Difference between revisions of "L5R Timeline"

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Sometimes information conflicts.  Sometimes there is an obvious solution - the [[Unicorn Clan]] would obviously not be present during a battle when they hadn't yet returned to Rokugan.  Other times, information is directly contradictory.  Obviously, since we're going over 'classic' Rokugan, information gleaned post-Clan War is considered to be more suspect.  In addition, I consider ''Bearers of Jade'' to be one of the finest RPG supplements ever written, so information in that book will '''especially''' supersede information from other sources.
 
Sometimes information conflicts.  Sometimes there is an obvious solution - the [[Unicorn Clan]] would obviously not be present during a battle when they hadn't yet returned to Rokugan.  Other times, information is directly contradictory.  Obviously, since we're going over 'classic' Rokugan, information gleaned post-Clan War is considered to be more suspect.  In addition, I consider ''Bearers of Jade'' to be one of the finest RPG supplements ever written, so information in that book will '''especially''' supersede information from other sources.
  
== Prehistory ==
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The following is a bit of an amalgam from the original first edition book and Kyuden Seppun. Rokugan knows little and believes less about the Nezumi's claim to their empire, but the strange monuments of the Naga have been found across Rokugan, making it clear that man did not come first.
Before the fall of the Kami, before the rise of man, there were others. The oldest civilization believed to have existed in the land now known as Rokugan was that of the Naga. A race of mystical, pacifistic serpent-men, the Naga carved a great civilization that spanned the far western reaches of the modern Empire. Their history was marked by conflict just as any other history, but following their own struggles for supremacy and a war with the mysterious Ashalan from across the desert, the Naga established a peaceful and philosophical society that reigned for many centuries.
 
  
Eventually the Naga entered an enchanted slumber in order to preserve their dying race and combat some unknown future enemy. In their wake, other civilizations emerged. The greatest was that of the Nezumi, also known as Ratlings by modern Rokugani. The Nezumi profess to have had a vast empire of their own, one in which they conquered the kingdom of the ogres that dwelled where the Shadowlands are today. Although many Samurai refuse to believe that the abominable ogres that served Fu Leng night ever have been civilized creatures, there is some small amount of evidence to support the Nezumi's assertion. Whatever the truth may be, both the civilization of Nezumi and that of the ogres was destroyed with Fu Leng's fall from heaven over a millennium ago, although both races continue to exist to this day.
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== The Beginning of the World ==
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The beginning of this world, as it has been for every world, and will be for every world to come, is with nothing. Nothing was along in the void, and so it was for countless ages. Then, without warning, Nothing realized that it was alone, and it was afraid.  This created one third of the world.  Then, Nothing realized it desired a companion.  This created another third. Lastly, Nothing realized that its weakness had created the world, and if felt regret, wishing to undo what it had done.  Nothing's regret completed the world and made it whole.
  
At least one other civilization existed prior to that of mankind: the trolls. Whether created or merely corrupted by Fu Leng, the trolls nevertheless managed to forge a considerable kingdom throughout the Shadowlands. This kingdom bowed to the rule of the trolls, survived the reign of the Nezumi, was incorporated into the dominion of Fu Leng, and finally was shattered during the rule of Hida Osano-Wo, child of Hida himself, who led the Crab Clan in a vicious war against the trolls. Remnants of their civilization may still exist, however, such as the dark city Volturnum.
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Then, from the nothing, came the time of the Three Gods Whose Names Cannot Be Spoken. A woman and a man were born from the thoughts of the Nothing's servants, who desired to give it form, and they walked upon the world in peace.  While they were yet young, they did not wish children, and so they chose to remain apart from the beasts of the world - the snakes, the rats, and the animals. As they walked the world, they decided to give it shape, and so, began naming it.  As they begun, their names too were whispered.  The woman, Amaterasu, who would become the Sun.  The man, Onnotangu, who would become the Moon.
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Thus began the Age of the Ancients, the time of the legendary Naga, the first of the builders.  This was the face of the beginning - said in myth to be the time when the Sun and Moon named all things upon the world and caused them to grow.  Man was not yet alive, the children of the Sun and Moon had yet to be born, and the Celestial Heavens were one with the mortal world.  The Naga worshiped, built, and made war much as we do, but, in time, the Sleep overcame them, and their age passed away.
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In time, Lady Sun bore Lord Moon nine children, and some say a tenth.  As the nine Kami - Hida, Doji, Togashi, Akodo, the twins Shiba and Bayushi, Shinjo, Fu Leng, and Hantei - came forth from their mother, Father Moon looked upon their faces.  He thought to himself that he did not wish to share Lady Sun's love with any others, and thus, he sought to destroy his children by eating them.  All of the children were swallowed by the Moon God, save for the youngest, Hantei.  Hidden in a cave and fed by the animals of the Earth, Hantei grew to manhood and faced his father in combat to free his mother's love. As he cut open his father's belly, the other children fell from the sky, landing upon the mortal earth among Lord Moon's blood and Lady Sun's tears.  From this immortal blood and divine tears, mankind was born.
  
