An Empire in Turmoil in Rokugan, It Is Said That Honor Is Stronger Than Steel
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An Empire in Turmoil In Rokugan, it is said that honor is stronger than steel. While even the finest blade can bend and break or twist under the heat of the forge, the Emerald Empire’s society has been folded in the forges of politics and war for more than a thousand years, and it has not yet broken. The society of Rokugan follows a divinely ordered pattern set down by the eight Kami, who shared their celestial blessings with the mortal realm. Rokugan is a land of strict social stratifica- tion, where an improper look at the wrong time can mean death. This is an era of sudden change and upheaval in Rokugan, however. Mortal schemes, natural calamities, and celestial turmoil alike have disrupted the political, military, and spiritual equilib- rium of the land. Long-simmering rivalries and fresh betrayals ripple through the courts and on the battlefield. The Chrysanthe- mum Throne is beset by threats from without and within, and the honor of the seven Great Clans—the families descended from the heroes of legend and sworn to rule their lands in the Emperor’s name—shall be put to the test. Cover illustration by Shawn Ignatius Tan. Map illustration by Francesca Baerald. This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. © 2018 Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Games and the FFG logo are registered trademarks of Fantasy Flight Games. Legend of the Five Rings and the black FFG logo are trademarks of Fantasy Flight Games. Fantasy Flight Games 1995 West County Road B2 Roseville, MN 55113 USA Find out more about Fantasy Flight Games and our many exciting worlds at www.FantasyFlightGames.com An Anthology for FictionFirst from Scrollthe Core Set Her Father’s Daughter 5 The Price of War 18 The Rising Wave 29 Dark Hands of Heaven 42 Risen from the Flames 55 Curved Blades 69 The World, A Stage 80 A Season of War 91 In the Garden of Lies 97 To the South 105 Smokeless Fire 115 A Most Suitable Teacher 125 TM Fantasy Flight Games Her Father’s Daughter By D.G. Laderoute omewhere along the Emperor’s Road… Daidoji Nerishma peered into the gloomy undergrowth Salong the road as the Crane Clan caravan he was escorting plod- ded along past him. Above the clomping hooves of draft oxen and the rumbling and squeaking of wagons piled high with bags of rice, he struggled to discern what had he seen, or heard— Nerishma flung himself aside, the arrow that would have slammed into his face thumping, instead, into a bale of rice. Recovering, he raised his triple-headed spear and shouted, “Ambush! Be ready!” Rough men in shabby peasants’ garb erupted from the under- growth. Nerishma found himself suddenly locked in melee with two—no, three—of them, who slashed at him with peasant weap- ons. Frantically, he knocked aside their blows and struck back, a whirl of dust, sweat, steel, and confusion— Silver flashed as the long blade of a naginata slashed one of the bandits, then another, across the throat. Nerishma gutted the third, then turned in time to see someone rush past him in a billow of dark cloak, hood held in place with a conical, straw hat. Barely breaking stride, the cloaked figure—whom Nerishma vaguely Legend of the Five Rings recognized as another of the caravan guards—struck down a bandit with another effortless sweep of the naginata. A few paces, and another fell. Another. Back along the caravan, guards slashed and stabbed at their ambushers, holding their own, driving them back. Gripping his spear, Nerishma turned and hurried after the cloaked figure toward the head of the caravan, determined not to leave his benefactor to fight alone. He caught up in time to find the hooded guard facing a lean man wielding the swords of a samurai—a katana in his right hand, a wakizashi in his left. The man bore no mon or other her- aldry on his drab kimono. He was a rōnin, then, and probably the leader of this bandit pack. Nerishma rushed to join the cloaked figure, who was probably also a rōnin, a mercenary hired to protect the caravan. But the nag- inata, dripping blood, swung to block his way. At the same time, a woman’s voice shouted to the bandit leader, “This caravan right- fully travels the Emperor’s road. How dare you assault it?” The rōnin raised his swords. “These people and their families are starving. The rice in those wagons is better filling their bellies than the Emperor’s tax houses. So, they do what they must.” “It is certainly not your