The Lady Asako
Lady Asako was, in her yought, one of many human companions to Shiba, the Phoenix Kami. They traveled together and learned much from one another about love and life, loss and death. In those days, Asako was married to Yogo, a great shugenja, and they walked Rokugan with a pride born of the friendship of gods.
With the coming of Fu Leng’s dark armies, however, Shiba was drawn into the intrigues of war, and was seen less and less. Asako contented herself with perfecting her craft of healing the injured and infirm. Throughout the first months of the war, she traveled with Shiba’s armies, tending to those wounded in battle, all the while praying for an end to the violence, both for her benefit and for those she healed.
She missed her beloved Yogo, who was fighting elsewhere against the Dark One’s minions. She wished for nothing other than a return to the simpler life they knew before. But that would not be. During a glorious victory, Yogo was cursed by Fu Leng to betray the ones he loved the most, and returned to Kyuden Isawa as a corrupted man.
He tried desperately to break the curse, but not even the greatest of the Isawa shugenja could reduce it. He considered seppuku, but at the last moment was swayed by the Scorpion, Bayushi. With the knowledge that he would never love the Scorpion, and was therefore safe within their care, he joined them, and never returned again.
Upon hearing of her husband’s deed, Asako was crushed. She returned home to her son, but everything had changed. She was bitter and without hope for the future. Then Shiba returned, offering a place for her to begin again, among friends. He offered his own home for her to take as her own, an arrangement she gratefully agreed to. Her son, Sagoten, was less forgiving of the state his father had left things in, however. Anger and resentment swelled within him like a monsoon, and he vowed to avenge the cruel abandonment he and his mother had suffered.
Late in the war, Shiba went to the Council to request his aid, but was flatly refused. “We are protecting ourselves with the very forces that you have provided us, Shiba,” Isawa said, “and we will not sacrifice our lives for your cause.”
Shinsei’s reply was simple and direct. “You are saving the bodies of your people, Isawa, but you are still sacrificing their spirits.” This served to bring him about, but he had a condition for his agreement to join the Thunders in the Shadowlands; Asako’s son, upon his gempukku, would marry Isawa’s daughter. Thus, the houses of the Phoenix would be unified.
Realizing how much his true father’s shared enmity of the Isawa could be inflamed, but not what would be done to his mother in the process, Sagoten agreed to the offer, and preparations for the marriage commenced. Among these plans was the announcement of a grand elemental masterpiece to be constructed by the finest shugenja in the clan, including those loyal to both Isawa and Asako. The construct would be a testament to the union of their families that would live on in generations to come.
Months later, Lady Doji came to the lands of the Isawa and requested that they divine the locations of the Thunders in the Shadowlands, for they had not been seen or heard from since they left with Shinsei. Perhapse more out of concern for their founder than the others, the Isawa complied. They discovered that only one still lived, but they could not discern who.
Shiba volunteered to enter the Shadowlands and find the surviving Thunder and what remained of Fu Leng’s armies. He was given the approximate location and disappeared into the blasted lands. For weeks, he did not return, and Doji and the Isawa feared the worst, until one day a figure was seen stumbling back out again. It was Shosuro, and she carried twelve black scrolls and an obsidian hand.
With her final words, Shosuro gave the items to the samurai gathered outside of Otosan Uchi, claiming they were the doom of the Dark Son of the Heavens. None ever heard the story of her rescue, how she came to escape the Shadowlands, or of the final fate of Shiba for many years.
With Isawa gone, work on the great magical construct slowed, but final arrangements continued. The newly constructed Ki-Rin Shrine would host the ceremony, and emissaries from the clans would be present. The wedding was being referred to as ‘Isawa’s Last Wish’, for it was announced in his last public moment in the Empire.
Mere weeks prior to the wedding, a most unexpected visitor appeared to Asako, and the story he had to tell was an amazing one indeed. Shiba, merged with the spirit of his son, Tsuzaki, spoke to Asako of entering the Shadowlands in search of the last Thunder, and how he had come upon Shosuro with the holy man Shinsei, as they were being attacked by one of the last great Oni-generals.
