

General
Shiro Tagachi, also known as Shiro the Betrayer, is the main antagonist of Guild Wars Factions and 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 (level 31).
 * Imperial Sanctum mission (level 31).

Shiro's Betrayal
Shiro was a powerful Canthan champion in life. One day, he was told by a Fortune Teller that he was destined to greatness and that fortune will come his way. He ignored her words at first, but it was apparant they bothered him. As he walked away, he knocked a small bucket over by accident while pondering on her words, which spilled several gold coins.

He returned to the Fortune Teller later, and she told him the Emperor admires and trusts him, and would bestow a great honor upon him. Again, he dismissed her words, but Emperor appointed Shiro as his personal bodyguard soon after.

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 the Temple: 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 so with hesitation. Shiro remembered the words of the Fortune Teller and suspected that the Emperor was setting a trap for him. Torn by conflicting thoughts, Shiro decided to kill the Emperor. Shiro came up behind the Emperor who bowed his head to pray for the blessings of Dwayna and killed him as well as the others with him.

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, crippled and disarmed him. The Kurzick and Luxon champions then attacked Shiro with his own blades&mdash; the very blades that slew the Emperor.

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 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. How he achieved this is never explained explicitly in-game. However, the Official Strategy Guide states that Shiro becomes an envoy due to his sins in life.

It is uncertain whether or not Shiro ever performed his duties as an Envoy, but, by the time of the Factions campaign, he had completely forsaken that duty, binding the newly dead into constructs to serve him in the material realm rather than guiding them to the Mists.

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 of the Mists 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 as well as Shiro's Sword (Seen above) can be aquired as a weapon at the end of the PvE campaign.
 * In the Zen Daijun mission, players will see the "Harbinger of the Deceiver" - the Guild Emblem of Shiro's Guild. This guild is never mentioned anywhere else, however Shiro does brandish the emblem on his right shoulder. It is also the mark seen on the holy ground of the Harvest Temple during the opening cinematic after Shiro is defeated by Vizu, Archemorus and Saint Viktor.
 * Shiro Tagachi's total health in Imperial Sanctum is estimated to be 6300.
 * In Japanese, the name Shiro refers to someone who is "overly stubborn, perversely unyielding, or intractable" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiro
 * After Shiro's second death, the envoys remarked that they have reserved a special place in the Underworld just for him. In Nightfall, this is revealed to be the Realm of Torment, the domain of Abaddon, the dark god obscured from the other five gods commonly referred to in the game manuals and lore. Once again, Shiro has a second chance to deal vengeance to the adventurers who have locked him there for eternity.