Since the beginning of time, Lord Moon has chased Lady Sun about the
world. When the Naga fell to sleep he caught her, and many months
later, there were Nine Children: Hida, Doji, Togashi, Akodo, Shiba,
Bayushi, Shinjo, Fu Leng and Hantei. Lord Moon knew that any children
whose veins carried both elements of Sun and Moon would grow to be
greater than he, and so, despite protests of Lady Sun, he swallowed the
children, one by one. As he began swallowing the children, Lady Sun
offered him a cup of sake after each one. She put a drop of poison in
each cup, until Lord Moon became so drunk and numb that he did not
notice that she had replaced the last child, Hantei, with a rock. Soon,
Lord Moon fell to sleep and as he slept, Lady Sun trained Hantei in the
skills he would need to defeat his father. Lord Moon awoke, Hantei was
ready. The battle that took place between them was great, but in the
end, Hantei sliced open his father's belly and the children fell out to
the Earth below. Only Fu Leng remained, clinging to his father. Hantei
sliced his father's hand, breaking his grip, and causing Fu Leng (and
Lord Moon's severed hand) to follow his brothers and sisters to the
Earth below. But, at the last moment, Fu Leng reached out and grabbed Hantei,
dragging his brother down with him. Hantei and Fu Leng fought as they
fell. As soon as the Children of Sun and Moon touched the Earth, they
ceased being divine. While they were still not mortal men, they were
also no longer gods. They gathered together (except for Fu Leng who
disappeared after his fall and could not be found) and decided that
they would hold a tournament to see who should rule among them. The
winner of the contest was Hantei, and it was decided that his dynasty
would rule the others. As Hantei was the Emperor, each of his brothers
and sisters went out into the known lands and created the seven Clans.
Hida formed the Crab Clan, Doji formed the Crane. Togashi formed the
Dragon Clan and Akodo formed the Lion. Shiba formed the Phoenix Clan
while Shinjo formed the Unicorn. Lastly, the Scorpion Clan was formed
by Bayushi. Together the Clans took mortal man (an uncultured,
uncivilized creature) under their wing and began a new age.
Hantei had very little time enjoy his new Empire, for from the
outskirts of the known lands came Fu Leng's armies of unspeakable
horror. Try as they might, the armies of Hantei could not overcome the
shape-shifting, sorcerous beasts. On the edge of defeat, Hantei was
visited by a small man with a shaved head dressed in robes. The man
introduced himself as "Shinsei", which means "new way." He promised the
Emperor that he could defeat the armies of the outlands, but the
Emperor was unimpressed. He commanded the peasant removed, but when the
guards tried to remove the little man, Shinsei - completely unarmed -
defeated all twenty of the Emperor's finest guards. Then, he turned to
the Emperor. "Let me take seven warriors, brave and true, to the
outlands. There, I will stop the armies that march on your land."
Hantei was curious. All night long he spent questioning the little man,
and while he questioned, Shinsei answered. (This conversation was
recorded and the original transcript - The Tao of Shinsei - can still
be found in the Emperor's library.) At the end of the evening, Hantei
was convinced. He wished to send his brothers and sisters along with
Shinsei, but the little shook his head, saying, "No. It must be mortal
men, for fortune favors the mortal man." Hantei agreed and sent one of
each of the Clans along with Shinsei. The little man went into the
foresaken wastes of Fu Leng - the "Shadowlands" - with his band of
"seven thunders." Many weeks passed. Finally, the raids on Hantei's
lands ceased and a single samurai returned. It was the Scorpion
samurai, and he returned with twelve scrolls of black leathery
parchment and a hand of a strange obsidian. "Hide these scrolls," he
said, "for they were the doom of Fu Leng." Then, the Scorpion samurai
died.
The Emperor gave the duty of guarding the black scrolls to the
Scorpion.
He then commanded the Crab to build a great wall between the Empire and
the Shadowlands and to guard the Empire from its evil. The Crane and
Lion Clans vowed to protect the Emperor. Doji was selected to be the
first Emerald Champion while Akodo led the Emperor's armies on the
field of battle. The Dragon and Phoenix chose the paths of
contemplation. While the Phoenix took the Tao of Shinsei and
incorporated it into their own understanding of sorcery, the Dragon
retreated into the mountains of Rokugan to contemplate the truths
revealed by Shinsei's words. Lastly, the Unicorn Clan left the Empire
to find what lay beyond its borders.
The Hantei Emperors have ruled over Rokugan for a thousand years, and
while their authority has remained unconquered, wars between the Clans
remained constant. Even though Fu Leng's armies were defeated, the
evil taint of the Shadowland's influence remains in the land of Rokugan
and suspician grows. Most of the the Kamis are now dead and fate is
left in the hands of men. The clans continue to divide as the armies
of Fu Leng again begin to grow.
Well, that's the basics. Our story picks up over 1100 years since the fall of the Kami and over 1000 years since the days of the "Seven Thunders" defeating Fu Leng. The Unicorn, after entering the Shadowlands, have returned 800 years later (200 years ago). Hantei the 38th rules.
