Updated Timeline (758)

[Mindshred]

Here is the updated timeline.



~ The Year 758 ~


Month of the Hare, 758: With the first thaws, the Lion set their plans into motion and ruthlessly execute everyone inside the plague-infested areas of Shimizu lands. The sickness was discovered in a small village far removed from any important Lion holdings, making it relatively easy to contain, but the mass funeral pyres that burn throughout the month set an inauspicious tone for the rest of the year.

As if to make things worse, the Phoenix report sightings of Yobanjin along their northern borders, though the barbarians retreat upon sighting Phoenix samurai. More sightings occur throughout the rest of the month, but each time, the Yobanjin withdraw quickly, rather than launch attacks. Suspecting that barbarians are scouting parties for a larger force, the Phoenix Champion orders the Avalanche Guard and Legion of Stone to take up defensible positions along the northern border.

The Scorpion Champion, meanwhile, has a subdued second wedding wherein he marries Doji Juko, a Crane courtier of modest skill and rank. Only a few guests are invited to the ceremony, but those who attend defend Bayushi Yuuto’s desire to keep the matter private. Among the wider Scorpion Clan, however, few of the higher-ranking courtiers are happy at having been snubbed for the event, though most are still pleased that their Champion has remarried.

The first Naga arrive at the abandoned Kyuden Kuni, which they begin to settle per an agreement made with the Crab the previous winter. Though the land is corrupted and barren, the camp begins to attract small groups of Naga who had been forbidden from joining Tausha’s Legion. There is debate among the members of the Legion about whether or not the Tausha would approve, but it is soon decided that there is no reason the other bloodlines cannot exist peacefully in a new settlement far beyond the borders of the Shinomen.

Near the end of the month, the Elemental Council gathers to assist Isawa Daiko in her first attempt to cast the purified spell that had once been known as Dark Divination. Dubbing it The Light of Tengoku, Daiko intones the prayers of the powerful spell and is stunned by the sheer number of visions that assault her mind. When she recovers, she gasps out a warning of the future she saw… a future in which Iuchiban is freed from his tomb and brings about a terrible rain of blood that corrupts samurai across the Empire. Realizing the threat the undying sorcerer poses to the Empire, the Elemental Council begins debating how to deal with Iuchiban once and for all.



Month of the Dragon, 758: The month begins with the wedding of Crane Champion Doji Etsuo to a young Scorpion bushi, Bayushi Sakae. The wedding is a public ceremony that attracts top courtiers from all across the Empire, but it is marred by the appearance of Bayushi Katsuo, one of Sakae's former lovers. A drunken Katsuo accuses Etsuo of stealing his love and draws steel on the Crane Champion, only to be tackled by two different Daidoji bodyguards. Rather than force the Scorpion to answer for his actions, Etsuo merely shames the man for his drunken behavior and sends him away, much to the surprise of the gathered guests. Bayushi Sakae, in particular, is embarrassed by Katsuo's actions and spends the rest of the ceremony as red as her wedding garments.

Shortly after the wedding, the spectral form of Hantei XIV appears to the Hantei in his bed chambers, waking both him and his new bride. The spirit warns the Emperor of a terrible plot against his life... a plot that is being masterminded by his closest advisor, Agasha Muizu. When the Seppun investigate the Hantei's chambers in the morning, they confirm that the palace's wards are intact, indicating that the visitation had apparently been genuine. The Hantei has the surprised Muizu arrested and, despite his protests, the Imperial Advisor is executed that very afternoon. In his place, the Emperor takes his ancestor's advice and names Doji Suiminko, a relatively obscure Crane shugenja, as the new Imperial Advisor. Near the end of the month, Doji Suiminko - known to a handful of people in the Empire as Master Dream of the Kolat - arrives in Otosan Uchi and assumes her new position at the Emperor's side.

Going against his Champion’s wishes, Kuni Toru begins teaching the few shugenja among the Damned how to summon oni to help defend the Crab battle lines. This is met with a fair amount of resistance among the Damned, but their protests are more or less silenced when Toru points out that he is the Kuni Daimyo and they are corrupted samurai who can no longer trust their own judgement. A handful of the corrupted shugenja grudgingly begin studying the forbidden texts given to them by the daimyo while others commit sepukku in protest of Toru's commands. Their remains are gathered by his acolytes for cremation, but the paperwork - and the corpses - are misplaced without anyone outside the Damned knowing that there were corpses in the first place.

Kuni Toru returns to Shiro Kuni to find Isawa Daiko and Isawa Arya waiting for him. The two Elemental Masters explain that they require the Mask of Iuchiban which had been entrusted to the Kuni, one of the four that were required to open Iuchiban's Tomb, where the Bloodspeaker had been imprisoned eight years earlier. The Kuni daimyo refuses, claiming that the Phoenix already have a Mask and that leaving two of them in the same Clan is an invitation to disaster, but halfway through his argument, Isawa Arya realizes - by virtue of her long study of Maho and countless corrupted apprentices - that Kuni Toru has been corrupted by Jigoku. With the flick of her hand and a single word, she incinerates him in a burst of flame, drawing a shriek of surprise from Isawa Daiko.

