Half-Breeds

1

Kuroyama Yahiko walked the dusty roads of Faerun preaching Unity. He had come a long way from Kozukura. So had The United. The sect's teachings were simple enough, all intelligent beings were equal, all life was sacred. It was an unpopular message among almost all races, save the mongrelfolk and his fellow half-breeds. The fact that he was almost nine feet tall, with burnt orange skin and a long, twisted black horn projecting from the top of his snow-haired head made it even more difficult. His green eyes twinkled with kindness, for those who took the time to look. More than once a human or elf would sneer and say, 'Go tell that to the goblins, and see how long they laugh before they eat you.' But he had found that, generally speaking, so-called 'evil' races, goblins, kobolds, fomorians, cyclopskin were far more open to the concept and creed of The United than elves and humans. Of course, some races, such as illithids and beholders, possessed a sense of racial supremacy that made even the haughtiest of elves seem humble. This was not limited to 'evil' races, however. The giant's cruel, rigid concept of 'Ordning' was just as bad, if not worse. Superiority based upon height. Ridiculous. Superiority based upon skin color or language or eyestalks, madness, all of it. . . Why could so few see the insanity in this way of thinking? Racial pride was his greatest enemy. Telling an elf that his life was equal to that of a drow or vice-versa often invoked a violent response.

He did his best to avoid violent action on his own part, and his carrying only a simple wooden staff was visible indication of his aversion to killing. But, if necessary, he was capable of taking life. His main goal was to preach peaceful coexistence between disparate species, and violence was directly opposed to his ideals.

His powers as a very minor demigod helped him avoid bloodshed most of the time, simple Charm spells usually diffused dangerous situations. Sometimes, but not always. . .

Yahiko took great pride in his work. Few people would take the time to preach to ropers and other non-humanoid sentients. That was why few other deities had many non-humanoid servants. Few people realized that ropers were a highly intelligent, spiritually aware race. Though most followed Ghaunadaur, one of Yahiko's allies, some were members of The United. A number were both. The United were not a totally monotheistic movement. Most of his followers also served Meriadar, mongrelfolk god of tolerance, patience, meditation arts and crafts. Since Meriadar was probably Yahiko's closest divine ally, this caused no friction at all. They both wanted exactly the same thing, though Yahiko was more willing to use violence in defense of his followers, if only as a last resort.

Yahiko would ally with almost any deity who would have him, causing most Lawful deities to view him as a naive child at best and an ally of evil at worst (if they even knew of his existence at all). Of the Lawful deities, only Ilmater was a true ally. He felt respect for Hoar, though the god of retribution found him annoying. Outside of The Eight Million Gods of Kazakura, he counted among his allies such diverse deities as Ghaunadaur, Gzemnid, Hoar, Ilmater, Keptolo, Laogzed, (by proxy, as he couldn't bear to set foot on The Rotting Plane), Maanzecorian, Meriadar, Olidammara, Selvetarm, (now that he was sane) and occasionally Vhaeraun. Some deities he respected but was afraid to even approach, such as The Great Mother and Ilsensine. An alliance with Ilsensine was unlikely, but if he could gain The Great Mother's ear, he might be able to help curb the psychopathic racism of the beholders. Unfortunately, The Great Mother was incomprehensible to all but herself.

He did have enemies, however. The (hopefully), deceased Lolth, Loviatar, Kiaransalee, Shevarash, Gruumsh and the goblin and kobold pantheons stood out. Most of The Seldarine looked down on him, but Shevarash was the only elven god who outright hated and opposed him. The giant gods universally despised him because he preached against their precious Ordning. For the most part, he was beneath the notice of other deities, they only noticed him if he directly approached them or began preaching to their followers.

