Letter 9
(Clan Mantis/Yoritomo's Alliance)
Those
who would follow the Mantis banner:
Take
heed.
I
have shared blood with the Son of Storms. The mon of the Wasp now flies with the
mon of the Mantis. We have joined ranks with Yoritomo's armies, serving as
magistrates to those lands he conquers, to ensure that those lands do not fall
to lawlessness and banditry.
Yoritomo
has agreed to our price. We have surrendered nothing. Nothing to lose and
everything to gain.
With
the Scorpion gone, only one source of hatred remains for us, and it lies in the
land just north of Beiden Pass. There will be Lion blood spilled before
Yoritomo's march is over. I promise you it will come to pass.
In
the meantime, it is our duty to make certain the Clans who swore to the Mantis
banner continue to serve its master. Currently they are busy whimpering and
whining, as they complain that Yoritomo has not served them. They shall do so no
more.
We
have been assigned the duty of guarding lands uncontrolled by the Great Clans.
The Scorpion lands are unattended.
The Lion have left their lands behind ... thus, unattended.
The Crane are too weak to defend their lands from the remainder of the Shadowlands army.
The
same could be said of the Phoenix.
We
have a great deal of land to magistrate, my friends.
Let
us get to work.
Tsuruchi