While it initially seems as if the two Elemental Masters will be arrested for murder - no doubt sparking a war between the Phoenix and Crab - one of the Kuni investigators points out that Kuni Toru's charred skeleton is slowly trying to crawl toward the door. The Kuni deal with their former daimyo's remains in the appropriate fashion and apologize to the Isawa Arya and Isawa Daiko for the confusion. In exchange for keeping the Toru's corruption a secret from the rest of the Empire, the Kuni turn their Mask of Iuchiban over to the two Masters, justifying it with the reasoning that the Mask will be safer with the Phoenix than with their own family.

The month comes to an end with a bad omen, as four kobune docked in the ports of North Hub Village catch fire in the night and burn down to the water, killing their crews. An investigation by the Tortoise - headed by Kasuga Asakuro, the Imperial Peafowl Supervisor, who had been in the village awaiting the arrival of two rare tsu fish for the Imperial Menagerie - determines that the fire was started on one ship and quickly spread to the others due to improperly stored oiled rags. The Tortoise post signs reminding sailors to keep a clean ship while in port... and quietly take advantage of the opportunities that arise when four competing smugglers are 'accidentally' burned to death in the holds of their ships.



Month of the Serpent, 758: The loss of two Crab daimyo in short succession to one another - first Yasuki Takara and now Kuni Toru - is a blow to the Clan's flagging morale, especially with the rumors that the Shadowlands were responsible for both murders. When news begins to spread that Hida Kame has given birth to a girl - a legitimate heir to the Hida bloodline - the Crab seize upon it as an excuse to celebrate one of the few sparkling moments of light in an otherwise darkening world. Impromptu celebrations erupt all across Crab lands as samurai engage in heavy drinking and loud cheers for their future Champion. Particularly popular among the revelers is Blushing Winter Orchid sake, a new brand of sake from Hare lands. Its release alongside the birth of the new Crab is seen as fortuitous, and soon the demands for the new brand put Usagi Takeo's fledgling sake house in a panic as they try to meet the high demand for their product.

The Kuni family celebrates the birth of Hida Kame's child in their own way... by ruthlessly hunting down and executing Toru's corrupted acolytes. From a distance, the multiple flashes of green light that flash out from the castle's windows and battlements are mistaken for fireworks, and the Kuni never bother to correct the misconception.

As word of the new Crab heir reaches Phoenix lands, Isawa Kibou and Isawa Engi set about attempting to retrieve the Mask of Iuchiban which had been entrusted to the Phoenix... and then stored within Kyuden Asako. Accompanied by a platoon of a hundred Shiba bushi and Isawa shugenja, the Elemental Masters lead their forces in a frontal assault on the haunted castle. Thanks to Engi's prayers and Kibou's leadership, the Phoenix are able to fight their way through countless slaughter spirits and into the castle's throne room... which they find under the control of the returned spirit of Hantei XVI, the Steel Chrysanthemum. Isawa Kibou orders the surviving members of his legion to attack the Hantei, but the Shiba are hesitant to draw steel against an Emperor... even one that is partially translucent.

The slaughter spirits have no such qualms against raising their blades against the Phoenix, however, and the resulting battle is a one-sided slaughter. Isawa Engi and Isawa Kibou do their best to hold the slaughter spirits at bay, but both are soon overwhelmed. The Steel Chrysanthemum orders that the two Elemental Masters be taken prisoner, and it is only through the few fleeting scraps of loyalty to the Hantei name that the slaughter spirits are able to quell their rage and leave the two shugenja alive. The former Emperor turns Isawa Engi over to his yojimbo, Hida Tsuneo, and commands him to torture and brutalize her until Kibou tells him everything he knows about the current state of the Empire.

As Tsuneo starts in on Engi, Kibou sheds his human guise and returns to his true form, that of a flaming ryu spirit. His flames burn Hida Tsuneo away into nothingness in a flash of heavenly fire, and the Steel Chrysanthemum and most of the other slaughter spirits are also caught in the flames. Kibou returns to his mortal form and stumbles out of the castle, holding the brutalized and nearly unconscious Engi in one arm and her staff in the other, only to find the Oracle of the Void waiting for him outside the castle gates. The Oracle reminds Kibou that the Void Dragon had only allowed him to journey to Ningen-do on the condition that he not directly interfere with the Hantei... an oath that he has now broken. Panicking, Kibou claims that he had thought the Void Dragon meant the Hantei sitting on the throne, not the Steel Chrysanthemum. The Oracle of the Void gives him a sympathetic look and then erases the Master of the Void from existence.

When Isawa Daiko finds Engi the next day, there is no sign of the Steel Chrysanthemum or the slaughter spirits that had been haunting Kyuden Asako... or Isawa Kibou. The Mask of Iuchiban, however, is exactly where it had been hidden away by the Phoenix eight years prior; the spirits either didn't know what it was or simply didn't care. Gathering up the traumatized Master of Earth and the Mask, Isawa Daiko attempts to scry upon Isawa Kibou but is unable to locate him, and after a disheartening search, teleports back to Kyuden Isawa with Engi and the Mask.

Far to the south, on the border between Crane and Lion lands, another Phoenix has an encounter with a specter from the Empire's past. Isawa Ryoushiko manages to track down the mysterious figure known only as "The Henshin." Instead of the immortal monk she was expecting, however, she instead finds Goju Adorai, the current avatar of the Nothingness. Adorai's insight into the sin of Desire allows him to string Ryoushiko along with promises of ancient "Phoenix" secrets, and soon the young Phoenix shugenja has fallen under his terrible influence.

