Calls The Lightning - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaign

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Calls The Lightning - Iron Citadel part 3

Postby KakitaKaori » Sat Mar 12, 2016 8:05 pm

The magistrates followed Moto Koshi to his father's house, and it was unlike anything they had seen before, save, of course, for Koshi himself. Moto Tsolmon had risen to a position of significance in the Moto hierarchy over the preceding years, and now held the rank, in their terms of chieftain or minor daimyo. His home was very strange to the samurai of Rokugan. He lived in an extremely large circular tent, made of leather and furs braced with wood, so tall that it stood in two layers, the main body or floor of the tent, and second story of the tent that formed a ring around its inner edge. The ceiling held a hole through which smoke could escape. Moto Tsolmon and his family and honored guests were invited to sleep in the upper tier, while, on cold nights especially, his followers would sleep on the ground around the fire. Especially the Mirumoto and the Asahina were wide-eyed with wonder. On this night, the tent was particularly crowded, and there were many magnificent horses on the lines outside.

"I regret I cannot prepare for you the feast I would like, to show you my hospitality and welcome my son home. But we face imminent attack, and my bushi anticipate battle any day now." When the magistrates inquired further, he explained. "The Dragon, the Mirumoto, led by Mirumoto Hitomi, have brought a small army into our lands. They are attacking all our villages and encampments, driving their force deeper and deeper into our territories. They kill every messenger we send to negotiate with them or scout we use to find out what she is seeking. The Daimyo of the Otaku, Otaku Kamoko-sama, is on her way here with an army of our own to stop her. I am hosting the Battle Maidens' forward scouts." He looked across the group of magistrates, his eyes settling on Mirumoto Kenuchio. "The scouts would have killed you if not for the sigil of the Emerald Champion you carry." The older Moto raised his hand and thoughtfully stroked his beard, falling silent for a moment.

"It...may be that your daimyo, Mirumoto-san and companion of my son, would show similar hesitation to kill you. I have no desire for warfare with the Dragon. It is clear even to us in these distant lands that the true threats to the Empire lie with the Crab and the Shadowlands creatures they have unleashed." He frowned, "And I have my own thoughts about that. I am not political. But if we were to but know what it was that is causing Hitomi's wrath, we can turn her anger away from us. Surely there are others who have better earned her ire."

He fixed Kenuchio in his dark eyes. "You can go and ask her, where we can not."

Kenuchio, torn and rather alarmed at the actions his daimyo was taking, still was eager to defend her. "She has more reason than anyone to seek to crush Hida Yakamo. She must have a good reason for attacking."

Tsolmon nodded. "Perhaps. Though the world has gone mad. Please, then, I ask you...all of you, to go to the Daimyo of the Dragon today. I beg you to see if you can arrange a meeting between Mirumoto Hitomi-sama and Otaku Kamoko-sama. Send word back, and I will arrange with Kamoko-sama to meet you. Koshi-kun, you will prove hostage to my word, and Kenuchio-san, you will be able to verify the truth of who we are and our intentions. Ayame-san, the Asahina have a long reputation of advocates for peace. Your presence will bless such a negotiation also. And Izuko-san, I understand if you wish to stay here, but it may be that your presence will remind Hitomi-sama, gently, that she has other enemies to fight. It is good fortune that brought you here. I ask you, companions of my son, would you be willing to try to arrange such a thing?"

The magistrates agreed, knowing it was unlikely, given the situation in the empire, that a higher ranked and more suitable group of magistrates could be found in time to stop more bloodshed. They departed before dawn, following the Otaku scouts' directions to the Dragon encampment. They were brought by Mirumoto bushi to the tent of Hitomi, Kenuchio in the lead.

