Collection of customs, cultures, traditions, and lore from the Tribes

[Ko]

There was some talk about Seidou customs over the weekend, so I did a quick skim of the Dawn 1 boards and rounded up some quotes from the Seidou PCs there. Apologies to past and present Seidou players if I've misrepresented anything here--just let me know, or post your own additions.

State of the Seidou five years ago:

Hida looked to Anjing "You are a stout warrior, a fine example of your people. You have impressed me with your tenacity." He motioned to a some stones that could be used for sitting "come I want to hear your story."

....Why was the first out of triber to seem genuinely interested was a maybe god? Hells though, she'd take it!
Anjing heads to the stones (disguising a limp as some stretching and waits for Tai and Hida to be settled before beginning.

She may not be a master storyteller, but she has passion, gesturing energetically with her hands as she recounts the tales of the stout and hardy Seidou and their battles to hold their land against bigger, stronger opponents. It also slowly becomes apparent who her tribe are (or at least, how Anjing sees them).
Hard working builders, meticulous craftsmen, slow to trust but loyal to the end, warriors not by desire but by brutal necessity. Good and honest people, if a little loud.

And then, finally, her reasons for coming north.

"About four seasons ago there was a light in the sky far to the south, so far we could not see where it landed or what it was. But every since, something has been wrong. We have hardly seen the ratmen and ogre raids come almost daily. Three villages have been burnt to the ground already, they never did that before, they liked coming back year after year to seize slaves and loot. It's like their afraid, and they're taking that fear out on my people."

Our elders say we just need to endure it as we always have but...that's just..."
She waves her hands around for an elegant description
"Really dumb. There's a problem, and we need to admit we can't solve it alone."

She looks over to Tai, reasoning the spirit talker probably has her own perspective on all these happenings.

Tai follows, settling cross-legged atop the stone, feeling the sun's warmth baked into the surface and offering a silent thanks for the seat and the warm behind.

She listens with interest to Anjing's tale, curious to hear the hints of difference in a village that's not her own, but still part of the same tribe, nodding at her recounting of the woes of recent years. Her village had never had much to do with the rat people, and so hadn't realized they'd become so scarce.

"They attack more often, but with less craft. As we learn and craft better weapons, better walls, they've become brutish." She shakes her head. "I remember the light, and the trembling that ran through the earth even from so far away, but the spirits only know that the creatures to the south are troubled." The far-traveling wind might know more, but Tai had never had much rapport with the flighty spirits.

"We need time, honestly. We make stronger walls than my grandparents did. Metal blades, hard to come by, but they work better. Those few like me...we're learning to use the earth and fire of the world against them. But we need time that burned out village don't have." She pauses..."I heard a bit of what your brother, Hantei, said last night...about teaching people here. I don't know exactly what he...all of you...want to teach, but if any of it is about better ways to fight and defend our homes, I'd like to hear it."

Tai is slower to pledge herself. "The warrior's way is one thing, and it's absolutely necessary in our lands. But it's needed so we can live in peace otherwise, develop our craft, devise new things to do with the earth's gifts," she says to Anjing as much as to the Kami. "But we do need the strength of arms to hold off the nonhuman things." Her hands come forward, palms up, see-sawing higher and lower. "There's a balance that needs to be found."

Seidou geography:

"I'm from Luokan, you know, the village at the base of Wuzhi Mountain?"
Even amongst the Seidou, Luokan was known for its many smiths and the quality of their ore....as well as a slightly odd penchant for tattoos coupled with an insular attitude.

"Not Wuzhi mountain, for sure! Maybe Lao?" she references one of the smaller mountains in the region, a hill with an inflated opinion of itself really.

Nodding

"He's a classic Lao."
Everyone was like some kind of mountain or stone.

River in this case referring to the one that would eventually become the River of the Last Stand, pretty much the far northern extent of Seidou territories.

Seidou spirituality:

So she thinks for a moment. "I guess some think so. I'm a potter who speaks with some of the spirits...mostly those of stone and earth. Priest seems like...the Seppun here, where that's their whole point and the main thing they do for their tribe. I'm not sure I'm that."

It does make her wonder. "Are there many priests among the Chinsei?"

Kenshiro chuckled. "I can't argue with that." She certainly seemed to be making an impression on the tree anyway.

"The... what?" Kenshiro paused, pulling his spear back. "If the god of being noticed by bad things noticed you... you'd be noticed by bad things." He narrowed his eyes at her. "I trust you just made that up, though. The Seidou don't truly believe in a god of being noticed by bad things?" Of course, some tribes believed in some weird things...

"Of course! He takes the form of a huge ogre that stalks you in the fields, and if he sees you..he carries you off! His stories help keep Seidou close to the village until they're old enough to venture into the mountains."
Maybe lots of Kenshiro's people were noticed by bad things? Did they not even know of the fortune?

TBear cloak clasped close around her, feet wrapped against mud gone stiff with the fading of the sun, Tai heads toward the Seppun's sacred hill, hoping to meditate upon the bright stars there.

At the foot of the hill, she pours a small cup, prepared back at camp, of the local hootch mixed with four drops of her blood. Four for the elements, and for death--a symbol of sacrifice and a gift for the spirits of the sacred place.

Spirits of the dead:

"In a manner of speaking," she says. "They journey to the realm of the dead and return to us, born anew. There are those who say they've traveled there living, borne on the beat of the giant festival drums as their spirit walks out looking for guidance for our people from the spirits of other realms."

"So we never really leave, we just pause to learn new lessons and keep serving the tribe." There's a smile on her face and a sense of contentment in the statement. "It's said that Kaiu carries the lessons of at least a dozen lives to have achieved so much in not so many years."

For herself, she nodded at the descriptions of the realm of the dead, that matched the tales she had learned of other Seidou who had traveled there in spirit and returned. "We, of the south also know of the grey realm of the dead and its dour judge. We are told of the spirits who return again and again to learn the world's lessons. The spirits within us are all of the same stuff, worm or fish or bear or woman. It is why we thank the bear that gives up life and skin to keep a Seidou fed and warm. Their sacrifice may see their spirit return as a son or daughter of the tribe, to learn more and to bring that protective spirit where it will do good."

Her words rang true and held the clarity that came with both belief and the pragmatic lessons of their own mediums. She didn't know what a dead child of the Sun might return as, nor did she think this was the time to speculate. But the message of service and self-sacrifice that ran through the developing theology of the Seidou found an echo in some of the actions of these fallen children.

Seidou inventors:

"Walls, for sure. We're good at those, even without the like of me to whisper the stones into being just a bit more settled. I'm told there's an inventor a few villages over who's trying things like walls with stones strategically placed to fall on attackers and clever gates that are harder to break." She munches her bit of meat, thinking. "Storage I mentioned. Much harder for vermin to chew through stone, and harder for ogre raiders to just smash a hole in the wall and run off with a few barrels of our stores if they do get through the walls...and they do sometimes. There's a lot of them and they're strong."

"He's [Kaiu] a smith who's been pushing new things lately. He thinks we should experiment with harder metals we can't melt down, work with ores we mostly ignore right now." She rests a hand on her knife. "My weapons are stone because I'm attuned to it, not because it makes the strongest weapons. And I know the strength of the fire spirits. I think he's right, and we'll learn to harness them to work even stronger metal than we have now."

"And he's clever. Worked up this spiral-shaped thing to draw up water faster than hauling buckets. That spread among the villages fast. I've done a few out of stone to help get water on the fields during those dry seasons we had about 3 summers ago."

"Everything really, the mountains are rich in ore but poor in food, so we trade."
Anjing casually loosens the thong on her hand axe and offers it to the Isawa.
"Our craftsmanship is second to none, look at the whorls on the head, classic Luokan pattern work."

Seidou customs:

"There are four ways you can get a tattoo like this. Hunt or gather enough to feed a family for a winter, forge an axe the chief smith can trade, build a home or wall that stands for two seasons or.....kill an ogre."
She brushes some imaginary dust off her hide...maybe not imaginary given quite how much dirt there was around
"And I'm not a great hunter, forger or builder."

'' Heh...'' He noded to her and included a smile. She was clearly very proud of her heritage. '' So your tattoos have some sort of meaning, like you succeeded in a test of strength or combat prowess? or only marks you as a warrior?'' He was interested in the culture.

'' Do other types of people from your tribe have different tatoos? Although now i do remember that your kinwoman Tai blackened her teeth and nails...'' He thought for a moment if that was an equivalent thing but for shamans.

"Yup!"

Running a finger over the face markings

"This one means that I'm a blooded warrior, you can tell by the notches. You can earn it by surviving combat with a war party of at least six ogres, or by doing some extremely brave....that's not fighting six ogres."

She sobers up a little when Tai is mentioned
"Tai is uh....a little different, her marking are private, a sign of wisdom suffering and...probably pain. You should see if she wants to say more, I'm not really qualified."

[...] "some tribes are definitely not happy when others come hunt their lands. Including the Seidou."

"Guests who shout their arrival are clearly to be trusted, those who skulk in silently are up to no good."

"I prefer calm and intellectual debates and discussions about many different subjects."

"....Oh...well we don't have a lot of that...unless you like to talk smithing? If calm and intellectual smithing debates are of interest we Seidou can provide that."
Anjing had never quite grasped them, but hey, anything to try and get someone down south.

"Practice."