By far the most momentous event of the month - and certainly the one that will overshadow everything else that happens this year - is the return of the Kirin Clan to the Empire. Now calling themselves the Unicorn Clan, the purple-clad samurai appear on the western horizon of the Empire like a great wind, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them unlike anything else seen in the Empire. The tired and exhausted samurai are greeted by the Fairuz family, who are familiar enough with the customs of the desert-dwelling Moto to ensure that the first meeting between the Unicorn and the people of the Empire goes off without a hitch. Over the next few weeks, the Unicorn continue to roll in by the hundreds, and the families of the Unicorn greet each other with open arms and prayers of thanks. It soon becomes clear to the Fairuz that only the oldest samurai remember the last time two families of the Unicorn met in the desert, let alone all five at once. Runners are dispatched to every corner of the Empire with news of the Unicorn's return... and news that their numbers are far beyond what anyone expected.

The Unicorn's return almost entirely overshadows the Topaz Championship, in which a Mantis competitor claims victory. The young samurai - who choses to name himself Kaze - also chooses a typical position as a yoriki to the Emerald Magistrates in an otherwise ordinary tournament. After the tournament's conclusion, Kakita Rika sets much higher standards for the Academy's curriculum.



Month of the Horse, 758: Though mourning the apparent death of Isawa Kibou - who remains hidden to Isawa Daiko's divinations - the Phoenix continue to hunt down the remaining two Masks of Iuchiban they require to access his tomb. The third lies with the Yogo family of the Scorpion, and knowing that their attempts to locate it without Scorpion assistance are likely to prove unsuccessful, Isawa Daiko and Isawa Kenshin approach the Scorpion Champion to explain the situation in detail. Bayushi Yuuto is understanding of their position and agrees to give them the Mask... in return for the three Black Scrolls that are currently in Phoenix possession. The Phoenix are understandably hesitant to give the Scorpion The Light of Tengoku, but after explaining that it has been opened and purified, Yuuto amends his deal to only the two Black Scrolls that have not yet been opened: Black Wind from the Soul and Shapeshifting. After a private debate between Daiko and Kenshin, the Phoenix agree, and the exchange is made at the end of the month.

Shinjo Wakumi, the Unicorn Champion, travels to Otosan Uchi with a retinue of honor guard to meet with the Emperor. The momentous occasion is attended by the Crane, Dragon, and Phoenix Champions, as well as the Emerald Champion and various Imperial functionaries. Though surprised to learn that the Unicorn Champion is blind, it soon becomes clear that she is a paragon of Honor despite her upbringing far beyond the borders of the Empire. Stories of the Empire's history and the trials of the Unicorn Clan are shared by each group, and by the end of the week, the Unicorn have been welcomed fully back into the Empire. The Hantei formerly restores the lands of the Kirin to the Unicorn, exempting those currently controlled by the Lion and Fairuz, and informs his court that he will be spending the winter with the Unicorn in order to learn more about the Clan. Doji Estuo offers to loan Wakumi some of his advisors to help her prepare for the monumental task of hosting a Winter Court, and the Unicorn Champion gratefully accepts.

Meanwhile, Agasha Mitsuhiko investigates a strange cavern in the mountains of the Dragon. The ashigaru who accompany him search for days to find an entrance to the geological anomaly, but prove unsuccessful; were the walls of the cavern not made from crystal, allowing those outside to see a distorted vision of the open space beyond, it would be difficult to even know that it was there. Mitsuhiko's keen eyes catch sight of something moving beyond the crystal walls, but no matter how hard he tries, he fails to get a good look at whatever it might be. He returns to the Agasha Foundries with interesting stories and data but no actual conclusions.

Mitsuhiko's wife, Agasha Sachi, has far better luck in her own ventures. After numerous attempts to create a mechanized machine to assist her former Sparrow Clan in their wheat harvesting, she finally creates a working prototype that is both durable and not prone to accidentally ripping the arms off of heimin workers who use it incorrectly. After making a copy of the plans for further refinement by the Agasha Foundries, she sets off with a group of heimin to deliver the machine to her Clan of birth, eventually arriving near the end of summer.

Further east, the Lion are shocked when the returned spirit of Hantei XVI arrives at the gates of Morikage Toshi with a host of returned spirits. Though forewarned of the appearance of a legion of troops by their scouts, the identity of the troops had been a mystery to the Lion, and the revelation that the Steel Chrysanthemum has returned to Rokugan incites confusion among the city's defenders over just how to handle the unprecedented situation. Hantei XVI sends two members of his legion - both Lion spirits that fought under his command in Toshigoku - forward to negotiate with the modern Lion. When it becomes clear that the spirits are who they claim to be - and more so, that they do not react unpleasantly with jade - they are given leave to set up camp beyond the city's walls while the Kitsu present in the Lion capital attempt to sort out the situation. The next few weeks finds multiple Lion samurai venturing into the camp to learn whether any of their ancestors are among the Iron Chrysanthemum's spirit host.



Month of the Goat, 758: Shinjo Wakumi departs Otosan Uchi and travels west, where she meets with the pregnant Akodo Misaki at Kyuden Ikoma. Having already been informed of the Emperor's decree that returned the lands of the Kirin to the Unicorn, Misaki makes a gives the remaining portions of the former Unicorn lands to the Unicorn Champion. The Unicorn Champion shocks the court when she accepts immediately, unaware that proper etiquette dictates she first refuse twice, and her later words of hoping the Unicorn and Lion can become close friends are taken in a mocking light by the annoyed Lion Champion. Surprised at the sudden and (to her) unexplained shift in the Lion Clan's mood, Wakumi and her honor guard depart hastily, further slighting the Lion by refusing their hospitality.