They were greeted with impatience and suspicion as they pleaded that the Unicorn respected the Dragon but did not know the reason for their quarrel and their attacks on the Unicorn lands. While Hitomi gave little of her own emotions away, her advisers, especially an elderly adviser in yellow and gold kimono with a long mustache named Agasha Sano, argued that the magistrates themselves should be ignored or even killed for advocating for the Unicorn and ending Hitomi's effort. They claimed they had proof the Unicorn had allied with the Shadowlands and the Obsidian Crab, and as such, presented a grave threat to the Dragon and the whole Empire.

However, Koshi offered himself as a hostage for his father's good behavior, and Kenuchio and Ayame pleaded for a meeting so that these charges could be discussed. If there were taint or conspiracy to ally with the Crab among the Unicorn, the Unicorn daimyo needed to know. Izuko kept silent, but her presence was a quiet reminder to Hitomi of her hatred for Yakamo, her true enemy. Finally, she told her advisers that she would meet with Kamoko and, if need be, duel the battle maiden for allowing Shadowlands corruption in her lands.

Ayame and Koshi stayed with Hitomi, while Kenuchio and Izuko and Eiko returned to Tsolmon. Tsolmon dispatched riders to Kamoko and the negotiation was arranged for the next morning.

The meeting was held on a rocky outcropping, where the Dragon claimed the high ground, the Unicorn the plains below. A tent had been prepared to provide privacy the daimyo, who entered accompanied by their advisors. The magistrates sat to the side, aware of their low rank and their duty not to interfere. There was a period of anger and blustering and accusations, but the heart of the Dragon's claim came out. The Dragon had learned of the Iron Citadel in this region of the Unicorn Lands, and believed it was a Shadowlands source of corruption and the goal of Yakamo's drive north into the heart of the Empire, for Yakamo was surely driving north with anger and purpose. The Dragon believed he was moving his army into the Iron Citadel, and given the Crab's skill at defense, and the Unicorn's support, he would never be able to be dislodged from the northern part of the Empire and could attack from there at his leisure. The Iron Citadel was an endless font of power and corruption for him. Hitomi's advisor, Agasha Sano, was particularly passionate in these arguments. Otaku Kamoko tried to defend the Unicorn's position. She knew of the Iron Citadel and its origin, but did not know of its destruction, and her arguments were weak and she was growing impatient.

Fortunately, the magistrates were able to politely chime in that while the source of the Citadel was uncertain, the Citadel had recently been completely destroyed, and no trace of the Shadowlands remained in the area. At this Agasha Sano grew even more agitated and passionate, claiming the Magistrates were clearly lying and urging Hitomi to end the negotiations immediately. Hitomi stopped and turned to look at him suspiciously, though she said nothing. It seemed, perhaps, that she was surprised, or insulted, at Sano's response to such an easily verifiable claim. She made a gesture to two of her guards, and then to Sano, instructing them silently to take the Agasha under guard. Then she demanded Kamoko take five Dragon Samurai to the site of the Iron Citadel to inspect it, which Kamoko agreed to do. Then Hitomi sat down on the floor of the tent and began to wait.

The Unicorn looked at one another uncertainly, and, eventually, filtered in and out to do their daily tasks. Kamoko was restless, but not to be outdone, so she also waited in the tent, but allowed herself to be interrupted with discussion with her men when they came to her for orders or to bring her food. No such courtesy was extended to the Magistrates, so they kept face as best they could. It was a long wait. Most of the day and the following night later, the scouts returned and Hitomi stood. The scouts reported that indeed, the Citadel had been there, but was now gone, and no taint of the Shadowlands remained. Hitomi sent for Agasha Sano, but when she did so, the men she sent reported that they had found Sano's guards dead and the Agasha was missing. Hitomi scowled, and told Kamoko that Dragon would withdraw from Unicorn lands and would face Yakamo's armies directly. The Unicorn would pay if they tried to exact vengeance for the Dragon's invasions, but would be troubled no more.

