Rulebook Stories
Shadowlands
The vast chamber was silent and still. She was alone. Her footfalls led her to the Emerald Throne of the Hantei Dynasty and she looked upon the carving that showed the sun goddess and the first Emperor and the fissure that separated the two. Shadows fell across the image, making the crack seem deeper that it was, or perhaps the shadows revealed its true depth.
"The first steps have been taken, sweet Mother Sun," she whispered. "Already, one of your chosen has fallen. I have wounded one of your Seven Thunders." There was the slight sound of laughter in her voice. "I cast him down from the light of your favor. He is nothing." Her fingers caressed the lion head engraved in the throne. "The next fall will be even more delicious than the CraneÕs"
She spun about, the folds of her kimono folding all about her and she fell into the arms of the Emerald Throne. Only the darkness heard her laughter. She spoke, "Aramoro?"
The darkness answered. "Yes, my Lady?"
The lids of her eyes gently closed. "Kisada has made his alliance with the dark lands?"
The darkness answered again, "Yes, my Lady."
She smiled. "Excellent."
"But there is other news that troubles me."
She snuggled into the Throne, her eyes closed and her smile unfaltering. "Yes, what is it"
"Lord Toturi is leading an army of Dragon samurai."
"We knew that Aramoro. You have not told me anything new."
"He brings with him the armies of the Naga."
Her back straightened and her eyes flashed open. "Naga?"
"Aye, my Lady."
Thunder rolled in the distance as the darkness waited her commands. Her eyes seemed lost for a moment, but then she regained command of her thoughts. "Panic will not serve us well at this hour," she said. Then, she regarded the darkness once again. "Tell Lord Kisada. Suggest to the Great Bear that Yakamo would serve us well in this situation. I am sure he will come to the same conclusion."
"Yes, my Lady." The darkness was silent again.
"Naga?" she whispered. "Indeed, the situation has changed." But then she remembered the young Dragon samurai-maiden who had only recently left the palace and she smiled. "A small surprise for you from me, Lord Togashi," she said. "I only wish I could see under that mask or yours when you see how much she has changed." It took all of KachikoÕs will not to fill the room with victorious laughter.
Four months have passed since the storms of war came to Rokugan. Already the face of the Empire has changed. The peaceful fields of flowing green have become wastelands of scorched earth, soaked in the blood of fallen samurai. As if the days were not dark enough, news of the treachery of Doji Hoturi have spread like wildfire through the Empire. The Crane Lord led an army of madmen against his own Clan at the Battle of Kakita Castle, and if it was not for the armies of Phoenix, Unicorn and Dragon (led by Shiba Tsukune, Otaku Kamoko and the ronin, Toturi), the Crane would have been destroyed. The Crab armies were forced to retreat from their sanctuary at Beiden Pass back into their own Provinces. Hida Sukune has faced defeat after defeat from the fallen Lion Champion Toturi, and now he returns home to face his angry father, the Great Bear Hida Kisada, while the Unicorn hold Beiden Pass, the crossroads of the Empire.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Clan have discovered that the forbidden Black Scrolls have been opened. Dark prophecies surround the opening of the Scrolls, and while the Phoenix Clan await the return of their Master of Earth from his investigations in the Shadowlands, they wonder what evil force may have been released with the opening of the Scrolls.
The Emperor falls deeper and deeper into a death-like trance as the remnants of the Scorpion Clan form a dark plan of revenge in the Imperial Palace. The six Clans throw military might at each other while the Scorpion grows stronger, as if they were taking the very life from the slowly dying Hantei.
And far to the West of the Empire, Mirumoto Daini has returned. Two months ago, the ronin Toturi sent him out to seek assistance against the growing armies of the Shadowlands creatures, and he returned with an army -- an army of Naga. The legendary serpent folk have come to the Empire for a single purpose: to put an end to the Clan War, for if Rokugan will not unite to fight the rising evil of the Shadowlands, they know that both Empires will be destroyed.
But Lion armies are on the edge of Crane Lands, waiting for the command to strike, and the Unicorns know it is only a matter of time before one of their comrades tries to gain control of Beiden Pass. Now, more than ever, the time has come for action. The time of distant thunder is over. A dark shadow has been cast over the Empire, and only unity will be able to stop it.