Iuchiban

Hantei Jama was the youngest son of Emperor Hantei X, and lived his life in the shadow of his older brother. Jama was forced to abdicate his claim to the throne, as was tradition, and took the name Otomo Jama. Jama later discovered the writings of Kuni Nakanu and became corrupted, took the name of Iuchiban -- which means "blood speaker" -- and began plotting the downfall of his brother, now the Emperor Hantei XI. Iuchiban was defeated, but his knowledge of Khadi magic made him able to threaten the Empire again on two later occasions.

Birth and Childhood
Iuchiban was born Hantei Jama. As he was not the Emperor's eldest son, custom demanded that he change his name upon completing his gempukku. He became Otomo Jama, renouncing any claim to the Emerald Throne in favor of his older brother. When his brother fell seriously ill, it appeared to the empire that Jama was to be the next emperor. But when his brother recovered from his illness, the empire's favor returned to the Hantei's eldest son, and the court began ignoring Otomo Jama once again.

The First Rising of Iuchiban
It was in the 499 that Jama found the journals of the corrupted sorcerer Kuni Nakanu. Otomo Jama studied the notes, learning the secrets of maho with the help of a Dragon and Asahina Yajinden a Crane shugenja of minor note who had also become close friends with the Imperial Prince.

Marching to the Burning Sands
Fearing that the taint that would result would dominate his soul, Jama searched for a way to avoid it. He turned his eyes out of Rokugan. What Jama asked for to the Emperor, he received. Jama was given a legion of Imperial Guardsman to guard him on this mission of diplomacy. The Emperor expected to never see his brother again. He pressed onward into the searing deserts of the Ujik-hai, and there the sands devoured them and only four remained. The first was Jama Suru, a former vassal of the Shiba family who had pledged himself to Jama's service. The second was Yajinden, and the fourth was a young maiden named Doji Tsugiko, bride of Iuchiban. Yajinden used his magic to sustain them, supplying sparse food, fresh water, and shelter from the fiery sun, but even him pleaded with Jama to turn back. Jama endured and they were granting shelter in the palace of Adisabah, a Rakshasa demon.

Imprisoned
Adisabah imprisoned the four, in a prison designed that if Jama were to escape, he would die and the others would be free. Should another escape, they would live and their companions would die. Should any attack another, all would die. During their imprisonment Jama learned much of gaijin magic in the library of his captor, and about the people and places where he could find the knowledge that he sought. Afterwards, Jama ordered Tsugiko to kill herself, which she did willingly, and free Jama, Suru and Yajinden. The three marched toward Medinaat al-Salaam.

The Khadi
In Medinaat Jama met the sorcerers, who were also scholars, hungry for Rokugani tales, legends, misteries and secrets. In return they tought in their ways. The khadi made a foolish error, underestimating Jama's power and allies, as Adisabah himself.

Ritual
Adisabah helped Jama to become a free Khadi. Jama and his allies insinuated themselves into the khadi's headquarters, deep in the lands of the Senpet. The Khadi master Chephren did not fear initiating Jama, a Heartless became a slave to whosoever held his heart. A khadi's initiation ceremony was a private ritual, only attended by an initiate, a witness, and the khadi conducting the ritual. It was a simple matter for Adisabah to take the place of the witness during Jama's ceremony and subdue Chephren while Jama stole back his heart. The khadi knew little of rakshasa in those days, so they were unprepared. In this way Jama became a khadi and took the name Iuchiban.

Doomseekers
Adisabah realized that it had made a mistake. Iuchiban was growing in power and might eventually be able to kill the Rakshasa. Adisabah plotted with Yajinden to destroy Iuchiban. From Yajinden Adisabah learned the weaknesses of Rokugani magic and combined it with its own knowledge. Adisabah was unwilling to oppose Iuchiban directly, but instead would give its knowledge to the nomadic Unicorn Clan, creating the Doomseekers.

