Togashi

All of the clan families comprise of the descendants of the Kami and their followers. Togashi however did not wish for anyone to follow him. After the lesson, that Shinsei gave him, he left his brothers and sisters to seek shelter in the mountains, where he could be alone. His plan, however, was not a complete success. Togashi was followed by two people - Agasha and Mirumoto. They finally found him, among the mountain peaks, and there the three of them erected a Temple of Amaterasu, and a castle to protect it. They lived there for many years, and news of the temple traveled far and wide. Many undertook the dangerous climb to reach it. When asked, why are they looking for the temple, they answered "I don't know. But I feel that I must find it.". And so, Togashi's followers grew in number, and the castle grew - soon it housed hundreds of people who came there, seeking the wisdom of the secluded Kami. Mirumoto undertook the training of those who shown tallent for the katana, while Agasha took care of those who understood the way of the Fortunes and elements. There were those, however, who felt a different calling, and went to Togashi himself. He personally tried their tallents, and those, who passed the trials, became members of his personal guard - the Ise Zumi.

When Fu Leng was defeated during the Day of Thunder, and Hantei had his throne secured, he called upon Togashi and told him to watch the great cycle that is beginning in Rokugan. "Watch the Jade Empire, my brother. May your eyes reflect the truth of history." Togashi knew well, that truth cannot be found without giving up on mundane things. That's why - alone at first, then with his followers - he separated himself from the rest of the Empire. He contemplated the Tao of Shinsei in the mountains, talked with the Spirits of the Elements, and, according to Hantei's wishes, observed as the world of men, living in the lands below, advances and flourishes.

Yokuni rarely leaves his mountain solace, it is known however, that he sometimes gives advice to those clan members, he finds worthy. He has left the mountains four times in Rokugan's history. The Empire has been undergoing great changes during each of those voyages, and it's fate has been hanging on a thread.

''For a thousand years they are isolating themselves in their mountains. I don't care what others think about it - I know they are plotting something.'' - An anonymous Scorpion.

Everyone has at least one secret. Togashi is no exception. The secret is comprised of a Scorpion Samurai-ko, a tragic romance, and Togashi himself. Two hundred years after Hantei sat on the Jade Throne, the Scorpion Clan's intelligence became interested in the Dragon Clan's mountain hideouts. Bayushi Oshiso, the Scorpion Clan Champion at the time, sent his own daughter to gather as much information about the Togashi family as possible. She just bowed to her father and hid among the shadows. She was away for seven years. When she returned, streaks of grey ran through her previously pitch-black hair, and her eyes have lost the ability to see. But she was able to find out the greatest secret of the Togashi family. When she told it to Bayushi Oshiso his face became as white as paper. His daughter discovered that the Kami Togashi is still alive, and that the man known as Togashi Kuzejiro, considered the Dragon Clan Champion, is in reality it's founder. When Bayushi Oshiso asked his daughter how she came to know this, she refused to answer. She only said that she needs to return to Kyuden Togashi as soon as possible. She was pregnant with Togashi's child. At first, Bayushi Oshiso refused to let his daughter go, but soon he realised, that he has no choice. He looked as she goes on her way, and wondered if he'd ever see her again. It was not to be.

To this day the Samurai of the Scorpion Clan treat the Togashi family with discreet disdain - for eight hundred years they've known their greatest secret, though they still don't know how to make use of it. They are also aware that somewhere within the bowels of Kyuden Togashi there lives a child, born from a Scorpion and a Dragon. Rumors of a "Dragon-Man" sometimes reach the Bayushi family, and it listens and ponders...

Togashi Yokuni is therefore the same Kami that fell from Tengoku, fasted for ten days, and founded his clan a thousand years ago. He looks today, as the millenium draws to an end, and knows, that the time of trial is at hand. The trial that the Naga undertaken in the past - and fell into their sleep. Today, it is man that has to undertake it - Togashi knows this, and he is ready for it.

Togashi is one of the most powerful beings in Rokugan. Having access to all of Rokugan's magic, immune to all weapons, able to assume any shape he desires. He knows the thoughts of any creature he wishes. He can hear a whisper from a thousand miles, and, according to all probability, he knows how the world will end. And he does not favor anyone. Trying to pick a fight with him is futile. He comes and goes as fast as the wind, and, during the few he was forced to resort to violence, the effect was as sudden as terrifying. To put it simply: Togashi wants - Togashi gets.

When he leaves Kyuden Togashi to appear in the Empire, storms, earthquakes and other such nature's phenomena accompany him, though no can be directly related to him. The form he most often uses looks like a strongly-built man, clad fully in the Ancestral Armor of the Dragon, carrying two ancient swords by his side. His face is hidden behind the his helmet, only his yellow eyes can be seen from behind the mempo. He stays mysterious and impenetrable, never answering a question straight, using short phrases more often than sentences. He has a habit of making refferences to knowledge the person he's talking to already has, though is not telling about it. He usually hides in the shadows, so that no one can take a good look at him. There are no people recalling him saying anything. They remember his words, but not the sound of his voice. Therefore he perplexes his interlocutors quite often, and that is his intention.

There is another thing that makes Togashi different from all other beings - he is the first Dragon to take a material form. Togashi Yokuni is just the name he carries now. He had many other in the past, due to the fact that he changes it every fifty years to make an impression, that the Dragon Clan is ruled by different Champions. The daisho he carries at his side is the same one that Agasha made for him long ago.

Togashi's relations with the other Dragons are rather peculiar. He was the first Dragon to enter the human world, yet he isn't a physical manifestation of any of the forces that rule the universe, like the other members of his kind. He more likely embodies wisdom of the mundane world, and the endless potential that is within it. When he touched the earth for the first time, he lost his immortality and his godliness, that all each Dragon has. In return, he gained the ability to see things as they are - he sees as the Five Elements dance, and how the Great Cycle moves on, set into motion during the process of creation. The other Dragons did not want to give up on their immortalities, therefore they perceive the world through the prism of it's effects on it. Togashi however, thinks that death is a small price for the wisdom he has attained. Though he contacts with other dragons from time to time (the Togashi family members tell each other legends about his conversations with Osano-wo), he is not a part of their race anymore, and is subject to completely different laws.

Togashi's child was the only frolic with the world he's allowed himself during the past millenium. He knows that he is not immortal, and that time will come for him to pass away, like the other Kami. He also knows that dark clouds are gathering over the Dragon Clan and silently wishes that Hoshi will become the Dragon Clan Champion after his death. And though no mortal suspects it, Togashi is deep inside very proud of his son's progress.