))"Minna-sama," the Usagi spoke up. "I am Usagi Tomoe, historian of the Hare Clan."
"The Crab do not defend The Wall; The Crab are The Wall!"
"These words have been said many times since the beginning of this century, and they continue to ring true. The Crab Clan are the Empire's Wall against the dangers of the south, as they continue to uphold the duty that Lord Hida took upon himself at the dawn of the Empire."
"After the Day of Thunder, the Son of Heaven commanded his brother Hida to build a great wall to guard the fledgling Empire from the dangers that still remained in the south. Lord Hida himself built the wall, and it stretched from the base of the Twilight Mountains, along the southern borders of the Hiruma family, and all the way to the coast."
"This Wall stood for centuries, manned by the warriors of the Crab. However, the Wall built by Lord Hida could not last forever."
"In the year 716, a terrible monster called The Maw banded together many evil creatures to launch a large attack on the Empire's defenders. It is said that the size of his army was the likes of which had not been seen since the First War before the Day of Thunder. The Hiruma family were the first to meet them in battle, at the Last Stand Plains, but they were unable to hold them back for long, and the enemy army seized the Hiruma's ancestral home, and continued on to lay waste to the lands of the Kuni, burning their primary temple to the ground. The Crab had no choice but to fall back to Kyuden Hida - the last bastion on the frontlines."
"As the enemy army was within 2 days march of Kyuden Hida, the Crab Clan Champion Hida Banuken called a meeting of his officers to determine a course of action, for they knew that if Kyuden Hida would fall, it would spell terrible disaster for the Empire Lord Hida had sworn to protect. However, all their plans needed more time than what they had on hand."
"It was at this moment, that a young teacher named Kuni Osaku stepped forward and announced that she would buy Banuken the time they needed to construct sufficient defenses. Kuni Osaku called upon the kami in the nearby Seigo River that stretches through most of the Crab lands, and successfully raised the river into a high wall that would block the advance of the enemy army. At the cost of her own life, with every sunrise each day taking another year of her life, Kuni Osaku endured for 73 days to buy her clan more time."
"And while Osaku was sacrificing herself, the Crab wasted no time in their work, and called in all the favours and aid they could. Kaiu Haruko designed the new defenses and planned the nescessary logistics to pull it off in such a short time - but they did it. The Crab built a new wall in the 73 days they had; the Kaiu Kabe."
"The Maw and its minions had had no choice but to patiently wait for Osaku's life to end, and when the moment came, they attacked instantly - surging forward only to find the army of the Crab ready for them, their ranks bolstered with ronin and samurai from the other clans who had come to join the battle. The Mantis Clan Champion Hotaka was there to personlly lead his forces even."
"As the enemy broke on the defenses, Hida Banuken launched his counter attack against them, and thousands of Crab soldiers emerged from a hundred secret tunnels in the riverbed, tunnels constructed by Kaiu Haruko and her students. This attacked pinned the enemy army between the defending army and those coming from the tunnels, and they were unable to mount a defense in time. The Crab found vengeance for the loss of the Hiruma homelands as they felled the terrible monster, and seized victory. Without their leader, the enemy horde was defeated and scattered."
"The river is today known as Seigo no Kamae, in honor of the battle. The Crab took the head of the beast and their Kuni priests purified its skull to mount at the gates of Kyuden Hida, as a testament to the strength of the Crab, and a warning to any enemy that would dare cross the children of Hida again. Kuni Osaku is today revered as one of the greatest heroes of the Empire. And the Kaiu Kabe stands as a monument to the Crab's skill and their dedication to their Duty, and continues to expand more and more along the southern border."
