The Day of Thunder

Part 1: The Oral History of the Seppun Tribe

The Seppun speaks of the history of this world.

Our ancestors have seen visions of the far past, and speak of the blackness that existed before the world, and of the Sun and Moon who gave names to the Ten Thousand Things of the world. The Sun chased the remaining darkness from this world, and so we honor her at the ancient shrine on our hill, the place which must never be violated.

There was a time when the Heavens were different and the Sun and Moon traveled together. However, the Moon gave his wife a celestial bull to carry her, and he soon tired and lagged behind his wife. Now they travel at different times of day, and only rare does the Moon catch up so that he may spend time with his wife. Shadows spread during this time, and the primordial darkness briefly returns to hold sway during this time. During times such as these, our tribe prays and lights many lanterns to ward it away.

In the forest to the East rose the Great Snakes. The first Snake was created by the Sun herself, and was golden and large enough that it encircled the Great Eastern Forest. It was wise and benevolent and looked after the Ten Thousand Things for the Sun. As time went on, the Golden Snake shed its skin many times, and each skin became one of the many varieties of Snakes across the land. Some were large and intelligent and had arms like men, but many were small with no arms, and we can see many of the descendants of the Great Snake in the many small ones that still live throughout the world. Pythons with pale yellow coloration are considered sacred among us.

Soon the Great Snake had shed its skin so much that it was reduced to nothing, leaving its children to look after the world. However, its children were not so great and wise as the Golden Snake, and while they made great works, they became decadent and cared little for caring for the lands. Eventually, the Sun noticed their failure in their care of her things and flew into a great rage, burning the lands in the east in her fury. That is why we call the lands of the tribes the Protected Lands, for they were safe from the Sun’s anger.

The Great Snakes disappeared not long after that, during a time when the Moon caught up with the Sun. The primordial darkness spread as it does when the Sun’s light disappears and wrapped around the Great Snakes, making them disappear from the world.

After the Great Snakes fell, the way opened for the living of many races within the Protected Lands. The Ogres came from the North, and the Nezumi rose in the south. Those two races fight an endless war even to this day. The Ningyou ruled the seas, while our own Hundred Tribes rose in the central realms where we could find safe land to gather food, hunt game, and fish. Some of the tribes of humanity came from the East, fleeing the anger of the Sun.

The first Seppun came to our own tribe and granted us knowledge through her visions. She brought simple metal work, and the cultivation of seeds, and the worship of the Sun. She followed those very visions to our hill, recognizing it as a holy place and building a shrine upon it. Our tribe named itself for her, and her descendants through myself still rule our tribe to this day. It is said that rather than die, our founder stood atop the hill and disappeared into a great light from the Heavens rather than dying.

Year 1

• The tribes of the protected lands witness a mysterious celestial event – nine lights descend from the Heavens. Seven streak downward only to slow and land gently at the home of the Seppun Tribe. An eight light takes longer, but follows the same pattern. Their light fades mostly, and they reveal themselves to be humanoid figures, extremely tall and beautiful, dressed in resplendent clothing and armor. The last light still has some of the sun’s light clinging to him.
• A ninth star falls on a southern trajectory, unable to control its descent. It crashes violently into the earth and then through it farther down, into the Realm of Evil, Jigoku. Jigoku claims the light as its own, beginning the process of trying to break the Kami.
• A tenth figure falls from the heavens, but is not infused with light as the others. It crashes into the earth, already dead, the collapse of the rock over it creating its own tomb.
• Those lights who fell at Seppun Hill are confronted by the Seppun Tribe that lives there, whose leader is a priestess of Amaterasu. They are quickly distracted, though, as an enemy tribe, the Noriaki, attack. Hantei leads the charge to protect the Seppun and they quickly swear to serve him for his heroism, also in accordance with the Seppun, Satoka’s wishes and prophetic visions.
• The Kami agree together after that to explore this new world and learn more about its inhabitants and what their role should be here.
  Meanwhile, in the south, the Nezumi capital has been utterly devastated, and monsters begin pouring out of the pit. The Nezumi find their slaves abandoning their cities, drawn south by the call of Jigoku. They have to quickly make up for the lack of labor while their warriors head to the border of the corrupted area to try and hold the destruction at bay.

Year 2-4

• The Kami wander and learn.
• The Seidou tribe notices less clashing on their border with the Nezumi, and the ratlings’ scout posts in the north being abandoned.
• Members of other tribes who encountered or heard about the Kami, or saw the lights and tracked their direction, head to the lands of the Seppun, starting to gather around Seppun Hill.

Year 5

• The Kami return from their wandering to discover that the population of the area around Seppun Hill had grown from a village into a bustling town. They decide to settle down there for a few days to talk to the visitors while they talk about what they discovered.
• Dawn of the Empire: The Tournament takes place here.
• After several days of discussion and meeting with the tribespeople, the Kami have a discussion on the hill, deciding to organize the tribes and offer their knowledge to improving things after seeing the subsistence-level existence they were maintaining, stuck in an endless loop of rebirths without the Celestial Order to guide them to greater destinies.
• Lady Sun unexpectedly favors her most knowledgeable and philosophical son, Shiba, in the tournament, guiding him to win against his siblings. Shiba is the Kami most willing to hear out the mortals around him and consider their views, perhaps portending a greater role for them than anyone expected.
• Rather than declaring what his others siblings roles will be in the world immediately, he asks them to go forth and gather followers in their own way and he will consider the matter. He states that not only do their abilities need to be considered, but those who are drawn to their side through inclination or destiny.
• The Shrine of the Heavenly Dawn begins construction near Seppun Hill. It’s designed to be a place of religion, education, meditation, and relaxation open to anyone.
• Seppun Dawei completes a series of carvings of the ten Kami, gifting them to Shiba upon his official ascension.
• Yuzuru and Shiba are the first of the siblings to marry in a ceremony as fit as can be for the Emperor and his consort this early on. Bayushi marries his intended in a much quieter ceremony not long after.
• Nanzi begins his push early on to make dueling the premier form of dispute resolution in the Empire, inspired by the example of the Kami at Seppun Hill.
• In summer, Kozan and Shinjo marry, and she reveals she is pregnant soon afterward, giving birth to their first daughter early the next year.
• Kinsen confronts Kazuhiro, slaying him and cutting herself free from the Noriaki with the support of Yoshitsune, who escorts her to and from and ensures no treachery takes place. She marries Hantei shortly afterward.
• Nazo and Ryoshun are married in the depth of winter.

