"Even the largest mountains are made of small stones."

Near the wide plains of the Scorpion lands, a tremendous forest spreads through valley and dale. This forest, though not as old and grand as the ancient Shinomen, holds secrets and hidden glens whose beauty has often been lauded by Crane poets. The forest known as the Kitsune Mori (Fox Forest) is the homeland of the oldest and most well respected of all the minor clans: the Fox. The lands are fertile, though tangled with forest and unable to support any but the most rudimentary rice production. The peasants live on the bounty of the forest, from the quail and other game birds, to the berries, acorns, fruits and nuts that are plentiful through the lands.

The Fox Clan was born of the remnants of the KiRin, when Shinjo led her children over the northern mountains toward distant and unknown lands. They are the survivors of the Ancient War with the Shadowlands, and fo seven hundred years, they were considered the voice of Shinjo's children within the Emperor's court.

For nearly a generation, the Clan of the Fox lived in the Unicorn lands, building Otaku palace with their own hands and gathering the food and rice that they tilled from the fields. The Fox were clever farmers - too clever for their own good. They used the rich land to their advantage, and soon, caught the notice of the nearby Ikoma scouts.

With a command from the Emperor's court, and a deed instructing them to distribute the lands to their peasants and tithe a greater share to the graineries of Otosan Uchi, the Lion marched an army to the border of the Fox lands, expecting to battle over the lands. Bravely, the warriors of the Fox fought, but were utterly crushed by the Lion. In time, the much smaller Fox Clan had no choice but to do as the Lion requested; they could not hope to fight against the greatest military force in Rokugan. The Emperor, to bring peace, resettled the Fox in the lands below the southern Spine of the World mountains, hoping that the distance and hard terrain between the Fox and the Lion would end their battles. In some ways, it did: the Lion no longer wanted the Fox Clan's land, and so they did not pursue combat with the followers of Shinjo. However, the Fox have never forgotten their harsh treatment at the hands of the Lion, and the enmity between the two has never diminished.

When the battered remnants of the Fox arrived at the forest which would be their new home, they were a ragged, battered band. They had brought only what they could carry, and had no provisions for store. In desperation, they turned to gamehunting to feed their children, weeping at the need to kill and eat the flesh of animals - even that of rabbits and other small game.

Until one day, the daimyo of the Fox discovered a dead female fox in one of his traps, her two small cubs mewing at her side. For a week, he struggled to feed the small ones out of a sense of guilt and respect for their mother's spirit but to no avail. He brought them to a shugenja of his clan, and there, the secret of the kitsune was revealed. The fox that had died in the trap was the last of the ancient kitsune, who had remained behind when the kami fell to earth and ordered the spirits home. She had been unable to travel to the Celestial Heavens, because her kits were too young to make the journey.

And now, she lay dead at the hunter's feet, and her cubs were his to raise. The Fox daimyo, Shimm, accepted the burden as his rightful penance for breaking the laws and dirtying his flesh with the meat of animals.

The shugenja saved the lives of the cubs by transforming them into human form, so that the clan could care for them as sons of the Empire. Those two, a man and a woman are legend among the Fox as the founders of the Kitsune line. Their names were Osusuki and Akomachi, and when they were old enough to marry, Osusuki took a wife from the children of Shinjo, and Akomachi became a fox, and married with the spirits of the land. They form the bond between the Fox and the kitsune, and truly, all the children of Kitsune Mori are of one line.

As the title says, this is merely an introduction. The rest of the material on the Fox Clan will be found in issue #14 of the Imperial Herald. We look forward to sharing it with you!

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