Birth of an Empire
By Dennis Quearry
Our story begins like so many others, in a time of war and change. The Scorpion Clan had begun their coup on the Emperor Hantei the 38th. The war raged within the capital and the other great clans heard of the coup. The Unicorn Clan did not show until a few weeks into the storming of the Imperial palace. The Lion Clan fought amongst themselves as who would lead their clan into the palace, the Matsu or the Akodo. Their hope lie with the appearance of the greatest strategist and general they had, Akodo Toturi but he never came to the battle until the very end.
The great warlord Hida Kisada, the Great Bear, decided to align himself with Bayushi Shoju as he viewed the Scorpion daimyo's attempt at taking the throne ingenious and a true show of strength. The Great Bear was also known to have no true love for the Hantei Emperor and added his armies strength to those of the Scorpion. So , this joining of two great clans the Scorpion and the Crab put the mighty Lion Clan down.
Togashi Yokuni, the Dragon Clan Daimyo, appeared at the palace with a small army of samurai, shugenja, and ise-zumi, but they did nothing. He sat in silence and watched the top of the walls of the Imperial palace as Shoju walked across them. Both daimyo's looking at one another from a distance, neither attacking or threatening the other.
The wizard clan, the Phoenix, also never showed at the battle. They were looking into other matters, darker matters, that would soon be threatening this great Empire.
The wealthy Crane Clan fought bravely beside the Lion Clan, but in the end the two clans were not enough to stop the Scorpion/Crab alliance.
This brings you to the end of this story but the beginning of a whole new chapter in the land of Rokugan.The Scorpion now rule as the Imperial family, with the Crab as their supporters and the defenders of the Empire. Great storms are brewing to the south of the Empire and storms within the courts and villages also rage as the Empire is thrown into what may be a dark future. This is the beginning of the Obsidian Empire.
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