Year 6

• The Clans start to become more formally organized, and the Kami assign their closest followers to form families under them.
• Hida directs Anjing her to gather followers to form her own family – most of them come from her original tribe, the Seidou. Their children will be allowed to choose whose family to swear fealty to at the age of majority. Yoshitsune, despite waffling between he and Doji, also swears fealty to Hida in the end, who assigns him to create a family with a focus toward scouting.
• Doji marries Nanzi in spring, during the peak of cherry blossom season, and asks him to form a family of his own. He focuses heavily on dueling as a warrior himself.
• Togashi retreats to the mountains where he spent much of his time during the previous five years. Wu and Shirayuki follow him. Those who want to learn from Togashi and Shirayuki’s unique perspectives join those two on their own. Wu focuses on protecting the others, and his former comrades in arms, including a man called Mirumoto, join him.
• Akodo gathers many of the Noriaki and other warriors than can be turned into a disciplined army, and assigns the more logistically-oriented of them to be trained by Makime, forming her family with them.
• Many of the Ayakashi follow Yuzuru to Imperial lands, and Shiba suggests they swear fealty to the seer as his new family. Jiyo takes on the task of becoming the Emperor’s champion and yojimbo, and other strong warriors with a protective streak, including Sora, join her.
• Shinjo asks Chaihime and Jin to join her, forming the Chai and Jin families. Chaihime takes on the task of taming and improving the stock of wild horses that can be found in the northwest, while Jin forms a family of shugenja.
• All of the Seppun swear fealty to Hantei, including Seppun Dawei, as their own family under Seppun Satoka, their village leader. The family splits, with most of the warriors gathering under Kenshiro as the Kenshiro family and most of the shugenja under Satoka under their original name. Seppun Dawei creates a series of carvings of the Stag family founders to commemorate.
• Reiko claims her own family in the name of Fu Leng, gathering people under her banner as she sets about making preparations to free him.
• Nazo forms the Ryoshun family in the name of her husband.
• Jiyo becomes pregnant with the first of Shiba’s children, giving birth later the same year to a girl. Sora is assigned as the childrens’ bodyguard and often caretaker.
• Hida and Anjing get married during early summer.
• Shirayuki finally comes to understand that her feelings for Togashi have turned to the romantic. He lets her know that he was waiting for her to understand her own heart. They’re married in autumn.
• During winter, Yoshitsune finishes creating an epic poem recounting the events of the week leading up to the tournament of the Kami and the tournament itself.
• Also in midwinter, Nazo gives birth to a baby girl whom she names Rei. She claims that the father is Ryoshun himself.

Year 7

• Down in the Empire proper, what will eventually become court starts to take form in the winter. There’s some contention between Doji and the Imperial Consort, Yuzuru, about what court should look like. Yuzuru finds Doji’s proposals too uptight, while Doji can see a million potentials for people taking offense and starting wars with Yuzuru’s more relaxed approach. The pair of them try to find compromises this year and the following several, but it’s very slow going. Shiba calmly mediates between his husband and his sister when things look like they might get out of hand, but he mostly leaves them to sort things out for themselves.
• Kinsen leads the Noriaki to which Kami they’re most attuned to. This ends up splitting the original tribe mostly between Akodo and Fu Leng.
• Akodo begins work, with Makime’s help, on a treatise on being a warrior, the military, and the concept of honor.
• The Crab, Stag, and Lion make efforts to connect trade routes, all three Clans benefiting from the exchange.
• Wu begins forming a Dojo to train the best warriors of the Dragon.
• Doji and Nanzi have their first child, a daughter.
• Jiyo gives birth late in the year to a set of twins girls.
• Anjing also gives birth to a pair of twins, a boy and a girl.
• Reiko’s travels to recruit both new clanspeople for the Spider and aid for the rescue of her future husband also yield an incidental benefit – as an Isawa, Reiko has knowledge and access to materials that most do not. As such, she’s able to make some trade agreements along the way both with other Clans and some of the remaining tribes.
• Shinjo has another child, this one a son.
• A short while after helping his wife with their new son, Kozan – now Shinjo Koyama – wins a leadership bid against Chosaku and leads many of the Hikaru into joining the Clans, mostly the Ki-rin. The remaining Hikaru end up forced to leave the mountains and settle into the swamps below, near Bayushi’s territory.
• The young (?) man who spoke with some of the Kami at the tournament visits the Dragon mountains to speak with Togashi, and introduces himself to Shirayuki, now Togashi Saruko. Through him, she learns much more about enlightenment as an idea, and Togashi’s abilities.
• Nanzi has a physical dojo for his new school built, establishing it as the premier location for learning of the arts and swordsmanship.
• Yozora meets a very friendly young man in the Ki-rin Clan by the name of Ide. They hit it off and marry before the year is out, well into their plains of establishing Ki-rin art, fashion, and social practices. (And spreading the popularity of bath houses, ensuring their place in the future). Kakuro gets in touch with them, working together to create an overall foundation for the cultural and artistic unification of Rokugan.
• Nazo leads the Kami to the crater where Ryoshun fell now that the fervor of the first year’s activities have died down. She bows to Shiba, asking that the surrounding lands be granted to her and any followers, to maintain his legacy and protect his grave. She states that the focus of her Clan would be on that and guiding lingering spirits in Ningen-do to their proper places. Shiba agrees, and the Bat Great Clan is formed.
• Jin notes the focus of the new Clan on spiritual potential threats to Ningen-do and keeps them in mind for potential recruitment.