Coming to the conclusion quickly that that was hardly a satisfactory answer, Chai elaborated, "What I mean is it was kinda a punishment of sorts; Back in Seidou lands, everyone is expected to learn at least a little about the crafts that are the tribe's lifeblood. If you're a trader, it's supposed to help you learn about what makes quality goods. If you're a warrior, it's supposed to help you learn how to take care of your equipment. If you're a provider, it's supposed to help you learn where your tools come from and how it is also hard work like tilling the ground. And so forth. Me? I found it all boring, and the punishment for not listening was always chopping firewood for the kilns and forges; Saves the actuall smiths and such hassle, so I never minded. Better than sitting and listening to some geezer yammer on about tongs or something."

Seidou courtship:

Tai thinks for a bit, feeling the solidity beneath her, thinking on the warming of spring, and what that brings. "Couldn't pick a better time, at least. Everything gets a bit randy in the springtime, neh?"

"Can't gift his family as usual. Can't just whip up a bandit attack, and our hosts wouldn't be pleased with just hunting down the Noriaki here and giving their weapons to him as a courting gift. But there's probably something that could work. Just need to grab the opportunity when it comes up, right?"

"In the meantime, I'll make you jar. It's a small thing, and we're going to go find some bees. They'll be winter sleepy and we'll get some honey for the jar." Her hands sketch the jar in front of her and mime the tearing open of hives. "Every dawn for three days, you put just a drop of blood in there and you talk to the spirits in the jar, telling them every good thing about you and that you've ever done. Every dusk, you offer one tear to the jar and tell it everything you see in him that's splendid."

"Then bring it to me, and if you've secured a meeting, I'll make a sweet cake of barley and that honey, and maybe a bit of egg if I can find one this time of year." She pats the imaginary cake. "It's a small magic. But pouring all that you are and wish to be into something sweet and sustaining? Can't hurt."

On enslaving people:

"Most are criminals I think, that and enemies captured in war. How does your tribe deal with serious crimes? Do you just kill the criminal too? Is there any solution you have for complex problems that isn't killing or raiding based?"

"But we Seidou have a few nezumi in captivity that are used in the mines. They can be dangerous places, and they're better at surviving such conditions than people, you understand. Besides, the rat things do nothing but steal and raid the village; They're not violent, but it keeps a pest in check."

Seidou storytelling:

"I don't know many stories...." She frowns, her tattoo scrunching
"But there is one tale everyone in Luokan knows."

Deep breath

"When my mother's mother was still too young to walk, it seemed like the world was ending. Every season there was less rain, less sun, our lands grew cold.
We tried to trade for rice, grain, anything. But our neighbours had nothing to spare."
She waves a hand, absolving all foreigners present of blame

"And then when it couldn't possibly get worse, the rat people came. They must have seen the Seidou wasting away because they brought a great army with more rats and ogres and trolls than every warrior in my tribe.

Their leader was old and wizened with pale firm, limping along with a staff of gold. And he demanded the Seidou submit and join the ogres and trolls and all the other races under the rats."

Her voices grows a touch more sombre

"We considered it, we really did. What was my grandmother's family to do? They had three children, should they be sacrificed for pride? Our village elder was going to agree when his wife stood, and she asked him for three days.
'If the Seidou can stand that long, they will stand forever'."

Anjing rubs the back of her head

"In hindsight, that was unnecessarily cryptic. Everyone badgered the woman, 'why did she need three days?' 'Was she just looking to run?' But she stood tall and proud and repeated her request, we needed to hold for three days, and eventually the tribe agreed."

Now her voice grows louder, heavy with pride

"In dark of morning she and her five children climbed the palisade and began the climb of Mount Wuzhi, the whole village watched them fade into the fog below. Then, we told the rats 'no' ."

"Our walls were strong and tall, as all Seidou make is, but so were their warriors. Trolls began literally ripping the palisade apart while ratman sorcerers warped the land. In response our spirit talkers hurled boulders like houses and my grandfather personally slew two ogres!"

She launches into a lengthy tangent about her heroic grandfather

"But we were being worn down, even with everyone in the village it was still enough. After the first day half of us that weren't dead were wounded. After the second there wasn't a single one of us not wrapped in bandages. By the third day most of us had fallen and we knew Luokan would be taken."

Another pause

"But then on the fourth day...the mountain moved. If you've ever seen it, you know of what I speak. A whole slope, a thousand people tall sliding as one, rocks bigger than villages tumbling down, trees flung dozens of li by the impact. Wuzhi....shrugged the invaders away, burying them all. We still find bones out there.

We rejoiced, the village was saved, the tribe was saved! A great feast was prepared for the elder's wife and her children.... but they never came home."

Exhaling through her nose

"To move that much dirt and stone...the mountain had asked a steep price, and they had paid it. Their shrine is still on Wuzhi, I've seen it, to be a warrior in Luokan you have to trek the mountain and offer it blood as they did, so that next time the sacrifice won't be so great."

......

"Uh....story finished."

"My tale comes from the mountains." She smiles her dark-toothed smile, scars on her cheeks rising in furrows with the movement. "Most everything Seidou comes from the mountains."

"But it's stone, the very bones of the mountains, I can tell you about. Quiet old stone, resting on the spine of the earth. Stone mated to fire, running quick and hot in destruction. But most fascinating are the drowned stones of a lake in the shadow of Song." She pauses, realizing how that sounds. "That's Song mountain for the sounds made by whistling stones drawn from the lake for the shrine there. It's Song lake to, because it's by the mountain, right?"

"So the stones there are maybe a bit flighty compared to most and were tired of just sitting at the bottom of the lake. They asked the water to dance with them, to join with them. And it did, carrying off bits of the rocks here and there at their whim, carving the rocks in amazing shapes. There are diviners among us who sit and meditate upon the stones and the passage of light and shadow through all those carvings."

"Some of them have been given names." In exhaustive detail Tai patiently gives each named stone its due with description, history, divinations found within its crevices, and tangential tales about those who found or divined or befriended them.

The tale had started rather promisingly and just wound on and on and even more on as she paced out dimensions and wandered over to tap anyone who started to snore with the end of her spear.

[Togashi Saruko]

The White Bear-King

Subject: Bedtime Stories (D3, LE)

The storyteller cleared her throat and stood tall. As she spoke, her hands and arms moved to gesture along with the story, which showed off the red lotus flower tattooed on her arm a few times.

Once upon a time, there was once, as well could be, a king. He had two daughters, who were mean and wicked, but the third was kind and gentle, and as fair as the bright day, and the king and all were fond of her. One night, the beloved princess dreamed about a golden wreath, which was so lovely that she could think of nothing else and felt a great need to possess it. But as she couldn’t get it, she began to pine and fell into a sorrowful silence. And when the king found out it was the wreath she was grieving for, he asked the most skilled artisans and craftsmen of his realm to make a wreath to match the one his daughter yearned for.

They worked both day and night, but some of the wreaths she threw away, and others she wouldn’t even look at. Then one day, when she was in the forest, she caught sight of a white bear, which had the wreath she had dreamed of between its paws and was playing with it. The princess said to the bear that she would pay all the silver she had for the wreath.

"No!" said the bear. It wasn’t to be had for money, but only in return for herself. "Well, life isn't worth living without it," she said; it didn’t matter where she went or who she got, if only she got the wreath. And so they agreed that he was to fetch her in three days’ time, and that would be the fourth day of the month.

When she came home with the wreath, everyone was glad because she was happy again, and the king felt sure that it would be a simple matter to keep a white bear at bay. On the third day, all the warriors he could muster was posted round their home, with the king himself leading them. But when the white bear came, there was no one who could stand against him, for no weapon could hurt him. He knocked them down right and left until they were lying in heaps. This, thought the king, was proving downright disastrous; so he sent out his eldest daughter and the white bear took her on his back and rushed off with her.

When they had traveled far, and farther than far, the white bear asked:

“Have you ever sat softer, have you ever seen clearer?”

“Yes, on my mother’s lap I sat softer, in my father’s court I saw clearer,” she said.

“Well, you’re not the right one then,” said the white bear, and chased her home again.

The next month, on the fourth day, he came again, and did just as he had done before. The warriors were out with orders to deal with the white bear. But neither spear nor arrow bit on him, so he mowed them down like grass until the king had to ask him to stop. And then he sent out his next eldest daughter, and the white bear took her up on his back and rushed off with her.

When they had traveled far, and farther than far, the white bear asked:

“Have you ever sat softer, have you ever seen clearer?”

“Yes, on my mother’s lap I sat softer, in my father’s court I saw clearer,” she said.

“Well, you’re not the right one then,” said the white bear, and chased her home again.

And then, the next month on the fourth day, he came again. This time he fought even harder than before, until the king thought he couldn’t let him knock down all his warriors, and so he gave him his third daughter. Then he took her on his back and traveled away, far, and farther than far, and when they had reached the forest, he asked her, as he had asked the others, if she had ever sat softer and seen clearer.

“No never,” she said.

“Well, you’re the right one,” he said. “From this day, I, Shiroi, will provide for you and protect you.”

So they came to a palace which was so fine that the great hall her father lived in was like the plainest hut in comparison. There she was to stay, and live well, and she was to have nothing else to do but see to it that the fire never went out. The bear was away during the day, but at night he was with her, and then he was a man. For three years all went as well as could be. But each year she had a child, which he took and rushed away with as soon as it had come into the world. So she became more and more downcast, and asked if she couldn’t be allowed to go home and see her parents. Yes, there was no objection to that; but first she must promise that she would listen to what her father said, but not to what her mother wanted her to do. So she went home, and when they were alone with her, and she had told them how she was getting on, her mother wanted to give her a candle to take with her so she could see what the bear was like when he turned into a man at night. But her father said no, she shouldn’t do that. “It will only do more harm than good”.

