Silence and the Wabukan (Story Details)

The Wabukan is the Peaceful Path espoused by the Ide family of the Unicorn.  It represents a far more diplomatic way of dealing with one’s problems than what is traditional for any samurai.  The Peaceful Path is the way of calm negotiation. It was created by Ide himself and perfected by generations of the Ide emissaries as a way of dealing with outsiders outside the bounds of violence.  The roaming Unicorn used the Wabukan whenever possible, choosing to gain allies, incorporate new ideas and customs, and conserve their own military might. 
 
The Wabukan is not popular with the Unicorn in these modern days. Tensions run high between the peaceful Ide and the other families of their clan.  The Shinjo seek to prove their honor and their loyalty by eliminating threats before they grow. The Utaku are honor-bound to serve the Master of the Four Winds, the leader of the Unicorn, and prefer to overwhelm their enemies with skill and force in lieu of the wasted breath of conversation.  The Iuchi are closer in mindset to the Ide, but many amongst them have shifted focus to war and the manipulation of the kami on the battlefield.  And the Moto, chief among the Unicorn, are overwhelmingly influenced by their Ujik-Hai roots, their worship of the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang, and centuries of aggression against the Shadowlands and other enemies of the clan that they see the Wabukan as meager too, if not a coward’s way out.
 
Will the Peaceful Path prevail in these troubling times? Will it silence the voices of violence and the call to war? Or will it be drowned out, itself silenced, diplomacy ignored?
 
You will decide.

Daikoku’s Golden Wind
 
From the 4^th Edition Legend of the Five Rings RPG Supplement, The Great Clans p251:
Daikoku’s Golden Wind is not a typical Rokugani holding even by the Unicorn Clan’s nomadic standards. In fact, it is not a “holding” in any conventional sense: it is a merchant caravan, the first to cross the sea of sand dunes and trade with the gaijin city known as the Jewel of the Desert, Medinaat al-Salaam. It takes its name from Ide Daikoku, a Unicorn caravan master from the Clan Wars era. Daikoku oversaw several caravans within the Empire, but he was the first merchant patron to consolidate the clan’s sporadic and informal trade with the Burning Sands into a true commercial route. The process was slow and difficult, and the caravan did not become fully operational until the time of Shinjo’s return to Rokugan. Daikoku’s son Daijobu and grandson Jidokan made sure the Golden Wind caravan continued to benefit the Unicorn Clan, generating profits for the clan even when the rest of the Empire was embroiled in war.
The Golden Wind’s route is roughly 1,800 miles long, connecting Medinaat al-Salaam to Outsider Keep to Mizu Mura. Due to the many threats it faces, it is also one of the largest Unicorn merchant caravans with over 100 wagons. Nearly 250 men and women accompany the caravan, about a third of them bushi, ensuring a painful shock for any bandits who try an attack.
 
People of the Caravan (~250 people)
 
Caravan Master: Ide Jidokan (Rank 5 Ide Emissary, Ide Trader, Caravan Master); (Status 6: Provincial Governor)
Yojimbo
Student and Second-in-Command: PC (Status 5; speaks with the voice of the Caravan Master)
Ide Traders and Advisors (Rank 2-3); 5 of these guys, one each overseeing 20 wagons (Status: 3-4)
 
Wagon Masters (~100): Various Rank 1 Ide Emissaries and, more commonly, heimin merchants
            Support Staff: Cooks, Grooms, et al
 
Caravan Guard: Rank-and-File are taken from the Junghar; Rank2+ are members of the Khol
Captain of the Guard: PC (Taisa) (Status 5.5; though may answer occasionally to the Second-in-command)
                        Chui (Lieutenants) x2 (Rank 3 Bushi) (5)
                        Scout Master: PC (Chui; Status 5)
                                    Scouts: (Rank 2 Shinjo Scouts) x5 (Gunso)
                        Elite Honor Guard: (Rank 3 Guys) x5
                        3x Guntai (~23 men):1 Gunso, 2 Nikutai (Corporals), 20 bushi
 
Baraunghar Advisors:
Chief Advisor: PC (Chui) (Status 5.0)
3x Shugenja (Rank 2-3 Moto and Iuchi) PC in here (Gunso) (Status 3.5; valued slightly higher than the other Gunso)
Yojimbo for each, typically serve in the rank-and-file guard

1185 (Spring) – (Crab/Scorpion Conflict; Crab Game) (Tadaka II has been Emperor since 1173)

1185 (Spring and Late Summer) – (Unicorn Game)

