Rob Hobart

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It was in 2008 that I really started pushing the use of “campaign fictions” both to show the results of Interactives and to give information to the players that would be difficult to convey in modules. These fictions became quite important in the campaign’s last two years, especially for incorporating the players’ game-play experiences (at both modules and Interactives) into a larger cohesive narrative.

This fiction was written both to “set up” the looming Hare War (we had already announced a special Battle Interactive for GenCon), identifying the Scorpion general and the major Crab tactic for the battle (using shugenja to bring down the castle walls). I also wanted to showcase the true nature of the two major Big Bad candidates (Moto Temujin and Akodo Gintaku), since I felt that neither of them had gotten enough screen-time yet to really have an impact on the players. By this time, I had decided that Hida Gojiro would _not_ be a potential Big Bad – as his character had evolved, he had come to strike me as tragic figure rather than an evil one, and I couldn’t see him doing any of the Big Bad deeds I had slated for the campaign’s final two years.

Finally, I wanted to throw in a bit of forshadowing on Otaku Taro, who was slated to be a secondary villain at the climax of the Bushido arc. Side-note: Like many of my other campaign fictions, Scenes From the Empire was written in the present tense. This was a stylistic quirk I picked up from heavy reading of some of Neal Stephenson’s novels, and I found it surprisingly hard to get rid of.

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Hida Gojiro snarls down at the map before him, then slams down a meaty fist, interrupting the reports of his generals. "Enough! No more talking! Why have you not taken the castle? You outnumber them ten to one!"

The senior Hida general glances at his companions, then clears his throat. "With all due deference, great lord, Shiro Usagi is a formidable defensive structure. The Hare Clan has learned from its past, and so far all our assaults have been beaten back with heavy loss."

Perhaps emboldened by his colleague's stand, another general, one with the Yasuki family mon, speaks up. "Our army is at the limits of its supply lines, Hida-sama, and the Scorpion have raided our caravans with great skill." He proffers a bundle of scrolls. "As you can see from these figures, at the moment we are fortunate simply to keep our men fed, let alone--"

Gojiro slaps the papers out of his hand. The scrolls make a soft whispering noise as they scatter on the floor. "I have no time for numbers and tallies!" His brow furrows with a fresh thought. "What of our Lion allies? Where is the help they promised?"

"The Lion have pledged their troops will arrive soon, Hida-sama. But the Scorpion are reinforcing as well. It is likely this will only extend the stalemate--"

"No!" Gojiro roars. One broad hand sweeps the maps and reports off the table. "We must win, before the end of summer! Find me a way!"

Two of the generals look at each other, and then one coughs for attention. "Shugenja, Hida-sama. The Kuni are masters of the Earth. If a sufficient number of them were present, they could bring down the walls and the castle would fall with little effort."

One of the other generals darts an anxious glance at the old woman who waits against one wall, watching the proceedings with heavy-lidded attention. "However," he adds hastily, "this would be most unwise, Hida-sama, given the number of shugenja we would need, it would badly deplete the garrisons on the Wall--"

"Silence," Gojiro snaps. "The Shadowlands are nothing, barely a threat." He turned to Kuni Yuriko. "Make it happen."

The Kuni daimyo's voice is harsh with disapproval. "You should listen to your generals, Gojiro-sama. To weaken our defenses in this way would be most unwise."

"I will listen to who I please! I am Clan Champion! Do as I command!" Gojiro roars, veins bulging from his reddened face.

The old woman's withered lips clamp tight with anger, but the only words which emerge are, "As you command."

*****

Bayushi Tenkai reins in at the top of a low ridge. He lifts his wooden mempo and blots the summer heat from his face before lowering the mask back into place. His eyes narrow as he squints at the distant castle and the vast military encampment which surrounds it. "Interesting," he murmurs.

The Scorpion officers who have drawn up beside him seem less pleased with the sight before them. "The Crab army is... formidable, Rikogunshokan-sama," one of them ventures after a moment. "Even with our fresh forces, they outnumber us three to one."

