Akagi, son of the chieftain of the Seppun people, felt to his knees and wept. Before him lay the bodies of his father and his eight best warriors, all masters of spear and war, all killed in a skirmish with the tribe of Noriaki. Among them were two of his cousins, leaving him the last of his family.
Akagi let the grief seize and shake him until it passed, then rose to his feet and wiped the tears from his face. His friend Otomo stood at his side, nodding. Akagi knew what to do. He turned to the other tribesmen assembled in the village square. “The Noriaki have dealt us a sore blow today. This is true. But even they would not attack us here in our home, strike at the holiest of the servants of the gods. It will be as it has always been, they will discover who it is they attack and leave off, go back to raiding other tribes. That is how it has always been and that is how it shall be this time. Return to your homes and patrols and let your minds be eased. The tribe of the Seppun shall stand undiminished and undefeated as we always have. I am no longer Akagi, I am now the Seppun.” The tribesmen and women nodded to each other, and looks of hope and resolve crossed their features. They began to leave the square, returning to their duties and their lives. Akagi, now Seppun, smiled towards Otomo, the look of hope unfelt in his own face. But what else could he offer them? Without hope their doom was certain. With hope it was almost certain.
When the square was clear, Seppun climbed to the top of the hill which stood above his village - his village, the thought took some time to set in. He crossed the verdant green field that covered the top of the hill and knelt before the simple stone shrine. There Otomo still waited, her face serene, her eyes closed in the depths of prayer. After a short time, the woman opened her eyes and looked up. “You are troubled, Akagi.”
Seppun turned his gaze away "I am, Otomo. We will not survive a concentrated attack by the Noriaki. My father was a warrior. My cousins were brave. I am useless. I fear we live in the final days of the tribe of Seppun.”
Otomo looked at Akagi searchingly. “Do you truly believe that? The gods cannot allow us to fall. We are the holiest of their servants, they cannot stand idly by and allow us to be destroyed.”
“The Noriaki have already killed my entire family!” Akagi cried, feeling his suppressed anger swell up like a vast bubble, choking him. A shadow covered the ground. Akagi froze, unaware. Otomo rose to her feet, her eyes wide as she backed away from her friend.
The shadow filled the sky, plunging the hill and surrounding lands into darkness.
The two tribe members looked up to see that the Sun itself seemed to have turned black.
“What does it mean?” Otomo whispered. Ah yes, the expectation. Seppun is a priest, so he should now. But he was only able to shook his head, silent. "
A light appeared, golden and pure, where the Sun had been. Then another, and another, each dropping toward the ground like glowing snowflakes. Seven lights fell in quick succession, and then the shadow began to move off of the Sun. An eighth light appeared out of the sky as the sunlight burst forth once more. For a moment Seppun thought there had been a ninth light in the south, just before the Sun reached her full light again, but it was impossible to be sure.
The eight lights descended toward them, swelling into blazing stars as large as a man. Seppun fell back in terror, shielding his face with one hand, clutching his stumbling friend with another. Too late.
The lights settled on the top of the Seppun, their glow slowly fading. Screaming, Otomo rushed away. Seppun expected the lights to hurt him, bur him, but he felt comfortable. He reached with his right hand towards the light, grasping something soft. There was a soft gasp and the lights coalesced into human figures, women clad in robes and armour of shining gold. They were beautiful beyond any mortal form, their eyes blazing with the light of Heaven itself. Their clothing shifted and changed, assuming bright colours and patterns of such depth and complexity that Seppun felt dizzy just looking at them. Only then he noticed the furious green eyes fulminating him, following his hand caressing a breast. Seppun retreated as the blushing woman was rushing for her sword, but she was distracted as the strangers looked at each other as though confused. One of the women tilted her head back, silver-haired and of golden eyes, looked into the sky, and whispered, “Is that what the mortals see when they look to the heavens? It is beautiful.” Two of the women were identical, twins Seppun figured. One of them began to speak. “What happened to...” She was cut off by another woman, one whose garments still held the gold of the Heavens. She drew a curved sword, a blade so perfect it looked like a piece of starlight. “They are gone. Do not dare to say a word. "
All eight bowed their heads for a moment. The woman that Seppun had accidentally molested rose and still covering her chest joined the others. "Sisters, I believe there are mortals here.”
The celestial creatures turned toward the Seppun and Otomo. The still furious woman turns to them, her voice echoing like a great bell. “I am Hantei. These are my sisters. Name yourselves, mortals.” Seppun flinched, his limbs shaking so badly he could not even stand, fearing to be struck for an offence that he barely understood. But next to him, his childhood stepped forward and knelt, touching her forehead to the grass. “I am called Otomo and this is Seppun, priest of the gods and agent of the Heavens on the Mortal Realm. We are your servants, my Lady. All that we have and all that we are is yours. We are your servants.”
The D'aww of the Empire is the earliest time known to Rokugan, when the eight Kami came to earth and forged the peoples they found into a single unified kingdom. It was a time of chaos and opportunity, of birth and transformation.
All the traditions and structures of Rokugan were born in those earliest days, and the Empire faced the terrible evil of Fu Leng and the First War which he unleashed. The Kami walked the earth alongside mortals, and great heroes arose to confront the Dark Kami and his armies.
It is a story of love, romance and transformation. Of chaos and order. Of civilization and the nature of gods and men.
And it is all yours.
The game will be set during the Dawn of the Empire, with the players able to play either Kami or mortal followers. It uses the L5R 4th Edition ruleset.
