Snake Clan



The Snake Clan was a minor clan that was corrupted by a Shuten Doji. Their clan colors were silver, black and grey-purple.

History
The Snake Clan was once a proud and prosperous family, the descendants of the Imperial Magistrate Isawa Chuda who had saved the Emperor's life from the deadly threat of a maho cult. The Emperor proclaimed Chuda the first daimyo. They made their home on the Dragon Heart Plain, making comfortable lives for their small family through trade with the lands to their south. They were an unremarkable family in all save their complete loyalty to Rokugan. But even this, in the end, could not save them from a dark fate.

When the small family settled the lands given them, they found them haunted. An ancient spirit would appear at their castle the first evening of every month, screaming and begging the famly to hear its pleas. For generations, the Chuda ignored the spirit's pleas, until finally, the young son of the Snake Champion answered the spirit. At that point, the hautings seemed to stop.

A short time later, the daimyo of the Snake died, and seven days later, his son became Champion. The son, with the help of the spirit -- a Shuten Doji -- conceived of a plot to gain immortality and power through the use of dark forces. The Shuten Doji began possessing every living thing in the Snake Clan lands, and the daimyo began his quest for power.

Only through the intervention of the Fortunes, the Phoenix Clan discovered the plot and the evil brewing among the family on their border. The Elemental Masters were outraged at the young daimyo's actions, and terrified at the implications. They mobilized the armies of the Phoenix and marched upon Snake lands in what became known as the Five Nights of Shame, killing every living thing within the Dragon Heart Plain. Once finished, not a soul of the Snake Clan remained living.

Or so they thought.

Family Name
The family name of the Snake Clan was Chuda, after their founder, Isawa Chuda who had said he was the Emperor's serpent, "creeping into the hidden places and striking down your enemies." Though the name has not been recognized in the courts of Rokugan since the destruction of the clan, the Chuda name was kept by the sole survivor of the massacre, and his descendants have since become a family of maho-tsukai living in the Shadowlands.

Samurai
See Samurai of the Snake Clan for a listing of notable members of the clan, both current and historic.

Snake Clan Champion
The following are the known Champions of the Snake:

Major References

 * Way of the Phoenix Pages 40-41.