Bayushi Kachiko

Bayushi Kachiko
Born:	Before 1101
Died:	1133
Parents:	Shosuro Koshurin
Siblings:	Shosuro Hametsu
Spouse:	Bayushi Shoju, Hantei XXXIX
Children:	Bayushi Dairu, Un-named son died immediately after birth
Titles:	Imperial Advisor, Scorpion Clan Champion, Empress of Rokugan, Scorpion Clan Thunder Mother of Scorpions
People

Born as Shosuro Kachiko, Bayushi Kachiko became one of the most important Scorpions in the 12th century. She was the wife of the Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Shoju and would later become the Clan Champion herself. She became the concubine of the Emperor and was the Scorpion Clan Thunder on the Second Day of Thunder. Kachiko was also known as the Mother of Scorpions.

Appearance and Demeanor

Shosuro Kachiko

Kachiko always dressed in the finest silks and wore a thin veil as a mask. Her kimonos were always cut to hint at her lithe, shapely figure. Kachiko was enigmatic and evasive, answeriing every question with either another question or a cryptic answer. She was fond of flirting, often flouting the Rokugani proscription of touching. She managed to retain her remarkable beauty through many years, using elixirs and ointments made by the Asahina and Agasha.

Early Life

Birth

Kachiko was born as Shosuro Kachiko, the first child of Shosuro Daimyo Shosuro Koshurin and the elder sister of Shosuro Hametsu. Despite being the firstborn, she was not the designated heir to the Daimyo because she was not male.

Childhood

A Young Kachiko

Kachiko never liked her brother Hametsu and spent her childhood bedeviling him. She learned that she could manipulate boys, especially in physical matters, so she would manipulate older boys into taunting Hametsu. She taught herself how to capture and control the desires of men, and use those desires against them.

Training

Kachiko wished to join the Shosuro school but her father sent Hametsu there and Kachiko was sent to the Bayushi Courtier school instead. There she learned to use Rokugani politeness to her advantage, as well as all the courtier tricks of the school. She was also a diligent student of military strategy and tactics, and applied her knowledge of martial skills in court.

Betrothal, Marriage and Lover

Seductress Kachiko

Aramoro and Shoju

At the Bayushi school Kachiko met Bayushi Aramoro and his brother, the Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Shoju. Aramoro fell in love with Kachiko. He wrote her poems, sent her gifts, and took long walks with her. Shoju saw her beauty and decided to court and marry her himself. After fervent competition between the two men for her affections, Kachiko eventually decided to marry Shoju. Looking past the physical defects of Shoju, she rather loved him for the man he was underneath.

Doji Hoturi

Kachiko been betrothed to Hiruma Maruku as a child, and the arrangement was broken. Kachiko was only sixteen and just past her gempukku when Hiruma Maruku challenged Kachiko's father to a duel at court over the change in marital arrangements. Kachiko turned her gaze to the young and handsome son of the Emerald Champion, Doji Hoturi, who stepped in and defended her honor in place of her father, cutting the Crab duelist in two. Hoturi and Kachiko played a cat-and-mouse game for months, with Hoturi expecting to seduce Kachiko as his greatest challenge as a playboy, and Kachiko expecting to seduce and manipulate the great romancer of the Emperor's court, a feat that many felt was impossible.

Enmity

Kachiko had an antagonistic and often hostile relationship with her younger brother Hametsu. During the Emperor's Winter Court of the eleventh year of the reign of Hantei XXXVIII, their antagonism reached its peak, resulting in various confrontations between Daimyo Koshurin and his daughter. Around then, Shosuro Hametsu sent an assassin to kill Kachiko, but the attempt failed. In return, she sent her own assassin for her brother's head, which also failed. Her father Koshurin made her a proposal. Should she survive the winter court with minimal Scorpion support, he would allow her to marry Shoju as she wished.

Breaking Betrothal

During winter court at Kyuden Seppun the Kuni Daimyo Kuni Yori claimed that Kachiko's original marriage arrangement was still valid, and that Kachiko had to marry Maruku's brother, Hiruma Atsumatsi. Kachiko met Ide Itagi, daimyo of Gakko province, and offered him marriage in the Shosuro chambers. Itagi, dazzled by Kachiko's beauty, confronted Atsumatsi, who willingly surrendered his claim upon her. Itagi rushed to marry Kachiko, but too late he realized his bride, covered by her wedding veil and bearing thickly painted makeup designed to resemble a Scorpion mask, was actually Akodo Ogoshiko. Kachiko had proposed Akodo Matsigoshi to marry her daughter Ogoshiko to a man of great station, leaving the Lion guessing Kachiko was referring to her brother Hametsu, the Shosuro heir. Itagi and Ogoshiko were married, Kachiko fulfilled her promises, and in the end, her own marriage arrangement had been broken by the Crab.

