Naga



The naga were an ancient race of serpent-folk that existed before the rise of Man and the fall of the Kami. They were the oldest of the civilizations, spanning the far west of the modern Rokugan. Before the fall of the Kami, the naga entered an enchanted slumber in an attempt to preserve their dying race.

Naga Physiology


The naga were large quasi-humanoids with human-like torsos and snake like lower bodies. They were typically scaly and reptilian in appearance with greenish tinted skin being the most common, though some were brown. with other shades occasionally seen. The tail of a naga could be anywhere from 10-20 feet long. Typically, the tails of the Constrictors were the longest, while the Greensnakes tended to be smaller. An upright naga could range from four to seven feet tall normally, but they could rear up even higher. Naga moved with at same general pace and endurance of a man, but their serpent form gave them an advantage that allowed them to move fast in nearly any terrain. Unfortunately, they did tend to leave a distinct trail marking their passage. Unless they were trained to accept them, horses tended to avoid naga, presumably due to their scent being similar to snakes.

Mutations and Abominations
Some naga, especially the magically talented Cobra Bloodline, had features veering even further from the 'human' norm. This appeared to be a result the closeness some eggs had to the magical pearls in their hatcheries. Typically those naga had a much more snakelike appearance, to include such features as cobra hoods and more heavily scaled torsos. Many other naga were noticeably unsettled by the more extreme variations. Another mutation granted some naga the ability to breathe underwater. While normally only air breathers, some naga were hatched with gills in their necks or torsos. In more extreme cases, the naga mutated to the point where they couldn't breathe air at all. These mutations tended to be ignored by most naga. Once a generation, a naga was hatched with such severe mutations that it was declared to be an 'Abomination' and was cast out to live on it's own. Most abominations did not survive, but those who did and returned, were often some of the greatest heroes of the naga. If they travelled to the Burning Sands and stayed long enough, the 'Abomination' was transformed into a wretched, abominable beast and became the most hated enemies of the Naga race, the Naar Teban.

Female Nagas
At puberty, female naga gained the ability to alter their form, taking on a typical bipedal shape, though they were still obviously not human unless they took efforts to conceal their features. This ability involved five hours of ritual meditation, followed by the shedding of their skin to reveal the new lower torso. Due to the lack of use, female naga tails tended to be shorter than most males, and many had some minor difficulties utilizing some of the advantages the male naga enjoyed. In addition, physical skills took twice as much effort as they must learn how to do such actions with and without tails. This change had many different benefits for the individual naga female from being able to ride horses to increasing their abilities in combat or duels.

Festivals
A known naga festival was Naag Panchami.

Naga Society
The Naga were a peaceful race, preferring tranquility and serenity to conflict. Exceptions to this rule existed in the Asp Bloodline.

The race was organized by bloodline, with each of the five controlling a single large city. The heads of the bloodlines were very powerful individuals, their authority superseded only by the most powerful priests and military commanders.

The race as a whole was ruled by the Qatol, the high lord of the Naga. Beneath the Qatol were the Qamar, commander of the naga army, and the Dashmar, the leading diplomat.

Any Naga youth was called Ashamana and they could became the vessel for reincarnation of fallen naga heores.

Language
The Naga language was called Nagash, and it was developed by the Constrictor but extended by the Asp.

Naga history
Over the years, the naga have affected and been affected by many events unfolding in Rokugan.

Creation
Amaterasu and Onnotangu named the shapeless world, and the life beagn to appear in Ningen-do. From the creatures that risen, there were ones that began to build, the Naga race. They worshiped the Fortunes, and above them the Sun, lady Amaterasu. They had the ability to reshape themshelves to suit any environment. It would be seen by a menace for other races, as the Ashalan.

Naga Myth
Legends said the Naga were first born from the Black Stone, that they had golden scales, they were no divided in different Bloodlines, and even the communal Naga mind, the Akasha, did not exist. The deeds and wishes of the Golden One, the Svarbhanu, were instrumental in the fate and changes which led the Naga race to the creatures as they were later known in Rokugan.

