The 2013 GenCon page is now live and contains the listing of the L5R CCG and RPG events you can register for through the GenCon registration system for this year’s best four days in gaming. Bookmark it as we will be adding detailed information (storyline prizes etc…) on the various events as the convention time draws near.

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Coils of Madness, Part 3

By Seth Mason & Robert Denton

Edited by Fred Wan

Asahina Konomi knelt on the grass where she had spent so much of her life. Her rich, blue kimono was stained with a mixture of sweat, water, and ash that hung in the air. In the place where she had painted, tended flowers, and listened to the wild song of the curious air spirits in the Colonies, she stared down at her hands.

They were useless.

Her paintings were supplanted by the images of violence that shook the city. Her flowers, wilted and trampled as crazed men and women tore through her modest home and the grounds. The song of the spirits had been replaced by a howling and roaring of madmen and fire.

She felt alone. The Colonies were to be a dream – a place of beauty and possibility. A place of growth, learning, and exploration. A new age of wonder. But it had all been denied. It had been cut off.

She, like the Empire, had been severed from her own dreams.

As Konomi wept, she heard several people approach her. She looked up with red-rimmed, hopeful eyes. She did not belong in a world like this, and she no longer wanted to try. A man brought down a jagged spar of wood towards her back, and the shugenja closed her eyes, smiling in gratitude.

Her dreams had died, but she was going to meet them now.

* * * * *

Shinjo Tselu looked at the letter in his hands, the chop unmistakable. “There are fires in the SecondCity,” he said aloud, and several of his magistrates heard. The Ivory Champion and a team of twelve of his most trusted scouts and trackers had left the city two days previously, following the command that had come from Toshi Ranbo – Tselu was to find Suikihime, and drag her back to the SecondCity in chains.

And now, it seemed, the task was all too simple.

Tselu-san,

There is a Mantis diplomat leaving the Second City through the northern gate and traveling to the northwest to a place where, presumably, the former Governor is hiding. Two agents are with him, and these agents will be marking a trail that any trained scout might follow. I am certain you are up to the task. Additionally, you may wish to know the fires and riots currently plaguing the city have only engulfed roughly a fourth of the city’s area.

The Ivory Champion frowned again after re-reading the letter. Iweko Shibatsu, he had learned, had something of a dark sense of humor. The Imperial Heir had of course known that this would have been the first Tselu would hear about any violence in the city he was supposed to be protecting. Shibatsu was offering him a dilemma, or a choice – the Heir would probably say the two things are the same.

“Tensin,” Tselu said, raising the letter slightly. A man in the trappings of an Ivory Magistrate wearing the mon of the Hiruma noble family stepped to the Champion’s side quickly. Tselu regarded the Crab for a moment – a brave but jovial man that had survived everything that had plagued the SecondCity from its inception all the way through the siege by the Imperial Legion. He was exactly the kind of man he wanted by his side now.

Which is why he would have to be the one to find Suikihime.

In the long shadows of mid-morning, Tselu put a hand on his officer’s shoulder. “Tensin-san, I am returning to the SecondCity, but I am about to give you a mission of the utmost importance…”

* * * * *

Bayushi Higaonna nodded in approval. “Excellent work,” he said to his yoriki as the building at the end of the street collapsed, flooding the area with debris. A horde of rioting, howling men and women staggered back from the ruin, moving away from the Scorpion magistrate and his few men. Higaonna had tried to rally what few of the Ivory Magistrates he could find, but most of them were dead when he reached their posts or homes. A sad few of them seemed to be taken by whatever madness had gripped the city. The dead ones, Higaonna reasoned, were probably simply unprepared for what they faced when they went to go restore order by themselves or in pairs.

The Scorpion had not made that mistake.

As the mob he deterred shifted and moved around, he looked to the north. There, several skirmishers trained by the Shosuro and loyal to him forced a group of the rioters backwards and towards the first mob. After they had pressed the enemy back, one of the Scorpion dumped out oil in the street and lit it ablaze. They, too were trapped with the other group.

“Now,” Higaonna said with some satisfaction, “we will gather our strength as they tear each… other…”

The Ivory Magistrate’s words trailed off into silence as he saw the two groups meet, but offered each other no violence. Instead, the stronger among them began to hurl themselves into the fallen debris that Higaonna had laid out. With more manpower behind them, they began breaking, throwing, and pushing through the wreckage.

The Scorpion’s eyes grew wide in surprise for a moment, but he raised his weapon. “Retreat!” he called out, turning to his men and motioning for them to fall back. “Regroup with the-”

Higaonna’s speech was cut off a second time as a jagged stone flew across the distance and struck him firmly in the back of the head.

* * * * *

Shosuro Konishi dropped from the rooftop without a sound, allowing his momentum to guide the short blade in his palm down into the skull of the first guard. The second Spider was on him in an instant, however. Konishi stepped back quickly, dodging three strikes in turn, any one of which would have mortally wounded him. The Spider guard made a strong, but precise swing, and Konishi sidestepped it again, now having judged his opponent’s rhythm. A second later, the ninja was behind his prey and make a quick stab into his throat and then lung.

Konishi caught the man before he fell and made a noise, and looked around. Only two guards. There didn’t seem-

The Scorpion’s world exploded in pain as he felt a solid unarmed attack connect on the back of his head. Fortunately, the Shosuro was able to roll with the strike, having sensed his opponent just in time. Instead of being dazed on the ground, he rolled forward and reversed his stance as he came back to his feet.

Opposite him, a dark-clad figure stood, his arms folded. The light and shadow around the Goju seemed to bend and warp unnaturally, but only slightly. “I was hoping to meet Nobu-san again,” the Spider said with clear disappointment. “I did not relish the idea of being put on guard duty in a fixed place when such an interesting opponent was so near.”

“You are, perhaps, the thing called Bunoro?” Konishi asked. “I believe Nobu mentioned you. He said you were obsessed with him, but sadly he was too busy with important duties to dispatch you. I believe he mentioned one of his students would probably get assigned such a minor task at a later point.”

Bunoro’s eyes narrowed, and in a blink, he crossed the distance between the two men, making a quick cut at Konishi’s throat with his blade.

Konishi, however, dodged aside as if he had been waiting for it. “Slow. Lazy,” the Scorpion said, flipping backwards and grabbing the top of a short wall on the edge of the small estate. “I can see why Nobu didn’t bother with you.”

The Scorpion leapt to the other side of the wall, and Goju Bunoro gave chase, vanishing into one shadow, emerging from another, and crossing through the wall itself.

A moment later, Bayushi Nomen emerged through the main entrance gate, a yojimbo behind her. The Jade Sun was now high in the sky, but it didn’t matter. The light from the sun was partially obscured from the cloud of choking smoke that had begun to gather over the city. Storm clouds were thickening, and the humidity caught it all together in what felt like a fog of ash. The darkness gave the city the illusion of dusk, and Nomen found it had been easy to move around the city in such circumstances.

The Scorpion courtier nodded to her guard, and he strode forward, forcing open the door to Otomo M’rika’s current home. No one might have guessed an Imperial noble lived here, especially with Spider guards, but Nomen was beginning to understand certain facts about the woman. Facts that were about to become extremely useful.

“M’rika-sama?” Nomen called out, stepping into the unlit main area behind her guard. “Are you still here, or have you fled?”

A lithe, beautiful older woman stepped from one of the doorways into view. Her eyes fixed on the two Scorpions in what Nomen knew was a look of complete hatred. However, the practiced serenity on M’rika’s other facial features never wavered.

“My lady Otomo,” Nomen said, bowing. “We are sent by the interim Governor to check on your wellbeing. It seems your guards outside are dead. I believe the rioters may have been nearby.”

Behind M’rika, another figured emerged, his sword drawn. Shinjo Kinto looked at the intruders warily, but relaxed himself when it was apparent they were not hostile. “I believe I know you,” Kinto said. “Nomen, is it? One of the functionaries at the Scorpion Embassy?”

“Yes, Commander,” Nomen said, adopting a look of surprise. “What a coincidence to find you here! Before I had left the Embassy, it seemed I was overhearing a problem that lord Kuni Renyu was having in locating you. He would be most eager to see you returned to command the Legion in the face of this current situation, but understands the bonds of honor bid you stand by your current host and protect her life.”

Kinto nodded, giving a sideways glance to M’rika. “It is so,” the Commander agreed.

“Perhaps if the Lady were to allow us to substitute my own guard for your service, until the threat to the city has passed?” Nomen asked, taking a step towards M’rika and making a friendly, open gesture with her hands.

The Unicorn did not see it, but the Scorpion was palming a small, sharpened edge made from jade. And she was remarkably close to the Otomo, who noted the weapon with a quick flicker of her gaze back and forth between it and Nomen’s eyes.

“We would be in your debt, M’rika-sama,” Nomen continued, as if nothing unusual was happening. “Consider it a favor owed to you by the Scorpion,” she added. “Something I’m certain we can find a way to repay. Information, perhaps? Information you would like… or would like to keep to yourself?”

There was a tense silence in the room, and Shinjo Kinto waited, his hand never leaving his sword. He wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but his instincts told him that violence might erupt at any moment.

Finally, M’rika nodded, barely enough to be seen.

Nomen smiled, lowering her hands, and then extended one – completely empty, now – to Kinto. “If you would follow me please, Commander,” she said with a smile.

