Hidden Emperor 1 Story Post By Ryan Dancey
It's been two years after the defeat of the evil god, Fu Leng on the Day of Thunder. Since that time, the new Emperor, Toturi, has been consolidating his power and laying the groundwork for the next thousand years of Rokugan's development.
But something has gone horribly arwy.
Toturi is missing. Many believe that the Scorpion clan have taken their final revenge on the man who killed Bayushi Shoju during the failed Scorpion Clan Coup. In the halls of the Imperial Assembly there are calls for blood - after so much has happened, to have Toturi taken from the Empire is viewed as the ultimate disaster.
A Kitsuki Magistrate presents physical evidence to the Emerald Champion, Kakita Toshimoko indicating that the Scorpion may not have been involved. But in Rokugan, evidence is meaningless - only the testimony of samurai matters. And after the Coup, the many betrayals of Bayushi Kachiko and the legacy of fear the Scorpion have engendered, many are willing to testify against them, and no one of repute is willing to stand against the Assembly.
Toshimoko makes a fateful choice - instead of death, he orders the Scorpion Clan exiled, never to return. As proof against their treachery, he orders the young children of the Scorpion taken from the clan, and fostered among the other Clans. The threat is clear - return, disobeying Toshimoko's order, and the Scorpion Children die.
Kachiko rallies the tattered remnants of her Clan, and they depart for the mysterious wasteland known as the Burning Sands under the watchful eye of their escort, led by the butcher of the Clan Wars, Matsu Gohei.
Meanwhile, the Crab Clan have insitgated the war they have longed to fight for generations. With Fu Leng dead, the Crab are convinced that they can destroy the Shadowlands utterly. Lead by their young, powerful daimyo Hida Yakamo, a massive army of Crab bushi and Naga allies strike deep into the old Hiruma provinces and liberate the ruins of Hiruma Castle. The fight goes well for the Crab, until the Naga mysteriously withdraw from the field and begin a march northward across the Empire. Without the aid of their serpent allies, the Crab are driven back, and only a stalwart band, commanded by Yakamo himself remains ensconced in Hiruma Castle.
The Naga are indeed set on a dark errand. They cross the Empire in mere days, and commence an assault on the ancient mountain fortresses of the Dragon Clan. In their haste, they spend no time explaining their actions. Their diplomats have left the Imperial Court, and none speak for the Naga in the Assembly. To the rest of Rokugan, the Naga appear to have gone quite insane, and to have turned on their former allies without provocation.
At the center of this swirling maelstrom stands the man known to the Naga as The Daini. Formerly a son of the
Mirumoto, brother of Hitomi, current Dragon Clan diamyo, The Daini must make a fateful choice: Stand with his
adopted people against his clan and Family, or turn his back on the clear signs of evil in the actions of his sister
Hitomi.
With the Empire in political chaos, the Hitomi/Naga war threatens to spread beyond the provinces of the Dragon, especially when word comes from the Brotherhood of Shinsei that many members of the Ize Zumi, the tattoed men have left the protection of Hitomi to take up the cause of Togashi Hoshi, half man, half dragon, and son of the dead kami, Togashi himself.
Under the gathering storm-clouds of war, the Empire of Rokugan begins a new, bloody chapter in history. The history of the time of the Hidden Emperor!
In Episode 2, we learn what has been occuring within the lands of the Dragon.
Mirumoto Hitomi (who on the Day of Thunder consumed the essence of Togashi, one of the Children of Sun and Moon who founded the Empire) has been reforging the Dragon Clan in her own image. Using her blood, which carries supernatural powers, she has begun to create a new group of Tattooed samurai to do her bidding. The attack of the Naga came as a surprise, but the Dragon are masters at defending themselves.
Now, blood runs in the mountains around Kyuden Hitomi, the castle of the Dragon Daimyo. Naga bowmen lurk behind every crag, and Dragon bushi strike without warning. The conflict has become a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Elsewhere in the Empire:
o Matsu Hiroru and Ginawa set off on a quest to locate Toturi and find his kidnappers. These two unlikely companions share little except a thirst for vengance and a desire to uphold the highest ideal of bushido - Defend the Empire and Protect the Emperor!
o Hida Kisada, the elder Crab Clan Daimyo has died. The entire Empire mourns his passing, for while he was one of the instigators of the chaos of the Clan Wars, he protected the Empire's borders diligently for nearly sixty years, and stood with the other Clans against the Scorpion during their attempted coup.
o The Imperial Court is filled with intrigues. The Mantis Clan, and their minor clan allies in Yoritomo's Alliance are pressing for more control of the provinces vacated by the Scorpion. In a bold move, the Crane Clan have moved to occupy those lands, claiming them in the name of their Scorpion fosterlings.
o The legions of the Crab, trapped in Hiruma Castle, have no way to help defend the Kaiu Wall. From the north an army of Lion bushi, lead by Ikoma Tsanuri marches towards the Hida fortification, prepared for war.
o With the Phoenix retreating from their ancient responsibilities to monitor and police the use of magic in the Empire, the Assembly has called for some action to be taken to guard against the use of Maho and other dark magics forbidden by the Emperor's edicts. In response, the Crane Courtiers who are providing the bulwark of the Imperial agencies have unearthed old documents indicating that the Empire once empowered an individual to serve the Emperor in matters magical, as the Emerald Champion serves the Emperor in matters of law and justice. To that end, a great Test of the Jade Champion has been declared, to determine who will be named to fill this new post.
Shugenja from across the Empire, from all the Clans have assembled to see who among them will claim the coveted title.
Third Update of Hidden Emperor History, per Ree Soesbee:
A Gentle Reminder by Ree Soesbee
In the lands of the Lion, barren fields mark the passage of the Lion armies, moving inexorably to the south, toward Crab lands. Upon the throne of the Lion, a Kitsu Shugenja rests, the new mantle of the Jade Champion resting heavily upon his shoulders. At his side, a thing of darkness, bound with chains of Jade. "I am your Master!" the sorcerer contends. The Oni only smiles.
Fields of flame and salt seed the bitter trail of the Mantis, crossed with the tread of thousands of booted feet. Pursued by the Crane, Yoritomo's men strike upward, through Beiden pass, leading the armies of Doji Kuwanan into the empty lands of the Lion.
Toward Shiro Matsu. Toward Otosan Uchi. Toward the empty Throne of Jade. The smoke and flame which rises from the south howls in revenge as the dwindling inhabitants of Hiruma palace slowly die of starvation and war. O-Ushi, leading her Crab bretheren, thunders a warning toward those who would dare strike against the Crab in its weakness. Together with the speed of her husband's Unicorn legions, Kisada's daughter prepares to defend the Kaiu wall - from armies which seek to strike on both sides.
In the lands of the Ki-rin, the Unicorn struggle to maintain the peace of a crumbling Empire. The leader of the battle-maidens, Otaku Kamoko, has vanished, leaving her charges behind in order to seek her mother's murderer. In her rage and eagerness for revenge, however, she may fail to see the enemy who stands behind her ...
And in the lands of the Dragon, a silent guide leads her companions
through twisted trails and shattered cliffs, toward the furious battles of
Naga and Ise Zumi. With each footstep, a final battle draws nearer - a
battle which may decide the fate of the Dragon Clan, and the bonds
between brother and sister. Thousands die at the hands of the Naga
invaders, and there is no mercy for those they call 'corrupted by
darkness.' Their Akasha draws them ever on, toward the secret heart of
the Empire, where the servants of the Dark Lady stand ready to defend
her soul ... with their lives.
... and in the darkness. Norikazu screams ..