Dreams of Shadow

By Tonbo Karasu, in L5R LCG: Lore Discussion

What can I say, wow, people should read it.

There be spoilers below here:

Doji Ninube was kidnapped shortly before here and Ujina's marriage. She died after giving birth to Kaede. Then Ujina married again. Does this mean that Tadaka is actually Kaede's half-brother?

Is this where we lose Ujina to being The Nameless One?

Is Sadako actually the real Ninube, with Kaede's mother being a duplicate???

Did Hametsu send her to place something just where Kuwanan is going to find it?

This is one of those stories that raises more questions than it answers.

Edited by Tonbo Karasu
Wrong title!

...

You realize, of course, that without a link that I'm going to assume you're a shadowspawn sowing confusion, right?

So we're back to the OLD story with this one. Kaede was born half-Nothing and the Void of her father when he named her imprinted on her, iirc.

1 minute ago, OokamiGauru said:

So we're back to the OLD story with this one. Kaede was born half-Nothing and the Void of her father when he named her imprinted on her, iirc.

Maybe? Most of what I said after Ninube was kidnapped and released is speculation.

Also, Ujina (and Kagi or some PCs) don't go and track her down.

Did the Master of Void just get sent to the Shadow Realm?!

Color me confused.

is this about a new story insert? (If that is the case please provide a link)

I don't think Sadako had any idea about Doji Ninube, but maybe the Shadowbrand did. That's my take away from it. The Shadowbrand showed him Ninube so it could abduct him, leaving the Scorpion none the wiser.

11 minutes ago, mirrorcat said:

Color me confused.

is this about a new story insert? (If that is the case please provide a link)

It is, but I can't give you a link - I haven't seen it online yet, just IRL.

I'll never understand why some fiction is posted for free on their site while other (sometimes even its continuation) is limited only to the physical flyer of card packs and it's not even referenced on the main page.

i remember it feeling very disjointed when Toturi was preparing himself mentally for the tournament building up the suspense and next piece he had alreay been the E.C. For a little while and the narrative shifted to a different topic entirely...

that said it does make you appreciate even. More the work of fellow fans who go out of their way to scan and compile all of the stories, Kudos to you!

(just a pity that sometimes they happen to be members of a belligerant clan of goons constantly barking in shameful a display of bravado...)

Edited by mirrorcat

I think they do release them in the Scrolls pdf (which I hope they post more of soon! 2nd Scroll when?). But mostly they want you to buy their cards. I used to love buying packs for the fictions back before they were scanned on the internet so I could be lazy and wait a week to pick up my cards.

13 hours ago, OokamiGauru said:

So we're back to the OLD story with this one. Kaede was born half-Nothing and the Void of her father when he named her imprinted on her, iirc.

So Kaede is Anakin?

14 hours ago, OokamiGauru said:

So we're back to the OLD story with this one. Kaede was born half-Nothing and the Void of her father when he named her imprinted on her, iirc.

59 minutes ago, 987654321 said:

So Kaede is Anakin?

That description reminds me more of the Avenger parody character from Rick and Morty

84f11f1f3893a53161a1e590b9480abd.jpg

Edited by mirrorcat

No link yet?

37 minutes ago, Kaito Kikaze said:

Video-Game-Character-Bow-Reaction-Gif.gi

thank you

EDIT: the story is...interesting, some aspects of it are cryptic but we can still recognize a few facts:

- Scorpion is forging false evidence about the former E.Champ death, which makes their involvement with his death seem even more plausible, if not certain (i sincerely doubt they'd tamper with the evidence if this was the work of a 3rd party with enough skill and resources to kill such an high official undetected).

i don't really see a reason for them to worsen Lion-Crane relationship any further so perhaps they could just be trying to frame Lion in order to test Toturi's reaction and maybe force his dismission.


- Void Master is likely MIA (Phoenix council is definitely shifting a lot with all these recent turnovers...)

- what are those "Brands" ?

Edited by mirrorcat
23 hours ago, Tonbo Karasu said:

What can I say, wow, people should read it.

There be spoilers below here:

Doji Ninube was kidnapped shortly before here and Ujina's marriage. She died after giving birth to Kaede. Then Ujina married again. Does this mean that Tadaka is actually Kaede's half-brother?

