Way of the Phoenix

8/7/2019 Way of the Phoenix

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'1 fyou are w illing to sacrifice yourself for a ll th ings,then you can be trusted w ith the world"

- Shiba

L egend o f the F iv e R ing s, T he F ive R ingsSymbol,The Em erald Em pire of R okugan, FR PG . andWay o f th ePhoenixare t rademarks01 F iv e R in gs P ub lish in g G ro up .Incorporated.~ iv e R in gs P ub lish in g G ro up , In co rp orated is a su csld lary o lW lz ard ~ 01 th eCcaslI nc or po ra te d. A ld er ac E nte rta in m en t G ro up , a ufh ortz ed u se r. S ec on d P rin tin g. P rin te d to U .sALligw.do f Ih ll F i !18Ri llgsls 10 and '"199BF iv e R ing s Publ is h ingGroup I nc . a ndis US I1 dh er e u nd er l ic en se


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Fo r t he secondprinting"O f!fayo f th ePhoenix;weaskfli to he ar ab out th ingspeople r ea ll y wan te d t ose e

cha nged . T hose w hoansw ered thecallincluded

Chy;1sB lgg, RayColina.Corilttb,Lucien Cris tofaro .DavidJDolph,TimEllis.LucGadioux, DavidR"Sanzo"Henry, Thomas

Iv er so n, G M ich ae l J aco bs ,Ron James.Shosuro

~zalti. K athleen, Rob'Renny,DavidV Krieger,Otaku KU I l U U ,David E.

Loewen , S tewar tMa cW l lliam , R ich ar d Madd y.

Jan McAuli ffe.AndrewMcGrego r, C ra ig Me rc er ,

Arul lewMey er, Wa yne O gle,Jam es O iaste, S cott M

Pm tsh, C hris Payne,Dieterpearcey.R am6n P efia ,

DevonE. Sanders.$ ld dMa rx st. J oh n S te pp ,

M artin Sween ey , JaySWygert,Iengu, Foxtrot &Vex. Ky leVoltti,andJa y

Wrobel (I fwe'v e le ftyournem e out, w e're very sorry

- we triednot tomissatiYbodyfrom th e 25 MB of

emai lyo u sentus!)Specialthanks goto

s e m IGearm,whowent waya1>oveandbeyond t he ca llof duty in his contribution.

WRITTN BY PATRICK kAPRA & R 5058

ADDITIONAL MATRIAL 8Y JFF ALXANDER, RYAN DANCY, MARCLO

F,GUEROA, SCOTT GARIN, Ross ISAACS. INNIFER MAHR, JIM PINTO,

0.1. TRINDL, ROB VAUX, JOHN WICK, & DAVID W,LLIAMS

GAME SYSTEM BY DAVID WILLIAMS AND JOHN W,CK

COVER ARTWORK: CARL FRANK

INTERIOR ARTWORK: CRIS DORNAU5 & BEN PECK

MAPS: IEFF LAHRN

ARTWORK PREPR55: BRENDaN GOODYEAR, STEVE HOUGH

ART DIRECTOR: kC LANCASTR

LINE EDITOR: OJ. TRINDLEEDITING: D.I. TRINDL, REE SO5BEINTRIOR LAYOUT: STEVE HOUGH

2ND PRINTING CORRECTIONS: ROD VAUX

Ryan gave us thekick-startw e needed, and provided constant inspiration, even fro mMa rce lo w ro te"Dueling Shu ge nja s" (In se rt b an jo b us ic h ere , p le as e) .J imw rote num erous battles and ancestors, and rem inded us not to put h is nam e

w e did anyw ay - sorry , Jim ).030272/092495Jennifer again gave definition to the undefinab le. H er treatise o n Void M agic shaScott provided enthusiasm and raucous cheers, as w ell as a battle or tw o.R oss gave us thousands of incredib le ideas about the m onks, and defined SbinsD.J.w rote the spell creation rules and keptOU f ramblingscoherent,D ave m ade rules suggestio ns and b oiled C hap ter T hree untilit w as nice and tender.Ben commi tt ed 'a rt is ti cseppuku'by com ple tin g n early a ll th e artw o rk in th e b oo k o uts

Four,in just three short w eeks. We love you, B en, and w e hope your w ifeis sp ea kin g to y ou aeris follow ed through w ith the 'legacy of C hapter Four: m akingall o f the W h o's W h o c

com e to life, and giving them the personality w e alm ost m anaged to put in the telaugh at us w hen w e told her the art deadline.

R ee w ould like to thank the m em bers of A nathem a, for their kindness to a pooB elle. A lso, again, a great thank you to the thousands of players w ho deluge hcomm ents, and m ost of all enthusiasm and im agination for a sm all E mpire w hichju st w ith in o ur rea ch .

Patrick w ould like to thank conspiracy theorists and horror story w riters everyinspirational "docum entaries" and w ell-crafted stories. W ithout all of y ou, he w oultoday , and theHenshin an d Ishi would n't e xis t. L ov ec ra ft, C arp en te r, P oe a nd B a rk er . G


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\ t

erl '~~1\?a5Uhlo f~1011 f a l ] tS biba sat calm ly , listenin g to th e m onk 's w ords

of w isdom to Em perorHantei.H e w as scarcelycon scio us of the w ritin gquill in his hand as itscraw led th e h alf-u nd ersto od senten ces acro ss a

sheet of crisp rice paper.A single, low-burningcandle lit the Im perial Throne Room , castingw avering shadow s betw een the th ick tapestriesup on the w alls.

"H antei," the sm all m an w ho had introducedhimselfas Sh insei con ti nued ," Ihav e en jo yed o urtim e together im m ensely, but1 ask again - w iJIy ou let m e tak e seven w arrio rs into y ou r brother'srealm?"

Hante i r ec lin edin the deep seat, running hisforcefu l fin gers b elo w h ischin as h e co nsid eredthe request. Several hours earlier, theconversation had begun w ith the sam e words.

and though m any, m any had been said since,none had w eighed as heavily upon the Em perora s t ho se .

A long stillness fell over the room , and S hihaloo ked do wnat the stack of blurry pages he hadwritten. If e ve ryrice paddy in the Em pire w eresacrificedfo rpape r, we st illcould not c ap tu re th esum of this m an'swisdom,he thought. A nd as helooked up, he noticed that S hinsei w as looking ath im . The w ise m an's eyes penetrated her like thesh arp est b lad e, y etcu t w ith the delicate grace ofth e fin est geish a. H e w as g en tly pro bin g th eKamifor . ..

" Jwill g ran t y ou r ap peal,"Hantei b eg an . ''M ybrothers and sisters w ill be gathered at once'

" I'm afraid th at can no t b e," S hin set co un tered ."Only the Children of the Earth m ay com bat FuL eng andwin."

"Morta ls ?" H a nte i a sk ed

"Precisely. 'Fortune favors the m orH antei, T hey are th e fu tu re o f t his w orldthe ones w ho m ust fight forit"

H antei w as silen t for another longT he d ecisio n to sen d m ortals into F u L eweighed heavily upon him . B ut hetaken by th is little m an's know ledge.finest w arrior he had ever seen, and doum ost learned, the w ords he spoke w ereEm peror knew this in his heart.

"A greed," h e said fin ally . "You m ay hw arriors - chosen by theKami fro m am ongprovinces:'

"I m ust choose them ."Again, the littles ur pr is ed Han te i.

"Very well."S hinsei bow ed his head low before

m an, and his eyes darted suddenly backThe Kam i w as unsettled by his stare,as if

righ t to exist there inthat p lace, in th at timbeing challenged . Then S hinsei rose ato leav e, to uch in g S hib a k in dly u po n thas h e p assed .

W hen Shiba stood, the prophet obsnight's w ork . Picking up oneo f th e b rittle pS hin sei ask ed, "D o yo u k no w w hat this

it is a record of your talk,Shinsei,responded.

"No"The w ord carried m ore im portSthen than any of the last several hours.It shahim w ith the w eight of ignorance. "Ioonly the present, a single evening's la

passed on to another for transcrip tionth ose w ho w ill com e late r, th is is h isto rym ade, g lories hallow ed, battles w on al es sons l ea rned. "

Shinsei's eyes focused in to Shibaconveying a message: You c an no t a pph ist ory, b ecause you will liv e for ever.

"W e m ust teach them to rem em bercom e before, so that w e can im proveT hey m ust be part of w hat they are struor th ey w ill nev er p revail"

That is whyyo u c anno t fig ht F u L en g"Come, S h ib a.I w ill need your help t

this:'' 'To f in ish . ..?"' 'Reconciliation.' '


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Shiba trudged onw ard through the blastedlandscape, eyes level w ith the horizon. H ecouldn't afford for them to shift, or the darkinfluence of this p lace would seize them andnever let go. H e w alked in the the sam e stance hebad assum ed so m any days before, carriedhis

sw ord in the sam e defensive position. H e couldn ot affo rd tostop, or sleep, or thinkIf he did,PuLeng'srealm w ould d estroy him .

H e did not allow him self to consider thecondition of Shinsei and his last rem ainingcharge, nor how they had fared since the lsaw ah ad d is co ve re d th eir p re se nc e in th e S ha dow la nd sa lifetim e ago. Swam to defend the Isaw a andserve the needs of the Children of theEarth, th etask had fallen upon Shiba To find the lostT hunders, an d b ring them b ackto the land of theliving, Shiba m ust go intohis Dark B ro th er'srealm . H e only thought of their safe return, but

S hin se is wo rd s s till h au nte dh i m .w ith each stephe took th ro ug h th e b laste d lan d.

.. .y ou c an no t fig htFu Leng.Shiba had know n when he entered the

Shadow lands thai he w as doing so at im mensepersonal risk, H e did notthink about w hether hew ould be com ing back. Yet now , oulin th e b la ck ,shattered w ilderness, he began to doubt that hew ould ever seehis b ro ther's Emerald Empireagain. A ndAsako's face continued to haunth im . .. .

A head, w ithin the shelter of two great andjagged spires of rock, Shiba heard the sounds ofcom bat A blast of fetid air suddenly explodedfrom within, lighting the sky for m iles in everydirection. Fighting dow n the urge to turn back,S hiba forced his w ay up and into the m outh of theunnatural s truc tu re.

W ith in, curled into th e apex of the stones, w asa m ulti-lim bed creature w hose skin seem ed. toh av e b ee n flay ed away, le av in g o nly ran cid strip sof grey m embrane strapped over its pulpyunderskin, An Dol but just not any demon-spaw n. This beast w as the first of its kind and them ost powerful creature in Fu Lengs realm .Behind it stood tw o figures, one Shinsei and theother unrecognizab le b ehind a m ask of b lo od.A sS hib a strain ed to see , a p ortio n o f th e b ea st's b ellytw isted tow ard him and ey es erupted from w ithinit, observing the new arrival w ith a startlingobjectivity.

S hib a b raced, prepared to engage the O ni, b utw as su rp rised to seeit jerk b ackw ard , rec oilin g a tsom e attack from below . Losing its grip upon the

stone, the O nicrashed dow n into the bitter earthb efore him . S hin sei's b lood-soaked com panionpounced upon I t , brandishing a crim sonw aklzashi, Three arcing stabs ripped into theOni's b ack. W ith a how l, the First O ni's belly toreag ain , an dan arm reached to grasp the man in

the rainbow cloak, crushing his ribcage beforeca re le ssly to ssin g h im a tShibaH im . H er. S hosuro . T he b loodstained [ace w as

its ow n m ask, and as Shiba looked dow n uponth e s low lyrisingm ortal Thunder, he saw no fearin her ey es.