* * * * *

Hiruma Nitani signaled his scouts for silence. The Crab force had spent a week patrolling to the south, searching for signs of the Spider who were attacking Crab and Lion holdings, and had finally caught their trail. The scout found himself surprised, however, when it became apparent the Spider were heading towards the SecondCity rather than further military targets.

As Nitani formed plans to move around the Spider and report back to Kuni Renyu, he was immediately aware something was wrong. The commander of the Spider unit – a Tainted man he learned was named Gyoken – was nowhere to be seen. The force was actually missing several men that the Crab scout had grown familiar with.

“Down!” Nitani hissed, “To cover!”

It was, the seasoned warrior knew, simply too late.

Spider soldiers burst through the thick vegetation of the jungle, immediately killing four of Nitani’s men. The scout was well trained and had seen  a great many of the tricks and powers that were granted by the corruption of Jigoku. How these soldiers had managed to ambush him, however, remained a mystery.

It was a riddle for another time, though, and Nitani fired an arrow that immediately slew one of the attackers. He smiled in grim pride as his Crab warriors fell into formation instantly, coming to the defense of one another and providing a difficult line for the Spider to break.

Because of this, it came as something of a surprise when blood began to trickle from his mouth. Nitani looked down, and a wicked blade from a spear protruded from his chest. With a jerk, the blade was pulled free, and the Crab scout felt the strength drain from his body as he collapsed to one knee. Blood flew from his mouth as he coughed and felt as if he were choking – he realized in some small corner of his mind that he had been speared through the lung.

A dark-clad soldier walked slowly in front of him, and Nitani looked up to meet the gaze of Daigotsu Gyoken. There was something in the man’s eyes that was more than just the frantic madness of the Lost he had seen so many times. Gyoken was something else… Nitani, in the darkness of his dying mind, though that it was not just something else. It was something more.

“Jade,” the Spider said with a feral grin. He reached under his armor and pulled out a strand of jade beads that had been pressing against his chest. Gyoken’s fingers burned and hissed as he touched it, and the Tainted man narrowed his eyes and grinned even more fiercely – as if he enjoyed the pain. “You Crab are excellent scouts, trained for years to detect both mundane signs and the Taint. But I have found that once you realize your enemy is touched by the blessings of Daigotsu, you rely on your ability to sense and understand such a thing. It is odd how well jade not just burns us, but seems to suppress some of the things you are trained to detect.”

Gyoken laughed, looking back at the Crab soldiers who were dying one by one as their line was demolished by the other Spider who had joined the fight. “Of course, if any of your men were half the veteran you were, this would have been impossible. How fortunate for me that your clan has enjoyed the luxury of a quiet Shadowlands for this generation.” The Spider commander turned back to his enemy. “War is thirsty work,” he said with that same, wild smile. He returned the blackened jade to its previous place, and he removed a vial with dark, red fluid in it from his obi. “We are both civilized men, Hiruma-san. I will give you something to drink.”

* * * * *

“It is fortunate that Commander Kinto allowed me to take temporary leave of the Legion before he became indisposed,” Tsuruchi Yashiro said, firing another arrow into the eye of a peasant that had rushed their position. “When he assumed the Mantis could make better use of me than the Legion at this point in time, I had no idea how correct he would be.”

“We would not even be in this situation,” Kakita Sasa said darkly as she beheaded someone she recognized as a merchant, “if it were not for your clan’s insistence on meeting here.”

The preliminary talks between the Mantis and Crane, like all of the affairs of the SecondCity, had been interrupted first by the arrival of a Phoenix emissary. Some minor noble had come to speak with Yoritomo Sachina and Doji Iza for some purpose, but he had been turned away. Whatever it was the Phoenix needed, it could not have been as vital to either clan as the private negotiations they were trying to hold.

Such an assessment was correct, it turned out, but it was not as large of a difference of importance as any of them had imagined.

Behind Yashiro and Sasa, Yoritomo Sachina looked around. There was a trail of dead peasants and samurai behind them – the men and women who had been driven mad seemed to lose most of their discipline as combatants, as well – but she realized someone was missing. “Where is Daigotsu Subudi?”

Daidoji Sosuke frowned, “I find it difficult to care much,” he said in response. “I am currently too busy fighting for my own life. Which, again, might have not been the case if the Mantis had agreed to have these talks elsewhere. Or perhaps, if I had not been summoned-”

“That is enough,” Doji Iza said, her voice carrying a commanding tone that surprised even her. “I am certain Subudi-san has made his way to his own allies. For the time being, we must find a way back to the Imperial District, I am certain it is the safest position. From there, we may fortify ourselves in the Crane Embassy.”

Tsuruchi Yashiro pointed to the heart of the city, realizing that the chaos around them had abated – or rather no one seemed interesting in killing the five of them at that exact moment. The looting and screams still continued as men and women ran through the streets. “There,” he said, pointing to the plumes of thick smoke, all of which seemed to be emerging from the Imperial District. “I think that disagrees with your assessment of safety, Iza-san.”

Sasa stepped in front of the two Cranes and indicated a direction to go. “This way. I know a rather paranoid man who built his estate with a mind for defense. If we can reach him, we may have a better chance.”

Iza looked to the Kakita, then back to the two Mantis. “It is unlikely we will make it alone,” she said to neither of them in particular.

Sasa nodded, and then immediately swung her sword in a flash. The tip of her blade rested on Yoritomo Sachina’s throat. “Your word of honor, then, Tsuruchi-san. On her life, you will try no trickery or betrayal while we combat this threat.”

Yashiro’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment his wrists flexed. He seemed to be deciding if he was fast enough or not. Finally, he relaxed. “Trickery? Betrayal? I am not currently the one with my sword to the throat of someone on a diplomatic mission.”

Kakita Sasa looked at her sword and, briefly, confusion crossed her face. “No, of course,” she murmured, sounding subdued and tired. “I apologize. It seems I am allowing the stress of the situation to affect me. Your word of honor without a threat is sufficient, Yashiro-san.”

The Mantis nodded, and indicated the way they were going. “Direct me from the rear, Sasa-san. I believe I have been trained to spot threats faster than you might. And if anyone reaches us from behind, you will be able to deal with them easier.” As Yashiro walked by Sachina, he whispered, “If they show any sign of treachery, my lady, I will kill them at your word.”

Kakita Sasa watched as the others formed a loose formation with her in the rear. As they marched forward, all she saw was Sachina’s back, and the grip on her sword tightened. She had not made the conscious choice to strike out at the Mantis diplomat. He arm, or the sword itself, seemed to strike of its own accord… but that was the way of honor, she told herself. Her blade sought justice. As the red haze of anger faded from her mind, she reaffirmed that was what she sought. Justice.

Somehow, the silent words to herself seemed to ring hollow.

* * * * *

Shinjo Tselu sat on his mount, at the fore of his soldiers. Looking to his side, he regarded the shugenja who traveled with him.

Moto Ming-Gwok smiled thinly, his mouth showing beneath his macabre half-mask. “Do you think I will turn on you, Tselu-sama? Do you fear the corrupting touch of P’an Ku on a man such as myself?” The shugenja had ridden out to meet the Ivory Champion and his few magistrates, bringing other members of the Ivory Magistrates with him. He had been given a vision, the shugenja told Tselu, and he had shared what the Phoenix had learned about the mad dragon.

“If I may be blunt, Moto-san: you wear a skull on your face, worship the Fortunes of Death, and are known to attempt to commune with the spirit of the Moon. I am not a scholar, but perhaps you understand where I might not think those were… calming influences.”

The death priest chuckled. “P’an Ku attempts to drown us in his madness, to choke us until all we breathe are the waters of his insanity.” Moto Ming-Gwok turned and his dark eyes bored into Tselu’s. “The Lords of Death and the Moon themselves are masters of depths even P’an Ku dares not tread. It has been my blessing to dive deep into these waters and emerge unharmed.”

The Ivory Champion decided not to question the man further, fearing he might answer in more detail. “Very well,” he said, drawing the blade of the Ivory Champion. “If you would, please, Moto-san.”

“The will of the Lords of Death is insurmountable,” the Unicorn intoned, raising his palms to the reinforced wood and metal that comprised the northern entrance to the SecondCity. Gates that had been barred in some misguided attempt to contain the riot and now kept Tselu’s forces at bay. They could ride around, but the Moto had insisted he might be able to remove the obstacle. “Age and decay take us all, but today, the eyes of death are fixed upon that which believes it might hold back the will of the Heavens. The will of death. The fury of the Empress’ law!”

Ming-Gwok’s hands pushed outward as his voice rose, and the gates buckled slowly. The metal holding them together groaned. Wood cracked, and the barriers finally fell in a cloud of wood dust and rust flakes.

“In the name of the Empress,” Tselu said, pointing his sword at the chaos that was revealed on the other side. “Save those who have not fallen, bring merciful death to those who have. Restore the rule of law.”

As one, the few remaining Ivory Magistrates charged.

* * * * *

The soldiers of the Ninth Legion cheered. Their exuberant cries rang out over the nearby din of the SecondCity’s chaos. As Shinjo Kinto rode towards his men, a banner carrier holding his personal standard, a slight smile crept onto his face. He never considered himself much of a soldier – he had been a good warrior, a talented scout, and a canny tactical observer. The concept of command structure and obedience never sat well with him, though, and many simply attributed it to his Shinjo blood. Kinto knew better. He was simply a badly-tempered samurai, and a poor soldier. He looked upon honorable, disciplined command with contempt.