"Numbers are the least part of war," Tenkai says genially. He makes a gesture with his left hand. "Get the men into camp, and deploy scouts. It would not be good for the Crab to know we are here too soon."

The officers ride away, returning to their units, but one remains: a young man, only a few years past gempukku. A close observer might note the resemblance between his features and those of Tenkai. He fidgets and shifts slightly in his saddle, watching the older man sidelong.

"Well, speak up, boy. I know you have a question."

The boy gulps and stammers. "A... a thousand apologies, father. But are not the shireikan right? We cannot match the Crab numbers, not even if the Dragon send all the soldiers they have promised."

"And so? You doubt my skills as a general?"

"No, never, father. But," the boy searches for words for a moment. "This does not seem like... like the best strategy. Could we not win more without a battle?"

The Scorpion general leans back, scratching his bearded chin with thumb and forefinger, and gives his son an appraising look. "Suppose you explain this alternative strategy to me."

The boy hesitates only a moment before speaking. "We have sent a token force into the castle, enough to ensure it will not fall easily, and to show our friendship for the Hare. If the castle falls, we will lose those men. But the Crab will lose face before the whole Empire for crushing a Minor Clan over a petty insult. The other Minor Clans will rally to our side, and the Great Clans will desert the Crab -- they will be hard-pressed even to keep the Lion on their side. We could ruin them in court for a generation over this. We could destroy them." He has leaned forward with the intensity of his idea, but now the boy recovers himself and bows his head. "Or so it appears to this humble ji-samurai."

Tenkai smiles. "Your analysis is quite good for one so inexperienced. But you have made a false assumption."

The boy flushes. "Teach me then, father, that I might learn."

"You assume we want to destroy the Crab."

His son blinks, then nods, his eyes going wide. "Ah! I understand, father."

"No, actually, you don't," Tenkai says, and laughs aloud at the bewildered and slightly resentful expression that crosses his son's face before the boy regains control of his emotions. "But you misunderstand less than before, perhaps." He wheels his horse around. "Come. Our soldiers need attention, and there is a battle to plan."

******

In a temple high in the Spine of the World Mountains, an old shaven-headed woman kneels before a shrine to Jizo, Fortune of Mercy. Koneko, once the O-Doji, prays for the Heavens to show mercy on her only son, her only failure.

******

Akodo Gintaku sits up late in the night, reading through a dozen ciphered reports in as many minutes. His replies are written with such swift perfection that a Thrane observer would imagine them printed.

A song drifts through the halls of the Castle of the Swift Sword, accompanied by the plaintive sounds of the biwa. Gintaku pauses in his writing for a moment, and his constant frown seems, somehow, to deepen.

The boy is weak. Gintaku does not understand it; Akodo Soto was trained by the harshest and most demanding sensei in the Lion Clan. Yet he seems to care more for his foolish music than for swordsmanship or the art of command.

Perhaps it is the fault of his mother. She was a Dragon, a political bride forced on the Lion Clan by the machinations of the Imperial Herald. Once their sons were born Gintaku never visited her again, and exiled her to a remote village. He is not even sure if she is still alive.

The music still plays, but the Akodo daimyo no longer listens to it. He bends to his reports once more. There is much to do, and never enough time.

******

In the uppermost levels of the Citadel of the Moto, the Great Khan kneels on his futon, opening a book by the light of a single candle. Utaku Xiuling is curled next to him, already asleep, and he ignores her as he would a household pet.

By the light of a single candle, Moto Temujin opens his personal journal. He lifts a brush and scribes a few brief lines, the writing sharp and harsh.

"The only true arbiter of the world is power, the ability to make others do as you wish. And the only true source of power is force. All else is play and illusion."

He rereads the line, nods to himself as if satisfied, then puts away the book. The candle is extinguished a moment later. Moto Temujin sleeps without dreaming.

******

In the ruins of the City of the Lost, a man with long hair and wild, blazing eyes raises his katana above the corpses of hundreds of goblins. The Lost gather around him, cheering, calling his name.

"Taro! Taro! Taro! Taro!"