Continued from: http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/the-burning-throne-episode-11-lighting-the-paper-lanterns/ 

Kuni Magatsu is played by author Paul Genesse, who joined Writer Nerd Game Night a couple months in. Here is a link to his first book:  http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=monshuntnati-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1594146594  I’ll be book bombing the next one when it comes out.

Paul’s character is great. He’s absolutely terrifying, possibly psychotic, and feels that he is prophetic (but only when he is drunk). Paul found this picture and used it as his character sketch.

 

*

Private Scrolls of Kuni Magatsu, Crab Clan Shugenja

My Sensei, Kuni Kiyoshi warned me not to unnecessarily maim or kill irritating samurai. He said that many of the other clans would not understand me and that I should be patient with them and forgive their insults. I follow his advice and say my prayers to the kami silently to myself rather than crush their skulls or tear them apart with the magic of the kami. Not all of them are useless, but I wonder why so many of them do not understand Bushido or the proper respect they must give to the kami and the gods.

The wrath of the kami and the gods will be severe for those who offend them, and I am an instrument of their fury.

I pray every day that I will remember the lessons of Sensei Kiyoshi. My honored uncle taught me much and as I travel in the north in the service of the Crab Clan I will honor my master and all our ancestors as I carry out my duty. I shall keep the traditions of the Kuni Shugenja who have gone before me. I shall say the prayers to the kami day and night. I shall wear the white and red face paint in the ancient style my sensei taught me so the living and the dead shall know what I am. My enemies will see the face of death when I come for them and they will tremble before I send them screaming to the next world.

Now I must help repel the Yobanjin horde who invade the Emerald Empire from the north. I suspect that some foul power allied with the Shadowlands is aiding the barbarians. I will find out what or who it is and learn more about the Dark Oracle who is said to be leading them.

I now find myself in the service of the famous and honorable Hida Kenzan. He has tasked me to go along with his notoriously unlucky and dishonored half-brother, Hida Makoto, and keep watch over him. I will do all I can to prevent any further dishonor to the Crab Clan by Makoto. His father’s disastrous mistake at the wall is a scar that will never fade, but I now understand that Makoto is doing his best to reclaim his personal honor and for this I shall respect him.

Hida Makoto and the group he is part of, The Paper Lanterns, are representatives from many of the other clans and seek to find one of the Shameswords kept in the House of Light high in the Dragon Clan Mountains. We must prevent it from falling into the hands of the Dark Oracle leading the Yobanjin.

Hida Kenzan has also asked me to help destroy the Shamesword, and this, I will do, though before I attempt to break its blade, I will attempt to understand its connection to the darkness. If I can sever this link, perhaps I will be able to find a way to break the metal.

I will also carry the tetsubo wielded by Hida Makoto back to Hida Kenzan if his half brother should fall in battle. The stories of Makoto’s bravery and prowess in battle are likely true from what I have seen, but his recklessness may prove to be his doom. I will keep him alive as a service to Kenzan-san, though ironically Makoto has been tasked to be my personal Yojimbo.

In our first battle Makoto left my side and charged into the fray and killed a ronin warrior with a blow so hard it would have cracked an ogre’s skull. The battle was foolishly started by a dishonorable but deadly archer, Tsurichi Machio of the Mantis Clan. The battle was a mistake and was rushed into by samurai who must learn more patience. I am angered that the archer, Machio appears to wish for death and picks fights with simple Bushi. His history of getting into duels is known to me and he must be a friend of the infamous monk who murdered an honorable samurai and then fled. One day, Machio’s insults will get him killed, but if his death is honorable I will say the prayers over his corpse and help his spirit pass on. If he dies poorly, I will not say the prayers and will consider binding him to this world so he may observe the error of his ways before passing on so that in his next life he will show the proper amount of respect to the way of the samurai. The Mantis clan are valuable in the battle against the Shadowlands, but those Mantis I have met prove they are not truly one of the great clans by their lack of respect of Bushido.

At least my Yojimbo, Hida Makoto shows the proper respect. As he watches me, I will keep watch over him and prevent him from dying, unless the opportunity for a truly glorious death presents itself, then I will join him and we shall die together among the piled corpses of our enemies.

The Paper Lanterns, and their retinue now find ourselves in a village under the protection of ronin who call themselves Spirits of the Mountain. They have been allowed to escort us to the House of Light. They are not to be trusted as they have left the Dragon Clan and claim to be protecting the eta who live in the mountains. Why would I trust men who do not follow a Daimyo? Most of them are without much honor, though I agree that the Dragon Clan have proved to be weak as they let the Yobanjin invade their territory without mounting a strong defense. We Crab would have died to the last man to stop such a dishonor as the Dragon have allowed on their watch.