That felt like a lifetime ago, now, as he felt his heart beat in time with the soldiers chanting his name.

Seppun Ryota moved to take the Commander’s reins as Kinto pulled his horse to a halt. “Commander,” the young Imperial officer said with a wide smile. “We are gratified to have you back. The men grow restless, and we were unsure what to do about the riots in the city. We were asked to stand aside by the Imperial Heir, and we were unsure if… well…”

Kinto dismounted and clapped his hand on Ryota’s back, drawing a surprised look from the Seppun. “You weren’t sure if Renyu was going to use the Legion in some power play?”

“It was… not an impossibility,” the officer hedged, looking away.

“You’re a smart man, Ryota,” Kinto said, indicating the younger samurai should follow him as he approached the men. “You’re going to make a smart commander someday, I’m sure. Probably over the Ninth, once my luck finally runs out.” Kinto raised his hands to quiet the soldiers down, and his voice rang out, “We move out in twenty minutes, men and women of the Imperial Legion! We move for the sake of the Empress’ city! We fight so that the law and order we came to enforce here is not lost!”

Ryota and Kinto watched the soldiers start preparing to march, and the Seppun reached into his obi. “Commander, these have come today, addressed to the Legion in general. I had considered opening them in your absence, but when I had heard you had been released, I waited for you.”

Kinto nodded and took the scrolls, cracking their seals and reading the short reports in turn. One was a report from the city’s standing army. There was a force amassing at the south, led by Daigotsu Gyoken. The second letter, however, bore the stamp of the Dragon. It was a plea to the Imperial Legion to form up and repel Gyoken’s army, explaining just what had befallen the Spider commander.

It also explained, in less detail, what Gyoken carried. The Commander was vaguely aware of the swaths of land turned to barren fields and ash by whatever it was the Spider had found. Kinto looked down at the second letter, his grip tightening some. He looked over to the soldiers of the Ninth – diminished somewhat from the siege, but their spirits still high. Their honor and devotion unflagging.

… once my luck finally runs out, Kinto’s own words rang in his head.

“Commander?” Ryota asked, his face mirroring the obvious concern on Kinto’s face.

The Imperial Commander took in a breath, and exhaled his worry. If this is was how it would be – to die in a role he never dreamed he would even want to hold – then it was his karma.

“Ready the men,” Kinto said, the smile returning to his face. “We ride.”

Discuss the events of this fiction in our Story Forum!

The post Coils of Madness, Part 3 appeared first on Alderac Entertainment Group.

The Kotei Season was shaken up considerably this past weekend with Warlord front-runner being killed, and the gap between the other contestants narrowing! The conflict between the Empire and the Colonies has narrowed as well! With several events left, anything can happen still, and you – the players – will be the ones who decide! You can find all the results at the 2013 Kotei Results Page.

This weekend we have 3 events – make sure to check out the Kotei Forum to get updates throughout the weekend!

Kotei Fort Mill, SC, USA

Kotei Albuquerque, NM, USA

Kotei Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Good luck this weekend samurai! Utz!

The post Week 10 Kotei Results! Events This Weekend! appeared first on Alderac Entertainment Group.

Coils of Madness, Part 2

By Seth Mason & Robert Denton

Edited by Shawn Carman

“This is disgusting,” Shinjo Sanenari said, frowning as he took another drink of the bitter, brown-black liquid he had been handed. “And you might note I say that as both a Unicorn and a veteran of the Colonies, Fujimura-san.”

“So noted,” the Kitsuki replied with a curt nod. “The Tamori-trained man I procured it from assures me it is quite beneficial, however. It focuses and awakens the mind. I am reasonably certain it is not poison.”

Kuni Renyu drank down his entire cup with a single gulp, only grimacing slightly. “What is it?” he asked, his tone genuinely inquisitive. “The Tamori’s forays into supernatural mixture have always interested me.”

“It is not magic, but a compound of some native plant seed,” Fujimura said. “I will introduce you to Nasuo-san at some later time, perhaps, and you may discuss it with him.”

“To the matter at hand,” Sanenari said, handing his cup to a servant and standing over the map spread across a table in the governor’s court room. “There are riots breaking out in the Temple District, but they are spreading elsewhere.”

“They are not spreading, Shinjo-san,” Akodo Tsudoken said, eyeing the untouched cup near him. “These riots, if you note their position and timing, are not directly related to the others. It is almost as if many different outbreaks merely happened at the same time.” The Captain of the Guard indicated several places in the Artisan and Peasant districts. “Here, and here. Too far apart from the Temple District for it to be a spreading influence of the same riot. And here,” he pointed to a place in the Imperial District, “there is a new report of a mob overrunning a shrine.”

“I see,” The Unicorn replied, nodding. “An excellent observation, Tsudoken-san. I am relieved you are seeing to the city’s defense once again. Tselu-sama may have appointed me the commanding officer of his Ivory Legion in his absence, but I do not have the tactical acumen of either of you.”

The Lion looked at Shinjo Sanenari for a second, looking as if he might retort in some sharp way… and then he softened. “Thank you, Sanenari-san,” he said. “I would note your Ivory Magistrates have done a fine job keeping order in the city while the guard has mended its wounds. I am to understand it was you who sued for peace between the Imperial Legion and the city during the siege, were you not? An honorable exercise, if-”

“Perhaps,” Renyu interjected, “your admiration for one another is less pressing than the issue before us? I have summoned you here for your understanding of the city and tactical observations. Now, what is your assessment of sealing off the Temple District and perhaps attempting to contain the rioters there with archer fire?”

All three of the other attendants looked at Renyu in surprise. Sanenari and Tsudoken exchanged a glance, and then Sanenari looked back to the Crab. “Renyu-san,” the Unicorn said carefully. “You would bring such violence down to the sacred grounds?”
“The violence is there already,” the interim Governor argued. “There is no sense in treading around the fact.”

Fujimura shook her head. “Theological concerns aside, the idea is preposterous,” she said, which drew an immediate glare from Renyu. “You do not have the manpower among the guard or Ivory Legion to enact such a tactic and maintain order in the rest of the city.”

“The Imperial Legion,” Sanenari said quickly. “They have camped outside of the city, as there were no accommodations for them, and to … ease tensions. Perhaps if we were to command them…” He trailed off, sounding as if he knew the idea was futile as soon as he had said it.
“They are unlikely to follow their commands without orders from Shinjo Kinto, or possibly Shinjo Tselu if he were here instead of searching for Otomo Suikihime,” Kitsuki Fujimura said, speaking aloud what Sanenari’s tone had indicated. “Which, fortunately for us all, is something I have anticipated.” The Dragon looked at one of the guards by the chamber doors and snapped her fingers. The guard left, and quickly returned with another man in tow.

“My lords,” Kitsuki Fujimura said, “I believe you are familiar with Daigotsu Bofana, one of the more notable Imperial Explorers.”

Kuni Renyu bristled visibly, and Akodo Tsudoken turned to face the Spider bushi head on, as if he expected the newcomer to attack.

“I believe Bofana-san is able to leverage some influence with Otomo M’rika, who currently holds the Imperial Legion’s commander in her… hospitality,” Fujimura said.

The Crab waved a dismissive hand, “Get it out of my sight,” he growled. “Even if it were able to do such a thing, Kinto-san is days away, unable to answer the summons of duty due to an unfortunate coincidence of politics.”

“Your information is out of date, Lord Renyu,” Bofana said, bowing his head in deference. “It is within my power to speak with the Lady Otomo this night, as she and her guest were residing in the city as of three days ago. All you need do,” the Tainted man said with no smile visible beneath his all-concealing mask, “is ask for this favor from the Spider.”

* * * * *

Akodo Nojima tore the red lantern down from its stand outside, and broke it on his knee. Lantern oil poured from the wound in the glass, and amidst the chaos around him, he carried it, trailing flammable oil, into the Tavern of the North Wind. He ignored the frenzied mob inside, who were stealing bottles of the tavern’s famous chilled sake and shochu, as he poured the oil throughout the tavern, carefully rationing it so that it did not run out until the common’s room had been thoroughly soaked.

“What are you doing!?!”

Nojima turned towards the voice; it was an old woman in fine silks, her eyes wide with fear. He knew she was Kurujo the Old, the heimin merchant owner of this tavern. He paid her no mind as he tore a rag from behind the counter, tying it on a piece of broken furniture, a makeshift torch. He carried this outside, pausing only to soak the rags in one of the oil puddles.

As she realized his intentions, Kurujo grew horrified. She followed him outside, shoved rudely by the mobs of people pouring in and out of her establishment. They greedily took everything she had, men and women who’d feared and respected her, now shoving her aside like a helpless old woman. She stumbled into the street, falling to the ground in a heap as Nojima drew his lighting flint from his obi.

“Someone stop him!” Kurujo pleaded. The most powerful and prideful of the heimin merchants, now tear-streaked and brought to her knees. She was grasping at the air, filling the night with her desperate pleas. “Save the izakaya,” she cried, “and I’ll give you all my wealth! I’ll give you anything! Please!”

The Akodo was not listening. No one listened. People were swarming out of the sake house, their arms overburdened with condensation-glistening containers. Bumping and shoving, they littered the ground with ceramic cups and sake bottles, every few moments punctuated with a smash as one slipped to the embrace of the street. Kurujo bent her old, shaking frame and pressed her hands together, rivers pouring from her eyes. “Please! Please!”