Imperial Liaison

Bayushi Kachiko

In the absence of his father, Hametsu was the Shosuro representative in gift-giving to the Emperor, but conducted himself badly during the winter court audience. Kachiko took upon herself the mantle of Shosuro representation after her brother's botched attempt, making a favorable impression on the Imperial Court, and drawing the full attention of the Emperor and ultimately gaining his good graces.

Bargain with Yoritomo

In 1113 Kachiko was appointed as emissary to parley in the conflict of Kyuden Suru Kokai, a Doji fortress seized by Yoritomo, the general of the Mantis. The action had actually been slyly devised by Kachiko herself, who had passed the plan to Yoritomo Hogosha. She had offered a Shosuro trade agreement to Yoritomo in return for his future withdrawal from the Crane fortress. In such a way Kachiko would gain a political victory, while the Mantis acceptance of the Emperor's wishes would elevate the position of the Minor Clan in the Imperial Court. Hametsu enacted his own machinations, bartering a trade agreement with the Phoenix Clan, foiling his sister. Kachiko, who was at Kyuden Suru Kokai when Yoritomo knew of the competing agreement, was in danger of being killed by the bold general. He eventually imprisoned Kachiko and demanded a ransom of ten thousand koku for her safe return. Doji Hoturi subsequently led a counterattack on the fortress in the winter time, recovering it from the Mantis in the Battle of Ice and Snow.

Attacked by the Shiba Daimyo

The Phoenix Clan Champion Shiba Burisagi behaved strangely while around Kachiko, and approached her one rainy night when she was without any handmaiden that could chaperone the man's presence, thereby compromising Kachiko's honor. Burisagi accused her of being a manipulative woman, the mastermind that had destroyed the peace of the winter court at Kyuden Seppun.

Confronted by the Phoenix Clan Champion in such a way, Kachiko took advantage of the situation by ripping her own kimono, giving herself the appearance of being assaulted, and screaming for help.

The two were seen by the Emperor and Hoturi, who found Kachiko laying upon the grass, her torn kimono sullied by stains and mud. Sobbing, she pointed a finger at the Phoenix, and Burisagi was executed by the Doji Daimyo on the spot at the behest of Hantei XXXVIII for attempting to force himself upon Kachiko.

Father's Death

Kachiko's endless confrontations with her father culminated in her arranging for Koshurin to be fatally poisoned during or shortly after the winter court of 1114.

Married

In 1114, shortly after the conclusion of Winter Court, Kachiko wed Bayushi Shoju. The game with Hoturi continued even after Kachiko was married. They had become lovers until she became pregnant, at which point she ordered her bodyguard Bayushi Aramoro to tell Hoturi he was not to see her anymore and that she did not love him.

Bayushi Dairu

Kachiko secretly had a son by Hoturi who was named Bayushi Dairu. Shoju was aware that the child was not his, yet still accepted him as heir to the Scorpion Clan and the Bayushi family. Kachiko was pregnant twice afterward, but was unable to carry either child to term.

Loss of a Son

Kachiko was with child a third time, and finally bore Shoju a son. The midwife gave the news to the Scorpion Champion. Unfortunately the infant who was to become the rightful Scorpion heir, subsuming the illegitimate Dairu's rights, died immediately after his birth. When the midwife pointed out that Kachiko was alive and that Shoju still had his firstborn son Dairu, Shoju beheaded the midwife on the spot in a fit of rage.

Topaz Championship - 1118

In 1118 Kachiko was the favorite of the Emperor Hantei XXXVIII, who proclaimed a Topaz Championship in her honor for the devotion she had shown to him and his son after the death of the Empress. Bayushi Sugai, nephew of Kachiko, had been accepted as a contender in the tournament, which was held at the Crane city of Tsuma. The Badger Clan Champion Ichiro Akitomo was found killed. Yogo Asami had ordered the assassination because the Badger daimyo had realized an unknown person was falsifying Kachiko's identity, and had begun to investigate Asami and Kachiko's movements.

