Letter 2

(Clan Crane)

Dearest ally,

It has only been a month since we faced imminent doom at the hands of the Crab. Luckily for us, the ronin Toturi arrived with his army of Dragons and the Phoenix Shiba Tsukune to assist us in our darkest hour. Toturi left to face the Crab at Beiden Pass, leaving the Phoenix samurai-maiden here at Doji Castle in case the he failed at Beiden. He did not fail and has proceeded to chase the Crab army all the way back to their provinces. Unfortunately, a threat that we had been expecting since the beginning of the war has come to pass. The Lion have invaded from the North, and Tsukune has found her tactical talents put to the test against the Lion Champion, Matsu Tsuko. Only with the use of the most talented shugenja in Rokugan has she been able to keep Tsuko at bay. She is slowly being pushed back, however, and we fear that we may soon lose Doji Castle. We have sent for allies from the Unicorn Clan, but we have not heard any response. Hopefully, our new ally in the Imperial Palace shall assist us in this struggle. Kakita Toshimoko "the Grey Crane" has won the Test of the Emerald Champion, defeating thirteen samurai to become the Emperor's personal champion. It has been two weeks since the tournament, and we have not heard from Lord Kakita as of yet. We suspect the villainous Kachiko has sabotaged our correspondence, but we have no proof.

We have received word from the Palace, however, and it did not come from any official messenger. The masked ronin who arrived just after the Battle at Kakita Palace delivered to the ronin Toturi our Champion, Doji Hoturi. He was thin, sickly and barely clinging to life. The ronin told us that it was the Lady Scorpion who created the impostor with an ancient and magical egg. Lord Doji insisted in his drugged and delusional state that he had killed the Lady Scorpion just before his escape, but we cannot be sure. Have faith, my ally. Soon, the Unicorns will arrive and we will be delivered from the fury of the Lion. We have sent messengers to Toturi to ask for his assistance as well. Since the Unicorn control Beiden Pass, he will not have to go north to ride about the Lion lands, thus cutting his travel time by weeks. In the meantime, Doji Yosai stands with Shiba Tsukune, and together with shugenja and samurai, they will hold off the Lion until assistance arrives.

Kakita Yuri