Tetsugorou

Merchants who trade in magical crystals claim Tetsugorou was the most unimpressive trainee The Crystal Highlands of Armaria had ever seen. They say the young chimper couldn't coax a spark from flint, let alone from the ether. They were sent on a pilgrimage to a desolate mountain shrine, mostly to give the instructors a week of peace. But when Tetsugorou returned, their face was marked with strange, ceremonial paint, and they carried two lanterns that burned without fuel. The light within doesn't warm the skin; it steadies the soul. It's rumored to be a sliver of Hogo-sha's own spirit, a guardian's essence gifted in the silent peaks. Tetsugorou can't explain the power, only that the lanterns glow brightest when someone is lost or afraid. They walk the glittering paths, a guide whose own destination remains unknown.