Shiba heard the obscene shifting of the O niapproaching. Raising his katana as high as hecould, h e b roughtit dow n into the disgustingm ass. The edgeso f the cut curled back uponth em se lv es init s wake, r ev ea li nga d ark p urp leinterior that pulsed to a jagged, irregular beatH esitating only a mom ent, he continued his

assault, sw inging back and forth as forcefully ashe could m anage .

H e could see S hosuro, her w akizashi in hand,thrusting an d sw eeping to the side. She wascovered in blood - blood which appeared to bethe Thunder's ow n. H e hoped he w as w rong.

A m om ent later, w ithout w arning, a largefistform ed of tbecreature's flesh burst out fromwithin it s wounds. Shocked al the amount ofstreng th and sub stance left in the First O ni, S hib as tru gg le d to fre e h im s elf fr omit sma lig na nt g ra sp .H is sw ord had fallen to the ground som ew herebeneath him , and his fingers w orked in vain tofin d p urc hase o n th e flesh y c olum n's su rfa ce ,

First a harsh tingling, then an agoniz ing firesw ept across his skin, as he realiz ed his flesh w asm elting aw ay. H is chest w as an inferno of pain asnerves and muscle first num bed and thendissolved H e fought to rem ain calm , rational,focusing on the problem , not the sym ptom s, butS hinsei's w ords kept returning to him through thehaz e o f agony .

... yo u c anno t fig ht F u L eng .Through a rupture that form ed in the Oni's

m id-section, its eyes appeared once m ore,p ro jec tin g o ut fromit upon long stalks of rigidp urp le tissu e, T he y ad va nce d u ntil th ey w ere le velw ith S hib as ow n and then ... b linked. The casualuncaring w ay in w hich the First O ni w as killinghim finally took hold, provoking Shiba intow ra th fu l ac tio n. Tak in g afum hold of b oth stalksbehind the bulbous w hites, he yanked to the side,ripping them free from the m ain body w ith as in gl e, v io le nt mo ti on .


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Im m ediately , the m ass of its flesh retreated,drop ping h im roug hly in to th e groun d. W h ip pingabout and w ildly sprouting random lim bs, theO ni lashed out at anyth ing around itIt m ade asound like that ofa d yin g h orseas it knockedaside one of the stones and leapt free of the ebonyprison. Its terrib le scream s of agony could beheard for m any long m inutes after w hileits ham ble d ac ro ss th e d ead c ou ntry sid e, p re parin gto die. Even now , sm aller creatures gathered,fo llow ing it P reparin g to feast

Shiba collapsed into a shattered heap.Through a reddish haze, he saw a sm all formapproaching, and heard the w ings of a crow .H ushed w ords flow ed like cool w ater intohisrem a in in g ea r." Sk ib a ... "

It was Shinsei,1 am dying: Shiba m uttered through

mom en ts o f a ng uish ."No.Youmay not live,b ut y ouw ill go on"C onfused, S hiba peered through the grow ing

darkness, feeling his body beginning to choke.B reath b ecam e a lab or, and each second stretchedin to e te rn ity. E te rn ity ...

"You h avele arne d th emeasureof mortality.Now y ou mu st le arn its se cre t... "

With that, S hinsei leaned closer, until he w asalm ost touch1ng the fallenKami, H is voicecontinued to echo in Shiba's m ind, w hispering alo ng and complex litan y.AI; h e c on tin ue d, S hib asaw the w orld contract, and the stars begin todraw close. The earth and the sky - m ortal and

im mortal - and the Path betw een the tw o. For astartling secon d, an in fin ite, celestial w alkw ayhung before him . A Path that m ortals w ould notbe ready to venture upon for ages to com e, huto ne th at co uld not b e ign ored . In S hinsei's w ords,Shiba found the tru th of m an 's beginning and itsend, and every point in betw een. H e saw thechallenges they w ould face, and knew how theyw ould overcom e them . H e saw the face of everyhum an w ho w ould ever live, and knew the finalfates of all. H e w as sud denly o ne w ith the entiretyof hum an existen ce ...

... and, for the first tim e, he understood w hy

th ey w ere so im portan tT he y n ee de d a p ro tec to r.A guard ian .A g uid e.S hib a had sw orn to defend hum anity . Now , he

m ust p ro ve that h is w ord w as g ood ... fo r eternity ."You wi lltake the Thund er - and w hat I have

given you -back to the Empire."

I cannot .. . thought Shiba, but h is valready ceased . H is body felt no m oreonly the Path hung before him , a thouin a savage, b lack sky.

"You mus t"

Weeks later, Shosuro stum bled oS had ow lan ds. S hin sei an d S hib a w ereb e se en .

E xc ep t b y S h os uro ." Sh ib a ... "She murm ured as she fe

b loody knees outside O tosan U chi.g asped an d fell b ack .Bayushi ste pp ed fo rwtake her into his arm s.

"S hib a is not h ere, daug hter ... "Shosuro sm iled. "You are w ron

everyw here" She looked into the skyher eyes fell upon a young m an w ho hher into the Im perial C ity . A s shebowed, and vanished in to the unsc row d. S htb a, w h os e sp irit w a tc hed o vof her death w ith a proud, fulfilledb rought her hom e.

The cool nightai r tugged at A sako'W eary from a day of celebration, shdifficu lt to focus. The Em pire rejo is al va ti on , i ts v ic to ry ove rFuL en g, b ut A sa ko nly w e ep at th e te rrib le lo sse s o f th e w

the w edding of her son and Isaw a's daonly a few w eeks aw ay , and her m indand drained after hours of contem pc omp lic ate d a ng les a nd u nc om fo rta blet he ir weddi nggift. She w as sure that onccomplete,it w ould b e m ore ... app ealin g.p re se nt s ta te ,it w as like staring into theth e s un d urin g a n ea rth qu ak e.

She closed her eyes, hoping thew o uld p as s.

"You alw ay s looked lovely in theAsako"

The voice w as eerily fam iliar, and

forget the dull ache in her head. Suddshe bolted upright and w hirled aroundintruder. S tanding before her w as a mnot know . H is hair w as black, and lonfac e b ore th e fea tu re s o f S hib a's c hild rethe colors of the Phoenix , but he had nto h er b efore. Yet his ey es ... his ey es lothe E mpire like those of her dearest fr


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"Sh iba . ..? "'A sako, I have som ething for you," the voice

w as the sam e."W h at?" S he tried desperately to ratio nalize

w hat she was seeing , hearing . "H ow can you beh ere? You loo k like Tsuzak i ... "

"I am m any th ings. I am Shiba, and yet I amTsuzaki, son of S hiba We are ... bo th"

"H ow can th is be ... ?" H er voice trailed off asth e re aliz atio n su nkin. ''You n ev er retu rn ed fromthe Shadowlands"

"1 have som ething I m ust give you:'A sako 's next question dw indled into a silen t

stamm ering. She found herself suddenlycaptiv ated b y her o ld frien d's v oice.It w as likefalling into a deep chasm . and w atching the sun'slig ht b lo tted o ut b ey on d th e sh rin kin grift above.Every w ord unlocked lost truths w ith in her thatsh e co uld n ot, sh ou ld n ot u nd erstan d.

"A sako, you m ust listen to m e very carefully . Ihave been given a gift that m ortal m an m ustknow and charged w ith the choice of its hum anguardian . S om eone m ust protect the know ledgeuntil the rest of you are ready for it Som eonem ust guide all of you dow n the Path:'

"W hat. .. " A sako tried desperately to bringquestions together, to m ake Shiba explain, butshe was now com pletely enraptured w ith hisw ord s. T hey crep t in to h er an d b eg an m u ltip ly in g,m erging to form new ideas - concepts she didn 'tgrasp, but could see in her m ind 's eye.

"H um ans are the k ey to g reatness, A sak o. T heya lo ne c an s ta nd a ga in st th e fo rc es th atwill threatenth e Emp ire . T he y a lo newillb e a ble to fo rg e h is to ry,an d u nd erstan d th e m easu re o f m o rtality . I am h ereto show you how to guide them ..

'1 am here to give you the fu ture ... "

Welcom e to the seventh book of ourWay ofth e Clans series. Wayo f th e P ho en ixi s de signedto help G am e M asters to com plete their vision ofthe m ost m agical clan in the Em erald Em pire -T he P ho en ix . U ntil recently ,al l visitors to th issecretive land have been treated w ith gentlecon tem pt hidd en un der veils o f co urtesy, bu t no w,the Council of Five has opened the borders oftheir p rov in ces. M an y view the P ho enix w ith fearan d hatred, con dem ning their strang e p racticesand ardent studies as the work of cow ards andp acifists. S om e even w hisper that their research

into forb idden lore has tain ted the souls of theE lemen ta l Ma s te rs th emselv es .

The tru th to that does not lie in th is book.although you m ay discover h in ts to som e of theP ho en ix C lan 's g reatest secrets h ere.Way of thePhoenix is not the final w ord on the powerful

clan of shugenja, but rather presents som einform ation w hich your Gam e M aster m ay finduseful to his or her ow n cam paign. A s usual theG am e M aster has th e privilege of determ in ing thepowers and m ysteries of Rokugan's greatestspellcrafters. You m ay find that their version ofthe Phoenix is d ifferent from w hatis presentedhere, and that the secrets w hich w e've show n arenot the darkest w isdom s hoarded by the clan ofShiba.

In th is book, you 'll find insight in to the view swhich the other clans hold of the Phoenix,including their travels through the distan t

provinces of the Empire; the history of thePhoenix, from the day lsaw a refused to sw earfealty to the Children of the S ky to the form ationof the Council of Five, and the bonding of theIsaw a, Shiba, and A sako forever in to one clan;an d all the rules and guidelines you 'll need tom ake your own unique Phoenix characters,including new skills, advantages anddisadvantages, and the new Isaw aIshiken an dAsakoHenshin s chools , p lu s e lemen ta l s pe cia lis tsand th e all-new m echan ics for sh ug en ja d uels.

For a thousand years, the Phoenix have stoodon the border of this world and the CelestialH eavens, refusing to accept only one Way. TheIsawa M asters have had the strength to defy allthose w ho w ould tell them w here their path lies,and forged their own truths from the bitterrealities of w ar and darkness. T he P hoenix Clanholds the secret of m agic, and the true pow er ofm o rtal m an .

A re you prepared to risk your m ortality tounderstand their darkness? A re you ready tolearn the secrets of a thousand years, and face thenext age w ith the know ledge that you w ill becon dem ned forall that you have done?

Don't fear death - these are the lands of theim mortal Phoenix , bringer of the Sun. The onlyth ings you have to fear are the tru ths w hich hidein sid e y ou r so ul

Imm ortality is ju st w ithin y ou r g rasp .


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Al tbough t he d is tin cti onb etw een shugenja andmonks i s t en uou s, t he'Peopleof R okugan are

quick.t p p oi nt ou t that theyale no l in any w aythe

same.

