Island Hiraya

[Gambit]

Hiraya (literally means imagination) is a country in North Blue and its people are called Hirayan. In the beginning, it was said that this land is home to deities who walked the earth and helped people build their nation. There was peace until the twin brothers namely Kanlaon and Sitan fought for supremacy. Kanlaon declared the victor would claim the Kaluwalhatian (Upperworld) and took his agents with him. Sitan and his four agents descended to the Kasanaan (Underworld). As Daigdig (Middleworld) continued to grow, so as the powers of the deities who remained in the middle.

Wars erupted from one nation to another. Each war was sparked by hatred and envy. Each emotion is ignited by the gods themselves. And for thousands of years, this cycle of life and death goes on and on. Until the deliverer unites all the warring kingdoms, peace is just a word of the past. A long-forgotten one.
​

Spoiler: Kanlaon

Kanlaon is the supreme god of the Hirayans; creator of man and earth and addressed sometimes as Bathalang Maykapal (Almighty God). He dwells in Kaluwalhatian (Heaven) together with the lesser gods and goddesses.

Spoiler: Sitan

Ruler of the Kasanaan (Underworld), a place of punishment ruled by Sitan (Dark Bathala). He is the keeper of all souls therein. He has four agents whose task was to lead man to sin and destruction.

​

The same Gods were the reason why Hiraya has four noble houses. Each of them is headed by a king or queen. Each Kingdom worships a different god. The first one is the Lireo Kingdom of the east. The Lireans are worshippers of Kanlaon and its agents. The second one is the Sapiro Kingdom of the north, which also worships Kanlaon but they mostly patronize gods who provide good harvest and guidance at war. Next is the Adamya of the south, who worships the same gods the Sapiryans worship for they are related by blood - only Adamyans are half-dwarves, half-human. And last but certainly not least is the Hathoria of the west. Home of the devils and wielders of fire. Hathorians are ruthless worshippers of Sitan and all of his agents.

This country also has four other tribes. Ascano - a territory in the northernmost part of Sapiro; home of the Barbaros and Giants. Adjantao - a territory in the northeast; home of individuals called Mandirigma (warriors). This is where you will find Gambit's past. A place where the past is kept hidden for years. The third one is Avila/Avalon – a territory in the northwest; home of the winged creatures called Mulawin. And the last one, Punjabwe. This small archipelago is located east of Adamya and southeast of Lireo. But beware, sailors, this is the home of the female pirates!

Though Kingdom Lireo is the recognized ruling imperial house, all four houses are equal in power and influence. Each house has its own army, called upon to battle by the ruling monarch. All four houses are constantly desiring the throne.

This mass of land was meant to be part of the kingdoms affiliated with the world government but they managed to be an autonomous country. It is also the only kingdom in North Blue never touched by the Germa Kingdom for their military might is far greater than they are.

If someone can unite all houses and tribes, the 800-year-long barrened land at its center will be opened and a new kingdom shall rise - Perlas ng Silanganan (Pearl of the Orient Seas).

Until then, let the war begin.

 

[Gambit]

Lireo is the homeland of the Diwatas (Elves). Blessed by the God Almighty Kanlaon, they are hailed as the most prosperous, oldest, and most progressive of the four kingdoms.

The Female Diwatas are the fairest of all people of Hiraya. They have a very long lifespan and don't age quite physically once they hit certain adulthood, thus the reason why even the Diwatas of the past still look like the generations that followed.

The royal class of Diwata is comprised of the King and Queen and the members of the royal family are called Sang'gres (female) and Diwanis (male). In addition to that, they have the ability to cast spells and enchantments using mere words. The usage of powerful artifacts like the scepters (or their subsequent shards, the Brillante ng Apoy (Fire Crystal), Brillante ng Hangin (Wind Crystal), Brillante ng Tubig (Sea Crystal), Brillante ng Diwa (Soul Cyrstal), and Brillante ng Lupa (Earth Crystal) can enhance an enchantment significantly. They also gain the power to teleport once they reach the right stage in their childhood called Banyuhay (metamorphosis).

Anitun Amihan, the goddess of the Wind and the keeper of the Wind Crystal. Therefore, she can control the storm and can conjure a sword out of thin air.

King Sapiro Morrow - DIED PRIOR THE PIRATE FESTIVAL
Gambit's adopted father, King of Lireo. Born a prince of Sapiro, he ascended to the throne after marrying Lira Ninquelótë.
Level 70
70×5=350
Strength: 62+14+5 = 81
Speed: 72+14+5 = 91
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 101
Vitality: 66+14+5 = 85
- Stamina: 85
- Durability: 85
Haki: 50+21 = 71
- Armament: 61
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
- Illusions: 100
- Swords: 100

Queen Lira Morrow nee Ninquelótë
Gambit's adopted mother, Queen of Lireo. Spell caster and has the ability to control the storm with the use of her moonglaive.
Level 50
50x5=250
Strength: 35+10 = 45
Speed: 51+10 = 61
- Reaction: 61
- Movement: 61
Vitality: 51+10 = 61
- Durability: 61
- Stamina: 61
Mind: 41+15 = 56
- Navigation: 61
- Medicine: 51
Haki: 41
- Armament: 41
- Awareness: 41
Martial Arts: 31
- Moonglaive: 61

General Magiting Ninquelótë - DIED DURING THE PIRATE FESTIVAL, SAVING HIM FROM BULLET
General of the King's army. Gambit's master in Martial Arts. Uncle of Lady Manaka.
Level 80
80x5=400
Strength: 80+16+5 = 101
Speed: 80+16+5 = 101
- Reaction: 101
- Movement: 101
Vitality: 80+16+5 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 60+21 = 81
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
- Morning Star: 100
- Poker Heat, Art of Flaming Cards: 100

General Akil
Level 65
65x5=325
Strength: 69+12 = 81
Speed: 64+12+5 = 81
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 81
Vitality: 44+12+5 = 61
- Stamina: 61
- Durability: 61
Haki: 67+18 = 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 81
- Capoeira: 81
- Swordsmanship: 81

Lirean Army (10,000)
Level 30
30x5=150
Strength: 39+6+5 = 50
Speed: 39+6 = 45
- Movement: 45+Raid Suit: 10 = 55
- Reaction: 45
Vitality: 35+6 = 41
- Stamina: 41
- Durability: 41+Raid Suit: 10 = 51
Martial Arts: 37+9 = 46
- Swordsmanship: 42
- Gunslinging: 50

 

[Gambit]

The Kingdom of Sapiro (Kaharian ng Sapiro) is a monarchy located west of Lireo, north of Adamya, and east of Hathoria. It is the home of the Sapiryans.

The kingdom was founded by Diwata Danaya, goddess of earth and the keeper of the Earth Crystal.

Its sovereignty was once destroyed following the fall of King Kalakab Morrow during the great revolution 35 years ago - the birth of Landayan Morrow.

Diwata Danaya, Goddess of the Earth and therefore can conjure and control nature as if she is a plant and earth paramecia devil fruit user. She can also conjure two batons made of adam wood. She taught the first people of Hiraya the idea of Botany.