Imperial Advisor

Kachiko, Imperial Advisor to Hantei XXXVIII

In 1120, Kachiko was appointed the personal aide of Emperor Hantei XXXVIII. The position had little "official" political power, as she was mainly tasked with assisting the aging Emperor in reading because of his failing eyesight. She was chosen because of her devotion to the Imperial court as a Scorpion courtier. Kachiko replaced the Emperor's aunt, Kakita Ryoku, as Imperial Advisor.

Bayushi Yojiro

Yojiro and Kachiko

Bayushi Yojiro was tasked by Shoju to keep a subtle eye on Kachiko in order to make certain that her indiscretions did not endanger the clan. Yojiro followed his daimyo's orders to the letter, staying close to the Lady of the Scorpion as often as he could. While he was not immune to her allure, his loyalty proved to be a suitable shield to her dangerous charms. Such virtue was frustrating to Kachiko on more than one occasion.

Yojiro was later forced to plot the shame of Matsu Ino and the murder of his lord after Ino had made an accusation against Kachiko. Ino woke up the next morning having no recollection of the night before alongside the bloodied corpse of his daimyo.

Shosuro's Mirror

In 1122 a previously unknown cave was found in a deep chasm of Bayushi's Labyrinth and many ancient treasures were discovered. Shoju entrusted the shugenja Yogo Junzo to oversee the excavation and investigation of the items, who remained home from the Emperor's winter court in order to assess them. Junzo suggested that Kachiko be sent in his place as a representative to the court. Kachiko had received a gift from Junzo, an artifact known as Shosuro's Mirror, which her ally saw fit to bring to her instead of revealing to Shoju. Kachiko was initially unsure of exactly how to use the nemuranai, but came to court with it, realizing the mirror could scry faraway locations.

Winter Court - 1123

In 1123 during winter court at Kyuden Seppun, rumors of Kachiko replacing Kakita Yoshi as Imperial Advisor were spread. Some whispered that Dairu, a boy of nearly twelve, might be the half-brother of the Imperial Heir, Hantei Sotorii.

Kakita Ichiro's Gempukku

Kakita Ichiro, Kakita Toshimoko's son, would pass his gempukku. Kachiko planned to hold a feast in his honor, where the Bayushi would prepare a whole cooked crane. If the Crane refused the meal the Kakita would have gravely insulted the Bayushi family's attempt to 'honor' the young man. If the Kakita ate the meal, however, then they would offend the spirit of their own clan. Ichiro had made a deal with the Scorpion beforehand to deliver his father's sword after the feast, taking advantage of the awkward situation to attempt to blackmail his father into giving him the sword. The Scorpion in exchange promised to support Ichiro as the next Kakita Daimyo. The exact outcome of these machinations was unfortunately not recorded.

Using the Obsidian Mirror

In addition to her charm, it was whispered that Kachiko had two other ways of obtaining secrets: she carried the magical Obsidian Mirror, and also used Divinatory Pools as well.

Kachiko had to stain the mirror with her own blood to use it. More than thirty years after her death, a sliver of black glass from the mirror which still bore traces of Kachiko's blood would be used by Iuchiban to cast the Rain of Blood.

Scorpion Coup

In 1123 Shoju discovered an ancient prophecy indicating that the last Hantei would bring about the return of Fu Leng and the destruction of Rokugan. Eager to save the Empire and under the thrall of the influence of the Bloodsword Ambition, he plotted to kill the Emperor to in order to prevent the fruition of the prophecy.

Hoturi is Sent Away

As soon as Kachiko arrived to the feasting place where the Coup was to begin, she whispered to Doji Hoturi an invitation to a secret tryst that same day at Mura Minami Chushin. Hoturi quickly left the event, hoping to see his beloved Kachiko. Kachiko knew the Scorpion Coup would be unleashed that day, so she had arranged to have her former lover sent away from danger.