While amonk is thekeeper of a tem ple or sacredpUtct;a shugenjais boundonly to his sp ells. A m on k

f oc use s o nkiho, t he e ss en ceo f fo cu sin g b od ychi, while

a shugenja'sstudies le dthem tothe kami fo rgu ida nce a nd p ow er.

Other" dl fferencesinclude1 t h~ i , rstudy of theTao -

wh il e a ;s hu ge nja s tu d ie stheTao fort ts l es sons on

w isdom andknow l edg e o fm att, a m on k stu dies th e

T aoto u nd ersta nd th eriddlellof enl ightenmentA

sb ug enja is n ot ty pica llyseeking,to beenlightened,only to existin harmony

~th her f el low man .Lastly. a m onk m ustobey the oaths ofth emonas te ry h eor she

belongsto , f rom cha sti ty10riluil p urifica tion . U nle ss ashugenja is c urr en tly u nd eroath a ,s hum anapprenticeto a Ma ste r, t h ey a refree toUvetheir liv es a s th ey seefit W hile a monk owes no

fealty to a daimyo,ash ug en ja h as all th e

rElSJ}Onsibilitiesnd p re st igeofa :men il ie r o f t he s amu ra i

cl~. a nd a re tre ate d a ssucl1by th e peasants an d

o the .r s t hey encounter.

ba~t~l~)n~eft,;~1ystJcP l 1 0 ~ n lX

The following treatises have been w ritten bym em bers o f the m an y clans of R ok ug an , d etailingsom e of their experiences w ith the m ysteriousP ho en ix C lan . A lth ou gh th e P ho en ix are reclu siv e,

they are n ot co mp lete herm its, and sto ries o f theirElem ental M asters are popular children 's talesaro un d the fire. T he sto ries belo w w ere w ritten bythose w ho know only w hat the Phoenix choose totell. P ay close attention to th e lesso ns th ey teach,but rem em ber: as m agic is form ed by the w ill ofthe caster, all legend is shaped by those w ho tellth e ta le ...

FROM THE JOURNAL OF 'DE AMU,FIRST AMBASSADOR OF THEUNICORN TO THE PHOENIX

W ith a sore heart, I arrived in the lands of thePhoenix, not know ing what I m ight find there.The stories of their strange practices and oddrituals bad reached us; even during the War upono ur retu rn , th e P ho en ix sp ell-crafters h urled d ow nthe elem ents asif they owned the sky and sea.O ur ow n shugenja have not such strength , anditis said that our understanding of the Tao ofShinsei is different - corrupted , the R okuganiclaim , by o ur lo ng travels.

They also say that the Phoenix can assist us inunderstanding the strange culture of th is newland , O ur relatio ns w ith th em h ave been spo rad ic.In the co urt o f t he Em peror, th ey sp ok e ag ainst us,say ing that our claim to Shinjo 's blood was'b lasphem ous' and that w e were a threat to theEmpire. Their shugenja fought against us,claim ing loyalty to the H antei line and defense ofR okugan, w hile their p itifu l arm ies rem ained farfrom th e b attle.

We have seen noth ing of these Photheir trem endous, arching spells inSuch an opponent - one whofights from acan no t b e resp ected o r feared , b ut o nlystories of M ekhem and the w ords of Sspeak scornfu lly of such a foe; shall wfrom th eir w ise w ord s?

Yet I ad been sent, the am bassadornew w orld, to visit each of the clans inlearn th eir h istories.In this w ay, theEm peror claim ed, the U nicorn can tru lthis land , o ur ancestral ho me.I ourneyedlands of the Crane, and was greebro therhood. F rom the Scorpion andnoth ing but scorn and an obvious desaw ay our treasures. W ho could tell w hreception I would receive from theap po in ted 'm a sters o f m ag ic'?

I pproached the castle of the Shiba

entourage, an O taku battle-m alden afriend, Iuchi Tagiso. T he O taku spoke ofeelings brought on by the w inds ofFoolishness,I claim ed, and w e traveledYe~ even in the day the darkness seem ecloser in these haunted lands, and thebeing watched only grew strongerp as sin g s te p.

We stopped to rest w ith in a great ba pass through which the road wounthe path was sm all (no m ore thanabreast. or one ofOUf great steeds, couthrough m any areas), it seem ed to bear

of frequent passage. The w alls of thehewn from the trem endous m ountainm ore p ow erfu l th an th e m ost earn est msm ooth by w ind and carved w ithgigantic m en and w om en. Each one sehundreds of years o ld, and m y frieapproached them w ith nothing short o

E ach on e sto od nearly forty feettall, w ithcarved deeply into the shale and w hiTheir robes flow ed in granite w avesu praised arm s, and th eir m on stro us v isuspended from the w alls of the. ab an do ned sp ecters o f an cien t h ero es.beneath them - or perhaps, am ong threverence and aw e, unable to com prehforce had carved them , or for whatthese strange m onoliths were the wPhoenix, then perhaps they could tellcreatio n. We co ntinu ed in this m an nerthree days, past thousands of unknow nloom ing f ig u re s.


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Weary and restless, w e hurriedOU( steedsthrough the pass, hoping that w ith each tum w ehad com e to the ending . The O taku rode ahead,k eep ing g uard, an d I rod e w ith Tagiso, "S ak e?" h eoffered, and I was glad to accept, as the day wasw arm , and the heat had becom e oppressive.As I

liftedit to m y lips. how ever, I heard the O taku cryoul In a w idening of the ravine, sal a sm all m anw earin g a silk en ro be o f P ho en ix co lo rs. A lth ou ghhis form w as slight, he blocked the narrow path ,and w e could not pass.

The O taku approached warily , but the m annever m oved. Even his eyes never blinked fromtheir study of the rocky slope before him . I heardtheir conversation from the back of m y steed , butthe m an 's w ords seem ed only to enrage m y escort,an d sh e p ressed h er steed closely ag ainst th e w allof the chasm . H er horse's hooves strik ing sparksfrom the loose shale, the O taku challenged the

m an for the right to pass beyond. W ary , butd esp erate to p rev en t b lo od sh ed b etw een o ur clan son the eve orOU I new friend ship , I p ressed p astthe luchi and low ered m yself to the ground. A s Iapp ro ach ed , I h eard the sh ugenja's v oice, lo w an deven, speaking loving , entrancing w ords to theOtaku,

F lattery. H e m ust have been m ad.H er sw ord-hand flinched tow ard her daisho ,

and her face reddened. "Defend yourseU !" shecried , and w ith a sw ing, her sw ord leapt for theman 's th ro at

A resounding crack , a ringing as w ide as theheavens, and the blade of her sword fell to theground, severed as if she had struck the face ofthe m arble pass itself. She faltered , her skinturn ing w hite as her ancestors' souls shriekedwithinher, and I stepped forw ard as shesank toh er kn ee s.

''W ho are you?" I asked of the m an."M y nam e is not yet im portan t, A mu-ses," he

spoke, and I could hear the sm ile in his w ords.UGh ,y es," h e said to m y su rp rised lo ok. "w e kn ewyou w ere com ing, and w e have prepared for yourvisil"

A t this, luchi Tagiso m urm ured in to m y ear, "Itm ay be a trap . B e ready" From m y feet, a strangeecho cam e from the stone, and I heard his w ordsreverberate eerily , m uch louder than intended. Ilookeg at the m an in the path, his eyes stills ta rin g a t th e s to newall, and I knew he had heardthe exchange .

" I t is a trap, Iuchi" The Phoenix m urm ured,and for the first tim e, I saw his eyes. T hey shone

an eerie green , g low ing asif form ed from tw inorbs of jade, M erciless. they bore in to m ycom panion 's soul, and he stepped back "B ut notone of m y m aking:'

"W hat. .. " w hispered Tagiso , "W hat are yousp eak in g o fr

"Why d on 't y ou rest, m y frien ds," th e P ho en ix 'svoice suddenly took a friendly tone, "and haves ome sa ke ?"

"W hat?" said1 , confused , but I saw mycom panion 's eyes w iden . The Phoenix m ade agesture, and ofits ow n accord , the sake canteenleapt from m y hand, springing toIagisos feet,

"I don't know what you're talking about"Tagiso 's voice shook, and I turned to look at hisface. W h ite, pale fin gers reached for m y sho uld er


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as he stepped away [rom the canteen on theground.

"Better y et," h isse d th e se atedshugenja , "feedit to your horse, that w e m ight w atchits bellybum . A nd w henits tongue is b lack from thepoison, y ou can tell y our m aster w hy y ou trustedthe S corpion w hen they spoke of peace:'

"Iagiso, is this true?" I said. "I s the sakepoisoned?"

"No , n o,o f course DOeS om ething in his voice m ade m e pause ..S om e

sub tle n uance thatI ad not heard before echoedthrough the chasm , and the voices of them onolithic figures seem ed to w hisper in unison.Tag is o s te pp ed b ac k, fa lte rin g."No ... ''I ou ld nottell if th e w hisp er w as h is, the g igantic figu res: o rmyown .

I coo ped th e leath er canteen from the g ro un d,and heldit to him . "M y friend ... " H is eyes w erecold and frigh tened. "D rink the sake:'

"You tru st th e w o rdof a Phoeni x?A sorcerer?"A nother step b ack, tow ard the figure of atallm anin arm or, a giant stone carving tow ering tw entyfeet above us. "O ver m y ow n?"

A n d s om e how,I i d. P e rh ap sit was m y ow nfailing, or perhaps the strange shugenja had castsom e spell over m e w hich dulled m y em otions,but I stood and w atched as Tagiso drank the bag

dry.A nd w hen his convulsions w ere db lackened body lay in a heap at thegigantic w arrior on the cold rockface, Iw ho had spoken the truth .

The O ta ku stillk nelt b eside her b rokrag e and h op elessness w arrin g o n heB esid e her, the P ho enix slo wly rose,to jo in the tw o halves of the b lade on"S tapf" she cried as his hands dosebreach.

''W hat w as b roken by anger can btrust" H is eyes m et hers, and she w asl rozhad b een, beneath his strange jade garem oved his hands, the blade w as w

"Return to y ou r p eo ple , K a tsa ko , anthat Amusanis safe w ithus:'

H er eyes w idened as she gazed akatana, and she reveren tly acceptedi t whoffered. "1 w as told to escort h im then tire jou rn ey . To the E lem en tal M ap ro te ste d so ftly , o ut o f d uty .

''luld you have done so:'A s tr an ge v ofrom ab ove. an dI aw f ou r f ig ur es s ta ndhigh clo uds ab ove th e m oun tainp as s. "Ntim e for you to return, and forAmu to comu s . .. "

" . . . i fhe dares:' The M aster ofEarth stm y sid e in stra ng e frie nd sh ip .


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I could see his sm ile beneath his w ide-b rimm ed h al 'T he jou rney is o ver, O taku -san ,"Iw hispered . S he b ow ed reveren tly, h ead turn ed toth e g ro un d in c omp le te s up plic atio n.

"No,Amu-sza" m y new guide sm iled."Thet rue jou rneyis on ly beginn ing :'

LETTER FROM HIRUM A T OJU TOAN IMPERIA l. MAG ISTRATE ,REG ARDING THE DEATH OF MATSUkAU( .