Kalakab "Dark Elf" Morrow
13th Royal Blacksmith, King Sapiro Morrow's cousin, and Gambit's biological father. He was assumed dead after his fall 35 years ago. After La Spada freed almost all the prisoners in Impel Down, the Dark Elf re-emerged to fulfil a lost cause. Revolution against the Gods!
Level 90
90x5=450
Strength: 87+28+5 = 120
Speed: 77+28 = 105
- Reaction: 105+15 = 120
- Movement: 105
Vitality: 78+23 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 23+27 = 50
- Swordsmanship/Staff: 100+20 = 120
Mind: 100
- Navigation: 100+20 = 120
- Beast Mastery: 100

Ashti Pirena
Gambit's biological mother
Level 0 (deceased)

Aragorn of the Mighty Forge
12th Royal Blacksmith, Gambit's master in Science. He was the one who forged Gambit's Lightning Hammer along with Shimotsuki.
Level 90
90x5=450
Strength: 87+28+5 = 120
Speed: 77+28 = 105
- Reaction: 105+15 = 120
- Movement: 105
Vitality: 78+23 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 23+27 = 50
- Warhammer: 100+20 = 120
Mind: 100
- Navigation: 100+20 = 120
- Science: 100

*As Gambit's teacher in Alchemy, Navigation, and Blacksmithing, he doesn't need stats to be considered the most knowledgeable in this field. He can use any hammer as a weapon. He can also convert elements to other elements.

Aldo Asval
He is the current master of Poker Heat, Art of Flaming Cards, and uncle of Landayan Morrow. He didn't teach him this martial art and therefore, he knows things Gambit hasn't learned yet. He is half-tiefling.
Level 80
80x5=400
Strength: 64+32+5 = 101
Speed: 80+16+5 = 101
- Movement Speed: 101
- Reaction Speed: 101
Vitality: 64+32+5 = 101
- Stamina: 101
- Durability: 101
Haki: 84+16 = 100
- Armament: 100
- Precognition: 100
Mind: 8-8
Martial Arts: 100
- Rolling Stones, Art of Flaming Jutte: 100
- Poker Heat, Art of Flaming Cards: 100

*Has the Cursed Deck of Cards: Baraja - It grants the user an increase in attack speed.
- Mastery 21-60: +10
- Mastery 61-80: +15
- Mastery 81-100: +20

Sapiryan Guild of Alchemy (1,000)
Level 50
50 x 5=250
Strength: 35+10 = 45
Speed: 51+10=61
- Reaction: 61+5 = 66
- Movement: 61
Vitality: 51+10 = 61
- Durability: 61
- Stamina: 61
Mind: 41+15 = 56
56x2=112
- Blacksmithing: 61
- Science: 51
Haki: 41
41x2=82
- Armament: 41
- Awareness: 41
Martial Arts: 31
31x2=61
- Weapons: 61

 

[Gambit]

​

Covering much of southwestern Hiraya, Hathoria is marked by the presence of several volcanoes and dessert-like lands rich in metal, making the Hathors experts in metallurgy and the crafting of weapons such as fire cannons and swords.

The Hathors also had majestic architecture with towers that looked like pagodas, and the main palace that has a massive dragon statue. Following their war-mongering efforts that resulted in the decimation of Adamya and Sapiro, the Hathorian civilization was essentially destroyed by the Sapiryan King Hisoka Morrow 800 years ago, forcing the Hathors to live in volcanic caves and underground.

Hathoria is also the passage through the Underworld of Hirayans, The Kasanaan. It is ruled by Sitan.

Mayari is the goddess of the moon and one of the three daughters of Kanlaon by a mortal woman. She was the most charming of all the goddesses. She had two sisters, Tala and Hanan. Does not need to be fought - she's a goddess and the mother of all Hathorians.

King Hagorn Bulkhan. He is the embodiment and the incarnation of the four agents of Sitan. Evil is him. He is the devil himself.
Level 90
90x5=450
Strength: 87+28+5 = 120
Speed: 77+28+5 = 110
- Reaction: 115+5 = 120
- Movement: 105
Vitality: 78+23 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 73+27 = 100
- Flame Control: 100+20 = 120
- Various Weapons
Mind: 50
- Blacksmithing: 100+20 = 120

*Hagorn's Hadezar armor was bestowed by the God of Chaos, Arde. It grants him +1 Durability and resistance to fire. He can forge any weapons on the spot and use them in combat.

Spoiler: The four agents of Sitan

The Four Agents of Sitan (Ang Apat na mga Alagad ni Sitan)

Manggagaway Healer/Killer	She was the first agent of Sitan and was primarily blamed as the cause of diseases. Sometimes, she would change herself into a human form, appearing as a false healer. If she wished to kill someone, she employed a magic wand.
Manisisilat Homewrecker	The second agent of Sitan, she was tasked to destroy and break every happy and united family that she could find.
Mangkukulam Witch	The only male agent of Sitan was to emit fire at night and when there was bad weather. Like his fellow agents, he could change his form to that of a healer and then induce fire at his victim's house. If the fire were extinguished immediately, the victim would eventually die. His name remains today as a witch.
Hukluban Shapeshifter	The last agent of Sitan could change herself into any form she desired. She could kill someone by simply raising her hand and could heal without any difficulty as she wished. Her name literally means "crone" or "hag."

Princess Mirena
Level 50
50x5=250
Strength: 35+10 = 45
Speed: 51+10 = 61
- Reaction: 61
- Movement: 61
Vitality: 51+10 = 61
- Durability: 61
- Stamina: 61
Mind: 41+15 = 56
- Beast Mastery (Fire Dragons): 61
- Medicine: 51
Haki: 41
- Armament: 41
- Awareness: 41
Martial Arts: 31
- Moonglaive: 61

Gen. Pinatubo
Level 70
70×5=350
Strength: 62+14+5 = 81
Speed: 72+14+5 = 91
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 101
Vitality: 66+14+5 = 85
- Stamina: 85
- Durability: 85
Haki: 50+21 = 71
- Armament: 61
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
- Fire Blades: 100
- Brawling: 100

Hitanos, Guardians of the Ring of Fire (100,000)
Level 30
30x5=150
Strength: 39+6+5 = 50
Speed: 39+6 = 45
- Movement: 45
- Reaction: 45
Vitality: 35+6 = 41
- Stamina: 41
- Durability: 41
Martial Arts: 37+9 = 46
- Swordsmanship: 42
- Gunslinging: 50

Gurna (x5). The fire-breathing dragons of the Ring of Fire. Melt the earth, we live.
Level 70
70x5 = 350
Strength: 70+35 = 105
Speed: 70+35 = 105
- Reaction: 105
- Movement: 105
Vitality: 70+35=105
- Durability: 105
- Stamina: 105
Mind: 40-28 = 12
- Medicine: 24
Martial arts: 100
90x2 = 180
- Fire Breath: 90
- Fire Dragon Scale: 90

 

[Gambit]

Situated at the Southern tip of Hiraya, the Kingdom of Adamya is the home of the dwarven masters of the sea. These small (averaging 4 feet) yet intelligent creatures are called Adamyans. The kingdom is headed by its wise and faithful ruler Aegen, who can look into the past of a particular person and can also enable him to see current events. They are most known for their vast knowledge of botany, navigation, weaponry, and how to use these things as weapons of destruction. But their deity controls the seas.

Alena Idagat, Deity of the Sea can control the sea current and anyone who lives in it.

Aegen
King of the Dwarven House of Adamya.
Level 90
90x5=450
Strength: 87+28+5 = 120
Speed: 77+28 = 105
- Reaction: 105+15 = 120
- Movement: 105
Vitality: 78+23 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 23+27 = 50
- Swordsmanship/Staff: 100+20 = 120
Mind: 100
- Botany: 100+20 = 120
- Navigation: 100

*The most intelligent creature in all of Hiraya. He can see someone's future and past when their weapons have clashed.

