NPCs

[Cearnach]

Please find linked below short(-ish) descriptions of the NPCs that will be appearing in this game. What you see here, or indeed on the rosters of your Delegation or your Marriage Candidates is, of course, not all that there is to know about the NPCs in this campaign. Characters may make Lore: Heraldry checks against any samurai character, including marriage candidates, to see what they have heard of that character before. You may also use Lore: [Great Clan X]/Intelligence skills to remember details of members of specific clans. The higher the Status or Influence of a character, the easier it will be. You can also chase rumors with a Courtier/Awareness check at TN: 25, though rumors need not always be perfectly accurate. More (and more verifiable) facts may be ascertained with dedicated research. Consider carefully where further information can be obtained, and from whom. Don't be afraid to pursue the unknown!

The Imperial Officers
Hantei Retsuhime, Empress of Rokugan.
Kakita Hajime, Emerald Champion
Shiba Rumiko, the Imperial Chancellor
Otomo Keihime, the Imperial Adviser
Hida Kozume, the Ruby Champion

The Winds
-In order of descent from Hantei-
1. Doji Noriko, The Courtier, 1st Cousin of the Empress
2. Seppun Tomaru, the Hidden Guard, 2nd Cousin of the Empress
3. Otomo Gorobei, the Bureaucrat Bushi, 3rd Cousin of the Empress
4. Otomo Keihime, the Imperial Advisor, 4th Cousin of the Empress

The Imperial Families
Otomo Tooru, Otomo Family Daimyo
Seppun Sadako, Seppun Family Daimyo, Master of the Hidden Guard
Miya Hachi, Miya Family Daimyo, Imperial Herald.
Otomo Mariko, the Imperial Matchmaker.

The Delegation Heads
Crab Clan: Kaiu Masahiko, Daimyo of the Kaiu Family
Crane Clan: Doji Minehime, Champion of the Crane
Dragon Clan: Togashi Mizohachi, Champion of the Dragon
Lion Clan: Akodo Sanae, Champion of the Lion, supported by:
Matsu Tsuruyo, Daimyo of the Matsu
Ikoma Ryota, Daimyo of the Ikoma
Kitsu Shintaro, Daimyo of the Kitsu
Scorpion Clan: Bayushi Kaguya, Champion of the Scorpion
Phoenix Clan: Shiba Higashime, Champion of the Phoenix
Badger Clan: Ichiro Himari, Ambassador of the Badger
Boar Clan: Heichi Batsuda, Daimyo of the Boar
Centipede Clan: Moshi Akane, Daimyo of the Centipede
Fox Clan: Kitsune Aiko, Regent of the Fox
Mantis Clan: Gusai Rioshida, Daimyo of the Mantis
Sparrow Clan: Suzume Ryobu, Ambassador of the Sparrow
Tortoise Clan: Kasuga Izumi, Ambassador of the Tortoise

Representatives of the Brotherhood of Shinsei
Chou-sin, Abbot of the Four Temples
Do, Abbot of the Plains of Thunder Monastery of the Order of Osano-wo
Bokushi, Monk of the Order of Seven Thunders.

[Hantei Retsuhime]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Empress of Rokugan
Age: 46
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 4"
Build: Average
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Hantei Retsuhime is not a complex woman, and she does not believe that this is a complex world. She is the axis on which the world turns. The good and loyal are rewarded, the bad and disloyal are punished. It has been these two principles that have driven Hantei Retsuhime's reign. Those who defy her or have evaded just punishment for their actions must be corrected. The idea that differing agendas might not be in direct competition has not entered her mind. Consequently, she has looked with grave disfavor on the "unrepentant schemers" in the Scorpion and Crane clans and tended to smile much more warmly at the Lion and Dragon, and more recently the "redeemed" Phoenix.

It is not known if the Empress regrets her marriage to Matsu Hideki. It defined her era, crippled her (possibly imagined) enemies, and also unmade her dynasty. It is beyond her why her divine mother has denied her a child, but she feels her influence slipping away with each passing year. As illness and frailty have plagued her for several seasons, she knows that this winter will be her last opportunity to name an heir. Faced with that prospect, she has commissioned Ikoma Ryota to sort through the Imperial Histories to determine who ought to be the legal heir. The process was not without missteps and leaks. Precisely what she feels about the candidates is unknown. It was widely assumed that she would simply anoint her cousin and greatest friend Otomo Keihime, but something has held her back. What is clear is that she intends to resolve the issue during this court.

