Sougen (霜元) is the General of the Zui Provincial Guard of the Left and formerly served as one of Gyousou’s regimental commanders during Emperor Kyou’s dynasty. Tall and rugged in appearance, Taiki compares his demeanor to that of a “fairy tale samurai”. According to Gyousou, Sougen is well known and popular for his refined manners. Despite serving under a different general, Sougen is good friends with Yuushou and, despite holding a higher rank than him during Gyousou’s dynasty, maintained their friendship.
Career[]
Not much is known about Sougen’s background before he joined the military. During Emperor Kyou’s dynasty, he served as a regimental commander under Gyousou’s command. When Taiki chose Gyousou as the next emperor, he was promoted to General of the Zui Provincial Guard of the Left. He is refined and composed and very rarely loses control of his emotions—the only times he is seen to let his composure slip is when he reunites with Risai in Koutaku and when he and Risai inadvertently rescue Gyousou. According to Risai, he wages war “soundly and on proper footing”.
The First Tetsui Campaign[]
Sougen was present during the campaign and, like his fellow officers, didn’t think the Palace Guard could succeed where two divisions of the Provincial Guard had failed. When discussing the situation with Eishou, Ganchou, and Gyousou, he points out that they wouldn’t be able to get access to neither reinforcements nor supplies when the snow closed off the mountain pass. He also says that they didn’t have enough supplies to camp there until spring, highlighting the importance of winning a decisive victory and returning to Kouki before winter. However, when Gyousou passed down his orders, he accepts them without question.
The Bun Province Rebellions[]
When suspicions arise that the uprisings in Bun Province were actually a carefully planned rebellion, Sougen mobilizes the Zui Provincial Guard of the Left and accompanies Gyousou to Bun Province in the beginning of March. After much discussion, the three agreed to mobilize to Houtaku and wait there as Tetsui was a two-day march away and could easily be reached should the land gangs at Anseki decided to attack. The advance guard under Rikei moved first, closely followed by Eishou and his regimental commanders in the vanguard. Gyousou followed with the two regiments of the Palace Guard of the Right and Sougen’s division brought up the rear. When Gyousou goes missing on the third day, Sougen summons Eishou and his regimental commander to Eishou’s tent and reveal that the night before they’d mobilized, Gyousou had borrowed an impromptu platoon of fifteen soldiers off the record and sent them off into the night without letting Sougen know what he was up to.
Not long after, the army received news of the meishoku at Hakkei Palace as well as news of Gyousou’s death and Taiki’s disappearance. At Haboku’s advice, Sougen returns to Hakkei Palace to give a report on the incident. He is later ordered by Asen—who at this point has set up his provisional court—to mobilize his army and assist Risai in subjugating rebels in Jou Province. Two weeks later, though, just as Sougen’s army is leaving Bun Province, he receives orders to return to Kouki under the pretext that the mopping-up operations had been completed. He is also ordered to leave half so his army to maintain the peace. In June, Risai sends the blue bird informing her colleagues of Asen’s betrayal. When heading to Jou Province, Sougen receives orders to execute Risai, but at this point he is aware of Asen’s role in the coup.
Soon, Sougen and the soldiers under his command disappear in Jou Province. After that, no word is heard from him and there is no news regarding his capture and/or execution.
Asen's Dynasty[]
Given the orders to head to Jou Province, Sougen and Kiro mobilized while Gaikatsu remained in Bun Province. Once in Jou Province, Sougen dispersed his army and was constantly on the move until he eventually received shelter from Danpou Temple. A branch temple helped him communicate with the head temple in Koutaku, helping him reunite with Gaikatsu and his men. When he realized the geographical advantages of setting up his headquarters in that area, Sougen and his retinue moved to Koutaku a year after the events in Bun Province. When Risai reunites with him six years later, the amount of men under Sougen’s command adds up to almost 6,000.
The Assault on Anpuku[]
When news of the Imperial Army’s movements reach the Black Flags, Sougen gives the orders for the rebels to begin moving operations to Rokou, where the Kyuusan’s gang had promised them a safe place to hide. Sougen sets up his base of operations there.
