<<Third Era, Foreigners Invade<<

The Horse emperor reigned for many generations peacefully, the clans’ resources exhausted from long periods of intrigue. It was at the beginning of this period that the events of Crane Soars High on Hot Ash, Scorpion Sleeps In Rock came to pass:

Scorpion artisans, famous for their fireworks displays, had developed a way to weaponise the ancient celebratory rockets, developing the Hwacha, an evil weapon able to fire one hundred hundred soldiers worth of arrows in a second. In their pride, the offered it to the Crane Clan, knowing it would be an indispensable for coastal defense. The Crane Clan was aghast at the breach of Imperial Edict represented by the Hwacha, and feared the new strength of the Scorpion Clan. This is the Betrayal of Neighbor’s Friend, Killing Child which would color relations between the two clans for the rest of their shared history.

Crane took their knowledge to the Horse Emperor, who also feared the power of the Hwacha as well, and was outraged by the breach of Imperial law. He called the daimyo of the Scorpion Clan before the throne, to answer for the actions of his artisans. The daimyo, shamed by what had transpired, committed seppuku without prompt. His shame was so strong, that 1,200 scorpion ministers followed suit in the imperial capitol, creating a power vacuum that would cripple Scorpion politics in the years to come.

For their loyalty to the throne, and strong ties between the clans of Horse and Crane, the emperor declairs Crane to be the personal bodyguards of his Divine Imperial Person. Crane, moved by the emperor’s divine radiance, re-swears their fealty to the imperial throne. The Honor bestowed on the Crane Clan reaffirmed their Clan status after generations of dishonor and shadow.

>>Dragon With Two Heads, One in Clouds One in Fields>>