Portal:Spider/Selected article for December 2008



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.

After the death of their daimyo, his 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.

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, the Phoenix believed that not a soul of the Snake Clan remained living.

Recent developments
Unknown to the Council of Five, a few powerful maho-tsukai among the family survived the assault, using their power to remain free of the Shuten Doji's influence. They believed that with time they could restore the souls of their brethren, and this may have been the case if not been for the intervention of the Isawa family. They ultimately continued the Chuda bloodline by marrying largely into the Asako family, passing their dark secret down through each generation.

After several centuries, Asako Mishime, an Asako Inquisitor of Snake Clan descent, restored the Chuda family name in the City of the Lost. After the creation of the Spider Clan the Chuda served Daigotsu a family of maho tsukai.

Read more: Snake Clan