Year 8

• The Crab make a push to start heavily fortifying and militarizing as they encounter ogres and trolls forced north by whatever is happening to the lands south. While their specialty remains defense, they soon rival the Lion in numbers and military force, with their able-bodied warriors numbering around 5,000.
• This year the organization that will one day call itself the Kolat starts forming up properly. Sora goes to Emperor Shiba, explaining the situation, how they formed and their ideas and his concerns about free will. Shiba, being somewhat aware of this from his previous conversations with Sora, listens and ends up asking Sora to keep him fully apprised of his groups ideas and activities, making him the Imperial liaison between the two.
• Togashi Saruko has a pair of twins in late spring, a boy and a girl, both of whom carry some of their father’s power and part his dragon aspect in their appearance.
• In the capital, Yuzuru forms the Consort Guard, selecting ten people from each Clan to honor with the opportunity.
• Once she’s mostly recovered from the birth – a particularly difficult one aided by one of Togashi’s disciples – Saruko heads off to try to discover more about her own past. Unfortunately, she is side tracked by helping Reiko with preparations for the rescue of Fu Leng, and decides to return to her quest after the fact.
• Jin observes the other Clans as he goes about his duties, studying them with consideration toward who besides the Bat will be destined to fight against the darkness. He makes inroads for information sharing with the Spider, Stag, Bat, and Crab in particular, as well a maintaining his contacts with the Imperial Families.
• Late in the year, the Seidou discover jade in the mountains near them. While it’s initially respected simply for its color and rarity, Kyosei suggests that it might be useful in fortifying oneself against spiritual impurity.
• Doji and Nanzi's second daughter is born.
• Jiyo bears her second set of twins for Shiba. Once again, both are girls. She gains a surprisingly wide amount of admiration for her dedication to a task that is, at this point in history, infamously dangerous.

Year 9

• Anjing has her second set of twins early in the year, another boy-girl pair.
• Yozora works together with Nanzi to help establish the earlier official paths of communication between the various Clans. The Ki-rin are initially a large help with this, with both Yozora’s diplomacy and Jin’s focus on travel magic.
• Shinjo has her third child with Koyama, another son.
• While overseeing the continued building of the Shrine of the Heavenly New Dawn, Kakuro realizes how much more efficient the requisitioning of materials and labor would be with a proper bureaucracy. Working with Lady Doji and the Imperial Families, Jiyo in particular, they work on establishing such a thing.
• In the Dragon Mountains, Wu marshals the samurai of the Can to help the neighboring villages and communities that make their homes within and at the foot of their mountains. He helps develop close relationships with the people. In the end, the villages offer help in return and are eventually absorbed as part of the Dragon.
• To help with the made trade routes and communications that are being established, Makime puts her logistical skills to work to start on large scale road building projects across the Empire.
• Nazo learns to expand her Medium abilities to bring another person with her. A visit to Togashi allows her to take Agasha to the Dragonlands, allowing her to learn from the Elemental Dragon of Fire to start with. Togashi invites her to visit to do so again whenever she likes, fostering closer relations between the two Clans. She also uses her new ability to introduce her adopted daughter to Ryoshun.

Year 10

• The Shrine of the Heavenly New Dawn is finished. It is properly inaugurated in mid-spring to pray for success during the upcoming campaign to rescue Fu Leng. The Kami also pray to their mother for her blessings at her shrine at the top of the hill.
• The expedition to rescue Fu Leng begins to gather at Great Mountain City in the south.
• Shortly after they leave, Doji and Nanzi's third daughter is born.
• Heavenfall: The Rescue of Fu Leng takes place here.

Year 10

• Ch’chit T’kirri gains enormous prestige with the Nezumi for saving their civilization, changing his name to Ti'ake Chuk'tchick to reflect his new appearance and his deeds.
• Wu leaves the Empire a few weeks after returning from the expedition along with a few of his followers, leaving Mirumoto in charge of his family.
• Anjing Xia suggests to Hida that the Nezumi, who have had border disputes with the Seidou Tribe for years, won’t miss some of their northernmost lands. They are largely undefended with the disarray from defending against the monsters of Jigoku for years and the sudden change with the portal being closed. Hida agrees, unaware of the promises Nanzi made to the Ratlings in the course of the expedition’s travel south. The Nezumi, under the command of Ti'ake Chuk'tchick, muster surprisingly quickly once scouts report of the Crab’s move on their land, managing to move ten thousand of their warriors against the Clan. The fighting continues for two weeks before word comes from Emperor Shiba commanding Hida to end his assault and pull out of Nezumi lands. After being informed of the situation, Hida willingly accepts the punishment Shiba demands.
• The Crab fall in line with Shiba’s command – the Clan packs what they can and traverses the Empire northward to the opposite border. Shiba’s declaration is that, since they have shown they cannot be trusted to share a border with their allies, they will defend the Empire against the Tribes who escaped to the north and regularly make raids against the northern borders of the Dragon, Bat, and Spider. Hantei is tasked to look after the lands the Crab once occupied, since his Clan is both militarily strong and on good terms with the Nezumi.
  Shinjo Miuna and Hanzou marry, with Hanzou joining the Ki-Rin Clan.
• Seidou Haruyo, for her leadership and skill, is asked to join the Spider by Hisomu, who offers to help work with her on creating a school. Satone is also offered a place in the Clan. Both accept.
• Nanzi returns home an introduces a distant relative to his household – Hadananzi. Handsome, well-spoken, kind, and helpful, he quickly ingratiates himself with Doji and other powerful members of the Clan.
• The Crane and Stag agree to begin to form a stricter heirarchy within their Clans with clearly separated classes with little movement between them. They push this idea as the correct way to reflect the Heavens. They socially push against the more liberal elements among the Imperials and Unicorn.
• The Imperial Library begins construction and discussion starts on how to approach creating a larger library system and use it as a medium through which to educate all classes.
• Hisomu establishes his own Family within his Clan from those who had joined but not taken Reiko’s name.
• Matsu begins studying her father’s techniques and incorporating them with her own ideas about honor.

Year 11

• Jiyo Sora marries Kinyoubi in the early spring.
• Having learned to take his dragon form at will the previous year, Koyama finally masters it, making treks across the Empire much faster and improving Shinjo’s still-limited mobility.
• The mixed ogre and human tribe, the Takemori, becomes the Ongaku Family of the Imperials. They volunteer to take on duties related to the Imperial Library system, including transporting scrolls back and forth between the different branches starting to be established.
• Hisomu begins having terrible nightmares and experiencing paranoia, believing that Jigoku is planning to find a way into other realms to get back at them. The mediums who can visit those realms find nothing anomalous, and it’s considered to be a side effect of his long incarceration within the Realm of Evil causing the disturbances.
• In honor of booth his heroics at the Crater and his handling of the Crab situation, Ti'ake Chuk'tchick’s father steps down and Ti'ake Chuk'tchick is named Chief of Chiefs.
• Hanzou and Miuna have their first child.
• Nozomi gives birth to a daughter, claimed to be the daughter of a man named Taka who was killed by Bog Hags during the expedition.
• Umeno proposes a trade city at the Scorpion side of Beiden Pass. Bayushi agrees to the project, both for the sake of commerce and to become a hub before one enters Imperial controlled lands from the south.
• Saruko begins her journey to discover her origins in earnest.
• Hisomu Satone increases her contacts with the other members of the Kolat and begins to seek out how to best exercise her abilities for the group.

