Fail to overthrow the Emperor, yes, but there is more than one way to strike back against darkness.

Hantei XL, contrary to Fu Leng in KYD, decided to play by the rules. Any samurai willing to accept him as the legitimate Emperor is free to continue his life. Maho and corruption is also under strict control. It also means the great clans have a powerful influence on his reign. In order to take the throne, he had to make concessions and promises to his allies.

With the Crane in control of the courts and bureaucracy without those damned Otomo (although the Susumu and Shosuro are still a bother), Hantei XL is far from having absolue power.

The starting point is a much darker Rokugan, and the new dynasty is, by fiat, untouchable, but everything else is to be determined. Champions and Chosen will still be named, the emperors Emperor will still need spouses and the winter courts will still happen. And the Spiders are not the only contenders. In respect of Shourido traditions, only the bests will be selected, no matter the clan, and the sooner a great clan plays ball, the greater his chance of influencing the Empire has a whole.

The ambient Taint that had lingered during the Iweko years becomes visible, and the Tainted have no choice but to accept Kanpeki's rule. Those untainted are given the choice to either fight (they lose) or have the tables turned upon them: go into exile in the Colonies as the Tainted Spider had once been.

I was surprised this didn't come into play the moment Iweko Seiken ascended as Emperor. Because at that point, the terms of the original agreement would no longer appear to be relevant. You can't tell me that Susumu, the man who thereafter becomes the Dark Fortune of Deception merely stumbled onto phrasing the agreement thus:

"The Master of Jigoku can withhold the blessings of his realm from mortal souls," Susumu said. "Agree to his terms, and my lord Daigotsu shall permit no human within the service of the Empress to suffer the blight you call the Shadowlands Taint unless they willingly accept his blessings."

Using a retcon, after Iweko II bizarre announcement, Kanpeki manages to keep his On, and be dismissed. He later meets with the Clan Champions to discuss Seikin's growing madness. (Players of other clans could chime in about how this would play out with their clan). I could see him approaching Moto Naleesh and supplicating either support because he is of Hantei descent, or at least nuetrality as he seeks to dispose a mad Emperor. Being suspicious she agrees not to interfere, and possibly help depending upon how he proceeds. The Unicorn sit back and watch as Kanpeki erupts in war with the remnant of Rokugan that is loyal to the Iweko line. The seals remain unbroken, and Kanpeki remains untainted. However the war creates refugees that flee to the north, the lands of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Unicorn for safety. Small strike units are dispatched to help bring the war to an end. The majority of the Unicorn though remain in Unicorn lands taking care of refugees. Kanpeki manages to defeat Seikin and his loyalist, and travels to Unicorn lands to determine why they gave so little help. Upon arriving he sees how taxed the Unicorn have become under the weight of refugees created by the war. Knowing that the Unicorn have done him a favor by preserving the lives of people that will be needed to make his empire thrive. He brokers the Unicorn's alliance, and pledge to him. The Unicorn would thus be vastly unchanged. The biggest change being that they now once again serve the Hantei line under Hantei XL.

This may not be perfect I just wrote it off the top of my head as an idea to suggest. This maybe gives you an idea of my perspective as a Unicorn.

Shinjo Yosama

@midwayhaven

While I find your idea quite interesting, it is not exactly what I am looking for. I think an Empire without the Great Clans would be too much.

Using a retcon, after Iweko II bizarre announcement, Kanpeki manages to keep his On, and be dismissed. He later meets with the Clan Champions to discuss Seikin's growing madness. (Players of other clans could chime in about how this would play out with their clan). I could see him approaching Moto Naleesh and supplicating either support because he is of Hantei descent, or at least nuetrality as he seeks to dispose a mad Emperor. Being suspicious she agrees not to interfere, and possibly help depending upon how he proceeds. The Unicorn sit back and watch as Kanpeki erupts in war with the remnant of Rokugan that is loyal to the Iweko line. The seals remain unbroken, and Kanpeki remains untainted. However the war creates refugees that flee to the north, the lands of the Dragon, Phoenix, and Unicorn for safety. Small strike units are dispatched to help bring the war to an end. The majority of the Unicorn though remain in Unicorn lands taking care of refugees. Kanpeki manages to defeat Seikin and his loyalist, and travels to Unicorn lands to determine why they gave so little help. Upon arriving he sees how taxed the Unicorn have become under the weight of refugees created by the war. Knowing that the Unicorn have done him a favor by preserving the lives of people that will be needed to make his empire thrive. He brokers the Unicorn's alliance, and pledge to him. The Unicorn would thus be vastly unchanged. The biggest change being that they now once again serve the Hantei line under Hantei XL.

This may not be perfect I just wrote it off the top of my head as an idea to suggest. This maybe gives you an idea of my perspective as a Unicorn.

Shinjo Yosama

Thank you. This is pretty much the kind of input I was hoping. Here's a quick rewrite to better integrate it in the lastest timeline, with a few added twists. (any ressemblance to actual events is not intentional). Tell me what you think.

After Iweko II ascension to the throne, armed conflits and the taint spread across Rokugan. Refugees from the Lion and Scorpion clan began migrating en masse towards the Unicorn lands anfld the children of Shinjo opened their arms. As things escalated and more people fled Seiken's madness, the numbers of refugees from all castes (samurai, heimin and Eta) and clans grew at an alarming rate, making it harder and harder for the Unicorns to provide food and shelter to all. The pressure was also felt by the unicorn population as well.

Unfortunatly, among the refugees, there was a fair number of tainted individuels. Most of them were only faintly touched by jigoku, but the scarcity of Jade leaf tea in the refugee camps, conmbined with the presence of much more tainted individuels caused a certain number of unfortunate incidents. The unicorn managed to dealt with them efficiently, but it was only a matter of time before things would go out of control.

Having heard of the incidents in the camps, and realizing Many Lions took refuge in the unicorn lands even after he branded for extermination, Seiken ordered one of his legion to march towards the unicorn land and destroy the camps. Officially, this was to destroy all the tainted, but such a radical action was seen by many as just another sign of Seiken's madness. In addition, the unicorn were unwilling to sacrifice so many innocents to destroyers a few problematic Losts.

They therefore marched against the imperial legion. The Spider clan supported them by sending troops and supplies and the legion was defeated. The supplies also helped alleviate some if the tensions in the camps, but it only postponed the inevitable.

When Kanpeki finally made his bid for the throne, the unicorns were faced with a choice. Kanpeki wasn't ideal as an emperor and his claim was far from perfect. However, his ascension would mean a quick resolution to the conflict and would allow most of the refugees to go back home. Facing starvation, the unicorns backed their long time allies.

This had also the consequence of easing the acceptance of Kanpeki from the rest of Rokugan. If the Unicorns, heroes of the people and defenders of so many refugees at the cost of their own prosperity, decided to back Hantei XL, therefore he was not such a bad guy, regardless of his heritage and (well deserved) reputation.

Comments are always welcome.

Sounds a lot like my "how would I fix Onyx" over on the AEG forums.

Now buried.

*sigh*

That's the most interresting topics on here !

Thanks for that, I must read it from the beginning !