Emerald Empire

[Blackhawk748]

Scholar's Excerpt from the History of the Emerald Empire IV Edition

It is the Year 34 of the New Era, which began at the end of the Exodus War with the Marriage of the Empress Miyahira to Chief Tomag. While the War was officially over, the fighting did not actually stop until the 23rd Demonic Incursion 3 years later.

Since that time, it has been a period of, relative, peace for the Empire. The seasons have been largely mild and inter clan fighting has been kept to a minimum, excepting the Boar Clan. The Demon Wastes have been quite, relatively speaking. There hasnt been a Demonic Incursion since 22 NE and that was half the strength of the previous one.

It is a time of prosperity and plenty, but some Seers foresee a great storm approaching and they say that change is on the wind.

Spoiler: Map, Caution this sucker is huge

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Welcome to Emerald Empires, a land of Samurai and Highlanders, of Demons and Mages, of Intrigue and Adventure! Now that the tagline is out of the way, thank you for looking into Emerald Empires. This setting has been, and still is, a pet project of mine, that i've been working on and off on for quit awhile. Its far from finished, and i doubt it ever will be, but theres enough here that im sure someone could run an enjoyable campaign in it. So i'll stop talking here and get to the actual setting material.

A Brief History of the Empire
Before there was an Emerald Empire there were many individual Clans that called the island their home. They fought and claimed land, and rose and fell in dominance as the years went on. This all changed on the Night of Falling Stars.

The Night of Falling Stars was an event that happened worldwide, in which meteors rained down from the sky. While many smaller meteors landed across the island, occasionally crushing houses, very few people where actually injured. However, one, very large, Meteor crashed into the North end of the island and the resulting shock-wave destroyed everything in a 5 mile radius, but thats not were it ended.

Stars raining from the sky was bad enough, but from the craters leapt Demons. Thankfully only minor Demons came out of the other meteors, but a massive army can out of the Northern crater. This was the first Demonic Incursion.

The First Incursion/A Hero Rises

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It took some weeks to figure out exactly what had happened, and by that time the Demons had already slaughtered the clans in the Northern mountains and where butchering their way across the Northern plains. What was left of the Northern Clans had retreated south into what is now Turtle Clan territory and where attempting to hold the Demon army at the Black Hills.

In the South the other clans where meeting and arguing over whether to let the Northern clans deal with the Demons or to go to their aid. Many advocated staying out of it and destroying the Demons after the Northern clans had weakened them, while others saw their only means of survival in uniting against this threat. It looked as if the clans wouldnt come to consensus in time to save those in the Black Hills. Thankfully someone arrived to change that.

Susano'o, God of War and son of Izanagi the Emperor of Heaven, came to earth in order to save these people, in defiance of his father. He entered the meeting with a flash of light and a thunderclap and told the gathered Daimyos what had happened. These Demons where the remnants of a great army that had tried to assail Heaven, while they where defeated some had crashed to earth and had survived. Susano'o was here to help these people protect themselves from the Demonic horde. He called for them to gather their armies and to go to the Black Hills defense, and then he vanished. The next day, the clans rode to war.

Wrath of a God/Fall of the Oni King

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While the Southern clans had dithered about, the Oni King Gyakusatsu had managed to push the Northern Clans back to a single stronghold, The Black Crag, and was settling in for a siege. He was convinced that the clans where to fractured to present a true threat to his army. So when the Southern army came out of the forest he had little time to react.

He sent his Ogres, led by Idaina Kurabu, to stop them. The massive naginatas wielded by the Ogres made the Southern cavalry almost worthless and their thick armor just shrugged off their arrows. While they where killing Ogres, they where losing troops to fast to maintain this sort of assault for long. As the battle began to swing in the Ogres favor Susano'o appeared in the center of the Clans lines and tore a massive hole in the Ogres battle lines. The Southern Clansmen charged into this new gap while the few mages they had where instructed by Susano'o to focus their combined magic at the same points to help punch through. With Susano'o leading them the tide began to swiftly turn in their favor.

With the approach of the Southern army Gyakusatsu had to break the siege quickly so he could turn his army around to face the Southerners. The problem is, is that the Northern army's general, Kato Tetsu, just wouldnt fold. His men had pushed back three separate assaults in rapid succession and Gyakusatsu was fed up with him. So he mounted his corrupted Dragon and decided to level that fortress himself. General Tetsu saw the new surge of Demons coming forward, this time led by their king atop his hellish steed, and he called for every able bodied person to fight.

