Walter Raleigh (ウオルター・ローリー, Uorutā Rōrī) is a student of Oxford Academy, member of the Chancellor's Board and Student Council, the TRUMPS and instructor in land-based battle. He is ranked #1 in the Oxford TRUMPS and The Queen's Wartime Advisor (戦時補佐官, Senji Sosa-kan).
A Far-Easterner with his eyes always covered by his own hair, he works under Elizabeth service. In combat, he uses a big gravity sword, five gravity knives and advanced ninjutsu duplication techniques. Taciturn, Walter never speaks, but seems to be in debt with Mary.
Appearance[]
TRUMP #1 is an exiled Far Easterner with a hardened look and serious visage. To add to his most noticeable feature (his hair bangs covering his eyes), Walter hair is tied up in a samurai top knot and his face is dotted by stubble.
Walter Raleigh clothes are a mix-up of his own japanese heritage and the England standard uniform. He wears a armor layered cobalt blue kimono on top of a black and white body suit and unlike other members, his TRUMP armband is attached to his left shoulder armor. His gloves and boots are decorated with the amaranth colored ribbons found in the Far Eastern uniforms.
Personality[]
Little is know about Walter personality as he is always silent and never talks to anyone, even his own comrades. He seems to be rather austere and rigid man with a very strong sense of duty.
His absolute lack of words is played as comedy to the point that even his own fellow TRUMP members surprise themselves when Walter writes something (even if it was only dots) in the Live Divine Transmission during the Musashi-England meeting.
Background[]
Hyogonosuke Yokomichi and Yukimori Yamanaka.
Walter Raleigh's previous identity and original inherited name was Yukimori Yamanaka (山中幸盛, Yamanaka Yukimori), one of the Amago Ten Braves (尼子十勇士, Amagojūyūshi), the ten military chief commanders under the Amago clan. The Amago were the lords of the Izumo Divine State and they were overthrown by the Mouri clan and Hexagone Française during the Motonari Mouri Era. As one of the Ten Braves, Yamanaka was an old comrade of Milton, original name Hyogonosuke Yokomichi (横道兵庫助, Yokomichi Hyogonosuke) and Tenzou Crossunite's father, possibly Hisaie Akiage (秋上久家, Akiage Hisaie), also members of the same group.
Most of them were killed in action and the few survivors scattered amongst the Divine States, with the majority of said individuals taking refuge on England. Pursued by the Mouri, Yamanaka did an emergency landing on England in 1646 T.E and was helped by Mary. Then Yamanaka swore alliegance to the Fairy Queen Elizabeth, becoming a combat instructor and inheriting the name Walter Raleigh.
Plot[]
Musashi on England[]
May 19, 1648 - Testament Era[]
Walter Raleigh is introduced during England Oxford Academy's Student Council and Chancellor's Board emergency meeting on the Queen's Throne Room. During that conference, Elizabeth decides that the best way to handle the illegally residing Far Easterners on english soil is to take advantage of the cards in their hands and use Musashi as their Joker in the upcoming Armada Battle.
May 29, 1648 - Testament Era[]
During the England-Far East Joint Spring School Festival Walter Raleigh, alongside other TRUMPS members are sent to test the Musashi's military prowess and to gain Musashi's control by defeating one of the Chancellor Board or Student Council members to duel Toori Aoi and detain the Musashi as card for negotiations with the Testament Union. Walter faces Futayo Honda at one of Oxford Academy football fields. She mentions to him that she has heard that most of the Far Easterners residing on England now are Amago Clan refugees. Walter is asked if he's also a former member Amago Ten Braves but as always he does not reply, so she concludes that he is a man of few words, beginning the fight.
