The Kami, Shinjo, child of the Sun and Moon, marched east from the Unicorn provinces toward the city of Otosan Uchi. Her armies, the allied legions of the Scorpion Clan, and those few brave samurai who dared stand by their side made their way toward the Emperor's city It was dark, and the moon hung silently above them: a jealous eye, watching the soldiers pass. As they marched, Shinjo sent word to all the clans of the Empire-her brothers' and sister's children-and all their allies. Soon, the bushi who could come at her summons swelled the mighty army. But the sending was small. Some-the Phoenix and the Lion-could spare only a few, and the Master of Fire, newly anointed, stood beside the imposing Lion general, Kitsu Motso.

Only twenty Crab, came from the farthest south, bound by their ancestor's ancient oath to his sister. Only twenty soldiers, hardly a full command, but they stood their ground with the strength of mountains. Only twenty, but if those twenty are Crab, then they are as two hundred!

Ten duelists came from the Crane, with their bright steel and flashing eyes. A mere ten ... and their hundred students. "Observers," said the Kakita.

As the armies camped at Togashi's Hill, to the east of the imperial city, a figure came from out of the night. His eyes burned like fire, and smoke poured from his hands and mouth. "Hear me," shouted Togashi Mitsu. "All you who would wage war this day, hear my words."

"You believe that you have come to fight the Emperor, but you are wrong. You cannot cut away a wounded limb to heal a dying man. The battle you are about to fight is greater than emperors and thrones, greater even than kami and mortal humans. This is not a war to win an Empire, but to destroy a god!"

The armies looked down on Otosan Uchi, and they saw the truth. Its walls were covered in Shadow that crept from building to building, tore at the ancient walls. The imperial city had been fouled, touched by Darkness, almost consumed by Shadow. The magnificent wall that once surrounded the palace was now crumbling with age, as if time itself had turned forward, changing the stone into dust. It was faded.

Lost.

The city, like the Empire, is dying from the Shadow's touch.

The Shadow, which serves the Moon.

"If you wish to save the Empire," continued Mitsu, "you must destroy its greatest foe--and take the risk of setting the Shadow free. You must take the city, drive out the Darkness, and free the Emperor of the Shadow's Taint!"

"And the Moon?" growled a Lion samurai.

"Do not fear, Kitsu," smiled the Dragon. "He will come to you."

On a mountain high in the Dragon's Teeth, a black hand raised an obsidian katana "Come, Onnotangu!" the woman challenged. "You must choose: your city or your honor! You cannot defend both!"

A laughing rumble shook the clouds, and the Moon smiled in the sky. "We shall see!"

More than a thousand years ago, the Sun and the Moon walked the Celestial Heavens at peace with their realms. They loved, and they laughed, and all was well with Onnotangu and his bride, Amaterasu. They spoke of immortality and of creation, and Onnotangu built a wonderland for his bridal bower, filled with trees and plants, and all the beautiful things of the world.

The Lady Sun, enchanted with his gift, begged him to let her populate it with children, but Onnotangu was jealous of his bride's love and would not hear of such a thing. Yet, as he loved her, he created with her the animals and the beasts of the sea, and spread them across the world. But still the Sun was not satisfied. They created humankind, and still she wanted more.

At last, Onnotangu's love for her broke through his fear, and he created with her the Children, the son. and daughters of the Heavens: the immortal kami The babies became the light of Amaterasu's world, and she adored them ...

... so much that she forgot her love for Onnotangu and turned her face from him. As the Moon and the Sun gave names to the world, she forgot to hide her love for the Children, and she spoke of each thing as another gift for her Children. She no longer needed the Moon.

Onnotangu grew bitter. He began to hate his wife, their Children, and the world they had made, seeing each as a reflection of the Sun's false love. So, as he gave Amaterasu the names for each beast and tree, he held one name for himself and did not tell it to her. He kept that one name, the last of all names.

When the Children of the Sun fell from the sky, screaming their mother's name, Onnotangu cursed them all. He watched the Sun weep as her Children were cast down, and he cried, "My wife has betrayed me, and for her crime, I will chase her through the Heavens. She will have no rest, no peace, and she will forever be alone, apart from her Children. As she took her love from me, so will she be forever without love.