Kamoko understood and Hitomi left. Kamoko thanked the magistrates, briefly and indicated that they should convey her thanks to Koshi's father, Tsolmon, and rode away with the battle maidens, leaving the group with some of Tsolmon's guards to return to Tsolmon's house.
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Calls The Lightning - Iron Citadel part 4

Postby KakitaKaori » Sun Mar 13, 2016 4:18 pm

The celebration Koshi's father hosted for the magistrates upon their return was even more bewildering than their first entry into his encampment. There were many people and animals, whole families, gathered in the huge tent. There was rice, but little, compared to a wide variety of strange foods that the other magistrates had to decide how they would adjust to (reactions varied). A strange, alcoholic beverage that smelled terrible and tasted worse was very popular...fermented mare's milk. Even the music was strange. It seemed to be pleasing to Tsolmon to provide a bit of a shock to his son's companions, and share with them a taste of the world beyond the norms of Rokugan.

It was a little much for Hiruma Izuko. She stepped outside the tent for some air, and was glad to be out of the heat and strange environment. So she was out there when a low-ranking samurai, looking pleased, moved to enter the camp carrying a large porcelain bottle, and she stopped him. "A gift from Otaku Kamoko-sama for her loyal samurai, Moto Tsolmon. Real sake from Friendly Traveler Village! We hardly ever receive such a prize!"

Izuko recognized him as one of Tsolmon's folllowers, who had been assisting in serving for most of the evening, but her time on the wall had taught her to trust her instincts. "When did it arrive?" she asked.

"One of the Iuchi with her dropped it off. She said she needed to leave quickly, however, and couldn't stay." Izuko followed the Moto into the tent, and sat down next to Tsolmon as the sake was presented. She let herself at least to pretend to be drunk, and after Tsolmon had praised the sake and Kamoko, she snatched it from his hand to take the first swig, declaring that she, as Crab, deserved a taste of home.

Her intuition proved true as she could feel the tingling sensation of a poison of some sort. It was subtle, certainly not something that would be detectable to those not already familiar with the smooth Friendly Traveller variety of sake. But she was familiar. Normally, each samurai would take a cup of such a valuable trade-good and pass the bottle around, but instead of passing it, Izuko immediately dashed the poison to the ground, spilling it across the rugs. She bowed deeply and made profuse apologies to Tsolmon. Then she turned to Asahina Ayame and requested her healing.

Tsolmon was more confused than angry, for he was an even-tempered man, and he cleared space for Izuko to lie down. Ayame monitored her as the poison took its grip. It was a long night, but Izuko's endurance was strong and Ayame was a skilled healer. She lived, and it was very clear to all why she had spilled out the sake. The Iuchi who had given the sake was never found.

Once Izuko had recovered, Tsolmon summoned the magistrates a last time. He told them of the true reason for requesting Satsume to send a magistrate to him. It was, in part, the deteriorating condition of the Jade Champion and the Iron Citadel, but in truth it was more. He explained that, when he was a young man, he traveled with the Jade Champion and learned of a conspiracy of traitors among each of the clans, traitors who sought the Black Scrolls and traitors determined to bring Fu Leng into power within the Empire. He told of a Kuni that tried to allow the Wall to be overrun, a Unicorn who had unleashed the Iron Citadel, a Lion who attempted to assassinate Doji Satsume himself, a Scorpion ninja, and a Crane who had tried to blow up the Emperor and the Imperial Court. He had suspected others among the Phoenix and Dragon also, but had no proof.

Tsolmon had come to suspect that at least some of these traitors that they had thought dead were, in fact, still active in the world. He was not sure that it was possible, but he had been patrolling with his men and came upon the body of a peasant near the Iron Citadel. Hiding nearby was the heiman's young son. The boy described a huge, muscled man who wore the facepaint and mons of a Kuni. The man killed the boy's father with a terrible spell when he realized realized he was being watched, but missed the boy who was shorter than the height of the grass. The man matched the description of one of the traitors that Tsolmon had thought dead, and not long after that the statue of Iuchi Kyoru, the Unicorn traitor, crumbled into dust within the Iron Citadel. That was when Tsolmon decided to send his son to Satsume. The Scorpion Clan Coup and later chaos in the Empire only served to further his suspicions.