“The beast fell upon them with careless brutality,” he said in a saddened voice Asako would carry to her grave, “and that was the only thing that kept any of us alive. I entered the fray, intending to defend the heroes with my life. Shosuro was already badly wounded.
“Together, we dispatched the monster, but not before I had suffered a crippling injury. Afterward, when I expressed doubt that we could return home without help, Shinsei-sama spoke to me calmly, whispering words of comfort and support. He told me that Shosuro must return to the Empire, and that I would carry her back.
“I was critical, but he continued whispering to me as I lay bleeding into the dead earth. I trusted him, knowing that he carried within him the wisdom of a thousand lost sages. But there was more…much, much more…”
Asako was confused, as much by the sudden reappearance of her lost friend as by the story he told. “What…? How are you here?” she asked.
“I am here by the grace of a truth that will not affect the world for many centuries. It is what Shinsei explained next to me, there in the Dark Lands. A great secret has sustained me beyond death, and I have chosen you to guard it until humanity is ready.”
“I don’t understand,” Asako breathed, dazzled and bewildered all at once.
“You don’t have to. Not yet. All you have to do is listen, and remember…”
As Shiba continued to speak, she found herself lost in his words, slipping between them into another level of comprehension, in which she was privy to universal maxims beyond the scope of anything any human had ever known. She was becoming something new…
“There are knowledges you do not yet realize exist,” Shiba began. “Lost paths to divinity that humans are denied by birth and blood. But they are linked to you in that you are a gifted race, destined to walk the path of godhood in time. In the centuries ahead, you will discover that your ultimate state of being is far more than any imagine.
“The Fortunes favor you. Mortals will be the champions of the next age. Your gift is your resilience, and ability to adapt under even the most harsh circumstances. But Nature is a crafty obstruction, and retards your progress. There are ways to trick Her, however, to slip past her watchful eye, to take the next step toward apotheosis…”
They talked throughout the night, delving into forbidden mysteries and enigma. When the dawn came, Asako was alone, and the spirit of her family had been born.
With the coming of Fu Leng’s dark armies, however, Shiba was drawn into the intrigues of war, and was seen less and less. Asako contented herself with perfecting her craft of healing the injured and infirm. Throughout the first months of the war, she traveled with Shiba’s armies, tending to those wounded in battle, all the while praying for an end to the violence, both for her benefit and for those she healed.
She missed her beloved Yogo, who was fighting elsewhere against the Dark One’s minions. She wished for nothing other than a return to the simpler life they knew before. But that would not be. During a glorious victory, Yogo was cursed by Fu Leng to betray the ones he loved the most, and returned to Kyuden Isawa as a corrupted man.
He tried desperately to break the curse, but not even the greatest of the Isawa shugenja could reduce it. He considered seppuku, but at the last moment was swayed by the Scorpion, Bayushi. With the knowledge that he would never love the Scorpion, and was therefore safe within their care, he joined them, and never returned again.
Upon hearing of her husband’s deed, Asako was crushed. She returned home to her son, but everything had changed. She was bitter and without hope for the future. Then Shiba returned, offering a place for her to begin again, among friends. He offered his own home for her to take as her own, an arrangement she gratefully agreed to. Her son, Sagoten, was less forgiving of the state his father had left things in, however. Anger and resentment swelled within him like a monsoon, and he vowed to avenge the cruel abandonment he and his mother had suffered.
Late in the war, Shiba went to the Council to request his aid, but was flatly refused. “We are protecting ourselves with the very forces that you have provided us, Shiba,” Isawa said, “and we will not sacrifice our lives for your cause.”
Shinsei’s reply was simple and direct. “You are saving the bodies of your people, Isawa, but you are still sacrificing their spirits.” This served to bring him about, but he had a condition for his agreement to join the Thunders in the Shadowlands; Asako’s son, upon his gempukku, would marry Isawa’s daughter. Thus, the houses of the Phoenix would be unified.
