Otaku Kamoko

Otaku Kamoko, also known as the Mistress of the South Wind, was the Otaku family Daimyo during the Clan War and the Unicorn Clan Thunder on the Second Day of Thunder.

Early Life
Kamoko's mother, also named Otaku Kamoko, was killed in battle with the Lion Clan. She was believed to have been killed by Matsu Agetoki, and Kamoko devoted her life to tracking him down and finding out the truth behind her mother's death. Kamoko used her mother's sword to honor her memory.

Kamoko's Horse


Kamoko was only twelve years old when her mother's favourite mare Kouchi died while givin birth, only a couple of months after Kamoko's mother had died. The foal had been promised to Kamoko by her mother, and when it was declared a stillborn by the Stable Master Otaku Kojiro Kamoko refused to listen. She breathed air into the foal's mouth, resussitating the foal. Iuchi Daiyu noticed a mark on the foal's ankle, and deemed it a symbol of Osano-Wo. He also though it was an omen of war, but not death, and predicted that by the time the young Kamoko reached her gempukku there would be war.

""You can make it. I'm here - I'm with you. Neither of us will be alone again.""

- Kamoko

Choosing Names


Over the next few years Kamoko and the foal grew up together, and Iuchi Daiyu even took her as his student. When she reached her gempukku she chose to take her mother's name, and the Unicorn Clan Champion Shinjo Yokatsu himself spoke to the assembly at the ceremonies. It was Yokatsu who also noted how excellent a steed her foal had become, and when he realised she had not yet named him he called the horse Hachiman, thinking him as "rash and as impetuous as his mistress".

Ancient Prophecies
Iuchi Daiyu had also attended been Kamoko's gempukku ceremony, but his demeanor was troubled during the evening celebrations. Kamoko noticed this and asked what affected him. Daiyu revealed to her an old prophecy that Otaku herself would appear and designate her chosen heir, but no such manifestation had appeared. Kamoko told Daiyu to forget old legends and instead enjoy the festivities, but as she rode off he was still troubled and recalled how the Unicorn were prophesized to lose an upcoming war if the heir was not found.

Outbreak of Fire
Later that same evening Kamoko was seeking solitude, contemplating her battles and victories to come when she decided to head down to the fields where Hachiman would be waiting. The two rode for a while, even ignoring the lightning as a dry storm started. Lightning struck dry grass, and within minutes a flash fire was burning through the fields towards the location of the nearest barns where horses were stabled. Kamoko and Hachiman raced to the stables where Otaku Masero, once the stable boy who had been present at Hachiman's birth, was woken up. Kamoko made him aware of the approaching fire and he ran to ring the alarm bells. Masero pointed out that the fire would head towards the north fields where the pregnant mares were being kept in a barn.

""Then we must be faster then the flames.""

- Kamoko

Kamoko and Hachiman raced towards the north field, dodging past heimin trying to start a line of buckets with water. The two sped through smoke filled air, reaching the barn where Kamoko began herding the mares out. Kamoko carried Hachiman's own son in her arms, and lay him across the back of Hachiman. The two drove the mares, driven mad by fear, through the nearby forest. Trees on fire all around them, they were almost to safety when a treebranch came falling down towards them. Resigned to her fate, Kamoko wrapped her arms around the colt in an attempt to shield it, but at the last moment the branch was cut out of the air by a silvery sword wielded by a ghostly samurai-ko on horseback. As the horses broke out of the burning forest and past the water brigade, they were greeted by cheers from the heimin and Otaku Kojiro. Kamoko revealed to Iuchi Daiyu that she had seen Lady Otaku in the fire, and Daiyu confirmed that Otaku had indeed chosen Kamoko as her heir.

Matsu Agetoki
Kamoko firsts encountered her mother's killer, Matsu Agetoki, in 1126. On the field of battler he told Kamoko of her mother's death, admitting that he knew who had killed her. Agetoki fled before Kamoko could get any answers.

Supporting the Phoenix


Kamoko later led a small Unicorn army to support the defence of Phoenix lands. She recruited peasants and she increased her cavalry troops.

Battle at Isawa Palace
When Yogo Junzo later marched on Isawa Palace, seeking two of the cursed Black Scrolls, he used the blackened wastes that surrounded Isawa Palace to bolster his troops. The combined Phoenix and Unicorn army was no match for Junzo's, and in the Battle of Blackened Ground Junzo captured the Black Scrolls and set the palace ablaze. Shortly after the battle Kamoko was notified about the Dark Moto attacks in Unicorn lands and was forced to return home.

Iuchi Temple
Later, when Yogo Junzo was seeking the descendant of Shinsei, he split his army and stormed several temples of the Brotherhood. In a Iuchi temple, Kamoko and her battlemaidens defeated him. The battle become known as the Battle of Iuchi Temple. Kamoko found herself at the side of Iuchi Karasu, the mysterious Doomseeker. Together they began a campaign to save the Brotherhood of Shinsei from the nefarious Yogo Junzo, fighting to stop the undead hordes from destroying the Empire's most holy sites.

