Chihayako

Chihayako did not earn the long, thin scar on their cheek in a glorious duel. There was no desperate parry, no clash of steel beneath the blinding light of the capital's golden spires. They got it trying to hang a paper lantern on a rusted hook three stories up, hoping to light the path for a fruit vendor who always worked late. They slipped on a wet roof tile, and a stone gargoyle’s tooth did the rest. These days, when someone asks about the mark, Chihayako weaves a different tale every time—a narrow escape from a Soul Chaser, a run-in with a ghost dragon. The fruit vendor, who knows the truth, just smiles and gives them an extra plum. The real story is far more charming.