But no matter how it was or was not, she took the candle stub with her when she left. The first thing she did, when he had fallen asleep, was to light it and shine it on him. He was so handsome that she thought she could never gaze her fill at him, as she shone the light, a drop of hot tallow dripped onto his forehead, and so he awoke.

“What have you done? Now you have brought misfortune on us both. There was no more than a month left; if you had only held out I would have been freed, for a Troll-hag bewitched me, so that I’m a white bear during the day. But now it’s over with us. Now I have to go there and take her.”

She cried and pleaded on, but he had to go and go he would. So she asked if she could go with him. That was out of the question, he said, but when he rushed off in his bearskin, she seized hold of the fur all the same, flung herself up on his back and held of fast. Then they were off over mountain and hill, through groove and thicket, until her clothes were torn off, and she was so dead tired that she let go her hold, and knew no more. When she awoke, she was in a great forest, and so she set out on her way again, but she didn’t know where her path led. At last she came to a cottage where there were two womenfolk, an old crone and a pretty little girl.

The king’s daughter asked if they had seen anything of White-Bear-King Shiroi.

“Yes, he rushed by here early today, but he was going so fast that you won’t catch up with him again,” they said.

The little girl scampered about, and clipped and played with a pair of golden scissors, which were such that pieces of silk and strips of linen flew about her if she but clipped in the air. Wherever the scissors were, clothes were never lacking.

“But this poor woman, who has to journey so far and on such rough roads, she’ll have to toil hard,” said the little girl. “She has more need of these scissors than I; to cut clothes for herself,” she said, and then she asked the older ones if she could give the king's daughter the scissors. Yes that she could.

So the king’s daughter set off through the forest which seemed to never come to an end, all that day and night. And the next morning she came to another cottage. Here there were also two womenfolk, and old crone and a little girl.

“Good day,” said the king’s daughter.

“Have you seen anything of White-Bear-King Shiroi?” she asked.

“Were you to have had him, maybe?” said the old woman. That it was. «Why, yes, he rushed by here yesterday, but he went so fast that you won’t catch up with him,” she said.

The little girl was playing about on the floor with a flask, which was such that it poured out whatever they wanted, and wherever the flask was, drink was never lacking.

“But this poor woman, who has to journey so far and on such rough roads, she’ll be thirsty and suffer many other hardships,” said the little girl, and then she asked the older ones if she could give the king's daughter the flask. Why, yes that she could.

So the king’s daughter got the flask, said her thanks, and set out again, walking through the same forest, all that day and night.

On the third morning she came to a cottage, and there were an old woman and a little girl.

“Good day,” said the king’s daughter.

“Have you seen anything of White-Bear-King Shiroi?” she asked.

“Were you to have had him, maybe?” said the old woman. That it was. «Why, yes, he rushed by here yesterday, but he went so fast that you won’t catch up with him,” she said.

The little girl was playing on the floor with a cloth that was such that whenever they said to it, “Cloth, spread thyself, and deck thyself with every good dish!” it did so. And wherever the cloth was, good food was never lacking.

“But this poor woman, who had to journey so far and on such rough roads,” said the little girl, “she may well both starve and suffer many other hardships, so she’ll have more need of this cloth than I,” she said, and then she asked if she could give her the cloth. That she could.

So the king’s daughter took her cloth and said her thanks, and set off. Far, farther than far, through the forest all that day and night she went. In the morning she came to a mountain spur which was as steep as a wall, and so high and so wide that so end could she see. There was a cottage there too, and, when she came in, the first thing she said was:

“Good day, have you seen whether White-Bear-King Shiroi has traveled this way?”

“Were you to have had him, maybe?” said the old woman. That it was. “Yes, he rushed by here yesterday, but he went so fast that you won’t catch up with him,” she said.

The cottage was full of little children, and they all clung to their mother’s apron strings and cried for food. The old woman put a pot full of pebbles on the fire. The king’s daughter asked what was the good of that. They were so poor said the old woman that they could afford neither food nor clothes, and it was so hard to hear the children crying for a bit to eat. But when she put the pot on the fire, and said,” Now the apples will soon be done,” it seemed to deaden their hunger, and they were patient for a while. It wasn’t long before the king’s daughter got out the cloth and the flask, as you can imagine, and when the children were fed and happy, she clipped out clothing for them with the golden scissors.

“Well,” said the old woman of the house, “since you’ve been so heartily kind to me and my children, it would be a shame not to do what we can do to try to help you up the mountain. My husband is really a master smith. Now you just rest until he comes back, and I’ll get him to forge claws for your hands and feet, and then you can try to crawl up”.

When the smith came, he started on the claws right away, and the next morning they were ready. She had no time to wait, but said her thanks, fastened the claws on her hands and crept and crawled up the mountainside the whole day and night, and, just when she was so tired that she didn’t think she could lift her hand again, but felt she would sink to the ground, she got to the top. There was a plain, with fields and meadows so big and wide that she had never imagined anything so broad and so smooth, and close by there was a palace filled with workers of every kind who toiled like ants in an anthill.

“What is going on here?” asked the king’s daughter.

Well, this was where she lived, the Troll-hag, who had bewitched White-Bear-King Shiroi and in three days she was to wed him. The king’s daughter asked if she could talk with her. No, not likely! That was out-and-out impossible. So she sat down outside the window, and started clipping with the golden scissors, and linen and silken clothing flew about like a snowflurry. When the Troll-hag caught sight of that, she wanted to buy the scissors.

“For no matter how the tailors toil, it’s no use,” she said. “There are too many to be clothed.”

The scissors weren’t for sale, said the king’s daughter. But the Troll-hag could have them, if she would let her sleep with her sweetheart tonight. She could certainly do that, said the Troll-hag, but she would lull him to sleep herself, and wake him up herself. When he had gone to bed, she gave him a sleeping potion, so he was in no condition to wake up, for all the king’s daughter shouted and cried. It nearly broke her resolve, so gaze upon her beautiful love no longer trapped in the form of a white bear, but now trapped in some cruel sorcery instead.

The next day the king’s daughter went outside the windows again, sat down and started pouring from the flask; it flowed like a brook, both beer and wine, and it never ran dry. When the Troll-hag laid eyes on that, she wanted to buy it.

“For no matter how much they toil at the brewing and distilling, it’s no use. There are too many thirsty throats,” she said.

It wasn’t for sale for silver or gold, said the king’s daughter, but if she would let her sleep with her sweetheart tonight, she would give it to her. Yes, that she could certainly do, said the Troll-hag, but she would lull him to sleep herself, and wake him up herself. When he had gone to bed, she gave him a sleeping potion again, so the King’s daughter had no better luck that night either. He couldn’t be awakened, for all she cried and shouted. But that night one of the artisans was working in the room next door. He heard her cry in there, and he guessed what had really happened, and the next day he told Shiroi that she must have come, the king’s daughter who was to have freed him.

The next day was just like the others – with the cloth as with the scissors and the flask. When it was dinner time, the king’s daughter went outside the castle, pulled out the cloth, and said,” Cloth, spread thyself and deck thyself with every good dish!” Then there was enough food for a hundred men, but the king’s daughter sat down alone. When the Troll-hag caught sight of the cloth, she wanted to buy it.

“For no matter how much they cock and bake, it’s no use. There are too many mouths to feed,” she said.

It wasn’t for sale for any gems or coins, said the king’s daughter, but if she would let her sleep with her sweetheart tonight, she could have it. She could certainly do that, said the Troll-hag, but she would lull him to sleep herself, and wake him up herself. When he had gone to bed, she came with a sleeping potion, but this time he was on his guard, and fooled her. The Troll-hag however was sly and crafty, and distrustful too, for she took a needle and stuck it right into his arm, to see if he were sleeping soundly enough. But no matter how much it hurt, he didn’t move, and then the king’s daughter was allowed to come in to him.

Now this was all very well, but they must get rid of the Troll-hag before he would be free. So he got the carpenters to make a trap door on the bridge which the bridal procession was to cross, for it was the custom there that the bride should ride first in the procession. When the Troll-hag started across the bridge with all her Troll-hag bridesmaids, the planks under them dropped open and they fell through. Then King Shiroi and the princess and all the wedding guests rushed back to the castle, and took as much of the Troll-hag’s gold and gemstones as they could carry, and then rushed off to the true home of Shiroi where they could hold a proper wedding for the two lovers, and to finally leave behind their trapped lives in the Troll-hag's palace. But on the way, Shiroi stopped in and fetched the three little girls from the three cottages that the king's daughter had stopped at during her search for him, and he revealed to her that, even if it had hurt him terribly to deprive her of their beloved children, it had been so that they could help her find him and to keep them safe from the Troll-hag.

As they returned to his home triumphantly, with golds, gems, and other treasures, a great feast was thrown to welcome home the long lost Shiroi and his lovely bride. The wedding celebrations went on for several days, and they lived a long and happy life together.

[Togashi Saruko]

Carried Away By The Wind

Subject: Bedtime Stories (D3, LE)

Miyako set aside her cup after the story was over to clap on its completion, both for a good story and for a good storyteller. She did not add anything to the conversation, however, instead choosing to watch and listen as the others around the campfire discussed the various merits of the characters, the different lessons and takeaways that each person seemed to have, and so on. And while she would occasionally nod, she did not do so at any one person in particular, instead almost absentmindedly staring at the fire while she sipped down the berry-wine from her cup. After some time of this, however, she shook her head as if to awaken herself, and she looked around the campfire at the others.

