Letter 3
(Clan Crab)
My dear friend,
Another
three months brings us even closer to victory. Even now, the ronin Toturi has
been turned back from our gates and flees toward the trap that we and our secret
ally have planned for him. Our allied spies in the Crane Clan have sent word to
him of the assault Matsu Tsuko leads against Doji Palace, and he has called off
his attack on the Eastern walls of our lands. He retreated to discover Beiden
Pass is no longer a route that is open to him, also due to the careful
machinations of our secret ally. Now Toturi is forced to move through Lion
territory to reach the crumbling estates of the Crane, and when he does, he will
find not one, but two armies waiting for him. Not even Tsuko knows of this
second army. Once the ronin is crushed, all resistance to our rightful claim
will be crushed. The Lion will have what they have always wanted: to stand on
both sides of the Throne, while our secret ally expects to be sitting behind it.
She believes that they can control the Great Bear with sweet whispers and
promises. The cost of her error will soon be evident.
Do not be
concerned with the Phoenix tactics that have so many of the shugenja of Rokugan
in a panic. The old wives tale of "black scrolls" and "the age of
darkness" are simply a ruse to distract us from our true goal. The Crab
have battled the Shadowlands for a thousand years. If there is a threat from the
dark lands, we will conquer it as we always have: with strength and courage. Our
shugenja, Kuni Yuri, has researched two of the black scrolls himself, and he
assures me that the reason the Phoenix do not want them opened is because they
want to have complete control over their power. The Phoenix tell us that they
are "corrupting" and "evil," and yet, they ask us to send
them any that we have uncovered as quickly as possible. Does Shiba Ujimitsu
think we are so stupid as to not see the truth of such a ploy? Punish the
Phoenix for their insolence, my friend. They deserve nothing less than your full
attentions.
That is
all the news I have for now. Our spies in the Lion armies assure me Doji Palace
will fall in days, and our messengers in the south assure us that our mighty
fleet is near completion, thanks to the work of Kaiu Suman and despite the
sabotage efforts of the troublesome Mantis Clan. They will be the first to fall
when our allies march on the Capital from the West, while the Great Bear sails
our armies in from the East. What a sight that will make!