It was a thin thread of suspicion, but with a traitor in the Dragon spurring on Hitomi, and the madness throughout the Empire...it was a possible source? Tsolmon didn't know. Now that Doji Satsume was dead, Tsolmon knew little more and didn't know what to recommend to the Magistrates. Perhaps they could take word to Toshimoko, or, if they dared, venture to find more about the Crab army led by Yakomo. Hitomi would be moving towards the Crab soon...."

The magistrates thanked Tsolmon for his information and departed, deciding to meet with Hitomi and see if she would be willing to allow them to travel with her. She accepted them (in surly fashion) but was somewhat grateful that they had saved her further loss of face so she permitted them to travel with her. They learned that Dragons scouts had travelled to Beiden pass to prepare to meet Yakamo's army, and were surprised to find that Yakamo's goal seemed to be a small contingent of Crab samurai holed up in the Keep at Beiden Pass who were preparing to hold the pass against Yakamo against all odds. The scouts, of course, did not give themselves away to enter, but Hitomi was determined to reach the pass before Yakamo broke through, and perhaps those Crab in the keep would know more. She dismissed them and allowed them to follow her army as she marched onwards towards Beidan Pass.
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Calls The Lightning - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaign

Postby Kakita Shiro » Mon Mar 14, 2016 4:44 pm

This is so facinating. I always wanted to see a Clan War era campaign in action.
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Re: Calls The Lightning - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaign

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Thu Mar 17, 2016 6:54 am

I have never read Clan Wars, and so this is all sparkling new to me.

I appreciate the successful attempt at diplomacy, the affirmation of the Asahina's healing skill and peaceful ways, and the vigilance and fortitude of the Crab.

Gosh, a Crane tried to blow up the Emperor and the Imperial Court???
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Re: Calls The Lightning - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaign

Postby KakitaKaori » Thu Mar 17, 2016 10:12 am

Go read this thread here for the campaign in which Moto Tsolmon was a player character and the the background on the traitors he's referring to.......viewtopic.php?f=3&t=825.

Note: None of this happened in Clan Wars officially...this was our campaign's take on Clan Wars. There are absolutely differences, and the characters of this tale move in mostly different circles than the CCG characters in Clan Wars. The overall goal of the campaign was that the Clan Wars story as it shows up in the CCG would be how this campaign (and lots of things unrelated in the world) would be retold by the historians and storytellers. Of course in such retelling it would primarily only be about the greatest and most important daimyos and champions, and of course it would portray them all at their best and/or their worst. It would play up interclan strife and play down intraclan strife. But...maybe, for this campaign at least, that history is not exactly the whole story.

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Calls The Lightning - Battle of Beidan Pass part 1

Postby KakitaKaori » Sat Mar 26, 2016 10:35 am

The Dragon army made relatively quick time across southern Dragon lands, and were not impeded in crossing Lion lands on their way to Beidan pass. As in their previous journey across Lion lands, the lands were empty of samurai, and those few who challenged Hitomi's army allowed it to pass when told she was marching to confront the Crab in Beidan Pass. A small group of magistrates, of course, was nothing but driftwood in Hitomi's wake.

As Hitomi approached, she found the Lion army arrayed around the pass. Hitomi and her top commanders met under parley the Lion command, but the magistrates were no part of those negotiations. They did spend some time with the Lion troops, though the troops were well disciplined and tight lipped. From them, the magistrates learned that Matsu Tsuko held command, and the army had been there, near the pass, for days. It took some careful prying, but the magistrates were also able to learn that the Lion had been ordered by the Emperor to allow the Crab army approaching the pass move through and into Crane Lands, to target the Kakita. The order wasn't sitting well. The majority of the Lion samurai were angry and frustrated. They had seen a small group of Crab hold the pass for the better part of a week against a larger Crab army, one with whom the Shadowlands walked. Even if that army targeted the hated Crane, this was not right...

