Chimper #5063
After the Emperor cast out hundreds for suspected disloyalty, the nights at the base of Waterfall City grew brighter. A fisher downriver will tell you they see the lanterns first, floating above the mist. Then they see Irimaro in that fine red dragon coat, wading in to guide the scared ones. They don't speak much, just offer a hand. A child whose parents were taken might add that Irimaro found them by the great fish statue, broke off a piece of their own rice cake, and stayed until they stopped shivering. The old-timers say it’s the spirit of Shokei-moji returned, gathering the broken pieces of the world. They started calling them the Benefactor, not for grand gifts, but for the small debts of warmth and light they pay to strangers. That sideways smile of theirs? It's the look of someone who knows what it is to arrive with nothing.