The Bloodswords
Iuchiban returned to Otosan Uchi, as his dark power grew, so did his ambition. He founded the Bloodspeakers, an organization of maho-tsukai, and began making plans to raise an army of the undead to help him overthrow his brother and conquer Rokugan. Iuchiban asked Yajinden to use magic of tsangusuri and Kuni Nakanu's writing, to make four Bloodswords with the Anvil of Despair. Iuchiban then secretly offered these swords to four Clan Champions. These actions were ultimately Iuchiban's undoing, as the Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Rikoji started an investigation into the origin of the blades following the deaths of the other three champions.

Downfall
Iuchiban's plot against his brother was uncovered in 510 by a pair of magistrates, Soshi Takasho and Akodo Minobe. The Seven Great Clans united to defeat Iuchiban at the Battle of Stolen Graves. Iuchiban was placed in jade chains and watched by the shugenja of the Great Clans. After three nights of talks, as death would not stop Iuchiban as he had learned the secrets of immortality from the heartless Khadi, so the Emperor commanded the Kaiu to build the Tomb of Iuchiban and imprisoned Iuchiban's spirit within.

Erased from Histories
Three different stories of Iuchiban's origin were spread by the Scorpion Clan, although none knew which one was true, and the truth was that none of them were. The first story revealed that Iuchiban had been a gardener in Otosan Uchi, the second made him a fallen Master of Void and the third a made him a member of a lost Unicorn tribe from beyond the mountains.

The Second Rising of Iuchiban
In 750, because Iuchiban's heart had never be found, and because he mastered a maho spell that permit to separate his soul from his body and possess the bodies of others, Iuchiban escaped from his tomb. Slowly, he started to regroup the Bloodspeakers again. But he made a mistake, as he tried to possess the body of an Ise Zumi and failed. The tattooed man was alerted and was now able to sense Iuchiban's presence.

Adisabah in Rokugan
Adisabah was summoned, and bound to put right the mistakes that he had made. After learning of Iuchiban's imprisonment Adisabah traveled to Rokugan to destroy the Hidden Heart of Iuchiban. By the time Adisabah found Iuchiban's tomb the Bloodspeaker had escaped. The Rakshasa knew little of humans, and made a mistake that allowed Iuchiban to retaliate him. The bloodspeaker knew little of Rakshasa and was surprised when he could not kill Adisabah. Iuchiban then imprisoned Adisabah within his tomb.

Battle of the Bloody Retreat
His undead army joined him at the northern tip of the Twilight Mountains. They marched through the Shinomen Forest losing nearly a third of their forces, across the Plain of Thunder and were sighted by the gamblers of Ryoko Owari. After the citizens abandoned the City of Lies the undead army ravaged it and marched south to the Beiden Pass. The Scorpion fought backwards for nearly 5 days in the Battle of the Bloody Retreat, losing ground at the end of each day, and when the last broken legions of the Scorpion came through the northern end of the pass, they were met by the cheers of thousands of Lions who rushed into battle the undead and pushed them northward along the Way of Righteous Vengeance Road.

Battle of Sleeping River
The Seven Great Clans united again to defeat Iuchiban at the Battle of Sleeping River. Togashi Yamatsu, the Ise Zumi who had discovered his escape, used the power of his tattooes to hold his spirit until Iuchiban could be imprisoned in the tomb once more; this time powerful magic was used to bind his soul to the very stones of the tomb.

Repercussion
These events also caused the release of the Shimushigaki and led the Crab Clan to forming the Kuni Witch Hunters.

The Scorpion Clan took their own precautions, and a created a special order of Yogo Shugenja; the Kuroiban, was created to hunt bloodspeakers.

Betraying his Master
In 1124 Yajinden believed he was finally Iuchiban's superior, than he had broken free of his servitude and could force his former master to become his slave. He intended to remove the threat his master posed, and Yajinden only intended to use Iuchiban's power to continue the perfection of his art. He manipulated a band of samurai into aiding him in finding the Four Masks of Iuchiban, the tomb's lost keys. When he needed them no longer he had sent Shinko Kamiko to dispose of them, but she had failed. They had escaped his ambush and pursued him into the tomb. The centuries of imprisonment had only increased Iuchiban's power. Iuchiban imprisoned him, desperate for any form of companionship, any form of amusement.

