Hidden Emperor 3
Ginawa was not smiling as he swung himself up into the saddle. Rain pounded his head from the outside as the remains of last night's liquor pounded it from within.
"You look like you're going to die at any moment," Hiroru said, a chuckle in his voice.
"Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing," he replied, fingering the blade in his obi.
"That's why I need you with me, old friend."
"To threaten your life?" Ginawa growled.
"No. To make me laugh. We'll need it where we're going."
Ginawa turned his horse toward the castle gates. "And just where are we going?"
"You'll see. I can't say now." Hiroru turned his own horse to stand next to the ronin's. "Too many shadows about to say."
Ginawa shrugged. "The Scorpion have all gone."
Hiroru shook his head. "But not all the ninja."
The ronin spit into the rain. "All I need is one."
Hiroru pointed out toward the dark horizon. "He's out there."
"Then all we're waiting for is you to show me the way."
Hiroru nodded again. Then he tugged off his hood and threw it to the ground. He looked up and let the rain splash on his face. "Feels too good to taste the rain, to feel the night arir. I've missed it."
"You miss your pretty Crane poet, Lion."
Hiroru looked at the ronin through wet black locks. "Haven't you ever been in love?"
Ginawa looked directly into the ninja's eyes. "Only once."
They were locked there until they both turned away. "Besides," Ginawa grumbled. "Love only gets you martyrs and hostages. I learned that the hard way." The ronin looked up at the ninja again. "It is a lesson I hope you never have to learn."
Hiroru shook his head. "Duty and love cannot live under the same roof, Ginawa-san."
"Is that why we are out in the rain?"
The ninja nodded. "I think so."
"Then let us ride. You can ride and talk, can't you?"
The ninja laughed. "Yes. I can. We have a lot to talk about."
"Seven years worth of talking, I think."
"I think."
For a moment, there in the darkness, a brief light shone between the two old friends. Two different paths had led them to this moment. But from this moment on, they would travel the same path. One would reach the end sooner than the other.
Nearly four months have passed, with no sign of Emperor Toturi's return. Hope grows slim, and accusations run rampant in the Imperial Court. The treaties of peace between the Clans become a fragile boundary, easily broken by a harsh word. The rising tides of ambition and loyalty threaten to crush the Empire in an iron grasp. The silent mountains of the Dragon, once known for their peaceful solitude, have become host to an armed legion of Naga warriors, bound for blood at any cost- and giving no reason for their treachery.
As if the loss of the Emperor were not tidings dark enough, news of the death of the Emerald Champion has spread like wildfire throughout the Jade Empire. The Crab armies, once allied with the traitorous Naga, but now left to defend themselves, have become trapped within the ancient Hiruma Palace. Around them, the hordes of the Shadowlands gather, eager to begin their revenge upon one of the Thunders that destroyed their leader.
Meanwhile, the borders of the minor clans have become filled with strife and warfare, as the clans beneath Yoritomo's control seek a common goal in warring against each other. Despite the powerful threat of the Mantis armies, the alliance has erupted into petty mercenary behavior. The Brotherhood, once powerful behind their ancient leader, have no retired to the solitude of their temples.
But no longer. Gathered behind the collective banner of the son of Togashi and the New Tao, the monks have joined the battle in the Dark mountains. Their oath to restore peace conflicts with their need to combat the shadows of darkness, and in the end, a brother's blood must be met with the fire of revenge.
The Empire that Toturi struggled to reforge is on the edge of open warfare. The Great Clans of Rokugan watch the empty throne with covetous eyes, and even now, armies mass on the borders. While the Naga war in the Dragon lands, the struggle for the Jade Throne begins... not with the rumbling thunder of war, but with the subtle movements of shadows once thought destroyed.
Now all that remains is the illusion of peace. Great armies rise in the east, preparing to make their mark upon a weakened Empire, and old feuds begin to surface. Even the efforts of the Unicorn magistrates, the last bastion of law outside Otosan Uchi, may not be enough to quell the rising tide of revolution. In the dawn of a new Age, there are still lingering shadows of the past...