Soon the negotiations between Hitomi and Tsuko were completed, and the Lion army was ordered to allow the Dragon to pass. They moved aside, and the Dragon made ready for war.

The Dragon charged down upon the pass, moving past the keep without stopping to take the Crab by surprise. The magistrates stayed back from the battlefront, their own orders different, and turned into the defended kuyden as soon as the pass was clear enough of Yakamo's forces to enter safely. They were hailed from within and allowed to enter.

In the keep, they were greeted immediately by a familiar face. Kuni Ren had been a frequent correspondent of Hiruma Izuko through all her days in the capital. They had been friends since Izuko's first stint on the Wall. It was she who had sent Izuko the jade netsuke and warned her of the Obsidian Crab. It was clear from her face that Ren was at the brutal edge of grief and weariness, and that the morale of the Crab samurai was the same. After she and Izuko embraced and the rest of the magistrates were introduced, Ren made the Crab's desperate situation clear.

The Jade Crab, who held the keep, were Crab who disagreed with Hida Kisada, the Crab Clan Champion. Kisada had, with the guidance of Kuni Yori, found a way to use the power of the Shadowlands to support his troops. Kisada believed that the Empire was weak, the Emperor was weak, and once he, as one of the strong, claimed the Throne of Rokugan, he could then turn against the Shadowlands with the force and resources of all the Empire, and the Shadowlands own strength, and crush it as well, leaving the Crab victorious over the Shadowlands and the Empire and bringing peace. Kisada's sons were split on Kisada's decision. Hida Yakamo embraced his father's vision, willingly leading his armies, with Kuni Yori's support. Hida Sukune, his younger son, had disagreed. After long and vehement protests, Sukune had formed the Jade Crab, uniting those who believed that the Shadowlands must be fought at every turn and to the bitter end, even if it were to destroy the Crab. First through passive protest, then active conflict, and finally with open rebellion, Sukune held the Jade Crab together, while those who sided with Kisada claimed the Obsidian Crab to declare their loyalty, and had the greater forces. Forced to retreat, Sukune withdrew to Beidan Pass, determined to make one last stand to prevent the Shadowlands from being unleashed against the Heart of the Empire and to make the Empire aware of the threat his brother posed. And Yakamo came after him.

Ren was frantic. Hida Sukune had gone out under flag of parley with promised insurance of his safety, to try to persuade Yokamo to turn from his course, but had been dishonorably kidnapped. Most of the other leaders of the Jade Crab had died in the previous days of combat. With Sukune's tactical genius and the Crab skill at defense, the Jade Crab had held the Pass, but they would not have held for another day if Mirumoto Hitomi had not arrived. Even now, she doubted Hitomi had brought enough.

The magistrates and the wounded Jade Crab listened to the sound of fighting, seeing the dust and fire of warfare just over the crest of the pass. Then a great shout went up from the battlefield, and they could see from the keep the forces of the Dragon falling back towards the keep itself. The Jade Crab opened their gates to allow the Dragon in.

Less than a third of the Dragon made it back into the kuyden, and, guarded on all sides, they carried the body of their Daimyo, Mirumoto Hitomi.

She was clinging on to life with an unbreakable tenacity, and one of the few remaining Dragon Shugenja had kept her alive with his prayers to the kami. But she was grievously injured. The greatest injury, which Ayame saw when she came to offer her skills at healing, was that her swordhand had been completely removed, the flesh around it mangled, as though rather than being sliced off by a blade, it had been pinched off by a mighty claw. The stories the remaining Dragons told confirmed this.