Year 12

• Reo and Ninube marry.
• A third child, a boy named Taiyo, is born to Togashi and Saruko.
• With the attacks from the Capital Ruins reduced, the Nezumi embark on a project to recover what memory sticks remain in the library ruins. This has a side effect of controlling the amount of creatures within the corrupted lands.
• Doji and Nanzi have their fourth daughter.
• Togashi Nadare creates a path fusing Togashi's teachings with philosophy involving the elemental Kami.
• With so many heroes on the Expedition learning it on their way, the sign language they learned, dubbed Minuaono Sign Language in honor of the women who taught it, begins to spread across the Empire. A scroll on the subject is written and enough made to add one or more to each Imperial Library branch.
• Akodo and Makime complete and release Leadership, which informs the concepts of Honor and how bushi should comport themselves going forward.
• A pair of twin boys are adopted into the Saru family. Officially, they are orphans. Only a few know their true identities as the second set of children between Nozomi and Shinsei.
• After discussing the situation with the remaining tribes with Shinjo, Shiba brings in his other siblings to meet and discuss how to handle the remaining tribes. Eventually, Doji proposes an elegant solution – trade with the tribes, and set up a system that essentially encourages them to eventually become absorbed into the Clans near them. Shiba sets his siblings to this task over the next several years.
• Akodo encounters Ikoma, who eventually decides that the Kami is worthy and becomes his follower, eventually creating the Ikoma Family.
• A son is born to Reiko and Hisomu.
• Miyako joins the Scorpion Clan. She proposes to Bayushi the idea of a family that would be focused on commerce-oriented courtiers, with some of their family dedicated toward ranged field support. He finds the proposal extremely practical and agrees.

Year 13

• Ninube gives birth to triplets with Reo.
• Bayushi brings Haka into the Scorpion, allowing her to form her own family. He claims this is in reward for her efforts with the expedition, but the truth is that he is interested in her connection with the Void and how it and her tribes’ dealings with the Spirit Realms can potentially be leveraged.
• Doji Kaze and Seppun Dawei are married with quite the fanfare. Hantei presides over their wedding, with Kaze joining the Stag, and it’s celebrated with the pair setting up a several day art festival and exhibition. This becomes a yearly event in Stag lands, and several similar, if smaller, events crop up in the Empire during the following years.
• Matsu reaches adulthood, becoming Hisomu Matsu. With Kanna and her father’s support, she immediately petitions her lord to be able to establish her own school, the Matsu Sentinel School, which he approves, expressing interest in how Matsu’s future will take shape.
• Yamadono and Ryoko marry, Yamadono joining the Ongaku.
• Minute and Reo form the Seekers of knowledge, a school in the Spider dedicated to pursuing knowledge through any means.
• Saruko shares the story of Hisomu's rescue for Shiba's court. The story focuses on the strength of many coming together to achieve the impossible, as well as the importance of family-love and bonds (with an emphasis on Hantei and Hisomu). All those who were on the rescue team, defense teams, and shugenja teams will be mentioned by name.
• Jiyo Sora and now-Jiyo Kinyoubi have a pair of twin daughters.

Year 14

• Hisomu Kanna marries Mai, with Mai joining the Spider.
• During the following year, now Hisomu Mai spends many hours over the forge, incorporating techniques from the folded steel they found on the Expedition, the Phoenix, and the Nezumi, to forge the ancestral sword of the Spider, Shoukan.
• Hanzou and Miuna have another child.
• Imperial branch libraries begin construction, at least one for each Clan within their lands.
• Agasha forms a family within the Bat Clan, focusing on research.
• Togashi Nadare meets a Ryu in the mountains, and they form a romance, eventually resulting in a pair of half-ryu children.
• Otomo and his followers swear fealty to Hantei, adding the social tribe to the Stag Clan as the Otomo Family.
• Jin creates a spell designed to detect the influence of destiny on a person’s soul. It’s mainly intended to locate the future Thunders, but as a side effect, it can detecting any spiritual advantages or disadvantages a person may have.
• Ninube returns home from a seeking with an adoptive child, and gives birth to another of her own later in the year.
  Shinjo and Koyama have another child in the winter of this year.

Year 15

• Ko seeks out Akodo to help resolve the problems Tsamaru brought to her attention. He agrees to the idea and the magic of the Ningyou allow he and Ko to descend into the ocean. It’s revealed that some of the corruption from the Nezumi capital flowed to the ocean in the groundwater, corrupting an Orochi. Akodo defeats the Tainted sea monster, having some Earth shugenja sent along by his paranoid brother encase the creature to avoid tainting the ocean further. In the process of all of this, he and Tsamaru connect and he promises to visit often.
• Ko is offered a place in the Lion Clan.
• The Library at the Imperial capital is completed in the late spring of the year, and many who have been working on the earliest scrolls to contribute come to donate their texts and partake in the festivities that accompany the opening.
• Jiyo, with approval from Shiba, codifies the Imperial legal system and how people handle disputes on an Imperial level. Sorting out punishment and disagreements intra-Clan is allowed to stay as an intra-Clan matter, but inter-Clan disagreements are covered by her system. Inter-Clan conflicts are resolved by first gathering testimony – more than a “he said, she said” matter, the parties go through three rounds of legal questioning via written correspondence. If a magistrate is near enough to where the dispute took place, evidence will also be gathered and weighed in the matter as a matter of giving weight to one testimony or the other. Then the magistrate mediates the issue, and the parties are urged to come to an agreement on their own. If an agreement is not reached, then a ruling would be made based on Imperial legal precedent. If either party refuses to participate, their lands and titles may be revoked. Duels are only one of the many compromises two parties might go to to resolve the issue at hand. The Emerald Champion going forward would be appointed by the Emperor, and would ideally be a member of the Imperial Families themselves. Shiba proposes the idea of using tests designed to determine the fitness of the candidate for the role, as well as their honor and ability to be objective, since one of the strengths of the Empire is in its many voices. The treatise she pens also gives her own thoughts about honor, and many keep it alongside their copies of Leadership as a companion piece. Many Clans use this as a reference for their own activities, as well.
• Doji and Nanzi have their fifth daughter.
• Hisomu Mai has her first child using a surrogate from the Spider, a boy.