"I think I might have another good story to share," Miyako proclaimed before she lifted her cup and knocked back the rest of her berry-wine before setting it to her side. She stood up and lightly dusted herself off as she looked around the campfire, taking a couple breaths to collect herself before she continued.

"This is a tale about a poor farmhand that one day found himself on the wrong side of a shaman of the Air, and thus found himself carried away by the wind..." she started, then making a low whistling noise as she lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers in the air before her as if mimicking the wind, and then she dove into the tale...

-------------------------------------------------

One day a cruel and malevolent wandering shaman of the Air, being angry with a young farmhand in a village far, far away from here, came to the hut where he lived and stuck a new and sharp knife into it, repeating an incantation as he did so, accompanied by this wish: “May this farmhand be seized and carried away by the wind into the air, there to remain for seven whole turns of the seasons!”

The farmhand that day went into the fields to make straw, when all of a sudden a great Wind arose. It scattered the straw over the field and in short order seized upon the farmhand himself! In vain he struggled to try and bring himself back down to the Earth, and soon he began to drift out of the field; in vain he tried and failed to catch hold with his strong arms the hedges and branches of nearby trees as he was carried over the edge of the field to a nearby forest. Above the treetops he was lifted; the power of the Air that had got hold of him lifted him up and carried him away.

Borne, as if on the wings of the Wind, among the clouds, he flew like a wild bird. The Sun began already to disappear, the day soon about to turn into night and give way to the Moon, and the hungry farmhand could see the smoke rising up from the other huts in his village, the Fires for cooking the evening meal well underway. At one time he could almost touch the rooftops with his feet, though he would come oh-so-close only to be lifted away before he could touch down upon them, and he screamed aloud for help as loud as he could muster. But he screamed and wept in vain; no one heard his cries, or saw his bitter tears of anguish, and away into the night the Air did lift him, far above the village.

He was thus carried about in the Air in this manner for nearly an entire season, and by that time, from hunger and thirst, he had become dried up and thin like a bundle of sticks. He Air brought him over a large part of the land, but by cruel Fate the Wind carried him chiefly over the village where he had lived - so close to home, yet always so far and away. With tears in his eyes he would look upon the hut where his betrothed lived, the daughter of the farmer whose fields he had worked. He would see her coming out of the hut with dinner prepared for the rest of the farmer's family. He would spread his thin, cold, bony arms towards her, and call her by her name, again as loud as he could muster. With his thirst, however, his voice was too weak and would die in his throat, and the girl, his beloved, would not ever look up, and soon the Winds would take him away once more.

Away and away, again and again, the farmhand was borne by the Wind. One day, however, as he was whirled about in the Air, he was blown in the direction of his own hut where he saw the cruel shaman standing before it. The shaman looked up and shouted to him, cackling with evil glee: “Ah, I am not done with you yet! You shall be thus carried by the Wind over your own village for seven long turns of the seasons! You shall suffer constantly, and wish you were dead - but you shall not be able to die!”

“My little father, my master, dear shaman of the Air, forgive me if I have offended you in some way! I know not what I have done!” cried the poor farmhand as he swirled in the Air from above. “Look at me! See that my mouth is dry! Look at my face and hands — the flesh is gone from them and ragged skin and bone are all I have left! Have mercy upon me!”

The shaman whispered a few words and the farmhand stopped in his circular motion and remained still in the Air. “It is all well and good to ask my forgiveness and pardon - but what will you promise to give me if I let you down?”

“All that you ask for!” cried the poor farmhand as he put his hands together in prayer, and knelt down in the air.

“Will you give me your sweetheart? Your beloved? Your betrothed?” demanded the shaman. “I want her for my wife! If you will promise to give her to me, I will let you come down once more to the Earth.”

The farmhand was silent for a moment. He thought to himself: “When I am once more one with the Earth... I will see what can be done.” He called back out to the magician, “Oh, master! You ask a great sacrifice from me - but if it cannot be otherwise... let it be as you will.” And he sunk his head into his chest.

It was on these words that the shaman blew upon him, and he came down to the Earth. Oh, how happy he was when he felt that he could walk, and that the Wind had no more power over him!

He hastened home as fast as he could, though incredibly weak and tired he was from the hunger and the thirst. Before the entrance to the farmer's hut he met his betrothed. At the sight of her long lost lover, over whose fate she had often wept, the astonished girl cried out with surprise. The farmhand pushed her gently aside, and went into the hut. There he saw the farmer who employed him, and said to him, with tears in his eyes, “I cannot serve you any longer, nor can I marry your daughter. I love her as dearly as my sight, but she can never be mine.”

The farmer looked at him in wonder, and seeing how tearful and sorrowful was his thin, pale face, formerly so fat and rosy, he asked the reason why he refused to marry his daughter. The farmhand told him all that had happened: his journey in the Air, the torment he had suffered, and the promise he had made the cruel shaman. The farmer, having heard him out in full, bade the poor fellow be of good cheer, for he knew what might be done! He then took a purse full of precious metals and gems and went to the village seer for advice. When he returned in the evening, he was smiling and happy, and said to the farmhand, “Go tomorrow, before daylight while the Moon still walks above, to the village seer, and all will be made right.”

The farmhand, weary as he was, went to bed, and soon fell fast asleep. He got up, however, before daylight as instructed, and went to the village seer's hut. He found the old, wrinkly woman already awake and well at work in her craft, crouching before a roaring fire burning herbs, the smoke from it changing into all sorts of vibrant colors and whirling and swirling in her hut into the vivid shape of many an animal as she did so. The seer told him to stand quietly by. That morning was calm and beautiful, but suddenly a strong Wind arose, and made the hut tremble as if it would blow over! And yet, the hut held strong, and soon enough the strong Wind would dissapear as suddenly as it had come.

Then the seer took the farmhand by the hand and led him into the yard, and told him to look up at the sky. He raised his eyes to the sky, putting his hand over them, and through the light of the Sun what did he see? Why, he saw the wicked shaman of Air, with nothing on but a long shirt, whirling round and round in the Air, crying out for help as he was tormented in a taste of his own cruel and bitter medicine as he had done to the farmhand.

“There is your enemy - he will hurt you no more," said the wise old seer to the farmhand. "If you wish him to see your wedding, do as I will tell you and he will be there. For the rest, he will suffer the same punishment as he had designed for you.”

The delighted farmhand thanked the village seer many times over and ran back home. In a month’s time he was married to his beloved, and all of the villagers in the village and the surrounding farmlands coming together for a big celebration and feast. While the guests were busy dancing and singing in the village center at his wedding, the farmhand went into the a field below the village, looked up, and saw up above the cruel shaman spinning round and round in the Air, just as the seer said he would be. He took a new knife, and aiming at the shaman, threw it with all his might.

The shaman was struck and fell down to the Earth, and when he landed the knife nailed him down by the foot to the Earth; try as he might, however, the shaman could not pull the knife out of his foot and himself from his rooted spot in the Earth. It was thus he was forced to stand rooted in that field, a miserable witness to the happiness of the farmhand and his friends and villagers as merriment went on throughout the day and night, so loudly and raucously that none could hear his cries - like the farmhand's before him, weak from the hunger and thirst of being trapped in the Air for so long.

On the following morning the shaman of Air had disappeared from the field below the village. Some of the villagers said they saw him flying through the Air over the Water some distance away, well on the other side of the forest from the village; before and behind him were large flocks of crows, which, by their croaking, told of his continued flight. To this day, on a day in which the winds are strong near that same village, some among the villagers claim that through the bluster and the gusts, if one listens really hard, one might struggle to hear the faint, small, weak, voice of a tired old man letting out a cry for help.

[Togashi Saruko]

Kaminari and Sunder

Subject: Campfire Tales (D5, LE. Open)

"Come gather around on this chilly evening. Let's share stories to brighten the mood, and spirit, and allow me to tell the tale of Kaminari. A mighty burly warrior, who was one day robbed of his prized weapon!"

Saruko accepted the offer of berry-wine and let people settle in for the tale. Like before, she stood as she told the tale, and this time around she did a lot of effort with making the voices to match the characters and gesturing as they spoke. Hopefully it would give some good laughs.

"Long ago, when the world was young and myths lived side by side with humankind, lived the man called Kaminari. It is said his temper was like that of the thunderstorms and his spirit fiercer than the lightning that can split mountains, and he wielded an incredible weapon named Sunder - a warhammer which had been forged by the dragons of the sea and harnessed with the power of the storms. Few were powerful enough to wield the weapon, but Kaminari was one such man.

Kaminari felt a strong bond with his weapon, and it rarely left his side. Even in sleep, it was beside him. And so it was that one morn, Kaminari woke to find that his weapon was gone! Vanished! Disappeared like a ghost in the night! He immediately questioned his friend Tanuki, who was a trickster and sometimes a thief and on occassion not a friend, but Tanuki denied any knowledge of what had happened to Sunder. At the threat of violence, much of it said to be directed at his lower parts, Tanuki promised Kaminari that he would help him find his weapon.

And so Tanuki went to Kaminari's sister, Hatsuki, who was the most beautiful woman in this age, with hair as silver and eyes the color of summer-green, and he stole her magic cloak that would allow its wearer to take the form of a bird and fly great distances much faster than any man could traverse on foot. With the might of this cloak, he looked high and low and far and wide for where Sunder could be. And as he rested on a branch, he overheard from the northern birds that the ogre-kings of the northern mountains had recently found a mighty warhammer that had made all the other ogres subservient to him. This could only be the mighty weapon Sunder, Tanuki thought excitedly and with all haste flew into the frozen mountains of the north, to the halls of the ogre-king.