With an otherworldly calm, the samurai lit his torch. The fire danced in his glassy eyes. “For years I watched mutely as drink ruined my life,” he said. “I watched it kill my uncle, after the death of my cousin. Drink is a poison of the mind and soul.” His widening gaze turned to his hands, which curled around the torch and shook. “It must be purged!”

He hurled the torch into the tavern, feeding the glistening network of lantern oils that littered the floor. Those caught in the doorway erupted into flame, the oil having soaked into their clothes as they scrambled on the floor. They ran screaming into the night, lighting fires with their panic.

“No!” The old woman scrambled to her feet and vanished into the smoking doorway of the izakaya. That was the last anyone would ever see of the powerful owner of the North Wind Tavern.

Akodo Nojima held his arms wide, laughing as the smoke billowed into the sky. “I am free!” he cried. “I am free!”

* * * * *

“The Crab Embassy is being overrun,” Bayushi Nomen said in clipped tones as she approached the silent form of Bayushi Shibata.

“People constantly cry out for fairness,” the older Scorpion observed, looking at the fires that engulfed part of the Imperial District, now. “And yet, what is more fair and equitable than fire? It cares not for station, power, influence, money, or honor. Yet, who among us celebrates the advance of a fire, in all of its equality?”

“Shibata-sama,” Nomen snapped, “we do not have time for your philosophical reflections. The Crab require aid, and the Dragon have lost many of their agents in the fires of the Temple District. Our allies require help, and many are looking to you for guidance. We need your word on-”

“The Crab.”

Nomen narrowed her eyes. “Shibata-sama, I think-”
“Stop thinking and do as you are told, girl,” the man almost growled. “You were about to tell me we did not have the resources to assist both, were you not? That we were to make some gut-wrenching decision that pitted our loyalty to one ally against another? The Crab. We choose the Crab. We will choose the Crab again after this. The Dragon have their friends in the Phoenix and … the Spider,” the last was said with some remorse, as if Shibata were mourning a regrettable situation that might have been avoided. “Renyu will need us, though he would be unwilling to say such a thing out loud. The Dragon may forgive us in time, but perhaps they will not. There are many matters that are bringing our relation with Togashi’s clan to a breaking point, Nomen-san, and sometimes there is no point to subtle maneuvering or manipulation when the plain reality of a situation serves better.” He turned away from what he was watching, and Nomen saw that there was some regret in the old man’s eyes. “We honor our pact with the Crab, or countless Scorpion will die in Rokugan for our folly, our breaking of faith with the Hida, the Kaiu, and the Kuni families. What need have we for the Dragon in the face of such a thing?”

* * * * *

The stables were quiet when the servants arrived. They were far from the fires and the noises of the dying, and instead, darkness overtook the corners of the stables. The two quietly entered, their bare feet stepping on layers of cold hay. The shoji door that separated them from the rest of the stables was cracked just enough to slip through. They heard the shuffle of horses within, and through the gap, saw a few of them ambling around. Why weren’t they in their stalls? Tobiko looked at her brother, nervously.

“Yoshie?” Toshi called out. He heard the shuffle of horses, but no reply. That, and an odd crunching noise that he couldn’t identify. “Yoshie?” he tried again, “It’s Toshi. I’m here with my sister. I-I have to ask a favor.”

No reply. Just shuffling. Crunching.

“Just take one,” Tobiko urged suddenly, surprising her brother. She pushed on his back. “Yoshie won’t mind. Let’s just get a horse and leave!”

Toshi swallowed his fear and nodded. He didn’t know how to ride a horse, but how hard could it be? Quietly, he placed his hand on the shoji door and pulled it aside.

The door was halfway open when he froze. The horses were all outside of their stalls, wandering the vast interior of the stables. There was a dim lantern-light cast from within, and his eyes spotted the outline of Shinjo Yoshie. She was standing among the horses, mostly still. Her arms were moving, he could tell, but in the dim light, he could not see what she was doing.

“It’s Yoshie!” he said, and at once flung the shoji door aside. His sister peered into the room, and they both watched as the horses shuffled around her. She didn’t make any motions towards them, didn’t even acknowledge Toshi’s voice. She remained still. Toshi felt sick, for reasons he couldn’t immediately identify, absently realized that the sounds of chomping had grown louder.

The horses were in front of Yoshie, their necks bent down to feed on something along the floor. Their loud chewing, the chomping of their teeth, echoed throughout the stables. She was facing the doorway, but she wasn’t looking there. Her eyes were distant, as good as blind through the constant stream of tears that fell from her face. But her expression wasn’t sad; she was grinning, eyes wide. For a moment, the horses parted, and that is when the two samurai saw the knife in her hand.

Toshi’s gaze widened in horror. The horses chewed at the ground, blank-eyed. The night was filled with wet crunching. The woman didn’t flinch as she held out her arm. Her hand hung flimsily from a fleshless wrist. From the massive gap in her forearm, her bone glistened in the dim light.

Absent-faced, she took her knife and carved another thick strip of flesh from her arm, letting it fall heavily to the stable’s hay-laden floor. It quickly vanished among the horses’ red mouths. “Yes,” she cooed as she carved another, “my precious children. Eat. Eat.”

* * * * *

Daigotsu Arakan stood quickly as someone entered the central chambers of the estate. Guards had been posted to refuse all visitors, so it was likely a threat approached. Once he saw who had entered, he took his hand from his sword and bowed his head.. “Mirumoto Ichizo-sama,” the Spider said almost reverently. “I had no idea… why are you alone?” his tone changed quickly to concern as he noticed the man had his blades out and was covered in blood and soot. “By the Fortunes,” the Spider said, “are you injured? What has happened? Has the fighting reached Lord Kanpeki’s estate walls?”

Ichizo seemed unfazed by the barrage of questions as he moved into the main chamber and turned to an attendant. “The box I have left in my quarters here. You have my permission to enter the room.”

The Dragon watched the servant leave, then looked at Arakan, irritation plain on his face. “The Dragon embassy was assaulted. The Temple of the Rising Dragon has been burned to the ground. Arakan-san,” the Mirumoto said, looking back out to the street. “I was recalled weeks ago from the west to deal with this sudden conflict between the Lion and your clan. I was not aware of the Imperial siege until I arrived, and I found myself trapped here due to it.” He watched the man who had left now return with the box he had requested. “I have had to endure insult and shame since stepping foot back here, and now I have been forced apart from much of my clan here while they die. I might have been guarding Fujimara-sama as she was summoned by Lord Renyu. I might have defended the Temple. Instead, I was busy attempting to discern the nature of your attack on the Lion.”

He opened the box, where several glass bottles were carefully arranged. Deftly, he picked up two small ones and used one with a rag to clean his swords. Another, he imbibed in one quick drink as the Spider looked on. “Out of respect, I have waited. I have attempted to speak through the proper channels of communication, but it has been fruitless. I will ask questions of you now, and if you lie to me, I will kill every man and woman in this estate, and that will only be the start of my retribution.”

Nearby, a guard snarled and stepped towards Ichizo with his hand on his weapon.

“That would be unwise,” Arakan growled quickly, looking at the guard. He raised his voice so that the other bushi and servants in the area could hear him speak. “You will answer Ichizo’s questions as if they were Kanpeki-sama’s. Do not doubt this man could make good on the threat he has just spoken. Are we clear?”

Ichizo didn’t bother to see if the others followed Arakan’s orders. “For your sake, Arakan-san, we will talk in private.” The Dragon sheathed his weapons and walked into one of the adjoining rooms, not waiting to see if he was being followed.

The Spider commander frowned in frustration, but joined Ichizo quickly. “For my sake?” he asked. “Ichizo-sama, you have the high regard of our Champion, and are well known to all of my clan as both a friend, a hand of the Empress, and a swordsman of almost peerless skill. For all of these things, I am showing you a great deal of patience, but the level of disrespect-”

“I do not have time for this, Arakan. Neither do you. Draw your sword or listen to me.”

Arakan reared back slightly in surprise. After a moment, he smiled slightly. “You do know how to command respect amongst my kind,” he said. “Very well, what is it you require?”

“He requires information,” the deep voice of Daigotsu Kanpeki carried through the room as he entered. “And it is time we give it to him.” The Champion of the Spider Clan inclined his head slightly to Ichizo in a respectful gesture. “Lord Regent, it is good to see you again. I had no reason to believe you were in any danger, but I and pleased all the same.”

“I am no longer Regent of your clan, Kanpeki-sama,” Ichizo said, bowing deeply. “But it is time for us to talk as equals once again, if for only a short time. Tell me about the Blood. I have been told the Spider have decided to use it aggressively against the Lion. I wish I had been told sooner, but that is not the point. The Spider are free to make war just as any of the clans, and the weapon was not Tainted, so you are not forbidden from its use. But what has happened is beyond the scope of your orders, I think.” The Mirumoto took a breath and looked the other man squarely in the eye. “Tell me, has Daigotsu Gyoken written reports to you?”

Kanpeki nodded, but did not respond. He looked at Ichizo as if he knew where this was going.

“Have they been erratic?” Ichizo finished. “Somewhat less disciplined or detailed than previously? A condition that is more and more apparent?”

“Yes,” the Spider replied slowly.

“The Phoenix have shared a small amount of information with us,” Ichizo said, motioning vaguely at where Fujimura lay in the next room. “They have several suspicions, but did not state exactly what they were. The pattern of your Gyoken’s behavior falls in line with the things we were warned to look out for while conducting this investigation.”

