#Puppeteer Sample: Ayame (綾女)

Contents

"When my fingers move, Kazami moves."

---

#1st Dan — Girl Who Moves Dolls

#Scent

A young puppeteer from a wandering puppet troupe. She enlarged the small puppet Kazami (風) to human size and controls it directly. Her body is frail, but Kazami is strong. She says little and observes much.

#Background — How the Adventure Began

Ayame grew up in a wandering puppet troupe. Her parents entrusted her to the troupe when she was five and left. She never learned why. The troupe leader taught Ayame puppetry. Before turning fifteen, she was the troupe's chief operator.

The troupe dissolved when Ayame was seventeen. The leader died of illness, and the remaining members scattered. What remained to Ayame was the small puppet she had controlled with the most affection, Kazami, and a few puppet-theater tools. She redesigned Kazami at human size: a structure that could apply small theatrical movements to real combat. Wooden frame, iron joints, protective leather. Glass beads for eyes. Finally, twelve core points where magnetic thread could connect.

Her first field combat was accidental. While wandering with Kazami on her back, she encountered bandits on a mountain road. When Ayame stood Kazami up, the bandits hesitated. She moved her fingers, Kazami moved, and the dagger hidden in Kazami's hand stabbed three bandits. The rest fled. That night, Ayame lay beside Kazami and thought for the first time, "I am not alone."

#Law

Ayame — Puppeteer 1st dan
Wounds 2, Defense 10(no armor, body), Energy 12(10+Finesse 2)

![Ayame the "Divided Being" flanked by two free-standing puppets with no visible strings, her hands lowered; three blank faces](../../../../assets/interior/20260624/batch-5-additional/CDAN-07.webp)

Courage-1, Finesse+2, Physique+0, Wisdom+1, Presence+0, Fate+1
Background: Wanderer | Heart: No Heart

Weapons: none (body is noncombat)

Puppet Kazami (individual unit):

• Wounds 3, Defense 13, puppet blade
• Weapon: built-in dagger (1 Energy)

Maneuver List (body basis):

Typical Breath: body in Rear Zone → Kazami Built-in Dagger(puppeteer Energy 1) × 2 + defense reservation(1) = 3. Kazami attacks using the body's Energy.

---

#5th Dan — War of Threads

#Scent

She strengthened Kazami and learned Double Thread, the technique of controlling two puppets at once. The body is still frail, but the puppets moving from her fingertips now have squad-grade firepower.

#Background — How She Came This Far

After 1st dan, Ayame volunteered for special Kagura Domain missions for three years. They were mainly hostage rescues and scouting. Kazami specialized in Outside Zone/Flank Zone entry and could fit even through spaces the size of a house window. In the second year, Ayame completed her second puppet, Uzume (宇受賣). It was built to throw daggers at range. With that, the Double Thread technique was completed.

In the third year, during a hostage rescue mission, Ayame saved one young girl. The girl looked at Kazami without fear and said, "The doll is pretty." At that moment, Ayame understood for the first time that her weapon could also be beauty. After that, she began placing masks on Kazami's exterior. It was a ritual before battle.

Around this time, Ayame met the autonomous automaton Ichi. Ichi analyzed Kazami and said, "This design is precise. But it has no will of its own." Ayame answered, "The will is mine. That is what a puppeteer is." Ichi thought for a long time and only said, "I see."

#Law

Ayame — Puppeteer 5th dan
Wounds 3(2+Physique 1), Defense 11(light armor), Energy 13(10+Finesse 3)
Courage-1, Finesse+3, Physique+1, Wisdom+1, Presence+0, Fate+1
Background: Wanderer route A (artisan bloodline inherited) | Heart: Compassion (Way of Emptiness — hostage-rescue experience)
School: none (Puppeteer independent)

Puppets × 2:

• Kazami (melee type): Wounds 4, Defense 14, built-in dagger 1 Energy, thrust 2 Energy
• Uzume (ranged type): Wounds 3, Defense 12, thrown dagger 2 Energy (range adjacent zone)

Additional Maneuvers (body):

Typical Breath: body in Rear Zone → Double Thread(3) + Kazami Thrust(0, Energy 2) + Uzume Throw(0, Energy 2) = 7 (succeeds during Overload check). Two puppets strike at once.

---

#10th Dan (Tatsujin) — "Split Existence Ayame"

#Scent

The only puppeteer in the realm to reach the state where body and puppets act simultaneously. The body sits in the rear, while the puppets range across the battlefield. Who is Ayame? Perhaps both.

Renown Title: Class Capstone — Perfect Double.

#Background — How She Earned the Renown Title

Ayame's legend was completed in the infiltration of a Hannyakai workshop. When infiltrating the workshop with Kage and Enku, Ayame kept her body Outside and sent only Kazami and Uzume inside. She was in a forest 0.5 ri away from the workshop, eyes closed. Sharing Kazami's sight, she drew a map of the workshop interior in her mind and transmitted the structure to Kage and Enku in real time.

During that mission, Kazami was destroyed once, and Uzume was badly damaged as well. But Ayame survived because her body was safe. After the mission, restoring Kazami took two months. Looking at the restored Kazami, Ayame murmured, "You came back." Kazami could not answer, but Ayame believed the silence was an answer.

After receiving the Renown Title Perfect Double, Ayame made Kazami and Uzume able to move without her own Energy. The two puppets now act as independent units. At that moment, Ayame asked for the first time, "If Kazami moves without strings, is Kazami alive, or similar to me?" There is no answer yet.

#Law

Ayame — Puppeteer Tatsujin
Wounds 4(2+Physique 1+Tough 1), Defense 12(masterwork protective gear), Energy 13(10+Finesse 3)
Courage-1, Finesse+3, Physique+1, Wisdom+3, Presence+0, Fate+2
Background: Wanderer Tatsujin (Split Existence complete)
Heart: Compassion (complete)
Renown Title: Perfect Double (Class Capstone)

Puppets × 2 (upgraded):

• Kazami: Wounds 5, Defense 15, masterwork built-in weapon
• Uzume: Wounds 3, Defense 12, ranged technique (range 2 zones)

Additional Maneuvers:

"Kazami moves even without strings. That is — my masterpiece."