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An Account of the Divine Empress’ Subjects’ Activities during This Time of War
The Third Week of the Month of the Dragon, Year 1172
My Empress,
I find it especially difficult to compile this report today, Divine One. Throughout the course of these compilations I have struggled to maintain my optimism, but it becomes increasingly difficult, particularly in light of the losses we have suffered this week. I will not abandon my duty, but rarely have I felt such an overwhelming sense of loss.
Once again, your servants among the Great Clans have been forced to quell the zealous desires of the peasant caste to serve your most Divine personage in a manner ill-suited to their station. Reports of another large body of peasants, perhaps men and women ousted from their homes by the plague and seeking to take up arms against either the undead, the Yobanjin, or perhaps even the Destroyers themselves. Naturally this is a dangerous thing, for many reasons that the peasants themselves do not understand. A large roaming force without support in the form of supply trains will devastate the resources of any village through which it passes, not to mention the unpredictability of such a group posing a legitimate threat, or at least an inconvenience, to any Great Clan whose forces should encounter it. And of course should they actually engage a foe, they would doubtless scatter before the winds in a panic, and create more chaos in the process. No, it is of course the better course of action for such things to be stopped before they can begin. In this, we are fortunate for the intervention of lord Tsuruchi Nobumoto, whose agents among the Mukami’s Legion were in the general vicinity after their return to the mainland. The Mantis are generally very highly regarded by many among the peasantry, as you are aware, and they were well received by this ragtag force of arms. My heralds report that Nobumoto was intensely concerned for their safety, particularly seeing how previous incidents have unfolded since this war began. Through his careful negotiation and reasoning, he managed to disperse the force without conflict, something that I think you will agree is most welcome. There has surely been enough death already.
I fear that this ongoing war is eroding the spirit of your loyal servants, great Empress, and struggle as I might, I have proven unable to find a way to combat such an insidious threat. You will recall from a previous report how the Scorpion were forced into a position to deal with terrible allegations from their own ranks a short time ago, an incident that I believe they would have preferred remain private (and which I have accordingly kept logged only in the private annals of the Miya records). I fear that similar problems have arisen this week in the Dragon provinces, your homeland, and that the consequences may be yet more severe. Allegations of misconduct arose among the Dragon lands, allegations that the Togashi order had at the very worst neglected to respond to the present situation with the Yobanjin in an appropriate manner or, at worst, had deliberately conspired with the Yobanjin to make the infiltration easier. Such allegations arising from the peasantry would be alarming enough, but also attributable to simple panic and fear. Unfortunately, there were some among the accusers who were of samurai status, a fact that burdens my thoughts even as I write these words. There appears to have been some sort of conspiracy within the clan, very limited in scope but with control of significant resources. I have little knowledge of such things but I would suppose that such is the price one pays when a clan’s leadership permits its members to seek their own path. Inevitably, some will choose a path of ill repute. Regardless, I cannot be certain what the aim of this group was, only that the rumor mongering they were engaging in was so successful and widespread that certain members of the clan’s leadership felt the threat significant enough to recall the Mirumoto Elite Guard in order to deal with the potential fallout. Unexpectedly, as is apparently their standard means of operation, the Scorpion force known as the Shadow Blades accompanied the Mirumoto upon their return. The investigation of your kinsmen, the Kitsuki, combined with the ruthless enforcement of the Shadow Blades proved adequate to expose the masterminds behind the conspiracy. A monk named Togashi Shiori (a woman whose vehement nature alarmed my herald until it was explained that she was previously of the Hitomi order, which explained a great deal) led the Scorpion to destroy the holdings of the men accountable for the lies and misdirection, while the charismatic voice of the young monk Togashi Miyoko seems to have undone the damage they wrought in terms of the mistrust among the Dragon. My herald reports that there were agents among the Scorpion who believe that this damage was inflicted deliberately by former agents of a conspiracy apparently ended by the Scorpion, and in retribution, they targeted the clan’s closest allies, the Dragon. I cannot say if there is any veracity to this claim.
This week it seems that the effects of the war in the north have extended farther than the southern battle, although of late it seems that the opposite has been true. A large scouting party of Yobajin appears to have woven their way through the northern reaches and arrived at the Unicorn lands. What purpose they may have had, I cannot say, but their goal may have been nothing more than random destruction, for that seems to be what they accomplished. These individuals numbered among them a powerful shaman and devotee of the Dark Oracle. With this individual’s abilities, the Yobanjin laid waste to a number of important holdings within the Unicorn Clan provinces. These men gave little thought to strategy or specific tactics, but rather simply attacked without warning, inflicted as much damage as possible before a response could be coordinated, and then moved to a new target, often moving in random and inexplicable directions. As a result, the Unicorn’s ability to respond was slowed, and considerable damage was inflicted. Finally the culprits were dealt with when caught in a pincer between units dispatched from the as-yet-rebuilding Khol army, and the Lioness Legion of the neighboring Lion Clan. The enemy was destroyed but not before considerable damage was inflicted.
