Soen was the first child born to a newly wed couple in the Land of Snow on a particularly cold winter's night. There was something wrong with her though, or so her parents thought. Where most children would be screaming the moment they were born, Soen remained silent. No matter what they tried to do they could not get her to make any sound at all. When they took her over to a nearby med-nin to have her looked at, he sadly informed her parents that her vocal cords did not develop properly in Soen's time in the womb, and that as a result she would never be able to speak again. They demanded that he fixed her right then, but it was impossible. He could not correct what did not work in the first place, and Soen was so young that if he attempted it then he risked injuring her further. He did reassure them that everything else about Soen was perfectly fine, and that she would grow up to be a healthy child otherwise. Her parents were still ashamed that the very first child that they were given was defective and couldn't bear the thought of having to deal with the extra burden. When Soen was only two years old her parents finally just couldn't take it anymore. With no child's sweet voice or laughter to fill their home Soen was just another mouth to feed and care for. They led Soen to a nearby orphanage and simply left her there without another word. Soen never saw her parents again after that.
Soen's time in the orphanage was long and agonizing because she could not speak to the other children she was often pushed around. When she had a toy to play with another child would just take it away from her and then ask her to just say if she wasn't done with it. They knew perfectly well that she could not speak for herself. At feeding time each child was given only a certain amount to conserve the orphanage's supplies. Soen only received a third of it since she had to fight off the other children from her plate. When she tried going to the elders of the house they could never understand what she was trying to communicate to them to understand her pleas for help. She felt so completely and utterly alone even when surrounded by others her age in similar situations to her own. No one understood her, no one even bothered trying to. Often times she silently cried herself to sleep at night just to ease some of the pain she felt. That was until an older Jounin, named Kesshi, stopped by the orphanage to check on the children's conditions as part of his mission. Of course everyone acted all sweet and innocent to look adoptable to the man, but without even trying Soen managed to catch his attention. Even after he was warned about Soen's inability to speak he still managed to find the time to visit her whenever he could even after his business with the orphanage was done. During his last visit he told Soen he would not be stopping by to visit her again. Although her face shown she was heart broken he only smiled and laughed in response before explaining that this time she was coming with him. Soen was eight years old when she left the orphanage, and it finally looked like things were looking up for her.
The best years of Soen's life were spent with Kesshi, and he became the father she never got to know. Not only did he teach her how to write, so she could finally let others know what she was feeling. He also took her on as a young apprentice in the shinobi arts. While she was not able to speak, she was able to listen and learned at a decent pace. Eventually it got to the point where Kesshi was confident enough that he decided to take her with him on missions. Despite Soen's protests he still managed to convince her to come along. Everything was going great for Soen. She had a small family, a home to go back to, and she didn't have to feel alone anymore. That is until one dark stormy night when Kesshi was sent to explore a caravan with possible kidnapped victims. It seemed routine enough, so he allowed Soen to join him. He instructed her to wait behind the bushes until he gave the signal, and not a moment sooner than that. With that he left Soen alone again, she grew to hate being alone, and waited eagerly for his return. Hours passed and there was still no word from Kesshi. Soen began to worry. It wasn't like him to keep her waiting this long. Finally a twig snapping got Soen's attention, and a figure approached her. She looked up expecting to see Kesshi finally, but then after a sharp pain in the back of her neck darkness was the only thing to greet her. The caravan turned out to be a traveling freak show, and it now had one more act to display. When she finally came to, her eyes stared back into the cold dead eyes of Kesshi. If there was ever a moment she wished she could scream it would be then, but alas tears could only pour down her face as she silently closed her father's eyes one last time. Soen was only thirteen when she was taken, and she spent three long years being the girl who never spoke. People would pay ryo just to get the chance to try and get her to make a sound by any means necessary. Sometimes that was just by talking to her, other times it involved throwing things at her like rotten fruit or rocks when more cruel people were given their turn. Soen was all alone again, and no one seemed to care about it. No one seemed to care about her anymore.
Eventually it got to the point where Soen simply decided to give up. Death's embrace had to be more comforting than this existence. She refused to eat what meager meals and drink were offered to her and simply stayed huddled in the corner even during the times she was meant to perform. After several days Soen could feel herself just barely hanging off the edge. Some part of her wished more than anything that she could feel Kesshi's presence just one more time before she left this world, and after that thought she drifted off to sleep for what she thought to be the last time. She awoke in the morning to a Noh mask laying by her side, Mugon. She reached out and nervously looked over the mask feeling it call out to her. It held the same comforting presence that Kesshi once gave her. Putting on the mask she began to feel the comforting silence surround her once again. Silence was the only thing that lasted forever, silence was the only thing that stayed with her in both good times and bad. Everyone, everything around her tried to take away her silence. She could not let them take the only thing that made her life worth living. Perhaps if she could make them understand what a blessing it really was, they would not take it away from her. Soen finally had a purpose in life again, to protect the silence and to spread it to others whether they liked it or not. Soen left the caravan that night, silencing any who tried to stop her with cold unfeeling ease. When she was a safe distance away she pulled away Mugon and simply stood there for a long moment, thinking about what she was going to do now. She was sixteen when she managed to escape, and now she had her whole life ahead of her to plan.
Eventually Soen decided that a normal village life was no longer an option for her. The loud and bustling streets grated on her ears and the constant sounds only made her want to spread the silence further. This would only lead her to be hunted down and killed. In the end she decided to become a wanderer of the lands, traveling when and where she seen fit. It seemed to be a fitting life for her, for silence could be anywhere, why couldn't she? Besides if she is able to come and go when she pleases she does not have to stay with the constant noise whenever she doesn't want to. She could always just go somewhere where she could find peace long enough to settle down to a tolerable level once again. There will be a time when the world can experience the silence, now just isn't the time quite yet.
