Daughter of the War God

Name: Uesugi Kayami
Birthdate: April 8th, 1558
Birthplace: Kasugayama Castle, Echigo Province
Affiliation: Uesugi, Toyotomi (by daimyo servitude), Tokugawa (By daimyo servitude), Unaffiliated (later in life)
Relatives: Uesugi Kenshin (Father), Kyubi No Kitsune (Mother), Sento-in (Paternal Aunt), Uesugi Kagetora (Adoptive Older Brother), Uesugi Kagekatsu (Adoptive Older Brother)
Weapons: Naginata of Bishamonten
Personality: Kayami is a headstrong woman with an innate desire to prove herself on the field of battle. In spite of being treated as though she is a literal goddess, she prefers to interact with people around her. As such, she will actively participate in battle, train herself to become stronger, and live up to her name as the as the Avatar of War.

Only her father and aunt treat as though she were a human capable of faults, and as such, she only values them, along with her 'older' adoptive brothers in terms of advice. Even so, she will heatedly contest them should they try to prevent her from going to a battlefield.

Her weapon, trinkets, and even the very revealing clothes she wears (even in battle) are by her choice. While she wishes to be treating as a living and thinking person, she can very much get absorbed into her title as a goddess, and will act in a way befitting such. Despite this, she often does her best to follow the sixteen tenants her father had commanded.

History: On a stormy night, the warlord of Echigo, Uesugi Kenshin, traveled away from his encampment to reflect. Yet, as he traveled through the drenched valley, a sudden bright light appeared in front of him. A painted goddess, both beautiful and regal, appeared before him. She proclaimed herself to be the avatar of Bishamonten, and she was bringing a boon to the warlord; he needed only lay with her for one night...

After that night, the goddess disappeared, but in its place, a baby girl with snow white hair and orange reddish-orange eyes was in her place. The warlord, believing this to be a gift, took the newborn back home. Naming her Kayami, she became the light of the Uesugi clan, and a goddess on Earth.

Growing up was simultaneously easy and difficult for the girl. Everything she ever wanted within the clan's power was granted to her. At the same time, she was treated as though she were a sacred treasure rather than a human being with wants and desires. She was mostly sheltered from the clan's policies and actions, and primarily interacting with only her father, aunt, and two brothers. That was, of course, until she had enough.

It was day her father's greatest rival, Takeda Shingen, passed away, that she demanded almost the unthinkable. Kayami wished to go to war. She walked straight into her father's war council, no less, in front of his generals, and demanded she be fashioned a weapon, taught to fight and command, and be fashioned her own attire for the field of battle. The generals balked at the idea, but Kenshin allowed it, much to the surprise of the assembly.

Thus, for the three years, she was trained constantly to prepare for war. It was during this time that Kayami herself learned that she was more than a match for most men in the army. Her reflexes, prowess, and strength often vastly overshadowed even the most experienced of men. Not only that, but she possessed a penchant for magical capabilities, such as 'holy' fire and illusions. A natural at war, Kenshin took her in to her first battle at Tedorigawa; against the feared Oda clan...

Having defeated the Takeda in a decisive victory at Nagashino, the Oda were looking to get rid of the other great Eastern rival. Yet, Uesugi Kenshin was known as the Dragon of Echigo for a reason. In the midst of the battle, floodgates had been opened that divided the enemy forces in half and quelled their ability to use gunpowder. In this battle, Kayami stood unmatched against the enemy forces. Despite leading troops, she alone handled a garrison of troops with ease. All this, and the Uesugi rounded a decisive victory against the Oda.

Yet, there was little time to celebrate and consolidate power further. A few months after the battle, Kenshin passed away. The blow was devastating to the Uesugi. What was worse was that it resulted in a power vacuum, since Kenshin didn't designate an heir. Her two adopted older brothers, Kagetora and Kagekatsu, fought over the right to rule after their father. During this time, Kayami refused to side with either heir, disgusted that they would fight over her father's legacy.

In the end, Kagekatsu turned out the victor. Succeeding as clan head, Kayami resumed her place as the effigy of their war god. However, the times were rapidly changing around them. Tedorigawa was the last true battle where the Uesugi displayed their independence. With Nobunaga's death in 1582, his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, had began conquering the rest of Japan at an alarming rate. Faced with inevitable defeat if they tried to resist, the Uesugi submitted to the Toyotomi to become a vassal nation. Kayami was initially displeased with this, but knew that it was Kagekatsu's decision to make.

With the Toyotomi's reign came new battles. Particularly, Kayami fought alongside her Uesugi brethren across northern Japan in skirmishes against the Date of northern Oshu as well as the Hojo in the Kanto region. With every battle, her prowess and knowledge grew. She soon learned to control her illusions to a degree of shapeshifting and masking her forces numbers. Even with these, Japan's days of war were coming to a close due to the vast Toytomi might. With the defeat of the Hojo in 1590, Japan was unified under one banner.

It was around this time that Kayami was beginning to realize something peculiar; she wasn't aging. Even at the age of 32, she had not aged passed the age of 20. Surely, this was the mark of a goddess. However, it would not be until much later in life that she'd learn the truth.

However, fighting was far from over. With a nation of warriors who couldn't simply change occupation in a heartbeat, Hideyoshi decided to expand his ambitions outside of Japan. Thus, he ordered the invasion of Korea. With it, Kagekatsu was ordered to take part, and Kayami aching blood for war wasn't too far behind. Yet, there was where it was demonstrated that battle was not the same everywhere she went. Naval battles were a different story compared to those of land ones. Like the other samurai, she herself felt the unfamiliarity of not fighting in single combat. As such, the battles wavered all the way until Hideyoshi's death in 1598.

Withdrawing from the war, Kayami would find herself in battle not too long after. The result of the costly Korean invasion had turned the battle to turmoil once more. Japan was divided quickly into two sides between the Western army, led by Ishida Mitsunari, and the Eastern Army, led by Tokugawa Ieyasu. The Uesugi threw their lot in with the Ishida, as they were the ones supporting the Toyotomi. In the Northern Japan, they fought against the Date at Hasedo. It was here that Kayami demonstrated her true prowess. As the Uesugi defended siege, news came of the Western Army's defeat at the main battle of Sekigahara. The commander of the Uesugi, Kanetsugu, called for a retreat, and Kayami volunteered for the rear guard. Stepping out from the castle, she brandished her naginata, facing the forces alone. However, using her illusory capabilities, she created an army of illusions that terrified the enemy so much, they hesitated to move. Then, she struck. Kayami's slaughtered a few hundred forces that day, and her prowess was so terrifying, the Mogami and Date didn't dare follow.

With that proved to be the last true battle of the era. The Tokugawa declared themselves Shogun, and an era of peace had begun. At nearly fifty years old, Kayami had become bored with the perpetual politics of the world, and bid her older brother farewell. She began to travel Japan as a Ronin, wondering what new sighs awaited her...