There are traitors among us my clansmen.

There are those who would deter us from our duty to the Emperor. Honeyed words and poisoned tongues have tried to cloud our vision and turn us from the path of our ancestors. We must not allow them to succeed.

The mystery of Hida Kisada's whereabouts has been solved. His fleet sailed north from the islands where it cowered, and attempted to take the Imperial City by surprise. You may have heard many wild rumors in these dark times, but I can assure you he did not succeed. Our armies scattered the Crab to the four winds, and the Great Bear himself was slaughtered like a dog as he tried to storm the palace. I personally saw his sone, Yakamo, fleeing the city with Kisada's corpse in his arms.

You have by now heard of the Crane victory at the Asahina temple. Thier pathetic forces will soon try to wreak some measure of revenge for the justice we have dealt out. They must be hunted down and destroyed like the dogs that they are. Some remnants of the Crab army have escaped and may try to regroup. Show them what it means to challenge the will of Heaven. And lest we forget, the traitor Toturi continues to defy us - marching a pitiful band of ronin towards the Imperial Palace in a vain effort to prevent the inevitable. Bring us his head as a gift to the Imperial Throne.

But most importantly, we must locate some sign of our Champion, Matsu Tsuko. She received a letter from the Emperor's wife just before the Crab landed and has since vanished. We need her to help restore order within our ranks, to once more lead the Lion towards our proud destiny. There are those in our ranks who have questioned the Emperor's will. There are Lions who whipser that Hantei has fallen, and that the old ways can no longer be followed. They must be shown the error of thier disloyalty before our enemies can exploit thier weakness. Find Tsuko, my clansmen. Find Tsuko, and we can finally reclaim our sacred place at the Emperor's side.

You know who sits on the Emerald Throne. You have heard his name. Now you must ask yourself a simple question: Shall I serve the Throne, as I have sworn to to, or shall I turn from my duty and betray my ancestors' memory? That is what you must consider. If you betray your duty, you have no right to call yourself a Lion. This is the promise you swore. You did not swear to serve the Throne when it suited you, you swore that you would serve the Emperor or die. Are you men of your word? If you are, then you will follow the Emperor's commands without question. If not, then you are no better than a lying Scorpion.

Do what you must and show the rest of the Clans what it means to be a samurai.

-Ikoma Ujiaki