Kuni Yori

No man has ever been spoken of with more fear than Kuni Yori. Those who met him never forgot his piercing eyes, eerie voice and his sarcastic smile when he talked. Other shugenja whispered his soul had been taken by the Shadowlands.

A Tainted Soul
In his younger years he studied under his uncle to become a shugenja. He became the daimyo of the Kuni after his father and brother were killed during a ritual in winter of 1109. It his not generally known that he and his late brother were in fact fighting their father, who had become leader of a bloodspeaker cell. It was then when Yajinden revealed himself, and tempted him as he had done with his father. Yori then became Yajinden's apprentice. 

The Kuni Daimyo
When he became Daimyo he would keep tabs on other shugenja to know what work they were doing. It was not unknown that he would often enter other Kuni residencies unannounced. His knowledge of the Shadowlands was extensive and he had written numerous treaties on the biology and magical nature of Shadowlands denizens. He was the sole caretaker of the works of Kuni Mokuna. Some said his interests had gone too far and it was rumored the Shadowlands denizens knew his name and feared him. He had the ear of the Crab Clan Champion Hida Kisada and would advise him in times of emergencies. Kisada would not believe that Yori had been compromised by the Shadowlands. Yori would never speak to someone unless he wanted something from them and few could tolerate his prescence for longer than a few minutes. (Crab p. 70-71)

The Henshin Exposed
In 1126, during Winter Court at Kyuden Asakao, Kuni Yori manipulated the families of the Phoenix Clan to fight amongst themselves by using the insane Asako Oyo as a pawn to demonstrate the secrets of immortality held by the Asako to the Isawa. This ensured that the Phoenix spent the next several months occupied with their ancient rivalry and oblivious to the machinations of the Crab. (3E p. 19)