Below are the relevant links:
Game Site
Application Rules
Cast
Game Schedule
Akagi let the grief seize and shake him until it passed, then rose to his feet and wiped the tears from his face. His friend Otomo stood at his side, nodding. Akagi knew what to do. He turned to the other tribesmen assembled in the village square. “The Noriaki have dealt us a sore blow today. This is true. But even they would not attack us here in our home, strike at the holiest of the servants of the gods. It will be as it has always been, they will discover who it is they attack and leave off, go back to raiding other tribes. That is how it has always been and that is how it shall be this time. Return to your homes and patrols and let your minds be eased. The tribe of the Seppun shall stand undiminished and undefeated as we always have. I am no longer Akagi, I am now the Seppun.” The tribesmen and women nodded to each other, and looks of hope and resolve crossed their features. They began to leave the square, returning to their duties and their lives. Akagi, now Seppun, smiled towards Otomo, the look of hope unfelt in his own face. But what else could he offer them? Without hope their doom was certain. With hope it was almost certain.
When the square was clear, Seppun climbed to the top of the hill which stood above his village - his village, the thought took some time to set in. He crossed the verdant green field that covered the top of the hill and knelt before the simple stone shrine. There Otomo still waited, her face serene, her eyes closed in the depths of prayer. After a short time, the woman opened her eyes and looked up. “You are troubled, Akagi.”
Seppun turned his gaze away "I am, Otomo. We will not survive a concentrated attack by the Noriaki. My father was a warrior. My cousins were brave. I am useless. I fear we live in the final days of the tribe of Seppun.”
Otomo looked at Akagi searchingly. “Do you truly believe that? The gods cannot allow us to fall. We are the holiest of their servants, they cannot stand idly by and allow us to be destroyed.”
“The Noriaki have already killed my entire family!” Akagi cried, feeling his suppressed anger swell up like a vast bubble, choking him. A shadow covered the ground. Akagi froze, unaware. Otomo rose to her feet, her eyes wide as she backed away from her friend.
The shadow filled the sky, plunging the hill and surrounding lands into darkness.
The two tribe members looked up to see that the Sun itself seemed to have turned black.
“What does it mean?” Otomo whispered. Ah yes, the expectation. Seppun is a priest, so he should now. But he was only able to shook his head, silent. "
A light appeared, golden and pure, where the Sun had been. Then another, and another, each dropping toward the ground like glowing snowflakes. Seven lights fell in quick succession, and then the shadow began to move off of the Sun. An eighth light appeared out of the sky as the sunlight burst forth once more. For a moment Seppun thought there had been a ninth light in the south, just before the Sun reached her full light again, but it was impossible to be sure.
The eight lights descended toward them, swelling into blazing stars as large as a man. Seppun fell back in terror, shielding his face with one hand, clutching his stumbling friend with another. Too late.
The lights settled on the top of the Seppun, their glow slowly fading. Screaming, Otomo rushed away. Seppun expected the lights to hurt him, bur him, but he felt comfortable. He reached with his right hand towards the light, grasping something soft. There was a soft gasp and the lights coalesced into human figures, women clad in robes and armour of shining gold. They were beautiful beyond any mortal form, their eyes blazing with the light of Heaven itself. Their clothing shifted and changed, assuming bright colours and patterns of such depth and complexity that Seppun felt dizzy just looking at them. Only then he noticed the furious green eyes fulminating him, following his hand caressing a breast. Seppun retreated as the blushing woman was rushing for her sword, but she was distracted as the strangers looked at each other as though confused. One of the women tilted her head back, silver-haired and of golden eyes, looked into the sky, and whispered, “Is that what the mortals see when they look to the heavens? It is beautiful.” Two of the women were identical, twins Seppun figured. One of them began to speak. “What happened to...” She was cut off by another woman, one whose garments still held the gold of the Heavens. She drew a curved sword, a blade so perfect it looked like a piece of starlight. “They are gone. Do not dare to say a word. "
All eight bowed their heads for a moment. The woman that Seppun had accidentally molested rose and still covering her chest joined the others. "Sisters, I believe there are mortals here.”
The celestial creatures turned toward the Seppun and Otomo. The still furious woman turns to them, her voice echoing like a great bell. “I am Hantei. These are my sisters. Name yourselves, mortals.” Seppun flinched, his limbs shaking so badly he could not even stand, fearing to be struck for an offence that he barely understood. But next to him, his childhood stepped forward and knelt, touching her forehead to the grass. “I am called Otomo and this is Seppun, priest of the gods and agent of the Heavens on the Mortal Realm. We are your servants, my Lady. All that we have and all that we are is yours. We are your servants.”
The D'aww of the Empire is the earliest time known to Rokugan, when the eight Kami came to earth and forged the peoples they found into a single unified kingdom. It was a time of chaos and opportunity, of birth and transformation.
All the traditions and structures of Rokugan were born in those earliest days, and the Empire faced the terrible evil of Fu Leng and the First War which he unleashed. The Kami walked the earth alongside mortals, and great heroes arose to confront the Dark Kami and his armies.
It is a story of love, romance and transformation. Of chaos and order. Of civilization and the nature of gods and men.
And it is all yours.
The game will be set during the Dawn of the Empire, with the players able to play either Kami or mortal followers. It uses the L5R 4th Edition ruleset.
Below are the relevant links:
Game Site
Application Rules
Cast
Game Schedule
