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An Account of the Divine Empress’ Subjects’ Activities During this Time of War
The Second Week of the Serpent, Year 1172
My Empress,
I have received word of your summons, and I will be departing for the Imperial City upon the completion of this report, which I am sending ahead by my fastest courier. I have temporarily rerouted all herald reports to arrive in the city so that I may continue to brief you as you have requested for the duration of my stay there. My understanding is that you have also asked for as many of your Clan Champions as may reasonably attend, given the current state of affairs in the Empire, to be present as well. I must confess to a tremendous curiosity about the nature of the audience you will be convening, but I am filled with optimism; I have long held the opinion that only the divinely-empowered Child of Heaven can guide us through this terrible crisis, and it is my hope that this will be a turning point in the wars we currently face.
Last week I spoke of the move by Amoro’s Legion of the Crab forces to intercept and destroy a Centuriae near Earthquake Fish Bay. As reported, this particular enemy was human in nature, and it appears from all reports that they were gaijin in service of the Destroyer. How any rational mind could embrace servitude to such a blasphemous entity I cannot comprehend, but we are speaking of gaijin, so perhaps they are simply less capable of understanding such things as we are. Regardless, despite that it was a human force, it was significantly larger than anticipated, and the fate of Amoro’s Legion was very much in question. With reinforcements too far to arrive in a timely manner, Hida Sozen’s plan was to delay the gaijin as long as possible and hope to prevent destruction at their hands. It was a plan tantamount to suicide, and even my herald realized this, but a lone figure entered the camp and demanded an audience with Sozen. The stranger was clad in the wrappings of a sohei, and several Crab attempted to detain him. All were unsuccessful, and two were wounded so badly in the attempt that they will be unable to enter battle for some time, or so I am told. The monk, a man named Micho, held an audience with Sozen. The monk guaranteed victory if the two commanders combined their forces, but his price was high indeed: he demanded to stand alongside Sozen as a respected equal. As is his custom, Sozen launched into a thunderous rage, but ultimately accepted the offer as the only way to ensure that the Destroyers could not flank the greater Crab forces if they overran Amoro’s Legion. As anticipated the alliance of the two forces was victorious on the field, but I do not know what to make of this alliance, even if temporary. It troubles me.
Following the disastrous plague outbreaks that have afflicted the central Empire and their assistance rendered to the Scorpion there, the Dragon force known as the Justicars have returned to their home provinces to deal with another outbreak among the mountains. It seems this particular outbreak was a result of extensive strikes against the area by scouts from the Army of Fire. With the supplies gone, there was little to keep the afflicted from succumbing to their illnesses. The Justicars secured new supplies and moved in to occupy the area. When the scouts came to seize the materials, they found a force more than equal to the task of defense on hand. The scouts suffered extensive losses, nearly three quarters of their number from what I have been told, and the survivors were routed and fled to the north, followed by a harrying detachment from the Mirumoto Talons.
Troubling news from the Lion lands, I fear. There were allegations of dishonorable actions by the Crane in terms of mercantile arrangements with the Lion Clan. You will recall of course that such things were responsible in some part for the war between the Crab and Crane a few years ago, which of course was prior to your ascension to the throne, and of course there have been no end of skirmishes and hostilities with the Mantis and various clans over the centuries due to their particular brand of mercantile practices. As it happens, it was fortunate that the Iron Warriors were nearby, having returned to the northern Crane provinces for resupplying, and visited the area to answer allegations that the Daidoji merchant patrons were engaging in questionable practices. The Lioness Legion was also nearby, as it turns out, and responded to the allegations; it may seem curious, but during what may well become a war of attrition, supply lines are vital and any interruption could be severe indeed. A conference between the two commanders, a tempestuous pair if ever such existed, took place. There was a great deal of tension, stemming no doubt from the feelings of a small but vocal minority among both clans that the Crane and Lion should never have become allies, but ultimately reason prevailed. It was revealed that an ambitious Lion courtier, a man named Ikoma Igawa, was in fact manipulating events in an attempt to procure additional supplies for the Lion war effort at the cost of impugning the Crane’s honor. I am not certain what his punishment was, or even if he still lives, but I have no doubt that neither the Lion nor the Crane will forget what took place here today, and Igawa’s role within it.
