Contest 3

Aigen aka Aigendaidou (合現代道)

Hiroshima of all places. The gods can be ironic from time to time.
If it has a connection to the terrors that humankind did to itself some decades ago or if it was pure coincidence. It will never be known.
When the old world died and the new began, Hiroshima was one of the main centers. Many of the children in the region survived and adapted to the changed environment. Soon several clans were formed, but the most interesting one was formed around one single “samurai”. “Aigendaidou” - “The new way of harmony” was the motto and the name the samurai was referred to. The closer friends said simply “Aigen”.
They all “knew” Aigen, or rather the ideology behind the clan, but noone even has seen Aigen without armor yet. The reason is simple. While gifted with an aura that increased friendly armor, the mutation had a heavy burden. Scars is not enough to describe the changes that Aigen had to endure. Ashamed to watch the own mirror reflection she made sure to never expose her real self to the others. The voice would normally have given her away, but not any longer. It was so raspy that it sounded like cutting a sheet of paper with one of the two wakizashis, that she always had by her side.

Solitude and a mission had been her entire life. Finding a new way. A way to coexist with the mutees, that Aigen felt a strange connection to. Maybe because many had similar horrific transformations than her.
And maybe that was the reason why the giant floating jelly, that disturbed her meditation on some day, did not attack her, but simply stayed there for several hours. When Aigen left the rocky stones that reminded her of the Meoto Iwa, the Jelly went with her and never again left her side.

(disclaimer: the name Aigendaidou might need some finetuning from someone who really speaks japanese)