Post by Trailfoot on May 20, 2006 2:52:49 GMT -5
The laws of the Fallen Star that cover the rules of succession are both complex and immutable, handed down by the First Emperor and written in the blood of a dragon in the agreement that bound the Great Clans together under the Imperial Throne at what was then a simple mountain outpost at Sirius.
The heir apparent to the throne of the Fallen Star shall be the first son of the Emperor. The Emperor himself shall wed a woman of a clan that is not his own, or his father's, or his grandfather's, and the heir shall be raised as a member of his mother's clan. The mother shall be from one of the Great Clans of the Fallen Star by blood, or sworn to the service of one of the Great Clans and accepted by that clan as their own. According to the agreement, the Great Clans were as follows:
Crab, Crane Dragon, Kirin, Lion, Phoenix, Scorpion, Unicorn.
The samurai of each of the Great Clans, and many minor clans, each had their own martial traditions. For example, the Crab samurai would fight in heavy armor with great ease, the Crane practiced the art of iajutsu, and the Phoenix generally forsake swordplay for magical training.
The Kirin clan's samurai learned to combine elemental magic training with their swordplay, giving them the ability to bind elemental spirits into their blades to fit the situation they were in. Some went further, learning to bind spirits into themselves as well. However, today, the Kirin are gone, destroyed so thoroughly that not even their secret sword styles remain.
This is because of the Emperor Kiriku Kimin. In the three hundred twentieth year of the Age of Strife, Kiriku of the Kirin Clan was Emperor of the Fallen Star. He decided that he would wed who he chose, regardless of her clan, and chose a woman from his own clan, a young seer-trainee named Kanee. The two were wed in a peaceful ceremony, but the next day Yaris Kage, daimyo of the Crane, confronted the Emperor.
"Your Imperial Highness, this wedding is a violation of the highest laws of the Empire. I understand that you love this woman, but your actions threaten everyone in the Empire. Even now, the Scorpion clan rallies for war against Kirin, and the Unicorn and Crab will surely join them. Crane and Dragon will not associate ourselves with Scorpion, but we also cannot allow you to endanger the Empire like this."
The Emperor banished Yaris from Sirius and cut off the Crane from the Empire in response to this. The Crane formed alliances with the Dragon, and the Phoenix, and the Scorpion with the Crab and Unicorn. The two alliances did not share resources or tactics with one another, but they had the same goal. The Lion stood apart from the conflict.
And they swept into the lands of the Crab, putting their samurai to the sword and their fortresses to the torch.
The heir apparent to the throne of the Fallen Star shall be the first son of the Emperor. The Emperor himself shall wed a woman of a clan that is not his own, or his father's, or his grandfather's, and the heir shall be raised as a member of his mother's clan. The mother shall be from one of the Great Clans of the Fallen Star by blood, or sworn to the service of one of the Great Clans and accepted by that clan as their own. According to the agreement, the Great Clans were as follows:
Crab, Crane Dragon, Kirin, Lion, Phoenix, Scorpion, Unicorn.
The samurai of each of the Great Clans, and many minor clans, each had their own martial traditions. For example, the Crab samurai would fight in heavy armor with great ease, the Crane practiced the art of iajutsu, and the Phoenix generally forsake swordplay for magical training.
The Kirin clan's samurai learned to combine elemental magic training with their swordplay, giving them the ability to bind elemental spirits into their blades to fit the situation they were in. Some went further, learning to bind spirits into themselves as well. However, today, the Kirin are gone, destroyed so thoroughly that not even their secret sword styles remain.
This is because of the Emperor Kiriku Kimin. In the three hundred twentieth year of the Age of Strife, Kiriku of the Kirin Clan was Emperor of the Fallen Star. He decided that he would wed who he chose, regardless of her clan, and chose a woman from his own clan, a young seer-trainee named Kanee. The two were wed in a peaceful ceremony, but the next day Yaris Kage, daimyo of the Crane, confronted the Emperor.
"Your Imperial Highness, this wedding is a violation of the highest laws of the Empire. I understand that you love this woman, but your actions threaten everyone in the Empire. Even now, the Scorpion clan rallies for war against Kirin, and the Unicorn and Crab will surely join them. Crane and Dragon will not associate ourselves with Scorpion, but we also cannot allow you to endanger the Empire like this."
The Emperor banished Yaris from Sirius and cut off the Crane from the Empire in response to this. The Crane formed alliances with the Dragon, and the Phoenix, and the Scorpion with the Crab and Unicorn. The two alliances did not share resources or tactics with one another, but they had the same goal. The Lion stood apart from the conflict.
And they swept into the lands of the Crab, putting their samurai to the sword and their fortresses to the torch.