Hitomi had led her army straight into the teeth of the Crab's army, determined to take down Hida Yakamo, both out of her own enmity and as the best strategic move. It was costly, but the Dragon had driven a wedge through the Crab forces. There, at the heart, Hitomi confronted Yakamo in a duel. But Yakamo...was no longer fully human. His arm, which Hitomi had claimed in a duel during the Scorpion Clan Coup, had been replaced with a mighty, grotesque claw, like that of an Oni. It was this claw that had born down and severed Hitomi's arm. Once she had fallen, further tainted creatures of the Shadowlands poured out from behind the Crab forces and overwhelmed the Dragon's position. The Dragon were forced to withdraw into the keep. They had done enough harm that Yakamo had also withdrawn, for a time, but there was no doubt that the end would be soon now.
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Apr 13, 2016 9:11 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Calls The Lightning - Battle of Beidan Pass part 2

Postby KakitaKaori » Sun Mar 27, 2016 10:41 am

The Dragon and the Jade Crab were granted the sweetness of a quiet night in the keep, even though from beyond the ridge they could hear the sounds of Yakamo's army and could see the light of its fires. The magistrates were snatching what little sleep they could, sleeping in a room near where Hitomi lay, until they were wakened near dawn by a soft cough.

"Time to wake up, magistrates," a cheerful voice offered. "You're about to be attacked."

The magistrates were startled out of sleep, the bushi immediately reaching for their weapons while Ayame quickly lit a lamp. Nothing could have prepared them, however, for the lamplight revealed the sly smile of none other than Mai, the fifteen year old Red Cloud Yakuza they had known in Otosan Uchi. The girl straightened from her crouch. She was dressed in black, and a pink scarf hung loosely now about her shoulders. "You are good at finding trouble, aren't you?"

Koshi was the first to speak. "Mai! What are you doing here? How did you even get in? There's three armies here in the pass."

"Four." Mai laughed. "When I realized you were here, I had to come in and let you know I'd kept my promise."

"Which promise?" Ayame asked. "It's very dangerous here."

"My promise about the ronin. I thought it might surprise you. I like surprises. Still, I'm not lying about the attack. It's almost dawn, and you need to go fight if you're going to hold the keep."

Even deep within the Kuyden, the magistrates could hear the sound of battlehorns and gongs. The bushi began lacing into their armor as around them, the defenders of the keep awakened.

Mirumoto Kenuchio's lips pursed to a narrow line. "You're right. We will have to talk after this is over. I'm not sure who you are, Mai-san, but you're too young for this." He started to walk away, towards the battlements,then paused in front of Hitomi's room, abandoned of almost all her guards as her bushi had gone to hold the walls. He paused, and turned to Mai. "But...if you did have a secret way in....maybe you have a secret way out. We're not important, but if the tide of battle turns against us, Hitomi-sama must live. If we have ever helped you...I don't care what it costs....if the keep will be overrun, please take her from here. Take her and protect her and return her to the High House of Light. She's my daimyo, and she has many guards and advisors far more important than I. But if they fall..."

Mai stopped smiling, her eyes narrowing in careful consideration of Kenuchio and the others. "Not wise to not care what it costs. But...I have a way. And I know when to take a deal when one is offered. Very well. I promise I will protect her and return her safely to the High House of Light. You have my word."

Kenuchio nodded. Mai drew the scarf about her face. A battlecry sounded from the wall, drawing the magistrates attention, and when they turned back, Mai was gone.
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Apr 13, 2016 10:10 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Calls The Lightning - Battle of Beidan Pass part 3

Postby KakitaKaori » Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:53 am

The magistrates reached the battlements in time to see a tide of samurai and ashigaru crashing past the Kuyden Walls, but this tide was going against their aggressor, Hida Yakamo. They fought with few clan markings, but were a unified fighting force none the less, and above them rose the banner of the Wolf. Their battlecries...'For Toturi!' 'For Rokugan!'....rose as they crashed into the waiting claws of the Crab army that beset them.

The magistrates helped as they could. Some of the remaining Dragon sallied at a moment when Toturi seemed particularly close to pressing his advantage, eager to deliver revenge to Yakamo in Hitomi's name. But it was soon clear that the army of Shadowlands and Crab was just too great for the number of forces Toturi had. Horns and tessan signaled a retreat. It seemed a rout, the ashigaru and ronin falling back in a seemingly disorganized fashion. They did not retreat into the keep, however, instead continuing further, down towards the Lion army.