[Kakita Hajime]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Emerald Champion
Age: 66
Marital Status: Widower
Height: 6' 1"
Build: Athletic
Eyes: Brown
Hair: White (natural)

A severe and businesslike man, Kakita Hajime's great height and angular features make him easy to spot in the crowded streets of Otosan Uchi. Hajime has been the Emerald Champion for forty years, having come to the position after the retirement of Matsu Mochiko. In that time, he has made the Emerald Office an efficient, responsive organization that reinforces the commitment to public honor embodied by the Hantei. Needless to say, the Crane have seen a lot of appointments to the Emerald Office over the course of his tenure, particularly during those times when the Crane were hurting politically on other fronts. Recent years are a key example of this, and while there are still a good number of senior magistrates of the Dragon, Scorpion, and Phoenix clans that owe their appointments to the old man, the trend of late has been to look to the Crane first and the Crab and Lion second when positions need to be filled. The policy is not official, and certainly there are many exceptions, but the trend is observable and the source of some grumbling in the Imperial Families.

[Shiba Rumiko]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Imperial Chancellor
Age: 32
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 6"
Build: Average
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

This adroit painter was appointed Imperial Chancellor at the suggestion of Shiba Higashime about six months after the retirement of Ikoma Akiko. It is known that Hantei Retsuhime had certain reservations about this young woman reaching such a high office instead of an Imperial or Lion samurai, but Otomo Keihime recognized the talent for organization behind the somewhat reserved, middle-aged artist. She has seemed to bear out the Empress' expectations, as the Bureaucracy has been running quite efficiently for the majority of her tenure. She is able to work smoothly with both Keihime and Hajime, and has become quite close with Seppun Sadako. Junior courtiers have often found a helpful word of advice (or stern word of warning) from Shiba Rumiko at just the right time to prevent some disaster or open their eyes to some opportunity, making her quite popular with her staff and those of the principal embassies in the capital. She is also rumored to regularly feed Shiba Higashime inside information concerning Imperial matters, but that's almost to be expected.

[Otomo Keihime]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Imperial Adviser, Contender for the Throne
Age: 44
Marital Status: Widowed
Height: 5' 2"
Build: Slender
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

The blood of Hantei may have run thin, but that does not mean that his nearest relations lack his exceptional talents. A mighty figure in the courts from a very young age, the position of Imperial Adviser was, in a sense, formalized so that Retsuhime would always have her helpful voice close at hand. It was under Keihime's advice that Lions retiring from Imperial Offices tended to be replaced first by Imperials and then by members of the Phoenix clan. And while the Empress certainly has a mind of her own (as evidenced by her animosity toward Kitsu Shintaro), it is widely understood that it is Keihime who has control of Imperial strategy.

Keihime was married to a fairly mild-mannered Seppun by the name of Inarizaki. His death two years ago to an illness was mourned perfunctorily and then forgotten. She has no children of her own.

Her 24-year tenure as Imperial Adviser has been the greatest for the Otomo family since the breaking of the Gozoku. She rules the court as Retsuhime's confidante and hatchet-person, unafraid to make judgments and wield her authority to keep the clans in line. She has broken the reputation of the great and the small, and no man slights Imperial prerogatives and authority without her exacting a terrible price.

Because she speaks with Imperial authority and knows the mind of the Empress, none were surprised when the Ikoma acknowledged that the blood of Hantei ran strong in Otomo Keihime. Her support is strongest among those who value tradition and continuity of Imperial authority, and is consequently strongest in Otosan Uchi itself. She has been closely associated in recent months with the Four Temples, whose Abbot, Chou-sin, is a fixture of the Imperial Court. In the Ekohikei, it is almost a foregone conclusion that the Empress will name her greatest friend her heir designate. Almost.

[Hida Kozume]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Ruby Champion
Age: 76
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 11"
Build: Heavyset
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Grey

The Ruby Champion is a veteran of the Crab-Dragon war, where he led a mixed force of Crab and Scorpion samurai in a protracted siege of Kyuden Ikoma. His elevation came at a time when the Empress felt that the Lion had consolidated a little too much power in the courts. Now that many of their number have retired, it seems Kozume has found himself somewhat less welcome to the Empress' time and his counsel a little less sought-after by her coterie. No matter, this most practical of the Empress' servants has devoted himself to his appointed task, and the Emerald Magistrates as a group have seldom been so well-prepared for the violence that is, however unfortunately, part of their duties.

