Summary of the Events of the Onyx Empire
 
The Dawn of the Onyx
  • The Empire, under the direction of Empress Iweko I, expands and creates colonies in the Ivory Kingdom, a land that had been inhabited by a great and powerful kingdom of a people called the Ivindi.  However, now, only a few remnants remain, destroyed by cultists of an evil god, Kali-Ma.  Samurai of many clans, especially the Mantis, come to inhabit the place.
  • The Empress and the samurai of Rokugan defeat Kali-Ma with the aid of the Spider Clan.  The Empress elevates the Spider Clan to Great Clan as part of their service. The death of Kali-Ma opens a second festering pit in the heart of Scorpion Lands, a pit that must now be secured and guarded by the Scorpion Clan. 
  • The Empresses oldest son encounters and stops Pan Ku, the dragon of madness and stops him. [link]  However he has later communications with him. [link[ 
  • Iweko Seiken, oldest son of Empress Iweko I, is made Emperor Iweko II. [link[
  • As a reward for winning the Gift of the Empire tournament during the Coronation, the winner, Daidoji Yurei, asks to be permitted to cleanse the shame of the Daidoji for using Gaijin Pepper, but that the Emperor might grant the Daidoji the ability to use it against his enemies.  This is granted, though the use of gaijin pepper must be done in complete secrecy: none outside the Crane may know of it. [link]
  • Iweko II puts the clan championship of the newly-formed Spider Clan under his brother, Iweko Shibatsu [link[  The leader of the Spider Clan, Daigotsu Kanpeki, swears vengeance upon the Empire for what Iweko II has done. 
  • Iweko II receives a warning about the seals that separate Ningen-do from Jigoku - a gift from Pan-Ku [link[
  • Many of the Susumu of the Spider Clan burned when their leadership chose to remain faithful to the Emperor rather than follow Kanpeki [link]
From the Rise of the Onyx to Winter Court: Kyuden Mirumoto
  • The retired Empress, Iweko I, disappears.  Some believe she has ascended to Tengoku.
  • The Dragon Clan recall all of their samurai and form, almost overnight, a wall that blocks all passage too or from the Empire to Kuyden Mirumoto or the elevations beyond.
  • The young Phoenix Master of the Void, following a vision, leaves the Phoenix to disappear into the colonies.
Year 1200  In the year 1200 of the Isawa calendar, the newly anointed Emperor attempts to reign in control of the Spider Clan.
  •  Daigotsu Kanpeki is deposed from his position as Spider Clan Champion
  • The Lion offensive near the Scorpion Wall results in the Wall falling from within to the forces of Jigoku. Reports are unclear as to the actual cause of the breach, but the Lion are quick to accuse Bayushi Nitoshi of intentionally letting it fall.
  • Strange and evil forces gather in the Sea of Shadows.
Year 1201 In the year 1201 of the Isawa Calendar, the diabolical forces of Daigotsu Kanpeki deal the first in a series of crushing blows upon the Empire's mainland.
  • The forces of Kanpeki break the First Seal to Jigoku, deep in the Shinomen Mori, after a great battle that decimated  the armies the Crab and Phoenix.  His power grows.
  • Kanpeki orders the Iweko to surrender and make him Emperor. Iweko II refuses.
  • Kanpeki breaks the Second Seal to Jigoku, hidden in a grove along the Crane Coastline.  The armies of the Crane are crushed trying to defend it, but it is broken none-the-less. * (Note: this combines old CCG and the WC5 fiction and is a change from the base WC5 fiction)
  • Spider forces completely overrun Unicorn lands, driving the Unicorn into the Burning Sands in flight.
  • Iweko Shibatsu marries into the Susumu family, becoming 'official' daimyo of the Spider Clan. The remnant of the Spider who remain loyal to the Emperor and who follow Shibatsu become known as the Emerald Spider.  Shibatsu grows their ranks with ronin and refugees.
  • Bayushi Nitoshi, on seeing the infiltration of the Goju and Ninube into the Scorpion schools, orders half his clan into exile in the Burning Sands as traiters. These exiles begin to build a powerbase in secret in Medinaat al Salaam.  Nitoshi and the remaining Scorpion declare loyalty to the True Hantei Dynasty under Daigotsu Kanpeki, offering the head of Doji Makoto, Crane Clan Champion, as proof of his allegiance.  Daidoji Akeha takes regency of the Crane.* (Note: this combines old CCG and the WC5 fiction and is a change from the base WC5 fiction)
  • The Phoenix clan Champion, Shiba Tsukimi, disappears at the same time. It is believed that Nitoshi may have killed her also and gave her head to Kanpeki.
  • Kanpeki marches his forces on the Lion, driving them back and burning many castles in their path towards Toshi Ranbo.
Year 1202  The Empire scrambles to rally its forces.
  • Kanpeki sets siege to the Emperor and his wife in Toshi Ranbo despite heroic efforts from the Lion Champion Akodo Dairuko and the Crab.
  • Susmu Shibatsu finds and uses the Blood of the Preserver, a gift given long ago by Kanpeki, to purify the ruins of Otosan Uchi and sets up the city as the headquarters of his nascent clan.  Despite a major attack from Kanpeki, Shibatsu prevails, tricking Kanpeki into his first defeat.
  • The Crab, realizing all out warfare is upon them, strip the lands they cross of all resources, to the diminishment of the peasantry, deciding burned peasants do not become zombies.  An industrial revolution of sorts, focused on weapons, begins.
Year 1203 The Children of the Ki-Rin regroup while the Emperor's brother weaves his web.
  • All the remaining Unicorn, their lands destroyed and tainted, flee on the Kirin's Path to the Burning Sands. A few agents remain, arming and training the peasants to be able to defend themselves against the forces of Kanpeki.  
  • Moto Naleesh, the reincarnation of the kami Shinjo, is wounded by a tainted arrow during the flight from Unicorn Lands.  She is carried to Journey's End Keep, which the Unicorn claim as their base in the colonies.  Around her arm grows an encasing of crystal, keeping the taint from spreading, but eventually growing to envelop her whole body in order to keep the soul of Shinjo pure.  She leaves Moto Chinua in charge of the Unicorn Clan.
  • Susumu Shibatsu kidnaps Kanpeki's infant daughter and successfully escapes, turning her over to the Spider Monks that served him for training.
Year 1204 The Phoenix seek Heaven's guidance and the Emperor must make a costly choice to save the Empire's future.
  • The Isawa turn their research for ways to counter the forces of Jigoku by directly reaching out to the Dragons of Tengoku to stand against them.  The Isawa find a way to use Yabanjin magic to bind the ryu, the Celestial Dragons, including, most terrifyingly, the Fire Dragon, and force them to defend the Phoenix borders.
