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HWE Shisa

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Description

Name: Shisa

Alias: 'lion dog', Fuu-Lion, Shishi, Komainu, 'much guard, very honor, so loyalty, WOW'

Alignment: Lawful Good - Lawful Neutral

Rank: 1-3 Kaijin/Megafauna

Race: Yokai, Holy Beast

 

Size: *The actual 'Shisa' are native to Okinawa and are the smallest of the breed within the Ryukyu archipelago. The ones on the main land, often called Komainu are the middle ground in size. The original breed, the Chinese 'Shishi' is the largest. Despite this size difference, Shisa are more closely related to Shishi due to the direct importation of them, compared to the double transfer from Korea and then to Japan that Komainu resulted from. Shisa typically guard rooftops of important public and personal sites, Komainu are commonly shrine and temple guardians. Shishi are well established as imperial guardians.

 

Height - 4 to 12 ft at the shoulder

Length - 5 to 15 ft long (tail is generally long as body made mostly of 'fur')

Weight - 4-8 tons

 

Powers:

 

Absolute Territory - A Shisa is aware of anything that occurs within its established domain and property. No matter how elusive, quiet or quick the intruder is, the Shisa's keen senses and 'AT Field' allow it to perceive anything that enters or exits it. Even things within the Inner Planes and those crossing over from other Planes are detected by a Shisa. Lesser Yokai know a Shisa's 'AT Field' when they see it and know well enough to steer clear or become a target. For Shisa can also influence anything that they are aware of in their 'AT Field' and render many of a Yokai's tricks, illusions and energy manipulations moot. Forcing the Yokai to engage the Shisa on its terms which usually results in a severe mauling if not outright death. This is such an engrained cultural fear among Yokai that even statues of Shisa by the entrance of a place can deter them from entering.

 

Master's Best Friend - Shisa are the ultimate guard beast as once they have accepted someone as their master, they are loyal to that person for the rest of their lives and well fight to protect their master unconditionally, to the death. This protection can extend to the Master's family and servants so long as they are within the Shisa's territory which more often than not is the Master's property, estate or temple.

 

Double Trouble - Shisa almost always come in pairs. One female and one male. One guards the interior of the 'AT Field' while the other protects the exterior and grounds. When you fight one of them, the other will immediately come to its aid and thus a fight against Shisa is almost always a tag-team match from hell where the two repeatedly combo off each other to subdue or eliminate the intruder/threat. Between the two, the male usually wards off ill omens and the female brings in the processed and filtered fortune to the Master directly. Much like a dog would bring you the paper.

 

Stone Cold Guardian - This Yokai is peculiar in that it functions and feels like an organic creature but it's body is actually made of strange materials that by all accounts should be stone or finely spun metal alloy. Shisa and their relatives are thus creatures that are akin to living constructs that behave like intelligent animals. As such, a Shisa is many times heavier, denser and all around more durable than an animal of the same size. Their claws and teeth might as well be diamonds. Their normally lax and soft hair can bristle on end and make so much as chafing against the beast akin to being decked in the face with the inside of an iron maiden. To further the impression, Shisa are already large canine-semi feline creatures that are tenacious, fierce and deadly to a fault. That they require very little in the way of nourishment and are so defensively indomitable makes them near perfect sentinels. They are nearly impervious to conventional melee assault.

 

Weaknesses:

 

Explosions - Shisa are slow to injury but also slow to heal and the catatonic force of an explosion can severely injure a Shisa when hardly any other conventional means can. As such, the sound of gunfire and explosions enrage them, driving them berserk.

 

To the Death - Shisa will literally fight to the death to protect both territory and its Master. No matter the odds and no matter its opponent, the Shisa will stand its ground utterly undeterred. It will only retreat or stand down if ordered to.

 

One is the Loneliest Number - A Shisa bereft of its partner and mate is inconsolable. Shisa mate for life and thus a Shisa whose significant other is lost or destroyed never takes a new one. If they lose their Master as well as their mate, they will hunt the perpetrator to the ends of the earth to avenge the loss of honor and life. In either case, a single Shisa can only guard either the grounds or the interior, never both. They can however guard a single person which is often what such unfortunate Shisa do. Often waiting for the chance to die protecting their charge and their descendents.

 

-----

*after Baku*

 

"Hrmmm...A Yokai seen guarding shrines all over Asia. Wait, you mean those lion-dog things right?"