I am not afraid of the ronin, though I will be wary and trust our group leader’s decision to allow them to escort us to the House of Light. He is building an alliance that we will need as we travel in the Dragon Clan lands and fight the Yobanjin, but I will remember what my sensei has taught me: “Be wary of the open hand offered by any man, for it can easily become a closed fist.”

Still, I trust that our leader, Magistrate Ide Todo of the Unicorn Clan. He is an honorable and intelligent man. I do not believe the whispers that he is a coward, and why would I ever believe a member of the Scorpion Clan? Ide Todo is above the death dealing ways of lower men like myself who enjoy seeing blood leaking out of an enemy’s ears and laugh when the dead ghosts wail for the loss of their bodies.

The Unicorn are Crab’s strongest allies and Ide Todo has been a competent leader, though I wonder why he chose a former ronin who now serves the Spider Clan, Zuko Zuko to be our gunso, when Hida Makoto was the most qualified. Politics are the way of things in the clan territories away from the Kaiu Wall. Humility is a lesson beneficial to all samurai and Makoto will be forced to increase his own with Zuko Zuko as our gunso.

However, Zuko Zuko appears to be a competent warrior and his disfigured appearance will bring fear to our enemies. I wonder how he lost his eye and was burned. This I will perhaps ask him someday if the moment is right. Though I do not approve of how Zuko Zuko disappeared when the battle with the ronin started. A gunso should stay with the men and make certain they follow the commander’s orders, but somehow Zuko Zuko got his sword in a position to kill the leader of the ronin at the rear of their lines. It was a great feat, but how did he do it? There is something very strange about him and I can sense he is hiding something. I shall ask the kami about him. Also, how can I trust a man who has allied himself with the Spider Clan? The spirits do not favor the Spider and there are portents that the Spider will fall into darkness.

Despite the travails of the journey into the mountains we are now within sight of the ruins of the House of Light. I have spoken with two kami of the mountains, one of great significance, and I believe one of the Shameswords is within the ruins, as I trust the earth kami above all others. When the sun has risen I shall go with the Paper Lanterns and find the nemuranai within. Before we attempt to destroy the sword, I shall seek to understand the power of the blade and will speak with the awakened kami inside it and find out what its true powers are. I will speak with the soul of the dragon clan samurai who is rumored to be trapped within the blade. Perhaps he will tell me how to destroy it and free his spirit and thereby regain his lost honor.

I have already seen the darkness of the Shadowlands and looked into the Well of Jigoku when I passed the test of Poison Jade. I have survived my trials and will not flinch from what must be done now. If destroying the blade and learning its secrets will cost me my life . . . I will pay. Then once again my soul will return as a Kuni Shugenja.

*

To be continued next week when the Paper Lanterns go looking for an evil magic sword.  http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/the-burning-throne-episode-13-the-mountain-spirits/

Okay, I’ve been getting requests about the patch contest and how come I haven’t annouced the winners. Here’s the thing. I’m not quite done with MHL and still need to do another editing pass. There are a lot of other Hunters and rival companies in this book. My issue right now is that I’m using several more than I originally expected, but I don’t know how many yet, and won’t really know until I get the next editing pass done. Once I’ve got that, then I’ll post who the winners are. Part of the issue is that it isn’t just the ones that got the most votes, but ther are also several that I just thought were cool, but I havent’ seen if I can fit them in cleanly yet or not.

Standing in the way of getting MHL finished is that Correia 2.4 is due any day now, so we’ve been sort of hanging on to the edge of our seats, which makes productive writing time kind of hard to achieve. 🙂

First up, an MHI tattoo that was recently posted to Facebook.

Personally, I’m not a tat guy myself, but that is freaking sweet. 🙂

Next, here are some custom MHI grips for a 1911. He sent a PDF to Alumagrips and they engraved these for him. The other side of the grip is the Crusader logo. Crusader is an awesome custom shop run by my friends Joe Chetwood and George Hill. http://crusaderweaponry.com/ 

People always ask me about using my logo on stuff. My answer is always the same. A. If it is for personal use (i.e. you’re not doing it to make money off of my stuff) go for it. B. You send me a picture to put on the blog. 

Up next, my latest mini. As usual my iPhone camera work sucks, but even then you can tell this dude looks awesome. I’m actually getting decent at this hobby. Lots of shading, much of which looks pretty good. Even the dusting of snow on the base came out pretty cool. (that’s baking soda) The fact that he actually looks a lot like me is purely coincidental. Though I do totally look like that with my shirt off.

Okay, maybe not. But at least the male pattern baldness hairstyle is 100% accurate.

Here are a few pics that I got from Zack at Minimum Wage Historian. http://minimumwagehistorian.wordpress.com/ (which is my favorite history geek website, this week features him interviewing Tomoe Gozen, 12th century samurai badass chick). These are characters from my and Mike Kupari’s novel, Dead Six.