His half-oni blood caused other troubles as well. Oni were famous for their wild ways, and, despite years of meditation and training, Kuromitsu Yahiko still felt those burning passions of his mother's race. He had controlled his rage to a remarkable extent, but if he was angered enough the results were devastating. He called it 'The Frenzy'. It had only happened once in his adult life. He had innocently approached a village in Kazakura to preach his gospel of Unity. The people of the village, however, thought him a ravenous monster. They offered an orphaned boy named Shiro to him as a sacrifice in exchange for their own children. By the time he came to his senses, almost every adult and all the village leaders had at least one broken limb. He took Shiro back to The Obsidian City where a fine family agreed to raise him properly. He'd felt moderately guilty about what he'd done. . . But not much.

Their were, of course, things he enjoyed about his heritage. Oni loved music, celebration and drinking. Even as a half-oni, Yahiko had an incredible tolerance for alcohol, indeed, he had once drunk Keptolo under the table during a feast. The drow god of intoxication had been impressed. He had been questioned by more than one deity why he would feast a being who was not only evil and manipulative but also the lover of one of his greatest enemies. He'd shrug and say that he was a 'fun guy who knew how to party.' The fact that he was also spying on him for Lolth had meant little, as he had little to hide. Of course, now that Lolth was apparently dead following the devastating attack by Ityak-Ortheel on The Demonweb Pits, there was no need for anyone to plot against her. Following Lolth's fall Yahiko had given the now homeless Keptolo and his petitioners shelter in his realm in The Outlands, The Obsidian City. The drow deity was actively looking for a new female deity, (preferably a powerful one), to seduce and latch on to. There was slight concern among his servants that he might attempt to take Yahiko's Divine Portfolio, but if he did, he would gain such ideals as Equality and Tolerance. While Yahiko wanted Keptolo to embrace his creed, he did not desire that the god put a knife between his shoulders to do so.

Yahiko rarely had time to sit upon the Obsidian Throne. The Unity was so small that he could almost always come personally to aid a member in distress. He did have one proxy, Bloodwing, an ineffable horror who served as 'muscle' when necessary. Despite his fearsome appearance, Bloodwing was fully dedicated to the cause. Most of his time was spent traveling, with his mother, Moriko, ruling in his stead.

The west and it's customs were still new to him, and he had learned quickly that the use of honorifics often caused confusion or even the idea that he might be insulting the individual. It was a strange land, Faerun.

Something stepped out of the forest and onto the lonely road several yards ahead of him. Yahiko stopped dead in his tracks. The creature that stood before him was the most remarkable being he had ever seen.

To be continued. . .

Notes:

Kozukura is the D&D version of Japan.

Yes, I am aware that Keptolo and Olidammara are Greyhawk deities. I just don't care.

Obviously any giants or giant-kin who join The United, including fomorians and cyclopskin, are openly defying the Ordning and so are viewed as evil by other giants, regardless of their actual alignment and any good or heroic acts they may perform.

An ineffable horror is a being that resembles a winged ogre with the head of an illithid. Its abdomen is open, lined with tentacles/intestines that attach to a victim and drain their blood. Needless to say, they are inspire fear and horror wherever they go. Ineffable horrors are usually Chaotic Evil, but Bloodwing is Lawful Neutral, one of the very, very few Lawful members of The United. They appear in The Underdark D&D supplement.

There are no monsters, no aberrations. All beings have their purpose and place, and all life is sacred. Kill only in defense of yourself or those who cannot defend themselves, or out of natural need. Those who kill a being for its race are murderers, those who kill a being and steal its belongings are thieves and murderers. Necromancy is a vile act, defiling the dead cannot be tolerated, though intelligent undead are part of The Unity as well and are to be welcomed. Fleshcrafting is cruel and perverse and no United may practice it, though victims of fleshcrafting are to be embraced, for they, too are a part of the greater Purpose. There is no difference between halfling and goblin, human and dragon, drow and elf. All are of equal worth. Even the creatures of The Far Realm are your kin and worthy of respect. Interbreed to create new races, new life. by doing so you add to the beauty of existence. Promote and practice peaceful coexistence wherever possible, even if it means suffering evil.

Creed of The United