Awaken
Deep in the fields and forest of the empire, three powerful tombs had rested for centuries. When in 1128 the Clan Wars shook the earth, a spirit was awakened within them, a spirit that would feast on the blood for years to come.

Manipulations from the Tomb
Iuchiban was imprisoned but not isolated from Rokugan. Through the Oracle of Blood he could issue commands to his followers. Through the eyes of other Bloodspeakers, he watched the Empire. In the dreams of those consumed by desire and ambition, Iuchiban's influence could take root. One nemuranai was so powerful that Iuchiban manipulated several events to master it, the Isawa's Last Wish. In the War of Spirits he discovered a guardian of the Wish, Shiba Kanjiro. Iuchiban saw his brash and impetuous son, Shiba Aikune as the prey who would aid in his quest. The bloodspeaker shielded that boy's ears from the guidance of his ancestors, twisted events so that the living despised and ignored him, and that boy might do something desperate, and eventually he would give him the means to control the most powerful magic in existence.

Return
In 1165 the Bloodspeaker Shahai attempted to return Daigotsu to his full power by bargaining with the entombed spirit of Iuchiban. She offered him his freedom in exchange for help with her goals, but was, of course, betrayed. Yajinden and Adisabah who were at that moment prisoners of Iuchiban were also fred from the Tomb, but only the rakshasa fled from the Heartless. Iuchiban ordered his lieutenant to find Adisabah, who had the knowledge that could bring them harm.

Defeating Daigotsu
Iuchiban made his way to the City of the Lost and took control of the armies of The Lost away from Daigotsu, who barely escaped with his life. He also seized Akkuai-uo, the Ancestral Sword of the Hantei.

Rain of Blood
To herald in a new age of darkness Iuchiban sacrificed the last Ki-rin to enact a ritual that covered the entire Empire in a Rain of Blood. Many souls were corrupted, consumed by their desires, regrets and fears, shackling their wills to Iuchiban's. Bloodspeaker cults surged out from every corner of Rokugan, joining their returned leader. The Empire was consumed by internal conflicts, and the Dragon Clan, who were the least affected by the rain, were charged by the Emperor to hunt those responsible.

The Egg of P'an Ku
The Ninube gifted to Iuchiban the Egg of P'an Ku, which beared P'an Ku's curse and using it risked destruction. Iuchiban ordered to give it whoever stood as the mightiest of their enemies - it eventually spawned Tamago, otherwise known as the False Nimuro.

Hare Clan
Iuchiban was infuriated with Reichin, who had contributed to his first downfall. When he learned of the Hare Clan's existance, the descendants of Reichin, he ordered his lieutenant Jama Suru to have the Hare destroyed. Suru led a bloodspeaker army against Shiro Usagi, but was stopped by the timely arrival of the Crane Clan cavalry led by Daidoji Daimyo Daidoji Kikaze.

It was believed that the Hare Clan Sword had been cursed by Iuchiban, weakening it's wielders during confrontations with bloodspeakers.

"“My loss of blood has made me weak – but the blood of your children shall make mine strong!”"

- Iuchiban

Hidden City
When Iuchiban was seeking his lost Bloodswords he accidentally discovered the location of the secretive Phoenix city of Gisei Toshi, which was the final resting place of the nemuranai collected by the Isawa. Yajinden had sensed Ambition, which was in a Hidden City of great power. The smither contacted Iuchiban through the Oracle of Blood, and requested his aid because Yajinden and his army alone could not overcome the defence of the city. The Heartless raised an army of skeletons to aid him. Iuchiban marched to seize the city and to take the magical artifacts.

Kusatte Iru Summoned
Iuchiban came to a village where Asako Kinuye had killed all the people. In the temple to Jurojin the Heartless enacted a maho spell pooring his own blood over a Jurojin's statue. He had summoned the Kusatte Iru and directed it to Kyuden Isawa. It was a distraction, something to attend to the Isawa Sezaru and the members of the Elemental Council so that he would not be disturbed in Gisei Toshi, where he had sensed two Black Scrolls were kept.