The First Naga War
The expansionistic Asp used their poisons to destroy the lesser bloodlines during the Bloodland Wars. The Greensnakes were enslaved, while the Chameleons escaped to the sea. Before they could conquer the Cobra and Constrictor Bloodlines, the Asp leader, the Shahismael, was defeated by his lieutenant, the Shahadet. The alliance made by the Qatol, which drew the Cobra and Chameleon to his side, mawas the begining of the Naga Kingdom, while the great constrictor vedic, Galishavi, opened the gates of the Akasha to all the Naga.

The Naga Empire
The Age of the Ancients was thousands of years before the Fall of the Kami and the creation of Rokugan. The Empire of the Naga was a thriving culture dedicated to arts and science. They became complacent, unheeding prophecies and warnings of a Great Sleep.

Naga tale about the Nothing
Once, the People stood beneath the Bright Eye's radiant gaze, and felt her warmth alone. She was our lover, a mother to the creatures of the world and the beloved lady of the People. Her eye was that of kindness. Her mate, the Pale Eye, was jealous of the things of the world, and he caused her to weep over his hatred of her beloved people. The Pale Eye, cold from anger and envy, watched as the People sang praises to the Bright, and so he hid his face in the Shadow. He gave no warmth to the People, no friendship or hope, and to his mate the Bright Eye, he gave pain.

As they walked across the land, prepared to give names to all, the Pale Eye lagged jealously behind. Alone, his eye was caught by a small slip of Shadow which hid beneath a rock and did not want a name. "Let us make a deal," the Pale Eye said to the Bright. "I will provide the names, and you will choose which creature to give them to." The Bright agreed and it seemed a fair agreement, and so they spread the Names among the world. Jealous of the love that the People had for the Bright Eye, the Pale chose not to show the hiding Shadow to his mate, to let it stay as it wished and be free. And when the Bright had used all the names he had given her, the Pale did not offer more and the thing within the Shadow remained as it was, unnamed and unmade. After the Bright and the Pale stepped again into the Sky, the Shadow greedily used its power to feed upon the People. Pleased to avenge its father, the Pale Eye, it devoured the bodies of the People, twisted them beyond bone and scale.

Yet among the people rose a hero. His name, at the time was Qatol. He was a warrior, a dread-mind-hunter, bringer of food. The Qatol fought the darkness with weapons of steel and jade, but nothing drove it away. More died. More vanished into the Shadow, never to be seen again, their souls lost forever. The Bright Eye, weeping as her People died, could do nothing. She could not break the bargain with the Pale, and she had no other names to give. Angered, she sent her youngest son to steal a name from the Pale, but he fell to the earth with his brothers and sisters, defeated.

No name was ever given, and the Darkness that Walks remained free.

Day of Wrath
The Jinn lord, Kaleel began the First Jinn War against the Sun and the Moon, his parents. It ended in the Day of Wrath, when the Sun unleashed her rage against her children, the Kaleel's Legion, but the rest of living creatures also suffered. The barrened Burning Sands replaced the fertile lands, and three quarters of the Naga race was destroyed. With their Akasha, the mind-hive, this kind of destruction could doom the entire race, unable to forget the sudden loss of many of their kind. The Ashalan used the magic to remove this memory from them, but with a drawback. When the Naga realized the destruction, and without knowledge about what really had happened, blamed against the Ashalan as the only responsibles.

War with the Ashalan
They had some sort of ancient, bloody feud with the Ashalan. Naga saw the Ashalan as an arrogant race who believed they created the world. They sought to dominate all living creatures, and believed that lesser beings existed only to serve their whim. The Naga and Ashalan war was so destructive Lady Sun was forced to end it and placed a curse upon both races. The Naga could not leave their territory and the Ashalan could not enter the Naga's. The curse would twist any member of the race that broke the curse, turning them into abominations to their respective race. This conflict stood for centuries, as the races were very long lived and knew how to hold a grudge. Naga and Ashalan could sense one anothers magic, to them it was a foul stench that they could not mistake.