place to decide such a thing. Nor is any excuse sufficient for the crimes you have committed here today. There is only the penalty, which is death.” Death awaits us all,” he replied, taking a stance Nerishma rec- ognized as niten, the dual-wielding sword style favored by the Dragon Clan. Nerishma again started forward, determined to help dispatch this dishonorable dog of a rōnin—and once more, the bloody naginata moved to block him. This time, its wielder turned. The face looking back at him from under the hood shone like alabaster, striking beauty framed by snow-white hair. Nerishma recognized it immediately and took an astounded step back. It was Doji Hotaru, Champion of the Crane Clan, and his lord and master. Nerishma instinctively began to bow, but Hotaru shook her head. “Maintain your stance, samurai-san, and step back. I appre- ciate your desire to assist, but I shall deal with this myself.” “O-of course, Doji-ue. As you command.” He straightened, still eager to stand with his champion despite 6 First Scroll her command and his own stunned amazement. Clearly she’d been with the caravan for some time now, concealing herself in trav- eler’s garb. But why? And why would she deign to confront this rōnin cur in any case, a man so far beneath her in the Celestial Order he might as well have been an actual dog? But it was not Nerishma’s place to question, so he stepped back. Hotaru turned back to the rōnin and raised her naginata. The rōnin bowed, and Hotaru returned the bow. A pause, then the man launched himself at Hotaru like a leaping tongue of flame. Hotaru jumped aside, lashing out with the much-longer naginata, forc- ing the rōnin to pull his strikes short. But the man recovered in an instant, dashing inside the naginata’s arc. Hotaru dodged the katana by a finger span, but the wakizashi opened a shallow gash on her arm. Nerishma gasped and took an involuntary step— Maintain your stance, samurai-san. Nerishma teetered on a knife-edge of warring compulsions: assist his champion, or obey her… Gritting his teeth, he obeyed. The rōnin struck again and again, but Hotaru was as water, a flow of movement avoiding the blows. Still, Nerishma began to despair at his champion’s inability to seize the initiative…until abruptly she did, becoming as fire, a blur of furnace rage, but chan- neled by the subtlety of air. She’d been merely leading her oppo- nent, Nerishma realized, provoking his most devastating attacks, learning his moves and countermoves, and doing it all in a matter of seconds that had only felt like minutes. The rōnin fell back, desperately trying to fend off the whirling naginata. Once, he found an opening and launched himself into it—but it was a feint, leaving him unbalanced and overextended. Hotaru slammed the naginata into his shoulder, cleaving him to the opposite collarbone. The rōnin toppled back in a shower of blood, mouth gaping, gasping for air that would never reach his lungs. The Crane Clan Champion didn’t hesitate, swinging a blow that struck off the rōnin’s head. Nerishma waited for his champion to stand down from the confrontation. Instead, she simply stared down at her fallen oppo- nent. Could there be a worse injury than her arm, one he hadn’t 7 Legend of the Five Rings seen? He started toward Hotaru, saying, “Doji-ue, I remain at your service, should you need—” “No,” she said, flicking the blood from her naginata, then glancing at her injury. “I have suffered worse sparring with Toshimoko-sensei.” She looked back along the caravan, then turned to Nerishma. “The remaining bandits are fleeing. Retrieve the rōnin’s blades, Daidoji-san, in case there is someone deserving of their return. Then, let us return to our places in the caravan and wait for it to resume its way to Otosan Uchi.” Nerishma bowed. “Hai, Doji-ue.” It was not his place to question. Still, for the rest of the trip, Nerishma had to work very hard at pretending his clan champion wasn’t walking only paces away. Her sister’s apartment in the Imperial Palace offered a breathtaking view. The gardens below, Hotaru saw, were impeccably arranged for the season, the fuchsia glow of pink moss a brilliant contrast to the muted cream and pale purple of wisteria. The first roses were coming into bloom, yellow and crimson counterpoints. It rivaled the splendor of the gardens in the Chisei District of Otosan Uchi, where the Crane Clan embassy stood. Rivaled—but certainly didn’t surpass. There: a slight mismatch in the roses, a minor imbalance of color that would be missed by most samurai.