When the Oni King began his assault it was as if the number of warriors had doubled since their last engagement. Civilians screaming in defiance were hurling rocks and javelins from the tops of the walls, while the trained soldiers pushed Siege Ladders from the wall and repelled assaults on the gate. Gyakusatsu saw Tetsu leading his men from a tower and crashed his mount into it, leaping off it as it started to attack Tetsu's guards.

The two great generals clashed atop the tower as the battle played out below them, Gyakusatsu taking advantage of his greater reach and raw strength while Tetsu took advantage of his greater maneuverability. The fight seemed even until a poor block by Tetsu sent his sword hurtling off the tower. In an act of desperation he dove for a wooden spar from a wrecked crane. As he dove Gyakusatsu tried to stab him and he missed, driving his sword into the stone of the tower. Tetsu got up from his roll and with a great cry brought the spar crashing down n the Oni Kings head, killing him.

When he died he let out a massive magical shockwave that almost knocked Tetsu from the tower, and sent the Demons into a panic. As the Demons broke and ran Susano'o, with a band of other warriors chased many of them down and slew them. The rest of them made it into what is now called the Demon Wastes.

Susano'os Punishment/Rise of an Empire

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After the battle, Izanagi, Emperor of Heaven, descended to earth to pronounce judgment on his wayward son. The clansmen spoke out against this, they spoke of his bravery and his compassion. Susano'o silenced them and asked his father what his punishment was to be. Izanagi pronounced that since his son did not wish to obey as warriors should, that he must become a wandering warrior, dedicated to no house and no one people. Susano'o accepted his punishment and prepared to set out, but the people would not let him. They said he had acted with honor in saving them, that the punishment was unfair. Susano'o just smiled at them and said "While i acted with honor, i still defied my father, my sworn liege. It is for that i am being punished, but worry not my friends, for it is not truly a punishment. For father has given me the leave to wander this world and fight who and what i choose. What greater gift can a man have than to be so trusted that he is given leave to wander where he will?" With that Susano'o left, carrying nothing but his sword, his hat, and a small backpack with him.

General Tetsu meanwhile was recovering in the Healers tent from some sort of horrible burns on his body from the Oni Kings blood. The blood had turned various parts of his skin black, and while it seemed to cause no ill effect, the healers were still worried. After awhile Tetsu got fed up with laying there and left the tent, several healers in tow, upon leaving the tent he was greeted by a sea of people, Northerner and Southerner alike. As they saw him a great cheer went up, they hailed him as Oni Slayer, Demon Killer, Iron Soul, and Black Crag Tetsu. Others where cheering for him to be crowned Emperor of of all clans. Tetsu was shocked by this but with the Daimyos of many clans nodding in agreement he had little choice. 3 years later he was officially crowned Emperor of the Emerald Isle, sovereign of the 14 Clans Emperor Kato Tetsu I the Oni Slayer.

The Children of Tetsu/The First Empress

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For the next 5 years Tetsu ruled well, the clans rebuilt and the surviving Northern clans became the Turtle clan. This changed when Tetsu's son was born. While the babe was healthy his skin was blood red and he was obviously not human like his parents. The priest who oversaw the birth pronounced the boy a demon and said that Tetsu had been physically tainted by the Oni Kings blood, he also said that the boy must be killed. Tetsu physically hurled the priest from his home and said that if he son truly was a demon he would kill him himself, but until that happened he would live.

10 years passed by and Tagawa Tetsu grew up to be a strong and kind young boy. Tetsu had two more children, only one of which shared their brothers "deformity", and both grew up well. While Tetsu knew that Tagawa was no demon, he also knew that the people would not follow him. To prevent the newly formed Empire from crumbling he set out to find a new heir. He found his heir in Hana Kasumi, a minor Kitsune noblewomen and mage of the Bear Clan.

While just about every noble he was getting near was trying to impress him, Hana simply went about her typical duties, which for her was helping patrol the southern swamps for dangerous Will-o-wisps. Tetsu was moved by someone who took their duties so seriously and began to subtly look into her character and background. After making his inquiries he found that she was honorable, studious and dedicated to her duties, all things he considered perfect for becoming Empress. However, when he approached her, she refused.

Obviously this shocked everyone, including Tetsu. When he asked her why, she told him that she was the only mage in the area that could help the patrolmen keep the swamp creatures back and if she left the surrounding people would come to harm. Tetsu nodded at this and asked if she would become Empress if he would guarantee the safety of the surrounding people. She agreed and Tetsu sent 4 mages to patrol the swamps, an agreement that still exists in the New Era.

