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Lion Clan EDIT
The Lion Clan were the Right Hand of the Emperor, being his enforcers, peacekeepers, and guards. They were also delegated the
task of being Imperially mandated chroniclers, charged with recording military and political interactions between the Clans. They
were the epitome of bushido and the very example of valor. Next to the Seppun family they were most likely to serve as the
Emperor's guardsmen. They comprised the greater portion of the Imperial Legions. The Lion Clan was founded by the Kami Akodo.
Contents [ hide ]
1. Lion Clan
1.1. Colors Mon of the Lion Clan
1.2. Disposition
2. Military
3. Views on other Clans
3.1. Crab Clan
3.2. Crane Clan
3.3. Dragon Clan
3.4. Phoenix Clan
3.5. Scorpion Clan
3.6. Unicorn Clan
4. History
4.1. Akodo and Matsu
4.1.1. Forbidden weddings between Akodo and Matsu
families
4.2. The Lion Thunder
4.3. Enmity with the Crane
4.4. The Lost Family
4.5. Treaty with the Crane
4.6. Storms Over Matsu Palace
4.7. Feuds with the Unicorn
4.7.1. War of the Rich Frog
4.7.2. The Khan's March
4.7.3. Fall of Shiro Moto
4.8. Mass seppuku
4.9. Age of the Conquest
4.10. Edict of Exploration
4.11. Yodotai
4.12. Colonial Conflicts
5. Perceptions of the Lion Clan
5.1. Nezumi
6. Details
6.1. Statistics
6.2. Territory
6.3. Families
6.4. Samurai
6.5. Palaces and cities
7. Schools & Paths
7.1. Schools
7.2. Paths and Advanced Schools
8. References
Lion Clan
Colors
The Lion Clan was mostly identified with yellow, brown, and earth tone colors. [1]
Disposition
The Lion were the most militant and aggressive of all the clans, revering bushido and loyalty to the Emperor as life's two most essential governing principles. The Lion's
rigidity and strict adherence to tradition had made diplomatic relations with other clans very difficult, especially the Crane and Scorpion Clans. To the Lion, an ancestor
was more than simply a spirit of the past; they guided the current generation of Lions in their everyday life and helped shape their destinies. They were more than the
Clan's past - they were its present and future. [citation needed]
Military
The Lion Clan Army was widely known for two things: their ferocity in battle and massive reserves. Over half a million samurai, organized into many thousands of units,
made the total Lion army almost double the size of any other Clan army, excepting that of the Crab. [2]
For further information on this section, please see Lion Clan Army
Views on other Clans
Crab Clan
The Crab were viewed as honored warriors for their strength at the most tested border, keeping the Shadowlands out of the Emerald Empire. But their lack of courtesy
was a reminder that an impudent man was an untrustworthy one. [3]
Crane Clan
The Crane were considered gluttons, gorging with abandon and taking no heed of others starving around them. They were proud to be rich and were like dogs. [3]
Dragon Clan
The Dragon spent too much time in their mountain temples, cowards who were afraid to enter into combat. [3]
Phoenix Clan
The Phoenix relied on the elements to save them instead of using them to save others. Their magic ways were weaker than the Lion one, the truth of the Forge. [4]
Scorpion Clan
The Scorpion were liars, who cared little for the Emperor. They could not be trusted. [4]
Unicorn Clan
The Unicorn would make a powerful army, but their wild impulses made them base, so they must be tutored. [4]
History
Akodo and Matsu
After the Tournament of the Kami, Akodo went out in search of men and women worthy to stand beside him and protect the
Emperor. Where a hundred others tried, often only one bushi stood up to Akodo's challenge and succeeded.
Akodo's bloody search was said to have been criticized in the courts of the Emperor by those who witnessed it, and some
proclaimed him a scourge upon the land of Rokugan. Each year during Hantei's coronation anniversary, Akodo returned to his
Sword of Akodo
brother's palace with no followers or brilliant generals to lead his waiting armies.
