Post by Takashi Mandaka on May 24, 2005 23:04:33 GMT -5
The History of the Blue Lotus Clan
Some say an evil spirit possessed Emperor Yumi Hanzagiri. Some say he had been evil from birth. But the fact remains that once Yumi Hanzagiri came to power in the lands of Tokuno, the people suffered great hardships. He preferred to use his darkest Ninja and most heartless Samurai to rule his lands. May people died as a result of his neglect and unreasoning temper. His wife Wei, who had bore him three sons, knew as much as anyone the extent to which the citizens of Tokuno suffered during this time.
She watched every day as her husband twisted his sons to mirror his own ideals and methods for achieving power. There was no hope of a true Samurai developing out of these boys spawned by her wretched husband. For the rest of her days, she lived a troubled life full of despair seeing what the future held for her beloved Tokuno brought forth from her own womb.
When Emperor Hanzagiri died, his wife became Empress of Tokuno. Knowing the people of her lands needed someone in power to heal the wounds her husband had created, she decided to take action for the good of all Tokuno. Before the first year of her term as Empress, she invoked her right to appoint a successor to her thrown. Wei Hanzagiri named Morimoto Nakamura, the only remaining Daimyo in her husband’s army who was a true Samurai of honor, as the next Emperor of Tokuno.
Upon hearing the news, Wei’s three sons gathered up their own forces and stormed the Zento Castle to remove their mother from power and take Tokuno for themselves. But Lord Nakamura stood ready with his own army to protect the Empress. Composed of many Ninja of virtue, as well as all the honorable Samurai he had kept from Emperor Yumi, he thwarted the attempt the three Hanzagiri Daimyos made against the Empress.
Of the forces fighting under the Hanzagiri banner, only the two youngest Daimyo, Lahan and Daizen escaped the battle with their lives. It is believed that they traveled to the island of Homare-Jima, vowing to one day return and restore the Hanzagiri line to power.
Lord Nakamura also survived the battle, as did a handful of his best Samurai and one remaining Ninja, Rokudan Seiji. Soon after the dust had settled, Wei realized the time was now for Nakamura to rise to power. Knowing it to be the only way to atone for her failures as a wife, a mother, and an Empress, Wei Hanzagiri ended her own life by Seppuku. The actual ceremony was where Lady Wei made public her final wish that Lord Nakamura take her place on the thrown of Tokuno.
Traditionally, women who commit Seppuku do so by simulating the cutting of their belly followed by a quick beheading. However, this would not do for Lady Wei. In true Samurai form, she used the wakizashi of her former husband to destroy the very womb Yumi Hanzagiri had used to bring forth his three demon sons into the world.
Thus began the time of Emperor Nakamura. Tokuno enjoyed many years of peace and tranquility as the new Emperor rebuilt Tokuno into a land of beauty and harmony. Many of the wounds healed, but there remained a sinister presence throughout the lands. An evil presence lead by the brothers Lahan and Daizen Hanzagiri, both sworn to destroy the Nakamura Clan and regain control.
During his rein, Nakamura produced three children. His oldest child, a son named Ujio, found himself drawn to the spiritual side of life and soon joined the Temple of Zento as a monk. His middle child, a son named Hohiro, found his calling in following his father down the path of Samurai. Miko, his last child and only daughter, took to the ways of court and diplomacy as a girl possessed. She saw in politics, a way to help all of Tokuno on a grand scale. She excelled at dealing with people and considered her goal in life to be service to others by making the Empire of Tokuno the best it could possibly be for the good of all its citizens. Even though she was the youngest, her beauty and intelligence earned her the admiration of all she came in contact with, especially with her brothers Ujio and Hohiro who loved her to no end.
During her life, Miko was under the constant protection of the Ninjas within the Nakamura army. Over the years, she fell in love with the leader of her protectors, Soke Seiji. The same ninja who helped her father defend his honor during the previous attack of the former Daimyos. There’s was a whirlwind love affair that local poets wrote about constantly. The citizens of Tokuno rejoiced in how out of the ashes left by the Hanzagiri rein, such a profound sense of hope could well up. And no other symbol of this hope existed more so than the love everyone could see grow between Miko and Seiji each day as they shared their lives with each other.
