Shiba

Shiba-kami, the First Phoenix, the twin of Bayushi, and the wisest of the Kami, led the Phoenix Clan until his death at the hands of the First Oni during his attempt to rescue Shosuro and Shinsei after the first Day of Thunder. After his death, his essence possessed his sword, Ofushikai, and for over a thousand years Shiba himself chose the new Champions of his clan and guided them in their paths.

Personality
Shiba was possibly the most intellectual of the Kami. He was intensely interested in the world of Rokugan, and had no shortage of questions for all of the people he met along his journeys. Shiba also was adept at watching people and learning from their actions, a trait which served him well at the Tournament of the Kami. He would spend entire days watching people, remembering everything, and would attempt to use his knowledge to integrate himself into the society into which he had fallen.

Shiba and Fu Leng
Though it is well known that Shinjo journeyed into the Shadowlands to search for her lost brother, it is not as widely known that it was Shiba that first noticed Fu Leng was absent from the Kami that fell upon Seppun Hill. Shiba also journed along the once-fertile lands that lead to the place where the Ninth kami fell through Ningen-do. Though he did not find his brother, Shiba did find a place where a great darkness lived on the path to Jigoku and where a deep sadness filled the Kami as he approached.

Most believe this place to be the Festering Pit, but there are some who disagree. The accounts do not match completely, as Shiba describes a place of sheer blackness, where color itself had been drained from the land and where there was no sign of life whatsoever. Within the place is also said to be a dark river of souls, information which the Council of Five gaurds jealously. The Masters have sent parties to search for the place, but none have been successful. Doubtless the Champion knows of this place through his connection to the Soul of Shiba, but none have volunteered any help to solving the mystery.

Shiba and Shinsei
His divine nature separated Shiba from the mortals of Rokugan, but his desire to know them separated him from his brothers and sisters. His isolation grew more and more intense until the arrival of Shinsei, who understood Shiba. Through Shinsei, Shiba learned how the lives of the mortals were linked to the divine.

Shiba became a devout follower of Shinsei. When the Little Teacher met with Hantei, it was Shiba who was at hand to record their conversation. This transcription became known as the Tao of Shinsei. The original Tao has been greatly ravaged by time and hardship, but its burned and tattered remains still rest in the libraries of Gisei Toshi.

Shiba's Promise
At the beginning of the War Against Fu Leng, Shiba begged Shinsei to be allowed to accompany the monk into battle with Fu Leng. Shinsei refused, explaining to Shiba that mortal men must be the ones to defeat the Dark Kami. Shiba then approached Isawa, bidding him to go with Shinsei. Isawa refused, claiming he could not abandon his family to fight the Kami's war.

The Kami Shiba knelt before the mortal Isawa and promised to protect his people in exchange for Isawa becoming the Phoenix Thunder. Isawa agreed and left with Shinsei that day.

Shiba and Isawa are often depicted with Shiba kneeling, not out of disrespect for the Kami, but because the act is considered to be one of the most important and heroic in Phoenix history. Stubborn Phoenix children are often scolded, "Are you so tall that you cannot bend your knee as Shiba did?" (Phoenix p. 20)

The Eternal Phoenix
Sometime after the departure of the Seven Thunders, Shiba was uneasy about the lack of news from the group, so he asked the Isawa to see what the kami could tell them. The Isawa determined that of the eight that set out, only two were living, and one of those barely. They could not determine which two were still alive, however. Determined not to let Shinsei fall in the Shadowlands, where his wisdom might be corrupted, Shiba set out to find the two survivors and bring them safely back to Rokugan.

Shiba marched into the Shadowlands, found Shinsei and the severly wounded Shosuro about to be overwhelmed by an army of monstrosities led by the First Oni. Unwilling to let them die, Shiba drew Ofushikai and charged to their rescue. The Kami slew the oni, but not before it dealt Shiba a mortal blow as well. Shiba died of his wounds on the journey back to Otosan Uchi.

But that was not the end for the Eternal Phoenix. Shiba's soul found an anchor in the mortal realm -- Ofushikai, his katana -- that allowed his spirit to remain in Ningen-do. The son of Shiba, Shiba Tsuzaki, left Shiro Shiba shortly after his father's death, claiming that Shiba was calling to him. When Tsuzaki returned, there was an aged wisdom in his eyes and another presence behind his face. Tsuzaki pronounced "My father is dead, but he will live forever in his descendants." And through every successive Champion until Ofushikai was taken from them, he did. (Phoenix pp. 36-37)

After his death, Shiba came to realize that humanity was capable of far more than they realized, and told Asako all he had realized about the cosmos and mankind's place in them. This Gift of Shiba's became the Path of Man that the Asako Henshin follow to this day. (Phoenix pp. 6-7)