Led by Ikoma and Kitsu, the Lion clan grew slowly. Akodo was not satisfied. The Lady Matsu, who was possibly the greatest mortal warrior of the time, had not come to
be tested. When he finally convinced her to fight, the sky and the earth were said to have shaken. [5]
Forbidden weddings between Akodo and Matsu families
The samurai of the Akodo and Matsu families were not allowed to marry to prevent the strife such a child would cause. There were several of such weddings, as Akodo
Toturi's parents, but in such cases one of the spouses had to take the family name of the other. [6]
The Lion Thunder
When the first monk, Shinsei, gathered the seven men and women who became known as the Seven Thunders, Ikoma Jujinin, eldest of Ikoma's nine sons, stepped
forward as a candidate. Before he could follow, the Lady Matsu struck him down with a blow to his face. She then stood before the monk with a fiery passion burning in
her eyes, silently challenging any Lion to refute her claim to be a Thunder. None did, and thus Lady Matsu became the Lion Clan Thunder. [7]
Enmity with the Crane
In the year 50 the Matsu family attacked the Kakita family's holdings south of Otosan Uchi, goaded by stories of Kakita's insults against their founder, Akodo. The
Phoenix allied with the Crane, while the Scorpion supported the Lion. The Emperor Hantei Genji decreed such actions legal and honorable. The Matsu eventually
halted their attacks, feeling they had proven their point. [8]
The Lost Family
The Shimizu was the lost fifth family of the Lion. [9] Shimizu Tamayu was the warmongering Shimizu Daimyo, who turned to maho to claim more power. By
happenstance he opened a passage to Toshigoku, and he was taught to Summon Oni by the Tsuno. Oni no Tamayu was named, and the family was bound to its will. The
Shimizu were eventually destroyed some generations later in 927 by Akodo Giri, descendant of the actual daimyo Shimizu Otori, and their records were stricken from
the Ikoma Histories. [10]
Treaty with the Crane
The intermittent warfare between the Shimizu and their neighbors destroyed a substantial amount of farmland. The Lion turned to the Crane for help, and the Lion
vowed to make no further incursions into Crane lands for at least 30 years. The capture of Shiro no Yojin in the Night of the Falling Stars in 960 ended the treaty. [11]
Storms Over Matsu Palace
In 1131, the recently rescued Toturi I commanded Unicorn Magistrates to force the Lion to answer for their crimes committed in his absence. The Lion had been
practicing maho, and the Jade Champion himself, Kitsu Okura, had a hand in the corruption of the Lion. The Unicorn marched upon the Matsu, but were eventually
repelled by the foul blood magic of corrupted Lion maho-tsukai and their Shadowlands allies in 1132 at the battle of Storms over Matsu Palace. [12]
Feuds with the Unicorn
In the middle of the 12th century, tensions between the Lion and Unicorn erupted into war on several occasions.
War of the Rich Frog
Through shrewd political maneuvering, the Lion Clan obtained control of the City of the Rich Frog in 1165 by making the Kaeru family a vassal family of the Ikoma. The
Unicorn retaliated with military strikes. The conflict quickly escalated until the Emperor issued an edict charging the Dragon Clan with ending the dispute, resulting in a
three-way war. During this conflict the Lion Clan Champion, Matsu Nimuro, was believed to have been killed by Moto Chagatai, the Unicorn Clan Khan. In actuality a
clone of Nimuro created by the Egg of P'an Ku was slain instead. [citation needed]
The Khan's March
Following the death of Emperor Toturi III, the Unicorn Khan, Moto Chagatai, felt the Empire needed a strong ruler. In the winter of 1169 he led a daring march through the
snow, using Iuchi magic to elude the Lion Clan. The Khan successfully struck at the capital. After fierce fighting between the Lion and Unicorn, they were both pacified
by the Phoenix Clan. The Lion Clan Champion Matsu Yoshino, son of Nimuro, swore vengeance upon Chagatai, who was allowed to live by the Elemental Masters. There
were many notable casualties of this conflict, including Iuchi Lixue, Kaneka and Isawa Sezaru. [citation needed]
Fall of Shiro Moto
In the year following the Khan's March the Lion Clan launched their counteroffensive, which roared all the way to Shiro Moto itself. In the Fall of Shiro Moto both
Yoshino and Chagatai perished when the castle was set alight with them inside, locked in mortal combat. The fiery death of the Khan settled the Lion's thirst for an
honorable solution. Other notable deaths in the conflict were Akodo Bakin and Shinjo Shono. [citation needed]
Following their vengeance the Lion Clan has returned home to rebuild and honor the passing of their Champion and others. As per Yoshino's instructions, Akodo
Shigetoshi became the new Lion Clan Champion. [13]
Mass seppuku
In 1173 after the end of the Destroyer War the Spider Clan had been conferred the status of Great Clan as part of an arrangement with Daigotsu, the Master of Jigoku at
the time. The Imperial edict issued by the Empress Iweko I recognizing the Spider and the bargain she made with Jigoku were seen by many Lion samurai as acts that
they could not reconcile themselves to. Shigetoshi allowed all of the dissenting samurai to commit seppuku as a denouncement of Iweko's actions. [14]
Age of the Conquest
The Lion strongholds themselves had taken little damage during the Destroyer War, but of all the clans the Lion suffered the most depopulation. The massive peasant