Hatsuko and Toturi

Shoju, fearing the leadership and tactical brilliance of the Lion Clan Champion Akodo Toturi, enlisted Kachiko in a plot to eliminate him. Kachiko used the geisha Hatsuko to lower Toturi's guard, then ordered her to poison Toturi shortly before the Scorpion Coup began. But Hatsuko, who had fallen in love with Toturi, could not bring herself to kill him and instead fed him a paralytic poison instead of a fatal one. Toturi survived and recovered in time to lead the united Great Clans against the Scorpion Clan at the capital of Otosan Uchi. In the third day of the Scorpion Coup, Hatsuko was taken to the occupied Imperial Palace. Kachiko demanded to know Hatsuko's part in Toturi's escape. She defended her love for Toturi and the Scorpion guardsmen dragged her to the Kanjo district, where Hatsuko was then hurled over the cataracts of Sorrow's Falls.

The Coup Fails

Hida Kisada and the Crab army arrived at the capital and joined the Clan coalition opposing the Scorpion. Shoju told his wife that without the Crab's aid the Coup was lost. Kachiko was ordered to set aside the seppuku blade she had been preparing to kill herself with. She had to endure, to seduce the young Hantei Sotorii, who would be the next Emperor. In becoming his concubine, she would be able to scheme from within the Imperial court and destroy him.

Dairu's Death

Hoturi would kill Bayushi Dairu at the end of the Scorpion Coup as the allied forces under Akodo Toturi stormed the palace.

Clan War

Emperor's wife Kachiko

After the death of Shoju during the Scorpion Coup, Kachiko convinced Hantei XXXIX to take her as his wife. The new Emperor proclaimed Kachiko his concubine. She claimed that she deemed herself unworthy of the Hantei family name, and so retained her own family name. In her heart she always remained true to her husband, and continued his work after his death. Her marriage was a ploy to manipulate the Emperor and be capable of aiding her hunted Clan from the very heart of the Empire. During the Clan War Kachiko did her best to interfere with other leaders of the clans as revenge for Shoju's demise.

Emperor's Illness

In 1124 Kachiko slowly began poisoning the Emperor, which the Imperial Doctor incorrectly diagnosed as the plague that had been ravaging Rokugan.

Kachiko "kissing" the Emperor

The Captain of the Imperial Guard, Seppun Ishikawa, suspected that Kachiko was behind the constant illness of the Emperor. He shared this suspicion with the Emerald Magistrate Ide Makujin, who answered that he would look into it. Instead, the magistrate reported Ishikawa's suspicions to the Empress, who had warned Makujin that someone was sowing suspicion in the Imperial court in order to undermine the Emperor. Shortly after, Kachiko dispatched Ishikawa to defend Crane lands against Lion forces, hoping that he would die during the mission. She also asked Aramoro to eliminate Makujin.

Assassination Attempt

There was an assassination attempt made against Hantei XXXIX at the onset of the Clan War. It was unknown who instigated the attempt or why, but the Emperor survived thanks to Kachiko, who was wounded in the process. The attempt was secretly a plan of Kachiko's to gain favor in the court, and the assassin gave his life ensuring the plan succeeded.

Seeds of War

In 1125 Kachiko influenced Iuchi Takaai, the Unicorn diplomat at court, passing him a plan which supposedly would frame Takaai favorably as a peacekeeper and hero. Takaai reported to his Lord, Shinjo Yokatsu, that the Otomo were determined to maintain the Winter Court in Otosan Uchi at all costs. Takaai suggested to detain the ambassadors from the other Great Clans as a means to press for holding winter court at Shiro Shinjo. After the clan representatives became captives, the Unicorn diplomats were retaliated against similarly and signs of war began to appear everywhere. The seeds of the Clan War had been planted.

Against the Empire

Kachiko in the Jade Throne

Hida Kisada came to the Imperial Court seeking an audience, but was denied a personal meeting with the Emperor due to his illness. Kisada met with Empress Kachiko instead, where she mentioned to the Crab Champion how disappointed she was that the Crab had neglected their duty to guard the wall, as Kakita family lands were now vulnerable to Shadowlands invasion. She also pointed out that if an army held Beiden Pass, the southern and northern Clans would be isolated from each other. Kisada later attempted to use this to his advantage as Kachiko had planned. Kachiko also met Miya Satoshi, the new Miya Daimyo, after he had forced his father to retire. They schemed to use the untraceable funds of the Emperor's Blessing to arm the fallen Scorpion. In return Kachiko revealed the location of Kenshin's Helm, a kabuto once worn by Miya himself.

