Kitaho

The Upstream Swimmer, they called them in the lower districts of the Teikodian Empire. Kitaho never asked to be an explorer; the whole world they needed could be found in the shifting currents of the city's canals, a space they shared with their childhood friend, Rurisachi. Their days were meant for charting forgotten waterways beneath the golden spires, not distant lands. But Imperial drafts care little for quiet lives. When Rurisachi’s name was pulled for a mandatory expedition, Kitaho enlisted without a second thought. They took up their katana not for glory, but because the thought of their friend facing the wilds alone was unbearable. Now they walk foreign soil with a practiced poker face, their gaze fixed on the horizon, constantly searching for the one path that might lead them both back home.