In my last report I posited the notion that the Yobanjin forces may be planning a large scale invasion into the Phoenix lands, perhaps banking on the sea preventing assault on one side as they move their forces through the area. That was based upon the reports filed via my heralds by various Lion tacticians, and it appears that once again, the Lion prove that their reputation is indeed well earned. A massive war band of Yobanjin, larger than anything the Empire has seen since the first War of Dark Fire, pushed north into the Phoenix holdings this week, causing the rapid evacuation of multiple major Phoenix holdings as the Shiba attempted to hold the line until reinforcements could arrive. The reinforcements arrived, but not for several days and tremendous losses were inflicted upon the Phoenix lands. Fortunately, by the time more forces could arrive, an inquisitor named Asako Katashi had become Shiba Tsukimi’s principal advisor, and between the two of them, they had concocted a viable strategy.
Upon the arrival of the Legion of Flame and the Daidoji Iron Warriors, pushed to the veritable breaking point in order to arrive at the fight and lend their aid to the Crane’s close allies among the Phoenix, Katashi’s plan was for the Legion of Flame and their associates among the Firestorm Legion to negate the blasphemous fire magic being utilized by the war band. This robbed them of their principle advantage and allowed Tsukimi and Kikaze to push their forces to the limit in an all-out assault that shattered the front line and drove the war band fleeing to the north. Whether or not they will marshal and regroup is unknown, but for the moment, the immediate threat has ended.
I fear that I have saved the most severe and damaging report until the last, my Empress. It is not my wish to end my report on a severe note, but in truth it was difficult for me to put this account into words. Previous reports have indicated attacks by groups of these Destroyers known as Centuriae, which appears to be a unit designation of some sort. Each of these conflicts have been extremely difficult for your loyal forces to stymie, but they have fought valiantly and with tremendous honor, and thus far the battles have been at least stalemates, and in some cases victories. This week, however, a legion of Destroyers, a unit made up of twenty Centuriae, broke from the main body and attempted to flank the defensive front maintained by the Crab, Lion, and Unicorn. If such an attempt would be successful, the whole of the Scorpion lands would be laid bare for the Destroyers to invade. This is something that cannot happen, as I am sure I need not tell you. This detachment was met with incredible resistance by a combined force of all three clans, led by Hida Sozen and his men among Amoro’s Legion. Very shortly before the engagement, a representative of the Order of Venom, the mysterious monks I have spoken to you of so frequently, appeared before Sozen and offered their assistance. My herald reports Sozen’s anger was like a physical thing that filled the war tent, but ultimately he accepted the monk’s offer.
The battle in the south was something that I hope I will never personally witness. The devastation reported by the sole herald to survive the incident was almost like something created for fiction. I lost five heralds, exceptional young men and women whose loss I feel more strongly than I can convey in mere words. The Destroyers were turned back, but I am told that the losses the clans suffered numbered in the thousands. My herald included in his report a remark from a Crab he overheard, which was to say that should the war go on a great deal longer, that at least famine was unlikely to be a concern any time in the near future. My herald did not judge the man for the comment, but rather took it as his means of dealing with the stark truth of the matter: generations of near constant war have begun to seriously impact the number of samurai living to serve you, my lady. I am aware that it was already a priority among many Clan Champions to encourage marriage and children, and that was before the further taxing of our numbers caused by a plague and two wars. How many of our children are left without parents? How many dead who cannot be replaced? I fear for the Empire, my Empress, and it is your existence alone that continues to give me hope for the future.
I am told that in the aftermath of the battle in the south, the Order of Venom monks were allowed to depart in peace as a prize for their valor and incredible bravery in battle. They did so quickly, but not until after a search for someone they called Saleh, whom it is believed disappeared during the battle along with an undisclosed number of Destroyers who were seemingly spirited away without conflict.
I do not know what this means, but if it is sufficient to be of concern to these enigmatic and deadly monks, I worry that we shall hear more of it in the future. There are likewise reports of Centuriae of Destroyers appearing along the coast not far from the ruins of Otosan Uchi, in the Crane lands near the Spine of the World Mountains, and on the peninsula near Earthquake Fish Bay. This is to say nothing of other threats, including additional outbreaks of the plague and continued unrest, particularly in the unaligned regions of the Empire.
I fear for the Empire, my lady. Guide us with the will of the Heavens, I beg you.
Your eternal vassal,
Miya Shoin
Imperial Herald