Futayo notices that Walter's stance is for a gravity sword, so she tries to attack him with Tombokiri's cutting ability, but Walter evades it with one of his gravity knives. When Walter prepares to attack, she uses Tonbokiri's ability to extend itself in order to get it close to use its main ability again. Spotting this, Walter backs off slightly causing her to ram the extended spear into the ground in order to pole-vault herself into the air. As Walter uses his sword's extension ability, she retracts Tonbokiri's shaft before pointing it towards Walter and re-extending it. Noticing this, Walter attempts to block the shaft when Futayo suddenly moves it slightly; chaing its direction and hitting the handle of his sword, forcing his gravity sword off target. Suddenly, Walter bows and retreats. He leaves behind a screen that displays a name: Masamitsu Yokomichi, one of the Amago Ten Braves.
Later that day, Walter appears again when Tenzou and Mary's "date" ends abruptly with Elizabeth intervention. When Tenzou tries to get to a leaving Mary to save her from her confinement and nearby execution, Walter appears from Mary's shadow and gets in his way. Musashi's First Special Agent tries to evade him with a feint, but Walter uses one of his knives to duplicate himself and slash the surprised ninja from two directions, stopping him. The Queen also declares that the beginning of the "true festival" (a England-Far East political negotiation) will be that night in Oxford. During the meeting between academies, Walter writes a line of dots in the Live Divine Transmission, dumbfounding his TRUMP comrades as he actually wrote something for the first time.
Mary Rescue Assault[]
June 5, 1648 - Testament Era[]
The same night that the Armada Battle was to take place while the Musashi was taking part on it as a mercenary force against the Tres España fleet, a small unit of Musashi's Chancellor's Board and Student Council members (Tenzou Crossunite, Kiyonari Urquiaga, Malga Naruze, Nate Mitotsudaira, Toussaint Neshinbara and Masazumi Honda) assaulted London to rescue Mary from her impending execution.
Walter is the last TRUMP to face on Tenzou's mission, and he faces him in the Path to the Tower of London, very close to were Mary is. Tenzou evades Walter surprise attack and makes him come out from one of the column shadows by throwing him two kunais. Then, Tenzou speeds himself and tries to get pass Walter, who attacks horizontally with his Gravity Sword, but Musashi's First Special Agent evades the second blow. In an impressive maneuver, Walter discards his giant sword and grabs one of his gravity knives, passing it through inside his kimono sleeve to grab the knive with his left hand while he unsheathes another one with his right hand. He stabs himself and duplicates to attack Tenzou from two directions at the same time. Tenzou calls Milton and the three-legged crow distracts one of the Walters by grabbing his head, avoiding one of the attacks. Walter back off with a jump to gain a better attack angle, but Tenzou grabs his left arm (the one with the weapon) and slips through Walter legs. The TRUMP turns while grabbing another of his gravity edges to attack the ninja, but Tenzou throw his jacket to Walter face, evading the two slashes and succesfully taking flight to the inside of the Tower of London.
Walter is last seen later when Elizabeth agrees to Musashi's proposal and England ships go to help, observing with Milton how the Armada Battle goes and Mary leaves England with Tenzou to join Musashi Ariadust Academy.
Abilities[]
Walter is an expert at land-based fighting and one-on-one duels, being a Strike Forcer · Proximity Military Arts User (近接武術師 · ストライクフォーサー, Kinsetsu bujutsu-shi · Sutoraikufōsā), specialized in sword-fighting, Iaijutsu and Ninjutsu styles. His remarkable skills are shown when he's able to fight Honda Futayo evenly or avoid Tenzou Crossunite's feint by duplicating himself with one of his Gravity Knives. He's also able to materialize himself from shadows, permitting him surprise attacks and fast travels.
- Weapon: Gravity Sword (重力刀, Juuryokutou) - Walter's special sword that does not have a discernable shape. When the safety mechanism is removed, two gravitational planes appear, acting as the sword's blade. Those that come in contact with these two opposing gravity planes will be cleaved in two by the forces of gravity. Maximum range is 6m long and a minimum of 1m. Walter also have five Gravity Knives he also uses in combat or to perform a very high-level application of its gravity edges, stabbing himself with it and separating his own body down to the cellular level, creating a low-density copy of him to surprise his enemies.