Meanwhile, the Otaku daimyo, Otaku Xiu, travels to the lands of the Dragon Clan to meet with the woman who found Doji's mirror and guided her Clan back to Rokugan. Togashi Myo-en is surprised at the visit and is even more surprised when she learns that Xiu wishes for the Dragon monk to marry her son. She is able to deflect the issue for the moment, on the grounds of needing to discuss the matter with her lord, who is currently in Otosan Uchi. The Otaku daimyo agrees to wait for the Dragon Champion's permission, and the rest of the visit is much less formal. When Xiu returns to her people two weeks later, the Dragon are left with a favorable opinion of the daimyo and, in turn, the Unicorn Clan as a whole.

Otaku Xiu is not the only daimyo to take a long trip this month: the return of the Steel Chrysanthemum quickly becomes a major point of debate, interest, and fear across the Empire, and Kitsu Izumi arrives at the spirit host's encampment outside Morikage Toshi just as word of the Hantei's return reaches the emperor. It only takes a few moments for Izumi to realize that the spirits following the Steel Chrysanthemum are tainted with the influence of Toshigoku, and from there, she realizes that they must have been the same spirits she pulled into Ningen-do in order to destroy Kyuden Asako during the War of Burned Wings. The Steel Chrysanthemum picks up on her guilt and uses it to manipulate the heavy-hearted daimyo into allowing the spirits to return to their families. Travel papers are drawn up and issued to the spirits, who slowly begin to disperse across the Empire in search of their descendants. The Steel Chrysanthemum is given a room in Morikage Toshi while he awaits word about his request to meet with his living descendants... the Emperor and his siblings.

Further west, in the depths of the Shinomen Forest, the Shakanar arranges to meet a group of displaced Cobra in the ruins of Vyakarana. Knowing that The Tausha would likely disapprove of his actions but thinking of the Naga as a whole, rather than merely the Asp bloodline, he turns the Jade Spear - a sacred artifact that houses the soul of the Shashakar, the Champion of the Cobra bloodline - over to the surprised Jakla. The spellcasters spend weeks attempting to understand the enchantments on the weapon while the Shakanar protects them from being discovered by the Asp or the human samurai of the Piranha Clan, the latter of whom are quite incensed at having the weapon stolen from them. The Cobra Jakla eventually succeed in shattering the sacred weapon and releasing the soul of the Shashakar back into the collective soul of the Akasha. Though dozens of Naga across the world are driven insane and hundreds more are plagued with disturbing visions, the Cobra consider the ritual a success. Their hope is that continued contact with the wider Agasha will gradually bleed away The Shashakar's madness, allowing them to eventually draw upon his great knowledge and wisdom.

Elsewhere in the forest, Otomo Eien, Bayushi Takamori, and two Miya scholars meet with the Tattered Ear tribe of Nezumi in the ruins of M-atikf'chtr-foo. The Nezumi had been devastated by the forces of the Empire during the War of Broken Fangs and were none to happy to find more samurai in their lands, but Otomo Eien's affinity for the creatures and mastery of their language enables him to keep the Nezumi from turning hostile. While still not entirely trusting of humans, the Nezumi at least agree to tell their stories to the Miya scholars so that they can be shared with the Empire.



Month of the Monkey, 758: Isawa Kenshin visits the Emperor and petitions to be given possession of the fourth Mask of Iuchiban, which had been given to the Otomo for safe-keeping. The Emperor, however, is distracted by the appearance of the Steel Chrysanthemum and keeps trying to change the subject back to his returned ancestor, much to the quiet frustration of the venerable Kenshin. It is only after Kenshin convinces the Emperor that his ancestor is harmless and only wishes to connect with his descendants - something that Kenshin is very much unsure of himself - that the Hantei is able to dismiss his concerns about the spirit and turns his attention back to Kenshin's request for the Mask of Iuchiban. The Master of Air eventually leaves the palace with the Mask safely secured beneath his arm, but his heart is heavy at having been forced to lie to the Emperor. When he returns to Kyuden Isawa, he informs Isawa Arya that he will be stepping down from his position once Iuchiban has been defeated; between this and their deception regarding Shinsei's heir, he simply cannot make peace with what the Phoenix Clan has become.

Meanwhile, bright and promising young samurai from all across the Empire begin traveling to Unicorn lands, where Shinjo Wakumi is - at the advice of her Crane advisors - holding a miai to encourage marriage between the Unicorn and the other Clans. Neither the Unicorn nor the other samurai of the Empire quite know what to expect from the gathering, but curiosity about the returned Unicorn - and the chance to be one of the first to influence to Clan upon their return to the Empire - make it a gathering that will likely have far more significance than a few marriages...

The events of the ~ Dark Edge Village~ forum game take place at this time.

Despite the cultural differences between the Unicorn and the other Clans of the Empire, there is a real desire for friendship and understanding between them, and the miai proceeds without any significant scandals. During the gathering, a flock of undead crows deliver a netsuke to the Unicorn at the miai, tempting them into a meeting with their master: Kiyoshi, the Onyx Champion. Kiyoshi claims that the Kami Shinjo has been imprisoned by the Living Darkness, a mutual enemy of both the Shadowlands and the Empire. He offers to tell the Unicorn where to find her in exchange for granting him the bodies (but not the souls) of any Unicorn that die over the course of the next ten years. The Unicorn at the miai are skeptical but agree to pass the message on to their daimyo.

