Myou Tokie ('Toosan) and his wife Yuuana ('Kaasan) were a proud, though not overly rich, couple who lived in the villiage of Chouko. He was a master carpenter and she was a very skilled seamstress. Although they took great pride in their work, their greatest pride was their family. There were eight children in all, and to reduce confusion, all ages will be the age they were when the flood ripped our family apart.

Myou Tokie. A hard-working and respected carpenter at the age of 41, he was the father of a large brood of children, to whom he was always fair, even if he sometimes had to remind them that he was the one in charge. His happiest days were seeing his children growing up and starting families of their own. He was sometimes distant, but noone ever felt unloved by him, because he always managed to let us know how he felt without saying a word. He was a quiet man, I think maybe Juan inherited this from him, but he was never silent if something had to be said. It was more that oftentimes nothing really needed to be said, and he felt no pressing need to fill up the silence with empty words. He used to carve beautiful toys for all the village children, but the most beautiful of all he gave to us.

Myou Yuuana. A caring woman of 39, she made it her mission to see that all of her children were raised in kindness, to respect the wishes of their elders and always behave with dignity and poise. It was because of her lessons in ettiquite, as well as all the hosewifely virtues, that her dauthers were able to make good matches in marriage. She was a wonderful seamstress and also the village midwife, and the other women of the village often came to her when they had something going wrong in their lives which they wanted to change, since she was always willing to listen.

Myou Shioshi. The eldest at 24, he was a carpenter like our father, and a very skilled one already. He had an easy way with people, and could always get them to do what he wanted them to without seeming to push. He was married to a wonderful young woman named Nori, and they had a three-year-old son Rioko, and a daughter Nini (Nishiaka) only about six months old.

Kai (Myou) Shunjou. Next eldest at 22, she had just married Kai Souko, the son of one of the village elders, and was expecting their first child. She was always very sweet to everyone, and would have made a wonderful mother.

Myou Chriishia. Only 18, she was engaged to Junkishou, a local potter, and was fairly accomplished with pottery herself. One of Juan's most prized posessions was a bowl she made for him for mixing his ointments when he went away to study medicine with the old doctor outside the village.

Myou Juan. When the flood came, the one who was also the Suzaku shichiseishi Mitsukake was 16, and away from the village studying medicine from the old doctor who lived higher up the mountain.

Myou Koko. He was 14, sharing the position of middle child with Juan. He never did like his name, and kids used to tease him about it, because he was always small. He never could decide what he wanted to do with his life. He would have made a very good scholar, if Mother and Father had had the money to send him away to school or hire a tutor, as he liked to record hapenings and write stories. Father was thinking of sending him to stay with the Buddhist monks, hoping maybe they would give him some direction in his life.

Myou Niara. She was four years younger than Koko at 10, but already a good seamstress. She was a strong-willed and forceful girl, and she idolized Juan, and wanted to be a doctor too, which absolutely appalled our parents. The thought that a woman could be a doctor... well, it didn't sit very well with them.

Myou Kochou. She was 9, and a quiet little girl who liked to tell stories about mysterious magicians with magic hats and flying carpets, or powerful but kind Emperors who lived in beautiful gilded palaces and always rescued seamstresses or maids or farmgirls from their miserable existance and brought them to live in the palace and become his Empress. She also loved needlepoint and other detailed persuits, and had an uncanny ability to understand others' emotions.

Myou Rouki. The baby of the family, he was barely 7. He was an energetic little boy who was always playing with stick swords and pretending to be a great warrior. He was never told about Juan's Seishi power, because he always used to play that he was the great Suzaku Shichiseishi Nuriko, an expert at hand-to-hand combat and swordplay who could never be defeated.

So, now you know a little about all of us!

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