The ogre-king, known as Kuro the Ice-cold, was a powerful being, mightier than any ogre that lived before or after, and Sunder had only made him stronger and more fearsome. Tanuki appeared before him in his bird-form, and then assumed his own shape as he adressed the ogre-king. "Oh mighty Kuro, king of all ogres for now and ever, how did you ever find such an amazing weapon?" he asked as smoothly as he could. To which Kuro barked a laugh as he replied: "This? I stole it from that fool Kaminari, and it was as easy as stealing a child's toy. For while he might be my better in a fight with Sunder, he is nothing without it!" Now Tanuki knew that he would not be able to steal Sunder from Kuro, but he had a silvertongue and after much flattery and kind words, he was able to get the ogre-king to agree to a possible way of giving up Sunder. On the condition that he'd give it to his bride on their wedding-day, and that his bride would be none other than Hatsuki - because only the most beautiful was worthy a king!

A little horrified at this, Tanuki said it would be done and rushed back home to Kaminari and Hatsuki. He explained the ogre-king's terms, and Hatsuki vehemently protested against it as she had no wish to be married to a ogre, no matter how much her brother begged! Tanuki thought long and hard on the problem, until he came to a solution: Kaminari would disguise himself as Hatsuki and thus recieve his warhammer back once the ogre-king gave him the wedding-present. Hatsuki readily agreed to this idea, and while Kaminari was strongly against it at first, Hatsuki's charm and kind words won him over and she made such an effort to dress him up. She put the finest robes on him, but they were a little short and small, because he was tall and his limbs were powerful. He refused to shave off his beard, and so they settled on draping a lovely veil over his head to hide his features. Tanuki could not help but to laugh at the sight, and he too disguised himself - as Hatsuki's attendant. Truth be told, Tanuki made a more convincing woman than Kaminari, but he was after all a trickster with many tricks up his sleeves.

The two set out and arrived at the ogre-king's halls, where they were recieved as honored guests and the wedding arrangements were quickly underway. Kuro was immensly thrilled that the beautiful Hatsuki would be his bride, and he spared no expenses to throw a great feast. On the other hand, Kaminari had a hard time playing the role of lovely lady bride, and often Tanuki had to make up clever answers to maintain the disguise.

"The bride sure drinks a lot for being a girl of less than twenty summers!" "Oh, she's just trying to keep up with her new tribe's customs!"

"That's... quite the healthy appetite she has." "Oh, but look at such muscles! She's been working out hard to be a strong wife for her husband, and she must keep up her strength for all the children she'll bear!"

"Why is she growling?" "Oh, her throat is sore from all the songs of joy she was singing as we travelled here!"

"Why does she... have a beard?" "Oh, it's so cold up here, she's worried her face will freeze!"

It was unbearabe for Kaminari and he was beginning to lose hope, until his *groom* leaned in closer and said; "so, my darling Hatsuki, do you want to see the mighty Sunder?", to which Kaminari responded: "By the damn moon, yes! *ahem* Yes, darling!". And so Kuro produced the warhammer from the sack he carried with him everywhere and presented it to his *lovely* bride... who then cast off the veil the moment the weapon was in his hands, revealing his true nature! Shocked at the trickery and stunned that Kaminari had gone so far as to dress up as a woman to get the better of him, Kuro howled in panic and the confused fear quickly spread through the hall among his ogres. What followed was a thunderous battle, as Kaminari not only got revenge from the unjust theft that had been done to him but also scared the ogres so much with his ferocity that they dared not mass together in such large groups again in the northern mountains.

And that is but one of the many tales of Kaminari."

[Togashi Saruko]

The Warrior, The Monk, The Priestess, And A Rock

Subject: Campfire Tales (D5, LE. Open)

Ayumu, back for more, tilted his head as the slightly more gaudy story than yesterday. That gave him an idea of his own.

"Since the theme is funny stories, I might have one too."

He cleared his throat, hesitated for the slightest second, then went on anyway:

"Once upon a time, there were a warrior, a monk and a priestess on a quest. Their journey took them through a dark and ancient forest. There, they found a clearing. And within this clearing, they found a mysterious stone that did not fit its surroundings at all.

The warrior stared at it and said:

"This rock looks strange into my eye. I will force its secret out of it."

And so the warrior started turning around it with a mean glare. He shouted at it, ordering it to talk with his biggest voice. He pointed his sword at it and threatened it of the worst things if it did not cooperate. Finally, he tried to stare it into submission.

The rock remained still and silent.

The monk then talked:

"Your approach is wrong, man of many weapons. His secrets must be unraveled through respect and kindness."

And so the monk started rubbing the rock clean of its dirt, until it shined under the sun. He built a shrine around it, so the rain will not damage it anymore. He plucked the soil around it of its more parasitic plants and trimmed the others, making a calming garden out of the wilderness.

The rock remained still and silent.

The priestess then talked:

"That's not how respect to the powers-that-be work. You have to talk to them in their own sacred tongue, and offer them the true sacrifice of your own flesh."

And so the priestess began to pray. She prayed for six days, then six nights, then six days. She prayed to the sun and the moon, to the sky and the earth, to the fire and to the water, to the Fortunes and to the spirits, and even to the great void beyond. And she gifted the rock with her own blood, until it became as red as the setting sun.

And finally she asked her question:

"What is your secret spirit of stone?!"

And the rock answered!

And it said:

"I. Don't. Know.""

[Togashi Saruko]

Nanzi And The Bone King

Subject: Campfire Tales (D5, LE. Open)

Nanzi stood and paced by the fire and said, “Well Nanzi was maybe fifteen or sixteen summers, and had gotten himself tied to band a travelers in the deep sands. They were set upon by fierce raiders led by the Bone King, Nanzi wrapped himself in cloths and obscured his handsome features so only his eyes could be visible and was taken before this villain.”

“He picked the five most comely, and of course Nanzi was one, for he saw only the eyes and found them alluring. Nanzi was careful to always stay swathed in cloths and despite being a villainous bandit the Bone King never forced himself upon the harem, small miracles that.”

“So Nanzi observed and learned to rub the shoulders and soothe the Bone King and learned to dance the Burning Stones dance, and he bided his time and plotted until the right moment to seize hi escape from the Bone King who had grown fat and jaded from his many raids and successes. Nanzi whispered words into the ears of his closest men, enticed them with his dance, and soon had bent many to the wills and whims of the harem…”

He then grinned and said, “Finally he had grown tired of massages and dancing and wanted Nanzi for his bed and summoned the young Nanzi to his tent. The girl that was a boy teased his guards and then tnered and played coy as the old drunken Bone King tried his best to unwrap the many cloths, for every one he removed Nanzi replaced two more from around the tent… a game that hid his true intent getting his young fingers on a blade.”

“Just when he revealed Nanzi’s handsome face to his confusion did the young Nanzi stick him like a desert boar in the jowls, it is a messy thing to watch a man die. But such is the way of it. Nanzi is still not sure if the man was more shocked at the girl being a boy or the blade in the throat, who can say? Not the Bone King,” he finished with a hearty laugh.

[Togashi Saruko]

The Kami's Fall

Subject: Diplomacy with the Nezumi

"Thank you." She bowed deeply to the Chieftain and Ch'chit T'kkiri.

Picking up the small hand-drum she carried with her, Saruko knew that much of the words and expressions might be lost on the Nezumi as she had to work through an intepretor. However, she had noticed that Ik’tch'krit liked music, so she decided to rely on some of the storytelling tools of gentle drum-tapping. Though the attempt to bridge some of the cultural differences and preferences musically wasn't very successful, but at least her storytelling was, as always, quite good.

"The Kami have told us what happened, and many of our seers, prophets, and wise ones also saw what would happen. Lady Reiko here is among one who prophesized that the Sun-Children would come to this realm. This is the tale of the Kami's origin, of how they came to this world."

Her arm moved gracefully, in circular motion to depict the Sun and Moon.

"Lady Sun who shines up the day whom we know as Amaterasu, and Lord Moon who watches over the night whom we know as Onnotangu, were made by the Three Gods Whose Names Cannot Be Spoken. As wife and husband, they rule the Celestial Heavens above together, and created many of the things in the world and gave it names - humans were among such creations. Since the beginning of time, Lord Moon has chased Lady Sun about the world. One day, Lord Moon succeeded in capturing his mate, and it was a day witnessed as an eclipse - where the sun was darkened in the middle of the day."

"Many months later, Lady Sun gave birth to the children of their union - the Ten Kami. Hida, Doji, Togashi, Akodo, Shiba, Bayushi, Shinjo, Ryoshun, and lastly the one we know as Fu Leng. As it is with children, the Ten Kami were a delight and joy to their parents, and the Heavens were brighter and delighted."

"However, Fear began to drive Lord Moon mad. He feared his children would grow stronger and usurp him. That he had lost the love and devotion of his shining mate. It drove him to madness, and he chased down his children and devoured them whole. Lady Sun was horrified and distraught at what was happening to her children, and she did not wish to fight her mate. But she was clever. She hid her last child, Hantei, from Onnotangu and cast a spell on a stone to make it look like Hantei. So when her mate came looking for Hantei, she offered him the enchanted stone, as well as plenty of wine to make him drink himself into a stupor."

"As Lord Moon passed out, Lady Sun brought Hantei to the oldest and wisest dragons of the Celestial Heavens, who would train young Hantei intensely to make him strong enough to face his father, and they would teach him much of what he needed to know to save his siblings - for they knew that his siblings still lived on in their father's belly and they knew that Hantei could not kill Lord Moon. All he would need to do was to cut open his father's stomach, to free the trapped Kami within."