  • The Emperor, under Siege in Toshi Ranbo, manages to flee, though most forces in the city are killed or corrupted. Akodo Dairuko, Champion of the Lion, is missing after this.  He retreats into Dragon Lands.
Year 1205 It had always been assumed that it was only a matter of time before Kanpeki would be defeated. In the year 1205, the Empire must face the possibility that it may lose.
  • Kanpeki fully allies with the Scorpion and turn their forces to attack the Crane Lands in Force.
  • The Emerald Champion, Mirumoto Tsuda, and the Shogun, Moto Taigo, meet before the Emperor, conflicting over tactics, with Tsuda recommending direct confrontation while Taigo wants to continue the hit-and-run tactics used so far.  The Emperor sides with Tsuda and they plan for battle.   The Shogun, feeling the battle is unwinnable, disappears in disgust.  Tsuda begins to see that the Emperor is beginning to show signs of strange behavior, talking to himself, and so on, but it is too late to change course.  The climatic battle the Emerald Champion advocated is begun, and Kanpeki destroys the Imperial Legions completely due to many small failures.
  • The Emerald Champion leaves to beg the Shogun for aid, but after his failure, he leaves his position in disgrace, and the position of Emerald Champion, without legions to command, is considered lost.  
  • The Crane begin to develop weapons that hurl blocks of lead  through a tube at an enemy using gaijin pepper. and begin the delicate craftsmanship.
Year 1206 The Phoenix Clan seizes what cannot be offered.
  • The exiled Scorpion take over the city of Menhidaat-al-Salam.
  • The Shiba turn to the Crane, asking for their help in freeing the captured Fire Dragon, fearful of the sacrilege.
Year 1207 A storm breaks.
  • The forces of Kanpeki destroy the Second Seal to Jigoku, hidden deep in the Mantis Islands. The resulting tsunami wipes out the Crane Coastlines and much of Mantis lands, leaving only the remnants of a fleet, who take refuge in the end withe beleaguered Crane. 
  • All remnants of trade and travel between the Colonies and Rokugan ends with the destruction of the fleets.
  • The Phoenix use the Fire Dragon it to take vengeance on Kanpeki for destroying their coastline.  The dragon and ryu turn their lands borders to ash but keep Kanpeki from drawing closer.
Year 1208 Strange news and bizarre rumors seize the wind.
  • Unable to find Akodo Dairuko's body, Akodo Kano is declared Champion.
  • The Crab turn to Kitsune Mori for lumber for the seige equipment and defenses they need to fight the Shadowlands, desecrating the sacred forests of the Kitsune.  
  • A new Champion of the Mantis arises, Yoritomo Ichido. No one knows him or his lineage, but many families of old Mantis clan swear allegience to him anyway, desperate for guidance.
  • Kanpeki, seeking ever more power and fought to a standstill, decides to descend into the Second Festering Pit, entering Jigoku for himself for guidance from his father.  The Oni generals left behind lash out, consolidating their power, and await his return.
  • The Crane and Shiba come up with a plan to use boat holds full of gaijin pepper and jade to destroy the collar of the Fire Dragon, freeing the Dragon from the chains of the Isawa, as well as destroying the deadly skull tide.  However, a traitor had laced the barrels with obsidian, which instead killed the Fire Dragon when the explosion was unleashed.
  • The Oracle of Thunder at the guidance of the Thunder Dragon, finds a man fallen to earth, and takes him to the Colonies for safety.
Year 1209 The Crab Clan strike back at the Darkness.
  • The Crab Clan continues building seige engines and other engines of war, marching back against the Oni while leaving half their numbers to defend the wall.
Year 1210 Players old and new take the board.
  • The heimin trained by the Unicorn, bolstered by many of the refugees fleeing their lands, begin to coordinate at the abandoned keep of the Emerald Champion, lead by non other than the missing Shogun, Moto Taiga.  Eventually, a ronin who was once Mirumoto Tsuda, joins them to fight against the encroaching darkness. They call themselves the Last Legion.
  • The Mantis leader in the Colonies, the Warlord, Yoritomo Aranai, retires, leaving all her holdings to a mysterious ronin by the name of Arashi.  Arashi seizes control of Second City and the Colonies rename themselves Zogeku, an independent kingdom.  Because of their distraction and lack of communication with the Colonies, the Empire does not notice.
Year 1211 Bargains, consequence, and grasps for hope from the dust.
  • Shinjo Min-Hee sends emissaries to Mendinaat-al-Salam seeking allies.
  • The Phoenix come to understand that Tengoku is drifting away from Ningen-do, and will abandon Ningen-do completely in the next few years.
  • Shibatsu forms an alliance with the Last Legion, and farming begins in the purified fields around Otosan Uchi.
Year 1212 The remnants of the Empire press back against despair.
  • The Unicorn meet the exiled Scorpion, now in charge of Mendinaat-al-Salam and form a secret alliance.
  • The Lion note that the Emperor seems to be growing more and more erratic, and Akodo Kano declares that the time has come that he must fill the role of Shogun.  There are quiet discussions on what must be done to remove the Emperor should he continue to be unfit to rule. 
Year 1213 The Empire begins to count the cost.
  • The Crane fall under seige from the Scorpion as Nitoshi sends his most Shadow-tainted minions to attack their lands.  The Daidoji respond with crystal and gaijin pepper in a shadow war through Chinsei Mori.
  • The Crab reclaim the great shrine to Inari, Fortune of Rice, in Lion Lands but find it corrupted.  They raze the shrine and sanctify the ashes.
Year 1214 The Prodigal Son returns.
  • Kanpeki re-emerges from the Festering Pit, more powerful than ever.
  • The Crab offensive is halted as the forces of the Shadowlands reorganize in coordinated attack and a new wave of demons floods across the landscape, tainting whatever it comes across. The Crabs attacking in Lion Lands are cut-off from the Crab on the Wall and forced to dig in.
  • Yoritomo Ichido, claiming to have Yoritomo's own power, reclaims the remains of the Mantis Islands, now called the Shattered Archipelago, to make a new homeland by any means necessary.
  • Daidoji Akeha finds the Daidoji harrier forces driven back by the Scorpion and sends the Daidoji Iron Warriors to support the front. Unsuited for battles against the Shadows, many are killed, and only a few harriers survive.  Akeha's power among the other daimyo of the Crane diminishes and the Crane entrench to defend their remaining lands.

