Hello, I haven't posted here much or played the card game but I enjoy the RPG. At least I enjoy reading the RPG books. But, for my own personal enjoyment or potential future games I have come up with a somewhat different timeline which goes along with a very different setting. And I wanted to see how people reacted to it, so I am writing up the first bit. The early history of the Empire which in setting would be largely forgotten and instead with the canon history being the popular story.

Foundations of the Empire: The Kami existed, and they were divine, but they did not fall bodily into the world. The founders were reborn on the mortal realm into different communities and were influenced by preexisting beliefs. The foundation of the empire was not determined by a peaceful tournament (excepting the duel between Akodo and Hantei). Hantei was a diplomat and made alliances with Akodo and Doji, but much of the Empire was won through force of arms. Hantei's faction fought minor wars with the Phoenix and the Dragon to bring them into the fold. But the main event was against a rival empire.

The enemy was a faction led by either Fu Leng or the 10th kami. It included the original Spider who were eventually destroyed, the Scorpion and the Crab. The Scorpion betrayed their allies earning them their poor reputation and the Crab ultimately overwhelmed and joined the Empire. The Mantis began as an offshoot of the Crab loyal to Fu Leng's faction after the Crabs surrender.

The shadowlands were formed not by Fu Leng's fall but instead by whatever event killed the 10th Kami. This loss drove Fu Leng mad and eventually led to the Day of Thunder much like it happened in the canon history.

After this I don't have much detail. The Unicorn were nomadic and never incorporated in the early history. They left not to explore but because the Lion went to war with them driving them out of the main empire and absorbing the remnants of the Unicorn's Shugenja family, the Kitsu. Iuchuban lived and was bound at some point.

The main history of the Empire I will leave until later. But most importantly I don't have the actual Imperial families holding a lot of influence. Instead I would have it so different clans control the Empire with differing levels of efficiency until the structure comes apart and creates a proper warring states period.

Finally, I imagine their being several ethnic groups predating the clans. I don't have details, mostly it is a rough grouping of the clans. First there would be mostly peaceful groups living on the coast. They became with time the Phoenix, Crane and the "Owl". Second was a southern group whose people made up the original Spider, the Mantis, Scorpion and some of the Crab. Third their was a central warlike culture which became the Lion, parts of the Unicorn and most of the Crab. The fourth group largely became the Dragon clan but a number of them ended up in the Scorpion. Last the Unicorn included nomadic groups whose influence grew after the clan was driven from the Empire.