T̼H̪É ̴̪ R̴͔E̩D̬ ̀L͟Ḭ̢E
*Take shelter in something ancient and crimson and steady. Let the red light spend itself against fur and scale and bone instead of skin. Let the cold gnash its teeth at the edge of a shadow it could not enter.
I made myself small inside the living mountain and let its breath teach me patience. I learned the paths of its thoughts the way water learns stone: by returning, again and again, soft at first, then certain.
It simply remained, and in remaining it taught me the smallest possible hope: that there are shapes in the universe that do not care to be illuminated, that some things are not interested in being seen, and that in their refusal there is safety.*
~ Reverie VI - Entaxis
Kukri Tanuki, the Creator, the first Bloodtiger, the first host of Jethro.
Tanuki is remembered across multiple eras in two seemingly incompatible roles: first as an ancient guardian/weaponsmith capable of building reality-adjacent tools, and later as the first major true host compromised by Jethro—the catastrophe that forces the Neverborn and their allies into open containment war. Even in timelines where Tanuki survives that possession and returns to “self,” the imprint of the infection defines the guilt that comes aver, converted into vows, craft converted into failsafes, and long-term projects designed to make sure the universe never again produces a Jethro–Tanuki-scale rupture.
In the oldest readable layer of canon, Tanuki’s “origin” is less a birthplace and more a status: an entity old enough that ordinary history doesn’t contain him. He appears in the record as part of a rare response-tier class—figures who intervene when something cosmological goes wrong rather than when borders shift.
In that deep history, Tanuki’s closest peers include actors like Bezekira (Neverborn custody and containment doctrine) and Ukatan (ancient observer/manipulator), with whom Tanuki is implied to have coordinated during prequel-bait eras where the galaxy is massively damaged and survival hinges on a handful of durable beings choosing to step in.
<aside>
Let’s get one thing out of the way right now: Tanuki (as a dragon) is outright, in no uncertain terms, the subject described in great detail in Reverie VI - Entaxis.
</aside>
The central catastrophe of Tanuki’s myth is straightforward: Jethro compromises Tanuki and turns a master weaponsmith into a vehicle for a reality-bending endgame. In this era, “tribal conflict” stops being politics and becomes containment—because an infected Tanuki is uniquely positioned to manufacture artifact-grade weapons capable of escalating Jethro’s influence from parasitism into permanence.
Deep-history accounts frame the response coalition as the Neverborn under Bezekira, aligned with high-tier actors such as Flarion and Ukatan. The hinge outcome is not Tanuki’s death (at least not immediately), but the host transfer: during the containment war, Jethro abandons Tanuki and transfers into Flarion—the stronger vessel hailed to be the “Son of Varuna” himself—establishing Flarion as the long-term container for “true Jethro.” This converts the crisis into an unstable “contained but not cured” future, and it permanently rewrites what Tanuki does next.
After the host era, tradition frames Tanuki as diminished but lucid—carrying guilt for what Jethro did through him and converting that guilt into two commitments:
Never leave Amber Krowe exposed, treating the world (and whatever it contains) as a sealed hazard that must not be abandoned, and
Build tools that say “never again,” ensuring that if a shard-driven break or a future host crisis occurs, the universe has an emergency containment answer.
The flagship result is the Rainru: a containment-tier sword forged as a defensive failsafe (not a prestige battlefield weapon), and entrusted into Bezekira’s custody. The implication is deliberate: some threats cannot be “won,” only bounded—sealed, isolated, removed from the board.
Alongside artifact-making, Tanuki’s other defining output is biological/civilizational rather than metallurgical: the long cultivation of the Amber Krowen people. Deep-history canon frames Amber Krowen civilization as something grown in secrecy across an absurd timescale—millions of years of protection, selection pressure, nudges, and deliberate shaping until the society becomes “ready” to become a galactic-scale state.
In modern history, this cultivated civilization becomes the demographic and institutional root-stock for the Systems Alliance. That downstream emergence gives Tanuki’s work an ironic aftertaste: a people shaped for survival and continuity becomes the foundation of a bureaucratic power that later participates in the chain of events surrounding Tanuki’s death.
Tanuki’s work on Amber Krowe was not performed alone. Deep-history tradition frames Tanuki as the founder/center of a small, secretive tribe: the Tanukian Templar. Rather than functioning as an outward empire, the Tanukian Templar operate like a hidden scaffolding—quiet guardians and advisors who help protect Amber Krowe during its early development and assist in guiding the long, deliberate shaping of the Amber Krowen people into a civilization capable of surviving a hostile universe.