"My Children, too, deserve no mercy. I shall hunt them and their people one by one, until the world is as red as blood and as black as night I shall destroy them for daring to steal what is my own.

"But I shall have one Child that is not my own," said Onnotangu, gnashing his teeth with fury, "a Son of my own choosing, who has never betrayed me. A child who is no kami who has never known the Sun." And he went to the last of the world's creatures, to the unnamed Shadow. The Moon spoke to it as a father, and he lifted it up from that place and carried it to become the blackness between the stars.

So began the Moon's Revenge.

Breaking through the gates, the armies of the clans struggled against the Shadow, their war-cries bitter and brave. Shinjo hovered above the city gates, her sword slicing through the Shadow-minions as a stone through water, watching with horror as they re-formed. The Lion stood at the gate, the spearhead of the invasion, and nothing escaped them. With courage, and with crystal weapons given to them by the Naga they were the first to break through the veil and enter the City of Shadow.

Behind them, legions of Unicorn soldiers howled strange battle-cries. The Crane stood, a bodyguard to the Phoenix shugenja whose spells threatened to tear open the world.

On the mountaintop, Hitomi stood ready.

I accept your challenge, daughter of mortal man," said Onnotangu, drawing a katana made of starlight. "But if you fail, then I will take your head to the sky with me, and I will see your people destroyed. You will watch as your brothers are slain one by one, and their children forgotten.

"I will destroy you, and your Emperor."

For two days, the battle raged through the city, and yet the sun cast little light in the pale sky. The warriors of the Shadow died, their faceless corpses littering the streets, but they took their toll upon the armies of the clans. A toll that was paid in blood.

The Scorpion led the way to Otosan Uchi's palace gate, and the Shadow fell back before them. Each step it made, they countered, and it was if they knew its movements--for they had learned its secrets, and they knew the Shadow well. Beside them, the Moto fought, drawing their spears and yari down upon each creature as it arose, each human who turned a faceless sword against them.

The Shadow stood before the Moto, and the road fell away into Darkness. "You cannot defeat them," a Bayushi warrior shouted, turning to find another way.

Moto Soro, daimyo of the living Moto, raised his horn and sounded Shinjo's battle call. "You are wrong, Bayushi. We cannot defeat them ... and live" With that his soldiers charged across the widening pit and threw themselves into the Shadow's maw. Their white armor shone for a moment then vanished into the night.

A hundred Moto died that day, but a thousand more lived to tell the tale.

The Phoenix drew their spells around them, breaking slowly through the gates of the palace. Some used the spells of the kami but others, darker in their lore, called upon the forbidden magics of the ancient Isawa. city-and they made the elements bleed. One stood before them all. "Where is your honor?" cried the Crane who stood to defend them. But when the gates crashed open and the Shadow howled in pain, the Phoenix shugenja turned to his Crane yojimbo. "Do your duty well, as I have done mine."

The Crane understood, and the Phoenix fell, sacrificed upon the altar of honor, but remembered with valor for his deeds that day. As the Phoenix fell, the Crane drew their swords. "His life shall not be in vain!" they shouted. "Death to Onnotangu! Death to his Shadow-Son!"

The Matsu were scarred, beaten and bloodied by the twisting Shadow. From every side, they were attacked, but they responded with bravery and strength. One fell, and then another, and the few who remained stood deep in the blood of their brothers. Kitsu Motso screamed a battle-cry and tore open the palace gate. Behind the wall, the Crab had been slaughtered, but one still moved in the pile, torn by a Shadow with claws like ice. A broken tetsubo rested on the ground beside him, shattered and destroyed. As the Lion knelt to lift the weary Crab from the ground, placing his own sword in the Hida's hand, he shouted, "True courage knows no doubt! Stand, Crab! This is your duty!"

Beside Motso, Hida Unari rose, clutching the Kitsu's sword, and he let out a scream of anger and hatred as the Shadow descended upon them both. He was the wall upon which the Shadow crashed, and the Lion, armed only with his hands and his wakizashi was the sword that brought their death.

