"I have always idolized Kaede; mother mentored and molded me into the powerful princess she knew I could be. I hold the lives of dozens within the palm of my hand. A single command and enough gil to build a city is moved. A few errant words and I start a war.""But now that I despise and abhor my mother... everything I do, I see her hand in my work. Am I forever doomed to be the shadow she casts from her retirement?"
The Merchant Empress
Matron of House Naraku
Heiress-elect of Naraku Kaede
Triplet Sisters
Kaede bore not one, but three daughters at once.
Katsumi (myself), Mayumi, and Harumi.
We may be triplets, but our paths diverged early in life, marking each of us unique.
I was chosen to receive Kaede's mentorship to take over as the sole monarch of the Mercantile one day.
Mayumi took after Mother-sire, honing her strength, body, and combat proficiency into a peerless warrior.
Harumi was largely ignored by both parents, choosing her own path and becoming enamored with magical arts.
Yet we forged a bond of steel with each other. Nothing could keep us apart.
Twin Heritages
I may bear the black scales of the xaela, but the blood of the children of both Azim and Nhaama flows in my veins. The union of my raen mother Kaede Naraku and xaela mother-sire Orphei Bloodhawk was not one of born of love, commitment, or even lust, but the crazed barbarity of a steppe warrior who takes what they want.I was thus raised by my raen mother in Kugane. She ran a yakuza brothel, whose enterprise rewarded criminal deals at her estate with the pleasures of her house.
Inheritance
After Kaede's sudden passing,
we now rule the Naraku Mercantile.
As the Merchant Empress, I sit upon the Dusk Throne, with oversight into business dealings, the operation of the brothel, and leveraging information against our rivals.
I sit on the center throne and the Black Market Empire is mine to command.
As the Tiger Princess, Mayumi sits to my left, overseeing the warriors who enforce the will of the Mercantile, provide security, and perform lucrative jobs.
As the Blood Princess, Harumi sits to my right, developing occult magics for the benefit of the Mercantile, producing illicit drugs to sell, and providing healing injured in our dangerous line of work.
Now the expanse of our criminal operation is vast and growing everyday. We do not exist to make a point against the powers of the world. We simply live to enrich ourselves and wield the power of gil. We are the worst the world has to offer. We enslave the prostitutes of our brothel, murder in the name of profit, blackmail in the name of power, and engorge ourselves in the ritual darkness of the shadows that lurk in our walls.
We feed the dark spirit Orochi with pain and suffering, and in turn, he gives us strength and protection.
I proved to Naraku no Kaede that I am worthy of becoming the Merchant Princess. And I saw her work. She once swindled a mercenary company of their ship on a contractual technicality that she meticulously placed. And when they came after her, they found the Sekiseigumi's swords at their throats. I followed those footprints, step by careful step. At the age of nine, I deduced that the tea shop owner was cheating on her husband, and blackmailed her into free tea for me and my sisters for life.And on and on. Kaede was my everything; I respected her, followed her, loved her. And I believed the reverse was true too, when, at the age of ten, she let me into her most important secret: She is shinobi, and the matron of the ancient Clan Naraku. And I was trained to be her predecessor.Then she passed away.
I lost everything in the stroke of a single night, and then gained everything the next as it was all signed under the names of Kagumi, Izumi, and mine, Katsumi.I wish the saga had ended there. That I could grieve my mother and live in her legacy as the Merchant Princess Naraku with my sisters in the moons that followed. In those hopeful months, I even found the love of my life, Saya, a stunning raen woman with crystal scales and a love for pink. Things were perfect then. She knew who I was and loved me for it.
The Merchant Empress
It all sounds very convenient, doesn't it? That I am a benefactor the circumstances of my birth, that I was selected out of my three sisters to receive Kaede's expert tutelage in the dark underbelly of Eorzea and Othard, and to feed off of illicit riches.I recognize my sins against the world. Chief among them robbing women and men of their freedom strictly for the pleasures of malcontents. Yet I still would not have it any other way; I understand the human condition far better than I have any right to.So what are my own pains and struggles compared to those I victimize? Do I deserve to have my voice heard? No. But like so many other things I don't "deserve", I am going to voice them anyway.I still dealt with the consequences of having xaela scales in a city occupied by hyur, roegadyn, and raen au ra. Did I deserve that? No. But I accepted my mother's mentorship anyway, and rose to power despite these misgivings. I will never consider myself a victim. Easy to say from the top, isn't it? Well, the top was not given to me, despite what you might have been told.I earned it.