class and centralized location of the Lion lands made them a target for both the plague and the Destroyers. The Lion lands were ravaged by bandits, violent bands of
starving veterans, and lingering terrors for years after the end of the war. [15] The existence of the Colonies wa a matter of great consternation to the Lion, as they did
not see how their Clan fit into this new land. There was a risk that their depleted ranks could not deal with the new duties that were expected of them. [16]
Edict of Exploration
In 1198 the new Imperial Governor of the Colonies, Otomo Suikihime, issued the Edict of Exploration, allowing any samurai to explore and claim any treasure they found
for their clan, permitting them entry into those regions previously earmarked for the Spider Clan alone. Many skirmishes happened between the Spider and several
other clans, but the Spider soundly defeated their attackers due to being far more acclimated to the environment. However, the Lion forces seemed doggedly
determined to corner the Spider into a larger fight. [17] To the Lion, the Spider represented an offensive, twisted reflection of their own clan, one stripped of the notions
of honor and purity. [18]
Yodotai
In 1198 Yodotai strategies were recognized in the attacks upon the Unicorn forces at Ki-Rin's Path. The Lion pressed the Unicorn to grant them leave to patrol the route
to the Colonies, but the recent Blood Feud between the Khan Shinjo Min-Hee and the late Lion Clan Champion Akodo Shinjiro blocked any attempts at cooperation. [19]
A lost scout Yodotai party was met in the Empty Plains by Lion forces. The Lion was the first Great Clan to whom the Yodotai offered a vassal alliance, promising them
elevated status over the other clans as overseers of Rokugan after it was conquered. [20]
Colonial Conflicts
When the Lion accused the Spider Clan of attacking their holdings in the Colonies, the Dragon, as watchers of the Spider, interceded and demanded evidence that
proved the Spider's involvement. The Lion took this as an act of defiance and began striking out at colonial Dragon holdings. [21] Eventually the Kitsuki found a vial of the
Blood of the Preserver, concluding the Lion were not baseless in their claims. [22]
Perceptions of the Lion Clan
Nezumi
The Lion Clan were called the Hert'chik by the Nezumi. [23]
Details
Statistics
Capital: Kyuden Ikoma
Population: 5,280,000 (approx)
Military: 292,000 samurai
Imports: Raw Materials
Exports: Copper
Territory
The Lion territories had a central position and shared borders with many of the Great Clans. Their territory was bordered to the south by the Spine of the World
Mountains; to the north, by the Dragonfly lands and adjacent Dragon holdings. To the south, the Scorpion and the Crane contested the Lion for rulership of Beiden
Pass until it was destroyed during the War of Spirits. To the west lay the lands of the Unicorn. [24]
Families
The following are the families of the Lion Clan:
Akodo family
Ikoma family
Kitsu family
Matsu family
Samurai
See Samurai of the Lion Clan for a listing of notable members of the clan, both current and historic. For the leaders of the clan, see also:
Lion Clan Champion
Akodo Daimyo
Ikoma Daimyo
Kitsu Daimyo
Matsu Daimyo
Palaces and cities
Castle of the Swift Sword
City of Honor's Sacrifice
Foshi
Kaeru Toshi
Kenson Gakka
Kyuden Ikoma
Ninkatoshi
Rugashi
Shinden Shorai
Shiro Akodo
Shiro Matsu
Shiro no Yojin
Tonfajutsen
Toshi Ranbo
Schools & Paths
Schools
The following are the basic Schools within the Lion Clan: Lion Clan Holding
Akodo Bushi
Akodo War College
Ikoma Brawler
Ikoma Lion's Shadow
Ikoma Omoidasu
Ikoma Tactician
Kitsu Shugenja
Kitsu Sodan-Senzo
Lion Elite Spearmen
Matsu Beastmaster
Matsu Bushi
Paths and Advanced Schools
The following were the Paths and Advanced Schools within the Lion Clan:
Akodo Elite Guard
Akodo Kensai
Akodo Scout
Akodo Siege Strategist
Bishamon's Chosen
De Bellis Legionnaire
Deathseeker
Disciples of the River
Fujimaro's Legion
Ikoma Elite Guardian
Ikoma Herald
Ikoma Historian
Ikoma Orator
Ikoma Poet
Ikoma Scrapper
Kensai
Kitsu Spirit Legion
Kitsu Votary
Lion's Pride
Lion Paragon
Lion Scout
Lion Warden
Lioness Legion
Matsu Duelist
Matsu Elite Guard
The Stone Fangs
Tsuko's Heart
References
1. ↑ Player's Guide: 2nd Ed, p. 15 14. ↑ Aftermath, Part 4, by Yoon Ha Lee
2. ↑ Way of the Lion, p. 26 15. ↑ Judgment, Part 1, by Lucas Twyman
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Way of the Lion, p. 18 16. ↑ Age of the Conquest: The Clans
4.0 4.1 4.2
4. ↑ Way of the Lion, p. 19 17. ↑ A Brief History of the Sanctioned Spider Clan, by Seth Mason
5. ↑ Way of the Lion, pp. 16-17 18. ↑ Views of the Clans, by Seth Mason
6. ↑ Way of the Lion, p. 64 19. ↑ Embers of War, by Shawn Carman
7. ↑ Way of the Lion, pp. 17 20. ↑ Defenders of the Empire, by Shawn Carman
8. ↑ Imperial Histories 2, p. 33 21. ↑ Gempukku Starter Fictions
9. ↑ Secrets of the Lion, p. 23 22. ↑ Kitsuki Judgment (Torn Asunder Picture and flavor)
10. ↑ Secrets of the Lion, pp. 87-88 23. ↑ Clan Letter to the Nezumi #5 (Imperial Herald v2 #5)
11. ↑ Secrets of the Lion, p. 88 24. ↑ Way of the Lion, p. 111
12. ↑ Hidden Emperor, p. 28
13. ↑ Words & Deeds part I, part II and Part III, by Shawn Carman
This Lion Clan related article is a stub. That means that it has been started, but is incomplete. You can help by adding to the information here.
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