Chaos Reigns, Part II

Chaos Reigns, Part II: Clan Letters and Fiction

Chaos Reigns, Part II Fiction  - "A Call for Aid, A Chance to Lead"

accompanies CRII Clan Letter 04 (Unicorn)

by Marcus Orlander - June 7, 2025

Chaos Reigns, Part II Fiction  - "Silk and Shadows"

GenCon 2024 fiction

by Timothy Olenio - June/July 2025

In Lion lands, Ikoma Kunisada, daimyo of the Lion family, grapples with a fateful decision. With Akodo Kano far to the south in Crab lands and seemingly ignoring entreaties for more present leadership, the Lion lands are in peril of opportunistic seizure by Hantei loyalists. Kunisada, ever a practical man, takes the initial steps to secure the future of his clan…

Shinjo Saeki, carrying the hopes of the Unicorn Clan as its Champion, wages an ongoing war against the apparently insane Moto Naleesh, who continues to terrorize the northern lands at the head of a Dark Moto legion. Recognizing that they will never hope to contain the swath of death and destruction by continuing to chase across the lands, Saeki writes to Akodo Kano in hopes of securing aid in her campaign, offering Colonial trade supplies in exchange.

In Unicorn lands, the Soul of Shiba, Shiba Tamashii, newly returned from the Colonies, travels with his childhood friend Asako Shino, his mentor Shiba Tetsunori, and the strange ally they have encountered on their journey, Agasha Gifu. Their journey home takes them through war‑torn steppes where Naleesh’s corrupted outriders harass peasant villages. When Tamashii and his companions intervene to defend one such village, the battle claims Tetsunori’s life.

Famine still grips the Crab lands even as they have reclaimed some lands north of the Kaiu Wall, making Saeki’s offer impossible for Kano to ignore. Kano mobilizes his Lion forces to join Saeki, leaving Hida Toranosuke to hold the south. Miaka unexpectedly declares her intent to join the campaign, arguing that if she is to lead the people as an Empress, she must be seen by them. Citing her safety, Kano objects, but Toranosuke supports her decision, praising her willingness to lead rather than stand as a mere figurehead. Kano reluctantly agrees to allow her to accompany him, and the camp prepares for the long trek northward.

Togashi Noboru learns of Dragon prisoners being forcibly tainted into Kokujin within the City of the Lost. At his own wedding, he confronts his Champion, demanding that Togashi Higaru act. Higaru refuses, citing isolationist policy and unverified rumors. Noboru accuses him not only of cowardice but hypocrisy: Higaru himself once defied Mirumoto Shikei’s orders to save the Brotherhood during the previous wars, yet now refuses to do the same. When Higaru still refuses, Noboru denounces him as unworthy of Shikei’s legacy and calls others to follow him. Nearly a quarter of the Dragon abandon their seclusion to march south with Noboru, including his new wife, Tamori — now Togashi — Reisa. Their departure leaves the Dragon dangerously weakened, unable to defend their mountains should the war come north. Tamashii’s party observes Noboru’s exodus while continuing onward to Phoenix lands.

Yoritomo Minoko sails to the Firefly lands seeking to begin a new Minor Clan Alliance. Her proposal receives a cautious welcome from the Firefly Champion Hotaru Aigen. The alliance barely has time to form before disaster strikes. Gusai Ichido, learning of Minoko’s plan, led an attack on Firefly Keep. Minoko could only barely escape his grasp. Denied his true prize, Ichido makes a bloody example of the Firefly, killing all the Hotaru and putting their peasantry to the sword as a warning to other Minor Clans who might rally to Minoko's banner. Only the young Hotaru Okane escapes the bloodshed.

Ikoma Kunisada opens a secret dialogue with the Hantei Court. He proposes denouncing Kano’s rebellion in exchange for restoring Lion prominence: a Lion shōgun with control of the Imperial Legions, to keep them ‘forthright and honorable, and above corruption’. With an eye toward eventually leaving a governable Empire for his daughter Katsumi, Kanpeki agrees. Ikoma Satoru is named to the position and empowered to enforce the Hantei’s will. The Kitsu oppose the bargain, but their focus remains fixed on spiritual matters, leaving Kunisada’s faction in control.