The Shadowlands and Obsidian Crab army surged, following the retreating ronin. The Jade Crab and Dragon peppered them with arrows, but it made little difference. The land around the keep was strewn with smoke and blood and pain and the bodies of the dead and dying. Then, it appeared...cresting the ridge as it was carried forward into battle. Kuni Ren gasped.

Borne on a mighty and monstrous standard waved over the troops of the Obsidian Crab hung the broken, bleeding body of Hida Sukune, leader of the Jade Crab and brother to Hida Yakamo.

The sacrilege and disrespect, the frustration of waiting, the grief of the Jade Crab who had fought so honorably, and the vile horror of the enemy was too much for Mirumoto Kenuchio to bear. A broken siege tower still leaned haphazardly against the walls of the keep, temporarily abandoned of its attackers. With a cry 'For Honor!' Kenuchio leapt from the battlements into the siege tower and scrambled down, followed a mere second later by Hiruma Izuko. Kuni Ren, her voice an incoherent cry of grief, followed them nearly as recklessly. Asahina Ayame drew to herself the kami of air and water, causing a mist to rise from the battlefield around her. She took a deep breath, mustering her courage, and asked quietly for Moto Koshi to help her down. He did so, following himself. The mist cloaked her, settling around the group of magistrates and blending into the fire and dust of ware as they engaged the battle.

Hiruma Izuko led them unerringly towards their goal, the Cursed Standard that bore the body of Hida Sukune. Kenuchio and Koshi fought right and left, slicing any who would make their way through the mist towards them and protecting Ayame and Ren. Ayame maintained her mists with gentle prayers to the kami, while the Kuni unleashed her rage in strikes of pure jade at any tainted beasts that ventured near.

The greater part of Yakamo's troops had their full attention on Toturi and his rout, and did not notice how close to the keep the standard had come or the force that struck from the kuyden to take it. The fighting was bitter and bloody and fast and fierce, and none of the magistrates escaped unscathed, but the group was able to reach the standard and, for a moment, cut it down.

When they did so, they realized that the sacrilege that had been performed was even greater than they realized. For Hida Sukune lived. His face was fixed in a tortured grimace, he could barely lift his head. But he lived. Kenuchi cut him free of the vile standard, and Izuko gathered him up in her arms without emotion. Ayame expanded the mists around them as they fought their way back to the keep. The Jade Crab within lowered ropes and a sling to permit them entry again without opening the gates.

The magistrates solemnly carried the body of Hida Sukune to an inner chamber of Beidan Keep. Still, there was no time to rest. Ayame and Kuni Ren stayed with the wounded Crab, battling for his life as if one life would make a difference in what was to come. The others returned to the walls, though they all bore significant injuries now. Toturi's army had fallen back into the Lion forces, but Yakamo had not followed. He retained enough control of his monstrous army that when the signal went forth, the Obsidian Crab and oni and goblins and all did not follow Toturi, but instead turned their vengeance to the keep proper.

The wounded remnants of the Jade Crab and Hitomi's Dragon were few, many dying. The Dragon were able to wield their fires against the Crab siege towers, though were forced to use restraint away from their mountain fortresses of stone. Jade Crab knew how to hold a wall against ladders and climbing oni. But the otemon, the main gates, had fallen, and the enemy had entered the sotoguruwa, the outer courtyards. Death was certain.
Last edited by KakitaKaori on Wed Apr 13, 2016 9:11 am, edited 4 times in total.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]

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Calls The Lightning - Battle of Beidan Pass part 4

Postby KakitaKaori » Wed Mar 30, 2016 9:11 am

The keep was falling, and so it was that the magistrates did not see what was happening among the Lion.

If they had been able to turn back, they would have seen how a third of the Lion army cast off their mons and accepted a fate as ronin, sacrificing their name and honor to join with Toturi in defense of the Empire, here at the end.