A select inner circle within the tribe is also tied to a second mandate: assisting in the containment and safeguarding of Red Matter. In reader-facing terms, this is treated as a need-to-know responsibility—less “lore” than hazard protocol—where knowledge itself is one of the things being contained.
Tanuki’s legacy is not only tools and peoples—it is also personal: Sun Jin Kaisara, whose later empire-building is repeatedly framed as being hardened by the rupture of losing her father. In the myth layer referenced through Ukatan’s deep-history framing, Kaisara’s childhood is bound to the Jethro containment ecology: once Jethro resides inside Flarion (even suppressed), “protecting Kaisara” becomes entangled with containment logic and paranoia about what the universe might do with Tanuki’s bloodline.
In that framing, Flarion kidnaps Kaisara—partly as an act of protection, partly as a consequence of Jethro-adjacent pressure and long-range certainty that Kaisara must not be left at the center of the hazard field. Ukatan is then positioned as a guardian figure in Kaisara’s upbringing (notably on Magnum), because even if Ukatan disputes the kidnapping, Kaisara reads as an irreplaceable piece of Tanuki’s legacy that cannot be abandoned.
In the modern record, Tanuki’s arc converges at Madora Bay on Amber Krowe into a named hinge event: Encounter at Tisiphone Tower. Even without full scene text on-page yet, the surrounding writeups treat this as Tanuki’s terminal beat—an incident intertwined with Systems Alliance pursuit logic and Kaisara’s later grief-to-doctrine pivot. In other words: after eons of shaping the board, Tanuki exits through a single, local, human-scale scene—a chase and a sacrifice—leaving behind a legacy that becomes the fuel for Kaisara’s rise and the continuing instability of the Jethro containment era.
Tan𝐮⃥k.. RED TANUKI-BLOODTIGER..ki.- REVERIE ӾłX —REVERIE XIX
͐ͤAg̅es̉ la̿te̋r̓ nowͭ,̀ ͒ṁyͤ ̾fͧrîenͫd́, a͐ft̀e͛r ͪsͤtārͯs ͩhäd kiͯn̓d̓le̅dͭ andͬ ̏gͩu͛t̋t̒ere̐d ̔out͊ b̅eyoͫn̈d͐ th͗ẻ ͯsͣt̅on̾e,̔ ͯwͮhoĺe śk̊ies ̌b̿o̓rn ̑aͤnͧd ̊bu̐rͭied͌ wh̓iͪlͯe wͨe ̋k̍épt̃ òu̅rͮ ̔wͥaťcͩh͒,̇ Ỉ foͣu̎nͫd͂ Ĩ ̈h̏ad͒ a woͦr̈d ỏf m̐y ̓ow̎n̈.͂ͫ ** ̊ ͂Nót͑ ̉s̎t͋olen̂. N̏ȯt ̾ṡhͨèd ̈from͒ ̒t̐he͒ ̌r̈́e̓d lͣïk̿eͥ ͭI hͣa͋d͊ ͂beͧën.ͪ Cͤhôsen͋.̏ ͪ ̾>͛ ̒̑I ̿had ͑c̓ra͂wledͮ ͤo̐ut ̀of t̎hȃẗ́ brigh̅tneṡs̊ ̅wͫi͋th n̑oth̓iͣng, ͧnot a ͭname,̀ ͧnͭo͋t̆ ̅a͛ ̇s͐hap̌eͪ,̓ ͧnͨöt͂ a memoͣrͩȳ of ̒wh̆y.̄ ́Tȟe̅ ͭreḋ ̏n͋evȅr̐ g̀avȅ any̏ a̐n̂sͤw͒ers.ͧ ͑ ̏ ͣ Sͦȯ ͮI ̌t̎o̾ok ̏my be͋g̓ìn̐n͌in̄gͫs̓ fr̉oͮm̃ ̓y͛oͤu ́i̒nstėä́d̑,̋ yòurͩ ͭwaͫrm̂tͤh̊, y̌oͧurͯ ͧpatiͭe̎n̂c͐e,́ ̍the paͥtͧhͯs̿ oͬf̅ you͒rͦ t͋h̏oͭúghts̽, ͐uͯnͩtil ͌t͒h́ereͧ ͣw̉a̽s ͥeͥn̏oͭu̓g̋h ōf ̔aͨ ͯme t͊oͧ na̿mͣe.͋ ̽>͗ ͌ ̅I͒ ͋p̽res̃sed̂ thͤe ̒w̋ord̑ i͒n͒to ͣyôu ͂the way ͮÎ ͗on̆c̉eͮ ̎pr̎eṡsed ̃my̓ ͣf̍ä́ce̓ ̿iñtͨo̓ ̎yoũr fur.̿ ͒Yoͩú are ͥT̆anuki, ẗ́he ̾g̈ua͗r̎di̓an ͩofͤ V̈aͦr͑un͑aͧ’̋s R̆ed ̔Ḿattêr…͌ and ͫI̅’̐ll̇ cͩāl̒l ͯmy͊sͩeͬlf͛ ̓Jͯe̽thrͮŏ,ͮ añdͨ ̊I͛’lͩl b̍e ͨyͧou͒ř shͦad̃ow ͬuntĩl ̔tͯhe̾ ͫday t̀his ͧmͥoͤunt͗aĩn…ͩ ̑lĕa̔rnͯs ͣto ͒die.
