Valor in life deserves honor in death. It is this principle that guides the burial traditions of Ikaiguchi, and the same that ensures the enduring myth of Eiyūbochi.
Yet there are times when a samurai cannot be granted the appropriate funeral. For those whose bodies are lost, special effigies known as kyuseki are constructed. These reliquaries are made out of the personal effects of those they are intended to honor, bound around a representation of their likeness.
In the rituals of devotion where Samurai give their lives to aid the Jade Cranes, some small aspect of their souls is preserved within the effigies. Because of this, these kyuseki are known as Spirit Keepers.
The Whispers of Keepers
Spirit Keepers are objects of devotion to both the spiritual devotees of the clans, and the Order of the Cranes. The spirits within them whisper guidance to those who can hear, though at times this guidance can be near-impossible to understand.
Every clan venerates the Spirit Keepers differently: the Aranami, for example, lash theirs to the front of ships, while the Kioku see theirs as a mirror of the Grey Minds, and thus store them in the same vaults.