Shrine of Thwarted Destiny
Maigo no Musha was also refered to as the Realm of Thwarted Destiny, and it was created when the War of Spirits caused an imbalance in the natural order of the universe. Thousands of ancestors who should not have been on the mortal realm killed many souls who had not yet reached their true destiny. This realm was created to house all of the unfortunate souls who were denied true fate. [1] [2] In this realm, they wandered as they tried to resolve their kharma in the hopes of being reincarnated to Ningen-do or ascending to a higher realm. Spirits from all realms came to this place to aid (or tempt) the lost souls to become more like them.
Topology[]
Maigo no Musha resembled the mortal world, but was empty of natural life and shrouded in gray fog. Since the victories of the Legion of the Dead, Maigo no Musha situated itself in closer proximity to Yomi than to Jigoku. This realm was also close to Chikushudo and Ningen-do. A stable gateway to the realm was a single passageway from Yomi. Sakkaku was far away and the gates of Meido were barred. [3]
Destiny of the Realm[]
The Lying Darkness left a savage wound upon the Celestial Order, and this realm has grown to fill the void. The realm could become a place of hope and potential, or it could become the embodiment of ruined destiny, a place where potential was extinguished forever, where samurai must watch the deeds of their lives reduced to bitter failure. Should such a thing come to be, the remnants of the Lying Darkness would return to life once more. [4]
Legion of Blood[]
In 1165 Yajinden discovered the existence of this previously unknown realm. He could not enter safely himself nor desired to pass the discovery to his hated master Iuchiban, so the artisan sought for an ally. [2] He was able to gather an army of the most reviled villains of Rokugan and minions of Jigoku, the Legion of Blood. [5]
Legion of the Dead[]
Goemon, Fortune of the Heroes, rallied an army of the souls of dead heroes, the Legion of the Dead, to fight the Legion of Blood. [6]
Confrontation[]
Neither side realized that this very battle would determine the balance of the Realm. Should the Legion of the Dead triumph, it would become a place of boundless hope. If the Legion of Blood triumphed, it would become a foul and hellish place. [7] 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. [8] Some souls chose as they chose in life, and with each such choice the Realm of Thwarted Destiny became more stable. [9]
Connection with Ningen-do[]
The realm which had been created by the events at the Oblivion's Gate had a connection to the Gate, which after its destruction in 1133 had been closed to the rest of the realms. The soul of Naka Kuro guessed the possibility to send a soul of a dead hero back to Rokugan, to battle Iuchiban. [8] Kuni Yori knew of it and wished to cross the Gate to restore his own life. [7] Finally Kisada, the Fortune of Persistence, was able to return to Rokugan, and the connection was sealed. [10]
Named[]
When the Realm of Thwarted Destiny began to form it could become a place of destiny denied and potential thwarted, then it would come to embody the very denial of all existence, and the true Lying Darkness would be reborn. If it came to embody a realm of hope and potential for redemption, then the Darkness would remain a powerless, forgotten shred of its former set. For this reason the Shadow Dragon, the first to detect the new Realm existence and true proposit, subtly revealed the Realm of Thwarted Destiny to Yajinden. As the Bloodspraker sought to corrupt the new Realm, heroes would assemble to defeat him. [11] The realm had finally found balance. The majority of the heroes went to Yomi, but the ronin Sanzo remained there. It was named after the loyal horse of Sanzo, Musha. [4]
Another passage opens[]
In 1166 another spirit passage to this realm opened north of the Spine of the World Mountains. Two Crane warriors entered from the mortal realm, causing an unexpected side effect. A shadow of Daidoji Uji was torn out from a nightmare world where Fu Leng defeated the Seven Thunders at the Second Day of Thunder and reigned over a twisted version of Rokugan. All the outsiders were forced to return to Ningen-do. [12]
Yodotai Invasion[]
Invasion of Maigo no Musha by Yodotai spirits
In 1199 the presence of Yodotai forces in the borders of the Empire was accompanied by an invasion of their Spectral Martyrs in the realm of Maigo no Musha, with the god Conquest at the head. [13]
References
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 220
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Four Winds, p. 106
- ↑ Secrets of the Empire, pp. 201-202
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Legions, Part XI
- ↑ The Legion of Blood
- ↑ Blood Dawn, Part V: Bonds of Honor, by Rich Wulf
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Four Winds, p. 115
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Legions, Part III, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf
- ↑ Legions, Part VIII
- ↑ The Resurrection
- ↑ Four Winds, p. 139
- ↑ Flight from Darkness, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ The Inevitable Grasp of Conquest (Aftermath Title, boxtext, and flavor)
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