As if a gift from the great spirits, one day portals opened up throughout the lands of Tokuno, bringing with them explorers from far distant lands which would be known as the Lands of Britannia. Realizing the benefit this could bring to their fair lands, Emperor Nakamura ordered Soke Seiji to send five of his best ninja to begin exploring these new lands. Knowing he could not go himself, Seiji sent his most trusted friends and students to take on this burden on behalf of the Emperor. Soon Myreuki, Takashi, Shinto, Bishimi, and Turgon departed on their quest to explore Britannia.
They soon returned with news of great wondrous sights they had seen. Seiji realized that he must see these sights for himself. Accompanied by the Emperor’s eldest son Ujio, they returned with Seiji’s ninja back to the new lands. Soon after, Seiji and Ujio returned to Zento Castle only to find the beginning of what would be the Hanzagiri brothers attempt to exact revenge on the Nakamura Clan.
In the castle, they found that Emperor Nakamura and his middle child Hohiro had been assassinated by the former Daimyo Lahan and his group of ninja. They also quickly discovered that Miko had been kidnapped back to a remote area of Homare-Jima. Knowing that time was not on his side, Seiji left in pursuit of Lahan.
Unknown to Seiji, former Daimyo Daizen had simultaneously sent his most trusted assistant Gozu to gain access to the Zento Castle and steal all of the wealth the Nakamura Clan had. After loading all of the treasures onto ships waiting near a remote area of Makoto-Jima, Gozu left to rendezvous with Lord Daizen while Lord Lahan returned with the only daughter of the former Emperor.
While Daizen waited for Gozu and ships that would never reach land again, Seiji tracked down and destroyed all of Lahan’s forces, rescued his lover, and killed Lord Lahan himself. But not before receiving a mortal wound which soon resulted in his own death in the arms of his beloved Miko. As he died, she placed a rare blue lotus on his chest to symbolize their love for each other and his dedication to the lands of Tokuno.
Ujio soon found the pair and quickly brought Miko back to Zento while dispatching word that the ninjas sent to Britannia return as soon as possible. The reality of what transpired soon came crashing down on Ujio. When faced with the possibility of assuming his fathers place on the thrown, Ujio asked that Miko fulfill her destiny and allow him to return to his true calling in the role of a simple monk. He too loved the people of Tokuno and knew she was far more capable of bringing their dream for these people to reality than he ever could.
After receiving the news of what transpired, the ninjas returned to recover the body of their fallen leader. After he was committed to the ground, Miko Nakamura was made Empress of Tokuno. That very same day, she gathered her beloved Seiji’s closest friends with her and ordered them to create a new Clan. They would forever be in the service of Empress Miko, but only in secret. No matter what the future held, she would not allow this clan to be controlled by someone who would abuse the power they held. They would now form the Blue Lotus Clan in remembrance of their former master, and her fallen soul mate. Bound by blood in the service of Tokuno, but free to work from outside political control.
The Blue Lotus Clan was henceforth tasked with three primary goals. The first was to continue to help protect the City of Zento, secondly was to find and destroy Lord Daizen, and last but most important was to go forth into the lands of Britannia and serve new masters in an effort to spread goodwill among the Britannians and help bring others to their lands to aid bring an end to the Hanzagiri line.
With that, the first leader of the Blue Lotus Clan, Soke Myreuki began his quest to build the Blue Lotus Clan into a Clan worthy of the legacy Soke Seiji created for them. With the aid of Shihan Takashi, Shihan Shinto, Shidoshi Bishimi and Shidoshi Turgon, the Blue Lotus Clan started the journey towards honor and daily fulfillments of their oaths.
With the loss of all the treasures held by Empress Miko and her clan, the surrounding lands soon fell into chaos with her army forced to withdraw into the City of Zento itself. Now the islands of Isamu-Jima and Homare-Jima are infested with evil Ronin and elite Ninja still under the apparent control of Daizen Hanzagiri.
The lands of Tokuno seem to be slipping back into Chaos. But the future of the Blue Lotus Clan remains to be written.