Is this where we lose Ujina to being The Nameless One?

Is Sadako actually the real Ninube, with Kaede's mother being a duplicate???

Did Hametsu send her to place something just where Kuwanan is going to find it?

This is one of those stories that raises more questions than it answers.

Yes. Tadaka is Kaede's half-brother.

Well, he's certainly lost. Beyond that, who knows?

Sadako is Kaede's mother. She was a Shosuro infiltrator into the Crane, until she encountered the Nothing. The Scorpion faked her death after she gave birth to Kaede so that they could retrieve her.

Yes. Likely because the ronin ploy didn't end up with a dead Kuwannan, the next step is to misdirect him back against the Lion. Interestingly, I don't think that this move takes into account the relationship he's built with Matsu Tsuko which admittedly no one else should know about or be able to predict, and may as a result lead him to suspect the Scorpion...

Also, the Scorpion still don't need to have killed Doji Satsume to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by his death. If the setup is to make Bayushi Kachiko the villain, we've got fantastic ingredients for my Lady Champion Hotaru to be caught between her brother and her lover. If Kachiko's actually innocent of Satume's death, then it becomes all the more poignant.

Edited by Doji Hyōkin
Corrected from Soshi to Shosuro
2 hours ago, mirrorcat said:

Video-Game-Character-Bow-Reaction-Gif.gi

thank you

EDIT: the story is...interesting, some aspects of it are cryptic but we can still recognize a few facts:

- Scorpion is forging false evidence about the former E.Champ death, which makes their involvement with his death seem even more plausible, if not certain (i sincerely doubt they'd tamper with the evidence if this was the work of a 3rd party with enough skill and resources to kill such an high official undetected).

i don't really see a reason for them to worsen Lion-Crane relationship any further so perhaps they could just be trying to frame Lion in order to test Toturi's reaction and maybe force his dismission.


- Void Master is likely MIA (Phoenix council is definitely shifting a lot with all these recent turnovers...)

- what are those "Brands" ?

In the old setting (Appendix II of the Scorpion RPG book) there were things called Shadow Brands. The Shosuro in particular were users of them. A Shadow Brand was like a whole body tattoo of a pattern of criss-crossing dark patterns, and they came in a different levels. They enabled some stereotypical ninja powers, like turning into a shadow and, at the top level, shadow stepping. Nobody knew exactly what they were.

In the prior canon, they were later revealed to be linked to an ancient Nameless entity that was scared of the immutability of reality.

Do people think that picture on the first page is meant to be Ujina, or Eju?

Could we stop losing Elemental Masters, please?!

First Kaiyoko “retires”, then Tadaka kicks out Rujo, now the Darkness kidnaps Ujina?! C’mon, it’s not like it’s easy for us to find these guys, you know?

Also, the disappearance of an Elemental Master from within the Forbidden City without a single clue is gonna be a Big Deal, moreso after the strange circumstances surrounding Satsume’s death.

I suppose Atsuko will be the new Master of the Void, unless they go with Kaede. But being the wife of the Emerald Champion, I think is unlikely.

I suspect that the documents, placed in the Crane guest house, have no relation to incriminating the Scorpion in the Emerald Champion's death. I think that they are meant to show us is that the Scorpion are working with the Otomo family to keep the clans divided and to stop a coalition against the emperor.

Now I do think that the documents try to incriminate the Lion to the Crane but that's another matter entirely....

I seem to remember Uona, Tomo and Kaede being masters along with Tadakka and Tsuke. At least they were in the old Phoenix Clan Wars book. So probably just setting up a younger Council more likely to take risks their elders never would?

17 minutes ago, llamaman88 said:

I seem to remember Uona, Tomo and Kaede being masters along with Tadakka and Tsuke. At least they were in the old Phoenix Clan Wars book. So probably just setting up a younger Council more likely to take risks their elders never would?

Yes, although Tomo has already been superseded by Azunami, a younger Master. I also feel that Kaede is unlikely to be Master of Void, since she's now Akodo Kaede.

