The Empress: Toturi (Moto) Keiko: Not much is know about her imperial majesty. She is said to be quite attractive by those who have seen her. She is also said to have a kind heart by many of the peasants. When she is seen publicly, in addition to the rank and file imperial guards she travels with she is always seen with three very intimidating looking Seppun guards. Two of which are obvious bushi and the other is not. Once a year by imperial edict she holds a festival specifically for the common folk. Every clan capital and the imperial capital as well have feasts and various events for the common folk. A few commoners from each capital are recognized for the dedicated work for the empire and rewarded with a variety of gifts
( houses, wealth, elevated status, etc (Though not all of these things)) .
It has been 35 years since the Shadowlands war. The Empress has married and had children (2 sons and 2 daughters) She still has the love of the peasants and keeps an advisory council.
Toturi Shuzo: The eldest child of the Empress. He is trained as a Seppun Guardsman, though he has not seen actual combat. He is stern and unwavering in his loyalty to his mother and the Empire. He has an estate in the Capital and frequently houses long term dignitaries who do not wish the hustle and bustle of the Imperial palace. Every single aspect of his estate has been designed with defense in mind. He has one daughter and is married. His wife is from the Dragon Clan.
Toturi Sadako: The eldest daughter, second eldest child of the empress. She is a kind and caring woman. Trained as an Otomo Courtier. She is arranged to marry a Phoenix officer, though a date has not been set. She sponsors an orphanage and school in the capital specifically for orphaned commoner children. They have beds for about one thousand children but currently only house two hundred children in the orphanage and she makes frequent trips there. She refers to the children as paper cranes. "Beautiful, yet oh so fragile. Handling them properly takes the greatest of care." She has skill with and is greatly fascinated by origami.
Toturi Massao: The youngest son of the Empress. He is trained as a Miya herald. He has done nothing meaningful to this point in his life and doesn't seem to mind keeping it that way. "Libraries are fascinating, and most importantly safe." he likes to say. He has an extensive personal library. He is awkward as the center of attention and usually tries to hurry any social interactions he has.
Toturi Ise: The youngest child of the Empress. She is trained as a Seppun Shugenja. She is ever the spoiled princess you would expect from a royal child. She is still young in her career and makes frequent trips to the Seppun dojo to train.
Imperial advisory council:
Moto Chen:
(Retired) A very skilled Moto bushi. Who made a name for himself during the recent shadowlands war. Though the shadowlands armies didn't reach unicorn lands in sufficient numbers to be of consequence. They did manage to get about 500 monsters towards Seiktsu pass. With a group of 75 bushi Moto Chen defended the pass against the monsters with heavy losses to his side the monsters were felled. He is of average height and looks but solidly built. His preferred weapon is his scimitar. It is said that he fearless, the feelings of fear have never touched his soul. He is very plain spoken and to the point. He doesn't participate in open court situations very often, preferring to send an emissary in his stead. He is married (Moto Ami) and has three sons (Moto Chenji, Moto Jo, Moto Soh).
Doji Domotai:
(Retired) Perhaps on of the most skilled living courtiers the Crane clan has. Also reknowned throughout the empire for his physical beauty. He is a very tall, very thin man. Even though he is of advanced age it does not show on his features. No one is quite sure how old he is. Samurai who have since retired talk about 'coming up through ranks' with him. He is Married with quite a few children and some grandchildren as well. He demands competence in all who work with him and has ruined the careers and sometimes the lives of those who failed him in a drastic fashion. Some people whisper that he would have been just as at home as a Bayushi.
Bayushi Paneki: (Active on the council) A short, verbally aggressive Bayushi courtier. He has no problems playing up the Bayushi reputation if he needs to in order to get his way. He makes more public appearances than any of the other advisors. Nothing is really know about his personal life. An attractive man, though not as much as Doji Domotai. Almost always at his side is a Yogo (Scorpion) shugenja. Even less is known about his Yogo companion. Paneki is quite old now. As he ages his cruel nature is amplified.
Doji Ami: A young but competent Crane courtier. What she lacks in size (Small Disad) She more than makes up for in her dedication to bushido and the Empire (Idealistic) She also is rumored to have tricked a Scorpion courtier to implicate himself in a nefarious plot, in open court. A statement she has never denied, or confirmed. But one that the Scorpion say is a flat out lie.
Utaku Juniko: A high ranking cavalry officer in the Unicorn. She is plain spoken and seems out of place in court. She is the half sister to the current Unicorn clan champion. She is very knowledgeable about animal husbandry and the care of any type of animal that could be used as a mount, and also has knowledge of these types of animals that exist outside of the Empire. She has a personal estate that she was gifted by the Empress, for valor in battle. She has personally trained many of the current imperial cavalry soldiers.
Shiba Kozuko: A middle aged Phoenix Bushi. She is a traditionalist if there ever was one. She would be just as at home among the Lion with her dedication to tradition. She is a skilled duelist. She has two young children that she spoils every chance she gets. She has no specific, important relations in her family to justify her position as an advisor to the Empress.
Isawa Reiko and Isawa Jo: Twin brother and sister. They are always together, except when they are sleeping, because yuck! They are highly skilled in the arcane arts and spend more time in study of some sort than they do anywhere else. There are rumors of a grand discovery they have recently made (DC: 30 (Whatever current events would be)) Jo is the stereotypical Shugenja, lacks any measurable skill with a blade but is ever confident of his skill with magic. His sister on the other hand has some skill with a katana and has won a few dueling competitions.
