Shi: The Blood of Saints

    (Crusade, 1996)
™ and ©1996 William Elliott Tucci

This recounting of Shi’s humble origins and first test of will was published in three special editions packaged with Overstreet’s Fan Magazine. Here we see Shi watch her father go, never to return, in an attempt to save her pacifist village from the Dekai Oni, a horrible, netherworld demon. Now Shi must prove her resolve by taking up her sword and following in her father’s footsteps. The story is revealed through a series of flashbacks as Shi ascends the mountain to do battle with the Dekai Oni. Since this depicts the Christian samurai at a point early in her career, the outcome is certain. The main thrust of the story is Shi’s quest to balance the opposing values of the bushido code and Christianity into a harmonious union.
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