These texts were excised from this log and moved here at the request of a representative of Jason Gresham in favor of the correct introduction. It is believed that using references related to this world (aka the real world) to conflate with events related to the Maverick's world, (which features different continents and history) would not be accurate to the information pertaining the original log recorded by the original author (the aforementioned Mr. Gresham).
This is the doctored excerpt from the diary of Jason Gresham. Fourth of May, year 20XX.
"Many years ago, back when the world was not quite modern, the last of the ninja clans and shogunate was defeated and they surrendered to the Japanese Emperor. Or that’s what most people believe. In truth, there was an unnamed clan that has since been lost from the pages of history who has held out until quite recently when they were rediscovered. I know because I’m friends with them. Okay, an ‘associate’, but still I managed to ask them about their origins after friendly conversations and this is what master Higashi told me.
Master Higashi said that after Warring State Era of Japan, the Ten Heroes of Sanada, alongside many other Shinobi warriors, and a monk called Hoichi Hakushi, who had known the location of an ancient Buddhist temple where they remained hidden until today, under the summit of a forest-surrounded mountain. With the Meiji restoration and the fall of the Shogunate, the Samurai no longer had political power and some too had joined their long-time rivals into hiding here, where they initially settled with unease.
The ninjas were a feared bunch, relying on their passing of the knowledge and usage of weaponry (like the Shuriken) and Kuji-kiri, special scrolls which grants them abilities like flight, invisibility, cloning, or shape-shifting to carry out espionage, sabotage, and even acts of assassination. The samurai, while fighting simply compared to their flashier rivals, are deadly enough with not only their Katana; but skilled in archery, the use of polearms (spears), and even later firearms like the cannons and musket. (I'm getting sidetracked here.)
So the warriors became known as the lost clan, united under their virtues of bushido, an ancient Japanese way of the warrior. As time went on, they trained and bided, passing on their experience and skills to the next generation in the hopes that once again, the Daimyo would call them to war. Alas, with the world now in peace and their numbers faltered, they seem poised to extinction had fate not played one last hand."
(Archive Notes: There seems to be some Woolseyism here from the editors as the Maverick is referring to contemporary events that happened on this Earth rather than the world where he comes from and where this story is set place. We will notify you readers of any changes to the original logs.)