
Dragonfly Clan samurai
The Dragonfly Clan was one of the Minor Clans of Rokugan. Sometimes called the “gatekeepers to the Dragon Clan,” the Dragonfly Clan's Tonbo family acted as intermediaries between the reclusive Dragon and the rest of Rokugan. [1] Kyūden Tonbo was their ancestral seat of power. [2]
Foundation and Duty[]
In the year 704 the Lion Clan general Akodo Yokutsu marched against Kyūden Tonbo as revenge for his broken betrothal to a Phoenix maiden, Isawa Moroko, so that Moroko could be free to marry her true love, Mirumoto Ashijin. Moroko's family held many of the plains to the north of Toshi Ranbo, east of Dragon lands and west of Drowned Merchant River. A combined Dragon and Phoenix Clan army had been summoned to defend the couple. In the ensuing Battle of Kyūden Tonbo Yokutsu was forced on the defensive, and blocked when he tried to withdraw. The agreement negotiated between the Lion, Dragon, and Phoenix Clans prompted the Emperor to recognize Moroko, Ashijin, and their followers as members of a new Minor Clan, the Dragonfly. The Hantei granted them the new family name Tonbo. The Dragon ceded to the newly minted Dragonfly Clan the lands south and southeast of the Great Climb, including Moroko's territory, many of the plains to the north of Toshi Ranbo, east of Dragon lands and west of Drowned Merchant River. The Dragonfly would act as the Dragon's gatekeepers, receiving visitors and ensuring that only those with approved or important business were permitted to journey onward into the mountains. [3]
The Dragonfly Clan also acted as messengers and emissaries of the Dragon Clan. All those who wished to entreat with the Dragon came first to the Dragonfly, and the Great Clan had passed down a specific set of qualifications one must meet in order to pass the Dragonfly's gates. Those barred from Dragon lands were never told that they may not enter outright, instead they were given a set of unavoidable happenstances and polite excuses. [4]
Landscape[]
The lands of the Dragonfly sat at the base of The Great Climb. There the mountains mellowed slightly, becoming rolling foothills before smoothing out into a small valley cloaked in mist. It was there that the Castle of the Dragonfly, also known as Shiro Tonbo, stood. Dragonfly lands were notoriously infertile, the chalky mineral-rich soil was useful for pottery, glass-making, and other medicinal and alchemic pursuits. Dragonfly manufacture of cups were of colorful glass instead of the usual Rokugani ceramic. The Dragonfly were almost entirely dependent on trade to obtain food, selling their specialty glass or the curious minerals mined on their lands. The odd soil held supernatural properties, the most notable of which being the moon echoes. When the moon rises over the valley, images slowly appear in the moonlight, a kind of “echo” depicting what had already transpired within the valley or what had yet to come. [5]
The plains of the Dragonfly were considered haunted, most probably because there the borders with another Spirit Realm were thin. [6] Dragonfly Clan villages focused largely on farming in order to provide food for the Dragon as well as their own. As the gatekeeper of the Dragon lands, this small clan was located near the mountains, with flatter land and more temperate conditions. Dragonfly villagers were almost as mysterious as their Dragon allies, although they were easier to find. They were welcoming but cryptic, somehow never giving a straight answer, particularly if questioned about the Dragon. [7]
Nonviolence[]
Glass Sword Philosophy was a concept that embodied the Dragonfly desire to preserve the spirit, so named as a weapon as delicate as a glass sword must be used with great care, its user employing only so much violence as was strictly necessary. Dragonfly families often commissioned and displayed glass swords as reminders of their belief in nonviolence. [8]
Schools[]
The following were the schools within the Dragonfly Clan:
- Tonbo Shugenja (Shugenja)
- Grace of the Spirits school (Courtier, Shugenja)
Dragonfly Clan Champions[]
The following were the known Champions of the Tonbo:
Mirumoto Ashijin | 704 - 711 |
Tonbo Kuyujin | 711 - ? |
See also[]
References
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