Imaw
Level 50
50x5=250
Strength: 35+10 = 45
Speed: 51+10 = 61
- Reaction: 61
- Movement: 61
Vitality: 51+10 = 61
- Durability: 61
- Stamina: 61
Mind: 41+15 = 56
- Botany: 61
- Medicine: 51
Haki: 41
- Armament: 41
- Awareness: 41
Martial Arts: 31
- Swordsmanship: 61

Imok
Level 50
50x5=250
Strength: 35+10 = 45
Speed: 51+10 = 61
- Reaction: 61
- Movement: 61
Vitality: 51+10 = 61
- Durability: 61
- Stamina: 61
Mind: 41+15 = 56
- Botany: 61
- Beast Mastery (dogs): 51
Haki: 41
- Armament: 41
- Awareness: 41
Martial Arts: 31
- Lance/Spear: 61

Imam
Level 50
50x5=250
Strength: 35+10 = 45
Speed: 51+10 = 61
- Reaction: 61
- Movement: 61
Vitality: 51+10 = 61
- Durability: 61
- Stamina: 61
Mind: 41+15 = 56
- Botany: 61
- Science: 51
Haki: 41
- Armament: 41
- Awareness: 41
Martial Arts: 31
- Lance/Spear: 61

Dwarven Warriors. Destroyers of the South (5,000)
With Level 10 Dogs (5,000) and Island Level Tanks (1,000)
Level 30
30x5=150
Strength: 39+6+5 = 50
Speed: 39+6 = 45
- Movement: 45
- Reaction: 45
Vitality: 35+6 = 41
- Stamina: 41
- Durability: 41
Martial Arts: 37+9 = 46
- Bladed Weapons: 42
- Gunslinging/Sniping: 50

The Bakunawa is a serpent-like dragon in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be the cause of eclipses, earthquakes, rains, and wind. The movements of the Bakunawa served as a geomantic calendar system for ancient Filipinos and were part of the shamanistic rituals of the babaylan. It is usually depicted with a characteristic looped tail and a single horn on the nose. It was generally believed to be a sea serpent but is also variously believed to inhabit either the sky or the underworld.

Due to increasing trade contacts with South Asia and the Indianization of Southeast Asia, the Bakunawa later became syncretized with the Nāga, Rahu, and Ketu of Hindu-Buddhist mythology.

Level 100
100 x 4 = 400
Strength: 100
Speed: 100
Vitality: 100
Poison Fang: 100

*Normal attack scales off Strength.

 

[Gambit]

Avila, the land of the winged races called Mulawin (Man-Hawk) and Ravena (Red-Raven).

Mulawin is a race of humanoid creatures with avian attributes. Their wings are white. However, some of their people when consumed by hatred and envy, wings would turn red - they are called Ravena.

Both clans can be summoned by the Flute of Mulawin. Mulawins usually leave behind a feather upon their arrival or departure.

After the Hathorians attack their home, it is believed that the Mulawins in Hiraya have been driven to the brink of extinction, with only a few known survivors:

Clan of Dakila

Haring Daragit
Level 80
80x5=400
Strength: 80+16+5 = 101
Speed: 80+16+5 = 101
- Reaction: 101
- Movement: 101
Vitality: 80+16+5 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 60+21 = 81
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
- Wind Sphere: 100
- Kalakab Staff: 100

Prinsesa Anya
Level 60
65x5=325
Strength: 69+12 = 81
Speed: 64+12+5 = 81
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 81
Vitality: 44+12+5 = 61
- Stamina: 61
- Durability: 61
Haki: 67+18 = 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 81
- Wind Sphere: 81
- Swordsmanship: 81

Prinsesa Aviona
Level 60
65x5=325
Strength: 69+12 = 81
Speed: 64+12+5 = 81
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 81
Vitality: 44+12+5 = 61
- Stamina: 61
- Durability: 61
Haki: 67+18 = 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 81
- Wind Sphere: 81
- Swordsmanship: 81

Pagaspas
Level 60
65x5=325
Strength: 69+12 = 81
Speed: 64+12+5 = 81
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 81
Vitality: 44+12+5 = 61
- Stamina: 61
- Durability: 61
Haki: 67+18 = 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 81
- Wind Sphere: 81
- Swordsmanship: 81

Bulwagang Rasmus (Hall of Rasmus)​

Clan of Ravena

Haring Gabriel
Level 80
80x5=400
Strength: 80+16+5 = 101
Speed: 80+16+5 = 101
- Reaction: 101
- Movement: 101
Vitality: 80+16+5 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 60+21 = 81
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
- Wind Sphere: 100
- Kampilan Swordsmanship: 100

Gen. Panabon
Level 70
70×5=350
Strength: 62+14+5 = 81
Speed: 72+14+5 = 91
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 101
Vitality: 66+14+5 = 85
- Stamina: 85
- Durability: 85
Haki: 50+21 = 71
- Armament: 42
- Awareness: 100
Martial Arts: 100
- Staff: 100
- Wind Spheres: 100

Kapitan Siklab
Level 60
65x5=325
Strength: 69+12 = 81
Speed: 64+12+5 = 81
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 81
Vitality: 44+12+5 = 61
- Stamina: 61
- Durability: 61
Haki: 67+18 = 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 81
- Wind Sphere: 81
- Swordsmanship: 81

Minokawa is a giant, dragon-like bird in Philippine legends. Early people believed this creature is so big that it can swallow (or cover) the sun to explain the occurrence of eclipses. It is even described as a giant bird named Minokawa that lives in outer space and can devour the sun and the moon and would try to do the same with the earth.

In a Bagobo tale, the Minokawa is a bird as large as an island. Its feathers are those of sharp swords, the eyes reflect like mirrors, and its beak and legs are like steel. It lives "outside the sky, at the eastern horizon". While the Baua lived "above the sky" because the Visayans believe that there is a cave called "calulundan" above the sky, the entrance covered by blue smoke.

Level 100
100 x 4 = 400
Strength: 100
Speed: 100
Vitality: 100
Steel Wings: 100

*Normal attack scales off Strength.

 

[Gambit]

This is Ascano, a tribal territory within the land of Sapiro that were former allies of the Sapiryan empire under King Kalakab Morrow, father of Gambit. Their loyalty to the kingdom faded when the Empire has fallen 36 years ago and was invaded by the Hathorian Empire. They became independent Hirayans after that and resided far north of Sapiro, Ascano, and don't know and follow any other leader but theirs. They are formerly led by the Gigante, Vish'ka.

Apolaki is the god of the sun and the chief patron of warriors. He was the son of Anagolay and Dumakulem.

