Editing The Mountain That Burned Lotus (section)

===Background===

One cannot tell the tale of Black Lotus without telling the tale of her maker, the famous weapon smith Shikizaki. A man who married one of the greatest swordswoman of his time and made a name for himself by forging weapons, he was one of the people who actually enjoyed the fruit of war instead of suffering from it. However, in his pursuit for fame and fortune, he ended up neglecting the woman he loved. Staying in his workshop to forge blades even when his wife is bleeding out in a monk's arms, Shikizaki didn't realize how important she is in his life until he had lost her.

That's when his pride turned to hubris. He had looked down upon kugutsu makers, for he thought the "tree geishas" are fragile toys that cannot last, unlike his swords. But in his agony, he believed that he could rebuild his lost love in the form of a marionette...and he did. He built Black Lotus in the form of his wife, but better. He loved her and trained her in the same art of war that his wife was famous for, treating her as if she was the woman he had lost to his own ignorance. Lotus loved him as well, but not as herself. She loved him as the shadow of a woman who died.

But pleasant dreams never last. One night, when Shikizaki was holding Lotus in his arms, he had a vision - a Butterfly Dream. He saw his future with Lotus, where he keeps growing older and older but Lotus remained the same throughout the ages, a piece of art that doesn't flow in the river of time. Then he woke up and looked into Lotus' eyes, and he realized that she wasn't the woman he loved. She's just a girl who he had selfishly exploited. So, in a final act of selfishness, he asked her if she loved him, and if she did...he asked her to kill him. And she did.

The gemblade "White Tulip" became the last sword Shikizaki would ever make before he died. His death cursed, blessed and perfected the blade, making it a symbol of forgiveness for himself and of freedom for Lotus. Now that the only man she loved had died in her hands and the only life she had know was shattered, the kugutsu struggled to find her way in a world that's both strange and dangerous, with only the katana being her companion. In life, she was the shield that sheltered his heart from sorrow; in death, he was the sword that protected her body from dangers.

Depends on how you wants to handle it, she could have been purchased or seized by Takahashi Masaru, or her maker could simply offered her freedom. More to come...[/QUOTE]