"So when Lord Moon awoke from his stupor, groggy and feeling unwell from the stone he had swallowed, Hantei was ready to face him. Son and father battled across the Heavens, and one of Onnotangu's wild swings tore open a hole in the Heavens. And then, Hantei managed to slash open his father's belly. The deep wound opened up, and the children that had been devoured fell out one by one, into the hole in the Heavens that Onnotangu had created. Hantei too was drawn into this hole, and fell together with his siblings; and they all fell from the Heavens and down into our world. They say Fu Leng fell further from his siblings, and landed in the south, where his fall caused a rift between this world and another world of evil and corruption."

"The Kami Ryoshun had been the first to be devoured by their father, and sadly died before the fall. The remaining ones, however, arrived in the lands of humans. They could see that humans were much like them, but lacked their knowledge and understanding of better ways to live. And after travelling the world far and wide to see and learn about this new world they were now in, they sadly learned that they would not be able to return to the Heavens. Having learned this, they agreed upon becoming the guardians, teachers, and leaders of humanity - and they held a competiton of skill amongst themselves to see which one of them should lead their efforts in guiding humans to grow and live. The victor became Shiba - a patient and wise leader, and from that day onward he has been blessed by the Heavens as their favorite to build a better world."

"The remaining Kami have sworn fealty to follow Shiba and how now established new Clans that will answer the call of Emperor Shiba and to stand with him in building a prosperous Empire. The human tribes of old are joining with the Clans as they learn of the wisdom and ways of the Kami."

"The seers and prophets who foresaw the Kami's fall, also were aware of one who had fallen to the south. When the Kami were made aware of the possibility of their lost brother having survived the fall, this expedition was planned and members of each of the Kami's Clan's, as well as those who serve Emperor Shiba directly, have volunteered to travel to this dangerous land to free Fu Leng."

Having told the story up until the Now, she stopped, and bowed indicating that the tale was concluded for now.

"Where human-kind once were divided, we are now coming together for the first time now to accomplish something greater."

[Doji Kaze]

Kaze's Doctrine

There are some who understand combat as having two goals. First, the securing of an asset. This may be defending a loved one or a home, it may be slaying the enemy in the field or bringing down game. The principles are alike, and the end is one. The thing necessary has been achieved. Secondly, the demonstration of prowess. In our past, adulthood was associated with physical ability. One could marry, but more significantly an adult was expected to use the capabilities of their body to defend or secure resources for the tribe. Hence, success in the first goal ensured success in the second, with the larger and more skilled the enemy defeated, the more fame became attached to one's reputation, and thus the more one's standing as a man or as a woman grew.

We, the Crane, are not a tribe. Rather, we are a clan within the One-Great-Tribe-That-Is-Empire. Already, the distinctions that defined the successful man and successful woman are beginning to change, and it is becoming necessary that the hunters and warriors of the tribes grow into the bushi of the clan. There are many who can follow the way of Nanzi, for whom efficient use of skill will supplant barbarous violence with something that is more suited to our new era. This is a wise path. However, in our time of transition, there remains much in this Empire that does not understand the era of peace and refinement that is coming, when the Words will replace steel as the guarantor of stability, of security, of identity. It is necessary, then, that some few of our clan become not so much the sapling of the age that is to come as the netting that protects it from those that would uproot or consume it.

The method is simple. We who defend the Words must understand them. We cannot be as some guardians who fail to participate in that which grows and is nurtured under their care, and thus fail to grow with it. We serve, but we are. We defend, but we are changed with the defended. When we understand what it is we are and what it is we protect, we take the second step. We eliminate the second goal of combat from our minds. There is no glory in combat. There is no reputation to be secured. There is no virtue in it save the degree to which the clan or the Empire was defended. We acknowledge this truth because we understand that to elevate the warrior's work is to undermine the work of the Words. The glory is in those who contribute to the era of peace that is coming. Those who seek scars are to be directed to other paths. There is no place for them here. When our hearts stir for glory, we may turn to the Words, but our defense of the era of peace is not worthy of comment, let alone adulation. It is simply what must be done.

Because there is no glory to be won in combat, it is best that it is done efficiently and without fanfare. Those who follow this doctrine are not to be seen by their enemies. They are not to be heralded. They will march under no banner, and will gather in no large unit. They are to use force to achieve the reduction and disorganization of the enemy swiftly and without being recognized. To that end, the following will be our primary weapons: the yumi the nage-yari, and the trap. Stealth and distance are our armor, and they are not to be cast aside. Any movement down the path of violence they enemy chooses should come at a physical cost to match the spiritual cost he has already incurred.

We are to be as the wind, unseen but forceful. When we strike, our first goal will be to immediately withdraw to prepare the next strike. In this, we will serve several aims. Most importantly, the enemy will have an opportunity to reconsider his actions and return to the proper pursuit of the era of peace. Secondly, we will thus be able to preserve our anonymity, and therefore both the strength of our force and our ability to participate in the growth of the era of peace away from the realm of war.

If the enemy fails to take the opportunity to turn to the pursuit of the new era, then it is right that their education continue. They must be struck again, using the same principles of anonymity and distance to reinforce the lesson, and the process must repeat until either the enemy does realize that the pursuit of the era of peace is to their advantage, or their persistent, stubborn threat to that era is eliminated.

We do these things in this manner so that one day no one shall have to do them at all. The Words come first, then the spear, and then the Words again. This is the way it must be, until at last we can set the spear aside forever and the Words are all that remain.

[Nozomi]

Gift Giving Ceremony - Early Beginnings

In part due to a certain incident...

While Doji has been attempting with great fervency to establish culture and civility among the clans, to firmly entrench societal norms, it is true that tribal ways are slow to fade. It may take a generation or two for these norms to become well and thoroughly situated in the minds of all of the empire. One tradition that has been offered, and yet is still taking time to make its rounds within the greater courts, is a test of sincerity related to the giving of gifts:

Gift Giving as a Ceremony:
-A growing sentiment is that, in times where there is no stress of time or duty, the sharing of a gift is an opportunity to express one's sincerity in the sentiment of that gift. As such, there is a push to offer within polite society an opportunity to demonstrate both the sincerity of the giver and the forebearance and humility of the one who receives the gifts. All good things come in threes, so why should a person not be allowed to offer a gift worth giving three times?

The tradition is for a person to refuse the gift the first and second time it is offered. It gives the giver a chance to express in multiple ways why they wish to share the gift with another, and to be insistent enough to impress upon the one given that they are sincere in their wish. If they do not offer a second or third time, they clearly do not wish the gift to be given with enough sincerity. It also allows the recipient to show their appreciation for the nuances of the gift multiple times, but if they refuse a third to express their displeasure with that gift in the first place.

It has been slow in taking root, but it is gradually finding favor in the curts. In the months after the attempt to rescue Fu Leng, however, there is a rumor of an additional source of the ceremony. Supposedly, while in the midst of the hunt, an individual who is to this day unidentified was said to be so incensed by their need to give a gift that they literally shouted in the middle of the shadowlands their demand that the Little Teacher accepted it. People said that they saw him wear a jade bracelet after that date, which seems to be the source of the potentially apocryphal tale of him being one of the early recipients of this form of gift giving.

Some say, if the tale is true and even Shinsei played along with the gift giving ceremony, why should they not as well?

[Kyosei of the Isawa]

Kinsen and Kyosei also seemed to do that in this thread, that same day.

[Nanzi]

Excerpt from the Divine Blade.

The Blade of Justice

The Samurai is defined by their attention to their Honor and the Honor of their Clan. Honor is within, one cannot flee the actions they have taken and even if they wish to live in self delusion their actions will define them. Thus a samurai should seek to lead a just life, they must deal with their peers with Honesty and Courtesy; this what creates a society that swings towards justice and serenity.

When this breaks down it is the Duty of the Samurai and their Lords to seek justice and a return to Serenity. The Divine Blade is a tool of justice and can be an arbiter but it should not be the first recourse of action. The samurai should seek to find a solution to the matter that restores Honor for the offended party, via the system of Law proscribed by the Emperor and those agents charged with carrying out his will and the will of their respective Clans.

How then does the Divine Blade play a role in these matters, it is a tool to allow a samurai to challenge testimony or seek justice for a personal attack of Honor in the investigation and proceedings. It is not a tool to challenge the judgment of the agents involved unless said agents act without Honor or act in league with corruption.

The Divine Blade is a precision tool, it is not a hammer to destroy all nails, the practitioner of the Divine Blade must be humble in their pursuit and allow the process of law and justice to flow until such time that a matter of Honor must be settled by Heaven’s Judgment. Even so, once the matter is settled the flow of law must again move until the agents of justice have restored Honor and Serenity.

The Divine Blade is an arbiter of Honor, it is a tool to restore justice, and it can bring Heaven’s Judgment to the matters at hand. Yet in the end Heaven see’s all and to build a harmonious society we as samurai must strive for Honor and Serenity, and when we fall short of such a goal we must seek to repair the damage done and use the various tools of Law and Enforcement, including the Divine Blade to restore serenity.

This is the role of the Divine Blade in pursuit of justice.