Year 16

• Kyosei petitions Isawa to link Gisei Toshi to the Imperial library system and, after some grumbling, Isawa Aterui and his siblings decide that they really shouldn’t refuse a new source of knowledge, corrupted though it may be by the influence of the Kami.
  Hisomu Ninube and Hisomu Reo take charge of the Spider’s spy operations.
• Ninube and Reo take in a second adoptee.
• Hanzou and Miuna have their third child.
• Four years after beginning her search, Saruko returns to the lands once occupied by the Ayakashi. With the Tribe mostly absorbed into the other Clans, the village is much smaller, and the population now much more animal than apparent human. It has, however, been preserved by Imperial decree. While there, she stays with one of the few humans remaining, an old woman who regales her with many tales of a clever monkey who started off causing all manner of trouble for the Heavens, only to eventually become a clever messenger for them, having all kinds of adventures in the course of her duties. There are shades of the Money King in these stories, but Saruko can recognize the depiction of Heavens and events that line up much more closely with the truth she’s seen in the Heavens and in Rokugan. Eventually, the woman tells her of how this messenger, who was a talented shapeshifter, met a handsome mate among the tribes, and though he died a tragic death, he left her a daughter than she delivered to the Ayakashi, some of the few people who could understand the needs of a child born of spirits. Upon realizing what all this means, when Saruko looks away, the woman has disappeared, and in her place is left a fan that shines with heavenly light. When she opens and closes it, the design changes, showing each of the many adventures she was told in succession. Then there is a beautiful woman holding a baby in her arms and smiling down at it fondly, followed by a few of Saruko’s life, with a monkey watching from a tree far away.

Year 17

• The Scorpion city near Beiden Pass completes construction of most of its central market and other important places as more and more merchants arrive to fill the spaces. The city is dubbed Kashouji – Fragrant Commerce City. The Miyako Family is assigned to set up their headquarters here, given their focus on trade.
• The Spider build a special library of their own within a new city that serves as a central intelligence agency for the Clan, as well, keeping extensive records of information gathered across the Empire and housing many other secrets. For safekeeping, Hisomu’s original crystal sword is locked away here in secret to be guarded by his spymasters.
• A girl named Shosuro becomes known as one of Bayushi’s followers. Few know of her origins, though rumors suggest she might be his daughter.
• Hisomu Mai has her second child, a girl.
• Shinjo and Koyama have another child.
• Now-Akodo Ko marries one of the ningyou, Tsamaru’s relative, who joins the Lion. The pair live on the coast.
• Hanzou informs the Koumori and the Bat Clan of the existence of a mysterious portal into the other Spirit Realms. Agasha leads an investigation team back south to do further research on the site they discovered.
• Hanzou and Miuna have their fourth child.

Year 18

• Akodo and the ningyou Tsamaru marry. With her physical needs in mind, Akodo declares that his castle will need to be built near the sea, and the Lion are allowed to lay claim to some coastal land, where the construction of Shiro Akodo begins.
• Nozomi leaves Dragon territory with Shinsei and her daughter. She travels with him often, though they are seen apart equally often when he ventures into Scorpion lands or she returns to visit the Saru.
• After returning to Scorpion lands, Bayushi Umeno seeks out an audience with Bayushi to discuss the issue of the Hikaru Tribe. Taking care to listen to her concerns, the Kami decides to send a small group of envoys to seek out the leader and begin negotiations. When they arrive in the mountains, the Hikaru lie waiting in ambush, but before it can be sprung, the envoys stop, place all their provisions on the ground, then immediately leave the area. Though initially suspicious of a trap, the starving Hikaru eventually tear into the unattended rations, allowing the envoys to circle back and catch the tribesmen by surprise. Though no violence is offered against them, the demonstration is a grim example of the tactics the Scorpion are willing to use to remove the thorn of the Hikaru, and their leader agrees to meet with the Kami Bayushi. An agreement is reached, and the last of the Hikaru are enfolded into the Scorpion, extending Bayushi's influence to the mountains they call home.
• Ninube bears her fifth child with Reo.

Year 19

• Shiba, realizing the Empire’s need for the Isawa Tribe for many reasons, treks to the northern Empire himself, arriving at Gisei Toshi. Once there, he humbly states his own need for spiritually-oriented advisers and the need of the Empire at large for their Tribe’s knowledge and expertise. Worn down for years by Jiyo’s reasonable arguments that they should become one with the Empire and with an Imperial branch library in Gisei Toshi, Aterui finally breaks down and agrees to the proposal. He suggests that five positions be created to advise the Emperor in a variety of matters and each representing one of the Elements. They eventually agree on the position of Voice, Chancellor, Shogun, Treasurer, and the Emerald Champion, representing Void, Air, Fire, Earth, and Water respectively.
• Jin, in his search for the future Thunders, meets a young woman named Otaku and her mother. To protect Otaku and follow Shinjo’s command to marry, he marries the girl’s mother, Kumiko.
• Hanzou and Miuna have their fifth child.

Year 20

• With the memory of Taochusu in mind and many years of meditation, contemplation, and letting go of her past before the expedition in mind, Nozomi begins forming the Order of Heroes.
• Akodo’s first child, a daughter, is born to Tsamaru.
• Miyako of the Scorpion finishes a book called, “Why We Came and Why We Fought”, a travelogue of the Expedition to the Crater with a focus on the tribal folk who joined the effort, including a name and tribe list, their reasons, the events from their perspective, what they fought along the way, commentary on the Nezumi, and an entire chapter focused on Taochusu the Hero.
• Shinjo and Koyama have another child.

Year 21

• Matsu begins making her case to Hisomu that she should form a family. Hisomu gives her five years to accomplish what she needs to to prove herself worthy of such an honor.
• Ninube and Reo take in a third adoptee.