[Doji Noriko]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Courtier, Contender for the Throne
Age: 26
Marital Status: Married, with two sons.
Height: 5' 3"
Build: Average
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

The person with the closest blood tie to the Hantei is, in fact, not an Imperial at all. Doji Noriko is the daughter of Hantei Yugozohime's younger sister, who married Doji Masamori, the younger son of Doji Kakumei. In normal circumstances, her status as a clan samurai would naturally disqualify her from the succession, but two factors have ensured her candidacy: Firstly, her mother was ordered by Hantei Yugozohime not to forswear her claim on the throne in case something should prevent Yugozohime from having children. Secondly, a curious number of signs and portents have followed Doji Noriko all her life. When she was born, Lady Sun seemed to hang still in the sky over Kyuden Doji. Later, her mother was surprised to find her baby girl speaking in full sentences to a family of foxes. Other stories of Noriko's seeming atunement to Tengoku have spread slowly across the Empire in the past few years, and people have not been surprised to learn that similar tales have attached themselves to her children by her formerly Akodo husband.

No one has asked Noriko if she would like to be Empress, but there seems to be an assumption among the Kakita and Doji and more than a few Lion and Scorpion samurai that she is the natural choice--after all, the signs of the favor of the Heavens are there for all to see. Of course, both clans would like to see the iron-fisted Imperial rule epitomized by Otomo Keihime loosened, but that hardly enters into the matter.

For her part, Doji Noriko remains mute on the subject of the Imperial succession. After all, Hantei Retsuhime is still alive, and the naked ambition of an Otomo Gorobei would seem untoward. Noriko is far too modest, too sincere in her breeding, and too cautious to begin bandying claims to an occupied throne, and she is consistent in contradicting overzealous supporters who are unwise enough to lobby for her in her presence. Still, there is something about her that screams both authority and benevolence, making her an attractive choice even for those not easily swayed by rumors of divine manifestations and stories of precocious wildlife.

[Seppun Tomaru]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Shugenja of the Hidden Guard, Contender for the Throne
Age: 54
Marital Status: Married, with three children and eight grandchildren.
Height: 5' 7"
Build: Just a tad overweight
Eyes: Brown
Hair: White

Seppun Tomaru is a grandfather, some 54 years of age, and is descended from Hantei through the sister of Hantei Muhaki and Hantei Kusada, Otomo Kanehime, who married a member of the Hidden Guard. Seppun Tomaru has followed in the family tradition, demonstrating an aptitude with the Water and Earth kami since he called walk. He has served faithfully on the Hidden Guard for his entire adult life, travelling only when the Empress has traveled to Winter Courts across the Empire. His closest relationships tend to be with other Shugenja, especially those with Shinseist leanings. Until now, he has not been a major political figure, and is not entirely sure what to make of the people who now darken his door, seeking his opinion on subjects he has seldom considered. He is not entirely comfortable with the idea of being Emperor.

There are, however, subjects that are near to his heart. One of these is his belief in restraint of military tendencies and the power to combat ignorance that a unitary empire could achieve. It is when his thoughts turn toward standardized educational systems, more sustained support for the Brotherhood of Shinsei, and the enshrinement of peace between the clans that Tomaru begins to wonder whether having the power to make his dreams reality might not be a blessing as well as a burden. Perhaps it is even an obligation for him to pursue it, for the good of the Empire, for the Fortunes know that his cousins are unlikely to use the throne in a positive way.

[Otomo Gorobei]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Vice-Minister of Public Gardens, Bushi, Contender for the Throne
Age: 30
Marital Status: Single
Height: 5' 6"
Build: Powerful
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Otomo Gorobei is Hantei Retsuhime's third cousin, having descended from Hantei Bosai through Hantei Fujiwa's brother, Otomo Totogasi. A strapping man of 30, Gorobei is unusual for an Otomo in that he trained at the Seppun school and underwent musha-shugyo. It is generally not permitted to discuss what happens during a young man's wanderings, but as soon as Gorobei's candidacy for the Imperial Throne was established, stories began to spread across the Empire. Students at Sunda Mizu Dojo claim that he went twelve rounds in jiujutsu with Hida Daisuke during one of the former Champion's visits to the dojo. Several Akodo students claim that the Otomo was a doshi of theirs, if under another name. The Daidoji whisper that he is as hardy a mountaineer as any of their scouts, and as good with the yari as he is with the blade. Even the Fox, Boar, and lowly Sparrow claim to have housed him for a time. Courtiers scoff at his "busy year," but the wise take careful note of the popularity of this bushi. After all, it was Hantei Yugozohime's skill with the sword that won her an Empire.