“What are you saying, Dragon?” Kanpeki asked quietly.

“According to the Phoenix, it is likely Gyoken is under the sway of P’an Ku, the maddened dragon. And through him, P’an Ku now has unleashed a frightening weapon uncontrolled in the Colonies. It is time you end this game. Explain to me what it is you found.”

* * * * *

“We must escape,” Shiba Kudome said, holding her blade at the ready as she watched the mob move like a maddened plague of locusts through the district. It was unclear when the riots had begun to take hold of the Imperial District, but several of the Embassies had already been attacked. As the Jade Sun rose slowly above the horizon, long, deep shadows danced in all directions due to the fires and the natural light.

Behind the yojimbo, Isawa Kimi nodded. “It is so. There is no withstanding this assault, we must find another place to center our strength.”

“No,” Asako Chukage muttered, restlessly crossing his arms and running one hand up and down the opposite arm. “There is no strength, no re-positioning. You do not understand water, Kimi-san, not as I do. We cannot flow up, the waterfall does up move up hill or into the skies.”

Kudome looked at the Master of Water and then to Kimi, tightening her grip on her katana and leaving an unspoken question on her face.

Isawa Kimi shook her head almost imperceptibly. “Explain, please,” the Master of Void asked patiently.

“Up,” Chukage said, waving one hand frantically in the air. “P’an Ku is up, in the heavens. He is everywhere. He is not here for us to gather against, he is gathering against us. He does not even do that! He simply cracks like the air, flows like water, burns like the fire, he rolls like the boulder down the hill, Kimi-san. Do you gather your strength against the boulder? Tell me, when the tsunami crashes against your shore, do you think a firmer stance will give you the fighting chance you need? No. He is up, and you try to maneuver and gather your strength like water, but you ask the water to strike upwards. When does that happen?”
Kimi’s eyes darkened as the implications of what Chukage was saying sank in.

“It does not happen,” the Master of Water said quietly, looking to the side as if he were talking to no one particular. His frantic energy seemed to drain. “I am so tired, my friend. When can we rest? There are so many secrets, too many things to peel back and endure. It pulls back and it feels like I am pulling back my own skin. It hurts my eyes and I cannot continue…” Chukage’s voice trailed off. “There is nothing more there, there are no bones beneath this skin. P’an Ku’s reality is not ours. He has no plans to unfurl, no grand design to thwart. His designs are those of the tide. All there is… is this,” the Master’s voice cracked as he motioned to the riots. “P’an Ku’s influence is a test. What are we? What are we? He asks, what are we? This is how we respond.”

Shiba Kudome shook her head. “No,” she said, a resolve set upon her face. “No. This is not how we respond. This is how the weak respond. I will cut down any who come for you, Masters. Not in hatred, not in madness or fury. But in duty. That is my answer to the dragon’s question. That is all I can offer in this moment.”

Isawa Kimi smiled sadly then, placing a hand on Kudome’s shoulder. “It is all that can be asked, then,” she said. “We retreat, but we must respond. Follow me, my friends, we must make our way to the Governor’s estate.”

* * * * *

The thin form of the Yoritomo moved from his writing desk to his traveling pack. He had brought only few possessions with him for the journey to the SecondCity, despite his wish to travel with his usual provisions for attire and trinkets he might exchange for favors. However, it seemed that it was better he had so little with him this time. Not only had he wanted to enter and leave the city without being noticed much, but it turned out it was easier to prepare to run away from the chaos that had gripped the city when he had only one bag.
As Yoritomo Saigo smelled the smoke from the fires that encroached the Imperial District, he knew it was time to cut his unannounced visit quite short.

The Mantis opened the sliding door to his quarters, and froze completely when he saw the completely still form of Iweko Shibatsu standing on the other side, flanked by two large Imperial guardsmen.

The younger son of the Empress adopted an apologetic look, but did not bother uncrossing his arms or showing any other true signs of worry. “Did I startle you, Saigo-san? My apologies. I imagine you are eager to get to where you are going.”

The aging courtier’s nimble mind immediately provided him with ten different excuses as to why he was fleeing alone or what he was even doing in the SecondCity. As he looked into the dark eyes of the Imperial Heir, however, he pushed them all out of his thoughts. They were useless. “Shibatsu-sama,” the Mantis replied with a low, deep bow, which he eventually folded into a kneeling position.

“By all means, don’t let me stop you from getting back to your… guest. I simply wanted to give you this,” Shibatsu said, extending a hand with several papers rolled together. “And these,” he added, motioning to the guards. “One is travel papers, the others are for your safety. In those papers is a letter for our mutual friend. An invitation. Please tell the Lady Otomo,” he stressed the family name, “that there are many holdouts here who would be happy to see her return. And if these problems are going to persist, perhaps it is time for… some unity.”

Saigo could only keep his eyes downcast as he accepted the scroll. “His lordship is exceptionally generous and wise,” was all he replied.

“Oh,” Shibatsu added as he walked away, alone. “Give Omigawa and Shizuka-san my regards. I would very much like to speak with them when you return.”

After Shibatsu had left, Yoritomo Saigo straightened up and dusted off his legs. “Well, then,” he said brightly. “No sense in standing around uselessly, my friends. Off we go.”

* * * * *

The court of the Governor of the SecondCity had erupted into chaos.

Kitsuki Fujimura held her blade loosely, standing to the side of Shinjo Sanenari as several men and women poured into the court from the main entrance. Others had climbed from the balconies and flooded in. Though she was trained as an observer and investigator, something about the assault made her senses reel. She knew in her mind that there were only a dozen or so intruders, but a wild, screaming voice in her head called for her to see more than a hundred enemies. Enemies everywhere, it was time to flee, to throw her blade down and kill the Unicorn near her out of mercy, lest the virtuous, idealistic man suffer as he watched the order of the city unravel.

Fujimura frowned slightly as she pushed the thoughts aside easily and decapitated an attacker effortlessly. They were nothing.

Sanenari and Tsudoken fought side by side, dispatching five of the intruders – two of which were the guards that had been posted outside the chamber – with little difficulty.

Daigotsu Bofana gutted one attacker with his sword and hurled himself at another that attempted to reach Fujimura. “Behind me, Lady Kitsuki!” the Spider yelled as he drove the man back.

Three from the balcony rushed Kuni Renyu, who took a step back and spoke a single, commanding word. In response, glowing wards in the room burst into brilliant green light, and the three attackers doubled over in agony. In fact, the rest of the remaining intruders followed suit, as did Bofana.

Sanenari and Akodo Tsudoken took the opportunity to quickly finish off the rest, making quick, precise strikes at the necks and chests of their helpless enemies. Fujimura ran to Bofana’s side to catch the Tainted bushi as he began to fall to a knee from the pain. The Dragon looked at Renyu and frowned. “That is sufficient, Renyu-sama,” she said quickly.

Kuni Renyu tossed a disgusted look at Fujimura, but made a cutting gesture in the air and the jade wards relented.

“How did you realize they were Tainted?” Sanenari asked, wiping his blade clean.

Renyu snorted. “Bofana seemed to recognize them. If it knew them, then I found it likely they were marked like it is. I find it unsurprising I was wrong.”

Daigotsu Bofana nodded slightly as he allowed Fujimura assist him. “Indeed,” he said, grunting a little. “They were men and women from a unit that I am familiar with. I oo not know what they would be doing this close to the city, however.”

“They are part of Daigotsu Gyoken’s detachment.”

Discuss the events of this fiction in our Story Forum!

The post Coils of Madness, Part 2 appeared first on Alderac Entertainment Group.

We have received a great number of applications from very enthusiastic people and are in the process of reviewing them all. If you applied and have not received news from us on Monday, May 20th feel free to contact us directly at jobs@alderac.com

The post Job Application Updates appeared first on Alderac Entertainment Group.

We’re reached the halfway mark for the Kotei Season. 30 events down, 30 events to go. The struggle between the Empire and the Colonies sits at a margin of 9 in favor of the Empire, and another Warlord contender has been removed from the race. You can find all the results at the 2013 Kotei Results Page!

At the halfway mark, here is how the Clan Victories in Elimination Rounds sit (Note: These are the total victories each clan has managed to score for themselves over other clans during elimination rounds. It does not count the Play In round of the X-2 cut):

• Crab - Most victories over Phoenix (8 total)
• Crane – Most victories over Dragon and Phoenix (2 total, tied)
• Dragon – Most victories over Lion and Mantis (3 total, tied)
• Lion – Most victories over Phoenix (9 total)
• Mantis – Most victories over Phoenix (8 total)
• Phoenix – Most victories over Crab and Dragon (12 total)
• Scorpion - Most victories over Crab (4 total)
• Spider – Most victories over Phoenix (4 Total)
• Unicorn - Most victories over Mantis (7 Total)
• Unaligned - Most victories over Scorpion (3 Total)

Make sure to check in with the 2013 Kotei Forum for the events this weekend and check back next week as the 2013 Kotei Season rages on!

The post Halfway Mark for Kotei Season appeared first on Alderac Entertainment Group.

The Coils of Madness product page has been updated in regards to the contents of the Tin Boxed set and the cards present in the booster packs. We hope it will clarify any doubts that may still be lingering regarding this exciting product.

Thank you for your support.

The post Coils of Madness page udpated appeared first on Alderac Entertainment Group.

Hey L5R Fans!

