There hasn’t been a formal declaration of war just yet. After Altansarnai dishonored herself and her clan by unilaterally breaking the treaty agreement, the Lion demanded recompense in the form of some disputed border villages (which the treaty would have settled in favor of the Unicorn). Matsu Mitsuko seized control of one such village, Hisu Mori Mura, by killing the Unicorn garrison commander Utaku Hisako in a duel. Shinjo Shono immediately reclaimed the village, killing Mitsuko in single combat. Matsu Gohei hoped this would serve as the grounds for war but so far as we know the Emperor was murdered before permission was requested or received.

1 hour ago, Manchu said:

There hasn’t been a formal declaration of war just yet.

1 hour ago, Manchu said:

so far as we know the Emperor was murdered before permission was requested or received.

There's actually a credible argument there doesn't need to be, since we've been told to assume anything pre-1123 is the same until explicitely contradicted.

The Imperial Edict banning warfare between the great clans actually named the clans to which it applies, and neither the words "Unicorn" nor "Ki-Rin" are on the list - at the time it was written the Unicorn hadn't yet returned and the Ki-Rin still in Rokugan had become the Kitsune minor clan, and in the previous edition version of the history the Unicorn successfully argued in court it didn't apply to them (the war in question was in the 1160s but the Edict is a historical document and should logically still read the same):

From the story Hunter's End

"It cannot be denied that your clan made the first move. You performed a violent and unprovoked act of war against a fellow Great Clan, an act prohibited by Imperial Edict since the first Yasuki War."

"What we did was not prohibited at all," Chaozhu replied. "The edict to which you refer was reviewed by our own Khan. It mentions only six Great Clans. My own clan was beyond the borders of the Empire at the time, and thus were not included in that edict."

"The implication is clear in that it refers to all the Great Clans," Sume said with a sneer.

"The law is the law, Sume-sama," Chaozhu said mildly. "If we cannot be held to the law, there is only chaos."

"Be careful what you suggest, Chaozhu-san," Bayushi Kaukatsu replied. "Your Khan should not be so eager about flouting his immunity to Imperial Edict. After all, what is beyond the Emperor's control might also be beyond his protection."

Is that a dynasty pack fiction? I had wondered if they still came with fiction. I would love to read them but have not seen them posted anywhere.

EDIT: Oh I see, that is from the AEG days.

On 10/11/2019 at 3:17 PM, MirumotoKatsuro said:

Can he though? My impression was that Yojiro is already heading toward Kachiko's plaything, and I imagine Aramoro has a way of convincing people who are reluctant in that role.

Aramoro want Yojiro dead because he (rightfully) blames Yojiro for spoiling their plan to cheat in the tournament. Kachiko sends Yojiro away from the capital as punishment to take part in the story in his novella. By the end of the Novella is becomes clear both that Yojiro is sympathetic to Shoju's ideology and Shoju has tested Yojiro and believes him trustworthy which is why he appointed him to his position in Toshi Ranbo. We've been in Yojiro's head alot in the fictions and in his novella and we've only been given evidence that if it came down to it he'd be a Shoju man and not a Kachiko man so I'd be surprised if he fell in line with Kachiko against Shoju. I was excited to see that Shoju was sending Aramoro and Kachiko to Toshi Ranbo because Yojiro was there and that will definitely lead to friction.

That's my impression as well. He helps Kachiko cheat because she outranks him in the clan and she ordered him to, and he's a scorpion for whom duty is sacrosanct.

Despite this, after doing exactly as he was ordered , he went behind her back and double-cheated (thus levelling the playing field) because he knew what she was doing was wrong and she hadn't ordered him not to.

I wish FFG would bundle the remaining stories into another scroll like they did the core cycle stories. It would be nice to start archiving them like that so it's easier to go back, reread and review. There's enough of it now that it can be tricky remembering the order of release. In a perfect world I'd like them to get DrivethruRPG to make a print on demand version. I wonder if the demand is big enough for that. I'd certainly buy a copy.