Naga



The naga are an ancient race of serpent-men 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 history
Over the years, the naga have affected and been affected by many events unfolding in Rokugan.

The naga sleep
Before the Kami fell to earth, even before humans arose, the naga had an empire that stretched beyond the boundaries of modern Rokugan. Their greatest enemy was the Ashalan, who had already been given a society-crumbling blow. Without an enemy for centuries, the naga began to divine the future and find their future enemies in order to get an upper hand. What they learned was that their society would crumble and be unable to defeat an enemy they named The Foul. In hopes to prevent this catastrophe, the naga entered a magical sleep, which would extend their already centuries-long lives and preserve their culture. However, time took a greater toll on the naga then expected, and unforeseen tampering by the nezumi and humans dealt a great amount of damage. (Rokugan p. 181)

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 its place. (3E p. 15)

The naga scouts have been awakening for centuries, but in 1124 they awoke in significant numbers. It was a slow process, requiring months or, in some cases, years. (3E p. 19)

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. (3E p. 16)

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. Early on, there were nearly no casualties for the naga and Crab. 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. (3E p. 20)

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 stranded in the Shadowlands. The Crab could only watch helplessly as their allies abandoned them. Scouts were quickly deployed to the Kaiu Kabe for more soldiers and supplies, but none of the messengers survived the journey. (3E p. 21)

The naga returned in 1132 to help the Crab, but found they were too late to fight. 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. (Rokugan pp. 196-197)

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. (3E p. 21)

In 1131, 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 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. (3E p. 22)

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. (3E p. 23)

In 1132, Toturi sent the Monkey Clan, lead by the Captain of the Imperial Gaurd, 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. (Rokugan pp. 194-196)

Naga and the Unicorn
In 1135, as the naga prepared to re-enter hibernation, they gave to the Unicorn Clan a great golden pearl. In return, the Unicorn swore to defend the Shinomen Mori during the naga's sleep. (3E p. 24)

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. (Rokugan p. 151)