Vish'ka, Ascano Tribal Leader
Height: 29 Feet
Level 80
80x5=400
Strength: 80+16+5 = 101
Speed: 80+16+5 = 101
- Reaction: 101
- Movement: 101
Vitality: 80+16+5 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 60+21 = 81
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
-Axe: 100
-Brawling: 100

Lapu-Lapu, demi-god of fertility and charm.
Height: 20 Feet
Level 80
80x5=400
Strength: 80+16+5 = 101
Speed: 80+16+5 = 101
- Reaction: 101
- Movement: 101
Vitality: 80+16+5 = 101
- Durability: 101
- Stamina: 101
Haki: 60+21 = 81
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
-Kampilan: 100
-Brawling: 100

Manny Pacquiao, demi-god of strength and pride.
Height: 20 Feet
Level 70
70×5=350
Strength: 62+14+5 = 81
Speed: 72+14+5 = 91
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 101
Vitality: 66+14+5 = 85
- Stamina: 85
- Durability: 85
Haki: 50+21 = 71
- Armament: 61
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 100
- Head-butting: 100
- Boxing: 100

Ascano Barbarians (5,000)
Height: 15 to 29 Feet
Level 30
30x5=150
Strength: 39+6+5 = 50
Speed: 39+6 = 45
- Movement: 45
- Reaction: 45
Vitality: 35+6 = 41
- Stamina: 41
- Durability: 41
Martial Arts: 37+9 = 46
- Brawling: 42
- Melee Weapons: 50

 

[Gambit]

Punjabwe (feminine form: Punjabwe-a is a group of Hirayans that live far away from the established monarchies of the land. It is a tribe under the cultural sphere of Sapiro and they are well-versed in mechanical technology. Above all, piracy!

Female Punjabwes are raised to become pirates, while males are raised to become shipwrights. The irony. They dislike the Diwatas or females of Lireo due to the alleged supremacy of females over males,
in that area which conflicts with their patriarchal beliefs.

Capt. Maya
Level 75
75x5=375
Strength: 67+14 = 81
Speed: 69+14+5 = 88
- Reaction: 82+5 = 87
- Movement: 94
Vitality: 67+14 = 81
- Durability: 81
- Stamina: 81
Mind: 50
50x2=100
- Navigation: 100
Haki: 81
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 41
41x2=82
- Rapier: 81

Vice Capt. Halina. She's also the doctor of the crew.
Level 75
75x5=375
Strength: 67+14 = 81
Speed: 69+14+5 = 88
- Reaction: 82+5 = 87
- Movement: 94
Vitality: 67+14 = 81
- Durability: 81
- Stamina: 81
Mind: 50
- Medicine: 100
Haki: 81
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 81
Martial Arts: 41
- Gunslinging: 81

Sailing Master Ilaya
Level 60
65x5=325
Strength: 69+12 = 81
Speed: 64+12+5 = 81
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 81
Vitality: 44+12+5 = 61
- Stamina: 61
- Durability: 61
Haki: 67+18 = 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 81
- Knives: 81
- Rope Action: 81

Pirate Crew (100 Females)
Level 30
30x5=150
Strength: 39+6+5 = 50
Speed: 39+6 = 45
- Movement: 45
- Reaction: 45
Vitality: 35+6 = 41
- Stamina: 41
- Durability: 41
Martial Arts: 37+9 = 46
- Brawling: 42
- Gunslinging: 50

 

[Gambit]

Adjantao Tribe - territory in the northeast; home of individuals called Mandirigma (warriors). This is where you will find Gambit's past. A place where the past is kept hidden for years. To learn the secret, you have to travel from Lireo and Sapiro but you have to deal with the fierce women of this tribe. Thousands of them. This is currently ruled by the 5 sisters.

Makiling, Marikit, Kalimbahin, Mayumi, and Kagandahan
Level 60
65x5=325
Strength: 69+12 = 81
Speed: 64+12+5 = 81
- Movement: 81
- Reaction: 81
Vitality: 44+12+5 = 61
- Stamina: 61
- Durability: 61
Haki: 67+18 = 85
- Armament: 81
- Precognition: 89
Martial Arts: 81
- Jiu Jitsu: 81
- Wooden Blowpipe: 81

Female Mandirigmas (5,000)
Level 30
30x5=150
Strength: 39+6+5 = 50
Speed: 39+6 = 45
- Movement: 45
- Reaction: 45
Vitality: 35+6 = 41
- Stamina: 41
- Durability: 41
Martial Arts: 37+9 = 46
- Jiu Jutsu: 42
- Archery/Blowpipe/Staff: 50

Amangpuno (Trent Protectors - 100)
Level 30
30x5=150
Strength: 39+6+5 = 50
Speed: 39+6 = 45
- Movement: 45
- Reaction: 45
Vitality: 35+6 = 41
- Stamina: 41
- Durability: 41
Martial Arts: 37+9 = 46
- Throwing Things: 42
- Arnis: 50

The Lampong is a creature that turns into a deer to protect the herd of deer in the wild.
He is the white deer. The head of the flock. The shepherd of the forest. He is the humble fruit bat, the wise malkoha, the playful civet, and the stubborn boar. The agents of civilization are not welcome in his home, and always remember:
Listen for the sounds of his footsteps.
Take nothing from the mountain.
Keep your eyes open.

Level 100
100 x 4 = 400
Strength: 100
Speed: 100
Vitality: 100
Haki: 100

 

[Gambit]

One-time beri reward for defeating each of the eight tribes/kingdoms:
-500 000 000 Beri each

Weekly beri reward for pirate crews for controlling each of the capitals.

Lireo:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly
- information about the world government corruption

Sapiro:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly
- Defeating Aldo Asval awards the Cursed Deck of Cards: Baraja
- Defeating Aragorn of the Mighty Forge awards an A-Rank Weapon Blueprint (Requires 100 Science or Blacksmithing to craft)
- Defeating the Dark Elf awards +20 substat in Navigation

Hathoria:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly
- Defeating Hagorn awards Power Armor which consumes 50% of the respective armor rank inventory points. If S rank armor is 38 invention points, you will only allocate 19 points to use it.
- Defeating any of the five Gurnas awards Dragon scales to use for weapons/armor. Requires 81 to craft weapon/armor.

Adamya:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly
- Bakunawa can be tamed as your beast/pet The requirement to tame is 100 Beast Mastery.

Avila:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly
- Conquering the tribe awards Fighting Style of Wind Sphere
- Minokawa can be tamed as your beast/pet The requirement to tame is 100 Beast Mastery.

Punjabwe:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly
- Vice Capt. Halina will join the crew (Has to buy her in the store thread but can only be up to Level 70. It does not take a slot from the maximum number of NPCs a crew can buy.)

Askano:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly

Adjantao:
- 200 000 000 Beri weekly
- Lampong can be tamed as your beast/pet. The requirement to tame is 100 Beast Mastery.

Bonus:
- If all are controlled by the same crew, +200 000 000 weekly.

 

[Gambit]

@Aro
​

The skies wept red that day. Not from war, not from wrath—but from the silent mourning of the gods.

A lone warship, tattered and scorched from battle, pierced through the misty waves of the North Blue. Upon its deck stood a shadow, tall and unmoving. His long black coat flared in the salted wind like torn royal banners. Hair dishevelled. Eyes sunken. The scent of blood and gunpowder still clung to his skin. Yet none of it mattered. For in his arms lay her cold body—wrapped in violet silk and ivory petals—Lady Manaka, the light of his blood and the last ember of his past.

Landayan Morrow, the Vampire Prince of the Sea, had returned home.

As the vessel docked at the emerald coastlines of Lireo, trumpets did not sound. No banners were raised. The capital fell into a stillness not known for centuries. For the first time in a long while, the warrior who challenged gods, broke empires, and defied death itself… walked in silence.

The path to the Temple of Souls was lit by blue fire, guided by Lirean priestesses and watched over by winged sentries from Avalon. Every step forward was a rejection of the world he once ruled—the world that took everything from him.

In the heart of the temple, he laid her to rest beneath the roots of the Baul ng Alaala, the Tree of Memory. And as he knelt, arms outstretched, Haki and sorrow surged from him in waves, shaking the very marble pillars of Lireo. The sky thundered. The seas boiled. The gods, it was said, stirred.

