Tetsuo Umezawa
| Tetsuo Umezawa | |
|---|---|
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[[File:{{#setmainimage:tetsuo.jpg}}|250px]] | |
| Details | |
| Race | Human |
| Birthplace | Empire of Madara, Dominaria |
| Lifetime | ~4150 AR |
| Parents | Haki Umezawa |
| Relatives |
Toshiro Umezawa (ancestor) Chanto Umezawa (grandfather) Tetsuko Umezawa (descendant) Clan Umezawa |
| Colors | |
   | |
| Sources | |
| 'Assassin's Blade, Emperor's Fist, Champion's Trial' | |
Tetsuo Umezawa (oo-meh-ZAH-wah)[1] was the imperial champion of the Empire of Madara around the time of the Mirage War. He was trained in many martial arts and magical techniques and was arguably the most powerful human of his time. Raised with a strict honor code, he was oft torn between his honor and his master, the vicious emperor of Madara, Nicol Bolas.
Youth and training
Tetsuo was born in Clan Umezawa as the son of clan leader Haki Umezawa and was a distant descendant of Toshiro Umezawa. Tetsuo was gifted in the martial arts, archery, swordsmanship and red, black, & blue magic, and was thus trained in the Tsunami-nito school.
When he was 15, Tetsuo had to be his father's second in a formal duel. When Haki lost an eye, Tetsuo had to replace him. This was the first time Tetsuo killed another human.
When the office of imperial champion became vacant, Tetsuo applied for the job, believing he could do good for the people of Madara by defending them both from outside forces and the emperor's wrath. Shasido Mayasi, the general of the kentsu, also wanted the job, however. Tetsuo defeated Shasido in combat and earned the title. Shasido left the empire, disgraced to live as the hermit Kasimir the Lone Wolf on Kusho.
Since his youth Tetsuo had a rivalry with Ramses Overdark, which only became worse when Overdark attained the title of an imperial assassin.
Over the years Tetsuo gathered an entourage of followers, of which the most notable were his second Tor Wauki, his armorer Ayesha Tanaka, and the healer Kei Takahashi.
Tetsuo's last job before his first journey to the Edemis was in the port of Sekana, which had been attacked by the cat-dragon Wasitora. Tetsuo challenged her to a formal duel, which was interrupted by an Elder Land Wurm. Wasitora helped kill the creature and Tetsuo realized he didn't have to kill her. Wasitora was given the job of champion's deputy in Sekana, becoming the town's defender in exchange for the services of its inhabitants.
First journey to the Edemis
When the latest rebellion of the Edemi Islands began, the imperial assassin was sent to quell the uprising. Always trying to further his cause, Overdark wanted to involve Tetsuo in it, hoping he could kill the champion and replace him with someone loyal to him. He lured Tetsuo to the Edemis by having Xira Arien place her larva in Kei Takahashi, the student of Tetsuo's armorer Ayesha Tanaka and the healer in Tetsuo's entourage.
Overdark also sent Lady Orca to attack the Edemis wearing the symbol of Tetsuo's house. He hoped that he could have Tetsuo and the leaders of the Edemi rebellion killed, or that the Edemi rebels would execute Tetsuo for Lady Orca's actions. Tetsuo defeated Orca and Arien and destroyed Overdark's trump card, a serpent generator.
Although the rebellion continued, its leader Lady Caleria let Tetsuo leave in peace for his actions, and even had Lord Magnus search for a remedy for Kei. Tetsuo and Ayesha did manage to kill the insect in Kei, but, as Magnus suspected, Kei retained the insectoid mutations he had suffered.
Second journey to the Edemis
Emperor Bolas was displeased with Overdark's failure to conquer the Edemis and Tetsuo's role in that failure. He sent the kentsu, led by General Marhault Elsdragon, to do the job, forbade Overdark to interfere, and punished Tetsuo by forcing him and his entourage to be a part of the brutal kentsu campaign. Witnessing the kentsu's dishonorable behavior and having a heart-to-heart with the Bogardan pilgrim Kolo Meha, Tetsuo's willingness to follow the emperor weakened.
At the end of the campaign, Ramses Overdark had General Elsdragon killed and replaced by one of his minions. But instead of punishing him, the emperor praised his ambition and rewarded him by making him the imperial regent. This was the final straw for Tetsuo, who had discovered that during the kentsu attack Ayesha had been poisoned, Tor seriously wounded, and Kei killed. Suspecting that Overdark had been behind this, Tetsuo renounced his title of champion and swore vengeance.
Champion against emperor
In the following weeks, Tetsuo spent most of the time training on the Meditation Plane, where Bolas couldn't find him. Overdark sent a kentsu regiment to destroy Sekana and lure Tetsuo out of hiding. The regiment was destroyed by Wasitora's kittens, but Tetsuo realized he had to confront Overdark before more innocents were hurt in their vendetta.
First Tetsuo hunted down Xira Arien for what she did to Kei and had Wasitora and her kittens stationed near his manor to defend his servants from further kentsu attacks. He then traveled to the Imperial Shrine, where Overdark and Bolas resided. The shrine was defended by the kentsu, but Tetsuo summoned a meteor shower to dispose of them.
In the shrine, Tetsuo battled Overdark one on one. Overdark was powerful, but Tetsuo had sent Kolo Meha to obliterate Overdark's Keep, thus denying him a vast source of mana. This, combined with Tetsuo's formidable magic, gave him an edge. Tetsuo managed to kill Overdark and absorb his powers.
Bolas was furious over the death of his regent. Tetsuo fled to the Meditation Plane and Bolas followed. This proved a mistake for the Elder Dragon however, Tetsuo had cast the Meteor Hammer spell. The spell destroyed the Imperial Shrine, thus destroying the mana foothold Bolas needed to stay in Dominaria. Denied his powers as a planeswalker, Bolas was defeated by Tetsuo.
The aftermath
After Tetsuo's battle with the emperor, the empire was in chaos with Tetsuo the only member of the old regime still alive. Nobles began buying the loyalty of the various kentsu regiments for themselves, the Edemis demanded reparations for the destruction the kentsu had caused, and various oppressed groups such as the Ærathi sought to improve their situation.
Tetsuo was reunited with Meha, Tor, and Ayesha, who convinced him to set out to make sure the empire was restored to its former glory. They even encouraged him to take up the role of the emperor himself, although it isn't certain whether he ever did.
In-game references
- Represented in:
References
- ↑ Magic Arcana (January 24, 2005). "A Kamigawa Glossary, Part 2". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Ethan Fleischer (August 23, 2022). "I led the design process for the box toppers". Twitter.