[Miyako]

"Spring's Embrace", a Chinsei berry-wine; The Chinsei and the Bow: Customs and Traditions

That one is a drink we call 'Spring's Embrace.' When almost all the leaves of the trees in our forest have fallen but well before the first frost of the cold season has come, we take some of the berries from the final bounty that the trees offer us, smash them and mix them with cool water from the stream in jugs of clay, throw in a few herbs and spices, and bury the jugs in one of the older parts of the forest. They rest under Earth until the last of the frost is behind and the first blooms of the warming season emerge where we dig up the jugs and crack them open during the spring festival to celebrate putting the cold behind us.

... Many of us, myself included, received our bow when we were acknowledged by our village elders and seers and shamans as being able to take on the responsibilities of the Chinsei villages as full adults, that we might take the lead in hunting parties, provide guidance to the young ones, and so on. My bow was made for me, just as my cousin's bow was made for my cousin, my friend's for my friend, but even then we make them our own even more than that, though I have not had much time to add my own carvings and decorations to the wood. Still, however, I bond to it... Even if it should break beyond repair that another is made for me, the old is cast into the cleansing Fire, the ashes rubbed onto and over the new one so that it contains the memories of the old. And when one among us passes into the realm of the spirits, their body cleansed by the pyre of Fire, we do all we can to see to it their bow is in the same Fire with them, if not then some other, so that they might have it in hand on their next journey...

[Nanzi]

Excerpts from the Rescue of Fu Leng by Doji Jigutsuji

The Decision

The Clans gathered their leaders and influential members of the expedition at the behest of Lady Ninube of the Spider, she wished to discuss security matters after the samurai and lesser tribesmen of the expedition heroically vanquished several sinister incursions by the forces of Jigoku. Among those present was Lady Shinjo of the Kirin, Lady Reiko of the Spider, the Imperial Families, and Lord Nanzi of the Crane; there was a nezumi present as well but his presence was brief and contentious.

The idea of utilizing the Nezumi name magic was proposed, and although supported by many samurai, there was opposition for the good of Fu Leng and the Spider by Lady Reiko and Lord Nanzi, in the end once their concerns was heard it was decided that using the name of Fu Leng in a grand ritual with the Nezumi was the best path forward, Lady Shinjo made it clear this was what she felt was the best plan forward to save her brother and seal the portal to Jigoku.

The samurai present swore their lives to the task, this humble scholar was honored to have been in their presence.

Attack on the Thunder

Shinsei showed weakness and allowed his hubris to become an entity, a manifestation that this one still does not understand but it is truth, it returned to the camp during his absence and hunted for ones marked by Destiny. As Lord Nanzi would relay to me, these individuals were chosen by Ningen-do or as he named it in the divine tongue, Hitsumetsu-do. These chosen would do battle with the forces of Hell that fears mortality in battle.

This cycle has come before, last fought by five lesser species that have since been scattered, and before them the ogres, who once held an Empire, fought this great battle. It seems the wheel turns again and now it is the time of man and mortals to once again do battle and it was one of these Chosen, a young samurai of the Spider named Matsu that was the target but she was saved in battle by her father, Great Yamadono of the Spider, Lord Nanzi of the Crane, Sora of the Jiyo Imperial family, and some lesser tribeswoman of little note.

The creature was cast down in battle and the Thunder was saved, it is rumored there may be more who are so touched by Destiny. This humble scholar feels at peace knowing that mortal champions of the Empire will rise when the cycle finally turns once more.

[Miyako]

The Chinsei Wedding Ceremony

Chinsei weddings are a big celebration in most of the villages, probably as big and as rowdy as any festival we have, and that's because people from the nearby villages tend to get invited by the village elder. The actual ritual comes in two parts. The first part starts in the morning when the two to be united wake up, grab their bows, and head to the edge of the forest to meet the shaman and the escorts, usually friends or family members chosen by the couple, and they march together to the ancient part of the forest and the village's sacred place. The escort wears their armor and also comes with their bows and other weapons - it's a ceremonial escort, but the march to the sacred place has occasionally come across bears and other creatures that need to be warded away from the couple. Sacred spot is where Chinsei spread the ashes of the dead in the forest, so the shaman leads the whole group in prayers to the ancestors to watch over the couple-to-be.

That usually happens through most of the morning. They carry a small meal with them to eat for early afternoon, more than needed so that some is offered to the ancestors - this also acts as the invitation for the ancestral spirits to come out of the forest and return to the village to join the celebration that evening. After final prayer to the ancestors, they all return to the village where most of the villagers are waiting and have been spending time cooking food, decorating the village square, and so on. Shaman and village elder address everyone as the couple stand before them, final prayer is said by shaman and everyone holler and couple is then now married! And then party goes well into evening and night, and when it gets really dark out some claim they see the spirit ancestors also party!

... Maybe they had too much berry-wine and seeing funny things, though.

[Jiyo Sora]

On Imperial Building Customs five years in:

"He has so many former Ayakashi around him that it's not entirely, ah... Orderly. Lots of natural features left in place, no tree cut down without two being planted. It's nice, honestly."

"Oh, there's stonework, make no mistake, but... Yuzuru's blindness is something the architecture of the residences is meant to accommodate, which means that defense is both a thing for the perimeter, and a matter we trust to people, not things. Tsubo's trained a lot of the scouts well. We know who's approaching and from which direction and can offer a pretty warm welcome if it comes to that."

[Nanzi]

Excerpts from the Rescue of Fu Leng by Doji Jigutsuji

The Final Push

So it was that the forces of Shiba’s Empire took to the field to rescue Fu Leng and seal the portal to Jigoku; to do this a grand ritual had to be enacted accompanied by a wedding for Reiko of the Spider and bride to Fu Leng. It was Togashi Saruko who led the preparations for this and in a single night produced a beautiful gown, donated by the Crane, and all the ritual components needed to perform the wedding. Under the mighty banner of the Empire the wedding was held and the ritual began with the aid of the Nezumi shamans.

The strike team to rescue Fu Leng was few in number; Jiyo Sora, Yamadono of the Spider, a Nezumi, Seppun Dawei, and their leader, Hantei of the mighty Stag. What horrors they faced were many but it is known that they braved the depths and plucked Fu Leng from Hell and brought him back to Ningen-do, so filial was the union that the enmity between the brothers was as water under a bridge. If only all could emulate such brotherhood and Duty.

A monstrous creature chased them to the surface and Shinjo as a mighty kirin and her husband who took the form of a dragon did great battle. While the first line held for as long as they could and if not for the mighty sacrifice of the tribesman known as Taochusu, the line would have completely crumbled. Yet he bought them time as Lord Nanzi of the Crane rallied the second line and did battle with the forces of evil. At his side was Hantei Kinsen the golden bride of Hantei, the stalwart, if timid, Jiyo Ayumu and the mighty Kanna of the Spider. Between both lines it is said that four score of the enemy's numbers were slain and the land was red and black with blood.

With Fu Leng freed, our mighty priests enacted a ritual led by a blind Seidou tribeswoman, and sealed the portal to Hell! A mighty victory indeed for the Empire and a momentous day for all involved our sacrifices were few but deep. Jin of the Kirin and Togashi Nadare were among those that poured their magics into the final ritual.

The servants of the Empire, the samurai, and those that served under their banner carried the day.

Fu Leng was free, and all know that the Emperor protects this land by the blood of his Honored servants. Glory to Emperor Shiba, Glory to the Empire, and Glory to those who fought to save the realm from corruption.

What follows is a list of names of those that fought under the Banner of the Expedition.

Imperial Families
x. Jiyo Sora - Rescuer of Fu leng
x. Jiyo Ayumu - Held the Line with Honor

Bat Clan
x. Ryoshun Mai - Crafted the Tools

Crab Clan
x. Anjing Xia - Keeper of Records

Crane Clan
x. Doji Kakuro - Held the Line with Honor
x. Doji Kaze - Held the Line with Honor
x. Nanzi - Organized the Mission, Held the Line with Honor as a War Leader

Dragon Clan
x. Wu - Held the Line with Honor
x. Togashi Saruko - Wedding Planner, Held the Line with Honor
x. Togashi Nadare - Completed the Ritual

Ki-Rin Clan
x. Jin - Completed the Ritual
x. Shinjo Koyama - Fought the Monstrous Demon as a Dragon
x. Shinjo - Fought the Monstrous Demon as a Kirin

Lion Clan
x. Makime Mineko - Held the Line with Honor

Scorpion Clan
x. Bayushi Umeno - Held the Line with Honor

Spider Clan
x. Noriaki no Yamadono - Rescuer of Fu Leng
x. Kanna - Held the Line with Honor
x. Reiko - Bride of Fu Leng
x. Ninube - Held the Line with Honor

Stag Clan
x. Seppun Dawei - Rescuer of Fu Leng
x. Hantei Kinsen - Held the Line with Honor
x. Seppun Takako - Held the Line with Honor
x. Seppun Chisei - Oversaw the Wedding
x. Hantei - Leader of the Strike Team and Rescued Fu Leng

Lesser Tribes
x. Taochusu - Honored Dead, Posthumous Samurai of Worth
x. Phi - Held the Line with Honor
x. Shoji Haka - Completed the Ritual
x. Ongaku no Ryoko - Held the Line with Honor
x. Seidou Satone - Held the Line with Honor
x. Reo - Held the Line with Honor
x. Kyosei of the Isawa - Held the Line with Honor
x. Ko - Held the Line with Honor
x. Seidou Haruyo - Completed the Ritual
x. Hanzou - Held the Line with Honor

[Jiyo Sora]

From the Imperial Record, Volume 1, by Jiyo Kinyoubi

... the importance of Nezumi Name magic coupled with the elemental sorcery of humankind in sealing the pit created by Fu Leng's Fall laid the foundation for formal dealings between the Nezumi Empire and Rokugan. Nor was the direct aid of the Nezumi Ch'chit T'kkiri, and the sacrifice of Ch'jakk'matt on the mission to rewscue the Emperor's missing brother forgotten.