Kisada's Ambition

In 1126 a tainted Seppun messenger arrived in the Imperial Court and told the Emperor that Hida Kisada had raised an army composed of Crab warriors, oni, and Shadowlands minions, and was marching north toward Beiden Pass. It was the beginning of the Clan War.

The Kolat Uncovered

In 1126 the general Bayushi Tomaru uncovered the existence of the Kolat while investigating the disappearance of his beloved Usagi Tomoe near Morikage Toshi. Kachiko contacted the Kolat in hopes of forging an alliance. She would take advantage of her knowledge of the Kolat to begin blackmailing Akodo Kage, a Kolat Master. Kage decided to work with Kachiko for a time until he could fake his own death.

Winter Court - Kyuden Asako

This year the Emperor and Kachiko moved to winter court at Kyuden Asako, but his illness kept the Emperor sequestered upon his arrival. Kuni Yori exposed the Asako Henshin and the secret of their path of immortality to the Isawa family in order to sow discord among the Phoenix.

Against the Dragon

Minions of Kachiko whisked Mirumoto Hitomi from the battlefield of Beiden Pass, where she had nearly been killed by her nemesis Hida Yakamo, who had severed her hand and broken the Ancestral Sword of the Dragon Clan. In 1127 in the month of the Goat, Kachiko offered Onnotangu's Hand to Hitomi in exchange for her participation in the test of the Emerald Champion.

Against the Crab

Kachiko desired that the Great Bear Hida Kisada be without an heir when the Clan War was over, so she intensified the Blood Feud between Hitomi and Yakamo with her gift of the Obsidian Hand.

Black Scroll

Kachiko got the ninth Black Scroll, the Return of the Fallen Lord, from a young Kitsu Shugenja. She passed it on to Soshi Bantaro but forbade him from using it.

Against the Crane

Hoturi being egged by Kachiko

Eventually Aramoro brought to Kachiko the cursed nemuranai called the Egg of P'an Ku to use on her former lover Doji Hoturi, who lay hidden in captivity deep within the Imperial Palace. She used the Egg this year in the month of the Monkey, when the Test of the Emerald Champion was held in retribution for Hoturi's killing of their son, Dairu. The Egg created an evil duplicate of Hoturi, the False Hoturi, who masqueraded as his namesake and nearly destroyed the Crane Clan until he was eventually confronted and killed in a duel by the real Hoturi. When Toshimoko became the Emerald Champion, Kachiko ordered him to rebuild the Emerald Magistrates and investigate rumors of Hoturi practicing maho and leading an undead army.

Against the Lion

After the Battle of Beiden Pass the Unicorn were guarding Beiden Pass. The bulk of Toturi's Army had moved into Crane lands to fight the False Hoturi. Kachiko sent a command to Shinjo Yasamura to block the pass, even to Toturi. As true followers of the Emperor, the Unicorn were used by Kachiko to bring pain and destruction upon the Lion. As a result Toturi would be obliged to cross Lion lands to reach the menaced Crane lands. Kachiko foresaw a bloody battle between the Lion and their fallen Clan Champion. Kachiko also suggested the Lion make a pact with the Unicorn: they would share the newly conquered Crane lands with them in exchange for their assistance in destroying Toturi.

Return of the Fallen Lord

Bantaro, against his Lady's direct orders, opened and read the Black Scroll, and Shoju was thus summoned back to Ningen-do as an undead. Bantaro arranged for a meeting between Kachiko and her husband but neglected to explain the circumstances of Shoju's return. When Kachiko met her undead husband, only the intervention of Bayushi Tasu saved her from Shoju's vile caresses in an attempt to seduce her into the land of the dead.

Naga Aid Rejected

Naga Aid Rejected in the Imperial Palace

Kachiko had sent away a Naga embassy led by the Dashmar, explaining that the Son of Heaven was ill and could not be seen. The Naga returned with Mirumoto Daini, again seeking an audience with the Emperor, and they were introduced to the Court by the Kitsuki Daimyo, Kitsuki Yasu. Kachiko foiled his mission by goading the Dashmar to openly accuse her of using her power to deceive. The Dashmar and his retinue were banished from the court, disappearing into the forests before Kachiko's spies could follow.

Stolen Sword

Ikoma Kaoku received rumors of a riot in Matsu Castle. Spies from the other Clans confirmed that the house was in chaos, searching for a spy who had stolen the Ancestral Sword of the Lion, Shori. Bayushi Kachiko had recovered the blade after her own bodyguard had killed such a spy trying to steal the Emperor's sword. She told Kaoku that she would keep the sword in the Imperial Palace.