I'm totally cool with new masters, just expect the current roster is being set up to make way for the less cautious council that made key mistakes last time around. Names and faces are welcome to change, as obviously the writers are clever and know exactly what they're doing with the phoenix. i did like tomo in that book though.

1 hour ago, Vulcan646 said:

I suspect that the documents, placed in the Crane guest house, have no relation to incriminating the Scorpion in the Emerald Champion's death. I think that they are meant to show us is that the Scorpion are working with the Otomo family to keep the clans divided and to stop a coalition against the emperor.

Now I do think that the documents try to incriminate the Lion to the Crane but that's another matter entirely....

2 hours ago, Doji Hyōkin said:

Likely because the ronin ploy didn't end up with a dead Kuwannan, the next step is to misdirect him back against the Lion. Interestingly, I don't think that this move takes into account the relationship he's built with Matsu Tsuko which admittedly no one else should know about or be able to predict, and may as a result lead him to suspect the Scorpion...

Also, the Scorpion still don't need to have killed Doji Satsume to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by his death. If the setup is to make Bayushi Kachiko the villain, we've got fantastic ingredients for my Lady Champion Hotaru to be caught between her brother and her lover. If Kachiko's actually innocent of Satume's death, then it becomes all the more poignant.

I'm not entirely convinced if i may be honest. I just don't see how that would benefit them or change the situation

they have already succeeded into triggering a feud between Lion and Crane that has already brought the latter on the verge of an economic crisis (partially with the contribution of Mantis raiders)

Lion, on the other hand, seemed to be in a pretty dominant position and have only profited from this early stage of the conflict and the only menace on the horizon is represented by a seemingly inevitable simultaneous war against Unicorn (which seems to be a spontaneous and completely self-inflicted occurence... Not sure if scorps had anything to do with that tbh)

Personally i think the safest approach would be to let the 3 clans brawl and then intervene on a later date with an imperial decree, forcing the truce and assigning the contested lands under direct imperial control (this would end up in a scenario where the relationship between clans would be strained, they'd have to focus on post-war reparations and the emperor gets extra income)

--

The reason why i suspect scorps to have killed Satsume is due the fact that they seem pretty lax about this murder. (Unless he died of natural causes)

Neither Kachiko nor her Husband seemed particularly worried about the Emerald Champ suddendly dying without leaving any evidence... I mean this is scorp we're talking about, they're entire reason d'etre is to develope and mantain an information network around Rokugan and you're trying to tell me that they are completely clueless about the matter and instead prefer to tamper with thenevidence to shift the blame on Lion just to damage their reputation? That'd be downright irresponsible rather than opportunistic

Edited by mirrorcat
35 minutes ago, llamaman88 said:

I seem to remember Uona, Tomo and Kaede being masters along with Tadakka and Tsuke. At least they were in the old Phoenix Clan Wars book. So probably just setting up a younger Council more likely to take risks their elders never would?

Exactly, that’s what what I’m afraid of. Thing is, for the looks of it, Isawa Eju has not too much time left, and then I suppose we’ll get Uona. And without the old (and more wiser) masters, it’s easy for Tadaka to make what he wants of the Council:

Tadaka: C’mon guys, let’s open some Black Scrolls...

Uona: I dunno...

Tasaka: Well, we used to do it all the time with the older guys and it was a blast. All the cool Elemental Masters are doing it!

Kaede: I’m still not sure...

Tadaka: Tell you what, we’ll start with something light, like Oni summoning, and move up to the Scrolls when you’re ready, ‘k?

4 hours ago, Tabris2k said:

Could we stop losing Elemental Masters, please?!

First Kaiyoko “retires”, then Tadaka kicks out Rujo, now the Darkness kidnaps Ujina?! C’mon, it’s not like it’s easy for us to find these guys, you know?

Also, the disappearance of an Elemental Master from within the Forbidden City without a single clue is gonna be a Big Deal, moreso after the strange circumstances surrounding Satsume’s death.

I suppose Atsuko will be the new Master of the Void, unless they go with Kaede. But being the wife of the Emerald Champion, I think is unlikely.

Definitely Atsuko. Kaede is Lion now, not Phoenix. Her pedigree aside, they're not gonna put her on the council when there's another option available.