Jay Kristoff - Kinslayer

YukikoA young girl with the ability to speak telepathically to animals (a gift called the Kenning). Commanded to capture a legendary thunder tiger by Shimas cruel Shgun, Yukiko ended up forging a powerful bond with the beast, whom she named Buruu. While lost in the wilderness, she joined the ranks of a guerrilla rebellion, known as the Kag (meaning Shadows), and decided to take retribution on the Shgun for his crimes against her family.

Last known whereabouts: after murdering Shgun Yoritomo, Yukiko fled Kigen city. She returned forty-nine days later and delivered an impassioned speech, urging the populace to rise against the government and the Lotus Guild.

BuruuA thunder tiger (aka arashitora). Yukikos best friend and loyal companion. Buruu is the last of his race in Shima. His feathers were clipped by Shgun Yoritomo, and until he molts again, he cannot fly without the aid of mechanical wings built for him by the Guild Artificer, Kin.

Last known whereabouts: with Yukiko.

KinAn Artificer (engineer) of the Lotus Guild who crashed with Yukiko in the Iishi Mountains. In defiance of all he had been raised to believe, Kin built mechanical wings for Buruu, allowing the thunder tiger and Yukiko to escape the Shguns clutches.

Last known whereabouts: surrounded by guards in Kigen city as Yukiko flew to freedom.

Masaruaka The Black Fox of Shima. Hunt Master of the Imperial Court. Yukikos father. Drunkard. Gambler. Lotus-addict. But he turned out to be a decent fellow, underneath it all.

Last known whereabouts: Masaru was shot and killed by Yoritomo-no-miya during a showdown in Kigens Market Square.

KasumiHunter of the Imperial Court. Masarus lover.

Last known whereabouts: Kasumi was killed during Masarus jailbreak. She died in his arms.

AkihitoA hunter of the Imperial Court. Masarus right-hand man, and Yukikos friend since childhood. His leg was badly wounded during Masarus jailbreak.

Last known whereabouts: limping to Kigen docks with Michi in order to flee the city after the Shguns assassination.

Yoritomo-no-miyaShgun of Shima. Daimyo of the Tiger clan. Last son of the Kazumitsu Dynasty, a familial line that has ruled the Shima Imperium for two centuries. A lunatic who came too young to power, and was ultimately consumed by it.

Last known whereabouts: Yoritomo was slain telepathically by Yukiko and Masaru during their showdown in the Market Square.

AishaYoritomos sister. Last daughter of the Kazumitsu Dynasty. Secret ally of the Kag rebellion (a fact discovered by Yoritomo before his death).

Last known whereabouts: Yoritomo alluded to a grim fate for his beloved sibling, but whether Aisha survived his retribution remains unknown.

MichiA maidservant of the Lady Aisha. Secret member of the Kag rebellion. Swordmaster.

Last known whereabouts: making her way to Kigen docks with Akihito in order to flee the city after the Shguns assassination.

Hiroaka The Boy with the Sea-Green Eyes. Iron Samurai. Member of the Kazumitsu Elite (the Shguns personal bodyguard). Hiro formed a romantic relationship with Yukiko while she was resident in the Shguns palace, but ultimately betrayed her when he discovered she was plotting against his lord and master, Yoritomo.

Last known whereabouts: during a bloody battle in Kigen arena, Buruu tore Hiros arm off and Yukiko stabbed him in the chest. He was left for dead on the arena floor.

HideoImperial Spymaster, master of intrigue in the Shguns court. Hiros uncle.

Last known whereabouts: Hideo was eaten by rats during Masarus jailbreak.

DaichiLeader of the Kag rebellion. A former member of the Kazumitsu Elite who rebelled against the Shgunate after Yoritomo mutilated his daughter, Kaori. While in Yoritomos service, Daichi murdered Yukikos mothera warning to Masaru when he refused to obey the Shguns will.

Last known whereabouts: the Kag stronghold in the Iishi Mountains.

KaoriLieutenant of the Kag rebellion. Daichis daughter. She bears an awful knife scar on her face, courtesy of Yoritomo-no-miya.

Last known whereabouts: the Kag stronghold in the Iishi Mountains.

KensaiSecond Bloom of the Lotus Guild, and Voice of the Guild in Kigen city. One of the most powerful and influential Guildsmen alive. Kins adoptive uncle.

Last known whereabouts: Lotus Guild Chapterhouse in Kigen city.

IsaoA young member of the Kag rebellion. He spied on Yukiko while bathing, discovering she bore the tattoo of the Shgun on her arm.

Last known whereabouts: the Kag stronghold in the Iishi Mountains.

AtsushiA young member of the Kag rebellion. Isaos partner in crime during the Affair of the Bathhouse Wall.

Last known whereabouts: the Kag stronghold in the Iishi Mountains

Now witness the end of the beginning.

A ghost-pale girl, sixteen years old, wisps of dark hair and warm scarlet scrawled across her face. A smiling tyrant, stained with his own sisters blood, a smoking iron-thrower in a white-knuckle grip. The pair standing in the crowded Market Square as childrens ashes swirl and dance in the gulf between them. And she stretches out her hand, and opens her mouth, and speaks the last words the tyrant will ever hear.

Let me show you what one little girl can do.

Fifty-five days ago. Almost two months since the last son of the Kazumitsu Dynasty perished at her hands. So much chaos since then. The earth shifting beneath our feet. The threads beginning to unravel. One by one by one.

Our war of conquest against the round-eyed gaijin collapsed as news of the Shguns death spread, the threat and promise of a now-empty throne coalescing in every clanlords mind. And as the shadow of civil war reared over the Seven Isles, the Lotus Guild urged only calm. Obeisance to their puppets in the Tiger clan. Threatening embargoes of their precious fuelthe blood-red chi driving the Shgunates iron heartto any who disobeyed their will.

Then came the truth of how that fuel was made.

The words that would begin the avalanche were transmitted over the pirate radio frequencies of the Kag rebels. The Shadows revealed that inochithe wondrous fertilizer used on blood lotus fields across the Seven Isleshad been manufactured with the remains of gaijin prisoners of war. And Shimas people awoke to the horror that the Imperium, the technology driving it, their entire way of lifeall had been watered with innocent blood.

Like flames on long-dead leaves after a breathless summer, or ripples on still water after rains first falling, the riots took seed and spread. Outraged. Bloody. But brief. Brutally suppressed beneath the heels of Iron Samurai still loyal to the vacant throne. Uneasy peace settled over the clan metropolises, broken glass crunching underfoot, as the forty-nine days of official mourning passed in shivering, breathless silence.