Shouzuki

The fishers of Waterfall City will tell you the rock on Shouzuki’s back is a curse, a piece of the riverbed they disturbed in a forbidden dive. But the merchants who trade near the great fish statue say it is a blessing, a focus of immense power. Both stories agree on the beginning: a dream so vivid it felt like drowning, a vision granted by the spirit Namazu where the great river spoke in riddles of depth and silence. When Shouzuki woke, the stone was fused to them, and their eyes held a stillness that unnerves even the city guard. The paint they wear is not for war; it is a map of the dream’s currents, redrawn each dawn. They never speak of it, offering only a placid nod to those who stare. They just sit by the rushing water, a silent island in the city's flow, leaving everyone to wonder if the weight they carry is an anchor or a throne.