Tamashii’s party reaches the outskirts of the Phoenix lands and encounters horrific scenes of butchery of the yobanjin tribes, which Agasha Gifu identifies as being fueled by maho. The group realizes something is very strange and very wrong in their ancestral lands. Elsewhere, Phoenix diplomat Asako Kensaku approaches Isawa Koiso with an offer from Kunisada. Kunisada proposes an alliance against the Dragon, promising vengeance for past wrongs and territorial claims over the mountains. The Elemental Council hesitates, wary of aligning with the Hantei yet tempted by the promise of retribution and expansion. The matter remains unresolved.

Hida Toranosuke learns that Yasuki Hanko Village, currently under Crab control, is to host delegates of the Crane dispatched by Hantei ally Doji Meiji. With Akodo Kano’s moderating voice absent, Toranosuke leads a force to occupy the village, confronting the local Crab merchant lord, Yasuki Hinan and demanding the delegates’ surrender as enemies. When Hinan hesitates, citing tradition and trade ties, Toranosuke orders the estates to be stormed, executing the Crane as collaborators with the “False Emperor”, then strips Hinan of his position and wealth and leaves the former lord an impossible option to reclaim his place in the clan.

The Crane retaliate against Toranosuke’s executions. Citing the Hantei Proclamations as granting them claim to Yasuki lands, they strike Yasuki Hanko Village. Toranosuke responds with total war against the Crane, acting without Kano’s knowledge or approval. Having received a dire portent from the Oracle of Earth, Kaiu Gairoa urges restraint, warning that such measures will only alienate the Yasuki further. Toranosuke refuses, declaring his personal hatred for the Yasuki and their ways.

Meanwhile, Akodo Kano reaches Shinjo Saeki’s forces. Saeki’s army, though battle-hardened, is spread thin and struggles to contain Naleesh’s Dark Moto. Even combined with Kano’s Lion troops, their numbers still cannot fully overcome the threat. Salvation arrives unexpectedly in the form of Noboru’s Dragon rebels, returned from their march upon the City of the Lost. Noboru presents Kano with a grim trophy: a charred fragment of timber and ash which he claims is all that remains of the Shadowlands stronghold. His forces have razed it entirely, annihilating the corrupted city before returning north and choosing to join the coalition.

The combined forces meet Naleesh at the Khol Wall. The battle is ferocious, with many casualties on both sides, including the Iuchi Daimyo Ietsuna. Togashi Noboru and Reisa, along with Moto Qatun, manage to destroy the Dark Moto commander Moto Daigoro, and Battle Maidens under Utaku Sakiko destroy the renegade corrupted Utaku Kazue. Kano’s unorthodox tactics begin to turn the battle in their favor. During the battle, Noboru glimpses a figure resembling Mirumoto Shikei slaughtering allies — including the former Spider monk Sandayu — before vanishing into the chaos. Noboru is now certain Shikei has allowed whatever madness consumed Naleesh to do the same to him.

On the field, Shinjo Saeki engages Moto Naleesh in single combat. Against all expectations, Saeki overcomes her and forces her retreat. Though she only barely survives, the victory unsettles Saeki; she is certain she should not have been able to best the Living Goddess in single combat. She confides her doubts to Utaku Sakiko, suspecting the woman she fought may not be the real Moto Naleesh at all. Sakiko suggests consulting the Naga, whose connection to that part of Naleesh’s spirit might give them insight.

Toranosuke launches a retaliatory campaign against the Crane’s occupation of Yasuki Hanko village, attacking the relatively lightly defended Asahina provinces. Meanwhile, he detains Yasuki merchants accused of trading with the Crane factions and forbids commerce with any Crane sympathizers. At Friendly Traveler Village, after his Crane-born wife is arrested, Crab gokenin Yasuki Otage protests Toranosuke’s tactics. Toranosuke executes Otage on the spot. Otage’s popularity among the Yasuki fuels widespread dissent.

Toranosuke pushes into Asahina territory, burning villages and defeating forces haphazardly marshalled against him, mostly buying time for a proper Crane force to assemble to check him. Following a failed attack on Shinden Asahina itself, he orders the burning of the Fields of the Morning Sun to cover his forces’ withdrawal. The sacred fields are only saved from destruction when the Asahina daimyo, Akikusa, sacrifices her own life to unleash a powerful spell to quell the flames. These scorched-earth tactics turn nearly all Crane against Toranosuke, who is widely condemned as a war criminal even by those Crane who oppose Doji Meiji. Toranosuke contends any who call themselves Crane, while the Crane serve the Hantei, are unable to pass moral judgments that hold any meaning.