Year 22

• Shinjo and Koyama have another child.
• Jin and Kumiko have a pair of twins sons, one shugenja and one not.

Year 23

• Construction of Great Falls Castle in the lands of the Saru begins.
• Hanzou, with the help of several others, creates a system of bloodless elemental magic.
• Hanzou and Miuna have a set of male and female twins.

Year 24

• The first monastery of the Order of Heroes begins construction.
• Inga creates a ritual of purification before divination and battle.

Year 25

• Most of the former tribes have been absorbed by the Clans or left the Empire by this year.
• Dawn of the Empire 3 takes place during the winter of this year.

Year 25

• Influential members of the clans gather for the wedding of Nanzi Ananzihime and Hadananzi in what will be remembered as the first winter court of the Emperor. The event is marked by a series of dire revelations of corruption within the empire and threats of an impending battle with the forces of evil. Once the roads clear in the early spring, the attendees rush back to their clans to begin preparations for the future.
• During the winter, the Chief of Chiefs of the Nezumi privately travels to the Shinomen forest with the help of Nezumi shaman to claim an artifact of power sought by the Nezumi deities. After arriving home, the Nezumi send messengers to the empire offering friendship, knowledge, and aid in dealing with the threats of Yume-do.

Year 26

• In response to the revelation of Hadananzi as a demon and the attempted assassination of the emperor by the avatar of Jigoku posing as a Crane merchant, the Crane clan begin an inquisition into the threat of internal corruption. In conjunction with the Spider clan, a shugenja academy specializing in the detection and eradication of Jiogku influence is established as resources are eagerly fed into the school by the eldest daughter of Doji, Doji Dojihime and Hisomu Kuni. Using her political acumen, Dojihime additionally petitions for the creation of an inter-clan initiative to combat corruption called Raven Watch.
• Following the dramatic events of successfully dueling a demon, the warrior Kakita’s fame extended throughout the empire. The Champion of the Bat clan formally accepted the hero’s fealty and granted to him the right to start a family within the Bat clan bearing his ancestral tribe’s name. A stream of admirers and some former members of the Kakita tribe flowed into Bat lands, and a school taught by Kakita himself developed with the support of the heir to the Bat champion, Ryoshun Rei.
• The first winter court served as an excellent point of alliance building between the clans. The spring was filled with a series of weddings within the major clans. The heir to the Stag Clan, Hantei Genji wed Bayushi Kogi, strengthening the ties between the Scorpion and the Stag. The Crane and Lion clans cemented an alliance with the wedding of Doji Misaki to the newly elevated daimyo of the Kawauso family, Akodo Kawauso. The Dragon showed their support for the Imperial families by wedding Wu Ko to Yuzuru Hiroya. Finally, the Scorpion Kami and Bat Champion each elected to allow two of their daimyo, Shosuro and Kakita, to wed and maintain their respective positions within their clans. The spring and early summer was filled with celebrations of these unions throughout the empire as a spirit of unity began to fill the country.
• Whispers throughout the country began to spread an uptick of what could only be described as madness amongst the population. Sporadic and meaningless vandalism and reports of minor assaults in the villages throughout the empire became commonplace. Missing person reports filled the offices of the local headmen, and reports slowly began creeping up to the higher levels of clan leadership.
• Due to the mountainous and divided nature of the geography of the northern clans, incidents of violence and disappearance troubled each of the Spider, Bat, Crab, Dragon, and Unicorn clans. Talks which had begun at the winter court among Hisomu Susumu, Ryoshun Rei, and Wu Zhe led to further agreements of communication and oversight between the clans. Many began to fear that the rising numbers of missing persons were in fact gathering somewhere, and the less densely populated regions of the north which as of yet did not hold clan presence came under scrutiny.
• Isawa Kyosei, under the direction of the elemental council, travels to Crane and Crab lands, bringing aid and goods to help with each clan’s troubles and encouraging cooperation and support between the imperial families and the clans.
• After the first round of marriages by prospective heirs of a number of the clans in the past year, the topic of future ties between the clans remains a prevalent point of conversation at courts across the empire. Special notice is given to the children of the kami and where they choose to spend their winters. The primary focus of the previous year’s winter court, Doji Ananzihime, however, is noticeably absent from any prominent winter court. Citing her mother’s condition and the desire for a period of personal reflection, Ananzihime retreats from public appearances in the late summer and remains absent until the following spring.
• Concerned with the spiritual welfare of the empire and the rising concerns with violence, monks throughout the country began petitioning the clans for lands to build a spiritual defensive network of temples to bolster the power of Tengoku on Ningen-do. The monks Nozomi and Kuu use their experiences during the winter court to open doors to the orders throughout the empire. Each one of the clans commissions artisans and workers to help in the clearing of land and begin the construction of temples within their lands.