My Lord ,I have been asked tim e and again to explain

o ur inv olvem en t in th e d uel betw een M atsu K aik ia nd lsaw aUona, both by those who were thereand those w ho heard aboutit later. N o o ne seem sto be capable of understanding w hy a m em ber ofthe Crab Clan w ould be w illing to fight and diefor one such as Vona A lterall we are "foulm ou th ed barb arian s," despisin g th e rem ain der ofthe Empire and lash ing out at those whodisp lease us. T he Phoenix, on the other hand. arecultured and pacifistic, the antithesis ofevery th ing w e supposedly stand for. W hy, then .w ould w e find them so agreeable? And whyw ould w e side w ith one of them against the Lion ,a clan m uch closer to our outlook and ideals?

U ona herself provided as good an answ er asan y. S ev eral y ears ag o, h er su perio rs d isp atch edher to the Crab land to collect her brethrenTadaka and bring him hom e. S he cam e w ithout ay ojim bo o r an y of the o th er trap pin gs of n obility .It w as just her and the w agon driver, arriving totake the w andering M aster of Earth back to thePhoen ix l ands.

It w as obvious from the m om ent she arrivedthat she w as a Phoenix . W ith her delicate sk inand quivering eyes, she seem ed as out of place onthe K aiu Wall as a peasant in the Em peror's co urlThe Phoenix hated vio lence, as everyone knew ,and the appearance of one in the m ost brutalplacein the Emp ire m ad e fo r so me sho ck ed loo ks.My fellow bushi took note of her frail form . A

little girl? O n the w aIl? W h at an o utrage! D id shethink she w as a w arrior? Would pretty w ords andp acifism sav e h er fro m F u L eng ?

T heir w ord s soo n turn ed to in su lts, w hich theyb egan .h urlin g at her w ith v icio us ferocity . T heycalled her w eakling , cow ard. shrinking quailThey challenged her to pick up a sword , thenlaughed at her w hen she dem urred . They spokewithall the derision they cou ld m uster, and I d are

say w ere as intim idating as oni. W ith anotherClan, the rem arks would have sparked a duel orw orse. B ut U on a ju st bo wed silen tly and accep tedit, neither condem ning her torm entors norspeaking in her defense. The tears ro lling dow nher cheeks testified to the effectiveness of the

insults and their im pact on her sensitive soul. yetshe w ould not respond. She w ould not even openher m outh to speak.

Then it happened. A warning cry rose [romone of the lookouts and all eyes turned to theS hadow lands. S om ew here in the fog , a scoutingparty w as trying desperately to m ake their w ay tosafety. Sounds of their hurried pace w aftedth rou gh th eair, as d id the roar o f their pu rsu ers.S om ething w as follow ing them , som ething largeand terrib le and very angry . T here w ere at least asm any O ni out there as there w ere m em bers of thescouting party , and they w ere grow ing closer. A sthe sco uts stum bled into v iew , th e creatu res leaptupon them , rending and tearing w ith their greatclaws. The shouts becam e scream s and bloodbegan to flow like w ater, all in front of thebushis 'h orrified eyes. A rchers o n the w all to okaim, butthey w ere too far aw ay to w aste a shotIt seemedthe scouts w ould die w ithin sight of the w all.

No one noticed Uona until she had acted .U tterin g a pray er to th e F ortun es. sh e leap t abo vethe ram parts of the w all and flew into theair. Thew ind picked her up in its m ighty grip andlaunched her across the space. S he landed beforethe carnage w ith the grace of a dancer and roseto face the ram paging O ni, They turned tow ardsh er w ith ma le vo le nc ein their eyes, but she w asunafraid . The tears dried on her cheeks, and sheleveled her gaze at her adversaries. B efore theycould act, she flung her hand up, and shoutedsupplication to the spirits of the air. T hey cam e ina rushing w hirlw ind, m atching the O ni's how lw ith their ow n. Their pow er darkened the skiesand whipped the R iver of the Last S tand in tow aves of fo am . Yet f or all th eir streng th, they w ereextraord in arily focu sed - the m igh ty w ind s w hichcircled around the Oni didn 't touch the Crab

scouts just a few feel aw ay.U on a con tinu ed chan ting andDOW th e O ni feltthe m agic which she had conjured . They hadceased the assault on their w ould-be victim s andturned to deal w ith this new threat B ut theycouldn't m ove. The air around them had becom ea prison . and blew w ith such fury that not eventheir m ighty form s could stand againstit Theytried to w alk to ward s U on a, bu t co uldn 'tl i f ttheir

For n ea rl y a th ou sa ndyears th e P ho en lx h av eimmersedthemselvesinstudy - study of theTa o ,ofnatu re and spe ll cr ai t,an d ofthose who sur roUlldthemth e Emp ir e.Because oftbe irattenl io n tode ta il andtheirunderstandingo f h umannat ur e, t he y h av e s omeratheri nte re stin g v ieW$a bo ut th e o th er

c l an s .C rab : 'T he C rab ar~ 1.hemostruthless, vlctous.illb re d member so f o ur l~ gb leEm pire - andwith g o O dreason.T h e dangerstheyfighte ach d ayprovide .s af et y a nd comfor tfo r th erest of Rokug!m.Each day.we r is e tocompleteourl ea rn in g , b u t t he y r is e t ob attle a nd towar. Only theirruthlessnessh as e na ble d u sto su rv iv e. T he y ar e1 0 becommended and a ss is te d . .a nd p er hapstaught a l es sono r tw o"

Crane : "The C rane .a remostlike us in theEmpemrs lands,The ir waysa re nobl e. a ndtheir honorshines as b right as the sun.Yetthey do n otbeed th emo st b as k le ss on o flD eTao.'Provicrefo r others,thatyourown soulwillbep rovided for : Hthey sufferromtheirgreed,they ar e tbe p i ti ed .However,theirstre ng th in th e courtis no tto b e ig no re d.and th eiralliancewith u s h as b eenp rof it ab le fo r bo th s ide sIftheyca n h elp u s k eep th eEmp ire a t p ea ce , t he n w esha l l s tandby th eh $ i4 e~(continued)


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D rag on : " Th e D rag onbide from the E mpire, andb~ijSe of that, th ey a re

IJ)alh ed A ny one w ho say sthat th eir so ul ispure

$m dd,nol bidethemselvesin 8 gUd edGag e. b ut w alkamon g o th er s.As Asako

said. i \11u ntes te d v irtu e isno virtue ata ll : Pe rhaps

th ey h id ein ,theirmountainsbecause they do not w ant

us to s e et he ir t ru elace?Nev erth el ess . w e s ha llsoonhave th ei rsecrets fo r o ur

ow n ... "

lion; "Who can speakfo r th e Lionwhenth ey w illnot close th eir own mouth s?

They are a clan ofw an derin g b rag garts b redfo r " ,a r,H they w ish to testOur reso lv e, w e sh all g iv ethem w ar. A nd w hen their

littl e s oJ .d ie rs c rawl f rom th ebattlefieldwi thtw is te d f le sh

-and shattered minds,p~a.es tben the Emperor'sl igh tfhand' w i llbe willing

to s pe akof peace:'

feel They tried to w rap their claw s around her,but couldn't m ove their arm s. Then, as theysnarled w ith hatred and im potent anger, the w indbegan tolift them off the ground. T he hurricanep ulle d th em u p, first slowly, th en faster an d faster.A s they flew up into the air, their how ls turned tocries of surprise. They m oved in a w ide arc, likestones throw n at a distant foe. T hey flew throughthe sky until they w ere out of sight, landing som em iles distant and aw ay from the K aiu Wall

Only then didUonas chants fall silent Sheb ow ed low b efore the stupefied scouts, then kneltto assist the w ounded. She rem ained w ith themfor the rest of the evening until they wereal lsafely behind the w all. The stam mered thanksand w hispered apologies seem ed to affect her notat all; to her, the task was worth doing in and ofitself.

I was not present to seeUonas heroism

my se lf. b utI eard ab ou tit from m y brethren andbelieve every w ord of it. Not even the greatestK un i co uldcall such m ighty spirits the w ay shed id . M o re im p ortan tly , h ow ev er, sh e e xe rcised h erpower in such a way to m eet her goals w ithoutcom prom ising her philosophy. TheO ni weredispatched and the scouts w ere saved, b ut w ithoutbloodshed. I know of no other clan whosephilosophy can stand up to such strain.I now ofno other clan who can exercise so much powerw ith so m uch control. Such a clan - regardless oftheir philosophical differences - deserves theutm ost consideration and respect. The Phoenix

understand m ore about honor than any of theso -called "civilized" clans, and lack the gallingh yp oc risy o f th eir p ee rs.

So if a Lion sam urai w ishes to challenge theirhonor - beit Uona's or anyone else's - I w illgladly defend it. A nd if the clucking hen's nest ofR okugani courts w ishes to spread m ore lies ab outthem , I w ill refute them w ith every breath I take.It is truly rare to find those in this world whopractice w hat they preach; the Phoenix do, andare all the m ore adm irable because ofit

OBSERVATIONS OF AGASHA TAMORI

She is a kind girl, this Phoenix, w ho has com eto ob serve our paths. For nearly three m onths, shehas been am ong us, struggling to understand ourw ays as w e study hers. A strange com petition hassprung up am ong several of thei se zumi;to seewho will teach her the m ost about our clan.It is

good that w e have visitors now andsharpen our m inds.

Late this evening, she cam e todoor. I found mysell sm iling asservant-m aid b ow ed to beg m y permPhoenix m aiden to approach. Eagerto coour conversat ions ,I id her enter.

B ut this w as not like the other nigw it and courtier's gam es. Tonight Kdistraught, and her darkhair h un g th ickher shoulders. M anaging an im peccarose to greet m e, butI w aved her to thby m y side. Lifting m y chopsticks,I pesm all p ie ce o f cu cumb er a s sh e d elicfo r h er b ow l. S uch c ou rtie rs, th ese P hthat they know the m ysteries of the Knot know n better,I might assum em aiden beside m e was a Crane. H adark, and a hint of beauty to her face

to disguise the ready intelligenceb la ck b row s. Too mu ch in te llig en ce .W e spoke of Shinsei and Togas

legends of our clans. "We are so alikhiding her thoughts behind a smsurprising that our clans have not gr

'1)0 y ou think so?"I sked."O f a ll th eKami ,only Togashi and S h

the value of silence - Togashi whspoke, and Shiba, when he was askbefore Isaw a," K aede m urm ured. 'Wfrom th eir sac rifice s an d the ir g ain s:

"Oh?"I hoped to draw herout, find w h

th ou gh ts w e re h id in g.'Tog ash i's tale sh ow s th e sam e so r

H is determ ination to fast until he haShlnsetsm eaning is a sacrifice for thh is c la n, d on 't y ou th in k?"

1 looked at her placidly , and silentcup to m y lips.

She looked at m e, her eyes darkdo you think of the story?"

"W h at I think is not im portant. Tow hat he m eant:'

H er eyes closed, and she sigbeAconversation continued, m y conSom ething w as very w rong, and shit A s I pressed w ith questions, K adistressed. We spoke of the K am i ashe told m e of the legend of S hiba, "his pride, his b irthright, and at last,for the sake of the clan:'

"A nd S hibas choice has given youasked.

