Nezumi



Nezumi were one of the other races that walked Ningen-do after the Naga entered their slumber and before the fall of the Kami.

Appearance
Ratlings appeared as furry bipeds, roughly mansized, with pink tails and the heads of rodents. Their lifetime was between twenty-five to thirty-five years.

Kaleel
During the First Jinn War, the jinn Kaleel and his legion enslaved humanity and other races. The Nezumi remembered that dark times and avoided the Burning Sands, were they believed evil spirits that should be dead would destroy them.

Nezumi and the Naga
Before the Naga's Great Sleep, the Ratlings had been simple animals to the Naga race. They served as pets, guardians, and even food. Following the rule of the Naga, who were in their slumber, the Nezumi had a vast empire, governed by the Nezumi Shamans.

Under the Ogre rule
Muhonarak, leader of the Ogre, were given rule of the nezumi lands by the Alliance of the Five Races when he arrived in Rokugan from the frozen North. Hundred years later Muhonarak was recovering from the wounds he suffered in his victory over the Rakshasa Champion of Jigoku. He was attacked by a nezumi carrying a dagger made of out of the claw of the King of Wyrms. While Muhonarak was able to slay the assassin, he died soon afterwards from the wounds the Nezumi had inflicted. This began the age of the ogre enslavement by the nezumi.

Nezumi Empire
They conquered the kingdom of the Ogres, defeated the Trolls, subdued the Goblin and occupying most of the area currently taken by the Shadowlands, while Zokujin and Ningyo races honored them. Most of the Nezumi civilization was destroyed when Fu Leng fell from Tengoku in the Terrible Day. When the Ninth Kami sought to destroy the Nezumi cities, none of the other ancient races would stand beside the Ratlings.

Scavengers
The nezumi scattered and formed several tribes, becoming a migratory race. Their members were mostly scavengers and scouts, and the scroungers raided food supplies from human castles and villages. Once the loot was secured they moved far from the old position. They used to travel during night taking advantage of their nocturnal vision.

Nezumi and Humans
In 314 a twelve year old named Hiruma Kazuma developed a strange rapport with the Ratlings and forged bonds of trust with them. This resulted in the Nezumi - Crab Alliance.

War Against Shadow
Nezumi were enemies of the Shadows and they fought alongside the Empire in the Battle of Oblivion's Gate.

The One Tribe
The Nezumi held a very strong position when the tribes stood united as the One Tribe under the leadership of Kan'ok'ticheck. In 1165 five tribes, Tattered Ear, Third Whisker, Green-Green-White, Chipped Tooth, and Crippled Bone were united under him to destroy the Stained Paw Tribe. After the Tsuno betrayed them in the Meeting Place, the One Tribe was formally made and Kan'ok'ticheck proclaimed Chief of Chiefs.

They defeated the Tsuno and the Tomorrow Chieftain in the Battle of One Tribe. They were being aided by Nintai, an ancient Kitsu spirit who was helping the Nezumi rediscover the ancient magics that gained them their lost empire.

Sometime after a wondrous blade, called Asatte, made its way to the Nezumi in 1167, the nezumi went into Yume-do to confront Tomorrow.

Tomorrow
Tchickchuk aided Kan'ok'ticheck against the Shadow Dragon leading an army of Transcendent. After the defeat of the Dragon the link the nezumi had to the waking world was severed and nezumi will be unable to awake and return to their lives. They won the Battle of Tomorrow, but Tomorrow caught all nezumi who had traveled to Yume-do. Very few remained in Ningen-do to this day.

Nezumi Culture
When the Nezumi was a mighty empire they were only One Tribe, but came the time when Nezumi fight Nezumi and they scattered in many tribes.

Nezumi culture was divided into several tribes, each with their own distinct power structure. The most important members of a Tribe were the Nezumi Shaman, the Rememberer, and the Chieftain. Second to the Chieftains were the Chuk'tek, their advisors future chieftains of the tribe.

The Rememberer was the tribe's storyteller, and must remember and tell the great tales of the tribe's past. As guardian of powerful name magic, the shaman kept the spiritual well-being of the tribe in hand.

The Chieftain, meanwhile, functioned much like a daimyo in any other clan. He was first in war and politics, just as the shaman was the tribe's chief priest. Much of this structure remained within the newly-unified One Tribe.

Nezumi Cities
Before the arrival of Fu Leng the nezumi lived in cities, being Heaven's Fall the greatest of them. Later it was called Heaven's Grave. The nezumi stole the name of a city that was near to be lost, and was forgotten in an instant. All who had dwelled within it forgot it ever existed. Those who served Fu Leng forgot it. Even the earth itself forgot, and swallowed it into nothingness. One of the cities, the City of Dreams returned from the Realm of Dreams in the Shadowlands at Ikm'atch-tek's command, the Tomorrow Chieftain.