As word of the meeting begins to trickle through the miai, the Scorpion came to realize that nobody had warned the Unicorn of the dangers of the Shadowlands. One of their number, Soshi Taira, diligently compiles a long list of the known dangers of the Shadowlands, blood magic, and other unspeakable dangers and gives it to the Unicorn, providing them with an eye-opening glimpse at the dangers that have crept up on the Empire in their absence. At the end of the month, Iuchi Ming formally forbids the use of blood magic among her family.

Halfway across the Empire, in the lands of the Sparrow, the Order of Harmonious Work spends the last few days of the month under attack by a monk clad in tattered robes and wearing a red demon mask. The masked monk murders three members of the Order in as many days, only to disappear into thin air whenever a reinforcements arrive. The head of the Order, Kayou, eventually mounts a defense against the masked murderer, only for the attacks to end as soon as they began.

Back in Otosan Uchi, rumors begin to circulate that the Empress is pregnant, sparking a great deal of excitement within the capital. The Imperial families refuse to comment on her status, though the few courtiers who manage to obtain access to the Emperor note that they did not see the Empress during their visit.


Month of the Rooster, 758: After much deliberation, the leaders of the Unicorn meet with the Onyx Champion, Kiyoshi, and agree to his demands. Shinjo Wakumi pledges the corpses of the Unicorn to Kiyoshi's service for ten years, and in exchange, he tells her of Shinjo's imprisonment in the city of Medinaat al-Salaam, a sprawling city far to the west of the Empire, in the Burning Sands. After the meeting, Shinja Wakumi immediately orders that the bodies of fallen Unicorn be burned, so as to deprive the Shadowlands of as many warriors as possible.

Preparations to travel to Medinaat al-Salaam begin almost immediately. Though Wakumi initially intended to take only a small portion of her family's strength into the desert, the secret passed quickly through the Unicorn ranks until nearly all of the Clan was swearing themselves to the cause. Faced with a potential revolt and unable to argue with those who claimed that any force powerful enough to capture Shinjo would require the full strength of the Clan to defeat, Wakumi announced that the Unicorn would be riding out as one to rescue their Kami. To ensure that their newly recovered lands would be cared for in their absence, Wakumi and her honor guard rode to Otosan Uchi and - after a week of waiting for an audience with the Hantei - requested that the remnants of the Unicorn who were left in the Empire, those who now called themselves the Fox Clan, be allowed to return to their distant family.

The court was shocked to learn that the Unicorn, who had just arrived in the Empire, were already planning to leave it behind, but when Wakumi revealed that they intended to save Shinjo and bring her back to the Empire, the Emperor found that he could not deny her request. To have a Kami walking among the Empire once more was, in the Hantei's estimation, worth the sacrifice of the Fox. On the 14th day of the month, Hantei XXII officially revoked the charter of the Fox and returned them to the Unicorn. A Miya herald brought news of the decree to the stunned Fox, as well as orders from their new Champion to "return" to Unicorn lands as quickly as possible.

With the imminent departure of the Unicorn on the horizon, the Otomo scramble to move the Emperor's planned Winter Court in Unicorn lands to a more suitable location. A few days later, a letter from the returned Hantei XVI arrives in Otosan Uchi, inviting the Emperor to spend the winter with him in Morikage Toshi. Despite the counsel of the Otomo and the Imperial Advisor, the Emperor takes his ancestor up on the invitation, and the Otomo reluctantly set about preparing for winter in Lion lands. The Steel Chrysanthemum, upon receiving word that his offer is accepted, begins to make plans of his own.

Further south, another returned spirit, Hiruma Kazuma, succeeds in tracking down Mayakashi, the former Emerald Competitor who assassinated the Yasuki daimyo. Mayakashi kills many of Kazuma's Nezumi allies and shatters Kazuma's weapon during the resulting battle, but the Crab hero manages to wrench Mayakashi's blade away from her and uses it to take her head. Unbeknownst to Kazuma, the ronin's blade was the infamous Bloodsword known as Revenge, and as he stands panting over her corpse, Kazuma finds his heart filling with hatred for the Shadowlands and everything they have stolen from the Crab. After disposing of the dead, he returns to Crab lands with the cursed blade at his side.

The Crab Champion, meanwhile, is faced with the unenviable task of appointing a new daimyo to the Kuni family. With whispers of Shadowlands corruption circling around the name of the former daimyo, Hida Kame skips over a number of more likely candidates and appoints Kuni Bodan, a minder of the Damned, to the position. Though shocked at the promotion, Bodan vows to perform a thorough inspection of the Kuni family to ensure that whatever corruption might have claimed their Champion does not spread further.

As the month draws to a close, the Elemental Council uses the four masks they have gathered to unlock the Tomb of Iuchiban and enter its depths. Despite their preparations, Isawa Kenshin is killed by a carefully concealed trap only a few rooms into the tomb, leaving the other Elemental Masters shaken as they finally reach Iuchiban's final resting place. There they find Togashi Yamatsu, the Ise Zumi who had sacrificed himself to imprison Iuchiban's spirit, nearly overwhelmed after eight years of constant struggle with the Bloodspeaker's corrupted soul. In his last moments before Iuchiban seizes control of his body, Yamatsu tells the three Elemental Masters all that he has learned about Iuchiban and the Oracle of Blood that he uses to speak with the leaders of the Bloodspeaker Cult.