Year 27

• Despite rising concern, the empire is not immediately confronted with a large-scale conflict in the early months of the year. This is met with welcome surprise among the clans and each engage in a series of reforms with the hope to strengthen themselves for the impending conflict.
• The Dragon clan expedite the completion of Great Falls City, establishing the largest castle in the north and a site of art, music, and spiritual study. Additionally, the Dragon begin a large-scale reform on agrarian practices led by Wu Zhe and others within their lands, hoping to support the common people and assure them of the benevolent nature of the Dragon clan and Imperial system at large. Near the end of the year, the Lord Togashi becomes mysteriously absent from Dragon lands, along with his daughter, Satsuki. The Crane report that he briefly stopped by and visited his sister; offering medical care which seems to help improve her vital signs. A letter from the Nezumi to the south also mentioned having met with Togashi during this time, but the nature of that meeting is not known.
• The Scorpion clan dedicate a portion of their resources to the development of a specialized type of enforcer to work as magistrates within their provinces. The Scorpion additionally places a focus upon culture as a means of combating the corruption within the empire. A collection of letters written in poetry between two women known as Kakure and Oborozukiyo gained wide popularity within the clan. Many Scorpion begin correspondence with members of other clans using the same methodology as a form of recreation and diplomacy. Many people began calling this practice “the Game of Letters” and compilations of the best works began circling within the various courts in the empire.
• The Stag clan strive to reduce enmity between the clans throughout the empire. Hantei Kinsen and Genji lead in the establishment of a school for diplomats and courtiers within the Stag. Kinsen becomes an active matchmaker, building on her efforts at the first winter court. Resentment which lingered between the Crab and Stag surrounding the removal of the Crab to Northern provinces begins to be assuaged by the efforts of the Stag in helping their cousins in the north and securing political marriages for the Crab. The Nezumi additionally reach out to strengthen ties with elements within the Stag clan. The Nezumi help in teaching Otomo Gusai about nautical practices in which the Nezumi are far more advanced.
• The Lion clan dedicate their resources to logistical improvements throughout their territories. They completed the first major systems of roads in the empire under the supervision of Makime Ayano. Meanwhile, influential members of the clan Akodo Daigoro, Akodo Moshi, and the daimyo Kawauso all push for an expansion of Lion naval assets in the East Sea. With the attention of the Kami, his vassals, and their ningyo allies, the Lion quickly became the preeminent force of naval transportation and military force in the empire.
• The Imperials begin a series of reforms hoping to extract the best talent from the empire to serve within its ranks. In conjunction with the offices of the Emerald Champion and the Elemental Council, the imperial families establish a form of civil service exams. Individuals wishing to join in interclan oversight under the Emerald Champion are required to pass the exam established by the court. Members from every class in society are invited to take the exam. Those not of the samurai class who pass the exam are elevated to the appropriate social class, and are given positions within the imperial bureaucracy. To help in the instruction of hopeful applicants and future administrators within the empire and better utilize their expanding library network, the Jiyo family established a Loremaster school in the capital. Jiyo Ayumu and Sora (through the cajoling of his children) spearhead the endeavor, eventually gaining the support of the Emerald Champion.
• The Crane continue their sweeping purge of corruption within the clan. Some suspicion turns towards the husband of Lady Doji due to his association with the demon Hadananzi. His daughters’ vociferous defense of their father, combined with the public internal investigations help assuage some of the political damage directed towards the clan. The Lady Doji’s efforts to combat the enemy, though not widely understood, begin to reach the ears of influential members of the clans throughout the empire. Through the mediation of Doji Hikaru, Kakita of the Bat is brought to meet with Lord Nanzi and express their dual commitment to finding Hadananzi and bringing the creature to justice. The whereabouts of the creature, however, remain a mystery.
• The Spider focus their reform efforts largely on internal concerns. The absorption of a portion of the Isawa family who remained in their ancestral forest takes considerable resources and diplomatic efforts. The young heroine Hisomu Matsu, earns fame through a series of excursions into dangerous ground within the forest and battling with men and women driven mad through mysterious means. The constant support of Matsu’s family and friends alongside her personal achievements finally drew the attention of Hisomu. The Spider Kami allowed Matsu to found her own family within the clan and draw people to her banner who share in the same ferocious hatred for evil in the world. The establishment of Matsu’s own family deflects some of the lingering animosities between the Spider and the Crane away from the Hisomu family and towards the new daimyo and her associates.
• The Bat focus their efforts on integrating the new members to their clan brought in by the establishment of the Kakita family and in developing the Empire’s supernatural defenses. The Bat Champion Nazo, becoming aware of more and more threats in the realms outside of Ningendo, entrusts leadership of the clan to her daughter, Ryoshun Rei, and travels to Meido to aid her husband Ryoshun. Rei, as newly appointed Champion of the Bat, expends the clan’s energies in the pursuit of any and all possible allies for the empire. She collects first-hand accounts and all information she can about the elusive Kitsu race, and with the help of her contacts in the empire attempts to make contact with the Kitsu. Kakita’s method of swordsmithing transmitted from the Kenku becomes a secret transmission within the Ryoshun School, with many interested parties in other clans seeking the ability to learn the technique and fashion katana.
• Suitors from each of the clans show interest in the children of Shinjo and invitations are sent to visit a large number of different winter courts. The Ki-Rin, however, keep their focus on the North, building alliances with the followers of many of the Clans there, as well as the Lion and Scorpion, their immediate southern neighbors. They travel and explore the lands throughout their alliances, sharing maps and information on threats they run across in the process. Some of them additionally ferry important packages and letters if they're going that direction, expanding their already present reputation for being both gregarious and trustworthy.
• The Crab clan focus their efforts on works of military preparation and engineering. The support of the Stag, Crane, Dragon, and Bat bolster the clan’s finances and enable them to begin setting up a series of fortifications along the Empire’s northern border. Yoshitsune Chizu travels widely among the clans as an emissary for Lord Hida. Upon returning to Crab lands, she is installed as a teacher within the clan dojo and offers her unique advice to the proper means of diplomacy for the empire’s most militant clan. Citing rising safety concerns within the regions in the north that were not officially overseen by the clans, the Crab petition that the undesignated lands be granted to the Crab for supervision. Calling in the promised favors of the Dragon, Crane, Stag, and Bat the imperial court grants a significant portion of the lands to the Crab.
• The end of the year arrives with relative peace. The annals will remember it as the ‘Year of Reforms’. The clans hold various courts through the winter and share information. It is only during this time that the clans begin to truly understand the breadth of the threat that slowly approaches. Whispers of missing people have turned into whispers of missing villages. Dream-like other worldly glimpses frequent many people; even those who possess no mystical talents. The Crab clan in particular is wracked with internal divisions and suspicion. Whatever is approaching appears to be slowly but surely gaining momentum.