Several years later Tetsu stepped down and crowned Emperess Hana Kasumi I Emperess of the Emerald Isle and Tetsu returned to Tutle Clan lands and enjoyed his retirement, while his children became the first Tieflings, or Demon-Blooded.

The Second Incursion/Rise of Tagawa

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While Tetsu became a Martial Arts teacher in his retirement his son, Tagawa, became a Samurai of the Turtle Clan and patrolled the Black Hills border region. It was his squad that first saw the Demons approaching from the North and he rightly surmised that they where a scouting party. His patrol engaged them and slew most, but several escaped, however, when he went back to report his Commander thought he was overreacting and that they were just a common band of Demons. Tagawa was proved right when an army was spotted a week later.

The army was led by Idaina Kurabu and consisted almost exclusively of Ogres and Bakemono and, while not as large as the Oni King's horde, was still impressive. The defenders of the Black Hills gathered together to face this threat at Bleak Crag, a newly constructed Fort. Tagawa's patrol was one of the first to arrive and the Fort's defenders were in a frenzy. Apparently Idaina had offered them the chance to surrender and no one was quite sure how to take this. Tagawa asked where their commander was and was told that he had been killed in a skirmish a few days ago and that Tagawa was the highest ranked man there.

Upon hearing this Tagawa began ordering the men into defensive positions and then went to the top of the Northern wall and shouted to Idaina. He responded that he wished to speak to the Fort's commander, Tagawa agreed and they met in the no mans land between the two forces. Idaina was huge, even for an Ogre and he towered over Tagawa, but Tagawa simply gave him an even stare in response. After a minute or so of sizing one another up Idaina asked Tagawa to surrender and that if he did his men would not be killed. Tagawa responded with the same offer. Idaina chuckled at the little Demon's courage as he strode back to his army.

The battle began almost immediately after the two leaders made it back to their forces. Idaina's forces struck like a force of nature with the Ogres hurling Bakemono onto the walls before they started scaling them themselves. Tagawa's men kept pushing them back from the ramparts with Tagawa himself in the thick of it, his iron bound war club crushing Ogre skulls and Bakemono with seeming ease. Then, just as soon as it began, the Demons retreated from the walls and reformed out of bow range. Idaina stood atop his mount and shouted a Tagawa "You win this battle Southern Demon, but i shall return". For his bravery Tagawa was promoted to Commander and was given command of Bleak Crag, though Tagawa couldnt figure out why Idaina had retreated.

He had his answer in a week, Idaina had moved his army and attacked a different location in the Black Hills. While he had been repulsed, the defenders casualties had been high. This pattern continued for months, Idaina would strike at one place and then retreat, only to strike elsewhere. Tagawa was convinced that he was searching for a weak point in the Hills and that the Forts needed more men and that the defenses should be strengthened. Most simply though he was overreacting and others simply ignored him saying that no Demon was that intelligent. Tagawa, using his own family's fortune hired a unit of Axebeak Cavalry from the south and a cabal of War Mages as well as strengthened the walls, so that when Idaina struck, he would be ready. He didnt have long to wait.

In the heart of winter Idaina struck at Howling Crag, a fort about half a days ride from Bleak Crag. The forts defense had been weakened during a summer storm and there had been problems in repairing them. Idaina's horde rushed the defenders and put the fort to siege, but not before a runner had been able to escape and ride for Bleak Crag. Tagawa mounted up as many of his soldiers as was safe and rode for Howling Crag, arriving just as the Ogres had breached the gate. Wasting no time Tagawa's men formed battle lines and started to put pressure on the Ogres

The Battle of Howling Crag/Shadows in the Imperial Court

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While Tagawa's footmen formed ranks and began to harass the rear of Idaina's army, Tagawa was leading his Axebeak Cavalry to begin harassing the flanks by raining arrows down on them. The attack was sudden and brutal enough that it upset the Ogre's forward momentum and let the defenders counter charge.

[Blackhawk748]

Reserved for stuff

[Blackhawk748]

Reserved for more stuff

[Blackhawk748]

Now im just being ridiculous, but Reserved anyway.

[avr]

I remember this one. In RL MacCleod is usually spelled MacLeod, BTW.

[Blackhawk748]

I remember this one. In RL MacCleod is usually spelled MacLeod, BTW.

Sonova... It is in my notes too, i just apparently screwed up in typing it out. Well thats embarrassing. Ill finish typing this all up then ill fix the map, as i'll probably muck about with it a bit more.