He did not speak. He did not cry.

But in that moment, the gods of Hiraya—Kanlaon above and Sitan below—heard his vow.

“The world does not deserve her genius. Nor my mercy.”

And then he vanished.

For two years, the name Gambit faded from the seas. No papers, no sightings, no whispers. But in the heart of Hiraya, where gods once walked and legends are born, a storm began to churn—ancient, calculating, and patient.

Because when he returns…
He will not just be a pirate.
He will be a reckoning.

 

[Gambit]

Hiraya, Lireo Kingdom | The Temple of Souls

The air was thick with incense and the murmurs of ancient prayers. Within the hallowed halls of the Temple of Souls, Gambit stood alone, the weight of recent events pressing heavily upon him. The loss of Lady Manaka, his beloved cousin and confidante, had carved a void in his heart—a void that no victory could fill.

As he gazed upon the sacred murals depicting the eternal struggle between Kanlaon and Sitan, memories of battles fought and comrades lost flooded his mind. The tales of Hiraya's deities mirrored his own journey—a constant battle between light and darkness, creation and destruction.

Determined to find solace and purpose, Gambit embarked on a pilgrimage across Hiraya. His first destination: the Kingdom of Lireo, the heart of spiritual wisdom and the worshippers of Kanlaon. Here, he sought the guidance of the High Priestess, hoping to understand the divine will and his place within it.

The High Priestess, an ethereal figure draped in golden robes, welcomed him with a knowing smile. "Prince Landayan Morrow," she intoned, "your arrival was foretold in the stars. The gods have watched your journey, and they have plans for you yet."

She led him to the Sacred Grove, where the ancient Tree of Memory stood—a living testament to Hiraya's history. As Gambit placed his hand upon its bark, visions overwhelmed him: glimpses of past lives, forgotten battles, and the faces of those he had loved and lost.

In that moment, he understood. His journey was far from over. The gods had chosen him not just as a warrior, but as a unifier—a bridge between the warring kingdoms and tribes of Hiraya.

With renewed purpose, Gambit vowed to traverse the lands of Sapiro, Adamya, and Hathoria, seeking wisdom, forging alliances, and confronting the shadows of his past. The path ahead was fraught with challenges, but he was no longer just a pirate or a prince. He was a beacon of hope for a fractured land.

And so, under the watchful eyes of the gods, Gambit's two-year odyssey began—a journey of redemption, unity, and destiny.

 

[Aro]

Hiraya #1
@Gambit
Hiraya Arc: The Blood Compass

Return to Lireo

North Blue, Realm of Lireo | Capital of Light

In the northernmost reaches of the Hirayan Sea, past tempests that even the Sea Kings dare not brave, lies Lireo—a kingdom carved not by stone and mortar, but by memory, magic, and myth. It is a land suspended between the divine and the mortal, where time moves in rhythms dictated by the stars, and the wind carries whispers of prophecies half-fulfilled.

The capital is unlike any other. Spires of crystalglass rise like frozen lightning bolts from the earth, kissed by moonlight and braided vines that bloom only under Kanlaon’s gaze. Roads shimmer with glowroot dust, laid down by generations of moon-weavers. Towering murals depict battles etched into the soul of the continent—warriors blessed by the gods, scholars bearing halos of fire, queens crowned in starlight.

At the center stands the Temple of Souls, the spiritual heart of Lireo, older than recorded history. Here, the high priestesses commune not only with Kanlaon—the Lord of Light and Flame—but with the ancestral echoes that drift through its obsidian halls. The temple is alive, some say—its roots embedded in the Baul ng Alaala, the Tree of Memory, whose petals fall not with the seasons but with the passing of heroes.

Lireo has no standing army, and it needs none. Its guardians are the Lumina Sentinels, beings forged from song, shadow, and starlight—living relics of the God Wars. When they walk, the earth hums. When they sing, the wicked forget their names.

The people of Lireo are scholars, priestesses, guardians of flame, and keepers of prophecy. Every child is taught the balance of Kanlaon and Sitan—light and shadow, creation and undoing—not to choose a side, but to understand the whole. For in Hiraya, every god demands their due.

But today, the bluefires lining the sacred roads burn lower than usual. The Great Bells of the temple ring not in celebration, but in mourning. And the winds, which once carried hymns from Avalon’s skies, are silent.

For the first time in a generation, Lireo grieves.

Not for a king. Not for a war.

But for a soul taken too soon, and the storm that now walks among them once more.

Landayan Morrow has returned.
And with him comes the scent of blood, of fate, and of flame yet to rise.​

 

[Gambit]

Hiraya Arc: The Blood Compass
@Aro ​

Act I: Return to Lireo
Location: Temple of Souls, Lireo

The moon did not shine for him.

It hid behind its veil of stars, as if ashamed to bear witness to the one who once scorched continents in its name. And yet, the wind remembered. It curled around his crimson coat and kissed the blade at his hip, a whisper for the dead — or perhaps a warning for the living.

Landayan Morrow, once prince of revolution, now Emperor of the Sea, walked alone through the sacred veil of Lireo.

But he was no longer the man they remembered.

Gone was the brilliant tactician who once quoted scholars mid-swordplay. Gone, too, was the boy who asked why gods would let his people suffer. What remained was something colder. Heavier. The weight of oceans in his chest, and blood on his tongue that never quite dried.

In his arms, wrapped in mourning silks laced with sigils of flame and frost, he carried her.

Lady Manaka.

Chief scientist. Cousin. Blood.

Beneath the Temple of Souls, where the Baul ng Alaala’s roots kissed the bones of heroes, Gambit knelt and placed her body among them. There was no priestess to usher her spirit. He performed the rites himself, reciting ancient Lirean scripture between syllables of Morrowian Elvish—a tongue that had not been spoken aloud since Sapiro's fall.

“In fire, we return to the weave. In silence, we become the flame.”

The petals of the Tree did not fall.

They shattered.

Thousands of crystalline blossoms broke midair, drifting like embers around the Yonko’s figure. The Temple responded — walls humming, ancestral echoes stirring like awakened titans in slumber. The Lumina Sentinels turned their heads from across the city, drawn not by threat… but by recognition.

The prodigal storm had returned.

Later — The Throne of Light

Gambit stood before Queen Amihan, his gaze steady but empty.

He did not bow.

They had no need for pleasantries — only memories.

“I buried Manaka where the flame once called me home,” he said, voice low, hollow. “General Magiting is gone. Sapiro too. The last fires of our line are flickering.”

A pause.

“And still, I do not know who I am without war.”

The Call to Trial

That night, alone in the Temple’s archive sanctum, Gambit uncovered a sealed scroll — one written by General Magiting, long before the Pirate Festival, addressed only to him:

“When the blood runs colder than the sea, you must go south. There, where the old spears rust and the earth still remembers pain, let them judge you not by title… but by blade.”

It bore the sigil of Adjantao — land of warriors, land of trials.

The next path was clear.

To Be Continued: The Mandirigma Trials Begin​

 

[Aro]

Hiraya #2
@Gambit

Temple of Souls, Lireo...

From the shadows of the upper sanctum, the High Priestess stood unmoving, veiled in gold-laced gossamer, her breath caught like the final verse of a forgotten hymn. Through eyes weathered by centuries and visions etched across lifetimes, she beheld not the man, but the storm he had become. Landayan Morrow, the boy once carried into Lireo wrapped in prophecy, now moved like a ghost of fire and salt. He did not weep, yet the temple wept around him. The Baul ng Alaala shivered, its crystalline petals fracturing midair like glass sighing under ancient pressure. She felt the pulse of the Tree echo through her bones, a rhythm older than song, older than sorrow.

