<<War of Gold Thrown Off Western Cliffs<<

As Dragon pushed further into Horse territory, they discovered gold ore pebbles in the rivers from the Horse’s sacred mountain. Upon learning of this discovery, the Emperor ordered Crane, having been deposed of most of their holding, to enter Horse Land and impose martial law. He stripped the willful and isolationist Horse of their Clan Status, and ordered Crane to begin mining the sacred mountain for it’s gold.
Crane, having never disobeyed the Emperor, did just that, and marched their clan to the ancient mountain, brutally putting down any resistance. This betrayal of old clan loyalties showed on the face of every Horse that they travel past, and truly it cut each Crane down to the bone. After gaining control of the Horse territories, Crane installed magistrates from the trade cities to oversee the mining operation, then marched home in sorrow.

Soon after this, a letter arrived at the Imperial Palace, informing the Emperor of the Crane’s pain of heart. They could not have disobeyed the Emperor, for it would be beyond dishonor and not the will of Heaven. They also could not stand to be forced into betrayal of a friend again. Thus, they had packed the whole clan into their fleet of boats, and traveled north into the Broken Isles. This is the last recorded history of the Crane Clan under that name.

With their holy shrine destroyed and martial law imposed on the lands, Horse Clan’s nomadic nature turned on itself. Family infighting riped the clan remnants apart, and the rolling plains were watered with the blood of brothers. With no central leadership, the fighting quickly spilled over the clan borders, with separate Horse families claiming much of the Crab Clan’s holdings, and well as some of the remaining foothills of the Dragon.

The Dragon were enraged by their failure to capture the Horse plains even with Horse in disarray, turned on each other. The struggle for power ended in a duel for control of the clan. The daimyo was slain in one on one combat by a young warrior from a small family. After the duel, the warrior revealed that he was actually a she: an Otome warrior from the Mantis Clan. The Dragon refused to turn it’s back on tradition, and no one could best the Otome in single combat. Thus, Dragon became a subservient clan of the Mantis. But fealty was a bitter pill to swallow for some. One family of the Dragon Clan refused to bow to the Mantis Otome, and civil war continued to tear up the Imperial delta for generations.

>>Four Armies Sit in Circle Around Throne>>