 

"Yes those. They have a few different names depending on the region but the four most common are the Shishi, Komainu and Shisa. The Komainu is likely the one you are most familiar with seeing for yourself though among the isles close to us you'd be more likely to run into Shisa."

 

"Oh those things are cool! They always come in pairs and are put at the entrance or on rooftops. You mean they are actually real?"

 

"Very real, and very protective. The original breed, the Shishi, is the largest and appeared close to the 'epicenter' of where Yokai originated from. They were given the task of guarding sites important to the royal family and their servants. This also means families of Holy Beasts covertly operating on the Material Plane. Overtime the Shishi were taken further afield to Korea and Japan. This resulted in the breed becoming smaller and the Komainu took a longer road to Japan and thus had a few more mutations and variations. The actual Shisa is native to Okinawa and the island chain close to us. They came directly from China and so have a closer blood tie to the original breed but are also the smallest. They are the ones you see rooftops of important public and private places like castles and estates. Komainu are the ones that commonly guard shrines and temple entrances."

 

"So they are sorta like dog breeds among Yokai, made for specific tasks and environments?"

 

"Exactly, all breeds however carry characteristics that are much the same. They all make near perfect sentinels for whoever is strong or lucky enough to be considered their master. You will find no other Yokai that is as loyal as a Shisa."

 

"How do they protect places like that? Do they have standards like an Otoroshi does?"

 

"Shisa are less particular about righteousness so much as intent and species. Wicked humans still set them off as they would any Holy Beast. Like the Baku, the Shisa is the bane of many Yokai that are of the usual 'Yokai' persuasion. In that for starters nearly nothing gets past them."

 

"They have built in break-in detectors or something?"

 

"Shisa produce a field of 'Absolute Territory'. Which is usually anything they have marked as theirs. This includes their Master. Once their territory has been marked, a Shisa will know of anything coming in or out of it and be aware of all that transpires within it. The bigger the Shisa the bigger a territory it can cover. Yokai know when they've stumbled across such a territory and rightfully fear cross it."

 

"Does it make them melt from the smell of lion-dog urine?"

 

"They have something far worse to worry over than being 'marked' in that fashion. Shisa can influence and outright negate the more supernatural tricks, powers and disguises of other Yokai so that it must face the Shisa on its terms. A confrontation of pure primal melee that the Shisa is more often than not more prepared to win than the intruder."

 

"With all the really big Yokai even the biggest Shishi sounds like it would get outmatched though."

 

"What it lacks in style in makes up for in raw tenacity, spirit and toughness. Shisa look, act and feel like an organic creature but there is a slight elemental bent to their nature that makes them much more durable than an animal of their size. Their fur is like finely woven strings of metal, their claws and fangs are akin to diamonds, their bones steel and their muscle stone. You could think of Shisa as living constructs that taken on the attributes of fully organic creatures in function save that they are made out of material that is much denser and more durable than what you'd expect."

 

"Kinda like you Thero-Kun?"

 

"Hah! Not THAT durable but fairly close. Most conventional means of confronting a Shisa are useless as a result though that was until man discovered gunpowder..."

 

"So they're really tough but bombs hurt them?"

 

"Shisa are slow to injury but equally slow to mend. An explosion like that from a bomb can grievously injure or maim them when few other things can. As a result even simple gunfire makes a Shisa on edge and prone to going berserk."

 

"Kinda like how dogs hate fireworks? Wait...China has lots of fireworks."

 

"They do indeed. It takes a great deal of training to temper a Shisa's understandable anger and panic when such displays go off. Though from the Shisa's perspective it fears for its mate and Master more than itself."

 

"I know they always come in pairs but mates?"

 

"Shisa always come in pairs including one male and one female. The males commonly ward off threats from the grounds and entrances while the female processes 'fortune' and brings in good luck to the site and their Master."

 

"Like a dog bringing  you the paper!"

 

"Hunting and retrieving things for the betterment of the entire pack is part of pecking order and pack mentality. It doesn't surprise me in the least that such a creature would have similar behavior."

 

"So Shisa ward off bothersome Yokai and bad luck and bring in good luck to places and people they guard. They sound like great guardians! Though...most Shisa I've ever seen are just statues and what if there is only one of them?"