Lorenzo

Valentine

Bob

And speaking of Mike, here he is winning the internet in Afghanistan. That is the most crap I’ve ever seen stuck onto a gun, and therefore is totally awesome. (the one that looks like a TV is a super EoTEch that normally goes on the M2) Mike will be home in a few weeks.  Then we will do his first book signing, and as many of you as possible need to come to make it extra good.

Continued from: http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2011/12/30/the-burning-throne-episode-10-the-nakado/

This week’s stuff is all written by Steve Diamond. Ikoma Katsu is an NPC bard that has been following our group around, and we have a lot of fun with his ridiculous overblowing of the everything. The Paper Lanterns are the order that we started, and over time it will slowly grow into an army.

#

Lighting the Paper Lanterns

The Rise of Ide Todo Volume Three

Ikoma Katsu – Bard of the Lion Clan

    The Fortunes have blessed me.  I see the jealously in everyone’s eyes as I walk past.  They know me.  They know of whom I write.  Am I the most blessed man in Rokugan?  Nearly.  I can only claim to be the second most blessed.

            The most blessed, doubtlessly, is Ide Todo.

            Others have read my earlier works concerning this great man—no, this paragon—and have said, “Ikoma Katsu, your words don’t follow the tradition of a biography.”  I am forced to remind them that Ide Todo doesn’t follow the traditions of most great men.  He is far greater.

            I have joined the Brotherhood of the Paper Lanterns.  The history of this Order is one of the great stories of Rokugan.  I thought I had witnessed all the greatness possible from Ide Todo, but I was humbled when I witnessed his work at Shiro Shinjo.  I must say that I was shocked that it took so long for the great Unicorn courtier to be made a Magistrate.  I rejoiced for Ide Todo, but had to restrain myself from offering my personal congratulations.

            A bard such as myself must remain objective after all.

            I am known across the land for my unerring ability to discern the truth from the embellishment.  Surely the tales I was hearing were overwrought?  Tales of discovering and deciphering messages from spies, and then rooting out that conspiracy.  Tales of magical mirrors.  Destruction of Oni summoned by Yobanjin dogs!  His exploits became grander and grander.

            There was a chase through the streets of Shiro Shinjo where Ide Todo—in a truly stunning display of Unicorn riding prowess—cut off the escape of a spy attempting to flee the city with forged maps that were used to throw the armies into disarray.  How I wish I could have been there to see his steed dramatically pawing the air with its hooves, and that cowardly spy cowering in veritable fear while Ide Todo’s companions finally caught up.

            What history may have difficulty showing is the kind of man Ide Todo was.  Of all the honorable and virtuous traits he exhibits, the one that strikes me as the most distinguished is his desire to see things through to the end.

            Nearly all men would have considered their part done after talking down an entire war council.  Not Ide Todo.  He wanted to know the real reason behind the embarrassment of Hida Kenzan.  The man was disgraced, and heartbeats from seppuku.  No, Ide Todo took it a step further by leading his men to the spy responsible.

            Simply deciphering messages relating to a spy network wasn’t enough.  He had to uncover the identity of the man responsible for compromising the current front of the war.  I will never know how—I can only assume the Fortunes whisper in his ear—but he uncovered the truth behind it all.

            Ide Tong—may his name be reviled through history for nearly bringing shame to the Ide family and for causing Ide Todo discomfort.

            If there is a man more honest than Ide Todo, surely he has already become a god.  Ide Todo called out Ide Tong in front of the entire war council.  His speech and logic at that meeting—yes, I was there to personally witness it—sent chills down my spine.  Every soul there saw the intelligence in Ide Todo’s words.

            How could they not?

            They were words of perfection.

            All of this led to Magistrate Todo being given a boon.  But what do you ask for when already so close to perfection?

            Again, the great Unicorn showed his depth and intelligence.  Indeed his cunning.  He asked for a recognized order—the Brotherhood of the Paper Lanterns—be instituted with him at the head.  True to the name of the Brotherhood, he stated their goal was to shed the light of truth and wisdom throughout the land.  The very name of his order keeps it from being viewed with suspicion—though how anyone can suspect Ide Todo of anything dishonorable is beyond my understanding.  I ask, are the Fortunes speaking through his lips?  Can any mortal be so wise?

            And so I have joined this order.  How could I not?  I have taken it as divinely spoken that I am to follow Ide Todo and chronicle his daring deeds.

            I have sent off word to my associates throughout the realm of my observations of Ide Todo, and I suggest he would make an ideal Voice of the Emperor when this Empty Throne absurdity stops.

            I await their replies with the patience Ide Todo has taught me with his example.

# 

           He surrounds himself with a motley crew.  Some say that in order to be great, you must surround yourself with great people.  Surely this is why all these individuals are following Ide Todo.  He makes them greater than the average samurai.