Gorobei has no patience for the pretense other candidates have taken up. They may dither and fan themselves, tripping over each other to deny that they are pursuing the throne. Gorobei, at least, will be sincere. He wants it. He wants it because his talents have been ignored. When he returned from Musha Shugyo, he was made Vice-Minister of Public Gardens and largely forgotten by the rest of the family. The sudden swell of popularity from the Empire at large has reinforced Gorobei's sense that his talents, and the talents of many in the Empire, have been wasted by people with little vision or competency. He hopes to use the power of the throne to establish a form of meritocracy that would recognize the abilities of junior samurai, and rely less on connections and bloodlines to fill high office.

He harbors no illusions that he wants to be Emperor more than the others do. He isn't foolish. But he is impatient, and furthermore, he is concerned about what should happen if some unforeseen circumstance should arise and the Empress should fail to name him heir before her death. He knows that he is popular, he knows that he earned that adulation. Well, perhaps not all of it, but he did and does work harder than most to maintain his skill and abilities. The question is how to deploy that popularity to win Retsuhime's favor before she croaks or simply hands it to dear cousin Keihime, like she has so much else. Not for the first time, Gorobei is tasting the irony of his choice to follow the way of the sword. Now, after that choice has given him a chance, his lack of skill in his family's arena may just cost him the opportunity of a lifetime. He needs the support of clever people to keep him in the running. With luck and a little help, his ambition may just come true.

[Otomo Tooru]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Otomo Daimyo, Courtier
Age: 33
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 3" (5'8 in lifts)
Build: Slender
Eyes: Green
Hair: Brown

Part of a long-running double act with Otomo Keihime, Otomo Tooru represents the most intensely revanchist elements of the Imperial Families. He has little to no time for members of the Great Clans that acted against the throne during the Gozoku or White Stag eras, leading to his persistent efforts to marginalize and intimidate members of the Scorpion, Crane, Phoenix, and Mantis clans. The Crab, meanwhile, are just distasteful, the Dragon entirely too preachy…and the Lion are just so dull.

Where Keihime's distaste for the Great Clans is palpable but couched in concern for Imperial institutions and the wishes of the Empress, Tooru is not above using status and name as a cudgel to beat down those he feels should know their place. He is, consequently, a much less effective courtier than the Imperial Adviser, but of course position and lineage mean that he still punches with a force far above his ability to smoothly control. As the succession crisis has developed, Tooru has become Keihime's biggest partisan, and has been among those who have made Otomo Gorobei's work in the bureaucracy substantially more difficult and demeaning. Experienced courtiers know that his vindictive scheming has not nearly been exhausted.

[Seppun Sadako]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Master of the Hidden Guard, Seppun Daimyo
Age: 24
Marital Status: Single
Height: 5' 7"
Build: Lithe
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

A gregarious young woman, Sadako has been Seppun Daimyo for about three years. She has found the experience to be endless rounds of planning punctuated by glittering social affairs. She clings to them as her lifeline. She is familiar with all of the contenders for the throne, and counts Doji Noriko as a friend, having shared tables at numerous social functions in Otosan Uchi. The fact that her friend might become empress, however unlikely, has been somewhat disconcerting for Lady Seppun. More concerning, however, has been Seppun Tomaru's candidacy. The sweet old man, stuffy and pious, somewhat dull, but an important part of the Empress' security detail, has suddenly become one of the most sought-after individuals in the Empire. It has played havoc with her security arrangements, and has made her decidedly uncomfortable. She cannot recall ever having had the need to reprimand the ever-reliable Tomaru, but she does not know whether her father or grandfather had cause to do so during their tenures. If so, would the old man be the vindictive sort? And what of the other contenders? Can Sadako expect a cold shoulder from Keihime simply for sharing tea with Noriko or a name with Tomaru? Her anxieties increasing, Sadako hopes that Hantei Retsuhime will resolve the situation swiftly this winter, and hopefully without any real drama. Hopefully.

