"May The First guide us..."
--Kori Ryu VIII to the heroes in "???"
Kori Ryu I, more commonly simply known as "The First", is a famed archer and hero of legend who existed far before the events of KingdomFall. Legendary as they were mysterious, little to nothing is known about The First, other than the fact that they were powerful enough to destroy an otherworldly being. This triumph, paired with the knowledge that they never again left a mark in history suggests that they were in all likely hood - more than human.
History[]
Born long ago into a land soaked in shadow, The First rose to prominence seemingly from nowhere and managed to defeat a powerful being from another realm that had plagued their country for decades. Following this great victory, The First simply vanished as quickly and mysteriously as they had appeared, effectively fading from history until an individual arose several years later bearing similar features including their sharp light blue eyes.
The only other instance in which The First has ever been mentioned is multiple unconfirmed accounts throughout history, wherein people claimed to have been visited by them within their dreams or visions. It is a lesser known fable that if one is attempting a noble act which requires great courage, they will be approached by an apparition of The First, a good omen meant to bring courage and confidence to the brave at heart who are at risk of losing their way. Although there are skeptics who claim these instances are merely a reflection of the self, imagining a familiar face revered in childhood to assure them in their actions as an adult.
At present, The First is revered by House Ryu, those who share in his bloodline as well as their allies all respect and admire them. Though within House Ryu there are those who hold them in a lesser regard than others, but nevertheless they accept the bloodline, knowing that each of them are capable of as great of things as The First.
Personality[]
The First's personality is, like nearly everything else about them virtually unknown, varying greatly between various people who claim to have known the first or met him in their dreams. Most however have claimed The First was silent and calm within their visions, an air about him settling the nerves of any almost instantly. Any guidance offered usually takes the form of The First placing their hand on ones shoulder, or giving a small nod of approval just before fading away as though they were never there although clearly impacting the one they had sought to help.
The only absolute fact about The First's personality is that due to their actions in out-rite defiance and destruction of an at the time seemingly invincible opponent, The First is mutually agreed to have been Good Aligned. Despite the few claims that The First's motives were beyond that of "the good of mankind", since they were never rewarded with wealth, fame, or status, this act has been deemed unquestionably "good".
Due to the nature of The First's bloodline, one might assume that an idea of what they were like might be inferred based on the personalities of the following generations, however the broad range of emotions displayed over the entirety of these generations fails to offer any real insight.
Appearance[]
Even the true gender of The First is a mystery, the only features known or assumed of them are their fairly impressive height, and piercingly sharp eyes with a distinct light blue tone. This particular eye coloration is constant across all generations of the Ryu bloodline, and the eyes of each of them are known to glow an even brighter blue while in combat or in times of emotional distress. Little is known about this glow until [REDACTED].
Statues of The First, such as the one in the entry hall of the House of Ryu, depict them as being a tall, fit, and lightly armored figure which stands with one foot forward - their bow at the ready. The simple outfit depicted on the statues are composed of what appears to be reinforced leather, a metal shoulder pauldron/bow holster, and an odd centurion-like helmet which covered all but the eyes, which are encrusted with blue gems that shine when exposed to the right light. Oddly enough, most if not all of these statues are cut and carved from black or other dark colored stones, whether this has any significance is unknown. Although these statues are all quite detailed, they also vary in many of these details, implying that they may have been created based off hearsay rather than from an actual description.
Powers and Abilities[]
The only known abilities of The First are their proficiency in archery, and the very power which they used to defeat the otherworldly entity - The Arrow of Light. The exact nature of the power itself is also virtually unknown until[REDACTED].
Trivia[]
- Kori Ryu is Japanese and roughly translates to "Ice Dragon" in English
- The name Kori Ryu was coined by JJF when he was in Middle School, looking through a English to Japanese pocket dictionary
- Although the hero's abilities changed much throughout the years as JJF constantly rewrote his story, more attention was paid to Kori Ryu The Fifth then the first until more recent years when he decided to use the characters in his original Dungeons and Dragons Campaigns
- During a big Kingdom Hearts phase in JJF's life, Kori Ryu's name was changed to Kori "X." Ryu, this was due to a climactic scene he planned to write in which Kori was revealed to be a Nobody, and upon disputing this he'd be shown a series of magical letters similar to when Roxas was named in Kingdom Hearts II, an "X" appearing in between and his middle name being revealed to literally be X
- JJF vastly regrets the attempts to be edgy by adding the X to Kori's name and it was removed years afterword
- The First's story can be likened to the familiar trope "A light shining in the darkness"
- Kori Ryu was the name used as JJF's alias'/usernames online up until around 2014, the names LightBringerZuriel, Zuriel, or Jack are the names now used instead