Defeat of Moto Tsume


In 1128 Moto Tsume and his Dark brothers were ravaging Unicorn villages when Kamoko halted the attacks in a campaign that lasted several months. Kamoko was wounded by a tainted spear in the month of the Rooster, but Isawa Tadaka eventually removed the spear-tip and healed her.

Second Day of the Thunder
Kamoko was the Unicorn Clan Thunder on the Second Day of Thunder in 1128. In the assault on Otosan Uchi she trampled Yogo Junzo to death beneath the hooves of her mighty steed, Hachiman. Later, during the Seven Thunders' attack on Fu Leng, Kamoko was the first to attack the Dark God. Her reckless attack resulted in her being knocked out and almost killed very early in the fight.

Increasingly Erratic
After the Clan War ended Kamoko went to the Matsu seeking Matsu Agetoki, but they turned her away and would not listen to her claims about Agetoki. Kamoko's behaviour become so twisted by her desire for vengeance, that at one point she even issued a duel against her own Clan Champion Shinjo Yokatsu. Yokatsu wisely refused.

Stepping Down as Daimyo
In 1130 Otaku Kamoko disappeared, intent of searching for her mother's murderer. Matsu Agetoki also disappeared around the same time. In truth Kamoko had been forced to step down by Yokatsu. Otaku Xieng Chi was made the new daimyo in 1131.

First Contact
During this time Kamoko and Agetoki first encountered eachother in a plague village, where Agetoki defeated her but did not take her life. Instead Agetoki tried to teach her about making a choice to harm innocents to avoid worse consequences. Agetoki made his escape across the empty fields of the Scorpion.

After this Kamoko continued her search for Agetoki, and was joined on her quest by Iuchi Karasu. It was from him that she first heard of the mysterious Kolat.

Morikage Forest


In 1132 in Morikage Forest Kamoko saw a spirit who ressembled her mother near wher her mother had died. When Kamoko tried to reach the spirit her jade necklace began to burn and the spirit's face became featureless and it disappeared.

Encounter with Shadowlands
Later Kamoko was lured by Jama Suru, who charmed her using the Hidden Heart of Iuchiban. Suru almost managed to sacrifice her in the forest in a ritual that would bind her to Iuchiban's soul. She was saved when Suru's escort, Kyoso no Oni, became enraged and knocked Suru backwards. Kyoso no Oni was intent on killing Kamoko instead, but inadvertantly halted the ritual and the Heart's control over Kamoko. Suru had also control over a second Unicorn, Otaku Xieng Chi, who recovered from the control and immediately began to fight the oni. Despite having no weapons she used a jade finger against the Onilord, and surprisingly Kyoso vanished. This gave Kamoko enough time to flee.

Kamoko and Kyoso
Kyoso had in fact not vanished, but only occupied the body of Kamoko. A strange feeling came over Kamoko, as if something horrible had just invaded her dreams. Several Naga, including Malekish, who were later near Kamoko, believed Kamoko to be tainted. In a strange way she seemed as though she was almost separate from her own soul, as if another mind hid within her own.

Kyoso no Oni had tempted Kamoko. The Oni Lord promised to give Kamoko power who protected her from the Taint. Kyoso would help Kamoko to control the Dark Moto, and lead them to destroy the Kolat within the Unicorn, the same Kolat that destroyed her mother. Kamoko had permitted Kyoso to join with her, and together they would destroy Moto Tsume, only at the cost of Kamoko's soul.

Morikage Castle
Balash, Isha, and Malekish carried Kamoko, while her mind still hovered in a half-lucid dream. A Mantis archer, Tsuruchi stepped in in an attempt to stop them. As Kamoko awoke the minions of the Shadow began to attack. The Naga gifted Tsuruchi Crystal Arrows, and the Mantis used them to fend off the faceless attackers. The group retreated to Morikage Castle.

Rescuing Toturi
Inside the castle Tsuruchi saw a shadow and fired at it, only to realize he had wounded the bloodspeaker Jama Suru who was holding Otaku Xieng Chi as a hostage. A Goju appeared and tore some shoji screens to ruin, revealing a chained man stood in the center of the room. Toturi I had been found, but the minions of the Shadows again launched more attacks against Kamoko and the group. Suru released Xieng Chi and began to chant, while the Otaku released the Emperor from his chains, and the rest fought the Goju. Suru created a hole in the floor of the castle, causing many of the Goju to fall through it. Xieng Chi was saved from falling to her death by Balash, and while the Goju were rallying, Suru, Xieng Chi and Toturi magically departed with a maho spell empowered with Kamoko's blood. Tsuruchi was the last to escape from the castle, and the group were rescued by a Mantis patrol led by Yoritomo himself. Yoritomo had entered the forest with their Ikoma allies to discover what had become of Tsuruchi and his men. Xieng Chi and Toturi were found by Unicorn scouts, who brought the weak and sickened Emperor back to Otosan Uchi, igniting a small flame of hope in a dark Empire.

Part of the blood given by Kamoko was used more than thirty years later by Iuchiban to cast the Rain of Blood.

Confronting Agetoki
It was also during this time that Kamoko finally caught up with whom she thought was her mother's killer, Matsu Agetoki. Agetoki claimed it had actually been the Kolat and their machinations that had caused her mother's death. Kamoko killed Agetoki, though honored him as he had finally given her the knowledge she needed to find peace with her mother's death.