If they had been able to turn back, they would have seen how a third of the Lion forces left the battlefield, marching with their banners raised towards Crane Lands and leaving the Shadowlands to enjoy free passage into the Crane Lands just as the Emperor had ordered. Victorious conquest against hated enemies at the Emperor's command drove them...and for that, they would allow the Shadowlands to pass into the Empire. After all, they were following orders. That was sufficient for their honor.

But the magistrates were unable to turn back. And therefore they were unable to see the Lion army that remained lined rank upon rank in respectful silence as they watched the pass. They were unable to see Matsu Tsuko, robed in white, walk out in front of her forces. Unable to compromise, unwilling to break, she was willing to sacrifice all for the sake of honor and for the sake of the Empire. The Lioness knelt on the ground, drew her wakizashi, and shouted one, final command to her troops. Then, striking swiftly and deep, she made the three cuts. The Black Toturi stood as her second, made the final cut of mercy.

That was not the end.

Immediately, one of the Kitsu completed the ritual that had been days in the making. The spirit of Matsu Tsuko, fortified by the ancestors and especially the power of the Lion Thunder, Matsu, rose before the full witness of the Lion army, and her voice rang across the battlefield like the roar of the ancients. The first rank of Lion, a hundred long, responded to her battlecry and knelt on the ground, drawing their wakizashi. Three cuts, in perfect silence, while those in the rank behind them gave the final cut. The second rank knelt to do the same. Rank on rank of the Lions most elite, most loyal, and most honorable troops committed seppuku. To protest the orders of an Emperor gone mad. To show their honor to the end. And, then, to rise. The ritual of the Kitsu did not end with Matsu Tsuko. As each rank fell, the Kitsu Shugenja bound their honorable spirits close to the earth, raising their prayers to Tengoku to grant their reprieve. A Legion of the Dead was formed, filling the field of the fallen around Matsu Tsuko, blinding in their glory.

The magistrates caught up in their battle were unable to see...until the spirits of these newly released Lion samurai were unleashed. Together with the reinforced Toturi's army, the ghostly legion fell crashing down upon Yakamo's forces like a great wind. The oni and the Shadowlands were blinded by the purity of their honor, scarcely able to touch them. But the power of Tengoku was with the Lion, and their blades sliced through all things tainted by Jigoku with the strength of steel and the purity of jade. The ronin who fought beside Toturi plowed into the Obsidian Crab with their full power unleashed, unwilling to compromise a single step further and driving the Obsidian Crab before them. They swept into Beidan Keep and tore through the attackers, freeing the few remnants of the Jade Crab.

Yakamo did not have enough loyal troops left for an organized retreat, and many of the Shadowlands forces with him resisted his call. They scattered across the countryside, fleeing in every direction away from the pass. Those further from the keep were able to avoid the Lion and Toturi's forces, but they were fleeing, hiding, entrenching themselves into the mountains and the dark places of the earth. The Obsidian Crab were cut down. Hida Yakamo was barely able to escape with his life.

This defeat the magistrates were able, with thanks to the Lions' sacrifice, to live to see. And, as they stood shoulder to shoulder with Toturi's ronin on the battlements, they watched the spirit of Matsu Tsuko and her Legion of the Dead meet with Toturi and his highest command in the middle of the battlefield before them. They saw her raise her hand in farewell, and Toturi bow deeply in a gesture of greatest respect. And they could see the spirits of the fallen samurai turn, and with Matsu Tsuko at their head, march into the west and out of sight, joining their own radiance to the red-gold light of the setting sun.
Kakita Kaori
Kenshinzen of Golden Petal Village and overly prolific fiction writer
http://craneclan.weebly.com/
[Kakita Kyoumi/WC5]

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Re: Calls The Lightning - A Clan Wars Era L5R Campaign

Postby Doji Pheelyp » Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:14 pm

OMG. THAT WAS EPIC.

EPIC!
Courtier * Doji Innocent * Loyal


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