Year 1215 Kanpeki makes his presence known.
  • Kanpeki uses taint and corruption to afflict the land, even beyond his borders, destroying yields for all the crops and fisheries and stored goods, turning them to slime.  In addition, he returned with a way to remove the manifestations of the taint of Jigoku, hiding its mark on his own chosen samurai and quelling its whispers. Those who follow and swear to him receive his blessing, and with it the ability to control their taint...at least until he removes it and leaves them to surrender to the corruption.
  • The Crane are assaulted from all sides.   With most of their forces gone, they turn to gaijin pepper and the harriers who are left to create defenses around their key holdings.
  • The Dragon are challenged at their wall, but the pass remains blocked.  The Lion and Crab form a last alliance to hold what little of their lands remain. 
  • Tengoku appears to close itself off completely from Ningen-do.  The heavens will send no more aid.
  • The Crab army is divided in two, cut off in the north in Matsu Lands from the south section at the Wall.
  • Arashi meets with the Last Legion, bringing some aid from the Colonies.
  • Then, the Advance of the Shadowlands...stops.
Year 1216 Ruin enters quietly and gently.
  • The Dragon emerge from the mountains and start buying up all the store-able foodstocks they can acquire, taking them up into the mountains.
  • Akodo Kano refuses to strike back against the Onyx, wary of a trap.
  • The harvest fails to come in. The remaining foodstocks are despoiled. The Empire begins to starve.
Year 1217 The Nine Dragons are called.
  • Hunger grows as the stores of the winter are found tainted and empty. Only the area around Otosan Uchi is spared. The Last Legion claims Kuyden Seppun.
  • Some commanders of the Lion attack the Onyx against Kano's wishes, but are immediately slaughtered. Kano does not strike back at them.
  • The Dragon invite the clans to Winter Court at Kuyden Mirumoto. 

Winter Court: Kyuden Mirumoto (Winter Court 5)
These are the events of greatest consequence that occured during Winter Court. 


From Winter Court: Kyuden Mirumoto to the End of the Onyx Empire

These events are revealed in the stories of the Empire Reborn arc, mostly in flashback. The Empire Reborn arc takes place approximately seventeen years after Winter Court: Kuyden Mirumoto.