D4EM - Red Dawn

[Iuchi Saksaha]

The corners of the Iuchi witch's lips curl up further. This hyper little Lion was... weirdly charming somehow? Well, and not little--he has a good few inches on her--but there's something ineffably little-brotherish about him, which is particularly odd given that Saksaha doesn't have any little brothers.

"So, um... which of those are you, then, Shimizu-san?"

[Shimizu Ryori]

"I am an expert in and trainer of the children of chikishudo, it appears to be my calling. I heard there were many new exotic companions brought by the Unicorn and I was curious to discover them, I was not dissapointed." he hmms "so I guess my purpose here originally is academic and scholarly, and my passions in that area have fortuatiously lined up with my duty. My clan wishes to make friends an allies with its newest neighbor, and to learn the knowledge that was lost, the stories that have been unable to be shared over the last few centuries."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"You mean the horses of the Otaku, I think?" Saksaha says. "Their tale is a little like your lions' one, in some ways. Have you satisfied your curiosity?" As much as the Otaku would allow any strange man to do, at least...

[Shimizu Ryori]

"Yes, I met two Shitome on the road before even arriving, we traveled together and got to know each other quite well, I think." he nods " Very little has been told me of the story of the great horses though, would you share it?"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"I am no great tale-teller. But all Unicorn know the story. If you want to hear its bones I can tell you this in short, and later you may hear it told properly." She cocks her head a little and looks up at the taller Lion, waiting to hear whether this proposal suits him.

[Shimizu Ryori]

He smiles "please I would like that very much"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"All right." If she's going to talk for a while, might as well be comfortable. Saksaha seats herself cross-legged in the summer-dry grass, arranging her skirts around her. If Ryori seems inclined to sit too, she'll wait for him to get settled before beginning.

"There was once a city on the other side of the Burning Sands. It was called in that language Laramun, the City of Sorcerers--a very ancient city, many times destroyed and rebuilt. This was in the time after the Battle of the Rocs, when the tribes of the Ki-rin had parted ways and traveled separately. Many years before, Iuchi, my ancestor, had stolen some secrets of foreign magic from the people of this city. In the centuries since this, their practices had grown dark and corrupt. Their lords had become khadi, men who cut out their own hearts to gain eternal life--but a life sunk in madness and sin." Saksaha taps her fingertips against the embroidered and beaded breast of her robes, over her own heart, for emphasis.

"The tribe of the Otaku, not knowing this, came to the city again in their wanderings. The sorcerer lords saw that they were handsome and strong and hated them for their virtue. With their magics and their warrior servants, they seized many of the Otaku, men, women, and children, as slaves. Others escaped, including the lady of the Otaku: Rumaru, of the Thunder's bloodline.

"Otaku Rumaru knew that her warriors could not take the city with its dark magics by force. Instead, she planned to save her people by cleverness. She chose the bravest, most cunning, and most beautiful of the shiotome, and all left their armor and weapons behind, disguising themselves as helpless maidens and courtesans. In this guise they entered the City of Sorcerers, and found indeed that although the wicked khadi had no hearts in their bodies, they yet had all the weaknesses of the hearts of men." Saksaha smiles--a vaguely sinister smile. "In this way--slowly, at great risk and cost--the shiotome turned the powers of the sorcerers against one another, and made them to hate and fight one another. As the city turned into flames and dust, Rumaru's warriors freed their people and escaped.

"But Rumaru herself was trapped in the cursed palace of the khadi-king, and it was not easy to win free. As she searched for her escape, she came to a place where a great herd of beautiful horses were kept, all weeping tears like human tears. These were the mounts the sorcerer lords rode for pleasure, and their leader told Rumaru they were celestial creatures, enslaved just like the Otaku. With them she struck a bargain: she would rescue them from that place, and in return they would serve her and her daughters and sisters, and for all time would carry no one else into battle. For only the Otaku had shared their suffering, and only the shiotome could free them in their time of trouble. And so Rumaru rode out of the burning city astride a white stallion, the famous Vata, bringing the other horses also, and ever since the steeds of the shiotome have been without peer."

As she had been taught to do since childhood, Saksaha concludes, "Thus ends the tale."

((No storytelling roll because it's after Day Change, but just assume she's doing the best she can with Awareness 2. Which is probably not that great. The lore would be solid, though.))

[Shimizu Ryori]

He does sit, Kyra curling up next yo him, he pets her head as he is seemingly transfixed by the tale hanging on every word he almost looks dissapointed when she finishes. "So Vata spoke witj Rumaru?"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Yes." Saksaha nods. "He was leader of the herd, the wisest and most powerful."

[Shimizu Ryori]

"So how often do they talk now?" he asks eagerly, "or do they only talk to thier riders?"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Uh." Saksaha blinks and scratches her cheek. "...They don't? At least, I have never heard that they do. Vata spoke in the tale, but... that age was a long time past."

[Shimizu Ryori]

He nods and frowns "Our warcats have forgotten how to speak Rokugani as well, though legend says they once knew how, too bad I thought maybe of the horses still spoke they could remind the warcats how too"

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"Did they used to know?" Saksaha asks, looking thoughtful. "The animal spirits of Chikushodo can speak words we understand, if they choose. Though often they do not."

[Shimizu Ryori]

He nods "Legend says that a tribe of men, shugenja with ties to chikishudo and yomi, who had the ability to change thier form, once held some of lion lands. " he nods "Akodo one eye no kami fought them at the dawn of the empire, thinking they were in league with his brother. Some hid from the great general by changing into animals, great cats, and he watched them for days thinking something was off, but they never acted out of place. " he smirks "They hid so well that they forgot they were once men and could not change back after he left. He went on to conquer the tribe and make the survivors part of the lion."

[Iuchi Saksaha]

"This is an interesting story also," Saksaha says, raising her eyebrows. "It is said that the children Shinjo-no-kami bore could also change their shapes like this, but as they grew up they had to choose one form. Five chose to live as unicorns, and one as a mortal man, who became our Lady's heir."