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GLORY OF THE EMPIRE |
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Glory of the Empire
Setting Sun Strike
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PAST EDITIONS |
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Enemy of My Enemy
Kakita Osei
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FLAVOR PICK |
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"Know your outcome and you cannot fail." - Matsu Turi
Hint
Rise of the Shogun Action
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The Empire of Rokugan is home to many strange and terrifying foes - none more so than the Dark Oracles, twisted embodiments of the Five Elements, one of whom just waged a terrible war against the Empire. But they are not the only threats facing Rokugan in the coming days. Oceans tells the tale of a young Mantis captain returning home, and the demons that he must face in order to belong.
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In the aftermath of the War of Dark Fire, the battered Dragon and Unicorn clans struggle to rebuild and reorient themselves in a new and wounded Empire.
The Burden of Becoming
by Nancy Sauer
Edited by Fred Wan
Several weeks ago, the Battle of Shiro Utaku Shojo
Yu Pan smoothly ran another Yobanjin through with her lance and just as smoothly flung his corpse off it.
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The conclusion of the epic saga of the Dark Oracle’s invasion of the Emerald Empire, as the Army of Fire pushes forward toward the Imperial City.
The Lion troops stretched out nearly as far as the eye could see along the edges of the Dragon Heart Plain. It was something of an illiusion, of course; Akodo Shigetoshi had ordered the units to stand farther apart than normal in order to increase their ability to move in multiple directions at once on short notice.
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In the penultimate chapter of one of Rokugan’s most costly wars, the Army of Fire begins maneuvering toward a final, devastating strike into the heart of the Empire. Even as defenders of Rokugan move to intercept them, a daring plan is hatched in the halls of the Imperial Court, one that might end the conflict without endangering the Empire’s most precious treasure.
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At last, we see some of the events that led up to the Spider Clan’s activities in the Race for the Throne. More importantly, however, the first hints of their agenda during the War of Dark Fire are revealed, and sinister alliances are formed.
Years ago, north of the Empire
Master Saleh folded his arms within his robes and tried to convince himself that this made him warmer.
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The Army of Fire reaches Kyuden Asako, a center of learning and art for the entire Empire, but the Lion stand between the enemy and the Phoenix. And a missing hero from the Battle of Shiro Mirumoto returns with new purpose.
“Kyuden Asako was the sight of my first visit to the Imperial Court,” Yoritomo Yoyonagi recalled before the court. “I remember being struck with the beauty of the art there, the serenity of the gardens. It was unlike anything I had experienced at the time.
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The battle raging over the fate of Shiro Shiba concludes, even as the Army of Fire continues its path of ruin through the Phoenix lands. In the Imperial Court, many wonder if the Army of Fire is somehow limitless in its numbers, as the war seems to drag on without hope of a conclusion.
The first charge of the Yobanjin against the walls of Shiro Shiba had been broken, due in a large part to the efforts of a young shugenja whose name Shiba Danjuro could not recall offhand.
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The Army of Fire reaches Shiro Shiba, the greatest fortress of the Phoenix lands. After the fall of Kyuden Isawa, the loss of Shiro Shiba would be a blow from which the Phoenix might never recover. At the same time, the beleaguered Yobanjin forces finally reach the gates of Shiro Utaku Shojo, and the defenders of the castle must make a terrible choice.
Munkjin frowned as he withdrew his blade from the dead body of the samurai he had slain.
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Desperate to resupply in the face of unrelenting resistance, the Army of Fire targets smaller settlements that were passed by the first time, leading to a rash of violence in the last holdouts of the clans behind enemy lines. In the meantime, the delegates of the Imperial Court watch in horror as the fighting grows closer and closer to the southern edge of the mountains, and wonder in mute horror what will happen in the Army of Fire spills into the Empire at large.
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An interlude from the War of Dark Fire brings us to the city of Tsuma, where the annual competition between the Empire’s best and brightest young samurai is haunted by the specter of the devastation in the north.
“Have you chosen yet?”
A young Unicorn glanced towards his companion, but ignored his question, continuing to brush his horse’s mane, in long, steady strokes.
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