Geez, I'm bringing a bunch of characters that I did for fan stories and art from back in the day.
I've brought up Mara Yagami nee Mori. She's the wife of
Iori Yagami.
The official SNK backstory is that the Kusanagi, Yata, and Yagami clans were at war over the demon Orochi. They both succeded in sealing them away. However, the Yagami clan wished for more power and struck a deal with Orochi - also due to the jealousy of being in the Kusanagi's shadow. Due to this, the Kusanagi and Yagami clans were locked in bloody warfare over time, killing many.
Another aspect of the tale is that the Yagami were originally the Yasakani. 660 years earlier, one of the followers of Orochi murdered the wife of the head of the Yasakani clan and framed the Kusanagis. I was supposed atonement to let the Orochi seal weaken. It didn't help that her body was found in the Kusanagi homeland. In revenge, they made a pact with
Orochi.
PROS: Unlimited power
CONS: All their women die in childbirth, the heirs die young, and they have frenzied bloodlust.
Great.
So my part of the story is that there is another clan - a more neutral one. Their surname is Mori (like forest) and they are more peaceful. In order to prevent more bloodshed and more chaotic events, this clan proposes a peaceful way how things can be mediated, even settled.
The two daughters of the patriarch will be given in marriage to each clan. The elder (Mara) will be given in marriage to Iori - a calmer figure that may help quell the bloodlust that the Orochi demon has cursed Iori with. As for the childbirth, they figure a surrogate would be acceptable. (I haven't worked that part out yet.) The younger one, (Minami) will be given to Kyo as their similar personalities and perhaps should balance each other out.
The only issue is that even though Mara is willing and Iori is -due to this marriage being the only possible cure or a reasonable management for his curse, Kyo and Minami aren't willing to do it. Minami feels that she is too young to be married - plus her feelings for Kyo are only friendly. Kyo, for obvious reasons (having a girlfriend which he loves, Yuki), refuses. The Mori clan go forward with one half of their plan anyway because at least they see the Orochi blood being quelled by Mara's temperment.
However, more falls apart when Iori is seized by the Orochi bloodlust when the demon calls to him - even though it is sealed away. It would be akin to heroin addiction. However, Mara isn't as passive and obedient as people make her out to be. Even though she is peaceful and kind - she does have a soul of a strong oak or redwood and is just as resillient. She enters into the KOF tournament to get her husband back.
I picked the name Mara from the Hebrew origin of "bitter" as she has to deal with a lot, but the implication can mean "strength". Also, the meaning can be "lady" in Aramaic, becaure the "mar" means lord.