Our newest release, Coils of Madness, is a really special set for a number of reasons. It sees the return of many of L5R’s most iconic characters, either in card form or art, it also heralds the return of foils and the introduction of more full bleeds and has its own storyline developments attached to it as you most likely read about in a previous Focus Article.

But that’s not all this set is about storyline wise as it also includes three separate series results all of which we’re going to focus on in this article.

The first storyline results that we see are the completion of the 2012 Jeweled Event series. To that end we have two personalities – Yoritomo Minori, and Asako Kaitoko.
Yoritomo Minori is the result of the Amethyst Championships, where Alex Chionis won with Mantis, and saw Yoritomo Minori elevated to the rank of Amethyst Champion.
Kyle Andersen, defeating former Emerald Championships champion John Seals in the finals, nominated Asako Kaitoko to become an Advisor to the Emerald Champion, Utaku Ji-Yun, who received that title the previous year.

At the 2012 North American Championships, the individuals who were the highest ranking player of their respective factions got to choose a monk to join their clan and help guide them in the future as events grew dire. Each one had a name and a short story describing who they were, which influenced many of the players choices at the event. Here is the full list below!

• Nishoji, the Steel-Eyed – Crab – Eoin Burke
• Asukai, the Tireless – Crane – Crane Donors (Brian Fox was the highest ranking Crane player at this event, and was aided by many of the Crane Clan in order to get to GenCon and play Crane. As a result, he requested that the Crane Donors be honored on the card in his place)
• Kimura, Forgiver of Sins – Dragon – Paul Ashman
• Jikoji, Fist of Stone – Lion – Tim Wells
• Okazaki, Breaker of Wills – Mantis – Eric Gardiner
• Hamuro the Wise – Phoenix – James Donnithrone-tait
• Rokkaku, Master of Scrolls – Scorpion – Jon Butler
• Yunmen, the Whisper – Spider – Jason Pere
• Tsiang, the Benevolent – Unicorn – Randy Green, Jr.
• Sengmai, the Unbreakable – Unaligned – Matt Demand

Finally, at the 2012 World Championships in Barcelona, the players who were the highest ranking for their respective factions got a choice (in order, from highest finishing down) – to select a Minor Clan personality to join their faction, or to refuse their help, and also keep them from seeking the help of other clans. What was remarkable about this event was that the initial sketches for the artwork had come in, and the designs had already been worked on by the Design Team, so the players got to see both the rough sketch of the card artwork, as well as an approximation of what its final ability would be, before they made their choice.

Here are the results!

• Crab – Kasuga Aizawa, the Razor’s Edge – Johann Sliva
• Crane – Suzume Shindo, the Final Blade – Adrian Aragon
• Dragon – Usagi Seki, the Untouchable – Alberto Vazquez
• Lion – Morito Inoue, Scourge of the Plains – Jorge Garcia
• Mantis – Tochiko, the Jagged Tusk of Death – Andre Rinn
• Phoenix – Tonbo Inuyama, the Eye of Tomorrow – Maria Perez
• Spider – Toku Saiga, the Metal Storm – Francisco Gallego
• Unicorn – Komori Miyano, the Shadow Wing – Carlos Saez
• Unaligned – Ichiro Otani, the Stone Breaker – Jack Murray

Many of you may notice a distinct lack of an entry for Scorpion – that is because they chose to deny the aid of a Minor Clan personality, and therefore they do not have a personality representing this Storyline Result in the set. They will however get that personality in a future set.

And that’s all we have for Coils of Madness! We hope you’re enjoying the preview season as much as we are and are looking forward to the remainder of the Kotei Season, to GenCon, to the European Championships, and finally, to the release of Ivory Edition all on the horizon!  Utz!

The post Coils of Madness Focus: Interaction appeared first on Alderac Entertainment Group.

Coils of Madness, Part 1

By Seth Mason & Robert Denton

Edited by Fred Wan

Breath moved in, and it moved out. The great dragon watched as things scattered from the force of the air he breathed – leaves, lives, loves, loaves, lungs.

The spirit worlds all shook slightly as he laughed at the words tumbling out of his thoughts. It was a secret joke, though, so he stopped his laughter quickly. He didn’t want the others to notice him. They took any excuse to say he was sick, or there was something wrong with him. Such little things they used as excuses, and he wouldn’t give them any more.

He didn’t need to breathe, not really. But breathing was normal, wasn’t it? The animals did it. The mortals. Even the Fortunes and Kami breathed – but they didn’t have to, either, now that he thought about it. The gods breathed, but they didn’t have to.

P’an Ku frowned. The Fortunes and the Kami were mad, he realized. They breathed but they didn’t have to.

The dragon turned his attention from the formless planescape of creation – the folds and barriers between the spirit realms – and looked back down on Ningen-Do. The Realm of Mortals was so utterly fascinating to him, of late. He had met such interesting people. People who had such interesting thoughts! There was a man who had desires that tasted like the leaves of a pine tree in spring. A woman who had resolve and honor that felt so interesting in his claws as he snapped it. All of it, so interesting.

I must love these mortals, P’an Ku thought to himself, smiling benevolently down on the world. Everything about them is beauty to me. Is that not love? He wanted to know more of them, to feel their minds and souls pasted across his talons so that he could feel everything they felt. He would devour them whole, have them forever, but he knew that was such a silly thought.

Then they’d all be dead, of course! He laughed to himself, at himself. Such silly idle thoughts. He missed Air – not the Air that was now, but the one that was before. Air understood him, laughed with him. He had forgotten about poor, poor Air. The dragon’s eyes dimmed and narrowed, and he let out of a huff of hot anger at the memory.

The Spirit Realms shook slightly again.

P’an Ku was sad now. Sad and bored. He looked deeper into the Realm of Mortals and he found such fascinating things. The dragon’s eyes lit up and joy spread across his face once again. So many little mortals! They looked like the little toy soldiers of the child, Akodo. They were all moving around though, all on their own. Magical toys.

The toys were thrashing around – blue toys and green toys. Toys in black and grey, toys in darker blues. Toys in yellow fighting other toys in yellow. Or were some of them brown? Men and women. Some mashed themselves together and where groups met, so many fell, broken. He wondered if Amateratsu would fix these toys like she fixed Akodo’s.

Lady Sun was dead. P’an Ku sighed. Dead like Air.

He was bored, again, but he recognized something in the pile of toys. A few of them that he had played with before – a blue man in white hair. A red man with no hair! P’an Ku laughed again at the thought – no hair! And a green man… and another blue man… oh yes, these were some of his favorite toys!

He was so bored. It was time to play.

* * * * *

Seppun Taiyiko stretched her fingers out against each other, sighing a little at the aching sensation. She had been writing reports for Lord Shibatsu as well as her direct superiors in the ImperialCity for the majority of the day. As she looked out over the quiet Temple District of the SecondCity, she noted with some surprise that it was dusk. The light of the Jade Sun had not fled completely, but it was getting dark rapidly. She had not realized she had actually spent the entire day in the pagoda near the temple she usually tended to. The air was unusually mild and held none of the typical humidity, and she had wished to take advantage of the clear day.

A breeze threatened to blow the papers off of her writing table, but her reflexes – slightly slower than they were years ago – were fast enough to put some stones on the reports before the wind took them. The gust carried a slight chill… and a tinge of moisture. Rain was coming, Taiyiko thought, and turned to ask one of the attendants to help her gather up her work.

As the aging Seppun looked around, though, she realized she saw a lone child walking through the street. The Temple District was usually quiet and nearly abandoned this time of day – even moreso after the siege, with tensions between the clans and political infighting growing by the day. It was unusual to see a small one unattended here, but it was just as well. The Temple District was probably the safest place in the SecondCity at the moment.

“Little one,” Taiyiko called out, taking a few steps towards the girl. The child was walking in an odd fashion, rhythmically hopping on one foot and then the next, like she was playing a game with the stones. “Come here, child. The rain is coming.”

The girl turned and looked at the Seppun with a bright smile. “I know!” she said excitedly. “The rain! I can smell the rain coming! I love the rain, don’t you?”

“Rain is a blessing,” the old shugenja said with a nod and a smile. “Yes, my dear, it is. But you should get to shelter before it starts coming down.”

The little girl laughed – an innocent, happy sound. “It is coming down,” she said happily, skipping towards Taiyiko now and singing. “It’s all coming down! Down, down, down,” the girl said, skipping in time to the words as she sang.

“All coming down.”

* * * * *

Akodo Tsudoken sat quietly and looked out the window. His recovery was almost complete, and it was with some interest that he had observed the reconstruction of the city walls from the room afforded him at the Governor’s estate. He looked at the thick bandages around his lower leg, still stiff after this time, but healing well. Even now, he thought as he looked up and watched the laborers work to put the last touches of repair on a particular section, it seems the Second City and I are linked.

He had questions, though, about a great many things. Questions that had to be answered before he could feel truly recovered. Night was falling, and he felt he would not be able to sleep another night with the weight of the thoughts he could not quiet.

As the door behind him slid open, Tsudoken turned to look at his visitor, but was somewhat surprised when it was not the man he was expecting. “No,” the Lion said firmly, turning away. “I mean no offense, whoever you are, but I would speak with the man who has been administering to my wounds previously.”

The young woman behind him bowed her head and began to apologize, “Captain Tsudoken-sama, your wound has healed enough that he no longer-”

“Do not call me that,” he snapped quietly. “And I do not wish to hear your explanations. I will wait on his convenience, just send him to me.” The man’s tone clearly left no room for argument, so the servant turned and left.