Isawa Arya thanks Togashi Yamatsu for his service and then incinerates him, but doing so only frees Iuchiban's spirit. The Bloodspeaker immediately possesses Master of Water Isawa Daiko, who lashes out at Isawa Engi, knocking the woman and her staff halfway across the stone room. Engi turns her magic upon her possessed comrade just as Iuchiban's spirit abandons her body, leaving the Master of Water to be incinerated by her fellow Master. As Arya staggers back in horror, Iuchiban possesses Isawa Engi and, sensing great power within her discarded staff, reaches for it with the intent of turning its power against the Master of Fire. As soon as his fingers touch the staff, however, jade light flashes up his arm and wracks his body with overwhelming pain. He tries to release the staff, only to find his burning hand bound to the nemurai by twisting vines as strong as steel.

Isawa Arya takes advantage of the opening to unleash everything she has at the Bloodspeaker. The Kami burn Isawa Engi's body to ash, but even as the Master of Earth dies, Arya can feel Iuchiban's spirit leaving Engi's body. With a defiant roar, she throws everything she has into the spell, directing the Kami against Iuchiban. Significantly weakened by the wracking touch of Engi's staff, Iuchiban calls upon the Oracle of Blood, which manifests behind Arya and crashes down upon her, breaking her concentration and giving him the moment of respite he needs to possess the Master of Fire.

As Isawa Arya's spirit is forced out of her body, the spell that she had prepared years earlier, when she had first began her research into the Black Scrolls, finally activates. In an instant, a firestorm of incredible strength bursts forth from her body, completely incinerating her corpse, Iuchiban's spirit, the Oracle of Blood, and everything else within two miles of Tomb. As Iuchiban dies, his twin souls - his spirit and the fragment of his soul that he used to create the Oracle of Blood - race along the magical tethers that bind them to the world, and the fire kami follow behind them, burning away their every link to the world.

All across the Empire, anyone who had ever made a pact with the Oracle of Blood bursts into intense flames that consume nothing else around them. In this wave of chaos that follows the "Day of Fire," few notice that a small box hidden away within the catacombs of Otosan Uchi was also incinerated, as was the shriveled heart it once contained. In a single instance, Iuchiban and his Bloodspeaker Cult cease to exist. Unfortunately, the price of victory was high, and the Phoenix no longer have an Elemental Council.



Month of the Dog, 758:
Shiba Esai, Phoenix Clan Champion, begins the month with an announcement that the Elemental Council did not survive their battle with Iuchiban. Though the Phoenix are dismayed at the loss of so many powerful shugenja, the news that they died bringing a final death to the Bloodspeaker dulls the pain of their loss. Shrines venerating the fallen Masters are constructed all across Phoenix lands, and a number of courtiers make it known that they intend to beseech the Emperor to name one or more of the fallen Masters as Fortunes.

As word of their deaths reaches Otosan Uchi, Aimoto, the young monk who has been pretending to be the descendant of Shinsei realizes that there are none alive who realize he is not who the Masters claimed him to be. After gaining an audience with the Emperor, Aimoto claims that he believes it is time for him to take leadership of the Brotherhood of Shinsei, in order to better spread the teachings of his ancestor through their ranks. The Emperor is deferential to the monk's supposed wisdom, and at the Hantei's request, the venerable Atsushi steps down from his position, allowing Aimoto to become Master of the Four Temples.

In Dragon lands, the sudden fiery deaths of a handful of Dragon samurai and peasants sends the prophet Mokushi into a week-long trance. When he awakens, he claims that the great spirit of the southern volcano has grown angry at their inattention and once again demands a sacrifice. While daimyo Mirumoto Kabe and Agasha Fujiko are locked in heated debate with the prophet, two dozen young samurai-ko, fresh from their gempuku earlier that year, accept the burden of sacrifice and offer themselves to the volcano's deadly fires in the hope of calming its anger. Horrified at their actions, the two daimyo forbid any further sacrifices to the volcano and place Mokushi under house arrest at Kyuden Agasha.

The former members of the Fox Clan, meanwhile, arrive in Unicorn lands with their Clan's possessions, including centuries of scrolls chronicling their genealogy and the history of the Empire. In a somewhat rushed week of ceremonies, the samurai of the Fox swear fealty to the Unicorn, with many of their shugenja joining the Iuchi family. Once the ceremonies are complete, the Unicorn leave their newest samurai - including those who recently married into the Unicorn from other Clans - in charge of their lands and ride out of the Empire in search of Shinjo.

The Sparrow, meanwhile, have a more promising month, as their harvest - assisted by the presence of Agasha Sachi's experimental wheat thresher - proves to be much larger than anyone had expected. The bountiful harvest goes a long way towards raising the spirits of the disheartened Minor Clan, who look upon it as a sign of the heavens approving of Suzume Jento's new reign.

