Shiro Hiruma

The Hiruma Castle, also known as Daylight Castle, 1 was the ancestral stronghold of the Hiruma family. From there scouting patrols entered the Shadowlands.

Appearance

Daylight Castle became a linchpin in the First Wall, a center of command and logistics for the Crab defenses. Although small and unadorned, it was nonetheless a powerful fortress in its own right, the core of the Crab defensive efforts against the encroaching corruption of the Shadowlands. Daylight Castle sat amid a thriving sprawl of farms and villages, usually surrounded by stout palisades and overlooked by watchtowers. 3 Shiro Hiruma was built not only to withstand determined attacks, but also to stand for long periods under siege. Deep wells and large storehouses allowed it to survive many months of isolation, while numerous tunnels and cunning traps surrounding it made any assaults upon it extremely difficult and costly. 4

Layout

The outermost feature was the large and imposing curtain wall, which enclosed a series of inner subdivisions, which were themselves separated by lesser walls and gates. The innermost wall, known as the honmaru, enclosed the four-story keep, which was surrounded by smaller buildings, including warehouses, smithies, and stables. The walls incorporated a series of watchtowers of varying size.

History

Founding

Hantei, the first Emperor, ordered his brother Hida to defend against incursions from the vile realm known as the Shadowlands. Hida and his followers created the “First Wall,” a belt of fortifications—watchtowers, palisades, and bulwarks— designed to block attacks from the forces of Fu Leng. Foremost among Hida's followers was Hiruma, a skilled hunter and scout. In the heart of the lands granted to him, he established the Hiruma family's seat of power, a powerful edifice that became known as Daylight Castle. Daylight Castle became a linchpin in the First Wall, a center of command and logistics for the Crab defenses. Although small and unadorned, it was nonetheless a powerful fortress in its own right, the core of the Crab defensive efforts against the encroaching corruption of the Shadowlands. 6

Nezumi Alliance

In 314, a powerful army of horrors, facilitated by the treachery of a Kuni shugenja named Kuni Kaigen, attacked Daylight Castle. Only the timely intervention of a group of nezumi, convinced to help by the bravery of a young scout named Hiruma Kazumi, saved it from disaster. 6

Attacked Again

In 375, Daylight Castle was again attacked, this time by a force led by a powerful monster known as Usu no Oni. While the oni had the castle under siege, most of the Shadowlands force pushed on, plunging deeper into the Empire. Finally, a Crab army reinforced with the Imperial Legions, which the Emperor himself led, defeated Usu no Oni and its horde at the gates of Kyūden Hida. The joint Crab-Imperial force then marched on to Daylight Castle, which was still engaging a large army of foes. The castle was soon relieved. 7

The Fall of Hiruma Castle

In the year 716 a powerful oni known as The Maw raised an army and marched upon the Crab, pushing the clan's lines so far north that Daylight Castle was endangered. The First Wall's shortcomings had been revealed, fortress after fortress fell to the unrelenting offensive. On Last Stand Plain, the bulk of the Hiruma army was lost to the Maw's forces. The Maw laid siege to the castle, and employed demonic allies to corrupt and reanimate the corpses of the fallen, and the castle was entirely lost. The once-fertile lands around Daylight Castle withered, becoming bleak and barren by the Taint. 5 The combined Crab forces were able to stop it, but Hiruma lands were never recovered, marking the first loss of territory since the founding of the Empire. 1

Vows

The Hiruma launched the first of numerous attempts to reclaim Daylight Castle in 747, and again in 819, managing to retake the castle. In both cases, their victories were brief, measured only in weeks, before the ruined fortress was reclaimed by the Shadowlands. The Hiruma vowed one day they would drive the corruption from their ancestral seat of power. 5

Ruins

After several centuries of immersion in the corrupt energies of the Shadowlands, most of the castle structures slumped into ruin, and the castle seemed to possess a malign will of its own. There were many tales of what lies within the castle, and many concerned the locations of fabled creatures such as the Siren, the Watcher, and the Wounded Bushi. Candle Temple, in the main keep, housed a shrine to the Fortunes, particularly Osano-wo, Fortune of Fire and Thunder. Corruption utterly failed to penetrate this holy place. 8 A pervasive gloom permeated the castle, from the central keep through the surrounding courtyard and sublevels. It ranged from a wan, greyish light outside, to a dimmer and more dreary light inside near windows, to utter darkness almost everywhere else. 9

Hub of Terror

The castle was relatively near the Wall, making it useful as a staging ground for attacks against the Empire. It also appeared to be the focus of a complex and shifting political jostling among various evil factions exist in the Shadowlands. Sometimes, it was infested by swarming goblins, at other times, massive ogres prowled among its ruined stonework, Lost samurai guarded its crumbling battlements, or no apparent evidence of the place being inhabited at all. It was possible to encounter virtually any sort of creature in Daylight Castle, especially goblins, lesser oni, and other monsters.