Bolstered by victory in the Unicorn conflict, Akodo Kano pushes east into Lion lands, hoping to resupply his army. To his surprise, he is confronted by a combined force of Lion and Imperial Guards led by the newly appointed shōgun of the Hantei Imperial forces, Ikoma Satoru. Satoru, styling himself Lion Champion, demands Kano’s surrender. Kano refuses, but cannot bring himself to fight his own clan. Overextended and unwilling to spill Lion blood, he orders a withdrawal.

In Crane lands, Daidoji Nio leads a small guerilla team — including Daidoji Kaede and Daidoji Sakuzou — conducting raids against Doji Meiji’s interests. Meiji retaliates by unleashing a weapon he has kept in reserve: the tainted, undead Daidoji Shimizu, Nio’s elder brother. Shimizu leads Obsidian Legion elites in an assault on Akeha’s base, exploiting his intimate knowledge of its defenses. Nio returns during the attack and finds Akeha paralyzed by grief, unable to strike down her corrupted son. Taking command, Nio organizes the retreat and personally slays Shimizu with a shard of jade to the eye. Sakuzou falls in the battle, and Kaede narrowly survives. In the aftermath, Nio tends to Kaede while Akeha cradles Shimizu’s corpse, mourning the second death of her son.

During the march south, Kano and Miaka grow closer. Their shared hardships on campaign foster a mutual respect that softens Miaka’s previously distant demeanor. When they arrive back in Crab lands, Kano first learns of Toranosuke’s brutal campaign against the Crane and is incensed, railing against the Crab Champion for irreparably damaging relations with an entire Clan. Toranosuke dismisses Kano’s complaints, claiming no obligation to follow the Lion’s orders. Miaka, emboldened by her experiences in Unicorn lands, publicly sides with Kano. Noboru supports Toranosuke’s actions, deepening divisions within the coalition. Miaka and Kano begin to accelerate their plans to establish a base of operations outside of Crab lands, at the Lake of Cherry Blossom Petals.

As Minoko tries and fails to summon interest in another Minor Clan Alliance, she is approached by emissaries of a resurrected power in Rokugan: the “true Spider Clan,” untainted by Kanpeki’s corruption. These envoys, Susumu Neya and Susumu (formerly Daigotsu) Geiko, introduce Minoko to their chosen Champion and Master of the Order of Venom, Tetsuo. They offer to join forces against the Usurper. The Spider's sincerity is bolstered by the Sparrow Clan Champion Suzume Ryosuke, who raises his banner to join Minoko’s cause. The testimony of the honorable lord persuades Miaka and  even Toranosuke to provisionally accept the Spider’s offer of aid, so long as Minoko is able to vouch for them. The “Three Clan Alliance” is formed, and with the Mantis essentially holding hostages of the untainted Spider, these unlikely allies help secure Broken Wave City against future attack by Ichido’s naval forces.

With the Snake Clan confined to the lands around the Second Pit, where they continue to suffer harassing attacks from the Tanuki Clan, the recent rout of the Dark Moto on the plains of the Unicorn, and news of a Lion being appointed as shōgun, even some of the Daigotsu samurai loyal to the Glorious Emperor Hantei XL begin to question the compromises required to govern an Empire… 

Within the Shinomen Forest, tensions between the factions which support the Qamar, who favors continuing to assist the humans, and the Ijathilu, who demands isolation and withdrawal from matters which “are not the concern of the Naga,” continue to rise. While scouts continue to offer aid in guerrilla strikes from the Forest’s edges, the Naga do not directly intervene, and the conflict threatens the coalition of protection which includes the Kitsune refugees and the One Tribe of the Nezumi.

Shosuro Keiichi and his daughters Riiko and Miiko lead a successful attack against a Goju fortress, securing a mysterious “asset” on behalf of the Clan. In Ryoko Owari, Shosuro Takumi hosts an Imperial dignitary and reaffirms Scorpion loyalty to the Hantei regime. Once the visitor departs, Takumi meets with Bayushi Kanihime, who reveals the clan’s true designs: attacks by the Tanuki have masked Scorpion preparations for vengeance against both Lion and Hantei. The Scorpion quietly rebuild, waiting for the moment to strike.

At a village near the Kaiu Wall, a hesitant, heavily scarred man joins a stream of refugees, blending quietly into the crowd…