 
== History by Century ==
 
== History by Century ==

Revision as of 21:58, 1 March 2007

Sometimes information conflicts. Sometimes there is an obvious solution - the Unicorn Clan would obviously not be present during a battle when they hadn't yet returned to Rokugan. Other times, information is directly contradictory. Obviously, since we're going over 'classic' Rokugan, information gleaned post-Clan War is considered to be more suspect. In addition, I consider Bearers of Jade to be one of the finest RPG supplements ever written, so information in that book will especially supersede information from other sources.

The following is a bit of an amalgam from the original first edition book and Kyuden Seppun. Rokugan knows little and believes less about the Nezumi's claim to their empire, but the strange monuments of the Naga have been found across Rokugan, making it clear that man did not come first.

The Beginning of the World

The beginning of this world, as it has been for every world, and will be for every world to come, is with nothing. Nothing was along in the void, and so it was for countless ages. Then, without warning, Nothing realized that it was alone, and it was afraid. This created one third of the world. Then, Nothing realized it desired a companion. This created another third. Lastly, Nothing realized that its weakness had created the world, and if felt regret, wishing to undo what it had done. Nothing's regret completed the world and made it whole.

Then, from the nothing, came the time of the Three Gods Whose Names Cannot Be Spoken. A woman and a man were born from the thoughts of the Nothing's servants, who desired to give it form, and they walked upon the world in peace. While they were yet young, they did not wish children, and so they chose to remain apart from the beasts of the world - the snakes, the rats, and the animals. As they walked the world, they decided to give it shape, and so, began naming it. As they begun, their names too were whispered. The woman, Amaterasu, who would become the Sun. The man, Onnotangu, who would become the Moon.

Thus began the Age of the Ancients, the time of the legendary Naga, the first of the builders. This was the face of the beginning - said in myth to be the time when the Sun and Moon named all things upon the world and caused them to grow. Man was not yet alive, the children of the Sun and Moon had yet to be born, and the Celestial Heavens were one with the mortal world. The Naga worshiped, built, and made war much as we do, but, in time, the Sleep overcame them, and their age passed away.

In time, Lady Sun bore Lord Moon nine children, and some say a tenth. As the nine Kami - Hida, Doji, Togashi, Akodo, the twins Shiba and Bayushi, Shinjo, Fu Leng, and Hantei - came forth from their mother, Father Moon looked upon their faces. He thought to himself that he did not wish to share Lady Sun's love with any others, and thus, he sought to destroy his children by eating them. All of the children were swallowed by the Moon God, save for the youngest, Hantei. Hidden in a cave and fed by the animals of the Earth, Hantei grew to manhood and faced his father in combat to free his mother's love. As he cut open his father's belly, the other children fell from the sky, landing upon the mortal earth among Lord Moon's blood and Lady Sun's tears. From this immortal blood and divine tears, mankind was born.

History by Century