:t1r --- --- ~ -_ -------~--- .~-----------.--

---------


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A mom en t. " No ," sh e w hisp ered ."It has givenu s som eth in g else:'

I waited for her to continue, but she onlystared out at the coldnight as if she could seeim ages upon the w ind. A t last. she spoke again."Whatdo you expect of your students herein th eD rag on sch ools, Tarno ri-sea?" S om ethin g in hervoice chilled m e, and her black hair hung like af rozen water fa ll

As a servant poured m ore sake into m y glass.I troked m y beard and replied carefu lly, "O nlyw hat they are capable of:'

She Sm iled, and ahint of sorrow spokethrough her features. "How do you know whatthey are capable of?" She whispered, but herquestion w as nol for m e, and so I d id not answ er.I could only w onder w hat her M asters had taughther, that brought such a strange m ix of sense andabsence to her ey es, A t last. sh e returned , and her

voi ce wa s s tr ong er."Tamori-ssx" she said in a level tone, ''Yousp ent m an y w inter m onthswith usand you werea very gracious guest I hope we w ere gracioushosts"

Im ages of parties, revels, festooned ribbonsthro ugh the brightly lit P hoenix halls, and tablesof food that w ould rival the opulence of the Dojiraced through m y m ind .. , and the libraries, O f allthe things I had seen in the Phoenix lands. surely

their libraries had held the m ost m ystery for m e,I spent long days betw een thosetall shelves,reading eachscroll w ith reverent bands. TheIrem em bered Kaede's young eyes as she stoodbeside her cripp led father, T he M aster o f the Void.All m y research had been unable to discover hism y sterio us ab ilities, u nab le to rev eal h is tru e face.H e knew w hatI w as searching for, and yet he didnot prevent m e.

Instead, he sent his daughter to our lands.''Yes,''I epli ed . ''Yes , y ou we re :'"D id yo u learn any thing w hile y ou stay edwith?"us.''Yes, Yes, I d id :'"W hat d id you learn?" She leaned tow ard m e,

the candlelight shining from her dark skin andher eyes open w ide. W ithin them , the secret of theVoid was hidden. So dose, h iddenwithin th edeepest heart of a m aiden hall m y age, and yet I

co uld no t g rasp its m eaning. H er sou l, h er fath er'ssoul, .. the blackness of the stars. S om ething ., .Then it was dosed to m e. I sm iled at m y own

foolishness.It was not yet tim e for m e to knowth e tr ut h.

"Patience:'In the echo of m y voice, I c ould hearthe laug hter of the elem en ts.

W e are not the only ones w ith riddles toso lv e, _ . o r secrets to h id e.

TH[OTHERC~

Scorpion: ~No othlclan h asa s - m a n ys ec re ta a sth e S co rp io n , a nd t ha tm a kes th emworthyof ourrespect It d oe s n ot,however,ma k - et hem wor thyo f o ur tru st T heir su hU et.ll1stheirgreatest strength,an dwe m ust be sure to havethem on o ur sidewhen th ed ar kn es s r is es~a1n .H

Unicorn: '1:ileyhave asingle adv an ta gw, a ntitheyhavebeen shouting' aboutitf or cen tu ri es . S ince theycame10 our El llp ir~ lbefaith an d trust o f t heol dwaysha s bee.lli~~n, an dtheirb la sp hemou s b ab bUnghas been to lem ta \ Io r to olong. If th.eyc hOOS l !to .leaveb ehind thetrapp_s oftheir'o lber land: ~ w esha ll b eglad to lealih themt he waysof civilization.Until th en , let tIlem k eepth ei r h o rs es a nd 'stta1l8eclothing.They jlill le arn to osoon that tnei l" lucl i:eannotl as t for evet l


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th. H tflDt'J DfIh. PhD.Ht"


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TH lADECHAMPION

Long ago,th e Empir ewas a tta ck edby th e g re ats or ce re r, h re hl ba n, a nd h isb l ood sp eake r m ini on s.Inresponseto such flagrant

us e ofma/w,t he EmperorIlantei cam manded !hal a

new positionin his cou rtbeestablished: the Jade

Champion.Th erespons ib i li ti es would

include keepi ng t he Emp ir es af e f roml r u r. hevil mag ic ,as \veUas maintaining a

f i g h tgripon aUmagicusein t h e Empi re .

Needlessto s ay, t heElementaJMasters of the

Pb:Qe~ were lunous at theEmp~ ro r's d ecisio n. S uc h apoSt could on ly int er fe re

with !h eir ownsupremacyo f spelkr af t. andany non-P hb enix app ointed to the

post c ou ld r ig hl .f u:l ly as k tob e m ade privy to the secrets

of th e CouncilA t o nce .th e Phoenix

began to m ak e plan s[o r th eremoval o f t heposition,

Within f ive gene ra ti ons , t heJade Champion 's postwas

em p ty , an dt h e appo in tmen tanbut forgottenwithin th e

Im perial C ou rt T her es po ns ib il ity h ad tu rn ed

in to a J ok e. a ndt he sec re tso f iQ .eC o tm .cil o f F iv e w e reagain th e so le p rov inceof

th e Phoenix.

\ .

': 411 t ru e know ledgehas a price." - IsasoaTadaka

O f all the fam ilies of the noble Phoenix house,

the lsaw a are, by defin ition, the m ost prom inenlFor hundreds of years, the clan has been shapedby thewill of the Council of E lem ental M asters,the m ost pow erfu l group of shugenja in R okugan,W hile the ro le of a shugenja is typically that ofp assiv e ad viso r, fo r th e lsaw a,it mean s b ecom in gone w ith the greatest pow ers of the universe.

HISTORYBe fo re th efall of th e imm ortal K am i, th e b lo od

of the M oon fell from the heavens, m ixing w iththe tears of the Sun. B etw een these tw o mostillustrious substances, a b it of earth w as caught,

and the w orld was form ed. M an w alked upon thesurface of the w orld, and the greatest of these w aslsawa

W hen theKam ig athered th e p op ulation o f th ew orld tog eth er an d divided them into clans, Isaw astood am ong them . w atching carefu lly. W hen thefirst H antei was crowned and the awestruckp op ulace bo wed befo re th e P rince of th e H eav ens,lsaw a did not bend his head to the ground,"\V hatm akes them worthy of our servitude?" hew hispered to his brothers and sisters, and theynodded in unison . W ith that, they left the hillw hich w as to becom e O tosan U ehi, and headed to

the north, to begin their ow n dty.The dty of lsaw a was said to have been a

large, spraw ling com plex of houses and huts,surrounded by a trem endous stone w all carvedfrom the rocks by the pow er of m agic. A lthougbtile studies of spellcraft in Rokugan wereprim itive. the creation of such a structure w assurely seen as m iraculous to the early people of

the Em erald Em pire, This, com binelocation of the city in the high m ountathe northern coast, keptit iso lated frspreading civilization , This is not toin the dty w as unciv ilized . R ecords ilibraries concerning th is periodn um ero us referen ces to in ven tio ns, srelig io us d iscussio n, and th e ferven t wp an th eo n o f b en ev ole nt sp irits k nownas 'the F ortu nes: In fact, w orship o f thas been carried down to commonculture, as the first and best belovedL ad y S un .

W hile the other hum ans in Rokco ntent to be led by H an tei an d h is siband his fo llow ers sim ply ignored theEm pire. spen ding th eir tim e in researcof the world around them . LegendIsaw a's y ou ng er b ro th er first d isco ver

of m agic, but that Isaw a him self rtrem endous potential of the art "Isawa, "the Children of the Sky havover us. We, the Children of the EartMasters"

In th e cold n orth ern m oun tains, deconditions, the city thrived . lsaw aanother m ark that m ortals d id noguidance of theKami, "We can live in thw ithout their help ," he said to hfellow ship . "Is it no t by the workhan ds th at w e h ave su rvived an d pro

W hen the arm ies of Fu L eng invade

from th e corru pted field s o f the S hadopeople of the city of lsaw a ignored tfirstB ecause it w as so far to their soutw ere shielded by the young E mpire, tthe invading horde seem ed irrelevapeaceful tribe. S oon, how ever, thegroups of Oni and goblins m ade thein orthern land s, d estroy in g the peaceand blackening the soil w ith thefoulness

The spellcasters of the lsawa attdefend the city w ith m agic, bul it wthe overw helm ing num bers of their e

take their to ll; ev en their g reatest shun ot m a in ta in th e fo rtific atio n.

Perhaps their arrival w as guided bor perhaps holy S hinsei knew m ore athan he claim ed, O n the day that Isawsister w as killed by a m arauding O ni,S hiba arriv ed to call Isaw a to fig ht foThe daughter of lsawa m et them at


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th e city, dressed inwhite, her hair torn inm ourning . "M y father cannot see you," she said toth e v is ito rs,bu t they did not heed her, andcontinued1 0 th e p yrein th e city sq uare. T here,astrange sightm et th eir eyes.

A round the fires stood theIsawa, th eir arm s

raised 1 0 th e h eav en s, an d their vo ices liftedin astrange chanl F rom their hands flow ed blood asfe d a s the setting sun. T his w as before the tim e ofth e g re atmaho-tsukai;w hen the m agic of bloodwas unknown toall bu t th e g reatest sorcerers.Isawa knew only that h is m agic w as not m agic ofth e Kami to whom he had sworn never to beaslave.

A fte r th e b uria lIsawa, Shiba and S hinsei m etin th e g ard en s o uts id eIsawa's h om e. S hiba ask edhow such foulness could be a tribute to the spirito f a b elo ve d sis te r.lsawa a nswe re d o nly,"I t is o urw ay:' Until that m om ent, the w ord'maho' hadn ev er been u sedwithin th e Emp ire . T he c re atu re sof Fu Leng knew noth ing of blood m agic, nor d idthe children of the K am i k nowits price.It w as theChildren of Earth w ho first unleashedth is terrib le d ark p ow er, n ot th e serv an tsof Fu Leng, Even after the prim itiveIsaw a fo resw ore its u se, centu ries later am an know n as K uni N akanu researchedm ethods of b lood m agic which raisedm aho from a prim itive art to ad es tr uc ti ve e vil f or ce .

With maho,Isaw a had learned thetechniques to bind an im mortal sou] tothe m aterial w orld. In the fields ofIsaw as lands, united around the castle,stoo d th e spirits of th e fallen , risen w ithblood and bound to the w allsth em selves. 'W ith ou t th e stren gth o f o urbro thers and S isters," said Isaw a, "w ecannot hope to surv ive this evil w hichyo u have brought upon us. Itis th enature of the Children of the Earth tosurv ive - no m atter what the costIf wesacrificeOUTvery so uls, w ew i l lpreservel if e f or ou r c hi ld re n:'

Shiba stepped forw ard then , andspoke. "if your concern is for thech ild ren , th en be co ncerned no t fo r th eirb od ie s, b ut f or th eir s pirits :'

B efore his words could sparkdisagreem ent, the sm all m onk steppedforw ard . "B lood calls for b lood," hem urm ured , "but there is another w ay ... "

Isaw a listen ed , and S hin sei sp oke lo ng in to th enight B y the Hm e the m oon set in the summ ersky,a bargain had been m ade. Isaw a w ould com ewith Shinsei in to the darkness of theShadow lands if Shiba would sw ear that he andh is descen dan ts w ou ld alw aysprotectth e city . To

cem ent th is, Isaw a sw ore his fealty to S hiba's line- but with a cond it io n ."1 am not yoursubject,"Isaw a thundered, "and I w ill not have m y peoplebelieving thai I ave sold them into slavery .If Iam to sw ear m y children to your line, you m ustkneel before m e asI ffe r serv ice: '

To another K am i, th is request m ight haveseem ed preposterous - a son of Am aterasubending dow n before a m ortal H ow ever, to S hiba,the price w as low . B y bending his knee, he w ouldg ain n ot o nly the p ow ers, k now led ge and streng thof the lsaw a fam ily , but also a Thunderfo r th esalvation of the Em pire.It w as a sim ple choicebetween his pride and the lives of thousands.W ithout hesitation , Shiba knelt, and Isaw a gavehim the oath .