The Akodo watched the wall further. Brick after brick had been laid. He had never really come to truly appreciate the effort required to put a structure together like that. Oh, he had always known it was no simple task that just any man could design and perform, but it had never occurred to him how complex it all was. So many ways a stone could be mislaid or a line could be calculated wrong.

After some hours, the door slid open again.

“Why did you not come?” Tsudoken asked, with no malice in his voice, only an earnest question.

Iuchi Yuri stood carefully just inside the doorway. “I have tended to you for weeks, Tsudoken-sama. You did not say a single word to me the entire time. And now, you wish to say something after I am finished?”

Tsudoken turned away from the window and looked the Unicorn up and down.

“You despise me and my clan,” the shugenja said. “Perhaps you are wondering why a man wearing this mon,” he tapped the emblem of the Unicorn Clan on his shoulder, “would agree to handle wounds that healers with less experience might be able to administer? They might have kept you from dying from infections, Tsudoken-sama, but it is unlikely they would have saved your arm or leg.”

“What does it matter to you that I have two arms or two legs?” Again, Tsukoden’s question was quiet and confused.

“Because they serve the Empress, in their way,” the younger man said softly. “It is not my concern you understand-”

“But it is my concern,” the Lion almost hissed. “I betrayed the Throne, did I not? Is that the conclusion this matter has come to? Is that why I have been confined to these quarters for weeks, even when I was able to stand again? What judgment to I await, Iuchi Yuri? Why does it matter if I face it whole of body? Is it part of my punishment that an honorable man I threatened now humbles me with his service?”

The Unicorn gave the other man a look of pity.

That, by itself, almost sent Tsudoken into a rage, but the Lion calmed himself. Barely.

Behind Yuri, a servant appeared. “My lords,” she said quietly, bowing very low. “There is a guest for Akodo Tsudoken-sama. He has requested to speak with him… alone.”

“I see,” Yuri said with a sad frown. He turned back to Tsudoken. “Perhaps we will continue this conversation another day. Good afternoon, Tsudoken-sama.” The Unicorn bowed respectfully and left with the servant.

Akodo Tsudoken’s angry gaze might have burned the material of the door to ash if he stared at it any longer, but it was only a moment before Kuni Renyu appeared and gave the man a quick bow. “Akodo Tsudoken, I would have words with you.”

The Lion turned away from the door again, letting out a long breath. “I see the Fortunes have seen fit to parade all of my failures before me in one day,” he said lowly.

“I do not understand your meaning, Akodo-san, and I do not have the time to guess at it. I am here on a matter of business between our clans.”

Silence seemed to thicken the air in the room as Renyu stared at the back of the man’s head.

“Very well,” the Crab lord continued. “As you have not dismissed me in some frothing rage, I will assume you at least wish to hear me out. There is a matter of some urgency regarding the Spider. I believe a Kitsuki came to speak to you about it during the siege.”

The image of Kitsuki Fujimura falling to the ground flashed in Tsudoken’s mind. The muted, dull crack of his armored glove slamming against the woman’s jaw surfaced in his memory. “Yes, I remember,” he said.

“I understand they have attacked your clan’s holdings viciously, but I believe it is time you and I speak about how we might combine our efforts against the Spider Clan. In the Colonies, they outnumber us both a great deal, but combined – and with the strength of the Captain of the Guard behind us – it would more than turn the tide.”

Tsudoken shook his head. “I am no longer Captain. I am certain the… I am certain Iweko Shibatsu has stripped me of that title by now, likely favoring his Spider allies with it.”
“No, Captain,” Renyu said, emphasizing the title. “It is likely he intends to do just that at some point, but he has not. And his authority to do such is quickly coming to an end. A new order is coming, and before I go to speak with Shibatsu-sama, I must know if I have your support or not.”

The Lion’s face wrinkled in confusion, though he did not look away from the construction outside. “Now I am the one that does not understand. Are you intending to… ” He did not even speak the distasteful accusation.

The lord of the Kuni family frowned slightly. “No, Tsudoken-san, I will not raise a hand against the child of the Divine Empress. Such is treason. There are few who I would bear such an insulting insinuation from, but I am willing to understand that perhaps to you, what I am will to do to work against the Spider has been… overstated. I serve only the Empress. If her child wishes to make allies among them, it is not for me to say that this is right or wrong.” Renyu walked into the room and looked at the repair efforts as well. “However, I am given to know that word is coming from the ImperialCity. The Child of Heaven will support my position as regent of this city until a new Governor is appointed. Shibatsu-sama’s intentions, whatever they might have been, will be of little consequence at that point.”

“My family has always respected the Crab, even though the history between our clans has been hostile or unfriendly at the best of times.”

Renyu smiled again. “You will find our people are not so unalike, Captain, when it comes to war against our enemies.” He paused, and turned to look the Lion in the eyes. “Perhaps it is time to learn firsthand.”

* * * * *

Isawa Momoko waited in the embassy of the Phoenix Clan. She held the texts in her hands, trying desperately to find some way to calm her mind or at least her body. It was obvious the shugenja was upset – her hands trembled slightly and she could not stop from looking around nervously. She had waited for what felt like hours, but she knew it might have only been minutes. It was not in her to completely break protocol, however, so she waited. If only she was impatient or even foolish, she would have stormed through the embassy and demanded the audience she now waited patiently for.

Given who she sought, though, it was infinitely better that she chose the proper approach. She had spent her life overcoming the brash and rough behavior often associated with one who had dedicated themselves to the study of fire, and she would not abandon that discipline even now.

One of the functionaries of the Phoenix embassy finally returned to her and gave her a wan smile. “I am pleased to let you know the great Masters have honored you with an audience. I would remind you that this is an exceptional honor, young one. Many wait for months to simply exchange letters with those of their stature.”
Momoko could not stop herself from sputtering the question that came to mind immediately, though. “Masters?” she asked. “I thought only Asako Chukage-sama had come to the SecondCity.”

“The wise Master of the Void has seen fit to visit her fellow Master here, and thus you are twice as fortunate. It seems Master Kimi was greatly interested in speaking with you.”

Momoko nodded a little and stood to follow the attendant further into the Embassy. He hands shook almost violently now. She barely could contain the idea of standing before one of the Masters, but two? And one of them being the Master of the Void? What heresy would she be accused of, dealing with the Fudoists? It was too late now, she told herself. The only hope she held was that perhaps they would understand why she had done what she had, and spare her honor, if not her life.

The attendant smiled again, opening one of the chamber doors and making a sweeping gesture with his arm to indicate Momoko should enter. The younger Isawa nodded and took her nervous steps into the audience chamber.

The room was well lit, which surprised Momoko. She imagined the Masters would be in some smoky, dark room poring over scrolls and strange items, even here in the Colonies. Instead, the two Masters had several texts with them over long desks, but other than that, Momoko would not have been able to pick them out of a crowd. Chukage was giving some ancient scroll his full attention like any common obsessed scholar.

Master Kimi, however, looked directly at Momoko. The younger Isawa knew immediately it was the Master of the Void… somehow. Kimi did not have a great hood drawn over her face, nor did she radiate waves of power like other Phoenix imagined the Master of Void would. Instead, there was merely some quality about Kimi that told Momoko it had to be true. This simple woman in a red kimono with a peaceful face held herself in the way those who truly understand and command power do. Momoko had seen it before.

“Masters,” the Isawa said quickly, getting to her knees and placing her head on the floor. “I come with dire news.”

“The texts, if you please,” Chukage said quickly, extended a hand but not looking away from what he was reading.

Momoko straightened up and handed the papers over without a word.

The Master of Water laid what he had been looking at down and then examined what Momoko had given him. HIs eyes darted from place to place on the page, giving the impression he either reading extremely fast, or gleaning information from small parts of the work.

“Yes,” Chukage said finally, more to Kimi than Momoko. “This is it. These are the teachings of Fudo and the history of the sect’s quiet war against the dragon. I suspected that there was a connection. Something between them to be known, to be exploited. This information must be studied…”

Kimi looked at her fellow master warily. “Excellent,” she said calmly, extending a hand. “Perhaps it is time to rest,” she said, standing. The tone of her voice had changed, as if she were commanding her fellow Master now, but calmly.

Chukage waved a hand absently at the Master of the Void. “For you, perhaps, my friend. There is such information here. Perhaps I should-”

Kimi laid a hand on Chukage’s shoulder, and the Master of Water stopped speaking. He looked away from the tests and laid them down carefully. “Yes, of course,” he said, sighing. “Rest. Perhaps in the morning I will have the strength…” His voice trailed off as if he were thinking of something else now, and he left the room, walking past Momoko without even the slightest acknowledgement.

Isawa Momoko wondered if the Master of Water even knew she was in the room.

“You have had a stressful day, but unfortunately it will not end. The attack you have witnessed is only the start,” Isawa Kimi said, frowning slightly. “I am afraid I must ask something of you, now.”

Momoko did not bother to ask how or why the Master of the Void knew about what she had seen, but instead owed here head. “Your will, Master.”