 

"Shisa have left such an imprint on Yokai culture that even statues of them will ward against all but the most hostile Yokai off. Shisa traditionally hunt in pairs to maximize the ground they cover and how they deal with intruders. One does not usually face a single Shisa, often you must contend with at least two of them, flanking and tag teaming you ragged until you fall. Should one of them be destroyed, the other becomes utterly distraught. Shisa mate for life and will not take another partner as long as they live. If the master still lives it will commonly protect the Master personally but it both mate and Master are dead and the aggrieved Shisa still lives, it becomes incredibly dangerous."

 

"What does it do?"

 

"It will track down the one responsible for its loss of honor and life and it will not rest until it has been avenged. As it has nothing else to live for. This can make a Shisa a frighteningly powerful and tenacious foe."

 

"So...do Shisa eat people?"

 

"All breeds of 'stone lion' are carnivorous as you'd expect. Though they tend to eat raw misfortune, other Yokai, small to large game and they accept the care of their Master. The only kind of human an Shisa will willingly eat are those with truly wicked souls. While they may prevent you from entering a place on behest of their Master, they would not eat a truly faithful Miko. At least one of your ancestors had quite a love for the creatures and regularly took in those that had lost their mates or Masters and gave them a second chance."

 

"I'm not sure that makes her a dog or a cat person." Ruki smiled. "But she sounds like a good person."

 

"That one had a very big heart...maybe a little too big. But you wouldn't have found a more securely guarded shrine than the one she managed back then. What was more terrifying is that she took them with her almost everywhere. Those baying roars and low thunderous growls so iconic of Komainu were the bane of many Yokai she dealt with."

 

"That sounds great Thero-Kun but I don't know...can't a Yokai be a master of Shisa too?"

 

"That's true Ruki, certain powerful Yokai have sometimes found ways of making Shisa their own. Though I can count the number of Yokai capable of bending a Holy Beast like a Shisa to their will on one claw."

 

"Something like a Nurarihyon?"

 

"It's possible. They do take over an entire estate when they enter it. Though they would have to find a way of disposing of the original master quickly or the Shisa would be equally quick to root out the Nurarihyon. Their loyalty is absolute in any other case. A Shisa will literally die defending its Master or its territory. Not even facing down something like myself would deter them. Only direct orders from their Master will make them yield. Most Nurarihyon wouldn't waste their limited and valuable time trying to fight through two stone lions. Especially the largest ones that guard the holiest and most royal of places unless it clearly had something to gain."

 

"So they can bite off more than they can chew."

 

"And still chew it regardless. The stubbornness of the stone lions is both exasperating and admirable in one breath. However, I can say that stone lions like Shisa are a worthy ally and powerful protector. Dead serious in nearly everything but well meaning. Out of the Holy Beasts they are the most common and most beneficial to humans. Fierce but relatable...and not massive elitist pricks.

 

"What?"

 

"Nothing! Anyway, since we've been discussing creature beneficial to mankind for the most part, I believe tomorrow I will cover more specific servants of holiest creatures of the Toho Plane."

 

"So servants of the 'big three' right?"

 

"Yes, but with this chill weather I'd like you to gather some more supplies. As you obviously need more warmth than I." Kaitheros said before a visible tingle went down his thigh.

 

"Ah hah! So you ARE cold! Should I go through the trouble of arranging a bonfire brought in here you Old Lizard?" Ruki teased.

 

"It's nothing! I just require your absolute focus and I'd rather you not be worried about the cold."

 

"Uh-huh...maybe I should convince those meddlesome mothers in capital to weave you a biiiig scarf." She giggled.

 

"I'll make you chop that wood yourself if you keep this up. Now off with you!" Kaitheros grumbled as Ruki tried to stifle her laughter, jotting down a quick list and heading back toward the Shrine to prepare for some late evening shopping.

 

Kaitheros huffed a visible cloud of vapor. He did enjoy these domestic moments with his Miko which differed quite a bit from the more structured and in one case outright imperial nature of the relationships certain allies of his had with their own agents and stewards. Learning how to properly interact with those servants would prepare her for the greater challenges that were sure to come.

    

 

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RMC1618's avatar
Fantastic headcanon! I'm not qualified to determine what is real-world mythology and what is original, but this piece is so well crafted it doesn't matter.

I applaud this story, I favorite this work, and I watch you.