He speaks in Elvish, she realized, her breath hitching. A language not uttered since the fall of Sapiro, spoken now not in defiance, but in devotion. And the temple listened. The walls moaned with old memory. The incense curled into the shape of birds once sacred to Kanlaon. Even the dormant Lumina Sentinels stirred atop their towers, not out of fear, but recognition.

The gods knew his name.

The gods remembered.

And so did she. She had seen this in the fire once. An emperor cloaked in grief, bearing a flame that would either ignite unity… or reduce Hiraya to ash. Her heart ached not only for the boy she once blessed beneath Lireo’s twin moons, but for the world that would soon stand before him.

He has crossed the threshold, she whispered inwardly. He is no longer a prince, nor pirate. He is reckoning made flesh.

Temple of Souls – Throne of Light...

The air shifted before he even entered.

She felt him. Not as a man, but as a pressure, as wind bends before a storm. The temple whispered his name through its stone and flame. Gambit. Landayan. Morrow. The boy who once questioned divinity now walked like a god mourning his own creation.

From her seat upon the Throne of Light, she watched him cross the chamber. No guards announced him. No trumpets sang. Only the wind moved, curling reverently around his coat and the cold edge of his presence.

He did not bow. Of course not.

He stood before her, gaze steady but emptied of wonder.

“I laid Manaka to rest where the first fire sang my name,” he said, voice stripped of armor. “Magiting has fallen. Sapiro lies in ruin. What’s left of our blood barely casts a shadow.”

He paused, and in that breath, the silence thickened like a storm gathering behind the lungs of the world.

“And still, I do not know who I am without war.”

The wind around him stilled.

So this is what remained. Not the tactician who danced through battlefields with riddles on his lips. Not the prince who sang revolution into the bones of broken men. But the aftermath. A husk carried by memory and duty, wearing grief like a crown.

She stood.

Her hair rose, and the winds obeyed. The skies outside rippled with thunder. Not in rage, but in recognition. She summoned her blade from the very air between them, forged of storms and silence, and planted it gently into the marble floor.

“I am the keeper of tempests, child of Lireo,” she said. “And even I do not mourn as the wind does for you.”

She descended the steps slowly, each one echoing through the sacred chamber.

“You ask who you are without war. But tell me—” Her voice softened, ancient and unyielding, “—have you ever truly known who you were with it?”

The blade pulsed once in response. The chamber darkened, save for the windlight that swirled between them, ready to reveal what truth it could.

“If you seek meaning beyond conquest, then bare your soul beneath the eye of the storm. Let the wind decide if it will carry you forward, or tear you apart.”

---------------------------------------

Adjantao, Northeastern Hiraya..

The mist clung to the ancient pines of Adjantao, weaving through the highland groves like breath from the mountain itself. In a clearing bathed in the pale light of dawn, a herd of deer grazed in silence, their ears twitching at the faintest rustle. At the edge of the glade stood the Lampong, a white stag of impossible grace, its antlers crowned with moss and blossoms, eyes reflecting the wisdom of ages. It watched over its kin, the guardian of this sacred land, embodying the spirit of the forest.

Suddenly, the wind shifted, carrying with it a scent of salt and steel, of blood and destiny. The Lampong raised its head, nostrils flaring, as the whispers of the wind spoke of a storm approaching. Not of rain. But of a man.

High above, nestled among the cliffs, the warriors of Adjantao stirred. The Mandirigma, clad in leathers and adorned with tribal markings, emerged from their dwellings, eyes turned toward the horizon. Their leaders Makiling, Marikit, Kalimbahin, Mayumi, and Kagandahan stood atop the highest ridge, the wind tugging at their cloaks.

Makiling, the eldest, her hair silver as moonlight, spoke first. "The wind carries his name," she said, her voice a blend of reverence and caution.

Marikit, eyes sharp and discerning, nodded. "Landayan Morrow returns, seeking answers only the blade can provide."

Kalimbahin, ever the skeptic, crossed her arms. "He left as a prince of war. What claim does he have here now?"

Mayumi, her gaze distant, whispered, "The spirits stir. The trials await."

Kagandahan, youngest yet fierce, smiled. "Let him come. We'll see if his heart still beats with the fire of the Mandirigma."

As the sun broke over the peaks, casting golden light upon the land, the leaders of Adjantao prepared to test the mettle of the returning warrior. For in this land, titles held no weight, only the strength of one's spirit and the truth revealed through combat.

And so, the stage was set for the trials that would determine whether Gambit could reclaim his place among the Mandirigma or be cast aside as a relic of a bygone era. ​

 

[Gambit]

Part I - Temple of Souls, Lireo​

“When the Tree Weeps”

The obsidian doors of the Temple of Souls had not opened for a mortal in decades—until now.

Landayan Morrow stepped past them without invitation.

No footfall echoed. No breath stirred. Only the silent unravelling of time. The torches flanking the sacred causeway guttered and leaned inward, as though bowing to a grief deeper than death. His coat, torn by sea and sorrow, trailed embers with every stride. And though the fire had not touched his skin, the scent of burnt offerings clung to him.

He walked toward the Baul ng Alaala.

The Tree recognized him. Not merely the man, but the bloodline, the curse, the legacy. Its petals loosened in mourning, drifting down like falling stars. They clung to his shoulders, then dissolved—not in warmth, but in burden.

He knelt beneath its boughs.

“My sister is dead,” he murmured, placing Lady Manaka’s pendant within the root’s embrace. “Return her to the memory of the flame.”

The wind held its breath.

Flashes of her life surged within the Tree’s core—her laughter echoing through the citadel, the whir of inventions, the moment she bled in silence so he might live. The Baul answered not with sound, but with light. A single petal, silver-bright and veined with flame, descended to rest upon his brow. It seared no pain, only remembrance.

Landayan did not move. Not when the Lumina Sentinels stirred. Not when the high priestess emerged from the sanctum, her presence like a song the gods forgot how to sing. Not even when her voice, cracked with age and awe, named him aloud.

“Storm-born. Flame-bound. The son of two kingdoms, and the undoing of both.”

He opened his eyes.

“They say I burned brighter than prophecy.” He rose slowly, eyes fixed on hers. “But now I walk with ashes in my lungs, and no sun worth chasing.”

She bowed her head.

And the temple wept.

Part 2 – Highlands of Adjantao:

​

At the edge of the forest's breath, where the mist danced like ancestral spirits and the stream hummed forgotten lullabies, he stood still.

Landayan Morrow, no longer shrouded in the stone and salt of kingdoms, now cloaked in silence and dew. The moss softened under his boots, yet his presence pressed heavy on the air—as though time itself paused to watch him pass. Perched upon a moss-veiled trunk that bridged stream and glade, his steed exhaled slow and sure, mirroring the rhythm of the land. This was not conquest. This was pilgrimage.

From the ancient falls behind him, rays of dawn broke through the canopy in slivers of gold and ghostlight, kissing the armor on his shoulder—the last remnants of a prince. But even the metal seemed to rust in reverence. And still, the white stag did not flee.

The Lampong.
Eyes ageless. Gaze unwavering.
A mirror not of judgment, but of measure.

Landayan dismounted.