Further south, Hiruma Kazuma gains an audience with his Champion and petitions Hida Kame to allow him to lead a strike force into the Shadowlands. He claims that he intends to use his Nezumi allies to find tribes of goblins and other Shadowlands creatures, which can then be wiped out by Crab samurai. Though skeptical of his plan, Kazuma's reputation - not to mention the role he played in breaking the seige of Shiro Hiruma and shattering Tsukuro's undead legions - are enough to earn the benefit of the doubt. Hida Kame grants him leadership of one of the Crab armies as they begin planning for a spring campaign. Unbeknownst to Hida Kame, however, Kazuma's true goal is nothing less than the destruction of the Festering Pit of Fu Leng.



Month of the Boar, 758: As the month begins, the Empress goes into labor. The childbirth is particularly difficult, but thanks to Seppun healers and shugenja, both the Empress and her son survive. The Miya travel across the Empire, risking an early snowfall in order to spread the good news across the Empire. Weeks later, Hantei Tokiyo is still weak, though with the help of the Seppun, she gradually manages to recover.

During her convalescence, Tokiyo is frequently visited by Doji Suiminko, the Imperial Advisor, who has her personal staff prepare a number of meals that ease the discomfort of childbirth and help to rebuild one's strength. Tokiyo is less than friendly with the Crane woman and sends her away with the food uneaten, causing rumors of distrust to circulate throughout the palace.

Further north, Badger scouts spot yobanjin scouts on the outskirts of their territory. The scouts retreat without attacking, but their mere presence is enough to cause concern among the Badger. In preparation of a suspected attack, the Badger once again send their children to the Crane. Faced with an influx of Badger children and the gradual realization that the Badger children will not be returning home anytime soon, Doji Etsui arranges for them to train in Crane schools, ensuring that their education will not suffer during their foster care.

As the final days of autumn give way into the first falls of winter, Kakita Seiko, the Emerald Champion, is waylaid on the road by bandits. Though they are driven away without too much trouble, she decides to pursue them and spends two weeks attempting to hunt them down with little success. By the time she gives up the hunt, the snow has thickened to the point where travel to Morikage Toshi has become overly difficult. Suspecting that she has been manipulated to keep her away from the Imperial Winter Court, Seiko retreats to her castle and sends letters to the Seppun guarding the Emperor, warning them to be alert and watchful.

Akodo Misaki's winter plans are likewise cancelled as she goes into labor while on her way to Morikage Toshi. She gives birth to a son in Ninkatoshi, Permission City, and by the time she is well enough to travel, the winter snows have covered the roads.


Month of the Rat, 758: Winter begins as the Emperor arrives in Morikage Toshi, though at the request of Shiba Esai and Bayushi Yuuto, he does not meet with the Steel Chrysanthemum upon his arrival. Instead, the Phoenix and Scorpion Champions meet with the returned Hantei to discern his intentions. Despite their apprehension, both Champions left their meeting with the Steel Chrysanthemum with a positive opinion of the man, and they served as the Emperor's guests during his first meeting with his ancestor. For his part, the Steel Chrysanthemum was exceedingly polite and differential to the Emperor, resulting in the court releasing its collectively held breath in relief.

As the month continues, Ichiro Wattana proves to be a much more effective courtier than in previous years. Many suspect her growing friendship with Doji Suiminko is the source of her increased confidence and expect her to favor the Crane, but as court continues, Wattana doesn't seem to show any noticeable bias toward Suiminko's Clan. She does, however, seem to defer to Suiminko on important matters with somewhat alarming frequency.

The most interesting event of the Imperial Winter Court is most likely the sumo match, which is the first championship event of the empire's relatively new sumo league. Victory is taken by Hida Gomoku, who is treated to a private dinner with both Hantei XXII, an enthusiastic sumo fan, and Hantei XVI, who is less than enthusiastic about the sport.

Further west, the Otomo courtiers attending the sparse courts of the Unicorn present them with a list of back taxes stretching all the way back to the dawn of the Empire. Iuchi Jume, the former Fox Clan daimyo, protests the taxes as excessive punishment against her new Clan, but the Otomo stand firm. With no way to pay such a massive amount of taxes, Jume is forced to accept a great deal of Otomo oversight in her management of Unicorn lands in exchange for waiving the tax burden of the returned Unicorn.

In Toshi Ranbo, Seppun Kato makes an unexpected decree midway through the month, ordering all of the returned Toshigoku spirits within the city's borders to be rounded up and placed under house arrest. The spirits resist arrest and are swiftly executed by Kato's Seppun guardsmen.



Month of the Ox, 758: Near the start of the month, the Lion receive reports of a flying head terrorizing the heimin in the countryside outside Morikage Toshi. Unwilling to alarm the Emperor or his court, the Shimizu send out a strike team to dispatch the monster. What they find is the severed head of Akodo Kawawara, one of the samurai who had been corrupted in his pursuit of Asako Shiori years earlier. After two weeks of cat-and-mouse pursuit of the floating head, the Shimizu eventually succeed is destroying Kawawara's head, though they choose to keep their victory quiet.

Back at Morikage Toshi, the Crab achieve a political victory after Hantei XXII, upon the recommendation of his ancestor, formally sanctions their Fortunes' Road project. With the Emperor's approval, the northern Clans that had not supported the Crab's attempt to reinforce and strengthen the roads of the Empire pledge their own support to the project and vow to expand the new roads into their own lands.