Assaulting the Hidden City
The undead and bloodspeaker army used siege machines to assault the walls, and the wards did not activate against them. Iuchiban had transported him to the cavern beneath the city, beside the small freshwater lake that provided the city's drinking water. There, he clutched to the throat Isawa Ariminhime, the spirit that bolstered the walls magic wards. Iuchiban was attacked by the Master of Air, Isawa Nakamuro, and other two shugenja, Isawa Wazuka and Isawa Junichiro. He killed the shugenja and easily defeated the Elemental Master. Iuchiban were questioning Nakamuro about the location of the Black Scrolls when Shiba Aikune, wielding the Isawa's Last Wish, appeared.

The Trap is Set
Aikune fought Iuchiban, but realized he could not defeat him. The Heartless had spent centuries of imprisonment seeking a way that he might turn the Wish to his whim. Like the City, the Wish were founded on blood magic and Iuchiban could control it. The fight gave time Nakamuro to recover and hurled Bishamon's Spear at the Bloodspeaker's chest, breaking his concentration. Nakamuro and Aikune bareky escaped from his grasp. When his armies had the control pf four of the seven temples, Aikune returned. He faced Iuchiban, exploding in a brilliant white flash of fire. Where Gisei Toshi once stood was now a blasted crater, and Iuchiban was fouled and he did not know where the City and the Wish were. In the end, Shiba Aikune moved the Hidden City deep within the Mountains of the Phoenix, using the power of the Wish to save the city.

Legion of Blood
In 1166 Iuchiban created the Legion of Blood, led by the First Oni. Kuni Yori's restless spirit not only joined it, ha had given Iuchiban the knowledge he required to control Fu Leng's Oni Lords, and Yori aided the Heartless in binding Yogo Junzo's tormented ghost. Iuchiban did not know that Yajinden and the Shadow Dragon worked together against him, engineering the recovery of the imprisoned piece of Daigotsu's soul in Meido.

The Iron Citadel
Jama Suru was the guardian of Iuchiban's heart, and after the death of Suru against Isawa Sezaru in the Battle of the Northern Wall Mountains, Iuchiban sought his own heart to hid it again. He sensed it was somewhere within Otosan Uchi, moved there his forces, and used the Black Scroll the Iron Citadel to make a new base of operations in the ruins of the Imperial Palace. Iuchiban moved his most loyal followers there.

Daigotsu recovers his Powers
In order to defeat Iuchiban, Daigotsu traveled across the fringes of the Empire to the Burning Sands, where he entered into an alliance with the Kolat. He also had one of his remaining loyal followers, Katsu, undergo the same ritual that created Iuchiban and became a khadi. Daigotsu's soul was retrieved from Emma-O by a deception of Daigotsu Hoturi, giving Daigotsu back his full power.

Daigotsu retook the City of the Lost
Daigotsu then moved to retake the City of the Lost while Iuchiban was at Otosan Uchi. Iuchiban, who had Shahai under constant monitoring, sensed Daigotsu arrival and transported him to the city, fighting the Dark Lord wielding Akkuai-uo. The Dark Lord was again near defeat at the hands of the bloodspeaker, but Katsu had interfered with the control Iuchiban exerted to his followers, breaking it. Shahai took the Ancestral Sword of the Hantei away of Iuchiban. Omoni, who swore to follow whoever wielded the blade, was free to send his bakemono against Iuchiban. The bloodspeaker sensed his armies withdrawing or turnin on him, and decided to escape toward his Iron Citadel, casting a parting spell that set the City ablaze.

Final Battle
Iuchiban was finally confronted by a Crab and Lion army led by Hida Kisada, Matsu Aoiko and Isawa Sezaru. While the battle raged outside Otosan Uchi and Iuchiban was distracted by the presence of Kisada, Sezaru and Aoiko entered the city and met up with Iuchi Katamari who led them further into the city where they found the Oracle of Blood guarding Iuchiban's heart. Iuchiban had now noticed the presence of Sezaru and raced to the hiding place of the heart. A quick battle ensued where Sezaru ended up destroying Iuchiban and the heart, seemingly for the last time.