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Name: Arihitszu or "Master Dreaming Crane"; formerly Endou Mutszuru, though he basically never goes by this anymore
Age: 41
Birthplace: Sai'on Province in equivalent Japan
Occupation: monk, calligrapher, poet, natural philosopher, and emissary. Formerly a warrior.

Skills: A decent storyteller, and very learned scholar in works of his homeland and his faith. He is also literate, as well as a skilled calligrapher in his native language (and, in part due to his injury, is ambidextrous); he has become reasonably fluent speaking the language of Sunderland, but his ability to read and write lag behind at present. He can weave - apparently a skill held by all monks of his order - and he may occasionally refer to finding a certain relaxation in archery, but it is not terribly clear how well he actually can shoot with his injured hand ... nor what a monk might ever have to do with a bow in the first place.

Personality: Arihitszu is in Sunderland to learn about the people there, at the request of the abbot of his monastery back in his native country. He has a warm disposition, though spends a lot of time listening and observing and is a man of few words. Those who come to him for advice will find him courteous to people of all walks of life, and willing to help, if in a quirky and Socratic way. It is virtually impossible to anger him, as he simply refuses to engage those who pick arguments with him (though Arihitszu enjoys a healthy debate if he does not see malicious intent in it), and he meets the stares and whispers in his temporary new home in Sunderland with a seemingly limitless patience.

Arihitszu, in truth, reserves his loathing and anger for himself, though he rarely gives outward sign of it - a monk's robe will make all manner of self-deprecation come across as modesty and humility instead. He also evades questions about himself in every possible manner, and tends to respond to friendly gestures with exceedingly polite but exceedingly diplomatic formality. Somewhere inside, the monk desires a friend and confidant, but has been so jaded by betrayal in his past that he feels safer keeping his distance.

Appearance:
A man in the autumn of his life, and distinctly foreign-looking in Sunderland. Arihitszu dresses in grey and black cross-collared robes, layered even in the warmest weather with at least one white one underneath, and wears only split-toed socks and simple sandals on his feet. On special occasions requiring formality, Arihitszu will also wear a saffron-colored stole over one shoulder, and occasionally a short but heavy cloth coat when it is cold. When he ventures outside the city, he carries a wooden staff topped with the metal figure of a spider; each of its legs holds a small ring, which all jingle together when he shakes it. His keeps his scalp and face clean-shaven, and sometimes puts on a pair of small, round-framed spectacles for reading.

Though his very modest dress hides his form, Arihitszu moves with a certain grace, and his long walks indicate a healthy stamina. More apparent, however, is an unhealthy right arm - he keeps it wrapped in bandages and often tucks it into the front of his robes, though this habit seems to be more for comfort than shame. The last two fingers of that hand are withered and hold no strength, but the remaining fingers (though stiff and sore by the monk's occasional complaints in cold weather) appear reasonably useful for simple tasks.

History:
Born the sixth son in a family of warriors, Endou Mutszuru studied the classic literature of his homeland as much as he studied war itself. When he found himself actually called upon to fight as civil war broke out, however, he quickly learned that it was not as wonderful and glorious as the legends had made it out to be. He saw the ugliest side of his brothers as his own family tore itself apart through a series of betrayals following the death of his father. After suffering an injury in battle and a subsequent infection that rendered him unable to continue to fight, he retreated to a monastery and decided to become a monk in order to fully escape what he saw as senseless conflict.

Now calling himself Arihitszu, he settled into his new life as a monk of the Path of Eight Tattered Rainbows and discovered that it was, indeed, his true calling. He practiced calligraphy feverishly to train some semblance of steadiness and strength back into his injured hand, and found his meditative space in brush strokes. But while he grew into a welcome part of the monastery over the years, he still could not shake the feelings of worthlessness his brothers' betrayals had instilled in him, and embraced the nihilistic side of Eightism with a bit too much enthusiasm.

Troubled with the monk, who was now no longer a young man, but still one who was too hard on himself, the abbot of the monastery found an opportunity to try to bring Arihitszu to warm up to the rest of the world, in sending him along with a contingent of other monks to the land of Sunderland, to meet the people there and trade knowledge and philosophy with them. Arihitszu of course accepted, and has started to fill journals with tales of his experiences in a strange land ... though it remains to be seen whether Sunderland will heal his heart.

Hachirantei, the Eight Tattered Rainbows: Valandi, a weaver of the silk of giant spiders, worked for the king of her homeland, and one day found enlightenment in the motions of her shuttle, allowing her to see the greater Pattern of the weft of time and space itself. Followers seek similar enlightenment, most often through meditation, particularly among the sects of Arihitszu's homeland. Weaving is an important metaphor, and spiders are considered sacred, and frequently appear as temple guardians. The "tattered rainbows" themselves refer to the aurora.

Monks are all clean-shaven, and dress simply except when performing certain rites and rituals. All weave a stole or sash for themselves as part of their rites to join a monastery. They are all also vegetarian and do not kill people or animals for any reason; more orthodox sects interpret the mandate to "never cut the thread of another" literally, and will also not ever take a blade to string or fabric.