The Battle for Mori Province

Yasukaza rode at the head of the shugenja cavalry. The banners and pinions of the Phoenix fluttered in the breeze as they crested the hill. Below, along the harbor, was the pirate town. A collection of shacks, shanties, and tents. Several boats floated in the harbor.

He saw the gathering force of ruffians outside the gates. “Ah, it seems we are expected,” he muttered.

Ronzo the Foul was an immensely fat man, dressed in black leathers and brown fur. He gripped a long, curved, Gaijin blade and glared at Yasukaza from a distance as the Phoenix approached. Then he disappeared back into the mass of pirates, thugs, and frightened peasants.

Yasukaza halted the troops, and began to order the cavalry to the flanks to strengthen their position. A roar from behind caused him to spin around. The pirate mass surged forward, not waiting for strategy or tactics. “Very well,” he thought grimly, griping his hammer, as he called upon the spirits of Earth for strength.

The pirates were vicious and aggressive. They slammed into the central mass of the Phoenix troops, and bushi holding the line were bowled over. Men were pinned to the ground screaming as a half dozen brigands stabbed downward repeatedly with their knives. A force of pirates sought to change the Shugenja before they could ready their magics, but the Shiba did the job they have done for centuries. Ronzo and his retainers broke through the Yojimbo briefly, but the shugenja summoned spirits of water to turn the ground before him to mud, stopping his attack as he floundered and roared in anger.

Aggressive, but undisciplined, poorly armored, and like children before the trained Phoenix forces. Yasukaza channeled the power of a dozen shugenja to cause the Earth itself to break open and swallow hundreds of pirates. The peasants assisting the brigands were cut down like wheat by the blades of the samurai and Yojimbo.

In the end the rabble broke and ran, and Ronzo lead them, moving surprisingly fast for his bulk. They fled to the ships on the harbor, which set sail for the sunset, leaving the province squarely in Phoenix hands.

The August Personages of the Phoenix Clan

Isawa Murasame – Clan Champion
The Phoenix clan suffered greatly from the ravages of the Gaijin Pluage, loosing all of the Elemental Masters. When the call went out for new leadership, Murasame took that mantle unflinchingly. Before the plague, Murasame used his shugenja skills in his weaponcraft, but after the plague hit he turned his mind to forging some sort of treatment. In the recent months, word has leaked out that he has indeed developed a something along those lines. Although frail of body, Murasame is a consummate (if often unorthodox) diplomat and one of the most honored men the empire.

Isawa Razen
A water shugenja, Razen is passionate about analysis and research. A student of knowledge and a keen observationist of people. He spends many hours watching the comings and goings of people in the markets near the monastery where he studied. Very thorough and detailed; he notes trends and statistics, and his reading tends to focus on the intellectual, the strategic, and the systematic. His research has paid off on the battlefield.

Isawa Anzai
A young brash Isawa, interested in knowledge and power. Anzai has always been superior to her piers and looking for respect and admiration from her superiors. She is always the first to try new spells and to do so in a manner that is shows off her talents with little forethought to the situations that might arise because of it. This sometimes gets her in trouble, but the kami must be watching over her, as she always manages to find a way out of trouble.

Isawa Yasukaza
Yasukaza is the only surviving pupil of Murasame. One of the few people who knew him before his discovery of the treatment of the Gaijin Plague. He has taken up Murasame's position as weaponsmith and his craftsmanship is known throughout the Phoenix lands.

Shiba Radae
An untypical Phoenix. At a young age Radae interpreted the Shiba mantra of protection as being a strong offense. After his training he quickly became bored with the disciplined restraint of his fellow Shiba choosing to travel Rokugan looking for action while focusing his mind and body for whatever battles or challenges his travels would deal him.

Shiba Azuna
Shiba Azuma is one of the elite Tatsujin Yojimbo. It has been a few years since the dye in his hair has grown out and been cut short, but still he follows his fateful duty to guard the Elemental Masters as the Tatsujin Yojimbo have done for centuries. Isawa Murasame has just recently requested his aide in his travels as the Champion now feels that Rokugan has become a more dangerous place.