            We were ambushed this night by clanless ronin.  They claim the Dragon have abandoned them, and to be truthful—for how can I be anything to the contrary?—given their inability to even surprise our traveling group I’m not surprised the Dragon cast off these fools.

            I watched as Ide Todo once again used his steely voice to direct the flow of the battle.  He has become even more observant and commanding since he single-handedly dispatched the blood speaker many weeks ago.  Arrows flew around him, yet all missed their mark for I am sure he has divine protection.  Under Ide Todo’s guiding eye, we were massacring the honorless forces.

            Yet he did not let his battle lust overcome him like the foolish Mantis whose name is not even worthy of writing down.  Ide Todo soon realized that the battle was a mistake and managed to calm both sides.  I still am in awe.

            Now we march to this group’s small village.  What Ide Todo wants with them I am unsure.  He has kept to himself as of late—perhaps still reeling from being asked to be the nakado of that brutish Hida Makoto—so I find it hard to divine what his intent is.

            But whatever is on his mind, I am certain it will lead the Brotherhood of the Paper Lanterns to glory.

#

Journals of Ide Todo

Authenticity Unconfirmed

Discovered in the Shadowlands 1175

The Brotherhood of the Paper Lanterns.  I wish I could say that we were off to a good start, but I fear that I underestimated the difficulty of running an order.

I requested the formation of this order for a number of reasons.  I hope that my children—should I ever be graced with any—and the denizens of the Empire will one day look at the Brotherhood and be proud of what it has accomplished.  With this order I hope to start an information network that will rival any the Empire currently has.  When events—no matter how mundane—begin, the Brotherhood should know of it…or should be the cause of it.

The first order of business is to identify the main players for the throne.  If this situation isn’t resolved quickly, I fear the Empire could be so weakened as to making it susceptible to the Yobanjin invasion.  The first thing I did while still in Shiro Shinjo was—

I must pause in my writing.  I can almost hear my ancestors chuckling in the air around me.  How far I have come.  There is a saying among my people, “You cannot teach an old Utaku steed new tricks.”  Perhaps this saying has lost some of its validity.  I talk and write like a leader now.  I had worried that I was not up to the task of being a diplomat.  Then I worried about being a representative of the Imperial Regent.  Then a Magistrate.  Now a leader of a recognized Order.

Yet now I recognize some of that doubt has faded.

When my thoughts are allowed time to dwell on the state of the Empire, I begin wondering where I will stand when all the dust settles.  I no longer worry whether I am worthy of my current titles and responsibilities.  Now I wonder how high I can reach.

After all, how better to help the Empire than to be at its center in some capacity.

Ambition.  A word I never truly understood until recently.

I fear writing down my plans for the Brotherhood of the Paper Lanterns.  They are far reaching, and I cannot share them with even my closest companions.  I dare not even write them down in full—thank the Fortunes for interrupting me earlier—for I never know who is watching or reading my words.

My thoughts turn, then, to my companions.  We are so early in the life of the Brotherhood, and yet I already anticipate having to levy punishments.  Shinjo Braga lost his scimitar—an offense punishable by death on the plains—and Hida Makoto nearly had to be restrained from strangling the fool Unicorn.  Or perhaps the Crab went easy on my clansman.  It can be hard to tell with the Hida.

Tsuruchi Machio may never know how close he came to death.  Having been a part of his life since the murder of his family, I understand that blood runs hot through his veins.  That said, his insults nearly earned him a duel with Shinjo Braga.  The duel would have lasted mere moments, and the Mantis’ blood would have fed the earth.  Considering how many instances in which his life has been spared already, you would think he would honor that life more.  Instead he picks useless fights and throws insults around like a peasant.  The next time it happens—no matter how much I respected his family—I will have no choice but to let the duel happen.

He cannot remain a child forever.

Our new shugenja is perhaps the most frightening man I have ever met.  Just looking at the Kuni—

My train of thought is lost.  I have just been approached by Hida Makoto, interrupting my writing.  He appeared as if summoned from my thoughts in writing.

He wishes me to be his nakado.

May history show that I am nearly speechless.

He honors me with his request, though truthfully I am baffled.  He wants me to not just teach him the courtly ways (is it even possible?), but he wants to marry Otomo Yuni.  The very idea of it is absurd.

And yet…

Hida Makoto is a man of honor, regardless of what his idiot brother thinks.  I think he was hurt that I have not made him my Second, but the reality is that I fear he may have to assume his brother’s position, and will not be with us long.  Kenzan is prone to only three things: sake, being fooled, and poor judgment.  Intelligence never will be associated with him.  Hida Makoto is smarter than he looks…barely.

And so, I am honor bound to help him.

Fortunes have mercy on me.

#

To be continued next week, with our first entry from Paul Genesse.  http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/the-burning-throne-episode-12-kuni-magatsu/