“What you have brought us will help us unravel this mystery and confirm many things that Chukage-san and I have been trying to understand. But in the meantime, the other clans will have questions about what has begun to occur in the SecondCity. It is important they understand the nature of the Mad Dragon and its influence, but they cannot be allowed to cling to false hope in this moment. Do not share with them what you have learned about the Fudoists. Not one scrap of information. Instead, we must know what they already know. The followers of Fudo believe their ways protect them from P’an Ku, but instead it only replaces one manner of madness with another. It is our duty to make sure that, in this moment, we allow neither to take root in the souls of samurai. Do you understand?”
“You want me to go to the clans,” Momoko said, keeping her head down, “and gauge who has been compromised by either the Fudoists or by the Mad Dragon. This will take a great deal of time.”

Kimi smiled then, her benevolent gaze looking down on the younger woman, and she extended her hand. Within it, a simple carved stone rested against the Master of the Void’s palm. “This is my seal, Momoko-san. Go to the members of our embassy. You are the voice of the Masters in this place, now. We are only two, but the Phoenix are many.”

“My life for the Phoenix,” Momoko said reverently, wide-eyed as she reached for the seal.

* * * * *

Kuni Renyu stalked into the Court of the SecondCity’s Governor, his stride long and purposeful. The Crab lord knew why he had been summoned – those who had no taste for Iweko Shibatsu’s politics had told him of the word that was coming from the ImperialCity. Finally, my brother, Renyu thought to himself, we can begin the great work you have set before me.

As Renyu entered the Court, he was not surprised to find it was poorly attended. The hour was late, even though many had quickly learned that Shibatsu enjoyed attending to business in the evening hours. Dark had long settled into the SecondCity, and the son of the Divine Empress sat on the Governor’s seat of power with his hands steepled before him. What did surprise the brother of the Crab Champion, though, was the fact that they were alone.

“Kuni Renyu-san,” Shibatsu said, a friendly smile forming on his features. The Imperial Heir regarded the Kuni daimyo with cool eyes, as if he were greeting a guest to tea. “I am pleased you were able to attend me at such short notice.”

Renyu dropped to his knees, put a fist to the wooden planks of the floor, and bowed his head until it, too, touched the floor. “I am Crab, my lord. I am never unable to rise to the command of the Imperial Throne.”

“Well spoken, Lord Renyu,” the Heir said, the warm smile never leaving his face. “And how appropriate. I am afraid that I have had little time to spend among your brother’s people, and it relieves me to see that the stories of Crab devotion to duty seem – so far – to be completely true.” The young man stood, walking towards Renyu, and motioned for him to stand. “Please, rise,” he said. “I understand protocol must be observed, but it is exceptionally difficult to hold a conversation with a man who is talking to the floor.”

Shifting his weight, Kuni Renyu stood, but did so in a way that allowed him to take a step back from the son of Iweko of the First. If it was out of reverence or discomfort, none could say.

“Renyu-san,” Shibatsu continued, “I have received a missive from my mother, the word of the Celestial Heavens in this mortal world. It seems she believes you are fit to serve as interim governor until she chooses a worthy candidate to hold the position. I admit, I was initially somewhat disappointed that she did not choose to leave this city in my care, but recent news has only reaffirmed the divine wisdom of our great Empress.”

The Crab’s eyes narrowed slightly. He was not certain what the Imperial Heir meant, and felt it was perhaps outside the bounds of propriety to ask him to explain.

Shibatsu’s smile changed slightly, then. He looked at Renyu and regarded his silence with more than just warmth… it was amusement. The Heir was amused that the outspoken, brash lord of the Kuni family was holding his tongue. The young Imperial walked around Renyu, looking him up and down as the Kuni did not move from his position. Finally, he finally spoke, “Lord Renyu, we are both here to serve my mother’s will, and through her, the Heavens itself. If you need more information to do so, I am quite interested in giving it to you. Please,” he motioned toward Renyu, bidding him to speak.

“What recent news?” Renyu said flatly.

“The Crab are excellent defenders,” Shibatsu said. “Of course, that is old news. All of the Empire knows it. But few would think that this city would need to defend itself again so soon after… well,” the Heir’s eyes narrowed, becoming more threatening. “After it was attacked by… outside forces.” He paused, walking back to the Governor’s seat, but veered at the last moment to stand beside it, regarding it curiously. “But now, it seems there is a new threat. From within, no less. How awful that is, Renyu-san, to have the city compromised from within, its security breached by those who believe the current order is somehow… unfit.”

Renyu, for everything he thought he might say to that, decided there was simply nothing useful that he could speak.

“Well, anyway,” Shibatsu continued, “it seems there are riots in the Temple District. Something about the condemnation of the Fudo philosophy? I’m not entirely certain, but, it seems that there has already been damage to several temples and shrines. City Guardsmen have been dispatched, of course, but I believe that… recent events seem to leave them perhaps inadequate.”

The Imperial Heir then strode directly up to Kuni Renyu, and bared his teeth in what some might have regarded as a smile. “In any case,” Shibatsu said, his tone dropping lower, “I believe you wanted very much to sit in that chair.” He held up a scroll with the seal of the Imperial Throne on it – likely the document that the Empress had issued to declare Renyu the interim Governor. “Get comfortable. If you can.”

Renyu reached up, averting his eyes from locking gazes directly with Shibatsu, and took the paper.

* * * * *

Fire was everywhere.

Togashi Osawa raised an open hand up and behind him, bringing it down and forward with incredible speed. His attacker flew backwards as if a much larger force had struck him, tumbling head over feet several times before he finally came to rest and did not move again.

Three more took his place.

The Temple of the Rising Dragon, the grounds where Osawa had taught monks of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Spider orders, was engulfed in complete chaos. Fighting had broken out in one temple elsewhere, and the violence seemed to spark a sudden influx of men and women who flooded the streets of the Temple District. The area, previously still and quiet, now rang out with the screams, howls, and sniging steel of combat.

To Osawa’s left and right, other monks – students of his – fought desperately to keep the attackers from reaching the Temple itself. The grounds were a frenzy of combat, as maddened men and women seemed intent on reaching the temple with their torches or other sources of flame. Some held paper lanterns, others had literally set themselves ablaze and rushed the temple with no regard for their own well being. The Togashi monk had no idea what was happening or why, but it was clear that the maddened horde was trying to burn the temple to the ground.

He recognized some of the faces in the mob – samurai and peasant alike. They attacked with whatever they could lay their hands on: katana, spears, construction tools, farming implements, and their own fingers and teeth. There was no reasoning with them, as Osawa had found early. They barely spoke, instead growling and barely saying anything other than muted commands to attack a particular combatant or cry for help as they fell.

The three attackers rushed Osawa. By their weapons, it was two samurai and a peasant farmer. The old sensei dodged the first clumsy strike, and shattered the rake with a quick strike. The peasant leapt wildly at him, which he dodged, and immediately stepped outside of one of the samurai’s sword strike. Spinning his body around, he delivered a solid kick to that man’s stomach, sending him away. The third attacker tried to bring a dagger to the fore against him, which Osawa caught between his palms, and twisted out of the woman’s grip. The blade fell to the ground, and he struck her squarely between the eyes. She dropped to the ground, dazed.

Osawa felt a sharp pain in his leg, and he stepped away… or tried to. He was not being struck by a weapon, but instead, the peasant had bitten him, and was trying to hold his jaw closed. The monk brought his other foot around, kicking the peasant in the neck, making him choke and let go.

His world became a haze of redness and pain as he realized that the distraction allowed a newcomer to the melee slide the tip of a spear between his ribs. The pain was nearly overwhelming, but Osawa managed to move away from the attacker.

Only to stumble into others. A savage blow connected with the back of his head, and the pain from the previous attack was now joined by a reeling dizziness. He spun his upper body around, giving that one a well-placed elbow to his temple, but there were too many.

Another strike to Osawa’s chest, and the wind was knocked from him.

As the aging Dragon sensei fell, he smelled smoke. They had reached the Temple.

The destruction of the temple, though, did not affect him as he thought it might. Before his vision was completely swallowed by a swarm of screaming madmen, he saw something that lifted his soul. In the battlefield, they fought together. An Asako monk stood shoulder to shoulder with a member of the Spider’s order. The sohei intercepted a killing blow meant for the Phoenix, instead using the weapon’s momentum to spend the attacker spinning to the ground. The Asako, in turn, kicked high over the Spider’s head, stopping one of the horde from attacking the Spider’s back. Near them, an ise zumi monk made a fierce kiai shout as he struck the ground, and waves of force knocked a new surge of attackers away from them both.

They had learned what Osawa came to teach them. They fought, but not face to face. They fought back to back.

As the final blow came speeding towards the sensei’s face in the form of a gardening tool of some sort, Togashi Osawa finally felt at peace.

* * * * *

Near the burning Temple of the Rising Dragon, a small girl painted crude pictures of many people moving around in front of a burning city. She dipped the brush into the inkwell again, but it came up barely wet at all. She frowned, looking at the lack of ink, and then turned, dipping it into the still warm pool of blood that had formed nearby.

The child took Seppun Taiyiko’s blood and used it to draw brown-red fires over the city, and giggled at what she made. Happy with what she had done, she laid the brush down on the Seppun’s table, and smiled down at the corpse. A spear protruded from Taiyiko’s chest as her dead eyes looked up at the thick clouds that had gathered.

“Thank you, grandmother!” the girl said cheerfully, rolling up the painting and laying it by the Seppun like a gift.

She smiled again, planting a delicate kiss on the old, dead woman’s forehead, and then went skipping and dancing into the night.

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Two of the front runners of the Race for Warlord have been eliminated, and Tamoko has closed by a narrow margin her trail to Kaiji! Utaku Sung-Ki has exploded into the upper ranks as well!

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