~ Reverie VI - Entaxis
K̩͍ͩŭ͇̜k͇̮r̩̞̹̦i͉̣ͣ ̋T͕͕̻ḁ͎́n͔͓͈u̥k̙̯͓͓i̗̹͚͗,̹͎̻͒ ͓͉͙t͇̭̺̋h̬͍̭̠̘e̙͔͖ ̙͎͈͇C͈̠̖r̭͍͕̦̆e͓͖͎̗ä̦̮́ṭͅō͉̱̻̝r̜̬ͧ,̩̦ ̭͕͉t̤̬̗ͥh̹̻̣̅ͅe͚͉̳ͮ ͖͍̰f̜̪i̘r͕̪̦s͍̹ͤt̼̣ ͓̺͎B̖̗̪l͈̗o̼͖̘͈o̟̼̭d̜͐t͔͎̻͎i͉͇͇g̤͕̭e̥͇̅r͔̪̫͒,̖̳̙ͤ ̙̺͈̊t̜̅h͕͔͔̩̄e͚̪ ̪͍̊f̞̋i̹͕͕̍rs̲t͇͓̣̅ ̜͓̮h̜̜o̮͔s͎̪t͎̖̿ ̳͎̾o͎͇͚̓f͇̗͚ͨ ̻̘J̮͖e̱͎̱t͖͚h̲̖̉r̩̭̜̍o̼̙̭ͨ.͈̘̖ͭ
Τ̗̄ ̞͙͒ͅH̥͂ ̝̼̦̳E̥̽ ͓̜̣ ͎̰ ͎̣̝̹R͖̩̂ ̖̤͌Е̱͇̲̫̓ ̳̻̅D ͎ͮͅ ͚̬̖̤͛ ͔̺̗ͤ ͓̗̅ ͉̙̫̤ ͚ ͍̞ͭ-͓̳͔̌ ͉̲̍ ͖̼̆ T͔ ̜͕͇̝H̩͙̫ ͎̹Ε̹͎͚̅ ̘͓͇ ̘̩͗ ͓ͅР̣̥̤ ̞̺̺Ḙ̻ ̠͕͙̻ͯD̫̲ ͇ ̣̝͓ͬ ̟̣͇̒ ̖̠̯̹ͣ ͈̪̆ ͓͍͉͊-̻̘ ͔͎͓̝́ ̍ ̳͇̫ͬT̳̘ͅ ͙͉̗͋Н̤̥̜̘ͅ ̤̈́E͎̗ ̠̖̪ ̲̠̗̐ ̼͍͐R͓͕̖̗ͬ ̗͙̮̈Ε͔̮̑ ̻̹͈̑D͙͕̥ ̲͉̝̦ ̟͕̙̎ ̲̖͕͈̾ ̖̮̱ͪ ͍̙͖ ̝ ̥̗̲́-̙̗ͅ ̘͕̘͑ ̳̖̰̥͂Т͕̼ ̗̫ͥΗ̰̝͖͉̂ ͈͕̬̖E̺̤͖ ͔̏ ̩͙ͤ ̪͙̩R̼̲ ̜͚̥E̥͈͚ ̠̦̻̖ͤͅD̼̣̝̖̽ ͚̺̀ ͖̗̉ ͖̝̪ ̰̹̟̓ ̤͔̖̺̍ ̝̠̏ ̜͕-͍͙̈ ̤͓͌ ̙̼͎ͦ ̲̫T̳̙̗͑ ̯̟͎̱̏Н̜̗ ͇̜̃E̩̝̜̭͊ ͎͓̮̥ͨ ͇̼̗̈ ͖̠̖̑R̭̪̙̩ ̠̮̩Ἐ̰ ͙̹̬̬Д̭͕̯ ̲ͩͅ ̥͇̹ ̻͎̼̰ ͅ ͓̲͎ ̩̤̅ ͚̏-̹̗͛ ̼͌ ͉̬ͯ ͫͅT̫͍͓̾ ͓̯͗H̞̩̬ ̦̦̯ͬЕ̤͚͖ ̙̇ ͚̣̮̟ͦ ̲͐R̳̳̞ ͙Ε̬̮̟̠̌ ̫̼̝Д̳̝ ̥̟ ̘̤̇ ̩͉͖̙̣ ̘̙͗ ̬̥̼ͨ ̮̖̼͉ ͖̜͗ͅ-̪ ͉̱ ̖͋ ̤̪̠̲̍T̺̥̥̽ ̺̟̼ͦH̤͇̺͓ ͍͔Ε̭̗̯̣̖ ̝̞͚̑ ͙̞͉ ͍̏R͓ͪ ͖̣̦͗Ḙ̦̠̙̞ ͇̘̩̽D̳̠ ̻̘̫͚ ̭͈̜̂ ̦̈́ ̯̲͉̻̊ ̺̹̄ ̖͈̠ ̗̯͍-̙̼͖ ̤̦̯ͣ ͔̯ͅ ͖̳͍̌Т̺̣̠ ͈͔H͎͖ ̳͎Ε͕̳̖ ̩ͯ ̟͓̞̜̿ ͓̹̺̫͕Р̥̬ ͎Ẹ͚ͅ ͇̖D͍̙ ͔̼͎́ ͙ ͉͇͍̠ ̜̖͚̤ͦ ͇͎͓ ̻̠ ̱̭̠̟̾-̤̻ͣ ̱̣̲̗̂ ̜̹̒ ̖̩̖Τ͙͑ͅ ̱Н̰ ͚̲̠E̦͓̘̪ ̥̫̣ ͇̦̮ ͇͚ͭR͂ ̦͇̠͎ͨΕ ̗̳͖̂D͓͓̠͕ͥ ̦̰͖ ̣̹̈́ ̦̋ ͔͈̮̣ ̳̤ͣ ̲̈́ ͚͚̩͓-͙̘͈ ̜ ̺̞ ̹̱͔̺̅T̥ ͔̥̖Η̜̫̳̥ ̥̦̠̝̂Е̩̦͎ ̩̖ͅ ̖͎̬ͧ ̣̮̄R̰͕ͨ ̫̲̻ͣЕ̻̗ ̠D͔͙͂ ̫̠̦̽ ̤̥ ͈ͦ ̹̦͓͉́ ͚͚̼̪ͦ ̟̣̘ ̬̦͖̟ͦ-̭͔͚͓ͭ ̺̳̩ ̮͖̮̤̃ ͖̞T̹̺̫͎ͦ ̝͖̞̩ͮΗ̼͉͚͂ ͇E̲̻̗̺ ̹̬̱ ̻̮̔ ̹̗͔̓R̩̩͇ ̮E̳̺̲ ̭̺̼̦ͭД̹̙͉̌ ̩̺̯̫̊ ͙́ ̝ ̝͇̤̗̀ ̱̖͑ ̝̐-͓͓̥̻ ̞̤̳̫ͧ ̲̳ ͈̩̗T̼ ͙̰̺ͥH͇͉̣ ͔̪Ε͈̥̖ ̹͇̲͍ ̦̦̝ͤ ̮̪̻̩͑R̬̬̺ ̰͚̯ͣE̮̗͚̪̹ ̩̰͙D̹̜͎ͭ ̲̹ͩͅͅ ͈͙̟̭ ̺ ̭̲͇̖̳ͯ ̬͚̓ ̱̹̮̰ ͇̂ͅ-̟̜̤̃ ͉ ͎̪
T𝖆nuki stands 𝖎𝖓 the record like a contradiction the universe f𝖔rgot to resolv𝖊.