[Miya Hachi]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Imperial Herald, Miya Daimyo
Age: 61
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 9"
Build: Average
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

The Imperial Herald is starting to feel his age. A contemporary and friend of Hantei Retsuhime during her youth, as she grew more bitter about the events of her grandfather's and mother's reigns, he found that his more positive worldview was not as appreciated in court. He still resides in Otosan Uchi, and still executes his role with his customary skill, but there is a wide gulf between him and his Empress, and he has little idea how to bridge it. As a result, his interests have turned to cultivating his family's fortunes. As the most accessible of the Imperial Families, the Miya have done what they could to smooth the rough edges of the Otomo and Seppun's efforts to consolidate power through careful diplomacy and a series of advantageous marriages. Though they did not break the unwritten ban on Crane marriages during Retsuhime's reign, their conciliatory efforts have reached every other Great clan at one point or another, something that has earned Hachi the private derision of his Otomo cousins.

[Otomo Mariko]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Imperial Matchmaker
Age: Not a day over 27, dear.
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 0"
Build: Comfortable
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Grey

A fixture of the Imperial Winter Court, Otomo Mariko has been a strong supporter of the Empress' policy of punishing the clans that gave birth to the Gozoku. She plays the role of a sweet old grandmother, but veteran courtiers all know that inside beats a heart of steel. She was the architect of the humiliation of Isawa Sorami, and has consistently steered the Great Clans and Imperial Families from marriages with Crane spouses for all of her tenure. Many courtiers are eagerly looking forward to the day when she retires, but apparently her polite fiction that she is still 27 years old is backed up by her official documentation, in which her year of birth is quietly (but famously) updated each year.

[Kaiu Masahiko]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Kaiu Daimyo, Engineer
Age: 32
Marital Status: Married
Height: 6'5
Build: Enormous
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Kaiu Masahiko is a bear of a man, closer in dimensions to a mighty tree than to most men. He runs the Kaiu family with an assiduousness that is matched only by his love of machines. And Kaiu Masahiko is famously devoted to his machines, using his spare time to tinker especially with devices that can prolong their motion or seem to move on their own with just a bit of winding or the application of a little push to get started. His free time is spent on this or on correspondence with his many friends across the Empire, none closer than Isawa Akihiro, Master of Air, whom he met as a young man in Otosan Uchi.

Masahiko got his start as a third son, and so it was not expected that he would inherit the daimyoship. He was trained in the Engineering school, where he prospered, and was appointed a junior scribe to the Imperial Court just after gempukku. In time, he became the senior scribe, in charge of converting the numerous treaties, agreements, and pronouncements made there into written text that could be copied and distributed across the Empire. His time in the courts made him politically savvy, but also somewhat defensive about his territory. Too many courtiers would swing by the scribe's office to ask to revise or extend their remarks, and Masahiko got very comfortable with telling people, sometimes rather powerful people, no.

He was forced to leave his Imperial position when his brothers succumbed to injuries incurred in battle. He considers himself an important political advisor to Hida Gendo, and for all that the young Lord Hida has a mind and will of his own, perhaps he is. But of greater importance to Hida Gendo is Masahiko's careful fiscal administration of what could easily be the most expensive part of the Crab military machine: production of materiel. Kaiu Masahiko believes in efficiency, and has worked tirelessly to streamline production and delivery of armor and weaponry to the famous castles that dot Hiruma and Kuni territory. There are fewer of the great custom-made suits of Kaiu armor as a result, but the Crab armies have never had such an abundance of materiel and such reserves of cash.

[Doji Minehime]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Crane Champion, Bushi
Age: 39
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5'7
Build: Slender
Eyes: Blue
Hair: White

The second daughter of Doji Kakumei has been Champion for two years, and recently gave birth to her son and heir. She made a name for herself as a slip of a girl in a naval engagement with a Thrane expeditionary force, seizing a frigate with a team of Daidoji marines and using it to fire on its fellows. Stories have spread--not just among the Crane--of her feats during musha-shugyo and years as a right hand to her sister smiting bandits, challenging entire dojo, saving the helpless, and being a general bad-ass. Indeed, it is widely believed that, should Kakita Hajime elect to retire, Doji-ue would be the natural successor, though there are a fair few swordsmen and women in the empire who lie awake dreaming of out-drawing Lady Doji, and train all the harder to realize those dreams.