Realizing how much his true father’s shared enmity of the Isawa could be inflamed, but not what would be done to his mother in the process, Sagoten agreed to the offer, and preparations for the marriage commenced. Among these plans was the announcement of a grand elemental masterpiece to be constructed by the finest shugenja in the clan, including those loyal to both Isawa and Asako. The construct would be a testament to the union of their families that would live on in generations to come.
Months later, Lady Doji came to the lands of the Isawa and requested that they divine the locations of the Thunders in the Shadowlands, for they had not been seen or heard from since they left with Shinsei. Perhapse more out of concern for their founder than the others, the Isawa complied. They discovered that only one still lived, but they could not discern who.
Shiba volunteered to enter the Shadowlands and find the surviving Thunder and what remained of Fu Leng’s armies. He was given the approximate location and disappeared into the blasted lands. For weeks, he did not return, and Doji and the Isawa feared the worst, until one day a figure was seen stumbling back out again. It was Shosuro, and she carried twelve black scrolls and an obsidian hand.
With her final words, Shosuro gave the items to the samurai gathered outside of Otosan Uchi, claiming they were the doom of the Dark Son of the Heavens. None ever heard the story of her rescue, how she came to escape the Shadowlands, or of the final fate of Shiba for many years.
With Isawa gone, work on the great magical construct slowed, but final arrangements continued. The newly constructed Ki-Rin Shrine would host the ceremony, and emissaries from the clans would be present. The wedding was being referred to as ‘Isawa’s Last Wish’, for it was announced in his last public moment in the Empire.
Mere weeks prior to the wedding, a most unexpected visitor appeared to Asako, and the story he had to tell was an amazing one indeed. Shiba, merged with the spirit of his son, Tsuzaki, spoke to Asako of entering the Shadowlands in search of the last Thunder, and how he had come upon Shosuro with the holy man Shinsei, as they were being attacked by one of the last great Oni-generals.
“The beast fell upon them with careless brutality,” he said in a saddened voice Asako would carry to her grave, “and that was the only thing that kept any of us alive. I entered the fray, intending to defend the heroes with my life. Shosuro was already badly wounded.
“Together, we dispatched the monster, but not before I had suffered a crippling injury. Afterward, when I expressed doubt that we could return home without help, Shinsei-sama spoke to me calmly, whispering words of comfort and support. He told me that Shosuro must return to the Empire, and that I would carry her back.
“I was critical, but he continued whispering to me as I lay bleeding into the dead earth. I trusted him, knowing that he carried within him the wisdom of a thousand lost sages. But there was more…much, much more…”
Asako was confused, as much by the sudden reappearance of her lost friend as by the story he told. “What…? How are you here?” she asked.
“I am here by the grace of a truth that will not affect the world for many centuries. It is what Shinsei explained next to me, there in the Dark Lands. A great secret has sustained me beyond death, and I have chosen you to guard it until humanity is ready.”
“I don’t understand,” Asako breathed, dazzled and bewildered all at once.
“You don’t have to. Not yet. All you have to do is listen, and remember…”
As Shiba continued to speak, she found herself lost in his words, slipping between them into another level of comprehension, in which she was privy to universal maxims beyond the scope of anything any human had ever known. She was becoming something new…
“There are knowledges you do not yet realize exist,” Shiba began. “Lost paths to divinity that humans are denied by birth and blood. But they are linked to you in that you are a gifted race, destined to walk the path of godhood in time. In the centuries ahead, you will discover that your ultimate state of being is far more than any imagine.
“The Fortunes favor you. Mortals will be the champions of the next age. Your gift is your resilience, and ability to adapt under even the most harsh circumstances. But Nature is a crafty obstruction, and retards your progress. There are ways to trick Her, however, to slip past her watchful eye, to take the next step toward apotheosis…”
They talked throughout the night, delving into forbidden mysteries and enigma. When the dawn came, Asako was alone, and the spirit of her family had been born.