The Shogun: Akodo Shigetoshi: (Deceased) A young, proud Lion. He embodies all that the Lion hold dear. He is no stranger to battle. He carries a legendary sword (Hiryu: (Meaning fire dragon)) his armor was crafted specifically for him by one of the best armor smiths in the empire. It is said to have magical properties. He has a young wife ( Akodo (Isawa) Tara) a Shugenja from the Phoenix clan. They have twin daughters (Akodo Yori and Akodo Yoriko) In addition to his duties as Shogun he participates in running a dojo in the capital, designed for samurai from less affluent families. His family were allowed to live for his actions but were all made Ronin.
Did not wish to relinquish his powers. He basically had the
Empress declared unfit to rule without the help of the council. She accepted
this for a short while. She learned all the ways of court as she was able. She
gathered her personal bodyguards and a trusted shugenja and fled from the
Capital one night.
After some time she returned to the Capital and called a special session of
the council. She ordered them to the throne room immediately. When they were
all gathered a heated argument ensued, the specifics of this argument were
never discussed outside the meeting. All that is know is in anger Akodo
Shigetoshi struck the Empress calling her “An insolent child not fit to sit
upon the great throne.” He was offered a single chance by the Empress to commit
seppuku and her roared with anger and was struck down by the combined forces of
her bodyguards and shugenja, the only ones allowed to bear weapons in the
throne room. Also not the place where council meetings usually took place. She declared all of the Akodo family from that point forward and were given one months time to vacate any lands they held sole possession of. Their residence in places that belonged to other families was left to the decision of these families.
Falcon Clan daimyo: Toritaka Kaiketsu (Retired): A middle aged man of few words. He is as stout, strong man. His daisho is said to have legendary properties but he will not speak of them, he considers it rude to ask such things. He has 6 children. 3 from his first marriage, his first wife died in the Shadowlands war. 3 from his second wife. It is rumored that his first wife was killed by his very blade because she had become tainted. There is a strong, but not violent, rivalry between both groups of his children. He would still prefer to be combating the enemies of the empire but having a clan to run leaves him no time to do so. His two oldest from each group of children are governors for various cities and towns within falcon lands. His wife Toritaka Ami is a skilled Shugenja. His youngest daughter Toritaka Hana, went through her gempukku 3 years ago, is a natural in the courts, though slightly unorthodox in her approach sometimes.
Toritaka Hana: The daughter of the previous Falcon Daimyo. She is 38 years old and has seen to it, through her skill in court that her Clan is allied with virtually every major and almost all minor clans in the empire. The Falcon are the largest minor clan in the Empire. They have gone from having the outright haltered of the Crane to being a fairly close ally. It took two decades worth of work on the part of Hana. Her husband is the Great x 7 grandson of a legendary Crab warrior, and he will go on at length about it if given the slightest chance. They have 7 children. Only the eldest has gone through his Gempuku. One of her children, her Daughter Mina, went missing nearly a year ago. Hana has expended a large amount of resources in locating the child but to no avail.
Crab Clan daimyo: Kuni Kumi (Deceased): A short, serious woman. She has little patience for creative endeavors, considering them a waste of time. She takes her job as clan daimyo seriously. Even though the crab are less than half of their pervious size and hold less than 1/3 of their previous holdings their affluence is greater than it has ever been. Her twin sister (Kuni Hitomo) is a skilled crab merchant and with their arcane and economic prowess the crab have creeped their way to a comfortable reserve in their coffers. She took a husband out of obligation to provide an heir for her family. He husband is a huge brute of a Hida bushi (Hida Yogo). He is as socially inepet as you can imagine. But his skill with heavy weapons usually prevents people from messing with him.
When The Ki-Rin defended a northern pass into and out of the Empire she came to their aid. She personally lead as many Samurai as she could safely spare from the wall. This battle turned into a siege that lasted weeks. During the final push against the enemy Kuni Kumi was slain by one of the enemy.
Ki-Rin Daimyo: Moto Nobunaga (Deceased): An elderly samurai, looks to be in his late 50s maybe early 60s. The leader of the Ki-Rin that have only recently returned to the empire. The party is currently suspicious of his motives. He is a large man, about 6'2" close to 300 lbs. When the party met him as they were leaving his city he was seated atop what could likely be the largest horse any of them had ever seen. They don't know anything of his personal life. He spoke of prophecies and being guided by the stars to be where they were currently at. He seemed certain of his beliefs that he was doing the right thing. He said he was on a mission to save the empire from within and from external enemies as well. The Ki-Rin Daimyo died defending a pass in northern Unicorn lands from an Army that has traversed the desert with the intention of attacking Rokugan. He sent messengers to the Crab and he conscripted every able bodied villager he could (Man and Woman). They held the pass for four days against an army numbering at least 500,000. Helped arrived from the Unicorn first, then the Crab a few days later lead by the Crab Daimyo herself and a few days after that imperial forces and forces from the rest of the clans arrived. They held the pass for two weeks and were outnumbered 2 to 1 when Moto Nobunaga had a chance to lead a group behind enemy lines and attack their commander directly. Others cautioned him against the deceit because it was dishonorable. He said "If they destroy your empire, what good does your honor do you?"
The Black Samurai: in the last couple of years he has become something of a folk hero. There are many eta who repost having been allowed to kiss his hand or simple touch his horse and their luck changed for the better. A man who has won quite a few tournaments and also stopped large groups of bandits in the unclaimed lands. He wears a suit of Gaijin armor but people argue of his heritage. He speaks fluent rokugani, with no discernable accent, to those who have heard him speak. None can report having ever seen him without armor and helmet. He is ever the gentleman and displays the utmost honor on and off the battlefield. He once escaped a patrol of imperial scouts sent to capture him. They lost him about a days ride from the temple of osano-wo (A14) He weilds a Katana that is said to cut through solid stone. There are rumors that he can also shoot fireballs from his hands and command nature itself to do his bidding. The tournaments he has attended he has won. He agreed that if he ever lost a duel in a tournament he would reveal himself to those]his opponent.