On the cliff, the woman in armor of gold and green lifted her sword high to block Lord Moon's first blow. It came, driving her back against the cliff-side and tearing a bloody hole in the sky above them. A maelstrom was forming, and the stars were peeping through the Sun's pale sky.

Another blow, and another, and Hitomi was driven back to the cliffs edge. The Moon was ancient, filled with hatred and power, and as he lifted his sword to strike her down, he laughed. His voice echoed through her obsidian hand.

But another voice spoke deep in her heart. It filled her soul and screamed from her throat. "NO! For too long, Onnotangu, you have worked your evil across the land. I was there when you destroyed Akodo, when you crashed the mountain down. I saw you as you used lies and treachery to drown Doji in the sea, and when your envy and hatred stole away Bayushi's only love. Your Shadow has spread too far, Father, and your revenge is finished. At last a mortal shall undo what a god has done!"

With that Hitomi tore her sword from the ground, and the obsidian cut deep into the Moon's foul body.

The Moon staggered back, smiling through his pain. "Now you shall see a mortal pay the price ... for your arrogance."

In the city of Otosan Uchi, a terrible Darkness fell. It killed sight and sound, and only one voice broke through the Moon's great spell.

"The Law proclaims it, and the Celestial Heavens have called me heir! Those who deny me deny their oaths to the Empire. I am your Emperor!" With that the Darkness became complete, and pain spread through the samurai legions, crippling all who stood within its walls. Even Shinjo, Kami above all, shouted in pain from her father's blow, and her soldiers fell to the ground. With one strike, the Moon had crippled the Empire, and Day had turned fully to Night.

"Now, see the revenge I will have upon you, my Children" A figure of pale light appeared before the Emperor's Throne. The Moon's armor encased it as empty as the blackness between stars, and it lifted a spectral sword in mocking salute. The Moon, still standing on the cliff-side with Hitomi, had also come to defend his city-and to destroy those who dared his wrath.

A terrible Darkness had fallen over the city, and the armies of the clans struggled to rise, to fight... even to move. In the palace, the Moon laughed, a sound that echoed from the mountains of the Dragon.

Even as Hitomi struggled to match Onnotangu's terrible strikes, the armies in the palace watched as the Moon's champion, an extension of the Moon's power, raised its sword in a terrible mockery of Bushido.

A few bushi steeled their souls and pushed forward, breaking through the veil of pain and torment. They chose this path. They would not let their honor die for lack of courage, and so they stood, despite the anguish of the Moon's dark Shadow. And so they pushed their way forward into the throne room.

One Crab, bold and true, bleeding from wounds of duty.

One Crane, through a secret corridor behind the Throne--a secret that had been told to him by a simple storyteller long ago.

One Lion, raising his sword and screaming Tsuko's name.

A Unicorn, blind since birth and yet with unfaltering sword, stepped from Shinjo's side.

A man, born of the ronin sworn to serve Toturi, turned from his place at his Master's side and stepped between Toturi and the Moon. "You will not have my Lord," he snarled.

A Brother of the Order of Amaterasu, his soul burning with the Sun's fire.

One Phoenix, weary from the longest battle, yet unwilling to give up the fight.

A single Dragon, strong son of Mirumoto, bearing in his hand a golden sword.

A serpent-warrior, screaming of the Pale Eye, reached through the gate of pearl with swords of crystal.

One Scorpion, saluting the ancient Scorpion Master of Shadow. "I thank you for your instruction," he smiled. "It will no doubt provide the strength I need to defeat you"

And one lone Mantis stood in the Emperor's window, aiming his bow at the heart of the Moon.

They had not come because they were foreordained. They did not fight to find their path because it had been written by the stars, but because their hearts and duty demanded it. Because, as mortals, as servants of the Empire, they could not let Onnotangu claim the world.

Far away, Onnotangu smiled. "It is time for this game to end, samurai," he cursed, and the black sword flew from Hitomi's hand. One stroke, two, and blood welled from her arms, her face-torments placed to give her pain and prolong her death. Though her battle had been mighty, she was forced to confront her greatest weakness: she was alone.

