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Thousand Fortunes

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The Thousand Fortunes comprised the pantheon of gods and divine spirits worshipped within Rokugan. Their worship was the basis of the dominant Rokugani religion known as kami no michi, or "way of the gods". There were the seven major deities (generally referred to as the "Seven Fortunes") often invoked by most people within Rokugan and a veritable legion of minor Fortunes and animistic place spirits. The most powerful of the deities, and the beings generally considered the leaders of the Rokugani pantheon and of the Fortunes, were the gods of the Sun and Moon whose identity changed over the course of Rokugani history.

The Fortunes[]

Sun and Moon[]

Sun and Moon Deities in other pantheons[]

Fortunes Worshipping[]

Before the Fall of the Kami, the tribes of humanity worshipped the Fortunes in a very primitive fashion. The Celestial beings did not really grasp the perceptions of mortals and did little to actually inform humans of what must be done, so religion was essentially a matter of trial and error. It would not be until the Kami appeared that the mortals would be instructed on proper worship. [1]

The Seven Fortunes[]

The Seven Fortunes existed before the Kami fell to Rokugan. The Tribe of Isawa worshipped them, and they in return protected the Tribe and kept the practice of blood magic, maho, safe. When the Kami Shiba saw the Seven were not wicked gods, he begged Hantei to beseech their mother Amaterasu to accept the Seven Fortunes among their pantheon and greet the Isawa as allies. She agreed, but only as long as the Seven Fortunes always watched over her mortal children of Rokugan. In spreading themselves over so wide a populace, the Fortunes could no longer keep the blood magic free of Jigoku's touch as they once had. [2]

The legends said the Seven Fortunes of Good Luck rode through the sky on a golden chariot that bestowed good luck on whoever saw it. [3] Other said they were inside a boat. [4] The Fortunes had both a peaceful and a wrath­ful aspect. The peaceful aspect was that of a large, pleasantly smiling figure sitting on a pillow. The wrathful aspect was pictured with black skin, flam­ing eyes and fangs, often swinging a sword. [3]

The Seven Fortunes of Rokugan were:

In 1170 the Seven Fortunes supported the Jade Dragon and Obsidian Dragon when they challenged and defeated Yakamo, the second Lord Sun, and Hitomi, the second Lady Moon, replacing them as the third Sun and Moon deities, respectively. [5]

Minor Fortunes[]

In addition to the Seven Fortunes, there were a large number of minor deities who carried out very specific duties within the Celestial Heavens and the Spirit Realms. Lesser Fortunes were invariably connected in some way to one of the Seven Fortunes, and it was believed the lesser Fortunes were created by the Seven to do their bidding or to embody certain aspects of their divinity. [6] Some of the most important of these minor Fortunes included:

Unnamed Minor Fortunes[]

Dark Fortunes[]

Dark Fortunes are those deities or spirits that embody the darker forces of reality. They are malevolent Fortunes who nonetheless are sometimes invoked by those mortals who desire to work ill upon their fellows or for other selfish reasons. [citation needed]

See Also[]

References

  1. ↑ Imperial Histories 2, p. 49
  2. ↑ Fires of the Hidden City, Part Two, by Rich Wulf
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Roleplaying in the Emerald Empire, p. 136
  4. ↑ City of Lies: Player's Guide, p. 33
  5. ↑ Scenes from the Empire VI, by Brian Yoon
  6. ↑ Way of the Open Hand, p. 42
  7. ↑ Black Chrysanthemum, by Rich Wulf
  8. ↑ Glory of the Empire, Part II, by Rusty Priske and Nancy Sauer


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