Shadow Dragon

The Shadow Dragon was formerly the Air Dragon, which had been corrupted at the Battle of Oblivion's Gate.

Birth
At the Battle of Oblivion's Gate in 1133, the Dragon of Air allowed itself to become corrupted so that Master of Fire Isawa Hochiu could reach the Master of Darkness, Goju Adorai. Yet as the dragon entered the Volturnum inner city, the Dragon's eternal light began to fade, drifting into nothingness as the Taint took its toll. When it passed through the archway of a coliseum where the Oblivion's Gate was, a dragon, no longer of air, but of ash and shadow appeared; only the emerald eyes were unchanged. When Hitomi named the Lying Darkness and destroyed it, the Dragon of Air was dying, severed from the Heavens by its direct intervention in human troubles, and badly injured by its passage through Volturnum. It saw a small scrap of Nothing escaping, which in time would lead in the return of the Lying Darkness entity. The Dragon swallowed it and became the heir to the Lying Darkness, the Shadow Dragon, wielding the power of the Taint and Nothing. So long as it survived the Lying Darkness could never truly return. The Shadow Dragon became the new Master of Darkness, the avatar of Nothing in the Spirit Realms.

City of White Clouds
Shortly after its birth, the Shadow Dragon sensed the City of White Clouds, one of the five cities which crossed Yomi and entered Ningen-do. This one was associated with the element of Air, and the Dragon was drawn there, and moved it out of its location and possibly out of Ningen-do entirely.

Goju and Ninube Family
The Shadow Dragon filled the role once held by the Lying Darkness, and commanded the Goju. It would also make use of the followers of the dead Onnotangu, such as the Cult of the Blood-Red Moon and the Ninube, despite some of them despising its goals and turning away from the Shadow Dragon. The Ninube were unwilling to join the Shadowlands of to follow the Shadow Dragon, who they considered Fu Leng's pet. The dragon used Goju Hoseki, the Ninja Mystic, who gathered the corrupted Ninube, and restored their connection to the primal Nothing. While she was caiming the Ninube had to bring down the Shadow Dragon and restore the Darkness to its rightful state, Hoseki existed only at the whim of the Shadow Dragon. With such deception, the Ninube were under the dragon's influence.

Taint-free minions
The Shadow Dragon protected the Goju and Ninube from the Taint. Its Taint-free Goju assassins and shapeshifters traveled undetected throughout the Empire. The minions of Nothing could never escape the ever-watchful eye of the Shadow Dragon; rebellious Goju become dead Goju.

Daigotsu's Ally
The Shadow Dragon made its home at the City of the Lost, the city built by Daigotsu. The [[House of Goju] was the only place known where it could physically enter the mortal world.

Fall of Otosan Uchi
The Dragon did not fight in the Fall of Otosan Uchi, but it rescued Garen when the gaijin undead had been defeated by the navy of Ikoma Otemi. The Shadow Dragon purified him of the Taint and his body was as it was before he became an undead, becoming a living human again and gaining the power of the Goju. Garen agreed to become the Shadow Dragon's servant in exchange for his Shadow powers, a rescued Revenant, and a Goju crew. The Shadow Dragon assigned Garen to become an ambassador to Rokugan, undermining any possible future relations with the gaijin.

Spying Daigotsu
The Shadow Dragon ordered Ninube Chochu to learn all it could of Daigotsu's plans. Chochu followed the Dark Lord inside the Imperial Palace at Otosan Uchi and traveled to Meido, where it lurked the released soul of Fu Leng. Chochu hid deep within Daigotsu's spiritual avatar in this realm, and passed unnoticed.

Rebirth of Kyoden
Daigotsu ensured that Goju Kyoden was returned to life by bargaining with the Shadow Dragon. After Kyoden's death his essence returned to become a part of Nothing, as was the way of all Goju. Daigotsu came to the Shadow Dragon and gave a piece of his soul in return for Kyoden's life.

Ancestral Sword of the Hantei
When Fu Leng invaded the heavens, the Shadow Dragon followed, and for reasons known only to itself, the dragon took Akkuai-uo, the Ancestral Sword of the Hantei, and brought it back to the Shadowlands. It gave the blade to Omoni, as a gift to Daigotsu. In return Omoni swore to forever serve the one who wielded it. The Dark Lord was gifted by Fu Leng with his blessings and the blade would only be drew and wielded by members of the Hantei line.

Rebirth of Daigotsu
In 1160 when Daigotsu had been killed by Toturi Tsudao, Kyoden came to the House of Goju and sacrificed himself commiting seppuku in payment to the Shadow Dragon and Daigotsu was brought back to life.

Killing Ryosei
In 1160 the Shadow Dragon or one of its servants came to Kitsune Mori and killed Kitsune Ryosei. When her kinsmen found her the next day, it appeared as though she had died from nothing more sinister than age.

