Obsidian
For a thousand years, the capital city of Rokugan, Otosan Uchi, has been the home of the Hantei Dynasty.
Those days are over.
The shadows draped her like a comforting cloak, and she remained as close to them as her training would allow. The dead men that walked the halls would devour her if they could find her, but their minds were dull and she evaded them easily. She was commanded not to wander after nightfall, but Kachiko was a Bayushi after all, and the Bayushi were never very good at obeying orders.
She slipped by the wandering dead and slid aside a hidden panel that led into a pitch black room. she dared not light even a candle. It mattered little. She stood still for a moment, allowing the roomÕs darkness to sink into her eyes. Then, she moved to the loose floorboard and moved it aside and lifted the silk package that lay within.
The sounds of the shambling creatures outside startled her for a moment, but only for a moment. She held her breath and waited for the shadows to move away. Even from here, she could smell their rotting flesh. She had to bite her lip when she saw a portion of the shadow drop away and heard the fleshy plop hit the wooden floor.
When she was certain she was alone again, she peeled away the silk wrapping, revealing to her fingers the cool, smooth surface of a black glass mirror. She set the silk aside and caressed its surface with her fingertips.
She brought it close to her lips and whispered, ÒIt is I, daughter of secrets. Your mistress and servant.Ó
As her words fell on the black glass, the mirror began to flow with a dark light. Kachiko looked about to make certain no one - or no thing - saw the growing dark aura.
The mirror whispered to her. She listened and obeyed, for there are times when even a Bayushi must obey. The short knife was hidden in the folds of her kimono. She ran the blade oh-so-delicately across her palm, biting her lop to keep herself from making a sound. Three drops of blood spilled into the mirror and they seemed to burn as they touched the obsidian, flashing in the darkness.
ÒI need to see the past,Ó she whispered to the mirror.
The obsidian mirrorÕs black color swirled into a kaleidoscope of colors and flashes a Kachiko wrapped her palm with the cotton she brought from her room, but her eyes never left the mirrorÕs flashing images.
ÒAll of this is my fault,Ó she said softly. ÒIt was my poison that made the Emperor weak. I allowed the Black Scrolls to be found. Now, the Dark One possesses his body and these foul things walk the corridors of the Imperial Palace. I need to see the beginning. There must be something that I have forgotten.Ó
And in the matter of minutes, two years passed. Two years through the face of an obsidian mirror...
Two years ago, the Empire of Rokugan was at peace. A youthful, but naive Emperor sat on the Emerald Throne and the six Great Clans served his will without question. The treacherous Scorpion Clan had been crushed for their insolent attempt at a coup, and to end the Bayushi line, the Emperor killed their champion and married his wife Kachiko.
Soon afterward, a mysterious plague began to strike down the peasantry of the Empire. The plague spread quickly, and soon, the Emperor himself fell to the sickness. Not even the sorcery of RokuganÕs most powerful shugenja could break his fever. Then, the EmperorÕs chief magistrate - the Emerald Champion - was found dead in his home, his ear bubbling with poison.
The Emperor had no heir. His hold on life was slipping by the day. The rumblings of war began to creep across RokuganÕs peaceful countryside. Each Clan prepared for war, and in the Imperial Palace, Bayushi Kachiko watched the Clans who crushed her family move against each other through her obsidian mirror while she prepared the next dose of poison for her paralyzed husband...