Description:
Zaku of clan Ryu is a short, black-haired human in his twenties, with a wispy beard and uneven mustache.  His knuckles and back bear several faded scars from his training and days on the street, but the only scars he's proud of are the ones on his front earned in honor duels.

Typically he wears loose-fitting red- brown robes and light leather armor consisting of a breastplate, armguards and shin guards.  At his waist he bears two swords, but only seems to use the smaller one in battle.

Background:
The human warrior Zaku was a lowly peasant child, raised in the slums of the city until plague and poverty left him orphaned.  Survival dragged him through the worst life on the back alleys had to offer, but the half-starved youth lacked the skills to live outside the safety of city walls.  A chance encounter changed his fate when the young man crossed paths with the city's lord.   Seeing something in young Zaku, the lord offered him an opportunity that couldn't be passed up.

Zaku was adopted by the Ryu, a clan of warriors bloodsworn to serve the city lord.   They honed him into a capable swordsman, and with time his street-honed instincts proved him a capable duelist.  Though they demanded absolute obedience and a zealous devotion, it was a life of order where Zaku never need go hungry.

That ended with the assassination of the lord.   Zaku was responding to a summons to be officially recognized as a vassal  of the city lord when he walked into a trap.   One of his seniors, who had served loyally for years, inexplicably attacked Zaku from behind and then impaled the city lord with the sword Zaku was meant to receive.  As Zaku recovered from his concussion, the assassin's body transformed to reveal a changeling's features.   The assassin cast open a portal to flee the scene, but Zaku's speed allowed him to cross the room before the portal closed.   Tackling the assassin,  they fell through the arcane rift together and everything went black...

When he awoke, Zaku was in a strange, foreign city with no idea of how much time had passed.   All he knew was that he alone had seen the killer's true face,  and his oath sworn before the lord died must be upheld.