The Scorpion, meanwhile, lobby for economic sanctions against the Mantis, with support from the Crane. The rampant banditry and piracy of the Minor Clan is brought before the Imperial Court and exposed for all to see, and thanks to Scorpion maneuvering, there are no Mantis present at the court to defend their Clan. Their proposal is stopped, however, when Sparrow delegates step forward and bog the court down with long, meandering stories about the Mantis, the history of the Minor Clans, and boats in general. The Scorpion attempt to raise the subject two more times, only to find the Sparrow waiting at every turn with more endless stories. Bayushi Yuuto senses the hand of Seppun Kato in the actions of the Sparrow, and is surprised to find the Steel Chrysanthemum wanting to discuss the "threat" of Seppun Kato with him. They meet in secret and begin to make tentative plans to deal with the Emperor's younger brother once and for all.

Further north, in Dragon lands, Mirumoto Kage engages in a duel with Kakita Oroko, a young duelist seeking to make a name for herself by challenging the aging duelist. Kage proves to be victorious, but Oroko's strike takes his sword arm off at the elbow, much to the shock of the court and the shame of Oroko. After recovering from the injury, Kabe announces that he will be retiring and names his daughter, Mirumoto Aiki, as the new daimyo of the Mirumoto.

Back in Otosan Uchi, the Empress - who had decided to remain in the Imperial City to care for her newborn son - begins to notice that some of the servants and Otomo remaining in the Imperial City are behaving oddly. She quietly asks the Hidden Guard to look into it, and over the course of the month, they discover evidence of mental influence among the palace's servants and some of the Otomo, though they are unable to determine just who is responsible. Unwilling to tip their hand, the Hidden Guard place the compromised servants and samurai under surveillance and gradually rotate them into duties that move them away from the Empress and the young heir.



Month of the Tiger, 758: After months of quietly deferring to his descendant and observing the court dynamics of the Empire, the Steel Chrysanthemum surprises the court by announcing that Isawa Arya, the fallen Elemental Master of Fire, is now the Fortune of Maho. The court recoils in shock as the Steel Chrysanthemum explains that her destruction of Iuchiban and purification of one of the legendary Black Scrolls is proof of her mastery of blood magic.

The court looks to the Emperor for guidance, and after a few moments of quiet thought under the observant stare of the Steel Chrysanthemum, the Emperor agrees that Isawa Arya should be honored in such a way. Fans snap open audibly throughout the court, and many glances are tossed in the direction of the Phoenix, who do their best to look grateful at the dubious honor. Doji Suiminko quietly slips out of the court during the distraction, looking almost as troubled as the Phoenix delegation.

Meanwhile, in Crab lands, Hiruma Kazuma manages to convince the new Kuni daimyo to support his plan to close the Festering Pit of Fu Leng. Though he approves of the idea, Kuni Bodan is unsure exactly how one would go about performing such a feat and has reservations about a full-scale assault on the Shadowlands and how it would tax the Crab's jade reserves. Kazuma points out that Kuni Tokaji, the former Jade Champion, was able to purify the entirety of the Hiruma lands, and Kuni Bodan is forced to point out that he is not Kuni Tokaji, and that he's unsure anyone could pull off such a feat again. In his frustration, Hiruma Kazuma cuts down the new Kuni daimyo and then stares down at the body, horrified over what he has done. Fearing that such a setback will topple his plan to destroy the Shadowlands, Kazuma blames the daimyo's death on a demonic assassin.

In Scorpion lands, Bayushi Juko, wife of the Scorpion Champion, earns praise from the guests at Kyuden Bayushi for her deft handling of an argument between Lion and Unicorn over an insult the Lion believe the Unicorn Champion gave to Akodo Misaki. The Unicorn courtiers - all of them former members of the Fox Clan - are grateful for Juko's intervention, forging the way for better relations between the Scorpion and the remaining Unicorn courtiers.

As the year comes to a close, the Steel Chrysanthemum unexpectedly takes the Emperor hostage in front of the gathered court and places a knife to his throat. He demands that the Emperor abdicate his throne and admit that he is the true Emperor, much to the shock and horror of the entire court. The Emperor refuses, and the Steel Chrysanthemum slits his throat and pushes the Emperor forward into the crowd. The Emperor's Phoenix Honor Guard rush forward to cut down the Steel Chrysanthemum, only to find the Emperor's Seppun guards - which had been secretly replaced by the Steel Chrysanthemum - stepping forward to meet them. As the court falls into chaos, the Steel Chrysanthemum leaves the court behind him.

Chaos engulfs the Empire as the returned spirits that had disseminated throughout the Empire lash out at those around them, just as the Steel Chrysanthemum had planned months earlier. Some of the Clans, such as the Scorpion, Phoenix, and Dragon, are relatively unhindered by the slaughter spirits, but the Lion are devastated by the betrayal. Morikage Toshi is thrown into chaos, and hundreds of Lion samurai are killed by their murderous ancestors, either in the initial betrayal or because they hesitate to raise a blade against their ancestors (who have no compunction against cutting down their descendants).

[Mindshred]

~ The Year 759 ~


Month of the Hare, 759: Chaos engulfs the Empire as a result of the Steel Chrysanthemum's murder of the Empire and the uprising of his Toshigoku spirits. The largest concentration of slaughter spirits is camped outside of Morikage Toshi, and the at the Steel Chrysanthemum's command, they rise up and move through the city and castle, murdering everyone they find. The members of the court flee as best they can, many of them traveling westward to Omoidoso no Toshi as the spirit army of the Steel Chrysanthemum follows close on their heels.