Zephyr Tatsuya

Backstory
Zephyr Tatsuya, born Zephyr Zao, was found by one of the Shogun's men at a mysterious cherry blossom tree. The common thought was that he was thought to be deserted by a peasant woman hoping that someone would find him and take care of him. However, the Shogun knew the truth, this was a son of the Zao family.

Zephyr was soon adopted by the Shogun. He did not know that he was adopted, for he was only six months old when the previous events had unfolded. Zephyr had two younger brothers and one sister. Zephyr loved his family dearly, especially his mother.

Life as the son of a Shogun was fantastic. As a child in his dad's palace, he was dressed in grand royal garbs. Zephyr could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Additionally, Zephyr loved the splendor of his turquoise and golden silky clothes that all members of the royal family wore. Time passed by, soon Zephyr was a young adult. Soon, Zephyr would pick up some hobbies, and one of those was exploring.

Zephyr loved exploring, and one day when he was sixteen years old, Zephyr was out exploring when he stumbled upon a gorgeous, minute pond nestled in a grove of bright pink cherry blossom trees. In the middle stood a gargantuan cherry blossom tree. Its massive trunk towered up to the sky, seemingly soaring above the lifeless, gray clouds. Zephyr immediately felt energy radiating off of the vast tree.

Zephyr stood in awe, taking in the breathtaking sights of the humongous cherry blossom tree. He stood, his eyes transfixed on the gargantuan brown trunk that seemed to climb miles high into the lifeless sky.

Zephyr quickly darted across the pond, stepping across small rocks along the way. He made it to the tree, and immediately he felt a sense of fulfillment. Zephyr could not describe how he felt, although he felt as if he was born again.

He quickly discovered that there was a small opening under the brown tree. Weighing his options, Zephyr decided that the best option would be to see what was on the inside. He ventured to the opening and gathered up enough courage to step inside.

Inside was a dark cavern, lit up by only a small mushroom glowing a bright green. He stepped closer slowly, one foot in front of the other. Suddenly, Zephyr went tumbling down a steep slope. Deeper and deeper, Zephyr went tumbling into the dark abyss.

Finally, he made it to the bottom. Zephyr slowly stood up, his muscles aching with extreme exhaustion and pain. He slowly hobbled forward, albeit with a limp. Suddenly, Zephyr saw dark shadows that seemed to dart all around him. He could not make out a specific shape of the shadows. Deep booming voices started to echo all around him.

Out of nowhere, a giant lurking creature appeared. Zephyr could not make out fine details, but he saw a monstrous shadow bearing its large, sharp fangs.

The shadow snarled, shooting fire out of its nostrils. For a brief second, Zephyr could make out the shape of a creature covered with dark crimson scales. Zephyr screamed out in terror asking what the creature wanted.

The creature responded with a snarl and with a deep slithering voice said, "Blood, perhaps. Who are you?" Zephyr responded with a cowering voice, "Zephyr Tatsuya, adopted son of the Shogun." "Adopted son of the Shogun you say? Come with me," responded the dragon with a booming voice.

Zephyr curiously followed the dragon further through the cavern. They entered a large room that was well lit, with numerous other dragons and dragon eggs. "What is this place?" asked Zephyr. "A hiding place for our kind, dragons," said the dragon. After a long pause the dragon continued, "Including you." Zephyr responded, "What? Me?" The dragon continued on, "Yes, you. There is a lot to explain."

Hours passed by while the dragon recounted the story of Zephyr's life. The dragon told him that he was born to the ancient Zao clan and is the only one left. When there was an attack on the Zao family's house by a rival clan, all but his mother, Uba Zao and her newborn son died. That newborn son is Zephyr.

"Uba barely escaped and she left you at this same tree," the dragon continued on. He continued, "The rival clan chased after your mother, and unfortunately brutally murdered her in cold blood. Although, her murderers are from your adopted family, the Tatsuya clan." Stuttering, Zephyr said, “B-but h-how?” The dragon responded “Your adopted family is brutal, they murder, torture, steal. They even hunt dragons just like us.”

“Does that mean I can transform into a dragon too?” said Zephyr. “Yes, you can,” the dragon responded. “You are a member of four families that could transform into dragons. Unfortunately, the other three have been eradicated by the Shogun,” the dragon said.

“Why does the Shogun keep me alive then?” Zephyr asked. “He wants to use you, that is why he has been treating you special amongst the others. He wants to brainwash you so he can use your dragon form to crush opposing clans,” the dragon responded.

“You need to destroy the Tatsuya family and revive the Zao family. The Shogun must pay for his tyrannical actions, he mustn't eradicate all of us. We need to stop him before it is too late. Now go, revive the Zao family and stop the Shogun before it is too late. You will need manpower and strength. You can communicate with me at any large cherry blossom tree with a pond around it. That is the sign that there is a dragon's den below. I can quickly teleport to any dragon’s den for I am the father of all dragons. Although, for now I will be at the humongous cherry blossom tree in the nation of Adavia on the continent of Rathnir. You can talk to me there at any time. That place is special to all dragons, it is the largest dragon’s den. Anyways, get on with your quest and go to the humongous bright pink cherry tree on Rathnir,” the dragon said.

Five days later, Zephyr slowly gathered what he could. Money, food, weapons, armor, and anything that would help him in his journey. Then, Zephyr snuck out of his family’s house, attempting to avoid the guards on patrol. He slowly crawled towards the tall fence snaking in between the routes of the guards on patrols. Zephyr attempted to quietly crawl through the prickly bushes. Once he got to the tall thick fence, raised himself up and threw himself over the wall.

Zephyr landed in a murky, muddy pond. The pond was minute, but very deep. Zephyr struggled to pull himself out of the water, but he seemed to be getting deeper and deeper. Zephyr almost drowned, until his spirit was renewed. With one last attempt to make it above water, he tried to propel himself upwards with all his might. He had finally made it above water, and he took a humongous breath of fresh air. Zephyr then swiftly swam to the edge of the pond and pulled himself out of it. Fearing that a guard had heard all the commotion, Zephyr nimbly ran away as far as he could. Lucky for him, the ocean was a miniscule distance away. He made it to the ocean and built himself a humble boat. Then, Zephyr let himself drift away over the deep blue sea, until he landed at a humongous cherry blossom tree. This tree was gargantuan, and the words of the dragon echoed in Zephyr’s ear. This was the largest of all dragon dens, the tree on Rathnir. So, Zephyr set out on his ambitious journey to earn redemption for his family.