He stepped forward without word, the water barely rippling beneath him, as though the earth itself yielded to this moment. Around them, the kodama-like watchers stirred within the trees, blinking with curiosity—not in fear, but recognition. For though the man who approached was unknown, the soul within him rang familiar, like a war-drum once silenced, now remembered.

Above the cliffs, the silhouettes of the Mandirigma elders marked the horizon.
Five voices of the old blood. Five winds of judgment.
Makiling. Marikit. Kalimbahin. Mayumi. Kagandahan.

Their stares fell upon him like blades across a whetstone.

Makiling saw the fracture in his spine—the burden of loss unwept.
Marikit traced the resolve in his jaw—the hunger not for glory, but understanding.
Kalimbahin smirked at the scars—the cynic in her recognizing survival.
Mayumi felt the chill in the leaves—the presence of a soul seeking redemption.
And Kagandahan? She smiled.

the wind carrying their voices to the glade below.

He looked up—not as a prince, nor pirate, but as a man stripped of titles.
“Is this where it ends?” he asked the wind. “Or where I begin again?”

From the canopy above, a single leaf fell—spiraling, deliberate—before resting on his palm.
A sign. A challenge. A welcome.

And so, with bare feet touching sacred ground, Gambit stepped into the land of trials.
Not to reclaim the past.
But to forge the truth of what still lived within him.

The forest held its breath.
And the trials of the Mandirigma…
began.

 

[Aro]

Hiraya #3
@Gambit

Adjanto Forest | The Trial of Bearing

Landayan caused the forest to stir as he laid foot into its sanctuary.

The glade did not part by command, but by consent. Before him stretched a narrow path flanked by roots gnarled with age and moss soft as sleep. It wound through mist toward the unseen heart of the forest, where only those the land remembers may walk.
And it remembered him, though it was not yet sure why.

High above the cliffs, five silhouettes watched. Makiling. Marikit. Kalimbahin. Mayumi. Kagandahan.

Mandirigma. Elders. Witnesses.

Makiling, eldest of the five, did not blink as the man stepped into view. Her breath matched the wind, slow and deliberate, as the lines of fate bent around him like roots to a storm. She saw not just a warrior, but the hollowness stitched into the fabric of his stance. His spine, once a pillar of command, was now a shattered column carrying ghosts, not pride. She knew that fracture well; it echoed her own after the Burning of the Old Forest. “A man who carries death but has yet to grieve it,” she murmured. “He is not here to conquer. He is here to ask if he still deserves to stand.”

Marikit, ever the intuitive, saw past his tattered silhouette and straight into the quiet flame behind his eyes. She traced the tightness in his jaw, the deliberate calm in each movement. Not bravado. Not hunger for conquest. It was the hunger of a man who had devoured empires and still found himself starving. Not for blood, but for clarity. “He seeks not to be seen,” she whispered, “but to be understood. And yet, how rarely do such men understand themselves?”

Kalimbahin, blade-singer and keeper of battlefield truth, scoffed under her breath. She saw the way his hands never strayed far from his weapon. Not out of threat, but from muscle memory. She noted the scatter of old wounds and healed-over burns across his arms and collarbone, left unmarred by vanity or repair. These were not the scars of a hero. They were survival etched in flesh. “Another broken champion with a story to tell,” she said, a smirk tugging at her lips. “But maybe… maybe this one bleeds real.”

Mayumi, youngest and most attuned to the spirit-tide, felt a shiver ripple through the leaves as he approached. The forest held its breath..not in dread, but respect. She closed her eyes and listened to the silence beneath the noise, the ache beneath the silence. His presence echoed like old songs, ones sung around fires long extinguished. “He walks not in shadow, but in aftermath,” she said softly. “And the gods have yet to decide if that makes him kin… or curse.”

Kagandahan, ever-smiling and sharp as obsidian glass, let out a slow, musical laugh. Not of mockery, but revelation. She saw not what he was, but what he could be. A mirror, cracked and glinting, reflecting the tribe’s own history of rage, retribution, and rebirth. Her gaze never left his as he looked up. No crown. No chains. Just a man weathered by storms not even the sea could name. “At last,” she said, her voice like wind through silver leaves. “A man who asks for judgment, not worship.”

The wind fell still. The glade waited.

From behind the veils of trees, the Trialkeeper emerged.

Young, but ancient. Her face painted in ochre and soot, hair adorned with bone and feather. Her staff tapped once against the stone, and the kodama stilled in the branches above.

“You come not as prince. Not as pirate. Not as flame nor shadow,” she said, voice like rustling leaves. “You come as a man seeking the measure of his weight.”

She raised her hand.

Five masked villagers stepped forward, each holding a bundle bound in dark cloth. They said no prayers. Only laid them at Landayan’s feet, one by one, onto a cart of woven bark and sinew.

“Five burdens. Five ghosts.”

One stepped forward.
“Manaka, first to fall, never mourned.”

Another.
“Sapiro, who believed when others fled.”

A third.
“Magiting, father of the blood-song.”

A fourth.
“The child of Brighthollow, whose name no war remembers.”

And finally, the Trialkeeper herself.
“The man you were meant to be, who never drew breath beyond duty.”

She stepped aside, and the cart’s bindings rose of their own will, draping across Landayan’s shoulders like ancestral chains. They did not dig into flesh but into memory.

“You will walk to the Cairn of Wind, alone.You may not stray. If you fall, the earth will remember. If you rise, so too shall your name.”

And so began the Trial of Bearing.

Not with fanfare. Not with fire. But with silence, weight… and watching. The forest closed behind him. And the path ahead began to remember its purpose. The mist would deepen with every step Gambit would make.

Around him, the forest grew still, not silent, but expectant. Each branch would seem to lean in, each kodama hushed in reverence or dread. The weight across his shoulders would not slow his stride, yet with every root he stepped over, something inside him pulled tighter. And then...

The wind exhaled.

As he advanced, the path would vanish, replaced by a clearing ringed in withered trees whose bark was blackened as though kissed by fire long past. At the center, the air shimmered, and from it emerged a shape: translucent at first, like breath against glass. But then it filled in.

Manaka.

She wore no armor, only a faded tunic clinging to burned flesh, and eyes that once burned with command but now barely held the memory of it. She did not speak. She couldn’t. Manaka raised her hand. Not in blame, but beckoning. Around them, the clearing rippled and transformed, and suddenly he was there again: the day it happened.

The Sovereign War.​

 

[Gambit]

Adjanto Forest | The Trial of Bearing
@Aro​

The fog curled tighter around his frame, the Trialkeeper’s decree still echoing when the mist before him bent—not away, but inward—swelling like breath before a sob.

And there she stood.

Manaka.

No armor. No title. No flame of scientific brilliance behind her glasses. Just the raw ruin left behind by divinity’s wrath—flesh seared and eyes empty, yet fixed upon him with a gravity no storm could match. She didn’t speak. She couldn’t. But her presence accused nothing. It explained everything.

He staggered.

The weight on his shoulders—five burdens, five ghosts—grew heavier not from mass, but memory. The bark and sinew cart, bound to him like a spine made of guilt, flexed against his back as if it, too, knew who lay before him. His knees almost buckled, not from pain, but from something far worse:

Recognition.

“I wasn’t there,” the words clawed at his throat, but he couldn’t speak them. He wasn’t allowed to. That was the trial. And so, silence became his confessional.

He had watched the sky burn. Heard the screams ripple through Den Den Mushi static. Imu’s divine weapon—something ancient, monstrous—had blotted out the Sovereign Isle and everyone caught in its defiance. Marines, Revolutionaries, Cipher Pol ghosts, and Manaka... his cousin, his kin. Struck down not by sword nor will, but by the arrogance of gods playing with stars.