Evil Emperor

Using the Obsidian Mirror to spy upon the sickly Hantei, Kachiko realized the Shadowlands' hold on the Emperor, so she entrusted Aramoro to find a way to kill her husband. The attempt was made by a ninja named Tantoko, who tried to kill Hantei XXXIX using one of the Jade Goblets of Taira as a weapon, but failed.

Breaking the Alliance with Satoshi

In the Month of the Ox, the Crab were invading Otosan Uchi's shores, so Satoshi's usefulness was nearly at an end. Kachiko received a message from her brother Hametsu, delivered through a group of samurai. The 11th Black Scroll, the Doom of Fu Leng, had been stolen by Yogo Junzo's minions. She dismissed the group and dispatched Bayushi Nanako to spy on them.

The Great Bear Invades the Imperial City

Hida Kisada converted his merchant ships into troop transports and loaded his army onto them, sailing along the coast to the Imperial Palace. Matsu Tsuko and a Lion army were there waiting for them, having been provided information about the plan by Kachiko. She had learned of the plot through the Great Bear and had passed it on to her ally in the Lion Clan, the Kolat Master Akodo Kage. Kachiko saw an opportunity to crush the Lion Champion's heart and destroy the Lion armies once and for all. So, just before the armies met, Tsuko received a message bearing the Imperial Seal. The message ordered her to stand aside and let her army fight by itself. Tsuko had no choice but to follow the Imperial order. She rode her steed to a nearby ridge and watched helplessly as the Great Bear smashed through her leaderless army.

Second Day of Thunder

Yokuni advising Kachiko

In 1128 the old prophecy had been fulfilled, that the last Hantei Emperor would bring the downfall of Rokugan. The Emperor's body had become so weakened from Kachiko's poisons that Fu Leng had managed to possess him. When Kachiko realized her mistake, she sought to join Toturi the Black to stop what she had started. She fled the palace in fear, a pouring rain covering her escape, but Togashi Yokuni stopped her on the Plains of Otosan Uchi and reminded Kachiko of the duties of a Thunder. Beside Yokuni was a hooded figure, the descendant of Shinsei himself. Kachiko, realizing she must fulfill her destiny, returned to the Imperial Palace.

Commands to the Scorpion

When Kachiko's last hope, Hida Kisada, had been mortally wounded by the possessed Emperor in the throne room, she panicked and wrote messages to the Scorpion Clan. She commanded them to flee to the Burning Sands while she would remain behind in Rokugan to face the destiny Yokuni had told her about.

Confronted by the Emperor

The possessed Emperor, who now knew of his wife's betrayal, confronted Kachiko in her chambers. As he prepared to kill her, she reminded him what Yokuni had explained to her: that every creature in the world had rules it must follow and that her murder now would violate laws that were greater than even Fu Leng's power. He could not kill any Thunder until all seven were assembled.

Assaulting Otosan Uchi

While the combined forces of the Great Clans were assaulting the Imperial City, the Hooded Ronin was discussing with Kachiko her motivations as a Thunder.

Final Battle

Thunder Kachiko

Kachiko was the Scorpion Clan Thunder on the Second Day of Thunder in 1128. She used her knowledge of the secret passages of the Imperial Palace to guide the other Thunders to the throne room where the final confrontation with Fu Leng took place. Kachiko used her hair pins, which were actually the broken shards of the Bloodsword Ambition, and stabbed Fu Leng in the eyes with them as he seized her. Toturi, together with Doji Hoturi, struck down Fu Leng. Hoturi was mortally wounded in the struggle, and Kachiko shared a final tearful goodbye with her former lover as he died.

Scorpion Restoration

Bayushi Kachiko

Toturi I, upon his ascendance as Emperor, reinstalled the Scorpion Clan to its position in the Imperial Court, as well as restoring its status as a Great Clan. Kachiko continued to lead the Scorpion Clan after the Clan War and Second Day of Thunder.