A similar occurrence took place within the Crane lands this week, and perhaps that may move the Crane toward leniency with the misguided Lion responsible (although it is somewhat doubtful that the Daidoji would be particularly merciful even within their own ranks, much less in another clan). After some activity off the coast, the Mantis Clan unit called Mukami’s Legion made landfall in the Crane lands and resupplied in one of the coastal villages near there. It seems that even the Crane’s peasants adore the Mantis, oddly enough. Regardless, the Crane magistrate in the region refused to grant the unit travel papers to permit them to make their way back across the mainland to re-enter the fray. The magistrate, it is said, condemned the Mantis as mercenaries and cited his uncertainty that they would not lay siege to any targets of convenience in their path, acts for which he would be complicit for his role in permitting them passage. It seems this particular magistrate was rather stuck in previous eras, when the Mantis as a Minor Clan supplied mercenaries for the Crane in times of need. Regardless, the possibility for serious diplomatic damage or even outright skirmishing existed, but fortunately the magistrate’s superior heard word of what was taking place and overruled his misguided subordinate quickly, allowing Nobumoto-san and his men safe passage throughout the whole of Crane lands.
Last week I also spoke of the disastrous outbreak of plague, unprecedented in scale, that took place between the Crane and Scorpion provinces. Devastating though it was, it was successfully contained thanks to the efforts of the Lion and Crane (and, I feel very awkward in saying, the Spider). In the wake of this outbreak, the plague has continued to be an issue, but I am both delighted and perplexed to inform you that the number of outbreaks across the Empire as a whole has decreased by half this week. The reason for this is uncertain, although there are certain key aspects of events that took place in Ryoko Owari that I feel uncomfortable sharing with you via courier, that may have been responsible for this change. Regardless, there has been at least one significant outbreak during that time, and while it is indeed a serious problem, I for one am grateful that it has been the only major outbreak this week (discounting the situation in the Dragon lands, which was exacerbated by outside factors). This particular outbreak took place along the coast, between the Crane and Crab holdings. It was answered by two very different forces that, as it turns out, work astonishingly well together. The Asako Inquisitors arrived and utilized their powerful methods to detect the plague in those who had not yet manifested symptoms, to treat the symptoms in those who were already afflicted, and to generally alleviate the suffering of the masses throughout the region. On the other hand, the Shadow Blades were handed the unpleasant but essential task of dealing with those areas and individuals whose infection could not be treated. These were loyal subjects of the Empire whose fate was largely sealed, and rather than risk their reanimation as a threat to Rokugan, the Scorpion dealt with the matter mercifully and finally. It is not a burden I would wish to bear, as I believe I have said before.
You will recall that last week a union of forces found a potential site for an enemy base camp within the Shinomen Mori and eradicated it, hopefully denying our foes resources they desperately need. Whether or not this is the case we cannot yet say, but this week there was an attack upon the Unicorn provinces by a force hailing from the west, in the region that the Unicorn refer to as the Western Steppes, and beyond that, the Western Wastes. So far from the southern front, I had hoped that such news would be of a completely unrelated threat or perhaps a flanking attack from the Army of Fire (as odd as it seems to hope for such things). Unfortunately, that was not the case. It was in fact another Centuriae of Destroyers, attacking from the west. The Khol, a force still rebuilding from the near-extinction it suffered some years ago during the Khan’s march upon the Imperial City, was able to repel the attack, although not without significant assistance from the defensive Junghar forces the Unicorn maintain. The real concern in this matter is whether or not these Destroyers were using the base camp in the Shinomen. If so, then that is actually something of a relief, although concerns over how they could have traveled so far north without detection immediately come to mind. However, as you know, we have as yet found no reports of the inhuman Destroyers requiring such mundane things as base camps. This means that whatever force was formerly present in the forest may remain at large and, vastly worse, that the Destroyers may be attacking the Empire from a completely different direction. I shudder to think of it.
Not so long ago I spoke of the valor and courage of Hiruma Todori and the Hiruma Stalkers that defended the coastline of Otosan Uchi against an incursion by the Destroyers. Their allies the Shinjo Scouts assisted as well, but were called away by the Destroyer attack on the Unicorn provinces. This left the Stalkers to patrol the area alone. While it would seem that the matter was concluded, my herald reports that Todori-sama was unconvinced, and insisted upon remaining in the region. My herald described Todori as a man possessed by the need to punish the Destroyers for the potential loss of Shiro Hiruma and all within it, despite that the last communication with that outpost indicated it remained intact, if completely cut off by enemy formations. In this case it seems that Todori was correct, as one of his personal students, a young man named Hiruma Toshio, tracked an advance party from the Destroyer naval force into the outer edges of Lion territory. How the accursed foes traveled so far or survived the scourging of their ships is unknown, although it is possible that they made landfall prior to the Stalkers’ arrival. Regardless, Todori, Toshio, and the rest made short work of them and were subsequently treated to a generous resupplying opportunity by the grateful, if somewhat annoyed (presumably by the enemy’s very presence, although one can never tell with the Lion) Lion commanders in the area.
I hope to stand in your presence very soon, my lady. Until then, I remain
Your eternal servant,
Miya Shoin
Imperial Herald