That day had fractured something in him.

And now, Hiraya demanded he stitch it back.

The world around him blurred—not with tears, but with vision. The Sovereign War replayed around the clearing. He saw himself again, fangs out, coat torn, screaming orders as the heavens fell. Lightning ripped through ambition. The sea turned red with sacrifice. And in the middle of it, Manaka’s last known signal flared once—then never again.

Her raised hand now—pale, trembling—was not a gesture of farewell.

It was an offering. A chance.

Not to change what happened.

But to carry it, finally.

Landayan Morrow, Gambit, Prince of All Pirates, clenched his fists. He did not weep. He did not kneel. But his shadow wavered, rippling like an oath unraveling.

“Let me bear it.”

Not aloud. But the forest heard.

The kodama stirred once more.

And so he stepped forward. Into the clearing. Into the past. Into penance. Lost in the woods.

 

[Aro]

Hiraya #4
@Gambit

Adjanto and The Trial of Bearing – The Second Burden: Sapiro

Gambit had chosen to bear the first burden and stepped forward. Manaka's ghost touched his forehead. Then the clearing vanished. The path returned. And the burden of Manaka, though still present, no longer seared. She had been mourned.

The forest did not speak. It listened.

Each step Gambit would take would press echoes into the earth. Echoes the land remembered, even if he tried not to. The mist clung tighter now, no longer drifting but folding in, as though it too bore weight. The silence was no longer reverent. It was waiting.

A rustle, a breath and then warmth.

The mist parted into a sunlit glade that did not belong. Too bright, too full of green. Children’s laughter echoed faintly through the trees. A village lay beyond the treeline. Wooden huts, banners dyed with the sigil of the Flameborn, and in the center of it all stood a man.

Sapiro.

Not a warrior, not a ghost, not yet. Just a man with calloused hands and eyes that smiled even when his lips did not. He held no weapon. Only a satchel of letters and a cloth-wrapped bottle of rice wine, gifts meant for comrades who never returned.

He would turned as Landayan entered, as though he had been waiting all this time.

“You remember this place?” Sapiro asked, voice untouched by resentment. “I do.”

“This was where I chose to believe. When the sea closed in, when the kings fell silent, when the banners burned… I stayed. Not because I was strong. But because someone had to believe you’d make it back.”

He smiled. A tired smile. “You didn’t.”

The glade around them fractured, peeling like ash. The village twisted, banners blackened, huts splintered, laughter replaced by screaming flame. And Sapiro stood in the middle of it all, still holding the letters. His arms scorched. His mouth full of smoke. And still. Still he did not run.

"You were late," he whispered.

Gambit would feel the burden flare across his shoulders. He would remember. The delay. The storm. The life he chose instead of the return. The promise he broke because he thought belief was fragile and replaceable.

But Sapiro hadn’t fled. He had waited.

And died for it.

The memory pressed in, sharp as the cold edge of a blade. Not accusation. Not guilt. Just truth.

Sapiro, who believed when others fled.​

 

[Gambit]

Adjanto Forest | The Trial of Bearing​

The clearing vanished.

Where once stood the ghost of Manaka now lay stillness. Not emptiness, but reverence. The forest did not speak—it listened. Each step Gambit took pressed echoes into the loam—footsteps the land itself remembered. Mist curled around him, no longer drifting, but folding in, as though it too bore the weight of remembrance.

Then came a breath. A rustle. And warmth.

The mist parted.

A glade emerged—one that did not belong. It was too bright, too green, too alive. Laughter echoed through the trees—children’s laughter. A village sat beyond the treeline, crowned with wooden huts and fluttering banners dyed in crimson and gold—the sigil of the Flameborn.

At the center stood a man.

Sapiro.

Not a ghost. Not a warrior. Not yet. Just a man with calloused hands, sun-worn skin, and eyes that smiled even when his lips did not. He carried no weapon. Only a satchel of unopened letters and a cloth-wrapped bottle of rice wine—gifts for comrades who never returned.

He turned to face Landayan, as if he had always been waiting.

"You remember this place?" Sapiro asked, voice calm and clear. "I do. This was where I chose to believe. When the sea closed in. When the kings fell silent. When the banners burned… I stayed. Not because I was strong. But because someone had to believe you'd make it back."

He smiled, tired.

"You didn’t."

The glade cracked.

The village twisted. Banners blackened. Huts collapsed. Laughter turned to fire. Screams. Smoke.

And Sapiro remained at the center. Still holding the letters. Arms scorched. Mouth filled with ash. And still—he did not run.

"You were late," he whispered.

Gambit remembered.

The delay. The storm. The life he chose instead of the return. The truth he learned from the Tieflings, from Aldo Asval. That he was not born to rule, not even born into peace. That Pirena, his mother, died the day he came into the world. That Kalakab, his father, had already been taken by the World Government—never even held him.

He was orphaned. Not by fate, but by the choices of those who thought they were protecting him.

He remembered the night he left Hiraya at nineteen. Bloodied, betrayed, grieving a truth he didn’t ask for.

"You lied!" he had shouted then, voice shaking. "You let me believe I was chosen. That I mattered. But I was never your blood—was I? Just a shadow of Kalakab, a ghost of Pirena. You let me worship a name I never belonged to!"

Sapiro had watched him go. Silent.

Now, finally, he answered.

"You were right. You weren’t our blood. But you were our future. And when Kalakab fell—when Pirena gave her life to bring you into this world—it wasn’t the crown that made you our son. It was every sacrifice we made after."

His voice was calm, but the words scorched like truth always does.

"I betrayed Kalakab not for power, but because I feared his war would consume you. I believed letting you go would spare you the fire. I was wrong."

The flames dimmed.

Sapiro stepped forward. And for the first time in years, Gambit did not move. His shoulders sagged. His breath hitched. His knees gave way.

And like a child—no longer a vampire, no longer an emperor—he wept.

"I never came back,"he whispered. "I thought it was better that way."

"So did I," Sapiro replied gently, placing a hand on his shoulder. "But love doesn’t end with betrayal. It waits. And if it must… it waits until the last ember dies."

There was silence.

Then came a quieter voice—broken, but seeking.

"Should I trust him?" Gambit asked. "Kalakab. My real father. He says he wants to finish what was started. That the world must burn before it can be remade. But I’ve seen the fire. I’ve fed it. And I don't know if he's the man I need… or the ghost I'm becoming."

Sapiro closed his eyes.

"Kalakab was never meant to raise a child. He was a storm the world couldn’t hold. Fierce. Brilliant. But always on fire. He believed freedom could only be bought with destruction. That rebellion needed wrath more than patience. Maybe he was right."

He paused, then knelt beside Gambit.

"But you are not his fire. You are Pirena’s light. And mine. And all those who waited in silence, not for revolution—but for return."


"If you follow him," he continued, "do it not because he is your father. But because you have weighed the world in your hands and found your own answer."

Sapiro’s form shimmered, fading into wind.

His final words hung in the breeze like memory.

"Come home, son of Hiraya. Not to reclaim a throne. But to remember who you were before the world demanded who you must become."

The mist rolled back.

The forest stirred—not in mourning, but in recognition.

Landayan Morrow rose, scarred and sobbing. Not the Devil of the Sea. Not the Silver King.

Just a boy who once called fire his cradle, and silence his sanctuary.

And now, at last, the land remembered him too.