Her Master's voice fled, and Hitomi heard only silence. In this battle, the Kami could not help her. She must defeat Onnotangu alone-or not at all. Above her, the Moon's star-filled blade arched through the sky toward her throat.

Today, the doors into the palace were flung open. I was there; I saw the charge of the Lion. Their general, Kitsu Motso, tore the doors from their hinges ...

... and then, there was a great Darkness. The pain was awesome, terrible beyond belief, and we struggled against the power of Onnotangu with all the strength of Bushido. I am told by those who were within the great golden palace that only a few warriors had the courage, the strength, to enter the Moon's presence ... and only one walked out, at the end of the tale.

The Horde claimed no lives that day, though I fear its Taint will corrupt the Western Wall of Otosan Uchi, where the stone is barren and touched with bleeding scars.

One was a Crab-Hida Unari. His bravery carried him forward against the Shadow, but the laughter of the Moon and the scars he had borne to get through the outer walls were too much for even a Crab's mighty strength. He collapsed beside the doorway, using the last of his courage to hold open the pounding gate.

Through a secret passage behind the Emperor's Throne, a man dressed in the grey and brown of the ronin walked. His steps were sure, as if guided by truth, but he arrived too late, and his sword turned to other purposes. He whispered one hated name-"Kage"-and was gone. But I have heard the tales of the Kakita blade that hung at his side, and I know that Toshimoko's spirit still walks among us.

In the lands of the Naga, a crystal sword gleamed and shone ... but the Naga were far from Otosan Uchi, and their battle was to save a soul, not to condemn the Moon who had defamed it.

The Scorpion sent their finest warrior, and his steps were silent and grim. In his hand hung a weapon of crystal, as old as the palace that Bayushi built Hisa was his name, I was told after the battle was won. Hisa, who had stolen the secrets of the Shadow and turned the truth of its maker against the Darkness. The Scorpion say that the Shadow feared his knowledge, feared the secrets that the Scorpion had stolen, and that the Moon himself turned away, refusing to face the Bayushi samurai. I do not know the truth, only that a great Darkness stood between the Scorpion and the Throne, and that the Moon's horrible laughter broke the veil. "I have taught your clan well, and you have served me often, child," the Moon called, "but I have not taught you everything. . ."

Of the Dragon, I know more. Mirumoto Taki raised a magnificent golden sword, spoils of the Dragon's alliance with the Scorpion. He was prepared to charge into the Darkness when he heard another voice: the voice of his Lady, returned. Too late; he could not pierce the Darkness and save her. Instead, he carried out the wounded Scorpion, bearing Hisa's wounds as if they were his own. His courage does his clan much honor.

Matsu Turi, brave and bold, screamed a hero's name as he charged. Yet his courage alone was not enough, and the Moon met his challenge with deadly force. Only the sword that shattered in his hand kept the Moon's strength from killing him, and he was torn from the room. His body shattered the shoji screens of the throne room, and the Moon's light poured through the hole to illuminate his form, still and silent outside. Though he was alive, his was not the blow that laid the Moon to rest.

A Unicorn, too, fell to his knees beneath the weight of the Moon's gaze. His armor shattered and tore from the wind, as the Moon laughed with contempt for his bravery. Moto Amadare was the name of that Unicorn, I am sure. I saw him binding his grievous wounds after the final battle, covering great rends where blood seeped through the armor. I asked him how he had made his way through the Darkness, how he had been able to find his way.

"Why should Darkness frighten me?" he asked, as he turned his blind eyes toward my voice. "I have known it all my life."

Yet it was the Phoenix who first challenged the Moon, after the others had been defeated. He leapt forward, the mon of the Master of Fire blazing upon his brow. "The Phoenix have learned much, dark one," he snarled, and magic crackled from his outstretched hands. Fire leapt to engulf him, but he was not harmed by its embrace. "My father died for the Darkness, challenging an evil that dared attack this land. I, too, will die if I must but I will not make the same mistakes that saw my father fall." His fire was strong indeed, and I do not know if any mortal could have borne its flame-but the Moon was no mortal, and at the end, the young man fell, unable to defeat the doubt that still rested in his soul.