Daidoji Rekai
In 1164 the Shadow Dragon convinced Daidoji Daimyo Daidoji Rekai that her son would fall to the Rain of Blood if he did not have strength of a purpose. The Dragon proposed that the thirst to have her killed if she was corrupted would see him through the rain. Rekai, feeling her age and dying from an illness, accepted the corruption.

Shinsei's descendant is exposed
Around 1165 the Shadow Dragon was told by its servant Bunrakuken that the descendant of Shinsei had been exposed. Rosoku had passed to the Toturi III the Challenges of Enlightenment, and he came out of hiding.

Realm of Thwarted Destiny
The Shadow Dragon was the secret ally of Yajinden and followed his orders regarding the Realm of Thwarted Destiny events.

Lords of the Dead
In 1166 the artisan sent the Dragon to meet the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang in Meido. The Dragon revealed the existence of the new realm, the Realm of Thwarted Destiny, to tempt them with the desire to rule it. It was swiftly dismissed by the Lords of the Death, casting aside a powerful ally and made a powerful enemy.

Lost in the Mists of the new Realm
Two legions were rallied, the soul of dead heroes were gathered in the Legion of the Dead, and souls of the most reviled assembled 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 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. The Shadow Dragon sought the First Oni in the mists of the realm and unleashed it again toward the remnants of the Legion of the Dead.

Warned by Fu Leng
Yakamo no Oni sensed the dragon in the mists of the new Realm and confronted him. The oni commanded him to stop. Fu Leng demanded to give to the Shadow Dragon fair warning, one final chance to prove himself the ally the dragon claim to be, or be doomed. The Shadow Dragon refused and vanished into the mists.

Tormenting Hitomi
The Shadow Dragon had been created due to a chain of events that were initiated by the decision of Hitomi to take the Obsidian Hand, who allowed the Lying Darkness to rise, and the Dragon of Air to be corrupted as the only way to defeat the Shadows. The Shadow Dragon regreted the abomination it was, and blamed Hitomi. Lady Moon was again in front of Bayushi Kachiko, who gave her the Obsidian Hand. The images disappeared and only the Dragon and the Hand remained. The Shadow Dragon gave her memory back, expecting Hitomi could be tormented to choose an option, when it was not correct choice. Hitomi decided to take again the Hand and drew her blades, ready to face the dragon. The minion of the nothing quickly retreated into the darkness.

Tempting Mirumoto Satsu
The Shadow Dragon saw what would happen to his sister Hitomi if Mirumoto Satsu would repeat again the choice he made on life, to be defeated by Hida Yakamo in a duel, leaving the Crab alive to become one of the Seven Thunders, avoiding one thousand years of Darkness. The Shadow Dragon gave Satsu hope that even without Yakamo Fu Leng could be defeated. Too much tempted, Satsu modified his choice, and he took up his swords and made his way to the courtyard to kill Hida Yakamo and save his sister's soul.

Tempting Uji
Daidoji Uji had to choose again to follow his ancestor and attack Shiro no Yojin, or to not betray his Lord Doji Kuwanan and held Kyuden Bayushi. The ghost of Daidoji Yurei, Uji's ancestor, appeared and lobbied to hold the Scorpion city. Uji saw the deception behind, and faced the truth. The Shadow Dragon had tried to confuse him, and was defied by Uji. The Dragon was outraged and decided to kill the Crane, but Uji fled.

Tchickchuk
Tchickchuk was a memory the the nezumi transcendentshadretrieved a nd placed in the new realm. The nezumi saw the Shadow Dragon manipulating the realm, and sat to watch. The Dragon whispered to his ear, and Tchickchuk ran as far and as fast as he could on all four legs.

Kuni Utagu
The Shadow Dragon impersonated Kuni Atsutane, Kuni Utagu's sensei, and tempted Utagu. The Kuni was not fooled, being able to see the truth between the mists, and the dragon fled.

Oni Lords
The Dragon now tempted Akuma no Oni and Yakamo no Oni. Both Oni Lords saw the dragon was not a servant of Fu Leng anymore, and prepared to fight it. The Shadow Dragon faded away.

Doji Satsume
Doji Satsume was met by Kitsune Ryosei, who offered her aid to contact his wife soul, Doji Teinko, which was wandering in Meido. In truth she was not Ryosei, but the Shadow Dragon instead. It was seeking to distract Emma-O from guarding his realm, where the Fortune of Death had imprisoned part of Daigotsu's soul.

Shoju
After Bayushi Shoju had a vision of the day he killed the Emperor, he sensed a great hunger, stronger as his own, from the Shadow Dragon. They pondered their past deeds and the Shadow Dragon left his presence.