Shinjo's Return
Shinjo returned to Rokugan and began the purge of the Kolat. Kamoko knelt before Shinjo and offered her life to atone Unicorn sins. Shinjo spared her life knowing she had no kolat implications. Kamoko swore vengeance against the deposed Unicorn Clan Champion, Shinjo Yokatsu, believing he was who had forced Agetoki to kill his mother.

Prophecy
In 1132 Kuni Yori sensed the power of Iuchi Shahai and met her in Unicorn lands. He gave her the Burning Words, a written account of a bargain between Fu Leng and the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang, gaijin Lords of the Dead. Inside the written account was a prophecy which told of a True Moto who would strike down his bethren. The bloodspeaker willingly accepted the quest to find the Unicorn hero. This meeting had secretely been observed by a hidden Kyoso no Oni.

Burning Words


After the return of Shinjo, Otaku Kamoko found her purge of the Unicorn distasteful, despite cleansing the clan from kolat. She was later left behind during Shinjo's assault on Otosan Uchi, at which point Shahai approached her and talk about the soul of the deads that were been slaughtering in the Spirit Realms. Kamoko, fearing for the destiny of her mother's soul rode with Shahai deep in the Shadowlands, to Volturnum. There Kamoko passed unharmed between the ranks of the Dark Moto and saw her mother spirit, beside Adorai's Gate. Shahai offered her the Words but Kamoko initially refused. The Thunder heard the voice of Kyoso in her mind promising to protect her against the taint. In return Kyoso would be hidden inside Kamoko's soul, to have an opportunity to be near her mutual enemy Moto Tsume. Kamoko accepted becoming the Dark Moto leader, and immediately struck down Shahai, because if she must give her life for the Unicorn, then so would Shahai without knowing the bloodspeaker anticipated this movement and raised fully healed by a ritual performed before the meeting. Iuchi Karasu, the Doomseeker, saw all the events happened at Volturnum respect the fallen Daimyo.

Destruction of the Dark Moto


In 1133 Kamoko informed her clan where the Dark Moto would be and their numbers. The unicorn marched to combat. Kamoko rode forward from the ranks of the undead as the Moto chanted her name. She paused between the armies, drew her sword, and turned. With a roar, the Ki-Rin followered her to victory or to death. The Moto Khan Moto Gaheris led the Unicorn army that would destroy the Dark Moto in the Battle of Twilight Mountains by using fierce tactics from the Burning Sands, unifying their line once and for all. Kamoko had tricked the Dark Moto into the ambush.

Death
When the right time came, Kamoko managed to get close enough to Moto Tsume for Kyoso No Oni to defeat him. Moto Tsume struck, and beneath his blade, Kamoko fell. Kyoso no Oni slided from Kamoko's body into Tsume's, destroying him in the process. Tsume snarled and tried to break free, but Kamoko's grip on Tsume's blade was solid. Kyoso materialized out of Kamoko and Tsume's essence dissolved into the oni's growing body. As she lay dying from the wounds caused by Moto Tsume, Kyoso No Oni offered her a bargain to join the lost, but Kamoko refused. A furious Kyoso intended to consume Kamoko's soul, dragging her down into Jigoku. Shinjo realized Kyoso's intent and moved Kamoko's soul beyond Kyoso's reach. The arrival of Shinjo at the battlefield made Kyoso to flee.

Ascended to the Heavens
As a reward for her sacrifice, Lady Shinjo put Kamoko among the stars and commanded the Otaku family to change their name to Utaku. This meant that Kamoko would be the last Battle Maiden to bear the Otaku name.

"She will not die but like me, her place is no longer here. She shall live forever among the stars of the night sky-and at my side."

- Shinjo

Invasion of the Celestial Heavens
In 1160, during the Invasion of the Celestial Heavens, Fu Leng's faith in Daigotsu wavered when Hantei Naseru's words made him doubt Daigotsu's loyalty. Taking advantage of this moment of weakness, Bishamon deprived Fu Leng of Emma-O's Spear, and Hoshi pushed him back to the gates of Tengoku. Fu Leng was once again confronted by Otaku Kamoko and the Seven Thunders, and decided to retreat.

Legion of the Dead
In 1166 Kamoko later joined the Legion of the Dead in an attempt to aid in the fight against the Legion of Blood. As the two forces initially battled for control over the newly forming realm in 1166, Isawa Tsuke released a massive explosion intending to stop the First Oni, but it also disrupted the realm and knocked everyone in it into private memories of critical choices in their lives. The Realm of Thwarted Destiny was testing each of them, to see if they would embrace their destines or reject them. The realm could become a place where those who failed their destinies could repeat their failures for eternity or a place where those who failed could embrace their fates and find redemption.

Lost in the Mists of the new Realm
Kamoko was again in front of Kyoso no Oni, to choice between her soul or the destruction of the Unicorn's enemies. This time she decided to kill the Oni Lord, and his vision faded after Kamoko died. A few moments later, Kamoko came to herself on the plains of Thwarted Destiny once more.