While the servants of the Empire enumerated earlier in this volume acted in keeping with their loyalty, it should not be forgotten that a sizeable portion of the team were members of the tribes, not pledged to Imperial service- indeed, all but one of those who held the initial line defending the ritual site were not directly affiliated with or loyal to the Empire, and three of the five shugenja whose ritual sealed the breach with Jigoku were tribal in their affiliation.

In this, Shiba's wisdom in not persecuting the tribes and in pursuing peaceful relations with the Nezumi were demonstrated- while at the same time, the actions of the Empire's servants in the course of the expedition demonstrated Rokugan's virtues to those who might have questioned them. No longer could the Nezumi write humanity off as simple primitives, inherently inferior- and no tribesman who witnessed these events could deny the bravery or the capability of the Kami and their followers.

This cooperation would prove an asset in the war that lay in the Empire's future...

[Seidou Satone]

Thanks to all for the contributions here, will make it easier when dawn 3 rolls around!

[Nanzi]

Thanks to Makime.


Heresy is like a tree, its roots lie in the darkness whilst its leaves wave in the sun and to those who suspect nought, it has an attractive and pleasing appearance. Truly, you can prune away its branches, or even cut the tree to the ground, but it will grow up again ever the stronger and ever more comely. Yet all awhile the root grows thick and black, gnawing at the bitter soil, drawing its nourishment from the darkness, and growing even greater and more deeply entrenched.

Such is the nature of heresy, and this is why it is so hard to destroy, for it must be eradicated leaf, branch, trunk and root. It must be exorcised utterly or it will return all the stronger, time and time again, until it is too great to destroy. Then we are doomed.

- Nanzi to his followers

[Jin]

From the Records of Master Jade

Copies to be provided to the other Masters and available to the Jade Sect.

On the Nezumi

Although our alliance began as one of reluctant necessity in the end it was their aid and our magics combined that closed the tear between realms. Without them it would continue to fester and unleash untold evils upon us. While their practice of slavery is distasteful their past slaves are lost and if they do not resume the abhorrent practice they may serve as vital allies to the Empire.

On Name

Nezumi magic does not rely on spirits or the elements as we understand them. Instead it somehow interacts with the entirety of a being's existence both physical and spiritual, past, present, and future. Shinjo has compared this to the power the Sun and Moon used to name the world and all things into being. Have the nezumi managed to somehow tap into some remnant or lesser form of that divine power? We must do our best to meet with them, learn more about this, and study what it means. Is it possible for humanity to learn it? If not is there some way for us to defend against it were our relations with the nezumi to sour?

On the Wikki'thich-hie (For transcription purposes treat ' as a click and - as a squeak and you will be somewhere near correct)

Nezumi who have gained such power with Name that they have transcended life and death to dwell in Yume-do. More powerful than spirits but less than gods they are a mix of leader and faith to the nezumi.

On 'Shiney' Weapons

The nezumi have mastered a form of craftsmanship that seems able to trap and concentrate light within a weapon itself - rendering it capable of harming spirits and other entities immune to iron and stone or even steel. The smith I spoke with suggested this was not a mystical art and it should be possible for humanity to learn it. Smiths trusted by the Jade Sect or welcomed within it should be dispatched to learn what they can post-haste.

On Jade

We have learned that the name of our sect was well chosen indeed. It turns out the celestial jade, perfect in the balance of its elements, can not only protect the wearer from the realm of evil and its influences but also cause harm to those creatures that have surrendered to that corruption. It is vital that a stockpile be prepared for the coming war.

On the Great War

We have learned that the realm of mortals and the realm of evil exist in a cycle of conflict with the latter seeking to invade and corrupt or conquer our home. The exact length between cycles is not yet known but it appears to be centuries if not longer. Yet, despite the youth of our race the cycle is upon us already. We have learned that, within a generation at most, the war shall begin in earnest. The mission we undertook to save Hisomu and seal the pit was but the first, preemptive strike, in this war. We have denied our enemy a foothold and a desired general but the war is still coming and we must be prepared.

On the Thunders

In the coming war we will not be without champions. It seems that the realm has chosen a set few to be its truest defenders - those who will lead the charge in vanquishing the realm of evil from this realm for another cycle. I have learned a method for recognizing these Thunders when found, through mystical means, and I hope to someday be able to teach others we trust to do the same. These Thunders must be found and protected and prepared for what they must face. The vision suggested there would be nine key figures on the side of Ningen-do.

On the Stone Marker (See included maps and rubbings)

Located in the twilight mountains this relic was erected in times nearly forgotten by a group of races known as The Five. Though the writing upon it has eroded to illegibility I have taken rubbings from it in the hopes we might be able to compare them to identify other ruins and relics of these races. The marker itself bears further study as, while the outer writing is no longer of use to us, the spirit of the stone itself contains great knowledge that may yet benefit us.

On the Five

A powerful alliance of five prehuman races. They, too, once fought a cycle of the Great War that approaches and it seems they triumphed though likely at great cost which might explain their lack of presence among us, at least as an organized forced, today. It is unknown which races comprised the Five though it seems they did not number the nezumi, the ogres, or the serpents.

On the Trolls

An apparent prehuman race of which I have yet to learn more at this time.

On the Ogres

A prehuman race that once enslaved the nezumi and were eventually enslaved by them in turn. The nezumi state all of them south of their lands were lost to the control of the realm of evil. We can hope that sealing the tear might aid them in recovering their own destiny but it is far too early to tell. What we do know is those so corrupted were fierce and vicious fighters, though not unintelligent, and were responsible for one of the few deaths among the heroes who sought to close the pit. Ryoko, product of union between an ogre and a human, demonstrated strange magical abilities that did not seem to call directly upon the spirits nor require the spending of blood. It is unknown if this is due to her ogre heritage, the blending of the two, or some other reason - but it bears further study.

On the Serpents

A prehuman race of snake people. Sadly not much more is know about them at this time.

On the Ningyo

A race of aquatic humanoids. Apparently they possess the ability to create offspring with humanity. Some of these descendants, in turn, bear the ability to breathe underwater through gills that appear in the presence of water.

On the Koumori

Bat spirits that travel to, and often dwell in, our realm. They take it upon themselves to seek out lost spirits and return them to their proper realms. As such, while this is not their home, I feel they should be tolerated for the greater benefit they provide. It appears they possess the ability to reproduce with humanity as well.

On the Bakemono

Like ogres these small humanoids were once slaves of the nezumi. Also like the ogres the nezumi state all of them south of their lands were lost to the realm of evil. They numbered greatly in the forces arrayed against us. Perhaps the closure of the pit may yet free them from their dark curse but that remains to be seen. The nezumi stated they were near mindless but our warriors reported they seemed to have leaders, if not very skilled ones, who could direct them to a limited extent. If they remain against us they may be more dangerous than the nezumi suspect despite their size.

On the Spider Demon

A giant, monstrous spider that was somehow able to take the form of a small child. We were lucky to fell it quickly in battle though that means its true capabilities remain unknown. It clearly had the ability to produce and traverse webs. Also, given the presence of young, we can assume it is not a singular entity but a representative of a species. We will need to be careful of potential infiltration in the empire.

On the Skin Stealers

A species of creature, apparently humanoid, that could wear the skins of the deceased. In doing so they could mimic their form perfectly and also apparently gained some or all of the memories of their victim. As saboteurs and spies the damage they can do to the Empire cannot be understated - even just in paranoia alone.

On the Ooze Demon

A semi-liquid creature that attacked our questors. It could apparently form multiple tentacles of its matter and was fierce combatant. It seemed to resist weapons not coated in jade.

On the Fire Demon (Author's note: We really need to come up with a better naming convention, we're lucky the beasts we've faced so far do not share dominant traits...)

Responsible for the deaths of one of our companions this creature was intelligent and spoke the tongue of man. It's blood burst into flame in contact with air and harmed those who struck it and their weapons were they not careful. The beast also showed no compunction against injuring itself to launch this flaming fluid as a weapon. Worst of all, in death, in exploded in a wave of fire to lethal results. If we face more of its kind do your best to end them from afar.

On the Horned Demon

A massive demon, more powerful than any we faced, that resided in the realm of evil and emerged into our world chasing those who had descended to the pit. It possessed strength enough to permanently wound a kami and one of dragon born. I suspect it may be one of the greater evils of that realm and may perhaps serve as one of its generals. While it vanished from our realm with the closing of the tear I cannot help but think of the vision of the Great War to come and the Thunders facing off against a horned figure....

On the Walking Dead

The foul magic of the realm of evil can apparently remove even the peace of death if given its sway and turned the bodies of our fallen against us. Though the closure of the pit seemed to remove this animating quality from the corpses we cannot assume it could not make use of this advantage again. I highly recommend burning or dismembering our dead.

On the Planar Ruins

Ancient pre-human ruins, older than the nezumi, marked a site where the distance between all realms was thin. I assume these ruins were thus either a place of research or of worship. More concerning though is the nature of these 'thin spots'. We know that, even with the pit sealed, the realm of evil still intends to make war on our realm. It seems likely that places like this would present the easiest means of entry. I highly suggest we try to work with the nezumi to guard or monitor this location. We should also begin seeking out similar areas elsewhere in the Empire in case this 'thinning' was not unique. Any such weak spots should be recorded and guarded.