Exodus
A Prophecy
“I was wrong,” said Hantei quietly.
His brother Togashi stood with him, watching the ragged gibbering army encroaching upon their lands. They moved like a great swarming black shadow across the green fields of Rokugan. In the days since Shinjo had left, Fu Leng’s army had been moving even quicker, the victories more easily won and the price paid by Hantei’s army ever steeper. “Do not regret,” said Togashi, “for it is one of the Three Sins.”
“I should not have sent her,” said Hantei.
“You sent no one,” said Togashi. “She would have gone anyway. It is her nature. She must find out.”
“We will sorely miss her blade,” said Hantei.
“We will not miss her blade,” said Togashi, “we will gain it. She is fighting in her own way, even though we do not understand it. If she did not go, if she did not discover why she opposes Fu Leng, she would not be able to fight by our side.”
“I sent her to her death,” said Hantei, “and for nothing.”
“She will return,” said Togashi. Never doubt that, my lord. Though we give her up for lost, she will always return. It is her nature.”
The Weight of the Promise
After many long years, Fu Leng had at last been defeated by strange little Shinsei and his Seven Thunders. As they recovered from the trials and hardships of the war. Hantei called together his siblings to renew the building of his empire. To each he granted lands and duties to hold in his family. Akodo became the defender of his family; Doji the champion of his person; Hida the guardian of his borders; Bayushi the keeper of his secrets; Shiba the learner of his wisdom. Togashi asked to serve Hantei in his own fashion and retreated into solitude. But when Hantei called for his sister, Shinjo, there was no answer.
Hantei found his sister dressed for war. She was sitting in the ruined garden of Otosan Uchi, meditating upon a dead chrysanthemum. In the shadow of the setting sun, Shinjo explained to Hantei why she had not answered his summons.
“Fu Leng may be defeated, but he is not destroyed, and his evils still wander the earth. How can we say that his terror is ended, while our people cannot walk without looking in fear upon the Shadowlands?”
Hantei answered, saying, “Never again will such an evil walk the land, dear sister. The time to heal from the wounds inflicted by our brother has come, and once we rebuild the Emerald Empire will be strong enough to protect everyone. We know what to expect now, and we can defend against it.”
And Shinjo thought upon her brother’s words, on the creatures that still stalked the night and the long, bitter years of a war almost lost. She thought upon those who had fought and died, and upon those innocents whom she could not save, and her thoughts ended with the words of the little man who had showed them The New Way. During his long talk with the Emperor, he had said, “Winds blow, fortunes rise and fall, but the simple folk will always be asked to shoulder the weight.”
And Shinjo led her brother to the top of a high mountain, where they could survey the endless lands of the earth broken and scarred by the war. She faced Hantei towards the south and the Lands of Shadow and said to him, “We swore to protect the people from evil and we failed. We fought, but the people died. In the end, it was the people who saved themselves, for Shinsei and his Seven Thunders defeated Fu Leng, not the Kami!”
And Shinjo turned her brother to face west, towards the setting sun. “You said we know now what peril to expect. But we did not know what to expect when Fu Leng attacked, even though he was our own brother. We were nearly beaten. Should another danger arise, perhaps from beyond those mountains. It would be a new threat, evil, mysterious and unknowable, of which we would know nothing. Who can say if our empire could stand against it? We must seek to discover such evil before it comes upon us, as did our brother’s twisted hordes. Ad we must find other allies, for Shinsei and his Thunders are lost to us.”
And as their mother raced from sight, Shinjo knew she would soon follow her.
Exodus
“Fellow offspring of my mother and father,” Shinjo greeted the assembled Clan of the Ki-Rin. “these lands are yours until I return. I go to search out unknown dangers in a world of which I know little. Just as a bushi cannot protect his family unless he knows the danger, I cannot promise to protect you from the unknown evils I shall encounter. When I first came to earth, we swore a vow to each other. You promised to serve me, I promised to protect you and to teach you of the world. In the unknown lands beyond the mountains, I cannot guarantee I can uphold my promise. Therefore I release you from your obligation to serve me. Serve each other instead and protect the land which I commend to your care.”
Shinjo swung herself upon her horse and turned northward. As she left, three families chose to follow her: Utaku, Iuchi, and Ide. Released from their obligation, each family followed by choice each followed from devotion.
Shinjo spent seven months preparing for the journey. On the day she left Otosan Uchi, Hantei gave her two magical mirrors. The mirrors were created by Shiba and his prodigy, Isawa. One of them was given to Shinjo; the other would be kept by Hantei. “If you gaze into the mirror when our mother is highest in the sky,” Shiba explained, “you will be able to see and speak to the owner of the second mirror if he is doing the same.”
“This way we will never lose you, my sister,” Hantei said.
Then she departed from the Imperial Palace, first heading south. Doji taught her to defend herself, and Akodo gave her tactical advice. Further south, Hida Shared with her a simple tea ceremony. In a rare moment, Bayushi instructed her on trickery and evading its traps. Shinjo then headed north to pay one last visit to her lands.
It was there that she gave her famous speech to her people. She left her home, leading her faithful followers through the mountains of the Dragon to speak with Togashi. Finally, she paid her respects to Shiba, and received final instructions. On the day she left Rokugan, thousands were gathered to watch.
No one spoke a word as Shinjo and the Ki-Rin Clan left the Emerald Empire.