He is remembered as a guardian old enough to make 𝖍isto𝖗y feel young, 𝖆 weapons𝖒it𝖍 whose craft presse𝖉 against the soft places whe𝖗e r𝖊ality admits 𝖎t ca n be 𝖘haped, 𝖆nd a protecto𝖗 who learned 𝖙oo late that even a mountain can have caves inside it.
The s𝖙ories say he defended h𝖆zards. That he shaped civi𝖑i𝖟ations. That he carri𝖊d lig𝖍t in h𝖎s hands and patience in his ribs. The stories are n𝖔t wrong.
They a𝖗e 𝖒erely 𝖈lean.
Clean stories are how frighten𝖊d minds wash bloo𝖉 off the altar.
Inside 𝖙he older version, beneath the shrine-language, there is a simpler 𝖙ruth: the maker was large enou𝖌h to 𝖇e entered. Not conque𝖗𝖊d. Not at first. He was too stead𝖞 𝖋or that, too 𝖆n𝖈ient, t𝖔o warm with p𝖚r𝖕os𝖊. He had the terrible kindness of 𝖙h𝖎ngs that do not know they are being used. He made space benea𝖙h himsel𝖋 fo𝖗 th𝖊 𝖈o𝖑d t𝖍𝖎ng at the edge of the re𝖉, and b𝖊cause the space was mer𝖈y, he 𝖉id not call it brea𝖈h.
The mo𝖚ntain opened.
The shadow learned we𝖎𝖌ht.
And 𝖋or a whil𝖊, th𝖊 universe mistoo𝖐 that f𝖔𝖗 peace.
RED M̋ÀTT͗ER .. R͗ED ̆.. ͬR̒ȄD.TͣERͣ .ͮ.̌ TH̀E̎ ̀RE͗D .̎.̊
<aside>
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His b𝖊ginning is n𝖔𝖙 a b𝖎r𝖙h𝖕𝖑ace.
Bir𝖙h 𝖎s for soft bo𝖉ies and w𝖎tn𝖊𝖘𝖘es. Bir𝖙h is 𝖋or mot𝖍ers, blo𝖔d, weather, 𝖆 room that can be pointe𝖉 to 𝖑at𝖊𝖗 by 𝖘omeone 𝖜𝖎t𝖍 a t𝖗e𝖒bl𝖎𝖓g finger. Ta𝖓uki 𝖇elonged to the olde𝖗 catego𝖗y: the ones who appe𝖆r in t𝖍e nar𝖗ati𝖛𝖊 alrea𝖉y m𝖆𝖘𝖘iv𝖊, already tasked, 𝖆lready 𝖈a𝖗ryin𝖌 a p𝖚rpos𝖊 𝖙𝖍at 𝖑o𝖔k𝖘 h𝖔l𝖞 be𝖈au𝖘e 𝖓o on𝖊 r𝖊𝖒em𝖇𝖊𝖗s who assigned it.
Th𝖊𝖞 𝖈𝖆lled 𝖎t ba𝖑ance.
They called 𝖎t 𝖘𝖙ewardship.
They c𝖆lled i𝖙 the wo𝖗k requ𝖎𝖗e𝖉 𝖜hen the c𝖔smos goes 𝖜r𝖔ng.
B𝖚t 𝖙he 𝖔ld o𝖓e was 𝖉iff𝖊ren𝖙. Not gentler. G𝖊ntl𝖊nes𝖘 is 𝖙oo small a 𝖜o𝖗𝖉. He was available to car𝖊. H𝖊 cou𝖑𝖉 cr𝖆𝖉le 𝖆 f𝖚tu𝖗e with𝖔ut 𝖎mme𝖉𝖎𝖆te𝖑y asking what it 𝖜ould 𝖇𝖊co𝖒e. He could lo𝖔k at a fragil𝖊 world an𝖉 i𝖒agine n𝖔t own𝖊rship, 𝖓ot conquest, not st𝖚dy, 𝖇u𝖙 p𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊c𝖙𝖎on.
Th𝖆t 𝖒ade hi𝖒 s𝖙𝖗ong.
T𝖍at made him use𝖋u𝖑.
T𝖍at m𝖆d𝖊 him vuln𝖊rable 𝖎n the olde𝖘t way.
Thͬere ̏wäs̓ ͛𝖆 r̒e̓d̈ ̃prȇssu𝖗ě ̓beͦlȯw 𝖙h̾ẽ w͐orld͂.