 
Unicorn v. Lion Timeline

Unicorn and Crane
Akasha marries Doji Zhejiang cementing ties between the clans
- Zhejiang Champion because younger sister (Doji O) assassinated the first Champion; Zhejiang heavily favored to the Unicorn (Gaijin Name)
- Akasha questionable marriage (True Love Moto Chen)
----Gave birth to Moto Naleesh, the Reborn Shinjo (Dark Secret)
----Chen hastily married a young Battle Maiden (Kura-Kai) bringing her shame
----Chen and Kura-Kai secretly adopted Naleesh in seclusion leaving the Empire to believe Kura-Kai is the mother
----Naleesh is roughly 12 years old at this time
-  Doji Zhejiang officially denied the rumors in Winter Court at his wedding absolving the matter. Many believe the Crane Champion to be using the knowledge in abeyance in case the Unicorn turn on his clan.

- Unicorn have Controlled Shogunate for 2 decades until most recently

- Explored much of the other Great Clans in their role as Steel Magistrates and Legions under the Shogun (the Steel Champion used the Shogunate to help enforce the Edict of Limited Warfare)
- Unicorn discovered Ide Tang and exposed him as an actor and spy, executing him in the Burning Sands. The Scorpion were able to steal many Ide secrets before his reveal

 The Khan’s “Folly”
- Khan (Moto Chagatai) used his clan’s role in the Shogunate (Moto Jinn-Sahn as Shogun) to screen a force of the Khol Army 

- Assaulted Toshi no Meiyo Gisei and Shiro sano Ken Hayai together.  Lion retaliated and took several Ide strongholds and several items of “gaijin trash;” most returned, but one (De Bellis Yoditorum) was kept. Unicorn took Lion Battle Standard in a battle where Shinjo Shono and the Lion Champion, Akodo Shigetoshi slew one another in battle.

- Unicorn returned Lion Banner and gave back Shiro sano Ken Hayai (Home of the Kitsu and one of the most renowned Akodo dojo).  Jinn-Sahn was forced to commit seppuku and the Unicorn were forced to give up their positions in the Shogunate.
- The display of might impressed the new Emperor and the Unicorn were allowed to keep the City of Honor’s Sacrifice as a foothold into Lion lands. 

- Tadaka Ietsuna (Emperor’s brother from Crab mother) has been given command of the Shogunate (and has willingly dropped the Tadaka name).  He was previously engaged to the young Moto Naleesh, but he Lion work vigorously to destroy the arrangement before it can come to fruition.

- Many see the Khan as foolhardy for his actions. He shamed the former Shogun, a powerful retainer. He was forced to recall all of his Unicorn forces from the Shogunate and the potential marriage between Ietsuna and Naleesh is in jeopardy.

----Other, more canny observers, realize the following:
[size=13]----The marriage to Ietsuna still exists and the Ide have the assistance of the Doji in defending it. [/size]
[size=13]----The Khan shamed the office of the Shogun causing others to doubt it/fear it – a good position to be in if the Unicorn fail to regain its power.[/size]
[size=13]----The Khan recalled all of his troops swelling the size of the three Unicorn armies and still retain a major foothold into Lion lands. [/size]
----They traded the elderly daimyo of the Shinjo for the robust Lion Champion and have bruised the ego and honor of the Lion, causing them to behave aggressively in court.

 

Lion SitRep

- Blessed by connection to the Throne, however, the Tadaka line have maintained a neutrality with the Lion clan to prevent favoritism
- Lion leaders are prominent in the Imperial Legions, the Ministry of War and, now, the Shogunate as well.- Lion chafe at the Edicts of Limited War, itching to unleash the full might of their Armies
---Constantly engage in war games within their families and numerous new Elite Units have sprung up
---A tense situation exists within the Lion threatening to boil over at any moment

- Major Allies with the Crab through the Legion of the Black Lion
---Akodo Dairuko, younger sister of the Lion Champion (Shinjiro)_ betrothed to the future Champion of the Crab, Hida Kisada (The Little Bear)

The following will be a listing of the Caravan's Overall Health along the journey.



The Caravan and Its Losses
250 Original People / ~85 Combatants

Total Lost
- 6 Unicorn Bushi + (1 Scout; 1 of Shinjo Sabah’s Children) during the Battle with the Yobanjin (Sons of the Mountain and Tribe of the Sky)
- Sabah is gifted the Roc Egg by Ide Jidokan as recompense for his child being lost so early in the trip.  Jidokan orders a ritual funeral overseen by the four shugenja to properly send the lost members on their way.

Wealth
Gained: +3
Lost: -2
Overall: +1
Invested:
- Jason (2 Wealth from his Family)
- Logan (2 Wealth from his Family)
- Charlie (4 Wealth; 2 from his Family, 2 Personal)