Ronin Assassins

Name:		Ronin Assassins		http://www.maddcow.org/Ronin/templates/Solaris/images/forumlogo.jpg
Shortname:		Ronin / RA
Server:		AM / TR Apprentice
Leader:		Pointy Stick Wielder
Website:		Who's your daddy?
IRC:		#ronin
Status:		you never know...

== History ==

A work in progress

By Jakistorian

When piecing together the origins of the Guild known as Ronin Assassins the main difficulty you encounter is the lack of written records. The origins of this group date back to a time that amounts to a Dark Age in Terra’s history. Few of the historical accounts written at the time escaped the book bon fires and political editing that ran rampant by the many political entities that have held sway over the masses throughout the ages that followed it’s founding. The basis of my intent for this piece of work is to include commentary for the myths and minor historical references to make a frame work for the few accurate historical accounts currently at our disposal.

Before the written word. The Shit Kickers INC

The very beginnings of the history leading up to the formation of the group that modern historians refer to as the Ronin Assassins lies in the region of the Northern Tribes. The Northern Tribes where a nomadic, herder bases, society with no written language. All historical accounts where passed down from generation to generation as oral history. The few written accounts of these oral histories where made mainly by Kindred and Rifter of Matter historians many years later. These accounts are very obviously twisted to suit the politics of the time and are therefore of only minimul use as historical references. In a few of these works there are a couple of minor references to a warrior class or small warrior group existing among the Northern Tribes by the name Shit Kickers INC. and the existence of this group can be substantiated by songs sang by the bards in the Northern Lands to this day. The following is a verse from one such song the author of which is unknown.

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“Many a tribal council walked in fear Of offending the rites claimed by the dung kickers And the shining star of Maddcow led the way”1.

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The references to this group that remain in the oral histories are always linked to or make references to a Northern Tribe hero by the name of Maddcow. The fact that all historical references of this group are always linked to Maddcow and the fact that the Shit Kickers are often mentioned in accordance with the early history of the Ronin Assassins substansiate the belief of many historians that Maddcow was one of the founding members or THE founder of the Ronin Assassins. This belief is also substantiated by the memoirs of Maddcow. But note the lack of any mention by Maddcow of the Shit Kickers.

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"There was once a place. A dark world ruled by powerful mages, some of whom were powerful enough to be known as Archmages. It was called Terra. The archmages waged constant war with one another. They forged alliances among themselves to defeat their enemies but then just as quickly turned upon their allies in their never-ending search for power. The gods of Terra looked upon this destruction in alarm. Lucifer assembled the gods and it was decided that for the good of Terra, the gods would take magic away from the mages to prevent further destruction. Peace reigned for some time....... But eventually a group of mages assembled and garnered favor with Lucifer. In return for their loyalty, Lucifer who was having some meaningless disagreement with the other gods granted to the mages the return of magic. It was a mistake. After the foolish mistake of Lucifer, the Archmages once again waged war on a massive scale. The ascendant mages believing in piety and righteousness harnessed the healing powers of the heavens. They grew a bitter rivalry with nether and eradication mages. The eradication mages harnessed the fiery powers of hell to smite Terra with destructive militancy. They develped fierce rivalries with ascendant and phantasm mages. The nether mages harnessed the power of the undead, selling their souls to various incarnations of the Devil to try and increase their own power. They found themselves at odds especially with ascendant and verdant mages. The verdant mages understanding the circle of life harnessed the power of Terra itself and learned to summon the creatures of the world to aid them. Their battles with phantasm and nether mages are historical. The phantasm mages retreated within themselves and learned the basic nature of the elements and inner power. This by design put them at constant odds with verdant and eradication mages. For centuries these mages battled with each other, raining destruction over the ancient world. In despair the gods finally decided to act decisively. The mages were struck down by the 7 gods themselves, and cast into the fiery pit of hell to suffer for all eternity. It was supposed to be the end of our story......but it is not. For during their time on Terra, the archmages had learned well and had, in fact harnessed some of the powers of the gods thorugh frequent acts of devotion. Not all the archmages, but some were able to escape hell after some time and return to Terra. But they had not learned their lesson. They were still hungry for power, and sought to find a way to become immortal. The stage was set for war on Terra once again. It was rumored that the gods would allow the decisive battle to be fought upon the stage of Terra once only. Those mages who proved to be most powerful would be granted a gift beyond all gifts...the gift of immortality. The rest would be returned to the torments of hell for all eternity.

It is here that the heart of our story begins, the current age of the Archmage. Fearing a return to hell, many mages formed themselves into guilds, some powerful, some not. It was hoped that by forging relationships among the mages and alliances among the various guilds that one or another faction would win the power struggel allowing its members a greater claim to power and a greater chance at immortality. Among the guilds was ROM, the Rifters of Matter. ROM was a peaceful guild (as peaceful as mages can be, that is) they sought to teach their members how to survive and flourish in these destructive times, amongst this guild was a sub-guild. It was known as the Archangel Guardians. They were loyal to ROM to the bitter end, and when the great war occured, pitting two huge coalitions against each other, the Archangel Guardians dutifully answered the call of ROM and joined the battle. The battle was fierce and fought out over a long time. Many mages were sent back to hell earlier than they had hoped. The attrition was fierce and many on both sides were lost. Among them were many members of the Archangel Guardians. The leader was killed in battle and the rest of the mages soon followed, incapacitated by the loss of their leader.....except for one. One unknown mage. He was young and had not yet learned all the ways of the Archmages, but his spirit was strong and he had a fierce warrior ethos. His name was Maddcow and he was the sole survivor of his guild. He wandered as Ronin for a while, but soon, lacking a master to serve, he made his way to the gates of ROM. His old master's master would become his. ROM gave him a home and tasked him with the restoration of their sub-guild. After pondering his task for a while, Maddcow gathered around him some of his trusted friends. At his request came Keley, Tha Mad Hacker and BCBOY. They became the core of a new group known as the ROM Assassins. Their code was simple and their task was well defined. They existed to kill on behalf of ROM, when ROM could not be seen to engage in violent activities the errand was given to their assassins. Over time the Assassins grew in numbers as like minded mages joined the group. They existed in the shadows and to this day there is only whispers about what they did and what their true purpose is. Some say they were never loyal to ROM, some say they still are...."

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Despite Maddcows lack of any mention of the Shit Kickers he does mention a warrior group by the name of “Archangel Guardians” as a possible founding core for the RoM Assassins which later became known to modern historians as the Ronin Assassins. This group is also known to us by the works of several RoM historians who claim it allied itself to the Rifter Empire with an understanding of mutual defence.

The fact that Maddcow himself makes no mention of the Shit Kickers as a founding entity in his own personal account of the early history of Terra and his role in that history leaves us with a quandary. Did the Shit Kickers ever really exist? And if so what exactly where there goals? Unfortunately I fear the answers to these questions are lost in the fog of history.

To be continued

1. It is a rather beautiful piece but loses a lot in the translation 2. BCBOY died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and his lose was mourned by many