A lone Mantis stood in the window; I do not know that any of the heroes of that day saw him, save myself. He was strong, but he bore the scars of many battles. His eye was patched, but his bow-string shone with crystal fire, and his arrow gleamed with the light of the sun itself. He leveled his bow to take the final shot ... but the Darkness was too deep, and he lowered his bow, cursing.

And even now, I am not sure where his aim had rested: on the Moon, or upon my Master's heart ....

What I saw then tore my eyes from the growing Darkness. The Moon, destroyer of Doji, murderer of Akodo, and thief of Shosuro's soul, turned his eyes to my own Lord. "I will command this realm," he hissed, and then his sword swung like a scythe from the heavens. My Lord, Emperor Toturi, could not step away or even move, for the Shadow had him imprisoned in bands of Darkness. I could see his true soul screaming for a sword, but his body hung limp and drained, a tool of the Shadow. At the last moment a bodyguard dove between them, hurling himself into the path of the blow. "You will never have him!" the samurai screamed.

His bravery will be remembered forever.

At the end, a lone warrior dressed in the light of the Sun walked from the Darkness. He shone with strength, and his eyes were clear of the Darkness. He showed no fear, only the courage of Bushido, and no human dared stand before him.

Unafraid, the Moon spat these words: "You are only a mortal, Takao. You cannot defeat me!" And with that the Moon swung his black katana at the Acolyte of Fire. Starlight shone in his eyes, and the Celestial Heavens burned in Onnotangu's blade. I thought the world would stop, from fear.

Yet with a simple block, Takao summoned the Earth, and Lord Moon's sword shattered into a thousand shards.

Angered, Onnotangu shook the earth. Outside the palace, the land tore into deep ribbons across plains, and rivers moved from their courses in the face of Onnotangu's anger. But still Takao stood, and water flowed beneath him, giving him a stance as unchanged as the ocean.

"I may be born of mortals," spoke the monk with a grim smile, "but my birth gives me the right to choose my own destiny."

His hands moved, and the Fire leapt from his soul, burning away the straps of the Moon's armor, melting the stars from the sky.

Another blow, and the Air itself charged against Onnotangu, refusing him purchase into the sky. He could not escape, and fell back from the onslaught. The walls of the palace shook, and a hurricane blew across the ocean, enraged with the fury of all the world.

The Moon tried to stand, to escape, to flee-but in the end, he could not. His fate had already been decided.

With a single, final, martial strike, Takao unleashed all the hidden powers of the Void upon the Moon. Onnotangu screamed in anguish, and the Celestial Heavens froze in their place. And at the end, the Moon, destroyer of the kami and slaughterer of mortal humankind, shattered with the force of destiny.

Far off, at the Shrine of the Three Sisters in the heart of the Dragon Mountains,'the Moon's true, faceless form lifted his blade to take Hitomi's life. His hand ascended toward the starlit sky ... and then a scream echoed through the mountain pass, and the earth shook with Onnotangu's fear.

Hitomi spun, reaching for the sword of Lord Moon's own flesh as Onnotangu reared back and screamed in pain. "Here is your hand, my Lord" She stepped forward, driving her fist into his mempo. Rising to her feet supported by Takao's courage, she lifted her shield and brushed aside his feeble strike. "Here is your blood, that you shed upon the world." The Moon screamed as his body filled with Void, and Hitomi's sword found its place in his heart. He could not move, could not escape the Elements .. or his own soul.

"And here, Onnotangu-sama," Hitomi drove forward with all her strength, "is your broken bone."

Onnotangu's head fell from his shoulders, and the shattered Moon faded from the sky.

I saw the battle, yes, and it is my voice that tells the tale. After the Darkness faded, it was by my command that Hasame's body was carried from that broken place. The pyre to his courage brought the first light to the sky. Now there is only a scarlet sunless dawn. I pray we have the strength to find the Shadow and destroy it as we have slaughtered its Master.

Without the Moon, the Shadow flees to the south, carrying its Darkness back to some secret place. It has plans, I am sure; I have seen a faceless guard dying on the street his broken mouth torn open with daughter beneath a blood-red sky. Without the Moon, the Shadow is retreating, but it is not finished.

Without the Moon, the Shadow is free.

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