Naga Letter - #1
My Daughter,
We are deep into Rokugan territory now, and there is no turning back. We have learned much from the young samurai Daini, and he has learned much from us. His courage and devotion to his Lord Toturi is admirable. We have tried to meet up with this man we have heard so very much of, but we have been cut off by an army of Shadowlands creatures. The zombies and skeletons have been animated by magics we do not understand, but Daini says that he is very familiar with them. He said that he also recognized the man who was leading the army and called him "Doji Hoturi." His eyes were filled with surprise and disbelief when he saw him in his gleaming white armor. He said that he saw Lord Doji delivered to Toturi by a masked ronin. He was a broken man who would not be able to ride in the saddle for weeks, and yet, there he was, leading an army and burning down villages as he went. "That cannot be Lord Hoturi," he said, "It cannot be him!" I told him, "And yet, there he is." These humans are so easy to disbelieve what is obvious.
We have clashed with the Crane Lord on many occasions, and whenever we gain the upper hand, he retreats. We followed him for days, engaging his army and then chasing him across the fields of Rokugan. Unfortunately, we did not see the truth until it was too late. The Crane Lord was leading us into an ambush with another Shadowlands army, this one led by what Daini called a "shugenja." The shugenja was as twisted and tainted as the dead men he led against us, and it was only the courage of our bushi, our Champion Qamar and the brave Daini that delivered us from doom. Our retreat led us into a patrol of Unicorn Clan samurai. Daini hailed them and they rode closer to investigate. Yes, my daughter, they too ride the beasts called "horses." I still remember Daini's horse being so frightened when he first arrived at our temple, and the Unicorn horses were the same. They were disturbed by our presence which made the Unicorns look at us with suspicious eyes. They told us we could accompany them back to the Unicorn provinces, but when we mentioned that we were searching for Lord Toturi, their hospitality quickly changed and they told us that we were not welcome on Unicorn land. They rode off and we were left alone once again.
Daini says that we must find Toturi. I am reluctant to agree. While I have been greatly impressed with his courage and sincerity, I have told him that I will take a small entourage to the Imperial Palace to speak directly to the Emperor himself. If he cannot convince the Clans to unite, then perhaps we can.
Dashmar