THf lADECHAMPION

(CONTltI1EDtw

In order:to ensUlethe post of JadeChambe f or ev er lo s~thdhe sta blish ed aChaUfof'1!llteshugenja, tr ain e d a.l & d e alwith T 1U 11 wa nd sim ila rmagics.ThesegroU:lkn ow n as Inqulsijors.i r t i l le xis t to da y, a nd ma in ta in

th e con tr ol o f th lk ,E lement li lM asters over allt p e l i c r a f tinth e land.

T he I nq uis ito rs fo cu sthei r inves tigat ions9;ll anyobviousu s e 'of malilJ'brb lood mag ic . d es ta ;o y in gitwherever it is found.Un i ti ng t he ireffortswith'those of theKumWltchHu nte rs , th e P ho en ixIn qu is ito rs h av e p ro ve da neffective counter-measureagainstthe incursions .ofT 1U 1 h awhich~radically

do l th e la nd S' o f th eEmera ld Empire .


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Just northo f P aleOakcastle.deep in th e Isawa

woo dla nd s, th ereis a smallro ad . It eo ntln ues Io r m an ymile s, tw isti,n g th ro ug h th e

OJlPI.ains and cur vin gacross countlessli of hi ll s.

L on g a f te r a c ommontJ av ele r w ou ld lik elyslop

fDlJowing thecontrarylittler o a d .it endsas a broad

tunnel.Benea th the moun ta in

l i eS 'anothe r road ,whichle ad s to th e mo st s ple nd idcity in the P hoe nix land s.

The cU y of Gisei 10sm (alsocalled th e City of Sacrifice.

or lsawa'tCity) is a m y th tomanyo th er d an s.an d the

~nix like to-keepit so. I Iha s n ev er b ee n re co rd edon

a ny m iIP.DO T do thePhoenix report its growth

and popula t ionto th eRm~ror 'scensus keepe rs .

Th eCity of Sacrifice iswattled fromdiscovery by

the powe rfu l m ag ico f th elad It is the hom e of the

greatestlibrary o f th ePhoenix , andth e f in al

r es ti tJg p laceo f t he Tao .Nowe ap on isal lo w ed th ere . f orth e Phoenix believe that to

t carry im plem ents of w ar

Iinto th e city of ShibasOath' iVOuldinsultth e living spirit

. of that covenant

To the south, on the fields of O tosan U chi, thethreat of w ar grew nearer. Thousands died on thebattlefield. Lion and Crab alike, defending theb astio ns o f th e Empire.As they fell back before abrutal assault, a trem endous light scarred theheavens above them . From the north, tw entysh ug en ja flew, th eir rob es flu tte rin gin the w indw hich held them aloft. Their hands m oved w ithdangerous incantations, and fire sprang [romtheir fingers. C onfused and unab le to counter thesorcery , the O ni fell b ack from the b attle. fleeingto th eir M a ster's sid e.

A kAMJ ON HIS kNEESWhen the new s spread of the price Shiba paid

for lsaw a's help, the P hoenixKami o nly sm iledand said, "T hearts of peace and w ar are like thetw o w heels of a cart w hich, lacking one,will beu nab le to stan d"

It w as Lady Doji w ho explained her brother'senigm atic w ords. "Shinseiteaches that m an. not theKami, have the power tochange the world. Shiba'schildrenwill b e the w ardensof the w orld, not the m akersof it. Their duty is m orehonorable than ours, for theM aster teaches us to knowall paths as one. Perhaps onlyS hib a u nd ersta nds th is;'

In m any depictions of

lsaw a and the PhoenixKami,S hiba is show n in the classic'kneeling' stance - not out ofdisrespect for the PhoenixClan. but to show hisdedication to the defense ofthe children of Isaw a In fact,Shiba's kneeling isconsidered to be one of them ost heroic and vaJiantm om ents of Phoenix history ,and children of the clan w hoare too stubborn or pridefulare asked 'are you so tall thatyou cannot bend your kneeas Shiba did?

GJSl'J T OSHIFrom the day Shiba knelt

before Isaw a, the City ofIsaw a has been know n as

G isei Toshi, or the C ity of S acrifice. Aleft to follow Shinsei and his ThundeShadow lands, Shiba began to livein th enorthern city w ith his new follow ersthe rest of the Elem ental M asters trieShiba as a brother, there w as alw aysof tension. That tension has continuethe centuries, and rem ains prevalentTanks of the Isaw a fam ily today.A s ea chCham pion com es before the Elem enand kneels to prod aimhis right to speakclan in the courts of the Emperor,it is c leth e Is aw amaintain control over the futuPhoenix.

The Seven Fortunes of the lsaw aw orshiped in G isei Toshi, and their stthere to this day . F or hundreds of y earhave been placed at the feet of the geinvoking their b eneficial aspect, and

their w rath. O nce the Isaw a w ere b rou


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Em pire, the w orship of the Seven Fortunesspread , bringing their w isdom to the lands ofR okugan to stand b eside that ofShinsei,To som e,these fortunes are the lesser children of the S unan d Moon ,while others believe them ancientheroes w hose deedshave raised them to the

C ele stia l H ea ve ns. T helsawa, h oweve r, b elie veth ey are protecto rs and p ow erful spirits in w ho sehands the w heel of the w orld is spun.

For centuries the Seven Fortunes have beenworshiped,an d their tem ples rival even those ofth e Shlnsel m onks. O ften. w hen nob les retire(rom life in the courts. they go to one of thesetem ples to spend the rest of their L ives inc on templa tio n a nd p ra ye r.

DEFENDERS OF THE REALMSince the inception of the Phoenix Clan, the

Isaw a have taken on the role of the traditional

'guardians at the gate' of m agical lore andk now le dg e. T he y p ro te ct in ex pe rie nc ed s hu ge njafrom stum bling onto unforeseen dark pow ers,and shield R okugan from the terrors ofmaho. Inth eir p urs uit o f th is p os itio n, ls aw a s hu ge nja o fte ntravel the country , seeking lost know ledge, andm a in ta in in g in fo rm a tio n c ha nn els w ith th e o th ers ch oo ls o f ma gic . T hu s,it is com m on to see lsaw aapprentices studying for short tim es w ith theother clans, learning their innovations andretu rn in g to le ach th em to th eir P ho en ix b ro th ers.

The Phoenix, and the Isaw a in particular, areoften criticized for their suppression ofknow ledge. Som e say that entire room s of thefam ous Isaw a Lib raries are devoted tomaho,b lo od m a gic a nd O n i-summon in g ritu als, a nd th atinstead of destroying such foul know ledge, theE lem e ntal C ou nc il re tain sit and exam ines itseffects. O f course, the lsaw a hotly deny suchalle ga tio ns, c la im in g th at o nly sc ho la rly tex ts o nsuch m atters rem ain in their care, and that theElem ental C ouncil destroys such evil sorceryanyw here it can be found.

The trem endous resources of the lsaw a tod es tro y s uc h in cu rs io nsis aided by the fanaticass is tan ce o f th eKuni Witch H unters. O ver thecenturies, the tw o fam ilies have created analliance in order to m ore effectively find andcrushmaho in cu rs io ns w h en th ey a ris e. B etw e enthe efforts of the tw o clans, R okugan has not hada m ajor uprising of blood m agic since the tim e ofluchiban.

'SAWA TRADITIONALISMOf all the clans, the Phoenix are the m ost

trad itio na l A d vo ca tin g th e w a ys o f life in stitu te dby the first H antei and his sib lings, the Isaw am ain tain their lands w ithou t significan t ch an gefrom generation to generation. B ecause of their

co nserv ativ e v iew s, other clan s often defer to th eP ho en ix to se ttle d is pu te s o ve r th e tra ditio na l w a yto handle m atters. W here the Crane are m astersof fashion and change, the lsaw a m aintain them easure by w hich change can be seen.

The lsaw a are are notoriously true to theirword . If a treaty is m ade by an Isaw a,it w ill bekept W hen they do, they w atch like haw ks to besure that the other side treats the agreem ent w ithas m uch respect as they do.

The traditions and ritual processes of clan,g overn ment and o ther facets of R ok ugani life aredearly advocated by the lsaw a, w ho believe that

Shinsel taught all that m ankind needed to know .A ny thing else is superfluo us at b est, d an gero us atwors l

"Pc ioer does not c om e from the heavens,mydaughter. It comes from ourminds , o ur h and s,and our hearts. Never doubtthat, for it is th egreatest secret 0 / the universe - we are not theservants of destiny. but the makers ofthe future."

- a ttr ib ute d to Isa io a

The shugenja of the Phoenix are knownthroughout the Em pire and beyond, and theirprow ess w ith the raw forces of nature arelegendary . W hile som e clans boast to b e the m ostproficient in certain areas of spellcraft only thePhoenix can claim to be the m ost universallyskilled m ages in the Em pire. Certainly , theirknow ledge of the elem ents is m iraculous, andtheir training - which begins before they canw alk - is the m ost rigorous in the land.

The Phoenix m aintain thatal l o th er s hugen jasch ools in R okug an ow e their origins to the lsaw a,for the Phoenix say that m agic itself w asd isc ov ere d b y th e Isawa alo ne .If th is is tru e, th eysh ared the w isdom in sm all pieces th ro ugh out theEm pire, for no other school has the com pletesp ectrum of pow ers and ab ilities w hich they havem a ste red . T he U n ic orn ? In Iu ch i's n otes,it say s hew as taught 'a few basic spells from Isaw a' C rane?T he A sa hin a Temp le s ow e th eir fo un de r's life, a nd

G IS EI TOSHI

(CONJ'I tC1D)

Only th e g reatest allieso f th e P ho en ix .have everb een to G isei T hsh i.an deach of them have swom anoath tomaintain th e ciWa no nym ity. Wb e 1\ ilteP ho en ix area s k e aab ou t th esto ry o f S hib aan d Isawa,th ey tell listen ers th at G isei'Ibshi is intended to be anap ocry ph al tale, an d th atits

meaning is but II parable.


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that of his brethren, to the Phoenix. TheScorpion? The sam e.Although the K uni,Kitsu,and A gasha m ay dispute the claim s of the lsaw a,it is certain that large portions of their m agicalaptitude w ere taught to them by aspiring Isaw ashugenja, eager to display som e new piece of loreo r a rc an e k now le dg e.

Yet, of these m any have been offshoots of thePhoenix C lan w hich never returned to the fold.Inthe prophecies ofUikku, the Isaw a believe thatth is is fo re sh ad owe d."When the Phoenix burnsbrightly in the sky, it must leave half its soul inashes upon the ear th In this way w illthe flamesof the Five cover the Empire in bro the rhood . .. "For each fam ily that has left them , the Phoenixhave gained a perm anentlink into the lives andch ild re n o f a no th er c lan .