Cursed by the Ashalan
Other said the Ashalan levied a curse upon the Naga. The Naga, who were capable of reshaping themselves to suit any environment, were crippled by the curse on all who were shaped by this power. The Naar Teban, the Naga who entered the Burning Sands, were rendered mindless beasts, as were the creatures who ventured too far into the Ivory Kingdoms. The Naga who ventured into the sea forgot themselves and became the ningyo. Only those Naga who remained within the borders of the territory which would be known as the Emerald Empire were spared, but even then the curse of mutation visited them.

First Burning of the Lands
The Naga were foes to the Darkness, a powerful evil that hunted the land unchecked, destroying everything it could find, and to the terrible Oni-like creatures. The Naga fought back, conquering the Evil and sending it away during the First Burning of the Land. After the war, prophets and astrologers spoke of a time of Great Sleep, a period of Ages in which the Naga would rest, undisturbed, waiting to fight the Dark again, in a far-distant time called only "The Second Burning of the Land."

Great Sleep
After their biggest threat, the Ashalan, having been dealt a society-crumbling blow, the naga became more complacent. Some believed they had to enter the great sleep to preserve their culture, and some hoped to defeat an enemy they knew to come, known as the Foul.

Despite the premonitions of the prophets, the Naga civilization went on in its decadent ways, until eventually the time known as the Great Sleep arrived. When Onnotangu caught Amaterasu, she faded her light, and the Naga fall to the Great Sleep. One by one, the Naga fell into a deep slumber, but most were unconcerned. They knew the greatness of their civilization would remain a thousand years, and so they allowed the Great Sleep to take them off into the uncharted realms of dream.

Time took a greater toll on the naga then expected, and unforeseen tampering by the nezumi and humans dealt them a great amount of damage. The Age of Man had ushered out the Age of the Naga.

Initial Awakenings
In 815, after the Return of the Ki-Rin, a small group of Shadowlands creatures broke through the defenses of the Crab Clan and entered the Shinomen Mori. These creatures destroyed a large cluster of naga eggs. This disturbance to the Akasha caused many naga to awaken, and they quickly crushed the Shadowlands force, leaving nothing but a foul, Tainted marsh in their place.

Naga ruins
In 925, on a mapping expedition of the outer reaches of the Shinomen Mori on behalf of the imperial cartographers, Shinjo Fujimaka and Ikoma Gohesu discovered the ruins of a great naga city. There had been naga ruins discovered before this event, but none of this size, which indicated a major naga settlement. Many scholars believe that this intrusion into the naga lands caused the initiation of their slow awakening process.

More Awakenings
The naga scouts had been awakening for centuries, and they were seen in 1122 by a farmer of the Falcon Clan. In 1124 they awoke in significant numbers. It was a slow process, requiring months or, in some cases, years. Many naga jakla did not awaken during despite the best efforts of his fellow Cobra. When the Naga awoke, much of the world had changed. Their great Empire had fallen, their tall buildings now in ruins like sand castles at high tide. The great wilderness that they had kept at bay had invaded and taken everything away. Their sorrow seemed complete until one of their shugenja touched the earth and knew that matters were indeed much worse than they had suspected. The blood of the earth had been corrupted by a foul force to the south. The Naga sent scouts into the wasteland, but none returned. A second party was sent and still, none of them returned They were about to send a third party when news arrived from the east: a messenger from a new Empire, the Empire of men, had arrived.

Contact with Rokugan
During the Clan War, sometime before the Battle of Beiden Pass in 1127, the awakened Naga were approached by humans. Through the use of their Pearl Magic, the Naga were able to communicate with the samurai. Their leader, Mirumoto Daini, explained that he had been sent by his leader Toturi to ask for aid from the Naga in defeating the Foul and the Crab Clan who had allied with them. The Naga agreed to join forces with Toturi, in exchange for the Black Lion's promise that he would not seek to take the Emerald Throne for himself.