- Martial Arts: Stealth Technique (隠密術, Onmitsu-jutsu): A ninja body technique used by Walter Raleigh to lurk and materialize from the shadows. As shown when Tenzou attacked the shadow that was hiding Walter with a kunai, it can be nullified sustaining damage.
Inherited Names[]
Yamanaka Yukimori (1545 - 1578)[]
Yamanaka Yukimori (山中幸盛, September 20, 1545 – August 20, 1578), also known as Yamanaka Shikanosuke (山中鹿の介) or Shikanosuke (鹿の介), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served as a retainer to the Amako clan. Born under a crescent moon, he is known as the samurai of the crescent moon. The Yamanaka were retainers of the Amago who had assisted the Amago in regaining Gassan-Toda castle in 1486. Yukimori was the second son of Yamanaka Mikawa no Kami Mitsuyuki (1519?-1546).
His mother issued from the Tachihara family. A natural fighter who had taken his first head at the age of 13, Yamanaka had been born during the harvest moon and even prior to the events of 1566 allegedly thought of himself as a child of the moon. By 1563, Môri Motonari had penetrated the borders of Izumo and was besieging the strategically vital Shiraga castle. Yukimori was dispatched in relief with 200 horsemen and while he failed to lift the siege, he did distinguish himself for bravery. Further displays of his martial abilities would come in 1565, when the Mori surrounded Gassan-Toda, the Amago's headquarters.
During the siege, Yamanaka's talents became well known even among the Mori, and a certain Shinagawa Daisen challenged him to a one-on-one duel. Such a request was actually quite unusual by this time, and both opposing daimyo agreed, perhaps in the hopes of encouraging their respective armies. The site chosen for the fight was an island of land in the middle of the Toda River, which ran past the Amago stronghold. At this point it should be mentioned that the 'shika' in Yamanaka's honorific title, 'Shikanosuke', can be read as deer, and Yamanaka accordingly wore a helmet adorned with deer horns. Prior to their duel, Shinagawa poked fun at him by changing his own name to Taraki Okaminosuke, which essentially meant that when Yamanaka (the deer/shika) had his horns down (while eating the tara plant), Shinagawa (the wolf/ōkami) would kill him. In the event, Shikanosuke proved the better warrior. Under the attentive gaze of both armies, Yamanaka grappled with his foe and killed him with a knife. Cutting his head off, he shouted, "The deer has killed the wolf!"
Yamanaka's display of skill was not enough to save Gassan-Toda, which surrendered the following year. Yoshihisa was sent into exile and the Amago lands absorbed by the Mori. For Yamanaka, however, the war wasn't over yet. Determined to fight on to restore the Amago, he made a famous vow before the new moon, declaring that he would gladly accept all of the "seven troubles and eight pains" if it would bring relief to the Amago.
To this end, Yamanaka managed to convince Amago Katsuhisa (d.1578), Amago Haruhisa's first cousin, to abandon his monkish habit and return to lay life. Together, the two men spent some years engaged in minor harassing operations against the Mori. Izumo was presently under the control of Kikkawa Motoharu (one of the by-now late Motonari's sons) and it was with this talented general that Yamanaka butted heads with.
In 1577 Oda Nobunaga began a campaign against the Mori, presenting what seemed a golden opportunity for Katsuhisa and Yamanaka. In 1578 the two managed to secure the somewhat disinterested support of Nobunaga and were allowed to join Hashiba Hideyoshi's campaign in Harima. Around the same time Hideyoshi captured Kozuki castle from the Bessho and almost immediately lost it to the Ukita (allies of the Mori). Yamanaka was incorporated into the effort to retake Kozuki, and helped defeat Ukita Naoie when he came from Bizen in relief. Once Kozuki was securely in Oda hands, Hideyoshi turned it over to the Amago.
Unfortunately, a Mori army of 30,000 had just arrived from the western provinces, and this drew up around Kozuki, no doubt tempted both by Kozuki's strategic situation and the presence of Amago. Hideyoshi was presently involved with the siege of Miki castle but dispatched part of his army in relief, an operation he immediately curtailed when Nobunaga sent word to abandon Kozuki to its fate.