Year 28

• Evil portents within the skies and in the divinations of the Elemental Council privately are communicated through the courts as a new year dawns. Members of the tonsure travel widely, holding lectures supporting unity and support for the heavens. Togashi returns in the late spring to the Dragon and reports of his travels to meet with the Nezumi Rememberer T’tok, who informs him of an unusual connection between parts of the Shinomen Forest with the realm of Yume-do. The Dragon clan, led by the Kami’s daughter Satsuki, devote considerable resources and energies to begin establishing four temples surrounding the Shinomen Forest with ties to their clan.
• Nozomi, Friend of Shinsei, travels to the Shinomen Forest as preparations for the temples begin. Nozomi stops within the lands of the Scorpion and meets with Shosuro shortly after the Scorpion daimyo gives birth to her second child. Nozomi shares with the monks of the region knowledge of a new esoteric form of kiho which can be used to fend off the effects of what is being called, “the Lying Darkness.”
• With the help of his Nezumi allies, Otomo Gusai sets out on a quest of naval exploration. The joint crew of ratlings and humans brave many dangers and send word of dangerous mists upon the waters that bridge the gap between the dream world and the real. After weeks of exploration and many near death adventures, Gusai and his crew land upon a series of islands to the east of the continent that the ratling remember calls, “The Islands of Spice.”
• The Crane push continually for the validity of the way of the duel to determine the favor of the heavens. The Crane cite the Imperial Tournament as the foundation of all legitimacy in the empire. Crane magistrates engage in duels against individuals within the clan suspected of corruption. Their verdicts are upheld by the Imperials and even one of the daughters of Shiba, Jiyo Kumori, is permitted to train with the renowned duelist, Kakita at his dojo. Kumori’s presence alongside constant political support from the Crane signifies a tacit acceptance from the office of the Emerald Champion to the validity of the practice of dueling, which continues to gain in popularity throughout the empire as a means of conflict resolution.
• In response to the visit of Lord Togashi to Lady Doji the previous year, the Crane send generous gifts of agricultural seed and engineering expertise to the Dragon as they continue their agrarian reforms. The support is greatly appreciated and the relationship between the two clans continues to improve.
• Lord Bayushi, concerned with the ever-increasing tide of ill news, determines that many within the clans must not be fully forthright with the imperial families. Bayushi pulls on the cultural capital which the Scorpion have been slowly amassing to send emissaries to the various courts throughout the empire. The Scorpion begin to develop a sophisticated network of informants and allies which probe the clans for points of potential weakness. This network gives the Scorpion significant leverage in the year’s coming courts.
• Lord Hisomu spends much of his personal attention supporting his clan’s most clairvoyant diviners in conjunction with his own powers of future sight. The Spider’s methods of divination help bolster their political networks. Operatives of the Spider begin focusing their gaze upon the Crab clan… who despite constant support from the other clans becomes increasingly resistant to foreign visitation.
• Despite the acquisition of new lands for the Crab, the clan’s internal structure is stressed at its limit. Large numbers of people are reporting madness, especially those from the former Seidou tribe. Hida’s sheer strength of will keeps many within the clan in line, as more and more members of the clan are forced to make difficult decisions regarding family and safety.
• Two years of diligent searching by Ryoshun Rei eventually bear fruit. Rei communicates with members of the elusive Kitsu race. She calls upon one of her aunts, Hantei Kinsen, and an interested imperial scholar, Isawa Kyosei, to help her communicate and pass down the teachings of the Kitsu to the current inhabitants of Ningen-do. Kinsen encourages the Kitsu to train one of the clan’s shugenja, and establishes an advanced school based on the techniques taught to them by the Kitsu.

Year 29

• Doubt continues to beset the empire as an ever descending mist of suspicion and violence fills the halls of every home in the empire. News from the south of villages going mad and attacking Nezumi warrens buffets the imperial winter court. Surprisingly, many of the missing persons are returned dead back to cities near the border; though many of the bodies are disfigured as if parts were explicitly removed and destroyed by the Nezumi. No reprisals from the Nezumi are reported, however, and communications with White Moonrise remain open.
• The Dragon establishes a school to train gifted members of their clan in the manipulation of the elements. Concern for the spiritual and physical well-being of the clan compels a coalition of Togashi Satsuki, Wu Ko, and Saru Yatsufusa to spend personal resources and energies in finding students to populate the school who pose little threat to falling to the madness which afflicts so many.
• Lady Doji’s vigil continues throughout the year. Despite the treatments provided by Togashi, it appears that the kami’s strength grows ever weaker. The senior leadership of the Clan continue their internal inquisition with the hope that their efforts can contribute to the superhuman endurance of their beloved kami.
• During the summer months the office of the Emerald Champion becomes increasingly active throughout the empire. Jiyo personally begins responding to rumors of insurrection or disappearance in and around the imperial lands. The Elemental Council, led by Isawa, also begins extending its support further and further out into the periphery. The increasing number of imperial magistrates and officials that are sent throughout the empire to assist the clans help curb some of the worst instances of deterioration.
• Word begins to travel among certain circles within the empire that a great wind has arisen. The prophet Shinsei is seen in various corners of the empire speaking with people privately, and then disappearing. Rumor of an impending showdown… a day when the world will be shaken with a tumult like thunder… begins spreading among the populace.
• Each of the clans are forced for much of the year to turn inward. The slow and steady increases in instances of madness are handled differently amongst each of the clans, but all are forced to combat the power of Jigoku within the souls of their citizens in whatever way they can. Whole villages are consumed in nightmarish invasions. The land is left warped, surreal, beautiful, and deeply disturbing. People fear falling asleep. They cling tightly to whatever hope they have left… but it is a losing battle for many.
• Shortly before winter, Shinsei arrives in the capital. He is allowed a personal audience with the Emperor. The content of their conversation was recorded only by the Emperor’s eldest daughter. For now, Shiba Tokiwa has kept the conversation private…
• The beleaguered clans approach the winter season with caution and austerity. The disruptions within the populace created significantly poorer yields than was expected. Many of the clans cancel their scheduled winter courts. Many people within the more rural sectors of the empire flock towards larger towns and cities where granaries are more abundant. Word of tragedy heaped upon tragedy tear at the resolve and spirit of the empire. Hopelessness abounds… and with it a rising swell of violence. “The Nightmare Winter” will be remembered long among citizens of the empire.

Year 30

• After the winter snows dissipate and the roads clear, the clans begin sending emissaries again throughout the empire. All seek support and few have any to give.
• Along the roads, headed north… a collection of travelers journey towards fate. Their timing and reasons differ. Some are led by need or want, some by will, some by invitation, and some others by some sort of mystical call. Along this same road the prophet Shinsei travels. Their common destination… whether they are aware of it or not… is a small community on the borders of the new Crab lands… next to the suspicious “no-clan lands”. The local environs are putting together a festival of no particular import; simply trying to drive away the misfortune of the previous months. Why Shinsei has selected this place to travel in this hour… and why so many have come… will soon be revealed. Destiny has no secrets. The Day of Thunder happens here.

[Credit to Tyrus for compiling the goals for last game and Musasabi for writing up the timeling. You two are the real MVPs.]