Seikitsu Pass
Conflict rages across the Empire once more. All across Rokugan, soldiers take up their blades and march onto the field of battle, lusting for the blood of their enemies. Both the Dragon and the Lion face the unfettered might of the Phoenix, led by Shiba Aikune and the barely controlled power of the Last Wish. The Crane shift their focus from the Crab to their ancient enemies, the Lion, seizing the city of Toshi Ranbo from their clutches once more. The Crab continue to lose ground to the Horde, and the Scorpion against the Unicorn in the streets of Ryoko Owari. War is everywhere.
The lifeblood of war is trade. It is trade that provides the weapons, food, armor, and supplies necessary to launch a campaign of vengeance against one's foes. And in the Empire there is no more essential trade route than Seikitsu Pass, now in the steel grip of Moto Chagatai.
With the Unicorn Clan blockading the pass, land trade throughout the Empire has ground to a halt. Vital supplies are denied to armies across Rokugan. As their Khan has demanded, the Unicorn have forced the Great Clans to take notice of them. Their strength can no longer be ignored. They are the true power to be reckoned with in the Empire. The name of the Khan is upon the lips of every general and courtier across the land.
In the halls of Shiro Moto, the wisdom of Ide Tadaji encourages Chagatai to temper his fury with cunning. To prevent the Empire from arraying against the Khan's iron, he has convinced his lord to grant clemency to a single clan. Of all the armies in the Empire, one shall be allowed to move freely through the pass so that the clans may see that Chagatai is not a barbarian, but a cunning tactician and a deadly and unpredictable foe. When the Lord Sun tore open Seikitsu Pass with his mighty fist, the monks of Osano-Wo constructed a shrine to his ancestor Hida to reaffirm their faith in Osano-Wo's bloodline and heavenly family. That shrine now marks the southern border of the pass. As a sign of their compassion and mercy, the Unicorn will bestow control of that shrine, and the free passage through Seikitsu Pass that it entails, to a single clan