While personally quite formidable, it should be noted that Lady Doji's reign has not been without challenges. Gone are the days of her father's close relationship with Hantei Muhaki. Retsuhime's long bitterness at the Gozoku and refusal to forgive hamstrung the Crane clan throughout her long reign. A generation of Kuge followed the Empress' lead in snubbing Crane marriages, and with each death or retirement the Imperial Bureaucracy slipped further out of Crane hands. In the end, it has been Crane skill with the sword that has kept their hand in politics and seen to their security in the face of the increased power of the Lion and Crab clans these past thirty years, and so it is fitting that it is as a swordswoman that Lady Doji has made her mark.

On a more personal level, Minehime is known to be an involved Champion, taking a close personal interest in the minutiae of the management of her lands and in the samurai who serve her.

[Togashi Mizohachi]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Ise Zumi, Champion of the Dragon
Age: 50
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 10"
Build: Athletic
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown


Having recently reached his 50th year, Togashi Mizohachi is a familiar face in courtly circles. His predecessor was perhaps more traditional, preferring to operate behind the scenes with clandestine meetings in surprising places, but Mizohachi plays the game, speaking openly as often as in private. A fixture of Winter Courts renowned for his no-frills, no-nonsense style of entertaining (and politicking), the Dragon Champion is well-liked by many of the mighty of the Empire, but has been astute about avoiding dangerous conflicts. The result has been a slow deterioration of the alliance with the Lion (thanks mainly to the Mirumoto and the Lion themselves, apologists would point out) and an increasingly tense political situation in the Empire in general.

Internally, matters are much more complex. Togashi Mizohachi was able to act so openly because the Empire was so stable. Amaterasu’s curse—if that is what it is—on Hantei Retsuhime’s marriage has rather poisoned things. He has found his vision growing increasingly clouded as events progress. Togashi Mizohachi is sensitive to the isolationist leanings among several prominent families in the clan, but is also aware that had his predecessor not acted, then it was entirely likely that the Hantei dynasty might have collapsed under the weight of the Gozoku. Now it seems much more likely to collapse under its own weight, and he is unsure how to guarantee a smooth succession. Consequently, he has been trying to keep clans that are at a disadvantage from collapsing in the hope that relative parity will prevent stronger clans from wiping them out and thereby complicating the reincarnation of the Thunders. He is also sensitive to the fact that his immediate underlings are perhaps ill-suited to this moment in history, and he may seek to marginalize them, if only he can see the proper path forward.

[Akodo Sanae]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Champion of the Lion, Bushi, Artisan
Age: 34
Marital Status: Married
Height: 4' 8"
Build: Stocky
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Akodo Sanae has been leading the Lion clan since the retirement of Matsu Hana seven years ago. While not a descendant of Akodo Kurojin, Sanae was recognized at the time as a candidate that the other principal houses of the Lion families could respect. She stood--and stands--out for her social acumen, her brilliance in mathematics and the natural sciences, her diminutive size (4'8), and her willingness to think outside the box of political orthodoxy. She understands more than most the melange of resentments that have built up in her clan over the past few generations, and has done much to channel them toward her ends. What those are precisely, there are only a few who are permitted to know, but astute observers will remember the inclusion of a character in her latest novel (her fifth) that betrays her lady precisely by being the perfect servant to her, leaving the lady entirely dependent on her and unable to effectively govern without her. Clearly a full-bore attack against someone in high station, everyone has a theory as to whether it was a callback to the Gozoku and the perfidy of the Crane and Scorpion, a warning about the rise of Shiba Higashime, or a denouncement of the control Otomo Keihime seems to exert over the Empress.

Sanae knows that the Lion clan has been sliding out of Imperial favor over the course of the past few years, and while she knows in her bones that Matsu Tsuruyo is correct and that the Lion clan could sweep aside its principal competitors without much difficulty, were its hands free, she also knows that so long as the Otomo remain between her and the Empress' ear, she will never be permitted to draw her sword against the Phoenix. She shares in the resentment her samurai feel at not being able to exercise their war machine, but she also, unlike most, knows that the primary danger in the Empire isn't the difficulties between the clans, but rather the simmering conflicts between houses within clans and families that make this a particularly challenging time for a succession crisis. This time, she knows, there will be no benevolent uncle to step in and keep the throne warm. Decisions will have to be made, and she is determined that when she makes her choice, she will have the final word.

