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Somewhere north of Rokugan&
The Dark Lord of the Shadowlands left his private temple, glancing sharply at the guards who stood watch over its entrance to ensure they remembered the terms of their duty. None but the Dark Lord was to be granted entrance under any circumstances, on pain of punishment so far beyond death that it was unspeakable, even among the Lost. Daigotsu was troubled, as he so often was when he departed the temple, for that which was secreted within was enigmatic and inscrutable even to him. More than anything, he required time to decipher the mystery before him, yet time was the one thing that he did not possess.
Scowling, his mood ever darkening, Daigotsu strode into his private tower, tallest and grandest of the ancient spires among the Fingers of Bone. Other than his family and his son’s yojimbo, others were only admitted to the first level, the audience chamber he had set aside for just such a purpose. Within, a handful of his vassals awaited his leisure. He stormed past them without a word, and they would not look upon him, so great was his displeasure. He sat upon his black throne and regarded them coolly. “Saleh,” he commanded.
One of the assembled vassals stepped forward, his eyes low. “Yes, great one,” he said quietly, his voice strange and exotic.
“It has begun?”
The Jackal nodded slowly. “The information we have received from the south indicates that it has, master.”
“Tell me again how they are called.”
Saleh finally raised his eyes. “They are called the Destroyers, master. The Destroyer Horde.”
“The Horde,” Daigotsu said with a slight smile, “How ironic.” He paused. “And you and your allies, you are familiar with these… Destroyers?”
“We know of the prophecies, the legends,” Saleh said. “How much is fact and how much is mindless superstition, we cannot say. The myths of their existence have been passed down for countless centuries. Some distortion is inevitable.”
“You have prepared this information for my servants?”
“Your vassals the Chuda have beer given all the information we possess, and prepared it for your other vassals in turn.”
“Very well,” Daigotsu said. “It has beer some months since we last discussed this matter, and as you can imagine I have had more p”essing concerns. You now have in), full attention, however” He leaned forwarc and fixed the gaijin with a calculating gaze. “I would like to hear again all the prophecies you have regarding this ‘Ebor Daughter.’”
The Scorpion Provinces
The Master of Secrets gently rolled the scroll up and placed it on the table. He had read its contents many times before, and yet each time he returned to them hoping for some scrap of information he might have missed, he came away more discouraged. There was little hope to be found within the reams of paper. “Toson,” he commanded.
The screen to the chamber slid open with a whisper, and the commander of his most secretive vassals entered. “Yes, my lord,” Shosuro Toson said softly.
“Reports from the Wall?”
“Yes, my lord,” he replied. “It has begun, as we feared.”
“I see. Your agents in the area?”
“The order to try and penetrate the front lines was given,” he said. “None have been heard from again. They are doubtless lost.” He paused. “Would you like more sent, my lord?”
“No,” Paneki answered. “There seems little point.” He looked back to the scrolls. “All that Kazunori predicted has come to pass. Would that it had not.” He glanced at the ninja master. “The scroll that bound Kyoso no Oni. It is secure?”
“It is, my lord,” Toson said. “The previously opened scroll from the Tomb of the Seven Thunders was substituted in its place with the Phoenix.”
“Have it moved,” Paneki said. “Do not tell me where unless I command you to and only then if we are in private.”
Toson frowned. “My lord?”
Paneki rose. “It is time that I briefed the Divine Empress on the truth of the matter at hand.”