O riginally , spellcraft w as taught only to a fewchildren in a generation. T he ancient histories ofthe city of Isaw a say that a great Festival w as heldevery ten years, and children who showed them ost prom ise w ere accepted as apprentices - oneper M aster. Never did the num ber of apprenticesoutnum ber the M asters, and all tutorials w eredone orally . No records of the exact Festival or ofthe traditional training of such a shugen]a rem ainin R okuganl lib raries, b ut the b rief details w hich

rem ain show that the Festival w as a ga rd uo us p ro ce ss . S ch ola rs b elie veit was deto kill those w ho had the pride to attenddid not have the fortitude to m aster th

How ever, when the First W arS hadow lands cam e, the lsaw atradit ionslchange.The advent of the Phoenix as a cEm pire brought new goals and idealsculture. T he P hoenix w ere expected toEmpire against the invaders, and to sand other m agicians onto the field ofthat the m inions of Fu Leng could be dIsawa sent each of his five brothers andthe G reat C lans, leaving only thew ithout a teacher. T hese First Isaw a efirst shugenja of the Em pire. M em bI uch i, Kun i,Matsu, Do jian d Agas ha fam iliall initiated into the path of the sorcerthe children of the L ion and C rane C lasuccess. Although these teachings w em ore than rudim entarykiho, it w as enousupport the Isaw a in their contributiothe F irst War.

Records of all clans show that, wm agical support of the Isaw a, the WarShadow lands w ould certainly haveeven before the Seven Thunders left


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qu est W h en the five b roth ers and sisters of Isaw alent their support to the cause, Fu Leng w asunab le to further the m arch of his arm ies into thegreen fields of the Em pire. T hough m any died, itw i th ou t th eswift in te rv en tio n o f th e Isawa , m a nym ore w ould have been lost

TH[ ROL OF TH SHUGENJABe a child ofth e Elements, and they w ill

p ro te ct y ou. B ea friend of th e Elements, and th eywill tuto r yo u. B ea Master of th e Elements, andth ey w ill g uide y ou .

- Isatoa U jina

T he ro le o f a tra ditio nal sh ug en jain Rokuganis that of a w ise m an, a keeper of religiousteachings and thoughts. They are expected toperform all the duties of scribe, priest,m outhpiece to the fortunes, and keeper of the

secrets of the clan. W hen a shugenja enters avillage,it is not uncom mon for the peasants tooffer a bow l of rice and tea to the w anderingpriest In deed , to refu se m igh t result inill fortunefor the inhabitants, ofit is believed that theF ortu ne s w atc h o ve r th eir c ho se n c hild re n.

If a shugenja settles in a tow n or village,it isc erta in th at th ey w ill h e tre ate d w ith g re at res pe ctA s a village eld er o r headm an, the shu genjawillbe expected to solve disputes, guide relig iouscerem onies such as the b lessing of a house ornewborn child , and teach the peasants of thew ords of the Tao an d the w orship o f th e F ortu nes.

However, it should be m ade clear thatshugenja are far m ore than w andering priests.They are respected , yes, but not sim ply for theirw isdom and religious insight A shugenja has theab ility no t on ly to speak to thekami ; b ut to causethem to m anliest Fire from the sky, w ater fromstones and other m ysterious th ings occur w hen ashugenja asks the spirits to m ovein accordancew i th th eirwill.Only one m an in a thousand hasthis ab ility . T hose trained to sp eak to the k am i area class ab ove ordinary sam urai T hey are allo wedcertain privileges, so long as they do not abusethem . F or w hile it is prop er to speak to a shug en jaw ith deference and respect, it w ould heinapprop riate fo r that sh ugenja to ev er take n oteo f h is p ositio n, o r u seit for gain in any w ay.

S hugenja, like b ushl, are ty pically b orn in tothe sam urai (nob le) class. T hey are afforded allthe priv ileges of rank from birth. educated andtreated w ith respect from their first days of life.W hen they show signs of ability , the shugenja of

th eir hou seh old com e to sp eak to the spirits ab outth e c hild .If the response is favorable, the childw ill be taken to the schools of the shugenja, andtra in ed th ere .It takes m any years to learn thew ays of spellcrafl- not sim ply the callingofspirits and how to use their pow er, but the properinv ocatio ns and pray ers. To b e a shu genja is m oreth an m e remagic-using.It is the unity of y our soulw ith the soul of the universe, and the ab ility tocall up on the kind red spirits o f th e w orld for th eirw i llin g a id a nd a ss is ta nc e.

A shugenja is not typically taught the w ays ofw arfare and kenjutsu , but som e houses prefer fortheir m agicians to know som ething of defense.There is an ancient say ing am ong the Em pire,"Letth eman w ho w earsth e sworduse the sword. "If a shugenja chooses to w ear a katana, they m ustbe prepared to useit - in a duel, on the field ofb a tt le . o r o th erw is e.If they do not choose to w ear

the sw ord, then they are stating that they are anon-com batant, and are treated w ith the sam ec ou rte sy a s a c ou rtie r o r o th er p ea ce fu l p ro fe ss io n.In this w ay, a shugenja who does not w ear akatana m ay choose a cham pion to stand for herhonor w hen she is questioned. She m ay refuse tofig ht in a b attle, p artic ula rlyif she is from thef amous ly p ac if is tic ls aw a f am i ly.

T he Isaw a view the craft of the shugenja as thehighest calling a m an can attain . They place itabove that of nob le rank or aw arded honor, forthey feel that anyone w ho has the talent to be ashugenja has been given the greatest gift of

m ortals - the pow er to control and com m and thew orld about them . They use their ab ilities forpeace, and rarely enter w arfare unless they feelthat m ore lives w ould be lost by refusing to fightO nly in defense w ill an lsaw a shugenja use hisspells to destroy , and only w hen threatened w illthey b e b rash o r foo lhardy . R estraint and con trolare the heart of the lsaw ashugenja If a m ancan not con trolhis ow n desires. how can heperfecthis spirit?

SHUGE'NIA AND WARFor centuries, the Isaw a have been staunch

defenders of peace. M ore than even the gentleCrane Clan, the Phoenix has given their Jives top revent w arfare, often in terced in g on b ehalf o f anoppressed m inor clan o rdaimyo.T heir reaso n fo rth is has alw ays been an insistence that all life issacred. F ro m peasant to Em pero r, each m ortal lifeis a gift from the Fortunes and no life should bethrow n aw ay fo r tem poral reason s.

Them ano f th eIsawamaybe th e mo st w id elyknown family sy mb olln theEmpire ,save only tbal ofHantei hlmsell.Certainly,Ltis wo rn b y h un dre ds o lshugenja in all (be clans ofRok ug an , s how in g th eirtiesto th eteachers af sp eJIcrafLS tu de nts w ho g rad uatetromth e Isawa schools,an d eventhosewho sim p lystay (~ r af ew year s a ft er t he ir

graduation from t he sc Jwo l so f o the rclans,wear th em ark as a badge oj prkfe.

T he mo n b ea rs th es ymbo ls o f th e F iv eE lem en ts , sym bo liz in g th ea rc an e t ie s wh ich tMJ saWlhave to thelnniTh e s pir alp atte rn in dic ate s th eir b elie fthat al l th in gs in n atu re ,a repart o f e ac h e th er, b ou odbyth e f ab ric o f e te rn ity.


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This attitude has gained the Phoenix m anyfriends in distant clans,but those w ords oftenturn to b itte r complain ts when the target ofPhoenix pacifism is a L ion stronghold or aD ragon outpost under assaultby th e P ho en ix 'sallies. No ties of politics or fam ily can sway adetermined Isawa [rom attem pting to find apeacefuls olu tio n toall difficulties.

This is not to say theIsawa are incapab le offighting . U nlike theirsouthern cousins, theA sahina, the Isaw apractice m ilitarymaneuvers in theirtrain ing, determ ined tom ake sure thatif warcom es, they ca n en dit asrapidly and w ith aslittleloss of life a s p os sib le .W here the A sahinaw ould surrender ratherthan kill, an lsawa w illseek every m ethod ofpeaceab le solution ,including the loss of hisow n life. If thosem ethods do not w ork, anlsaw a iswill ing to use 'b ind in g spells, holdingspells and other force torestrain or rem ove the

prob lem . O nly afterallmethods fail w ill theIsaw a tu rn to v io le nc e.Ifth e clanis to go to war,it m ust be done w ith aunanim ous vote of theCouncil. O nly undercomplete unity will th ePhoenix take up arm s asa clan . Let the Shibaalone deal w ithtro ub lem ak ers, b an ditsand other difficulties

r equ ir in g pe tty b r uta li ty ;the Isaw a are ab ove suchthings.

The few battles inw hich the Phoenix havecontributed arelegendary for the sw iftand effective use of

c ri pp li ng mag ic al f or ce . Ce rta in ly, th eM asters are capable of great v ioruthlessness,although th ey ra re lyutilizp ote ntia l fo r w a rfa re .

A t tim es, th is p acifistic id eal ha sIsawa t o d if fi cu lt c ir cums tan ce s, Du rinthWar w ith Fu Leng, the Isawa turnemagic tod efe nd th eirhomeland,tem ptin


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... ....... ~ ~r-t '-"--.~--.---~~'~";~ .. ~-.._-- -- -~-- --~-- -- ~-- --. - -

and karm a rather than resort to open w ar againstth e creatures of F uLeng,A fterw ard s, in th e g reatb attle o f S leep in g R iv er, th e Isaw a tried ag ain an dagain to speak. w ith the sorcererIuehiban, toreso lv e h is d esire to tak e o ver th e Empire.In theirn eg otiatio ns. leg en d say s th ey o ffered to ally w ith

th e B lo od sp ea ke rs if he would accept ar ea sonab le compromise .A lthough the Isawa are adm ired for their

d edicatio n to th eir peaceful ideal, their resolvecan be as dangerous as the wars they attem pt toav oid. C ertainly , if luch iban had accep ted lsaw aRyu iso's offer, history m ay hav e been a g reat deald ifferent than w e knowit today. Som e clansw hisp er th at if an oth er g reat w ar com es,it wouldbe best to keep the Phoenix far from thebattlefield - not only to save their peacefu lin tentio ns, bu t also to cut sho rt th eir dan gero usnegotiations and w illingness to com prom ise

virtue in the nam e of peace.

Weare m onsters. We are nightmares. Intheland of th e spiritually blind, w e are c ursed to seeclearly.

