A History of the Scorpion Clan Coup The following information came recently into my hands from one of my contacts in the Crab Clan. My thanks to Hiruma Hakaseko for this document, which appears to be an early draft of a history of the Scorpion Clan Coup.
For nearly one thousand years, the Scorpion Clan performed its duties for the Hantei Dynasty. Just as the crane are the Emperor's left hand and the Lion are the right, the Scorpion were the Emperor's "underhand". They performed duties that were below the Lion's honor and the Crane's dignity, soiling their names so the Emperor's would remain untarnished. And so it was for one thousand years...Until the day Bayushi Shoju--the Scorpion Champion--discovered an ancient prophecy that told of the demise of not only the Hantei Dynasty, but of Rokugan itself. Shoju was forced to make a decision: allow the prophesy to unfold or destroy the source of Rokugan's destruction.
In Shoju's mind, there was no alternative. He would destroy the Hantei Dynasty, thus thwarting the prophecy.
But before he could assume his mad undertaking, he would need to make preparations. The Clans would unite against him if he tried to take the Imperial capital. He would need a diversion that would allow him to take the capital.
And he would need to take care of the Emperor's greatest general, Akodo Toturi...
As far as Shoju was concerned, the only threat to his success was the Lion Champion, Akodo Toturi. The Lion's honor was unquestioned in Rokugan, but the Scorpion can find the flaw in any man's armor. For Toturi, it was his love for a young geisha. A geisha trained by Shoju's own wife, Kachiko.
On a night filled with wind and rain, Hatsuko slipped a single drop of poison in the Lion Champion's drink, thus removing Toturi from Shoju's reckoning. Once Toturi was finished, all Shoju would have to deal with would be the armies of the Crane.
"The armies of the Crane..." Shoju nearly laughed as he whispered the words.
With Toturi missing, leadership of the Lion would transfer over to the Matsu family, led by the young and inexperienced Matsu Tsuko. Shoju relied on the vanity of the young Matsu, knowing that she would not accept aid from the Akodo family, or from the rest of the Empire, for that matter. And while the Matsus fought with the other Clans for the right to attack the Scorpion, Shoju would fortify his position and await the decision of Rokugan's Great Bear...
Having them as neighbors for one thousand years taught Shoju a thing or two about Crabs, and if all other contingencies failed, he knew he could count on their respect of strength. When Hida Kisada saw how Shoju took the capital, he would recognize his position of power and aid his attempt to hold ancient Otosan Uchi. Then, the other Clans would be forced to accept his claim. At the least, he would have time to defend his actions.
Of course, trusting the Crab would only be his first mistake...
The Scorpion Clan Coup, the prelude expansion for Legend of the Five Rings, will include two new strongholds: The mighty Scorpion Clan led by Bayushi Shoju and the Lion Clan led by the honorable Akodo Toturi.
Ryan Dancey, on Scroll 3 of the Scorpion Clan Coup:
Nine brothers and sisters of the Sun and the Moon, the Kami, fell to the earth 1,000 years ago. Eight swore to protect and teach the Rokugani. One become corrupted and swore vengence on his siblings. A simple peasant and seven samurai defeated the corrupt Kami at the dawn of history to make Rokugan safe.The twisted madness of Fu Leng has begun to grow in power. The first Black Scroll has been opened and read, and the corruptive influence of the Dark Kami has begun to be felt in the Empire. Word comes from the outer provinces that a great illness has hit many small towns, killing hundreds. No treatment seems to be able to stop the disease, and the shugenja and monks who have been trying to stop the plague have fallen ill as well.
Hida Kisada, the Great Bear, Diamyo of the Crab Clan has long contemplated a change in the Imperial Dynasty. Locked out of the politics of the Imperial Assembly by the crafty Crane, unable to marshall enough force to destroy the Shadowlands once and for all without the combined might of the Dragon and the Lion, and wary of Phoenix magic and Unicorn tactics, he has brooded for many years.
On recieving word of Shoju's coup, and shortly thereafter receiving word that Shoju asks for his assistance in consolidating the Scorpion's power, Kisada knows that the time is right for his greatest military campaign ever. With simple but clean brush strokes, he composes a reply to Shoju, then tells his sons Yakamo and Tsukune to ready the Clan armies for a march across the Emerald Empire.
Sitting on the Emerald Throne, contemplating the massed warriors surroudning the Imperial Palace, Shoju takes heart when he hears that at last Kisada is on the move.
Shoju's doom is at hand. He will either be the greatest of the Scorpion Diamyos, or the last of the Scorpion line.
This is the Scorpion Clan Coup!
Last updated by Neil Laughlin on March 6, 1998.