But it did not end there. Once the sixth moon had passed since that dreadful day, Harumi was called away to Kugane. There, she learned the death of my mother was a ruse by the living breath of Kaede herself. That the Orochi spirit we held in the Mercantile was not being fed properly, and it would soon lash out and kill us if Harumi did not intervene. To replace me as Merchant Princess. Two moons later, I approached Kaede myself and learned the horrid truth: There was once a fourth daughter. We were, in fact, quadruplets. Kaede had sacrificed my third sister before the beginnings of our memories as toddlers.
And that a sacrifice of the most difficult kind must be made to properly sate it. I must sacrifice either Saya or one of my sisters.To the abyss with it. I told her yes, but my heart said no.Yes, irony is razor and crass. The slaver and murderer could not bear to see her own killed, let alone be the one to deliver the killing stroke herself. The multiheaded serpent spirit is ancient, and my mother had been cared for it all her life. Her gift to us was not the Mercantile, but the creature of ancient wisdom and a darkness that is fathoms deep. If we would not do what she wanted, she would take back the spirit by force.We've been fighting her ever since. Her shinobi clan has crippled the Mercantile's supply chains, assassinated our own, and set my sister Harumi and I into a bitter, bloody rivalry for control. I wanted the beast slain. She wanted it controlled. It wasn't until Mayumi intervened and set us both straight that we could collaborate and fight back. This shadow war set in motion would claim all of us.Yet... I still miss her. Kaede-okasan. The wise, caring matron of my formative years, who had the capacity to love us. Yes, even in in spite the mountain of unanswered secrets: who is Clan Naraku? I have never met any of them beyond mother. Why does mother refer to the Orochi as "part of her gift"? Why does she refer to events in history as if she saw them with her own eyes? Whose naginata from the Age of Blood 1,500 years ago hung over the hearth in our old home?
Hooks
The primary hook for Katsumi is to arrive at the Naraku Mercantile itself. I am incredibly busy with this character, but more connections at the Mercantile is never a bad thing.The Mercantile touches on very dark and contentious themes. As such, they are not explained here.
The Mercantile is an exploration of crime across the Three Great Continents on Hydaelyn.Naraku carrd:
https://naraku.uwu.aiNaraku Mercantile discord:discord.gg/naraku
About Katsumi
Name: Naraku no Katsumi
Honorific: Heika
Age: 21
Birthplace: Kugane
Race: Au ra, raen and xaela
Eye color: Ruby red with red limbal rings
Height: 4'8"
Orientation: Lesbian
Availability: Married
Enjoys: Tea, sunsets, parasols, collecting dolls, making new friends, negotiating, fortunes, going to exotic places
Bonds
I cannot count the number of souls I have come across. They are as numerous as the cherry blossom petals in spring. Many are as just as ephemeral; they touch me and are gone with the wind, impressing a lasting memory. These are the ones who have stayed, however, stilling hanging upon the trees of my life.
Mayumi NarakuMy iron fisted sister. Incredibly protective of Harumi and myself, she is not the dumb brute she pretends to be. Her tough wisdom is always useful, and her care for me unending.The xaelic will to become stronger flows through her veins, but she is not bound by their ancient custom. Woe unto those who anger Mayumi.
Harumi NarakuMy darling higanbana; there is ever danger behind that knowing smile. If she looks upon you with any measure of greed, she already has you in her plans for weal or for woe.For every trait we hold in common, we hold a difference. We find ourselves disagreeing as often as we agree. We are fierce rivals as much as we are tight sisters.
Saya KanshiMy stunning wife. She came to me as a doll, and elevated herself above the rabble and found a place firmly in my heart.Cast aside the titles; we are simply Eastern girls who want more from our heritage than it would let us have. But now we have it, and nothing will stand in my way to protect her.
Rin YmirsdottirDespite the mysteriousness of this woman, Rin is one of my most trusted advocates. Having lead my shinobi and agents for many moons now, she has been a stalwart ally.Sometimes, I can tell she cares very much for me above my role as Empress, and it is a growing friendship that I nurture.
Elrena, the Blue MaidenMy most prized possession. Though our dolls are beneath human to me, this rava is a constant reminder that a doll can rise above their circumstances and embrace elegance.Once a poor, aimless transient, I have molded this doll into the Oiran. I am fiercely protective of her, and she wields an undying loyalty to me and my House.