- lsa ta a A kumaLong ago, legends say that the lsaw a used the

darkest of m agics to defend their hom eland.Sorcery of blood and sw eat, defined by thesummoning of creatures and rituals whose

sp ecifics are best left lost to tim e, w ere th e m ag icp ractice o f th e an cien t in hab itan ts o f G isei Tosh i.O nly after the com ing of Shiba and lsaw a's oathdid they learn that such m agic slow ly corruptedthe souIs and turned the m ind to evil.An o ld te xtreads:

"O nce an anim al has the taste of hum an flesh,it seeks it everafter. So , to o it is w ith thedarkso rc ery known asmaho, w ho se lure o f bloo dandpower is g re ate r th a nth e will of a hum an heart.Though you tryto escape it, with each beat ofy ou r h e ar t,it returns to haunt you. Though youho.ve le ftit behind, it w ill never leave you ... "

T he 'six th elem ent: m ade up by the presence ofFu Leng, is said to be the elem ent of corruption,and its pow er is great O nce a shugenja has beenexposed to it - through the S hadow lands Taint oro ther m eans - he begins to m anifest signs ofcorruption. M aho is not as obvious or v isib le asthe Tain t of the Shadow lands, but it is no lessd ang ero us. In their tho usan d y ears of h isto ry , th e

Phoenix have developed ways to identify anddestroy m aho m agic an d its users, for they b eliev ethat such spellcasters can never be tru ly turnedaw ay from the lure of the dark pow er. W hile theK u r uW itch H unters are the m asters of dealingw ith escaped Taint,it is the Phoenix who have

gath ered the g reatest am ou nt of in form ation00m aho. O ften . A sako orIsawa shu gen ja spen dyears training w ith theKuni, learning th eirm eth od s o f id en tify in g th e Tain t.. T hen . w ith th eirow n resources the Phoenix turn that know ledgeto finding m aho w ith in the E mpire, and stam pingit out w itha ruthless might ,

The two maho-tsukai best known to thePhoenix were luchlban, the ancient B loodSorcerer h im self and Isawa Akurna, w hodedicated his studies to summoning andco ntro llin g great O ni. A ltho ug h th e P ho enix den yit , it is w hispered that their libraries hold the

diary ofIuchibans first experim ents, as w elJ assev eral cop ies of h is tain ted scrolls an d m ag ics.

A kum a was a Phoenix shugenja whoattem pted to further the clan 's know ledge bycreating his own spells for entrapm ent andcontrol of pow erfu l O ni. H is fateis well-knownthroughout the Em pire, as is the terror whichb ears h is n am e.

The m ost prom inent docum ents aboutmahoare th e 'Iu ch ib an scro lls,' re co rd s o f ritu als to raisedead, lay curses and other forbidden m agics.O ther scro lls, including those of Iuchiban 'sseco nd -in -co mm an d, A sahina Yajin den , are kep t

in th e P ho en ix v au lts fo r safek eep in g. B y stu dy in gthese spells and the lesser docum ents taken fromeach maho-tsukai which the Phoenix havedestroyed , the lsawa have gained quite a bit ofinform ation on how to perform and contro l m ahomagic.

Whi leit is p ossib le for an o rd in ary sh ug en ja touse the power ofmaho only once, w ith eachsu bsequ en t u seit becom es harder and harder toresist The m agic becom es easier, and m oreeffectiv e. T he sp ells take less tim e to cast, and arele ss stre nu ou s ..

Maho requires prayer to the Dark God,whether or not the caster is aware of where hisenergy is being sent E ach w ord of petit:ion, eachstick of incen se serves o nly to aw aken an d fu rth erthe power of Fu Leng, and bring about hiseventual release. Thus, the lsawa are firm lydedicated stam ping out the use ofmaho. Afterdestroying amaho-tsukai; the Isawa collectanyth ing the sorcerer had studied , for defense

l sawa Ar iminh imewassa id tohav e b eent he s is te ro f th e first Isaw a,whodiedo n thefield s o f th e G lseiToshi b ef or e th econ rlng o fS hiba an d th e G reatOithIn desperation, js awa boundh is sister'ssoul tq t he wa ll so f th e city, b egging her tode fend I tspcpu laceagainsthe invadingOni an d goblillg,of Fu Leng.

The 11UJ i t oritual wa , s

mo re su ccess fu l th an e venI sawa could have p redi ct ed .an d ev en to day , thes oU lofA rim in him e s til lwalks th ep lain s o f G i.sei Tos hL If a(any tim e, the w alls of thecity are to uch ed w ith b lo od ,h er spectre w ill app ear tod efen d th e P ho fiix C la n.

T here are those w hosaythat Ariminhime'ssoul is inagony, tor tu redby th e bloodritu al w h ic h h as b ou nd h er,but all s igh ti ngs o fth eghostdisprove this theory.

She ap pears asa p la in g irlwith l ong b lackh :a i r,atd agentle f ao e.He r h and s a reso ft, h ut a pp ea r to h av eb een d ipp edin blood,'llQdhe r pa lmshav e b eenslashed by someunknownforce.

H er know ledge o!spellcraftis unparalleled,alth ou gh sh e h as no tim e togivelessonso r t eachs tu de nts . H e ronly thoughtis to protectGiseiTolh~a n dshe has alle tern ity to

complete th at v ow.


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Everyoneknowsth estory of Lady Sun andLordM~ 01 how be swallowed

hi s rhildren an d Hanteisl ic ed open J usbel ly t ofreethem , ofhow F u L en gwasthe la st ch i:td '1 o fa ll fre e. A she ieU,l1ereached out 10

grab H antei, asif to say "If Imust becomemortal, so

m ust yOti'Fu Len g la nd edapart fromh is b ro th ers an dStster$,deep into Jigoku, theDead Realm , [i goku ,like th e

Underworld,is not fo r theliving,and hewas changedby th e ex perien ce. H e co uldno IOD~ rliv~ in th e l ig htof

his mother,LadySun. Int h f s Yw a y,Pu Leng felJfarther than the other

C hildren of S unandMoon .After yearsliving in

$tkness and death. FuL eng left the D ead R ealm .B ecause of b is tim e there,

he caused corruptionW herever he stepp ed . H e

broughtw ith h im th ecrC\turf he found there,

the Om , to do hisbidding;togeth~ they established

t ile Shadowlands.

against the nextmaho-tsukaisecceve:that m aybe. A lthough som e say it can never happen again,thai does not stop the Isaw a from collecting thein fo rm ation . Ju st in case .

THE DARK WAYYou ng lsazo a Ta na ya ma c rep t quietly a long

the po lished ha llw ays of theIsazoa ShugenjaSchoo l. It w as the Hour o f the Rat, and everyonewas asleep . The air was coa l and silent.Tanayam a cupped h is hand a round h is candleflam e, lest he be discovered . U p ahead was theschool 's l ib r a ry.

The dream s started na t long a fter he foundw ha t appeared to bea h idden panel h igh up an ashelf In them , vo ices whispered of power andrespect. The though t of c ircum venting yea rs o fb ac kb rea king stu dy a nd a rd uo us w ork a pp ea ledto h im .

O h, a t first Tanayam a did h is best to ignorethe d ream s, bu t theygrew e ve r m a re in siste nt.Perhaps if he simp ly looked at the secre tcubbyhole, curiosity w ould be assuaged and hec ou ld g et a d ec ent nig ht's sle ep .

Stopp ing at thecomer, he peered around tomake sure he was alone . He was. Who wou ldne ed to p ro te ct sc ro lls fro m th eir o wn sh ug enja ?It w as a lapse in secu rity of wh ichTanayamaw ould take advantage .. O n the balls o f his barefeet, h e quickly pa dd ed daw n to th e libra ry do or.

W hen he openedit, his hea rt sank. There,sea ted at a tableli t b y a sin gle flic ke ringl amp,

sa t M aste r Iku . F ea ring a so und th ra sh ingin th em orning, h e fum bled w ith an exc use .Bu t the old m an interrup ted him . "Com ein,

boy. I've been expec ting you," he rasped. It w asthen that Tanayam a no ticed the open panel, theag ed p arc hm ent on the ta ble. "N ow yo u w ill learna bo ut tru e p ow er."

T ho se w ho p rac tic emaho serve F uLeng ,Tbeymay believe that they bend the power of theShadow lands to their own w ill, but in the endthey are m istaken. Shugenja w ho practice M ahoare selfish and greedy. They have no concern forduty, honor, lord or fam ily. B y using the elem ent

of corruption. they seek an easy route to pow er.For them , the ends justify the m eans, and usuallythe ends are their ow n self-aggrandizem ent O rthey believe they sim ply take a short cut - theydon't plan to travel the Dark Way for long, justthis once - but end up Fu Leng's creature.

THE MAGIC OF THE NAMELESSONES

After the w ar betw een darknessbetw een Shinsei and his Seven ThunLeng, m any believed the threatS hadow lands w as over.T h eB lac k S crosafely hidden b y the S corpion C lan.N oo nedare usemaho after so noble a b attle.

Yet three shugenja did just thaYajinden and Iuchlban each soughtfor their own aim s. They are saiaw akened Fu Leng's spiritin Jigoku, anpacts w ith him for pow er. Fu Leng hagenda, th ough ,fa r al l who call upon evehis pawn. Little is known about NYajin den. The firstis credited w ith radead, and the second follow edIuchfban,tehim the tsangusuri lore of the A sahc re atin g th e fa ble d B lo od swo rd s.

B ut th e g rea test ex pre ssio n o f th ecam e in Iuchiban. M any hundreds ohe was the m ost prom inent shugeRokugan, and som e say a trusted adEmpero r h im self. Tw o m ag istrate s o fC ham pion discovered his researchesand he fledOtosan Uch i. S oo n th erea fterof undead things m oved out of tM ountains, Iuchiban at its head.sam urai from each of the Seven ClanEm erald Cham pion, rode against Ihis cult of B lood S peakers. A fter a mthat lasted seven day s, they defeated

so they thought, for his evil did not e

ROLEPLAYING A MAHO-TsUKAI

Those who practice black magicmaho-tsukai ; or servant of m agic. T heyvariety ofmaho techniques such as rdead, calling down curses, divinenchantm ents, and summoningcom mon m isconception that sorcerethey do sim ply because they 're m adrnaho-tsukal of their subtle nuancesthem paper tigers. Tsukai have theirw hic h m ost R ok ug an i d on 't u nd ersta

In a w orld w here duty to one's lordis the highest calling, the maho-tshim self first These people w ant somit pow er, fortune, fam e - and take thto get it W hile everyone else adheC ele stia l O r de r,maho-tsukai believe tsom ehow superior to the w ill of hew ho claim a higher cause, such as 's


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th e Empire th ro ug hconflict,' really only w antpower over others. Ironically , no m atter howm uch pow er they desire, they w ind up serving F uLeng,

Some tsukai become i nt er es te din m aho forscholarly reasons. They seek to understand the

Shadow lands or the Oni, Tbeyconvincethem selves that w hat they do is for the greatergo od . S om e fo olish ly b eliev e th ey can con trol th eelem en t o f c orru ptio n. T hese h ap less so uls ten d toJive only a short tim e after they accede to thesu btle m a nip ulatio n o fmaho ,as they are slow lyco ntro lled b yth e very elem ent they seek toma ste r. O th ers a re m e re ly c urio us .A f ew s er veF uLen g fa ith fu lly, w o rk in g tofurtherh is e nd s. T h es ecravenindividualsh op e to im p ro ve th eir p ositio n,believingF u Leng w i ll l i f tthem up over theirbetters, Almost al l m ah o-tsu kai believ e th ey 'ret he on esin ch arge, w hen really F u L engis. These

Isu kai, u ltim ately, are p upp ets on aslick.Mos t rnaho-tsukai try to hid e th eir activ ities.

S om e live in seclusion , far from prying eyes.O thers h ide in plain sight serv ing as Fu Leng 'ssp ies. T hey app ear as no rm al shu gen ja for as lo ng

as they can , servin g th eir d an s.In a s oc ie ty wh eree ve ry on e w e arsa m ask all the tim e, they cannotk eep u p th e p reten se fo r lo ng . E ven tu ally

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Way of the Phoenix