Nezumi Burrows
Most Nezumi tribes lived underground in burrows. This originates from, or so the tale suggests, an event where a Dragon from the Celestial Heavens came down to rescue what he thought to be a human lost in the Shadowlands. The Nezumi the Dragon picked up hoped to steal some of the Dragon's treasure, and pretended to be one of the Emperor's sons. The Dragon asked the Nezumi if he knew of Otosan Uchi, and the Ratling replied he was one of his closest friends. The Dragon was outraged at this blatant lie, and threw down the Nezumi. The Ratling burrowed deep underground to avoid further punishment, and to this day they believe they must live underground in burrows to avoid the wrath of the Heavens.

It was also worth noting that in such a harsh environment as the Shadowlands there were few other places the Nezumi could survive but underground.

In 1166 the nezumi had dwelled in the tunnels beneath the Otosan Uchi, and made a warren there.

They also dwelled other areas claimed by the Rokugani, as the Shinomen Mori.

Nezumi Conflicts
In the Meeting Place the first Chieftains of the Nezumi tribes swore an oath to protect their followers from the Shadowlands until their civilization could be restored. Any conflict between nezumi would be resolved there. It was a place of peace and cooperation between nezumi tribes. Elders from the different tribes met there whenever a external foe appeared.

Burning Sands
The nezumi did not enter the in the hot Burning Sands. Many things that walked but should be dead. Shamans whispered that Nezumi angered these things once, and they waited for nezumi there.

Breeding
Nezumi bore litters of six to eight after a gestation period of six months, and they were totally dependent upon their mother for their first year. Female Nezumi moved at top speed with an entire litter on their backs, and would fight to the death to protect their young. Upon teaching their first year Nezumi chiltdren were productive members of the tribe.

Nezumi Speech
The native nezumi language was a cluttering combination of barks, squeaks and clicks. Their written language was barely more complicated than pictographs depicting the object or event in question. Writing was mostly used to communicate with other packs.

The Nezumi believed that time was somewhat immaterial. As such, death was known as "Tomorrow," and any time in the past might be referred to as "Yesterday." The repetition of words was also a common characteristic of Nezumi speech. It was rare that a Nezumi would repeat adjectives or adverbs, instead generally repeating nouns and verbs. For example, an old Nezumi who as a child had a brush with death might say "I saw-saw Tomorrow, many Yesterdays ago, and I ran-ran." This showed up in many other incarnations, as Daigotsu or any great Oni might be called Tomorrow due to their deadliness. However, many of these impracticalities disappeared when a skilled speaker utilized the Nezumi's native tongue. Few Rokugani would debase themselves to speaking in squeaks and chitters, though, and so this crude approximation of Nezumi speech was what was most often seen by Rokugani contacts with the Nezumi.

Nezumi Language

 * Before Time - Era before the Terrible Day, Pre-calendar.
 * Chi'ch-tch - Nezumi
 * Heaven's Grave - Festering Pit of Fu Leng
 * Hert'chik - Lion Clan
 * I'thich - Yume-do, the Realm of Dreams
 * Shtic'tekv or Skurtrfoo - Naga
 * Tch'tch - Rememberer
 * Tchr - Memory stick
 * Terrible Day - The Day when Fu Leng fell from Tengoku
 * Wikki'thich-hie - Transcendent

Nezumi Religion and Magic
The Nezumi did not worship Kami and Fortunes as did the Rokugani. Their religion was mostly based around the idea that life was a great dream, and that death was an awakening from that dream. This led to their relatively strange perceptions of time, as exhibited by their speech. Within the dream, Names had great power. The Nezumi utilized the power of names and dreams to perform most of their magic. Dreams were where the Nezumi shamans found their visions of the future and guidance. Names could be used to identify a person's status or past deeds, or wiped them out completely. A powerful Nezumi, called Nametaker, could remove one's Name, totally severing a person from their former deeds and life. Omen underwent this process, though other sources claimed that the Nametakers were extinct.

Nezumi were not born with an immortal soul. After a Nezumi was born was given with a name. When he died, what there was of him returned to the tribe. The Rememberer could bind the names of important nezumi to memory and they would live forever in the Realm of Dream. Other Nezumi after his death lived on only in memory.

Only the Transcendent, called Wikki'thich-hie, ancient spirits of the Nezumi shamans, were awake after death living int the real of dream.

Tribes
The following were known tribes of the Nezumi:


 * Blazing Gullet Tribe (destroyed)
 * Broken Dagger Tribe (merged in Broken Shinbone)
 * Broken Shinbone Tribe
 * Chipped Tooth Tribe
 * Crimson Paw Tribe
 * Crippled Bone Tribe
 * Crooked Tail Tribe
 * Forever-Racing-Tomorrow Tribe
 * Grasping Paw Tribe
 * Green-Green-White Tribe
 * The One Tribe
 * Shadow Runners Tribe (destroyed)
 * Squeaky Eyeball Tribe
 * Stained Paw Tribe (formerly corrupted)
 * Tattered Ear Tribe
 * Third Whisker Tribe
 * Wailing Night Tribe (merged in Broken Shinbone)

For the known Nezumi through history, see the listing of notable Nezumi. For the known leadership of the race, see the listing of the leaders of the Nezumi.


 * "The Last Rememberer" parts 1, 2, and 3
 * Legend of the Five Rings, Third Edition, p. 280.