Daigotsu's soul Recovered
While Daigotsu Hoturi was seeing the Legion of the Dead occupying Volturnum, and the First Oni locked in combat with Akuma and Yakamo, he was visited by the Shadow Dragon. The beast told Hoturi the connection he had to a particular soul was his true goal. While the Lords of the Dead had been diverted from guarding Meido when they aided the Legion of the Dead at Volturnum, and Emma-O embroiled with Doji Satsume, Hoturi sneaked in the Emma-O's fortress and rescued the imprisoned half of Daigotsu's soul. The Dragon would gift it to Daigotsu, fully restoring the Dark Lord's former power.

Fall of Iuchiban
When Kisada, the returned Fortune of Persistence, and Matsu Aoiko led the united armies of the Lion and Crab Clans against the Bloodspeaker, supported by Isawa Sezaru, the Shadow Dragon foresaw Iuchiban's demise. The bloodspeaker retaliated and the Dragon fled wounded, but laughing. Daigotsu came by sea to the city to fight the Heartless.

Fighting Atsuki
The Shadow Dragon saw as one of his minions, Alhundro Cornejo was taken out of its control. Alhundro was a Merenae mercenary who worked as a saboteur of the Mantis Clan, and was supposedly dead in the Battle of Oblivion's Gate. Alhundro did not die, but became a Goju. Atsuki used the maho experiences developed with the Shadowed Tower to broke the shadows' control over the gaijin, and in 1165 had sent Alhundro to set the Fires of Toshi Ranbo, an attempt to kill the Emperor Toturi III and the Imperial Court.

The Dragon was worried with the intent of Atsuki to shackle the Nothing to his will. It began to work against the Gozoku leader, and subtly aided Esteban Cornejo, who had been imprisoned by the Ashalan, allied with Atsuki. The Dragon used him to foul Atsuki, and the Scorpion was shortly after killed by Bayushi S

unetra, when he was trying to escape from the attack of the Imperial Legions.

Shadow Dragon Exposed
The existence of the Shadow Dragon and the events that led in its creation had been unknown to Rokugan. Kisada, the Fortune of Persistence, who returned to the mortal realm in 1166 gave this knowledge to the Empire.

Gathering Bloodspeakers
In 1167 the Shadow Dragon gathered the bloodspeakers that were without a leader after the death of Iuchiban. In the City of the Lost they saw how Katsu ordered to kill themselves to all who had followed Iuchiban for years. Only remained those who fell in the Rain of Blood, who were offered to join Daigotsu. Yoritomo Kitao was not between them, because the Shadow Dragon could not summon Kitao without revealing the role it played in her motivation. Kitao had been free of Iuchiban's control when the Heartless was alive, subtly granted by the Shadow Dragon.

Manipulator
The Shadow Dragon could not lie, but it was a skillfull manipulator. Although it seemed to aid Daigotsu, no one knew its true agenda.

Turning to the Kitsune
In 1169 the Shadow Dragon turned his attention to the Kitsune Mori. He planned to use the Fox' connection to Chikushudo to gain the awareness of all animals in the world, making him nearly omniscient. Souls lost to the Lying Darkness long before were sent as bandits to the Kitsune Mori, resembling the long dead juzimai Sons of Winter. The bandits seemed like ghosts, attacking suddenly and then disappearing within the shadows. The Fox Clan were almost completely overrun without ever even identifying their attackers. The bandits became more and more aggressive in pushing them outside the boundaries of the forest.

Prophet
A Fox, Kitsune Narako, had a terrible vision of the future of her clan. When the Shadow Dragon realized this young girl had the gift of prophecy, he instead sent the Sons of Winter to kidnap her, and to take her gift for himself. The bandits changed their attack pattern and tried to kidnap Narako without success. After two magistrates, Kitsuki Taiko and Kakita Hideo arrived to the village, the Shadow Dragon knew that the heralds had come, stealing his prize away, and thwarting his wishes as they had been thwarted before.

Although the attacks seemed to abate when the Mantis and Crab sweeped the forest, the attacks did not abate fully. In fact, the dark forces gathered for one last, strong push in 1170. Narako's guardians, Hiruma Aki, Bayushi Eisaku, Kakita Hideo, Yoritomo Saburo, Utaku Kohana, and Kitsuki Taiko were powerless to stop the Dragon's attack, but when the Shadow Dragon tried to absorb Narako, he triggered another prophecy and was ejected from her body, and fled.

Iweko I
The Shadow Dragon turned his attention against the new Empress, Iweko I.

Destroyer War
During the Destroyer War unleashed by Kali-Ma against the Empire too little was known of the Shadow Dragon. In 1173 its minions aided the Rokugani in the defense of the Fortress of Blackened Sight, so the Dragon positioned itself against the current Champion of Jigoku.

Spider Clan as Great Clan
The Shadow Dragon remained as an ally of the Spider when they were elevated to Great Clan status and part of the Emerald Empire.