Naga Legend revealed to Rokugan
The Naga told their legend about the origin of their kind to Doji Shizue.

Naga and the Ratlings
Before the Naga's Great Sleep, the Ratlings had been simple animals. They served as pets, guardians, and even food. When the Naga awoke they found that the Nezumi had built and lost a mighty empire in their absence, and now stood against their mutual enemies, the Shadowlands.

The Naga during the Clan War
The naga participated in many of the conflicts during the Clan War. From the first major Battle of Beiden Pass to the last, fighting the shadowlands armies on the Second Day of Thunder the naga heroes and their forces had an important role in helping defeat Fu Leng and Yogo Junzo's minions. The ambassadorship of Mirumoto Daini to the Naga was one of the most compelling reasons for the Naga taking part in the affairs of the humans.

Battle of Beiden Pass
Prior to the Battle of Beiden Pass there had been several smaller forces of naga bushi, spearmen and archers that had ventured out into Rokugan. Even the occasional naga shugenja had accompanied them. At the Battle of Beiden Pass itself the naga were drawn upon as allies of Toturi's Army, the Unicorn and the Dragon.

Second Day of Thunder
The Naga were led by the Qamar on the Second Day of Thunder, most notably in a joint attack with some Phoenix forces led by Shiba Tsukune. The Naga and Phoenix attacked a unit of Yogo Junzo's reinforcements heading for the Imperial Palace. The Qamar was killed by the Necromancer leading the Yogo forces before Tsukune could kill him. The Isha picked up the Qamar's Spear and became the new Qamar.

Naga and the Crab
In 1129, after the Clan War, the Kaiu family needed to repair the Kaiu Kabe, which had been severely damaged. The Crab and naga allied and resolved to move against the Shadowlands to end its threat forever. The Qamar of the naga pledged that every able naga would strike out against the Shadowlands with their new Crab allies once the Crab were ready. With the rebuilding taking priority, the assault was scheduled for the following spring. In the spring of 1130, as planned, the Crab and naga marched into the Shadowlands. Casualties for the naga and Crab were light. The beasts of the Shadowlands seemed unprepared for such a large, bold invasion. During this time, Hiruma Castle was finally reclaimed following its destruction four centuries prior, in 716.

Shortly after the retaking of Kyuden Hiruma, there was an apparent shift in the attitudes of the naga. They quickly and silently withdrew, leaving the Crab alone in the Shadowlands. The Crab could only watch helplessly as their allies abandoned them. Scouts were quickly sent to the Kaiu Kabe for more soldiers and supplies, but none of the messengers survived the journey.

The naga returned in 1132 to help the Crab, but they were attacked by enraged Crab forces. The Naga retreated to the Shinomen Forest and the Hida commander ordered the forest set to fire. The Naga could not save Shiro Hiruma and to atone for their abandonment, Shashakar used an artifact known as the Black Pearl to restore life to the recently-deceased Crab Clan Champion, Hida Yakamo. This merged Yakamo's soul with the Akasha and his mind with Shashakar. Unfortunately, the Taint that was present in Yakamo seeped into the Akasha, causing the Naga great pain and forcing them into another hibernation.

Naga and Hitomi
In 1131, the Qamar's son, Kazaq, left the Shinomen Mori and climbed the mountains of the Dragon Clan to Kyuden Hitomi. Hitomi greeted him with open arms as if he were an expected guest. Soon after, Kazaq emerged from Kyuden Hitomi bearing the mystical tattoos of the Dragon, severed from the Akasha forever.

In 1130, the naga, led by the Qamar laid siege to the Dragon provinces. It was unknown to most why the naga attacked the Dragon. Their rampage destroyed three minor strongholds of the Dragon, one being Kyuden Kitsuki, until they were suddenly halted by the appearance of the monks of the Brotherhood of Shinsei. Many believed the Brotherhood were there to parley with the Naga to end hostilities, but when the Brotherhood, mostly former Togashi family Ise Zumi led by Hoshi, joined forces with the Naga, many were taken aback. Hitomi's own brother, Mirumoto Daini, also chose to side with the Naga. It became clear within weeks that Hoshi has also mastered the art of making tattoed men himself, and many of the Brotherhood swore fealty to the newly-established Hoshi name.