Vastly outnumbered and forsaken by their allies, the Amago gave in. Katsuhisa committed suicide but Yamanaka was taken alive and was offered the grant of a small fief in the far-western provinces. Yamanaka actually accepted the fief but his old enemy Kikkawa Motoharu was taking no chances and arranged for his murder at Takahashi in Bitchu province.
A brave warrior renowned for his skill in arms, Yamanaka is sometimes seen as a 16th Century Kusunoki Masashige in terms of his qualities of loyalty and devotion. His surrender at Kozuki tarnished his legacy slightly, but takes little away from the story of the 'samurai of the crescent moon".
Walter Raleigh (1552 - 1618)[]
Sir Walter Raleigh (22 January 1552 - 29 October 1618) was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England.
Raleigh was born to a Protestant family in Devon, the son of Walter Raleigh and Catherine Champernowne. Little is known for certain of his early life, though he spent some time in Ireland, in Killua Castle, Clonmellon, County Westmeath, taking part in the suppression of rebellions and participating in a massacre at Smerwick. Later he became a landlord of properties confiscated from the Irish rebels.
Extravagant in dress and behavior, handsome, and superbly self-confident, Raleigh rose rapidly at court, which consisted of the royal family and its advisors. His opinion of Ireland was accepted by Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603), and she kept him home as an adviser. He received royal favor as well, including a house in London and two estates in Oxford.
Raleigh was knighted (given the honorary distinction of knighthood) in 1584 and the next year became the chief officer of the stannaries (or mines) in Devon and Cornwall, lord lieutenant of Cornwall, and vice admiral of the West. Although he was hated for his arrogance, his reforms (improvements) of the mining codes made him very popular. He sat for Devonshire in the Parliaments (meetings of the governing body of England) of 1584 and 1586 and then went on to succeed Sir Christopher Hatton as captain of the Queen's Guard—his highest office at court.
By 1582 Humphrey Gilbert had organized a company to settle English Catholics in the Americas. Although forbidden by Elizabeth to accompany his half brother, Raleigh invested money and a ship of his own design to the mission. After Gilbert's death on the return from Newfoundland, a region that is now a province of eastern Canada, Raleigh was given a charter (authority from the queen) to "occupy and enjoy" new lands. Raleigh sailed as soon as he had his charter and reached the Carolina shore of America, claiming the land for himself.
At the same time, Raleigh sought to persuade Elizabeth into a more active role in his proposed colonizing venture, which would settle lands newly discovered in America. Although unconvinced, she reluctantly gave a ship and some funds. Raleigh remained at court and devoted his energies to financing the operation. The first settlers were transported by Raleigh's cousin Sir Richard Grenville (1542–1591). Fights, lack of discipline, and hostile Indians led the colonists to return to England with Francis Drake (c.1543–1596) in 1586, bringing with them potatoes and tobacco—two things unknown in Europe until that time.
John White (died c.1593) led a second expedition the next year. The coming of the Spanish Armada (a large fleet of warships) delayed the sending of supplies for more than two years. When the relief ships reached the colony in 1591, it had vanished. Raleigh sent other expeditions to the Virginia coast but failed to establish a permanent settlement there. His charter would eventually be withdrawn by James I (1566–1625) in 1603.
He was involved in the early English colonisation of Virginia under a royal patent. In 1591 he secretly married Elizabeth Throckmorton, one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting, without the Queen's permission for which he and his wife were sent to the Tower of London. After his release, they retired to his estate at Sherborne, Dorset.
In 1594 Raleigh heard of a "City of Gold" in South America and sailed to find it, publishing an exaggerated account of his experiences in a book that contributed to the legend of "El Dorado". After Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 Raleigh was again imprisoned in the Tower, this time for allegedly being involved in the Main Plot against King James I, who was not favourably disposed toward him. In 1616 he was released in order to conduct a second expedition in search of El Dorado. This was unsuccessful and men under his command ransacked a Spanish outpost. He returned to England and, to appease the Spanish, was arrested and executed in 1618.
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