[Matsu Tsuruyo]

Gender: Female
Occupation: Daimyo of the Matsu, Bushi
Age: 34
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 10"
Build: Powerful
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Bearing a reputation almost as fearsome as that of Matsu herself, it surprised no one that Matsu Tsuruyo was forced to concede the Championship of the Lion clan to the politician and polymath Akodo Sanae. Hantei Retsuhime's policies have made this era rather unsuited to warfare, and Tsuruyo embraces warfare like a lover, the foremost among many. She has only been able to indulge in her love of violence twice. First, in a short, bloody foray against the Crane in which the Matsu were surprised, out-maneuvered, and forced to withdraw with stiff losses, then in an act of terrible retribution for an act of disloyalty from one of her vassals.

Tsuruyo still has not completely come to terms with the loss to the Crane, though explicit instructions from the Imperial Advisor have prevented her from raising another army and smashing the Crane properly, as she wishes. Instead, she has been forced to simmer in her resentments against her Champion, against the weakness of her samurai, and against the Imperial Families, who frustrate the natural order by preventing samurai from fighting and dying as they ought. Curiously, the only people she does not resent for her defeat are the Crane themselves, as to her mind they proved they were strong enough to be worthy of respect. That doesn't mean she isn't determined to kill them all, though. No, far from it. It's just that maybe she'll write a poem after she takes Doji Minehime's head, rather than spitting on her corpse.

[Ikoma Ryota]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Daimyo of the Ikoma, Courtier
Age: 36
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 7"
Build: Average
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Ikoma Ryota came to the Daimyoship three years ago, and in that time has aged about twenty years. Prematurely graying and developing stress-related back pain that at times keeps him contorted and stooped, he labors under the cares that will soon explode on the rest of the empire, as well as some issues of his own making. Ryota was personally commanded last year to chart the lines of descent from the Hantei family, in order to find that person most closely related to the childless Hantei Retsuhime. Ryota and his hand-picked assistants conducted painstaking research while doing their utmost to fend off interference from nearly every conceivable quarter, a process requiring nearly all of his energies. He feels confident that he has seen off all attempts to coerce or unduly influence his team. All save one, that is. It is, after all, impossible to undo one's own influence.

Ryota holds himself responsible for the unresolved nature of the succession. For, though he feels deeply the anguish that a murky succession may cause, he knows that it is better than no answer at all, and the nearest relatives of the Empress were, in the opinion of his team, not a complete accounting of the Empress' options. The line of Hantei cannot be permitted to fail. He remains firmly neutral on the subject of who would be the proper successor to the Empress. He feels it is right not to cloud the objectivity of his work with his personal inclinations, but the lack of a firm Ikoma policy has meant that the political might of the Lion clan may well fragment as individual houses pursue opportunities in the camps that are sure to form unless the Empress names her successor immediately. That prospect has only contributed to Ryota’s stress. Mostly, he feels like the man who was asked to carry a candle into a storeroom of gaijin pepper. He is waiting for his world to explode.

[Kitsu Shintaro]

Gender: Male
Occupation: Daimyo of the Kitsu, Sodan-senzo
Age: 39
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5' 8"
Build: Average
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

Cursed from a young age by the falling sickness, Kitsu Shintaro grew up coddled, but committed to the narratives of the Kitsu family. That is, he takes care of his body and of the spirits he encounters at seemingly every turn. What differentiates Kitsu Shintaro from other Kitsu, however, is the way he interacts with the ancestors. Sure, he pays the necessary homage, but far more interesting to him are the wells of memories that the spirits possess--and the careful, at times amusing, but always meaningful ways in which they embroider them. You see, Kitsu Shintaro is no credulous fool. He knows the spirits lie, but their humanity, their pettiness, their faults and foibles are why he loves them. And he has dedicated himself to helping them overcome these imperfections, all the while recording them for posterity in hundreds of notebooks.

Still relatively youthful at 39, Shintaro is a man of mental action. He doesn't like to sit back and let a problem fester, preferring to tackle things head-on. Occasionally, this has gotten him into trouble. More often, it has fed his ego. He sees himself as an effective operator. And occasionally he is. He is brilliant at what lies within his skillset, but he remains a bit of a political dilettante, acting more on instinct than on strategy.