“I was wrong,” said Hantei quietly.
His brother Togashi stood with him, watching the ragged gibbering army encroaching upon their lands. They moved like a great swarming black shadow across the green fields of Rokugan. In the days since Shinjo had left, Fu Leng’s army had been moving even quicker, the victories more easily won and the price paid by Hantei’s army ever steeper. “Do not regret,” said Togashi, “for it is one of the Three Sins.”
“I should not have sent her,” said Hantei.
“You sent no one,” said Togashi. “She would have gone anyway. It is her nature. She must find out.”
“We will sorely miss her blade,” said Hantei.
“We will not miss her blade,” said Togashi, “we will gain it. She is fighting in her own way, even though we do not understand it. If she did not go, if she did not discover why she opposes Fu Leng, she would not be able to fight by our side.”
“I sent her to her death,” said Hantei, “and for nothing.”
“She will return,” said Togashi. Never doubt that, my lord. Though we give her up for lost, she will always return. It is her nature.”
The Weight of the Promise
After many long years, Fu Leng had at last been defeated by strange little Shinsei and his Seven Thunders. As they recovered from the trials and hardships of the war. Hantei called together his siblings to renew the building of his empire. To each he granted lands and duties to hold in his family. Akodo became the defender of his family; Doji the champion of his person; Hida the guardian of his borders; Bayushi the keeper of his secrets; Shiba the learner of his wisdom. Togashi asked to serve Hantei in his own fashion and retreated into solitude. But when Hantei called for his sister, Shinjo, there was no answer.
Hantei found his sister dressed for war. She was sitting in the ruined garden of Otosan Uchi, meditating upon a dead chrysanthemum. In the shadow of the setting sun, Shinjo explained to Hantei why she had not answered his summons.
“Fu Leng may be defeated, but he is not destroyed, and his evils still wander the earth. How can we say that his terror is ended, while our people cannot walk without looking in fear upon the Shadowlands?”
Hantei answered, saying, “Never again will such an evil walk the land, dear sister. The time to heal from the wounds inflicted by our brother has come, and once we rebuild the Emerald Empire will be strong enough to protect everyone. We know what to expect now, and we can defend against it.”
And Shinjo thought upon her brother’s words, on the creatures that still stalked the night and the long, bitter years of a war almost lost. She thought upon those who had fought and died, and upon those innocents whom she could not save, and her thoughts ended with the words of the little man who had showed them The New Way. During his long talk with the Emperor, he had said, “Winds blow, fortunes rise and fall, but the simple folk will always be asked to shoulder the weight.”
And Shinjo led her brother to the top of a high mountain, where they could survey the endless lands of the earth broken and scarred by the war. She faced Hantei towards the south and the Lands of Shadow and said to him, “We swore to protect the people from evil and we failed. We fought, but the people died. In the end, it was the people who saved themselves, for Shinsei and his Seven Thunders defeated Fu Leng, not the Kami!”
And Shinjo turned her brother to face west, towards the setting sun. “You said we know now what peril to expect. But we did not know what to expect when Fu Leng attacked, even though he was our own brother. We were nearly beaten. Should another danger arise, perhaps from beyond those mountains. It would be a new threat, evil, mysterious and unknowable, of which we would know nothing. Who can say if our empire could stand against it? We must seek to discover such evil before it comes upon us, as did our brother’s twisted hordes. Ad we must find other allies, for Shinsei and his Thunders are lost to us.”
And as their mother raced from sight, Shinjo knew she would soon follow her.
Exodus
“Fellow offspring of my mother and father,” Shinjo greeted the assembled Clan of the Ki-Rin. “these lands are yours until I return. I go to search out unknown dangers in a world of which I know little. Just as a bushi cannot protect his family unless he knows the danger, I cannot promise to protect you from the unknown evils I shall encounter. When I first came to earth, we swore a vow to each other. You promised to serve me, I promised to protect you and to teach you of the world. In the unknown lands beyond the mountains, I cannot guarantee I can uphold my promise. Therefore I release you from your obligation to serve me. Serve each other instead and protect the land which I commend to your care.”
Shinjo swung herself upon her horse and turned northward. As she left, three families chose to follow her: Utaku, Iuchi, and Ide. Released from their obligation, each family followed by choice each followed from devotion.
Shinjo spent seven months preparing for the journey. On the day she left Otosan Uchi, Hantei gave her two magical mirrors. The mirrors were created by Shiba and his prodigy, Isawa. One of them was given to Shinjo; the other would be kept by Hantei. “If you gaze into the mirror when our mother is highest in the sky,” Shiba explained, “you will be able to see and speak to the owner of the second mirror if he is doing the same.”
“This way we will never lose you, my sister,” Hantei said.
Then she departed from the Imperial Palace, first heading south. Doji taught her to defend herself, and Akodo gave her tactical advice. Further south, Hida Shared with her a simple tea ceremony. In a rare moment, Bayushi instructed her on trickery and evading its traps. Shinjo then headed north to pay one last visit to her lands.
It was there that she gave her famous speech to her people. She left her home, leading her faithful followers through the mountains of the Dragon to speak with Togashi. Finally, she paid her respects to Shiba, and received final instructions. On the day she left Rokugan, thousands were gathered to watch.
No one spoke a word as Shinjo and the Ki-Rin Clan left the Emerald Empire.