At Risai’s base in Seisai, they learn that the Palace Guard had clashed with the land gangs at Sokou. Risai’s decision to aid the land gangs is argued by the men under Sougen’s command, but after hearing her argument, he agrees that aiding the land gangs is the wise choice. After all, not doing so would reflect poorly on Gyousou, and they would have a little time to go underground again before Asen figured out that his army had been stopped by rebel forces. When Risai’s army and the land gangs clash with the Palace Guard outside of the city of Anpuku, he sends Kiro and Toushi as reinforcements with 3,000 soldiers under their command as the Provincial Guard had shown no signs of mobilizing after Risai had joined the fight.
After the assault on Anpuku, he and Risai reunite with Gyousou and, after sending him to rest in their hideout in Rokou, he met with Yuushou. After discussing the matter of releasing Yuushou’s men, Yuushou decides to switch sides and put his army under Sougen’s command.
Gyousou's Rescue[]
After the date and time of Gyousou’s execution is set, Sougen and his men agree to help Risai try to free him, saying, “His Highness—Gyousou-sama—is a military man. However the soldier may regret leaving his corpse behind on the field of battle, there is no shame in doing so. The shame comes from not being able to fight the good fight and dying while being branded a criminal.” Despite Tonkou’s urging that it wasn’t worth throwing their lives away, Sougen insists that because saving Tai was a priority, it was important that they save Gyousou. If they couldn’t save him from dying, then he would at least die fighting on his own two feet.
The day of the execution, he and the others meet with Risai at the rendezvous outside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. When inside the hall, he and Risai agree that once they struck, they would leave fifteen men behind to open up a path of escape. Maintaining his cool despite the urgency of the situation, he keeps his men from acting rashly. When Taiki and Yari act, killing some of his guards and distracting everyone, he and Risai act. He steals a lance from one of the guards and uses it to protect both Risai and Taiki. Once Gyousou is free of his fetters and is astride Taiki, he argues that Gyousou should escape, but his former commander refuses to risk it with the air cavalry ready to take aim at him.
Relationships[]
Gyousou[]
Sougen serves Gyousou as his emperor and former commands with sincerity and adores him. When they reunite after seven years, Risai witnesses him breaking down from the weight of emotions, and Gyousou remarks with amusement that he’d never seen Sougen so deeply emotional before.
Taiki[]
Sougen serves Taiki with genuine respect. As one of the soldiers accompanying Taiki to Ren, he never hesitated to converse easily with Taiki about the kingdom they were visiting.
Risai[]
Risai and Sougen are close colleagues. He is deeply relieved when they reunite after seven years and when he finds out that she lost an arm, he expresses his regret for what she lost. He respects her and takes her seriously, which can be seen when he considers her theory that Gyousou was beneath Kan’you Mountain and when agrees with her when she insists on providing Kyuusan support when the Imperial Army was attacking Anpuku. When Hi'en passes away due to sever injuries, he visits Risai and mourns the death of her kijuu, expressing sympathy for her loss. When she belittles herself saying that calling herself one of Gyousou’s retainers sounded ridiculous, he disagrees and says, “You are also one of Gyousou-sama’s retainers. How early or how late does not matter.”
Yuushou[]
Despite serving under two different generals, Sougen and Yuushou are good friends. Sougen respects Yuushou’s achievements and, after his promotion from regimental commander to general, he makes sure to maintain their relationship. When Risai and Sougen capture the single regiment from the Palace Guard during the assault on Anpuku, Sougen is the one to speak to Yuushou about the latter’s next decision. When Yuushou decides to switch sides, the work together and exchange ideas with each others. In addition, he makes sure to take good care of Yuushou’s men when they’re placed under his command, cognizant of the fact that Yuushou cared for his retainers.
Gashin, Eishou, Ganchou, Santou[]
Sougen works well with his colleagues and respects them. He isn’t shown to clans with any of them no matter the situation.
Gaikatsu[]
Gaikatsu is one of Sougen’s regimental commanders and is known as his right-hand man. Trusted deeply by Sougen, he is never far from his side.
Kiro[]
Kiro is one of Sougen’s regimental commanders and, like Gaikatsu, is deeply trusted by him.
Douhan[]
Douhan is the head priest of the Koutaku Ordination Hall, which for a long time sheltered and supported Sougen and his army.
Kyoshi and Houto[]
When he meets the acolyte and the shin’nou, he treats them with respect and forms a friendship with them, taking their opinions and suggestions seriously. He favors Houto’s design for the Black Flags’ banners.
