Imagine...

...At the orders of Togashi Yokuni, the aeons old champion of the Dragon clan, the brash, young, samurai Murimoto Daini sets of into the age haunted western forests, the legendary home of the mysterious Naga. Yokuni has seen that the Naga are awakening after millenia of sleep, and the Dragon Daimyo knows that their aid will be needed in the struggle to come.

Though he knows little of politics, through great personal bravery and with no small measure of quick thinking, Daini convinces the leader of the Naga, the Dashmar, that though it is through their error that the dark forces of the shadowlands are growing in strength, humans are worthy allies. With the Dashmar's blessing, the Naga Shogun, the Qamar, rallies the soldiers among his ancient people for battle and for the first time in over a thousand years, the great armies of the Naga take the field. Daini is even granted his own command, since due to their long sleep, his knowledge of human tactics is greater than that of even the wisest Naga general.

Daini then returns to human lands, an army at his back and inhuman allies at his side. He finds Rokogun in a state that confirms his most dire fears. War has torn his beloved Empire apart. Like children fighting over a toy in a burning house, the clans battle amongst themselves. Bandits and ronin prey on the weak and defenseless, and the Horde pillages and destroys at will.

With the death of the last Hantai and the fall of the Phoenix clan, many ancient secrets of fighting the darkness are lost to the Empire, but Daini and the Naga bring the still more ancient magics of crystal and pearl to bear against the dark one's forces and help to turn the tide in battle after battle. Finally, the combined might of the Naga and the samurai and shugenja of the Great Clans that still remember their duty to the empire drive Junzo's forces back to their stronghold, the once proud imperial city, Otosan Uchi. There the Mad Scorpion turns to fight, ready for the final conflict, confident in his Dark Lord's power.

Daini proves his courage and ability tenfold in the climatic battle against the gathered forces of shadow that enuses. The Naga archers and spearmen under his command drown their foes in a hail of crystal shafts as he leads a group of bushi and guards into the thick of Junzo's forces. In the heat of battle his own human crafted blade breaks against the rock-hard hide of an oni and he takes up a Naga made polearm dropped by a fallen warrior. Oddly, though he has little familiarity with the weapon he finds he can handle it as if born to its use.

The Naga are hard pressed by the might of the full armies of the shadowlands supported by the foul magic of their Dark Lord and the many shugenja that have fallen prey to the corrupting lure of his power. As the tides of battle shift, the Qamar and his elite guard are cut of from the main body of the Naga army. From across the battlefield, Daini watches helplessly as the the Ancestral Standard of the Naga wavers, then falls.

Just when things appear darkest, Toturi is finally able to rally the clan he once lead. With the Crab and the Unicorn by his side, he cuts through Junzo's lines and breaks the ragged Shadowlands army's resolve. What remains of Junzo's horde, their leader fallen under Otaku Kamoko's hoves, retreats to the impregnable walls of the Empire's greatest fortress.

Black, acidic, blood etching his armor, wounded in a hundred places, Daini fights through the few remaining knots of goblins, Oni, and the walking dead to where the Ancestral Standard of the Naga vanished. Finally he finds the fallen Qamar lying beside the broken war banner. The mighty creature's wounds are mortal, but his hands are still clenched firmly about the ancient spear that is his badge of office.

The dying Qamar gestures Daini closer, then presses his rune covered spear into the samurai's hands and whispers "It was foretold that only this spear, crafted with the blood of Amaratsu can break the wards of protection that will shield The Fallen One's mortal body, but only a Naga not born from an egg can wield it against him." So saying, he dies.

As the Qamar's soul rejoins the whole, Daini realizes that he is now holding the Ancient Spear of the Naga and what exactly that means to the Naga armies arrayed about him. He places a hand on the dead lord, and swears to uphold the duty that the fortunes have written for him.

Daini goes alone to Otosan Uchi. Remembering the old tales, he follows a black crow that leads him down hidden paths in the shadow of the castle's towering walls. Eventually, he finds himself at the secret entrance where the other six Thunders, Yokuni, and Shinsei have gathered. The other Thunders are suprised at his presense, having assumed that the Dragon Champion was the seventh, but Yokuni explains with a flash of the eyes that he is no "mortal man."

Guided by the Lady of the Scorpions, the Thunders, Shinsei, and Yokuni, make their way to the throne room where the Dark Lord waits, brooding upon the Emerald Throne. When Yokuni's eyes meet those of his lost brother, something passes between them and in an instant he shifts back into his natural form. Fu' Leng matches his transformation, becoming a dragon of smoke, and a furious battle is joined, but in moments the first Dragon falls against the Dark Lord. Fu Leng triumphantly rips the 12th Black Scroll from the dying immortal's chest. "Fool!" he cries, holding the bloody mass aloft. "You thought its power would allow you to defeat me, but instead you have only served to break the final barrier left between me and the world of the living."

Shinsei smiles and reveals his error. The Thunders attack and fall, one by one. Cast back against the far wall of the throne room by the Dark One's magic, Daini hurls the Ancient Spear of the Naga into the body that once held the soul of the 40th Hantai, and the centuries old weapon fulfils the purpose for which it was created, destroying the evil runes of protection that Fu' Leng has etched into the flesh of his now mortal body.

Kachiko, Toturi and Hoturi do their thing. Fu Leng dies. Shinsei looks at Toturi, a sly smile in his eyes and says "remember this lesson, Emperor." The other surviving Thunders kneel at Toturi's feet, but Daini stands apart, saying nothing.

When the Thunders emerge from ruined Otosan Uchi into the sunlight of a new era, Toturi, confused by Daini's behavior, grasps the shoulder of the man he knew as a brash, young, samurai and says, "And what of the Dragon, Daini? Are you with me?"

Daini turns to him, an alien look in his eyes. "That is not for me to say, Lord Toturi. I am no longer Murimoto Daini. I am the Qamar." He bows, turns, and walks down into the armies of the Naga.

Hitomi wasn't the only choice.