The Disappearance of Toturi I

In 1130 Toturi announced a great festival for his second anniversary as Emperor, and important members of the Clans gathered at the Imperial City for the celebration. But before the celebration could begin, a guard announced the sudden disappearance of Toturi. A scrap of Scorpion silk was found in his chambers. The Phoenix Clan Champion Shiba Tsukune related that she had seen Kachiko in the Emperor's chambers just an hour previous to the disappearance. Tsukune led the guards to a secret passage behind the Emperor's room where they found an Akodo Dagger clutched in the hand of the dead Bayushi Tagumura, a minor Daimyo of the Scorpion and Kachiko's personal guard, who also held a piece of Toturi's cloak. Upon the dagger's tang was inscribed the name of its owner, Akodo Kage, a revered Lion sensei who had supposedly died during the Clan War. Only a Lion could have had this weapon, further deepening the mystery.

Scorpion Exile

Kachiko and the Scorpion who were accused of abducting the Emperor. Despite Kitsuki Yasu's efforts to clarify the issue, the Emerald Champion Kakita Toshimoko had no choice but to exile the entire clan to the Burning Sands. The Scorpion lands were put under Crane control, and any of their children under twelve remained in the Empire to be cared for by the Crane, an offer made by Kakita Yoshi.

The Hunt Begins

The Scorpion Clan would be exiled once suspicion had fallen upon them. Aramoro suggested that the ninja Matsu Hiroru should be used in the search for Toturi. In a meeting in Otosan Uchi, Kachiko tasked Hiroru with the quest to find Toturi, aided by the ronin Ginawa.

In the Burning Sands

Kachiko in the Burning Sands

Slavery

During their exodus in the Burning Sands the Scorpion were discovered and conquered in battle in 1130 by Senpet forces led by Abresax. The surviving Scorpion were taken as slaves. Kachiko was believed to be an avatar of Selqet by the High Advisor and Sahir Nepherus, and Abresak took her with him, and so was she was spared too rough a lifestyle.

Prisoner

Their captors thought to put Kachiko in the harem of some rich noble, but the hatred in her eyes could shrivel any man's desire. Instead she was kept in the Senpet garrison at Medinaat al-Salaam. Kachiko, in her usual manner, immediately began to plot against her captors. She enlisted several ashalan (including the sorcerer Hojyn) among her allies in engineering her clan's escape. With the aid of a Cat of Many Tongues Kachiko could speak the native tongues of the Burning Sands, and exercised her charms. The Senpet courtesan Asori became her enemy when she felt Kachiko was mocking her.

Manipulating Abresax

Over the course of several months, Kachiko (known to the Senpet as the Selqet) and Abresax talked many times. She told of honor, duty, and other virtues of her foreign land, but Abresax understood little of her foreign ways. He became upset with the Immortal Caliph and her undead Khadi guard, so he shifted his loyalties and decided to help the Scorpion to be freed. Kachiko had told him of Bushido, and the great value that a general such as him would mean to the Scorpion Clan, if they returned to the Emerald Empire. Abresax willingly embraced the Rokugani philosophy of honor.

Assassination Attempt by Hametsu

Seeing this as yet another instance of Kachiko receiving praise and honor above him, Shosuro Hametsu attempted to poison his sister. The poison master's attempt failed, thwarted by a vigilant Senpet guard. However, his attempt was sufficient to prove to the Senpet that Kachiko was not the Avatar they sought. Instead, they found this Avatar in Shosuro Tage, who assisted in the freeing of the Kami Shinjo from a desolate prison where she had been trapped for centuries.

Rescuing Kachiko

Rescuing Kachiko

A stranger known as the Eye of Night managed to enter the Senpet garrison where Kachiko was imprisoned. He reached her chambers began to question Kachiko. When he talked in Rokugani and removed his wrap to show his face, Kachiko recognized him as the ronin Dairya, one of the original Twelve Ronin and a trusted advisor of Toturi. He released Kachiko from her captivity.

Reinstatement of the Scorpion

In 1132 the Kami Shinjo returned to Rokugan at the head of the exiled Scorpion Clan after having been freed from her imprisonment in the Burning Sands. The Scorpion Clan was reinstated by force of deeds. Even when the Emperor did not remove its status as exiles, no one dared to oppose the return of a Clan led by a Kami. At Kyuden Bayushi Kachiko met Bayushi Yojiro who had guarded Itsuwari, the Ancestral Sword of the Scorpion, as her former husband Shoju had requested before the Scorpion Coup. Kachiko cursed those who doubted the magistrate.