At the same time, the naga finally reached the base of Hitomi's mountain. During their attack, the power from Hitomi's Obsidian Hand inadvertently freed Shosuro from her crystal prison beneath the former Kyuden Togashi. Also during the chaos, the renegade Ise Zumi Kokujin stole the daisho of Togashi.

In 1132, Toturi sent the Monkey Clan, lead by the Captain of the Imperial Guard, Toku, to end the fighting by attacking the naga. The naga revealed to Toku that Hitomi had been warped by the Lying Darkness. When she had corrupted Kazaq with the Lying Darkness, it had sent a revelation through the Akasha about what and where The Foul really was. Unfortunately, by the time the Naga explained this, Shosuro had been freed and Hitomi had ascended. With their immortal enemy eluding them once more, the naga returned to the aid of their Crab allies stranded within Hiruma Castle.

Naga and the Shadows
The only clan the Nothing could not infiltrate was the Naga. The Lying Darkness tried to control them through their isolation. He wished to drive their Akasha mad until they could bear no more. The Naga fought the Foul since the Siege of Sleeping Mountain until its destruction in the Battle of Oblivion's Gate.

Naga and the Unicorn, Legacy of the Naga
In 1135, as the naga prepared to reenter hibernation, they gave the Unicorn Clan a great golden pearl. In return, the Unicorn swore to defend the Shinomen Mori during the naga's sleep.

The golden pearl was a secretion of the Akasha, meant to aid in the cleansing of the race. After most of the naga had returned to their slumber, the pearl hatched into a fully grown human woman with all the memories of The Akasha. The woman declared that her name was Akasha. The Unicorn Clan adopted her into their clan, seeing her as an eternal link between them and the sleeping naga.

Tsuno and the Naga
In 1158 the Tsuno killed the Unicorn patrol guards, took the naga cities and were torturing the sleeping Naga, and using their pain to transport themselves across Rokugan creating connections between the Realm of Slaughter, where they dwelt and the Mortal Realm to attack by surprise and quickly retreat.

Naga and the Gozoku
Bayushi Atsuki, the Gozoku leader was an ally of his enemy and sought to control the Nothing to break the curse, allowing the entrance of the Ashalan in Naga territory. In 1166 the Naga guided the Imperial Legions to the Ashalan hideouts in the Plains Above Evil where the Shogun's army defeated the defenders and Kaneka killed Atsuki in a duel.

Guarding the Naga Slumbering
The Tattered Ear Tribe had been guarding the city of Kalpa, but in 1168 after the Nezumi began fighting with the Unicorn Clan, the decreased protection offered by the two allies of the Naga meant they required assistance elsewhere. They requested it to Akasha, but the Unicorn were preparing the Khan's Defiance and they did not increase the Unicorn patrols. A Constrictor, Qolsa, awaken and came to ask Mirumoto Mareshi, the son of the Mara his protection, but he also refused. The Naga realized they had to defend themshelves.

Dark Naga
The soul of Shahismael, the villain of the Bloodland Wars, managed to escape from his containment and became mad many Naga, who transformed themshelves into the abominations known as Dark Naga. They began a war against the Empire in 1198, and the Imperial Governor of the Colonies was one of their first victims.

Naga Schools
The Naga were usually trained for specific units, rather than individual schools like the Rokugani.

Notable Naga Schools included the Naga Jakla, Naga Scout, Naga Slayer, Naga Vedic and Naga Warriors (as Naga Bushi, Naga Spearmen or Naga Bowmen).

Schools were called castes by Naga.

Naga Holdings
For a list of the most notable homes of the Naga, see Naga Holdings.