Shinjo and Toturi

Kachiko with Hoturi's lock

After Shinjo purged the Unicorn Clan, she marched toward Otosan Uchi to destroy the corrupted Emperor. Toturi tried to bribe the Scorpion Clan, offering their lands and titles in return for the death of Shinjo, but Kachiko refused his request.

Twenty-Seven Days of Darkness

Onnotangu was dead and Amaterasu had fled the Celestial Heavens, beginning the Twenty-Seven Days of Darkness. In the nineteenth day Hitomi met Kachiko at Shiro Yogo. Bayushi Hisa was ordered to follow the Dragon Lady in her quest.

Fate of Kachiko

Kachiko passing the leadership to Yojiro

In 1132, Kachiko was warned by Bayushi of an impending attack from Shosuro, who had escaped her crystal prison beneath Kyuden Hitomi. She commanded the Scorpion to seek and destroy the minions of the Shadow. Kachiko remembered what Yokuni had said to her the day before the Second Day of Thunder:

"You are Shosuro, it is in your blood. We are all bound by the blood. One day, you will understand." -Togashi Yokuni

Kachiko decided to set a trap at the Lake of Dreams to see if the Shadow could be defeated.

Passing the Leadership

Kachiko passed leadership of the Scorpion to Bayushi Yojiro before she made her way to the Sleeping Lake hidden beneath Kyuden Bayushi.

Shosuro

Shosuro was nearly lost to the Shadows, but while she shared part of her soul with Kachiko and the Scorpion Thunder was still alive, Shosuro could not be truly consumed. She went after Kachiko to kill her and replace Goju Adorai as the true avatar of the Lying Darkness.

Sleeping Lake

Kachiko looking his reflection in the Sleeping Lake

As the Clans were fighting the Shadows at the Battle of Oblivion's Gate in 1133, Shosuro found Kachiko at the Lake and attacked, but the spirit of the Kami Bayushi contained within the lake confused Shosuro long enough for Kachiko to help contain the Shadow-tainted essence of Shosuro by drowning herself. Kachiko merged her soul with Shosuro's. Their bodies would die but their spirits would be far from Darkness' reach. The returned spirit of Hoturi arrived at the lake just as Kachiko died.

Surveying the Scorpion Clan

Tsimaru in the Sleeping Lake

It was said that any Scorpion that fixed his gaze in the lake could see the the face of Kachiko in the water.

In 1159 her spirit talked to Bayushi Tsimaru, who swore to protect the current Scorpion Champion, Bayushi Sunetra, as his grandfather Abresax did with Kachiko.

Invasion of the Celestial Heavens

In 1160 the Invasion of the Celestial Heavens was halted when the words of Hantei Naseru tricked Fu Leng into distrusting Daigotsu, whose faith was the source of Fu Leng's power. Taking advantage of this moment of weakness, Bishamon took Emma-O's Spear from Fu Leng, and Hoshi pushed him back to the gates of Tengoku. Fu Leng was once again confronted by the Seven Thunders and decided to retreat.

See also

Bayushi Kachiko

• Bayushi Kachiko/Meta
• Bayushi Kachiko/CW Meta
• Bayushi Kachiko/Diskwars

External Links

• Bayushi Kachiko Inexp (Scorpion Clan Coup, Scroll 1)
• Bayushi Kachiko (Imperial)
• Bayushi Kachiko ExpCoM (Coils of Madness)
• Bayushi Kachiko Exp (Anvil of Despair)
• Bayushi Kachiko Exp2 (Time of the Void)
• Bayushi Kachiko Exp3 (Honor Bound)
• Hantei Kachiko Exp3 (Thousand Years of Darkness)
• Bayushi Kachiko, Seven Thunder (Siege: Clan War)
• Kachiko's Wakizashi (Referenced by Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn)

Preceded by: Kakita Ryoku	Imperial Advisor 1120 - 1123	Succeeded by: Unknown
Preceded by: Bayushi Shoju	Scorpion Clan Champion 1123 - 1132	Succeeded by: Bayushi Yojiro

Sources Conflict The sources relating to this article are in conflict with each other.

Hidden Emperor 1 Rulebook History Rulebook Story claims that thirteen days after Toturi's kidnapping, Kachiko acted as the Imperial Regent, the Naga attacked a great Clan, and they had abandoned their Crab allies in the Hiruma Castle. It is in contradiction with Hidden Emperor RPG pages 12-13, wich is considered more authoritative.

References

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