Q: How many bonus rares are there?
A: There are 110 bonus rares, see the list below.

Q: Are there foils?
A: No, there are not foils in this release.

Q: Are there promos reprinted in the set?
A: No, there are no promos reprinted in this release.

Q: What is the price?
A: Your immortal soul. Or alternately the same as the original Samurai Edition.

Q: What are in the starters?
A: The starters are generally the same as Samurai Edition, though the random assortment includes commons and uncommons from expansions. The rares in the starters are 2 Samurai Edition rares, and 2 rares from the bonus rares. There is also a new rulebook.

We’ll add more questions as we have them.

The Extra-Rare Reprint List

PRERELEASE EVENTS! 

Pre-Release Events are your chance to try out a whole new L5R expansion before it even goes on sale! Our next pre-release event will be for Stronger than Steel, our all new 150+ card expansion that continues the epic storyline of Legend of the Five Rings!

Retail stores that participate in our Pre-Release Events receive a special event kit that contains an all-new promo card for people who take part in the event! The Stronger than Steel pre-release will feature the new follower card, Panda Spirit.

When Is It?
Stronger than Steel Prerelease Events run Sept 14-23. Check with your local retailer for when they plan to run their events.

How Do We Sign Up?
Only a retailer can sign up for the kits, but you can provide your retailer with the following information:

Contact: Daniel Ray – dray@alderac.com – 909-974-0098

Deadline: August 24, 2007 – Though the deadline is already nearly over, there are a limited number of kits still available, please act quickly!

Don’t miss this chance to take part in Stronger than Steel Pre-Release Events!

Whenever you work as hard on something as we have worked on Samurai Edition, it always drives you crazy when problems occur. We guess it would have been too much to ask for things to run smoothly but as you can see, Murphy is on our shoulder and he knows that this product is good, but he wants us to have to work for it.

We have one important issue that effects when your local store to get Samurai Edition.

Release Date: Due to pack out issues with our printer, the product was shipped under a tight deadline. Although they tried as best they could to get it out and even expedited shipments to International Freight Forwarders, at the printer’s own cost, some of the product was not consolidated and sent to our overseas distributors.

Our best solution to ensure that players around the world have Samurai Edition at the same time is to move the day distributors can ship the game from Monday the 23rd to Wednesday the 25th.

We please ask your understanding in this is process and to please help your stores any way you can.

Having reviewed the final product in house, we are extremely pleased with Samurai Edition and we are sure you will love it.

Thank you all for you help and support.

The L5R Team.

Mak’irtch Removed from SE-Legality
With the Samurai Edition environment, our primary goal is to promote a fun play environment for as many of our players as possible. At times, despite our best efforts, some cards get through design and playtest and are later found to cause problems in the play environment.

After the release of the Tomorrow deck, playtest found that the card Mak’irtch was one of those cards. After extensive testing in the SE environment, for the betterment of the environment it is our decision that Mak’irtch will not be a part of the SE-Legal environment.

This is the first time that AEG has removed a card from a currently active environment and we do not do so lightly. We have no plans of taking similar actions in the future, but we will do what is necessary to maintain an enjoyable environment for our customers.

For our customers who purchased the Tomorrow deck, copies of Mak’irtch – from the Tomorrow deck only – may be sent in to count as 20 koku towards Imperial Assembly Koku Redemption.

GenCon 2007 Promo Legality
Due to the limited distribution at the time of GenCon Indy, the following promotional cards will not be legal for play at GenCon Indy 2007. They will be legal at all tournaments following GenCon 2007:

Ayamari
Clan Standard
Strict Training
Sushi Stand
Tsukotu
Unexpected Resistance

Samurai Edition Rulebook Clarifications

All of the following are in effect as of the release of Samurai Edition:

Under Card types, Spells (p. 20), add:

Actions on Spells attached to non-Shugenja Personalities can not be taken.

Under Seppuku (p. 51), alter the Seppuku action to:

Reaction: Any number of times per turn, before you lose Honor from an action that targeted or was performed by one of your Courtier or Samurai Personalities: He commits seppuku. If the seppuku destroyed him, reduce the Honor loss to one.

Under Special Circumstances: Keywords (p. 54), alter the paragraph to:

A reference to a “(Keyword) Spell,” a “(Keyword) card,” or a “(Keyword) Action card” can also refer to a Spell or Action card with an ability that has that keyword. A Spell also counts as having the keywords of all its abilities for the purpose of things that count keywords on cards. Spells or Action cards with a keyword on one ability do not necessarily have that keyword on all their other abilities.

Example of Keywords 

Players with Seeds into the Emerald Championship Elimination Rounds
The following players, by virtue of victory at Kotei or other Race events, have earned the right to move directly into the Saturday Elimination Rounds of the Emerald Championship at GenCon.

Thank you,
The L5R Team

Welcome to the official previews for Samurai Edition! Our Clan fan sites will also receive previews of their additional Clan cards so be sure to visit The Clans to check out those sites as well. Watch for a blowout of all the remaining cards in the set as soon as this preview series finishes!

Samurai Edition has truly been a labor of love for us. Not a single person on the team can say they haven’t spent many a time working late into the night to make this the best L5R set possible. We hope we have met your expectations and exceeded them. Without further ado, here are the previews!

Early Preview! Market forces will not be held in check! New Holdings: Private Trader, Seat of Power, Shinomen Marsh, Temple of the Seekers.

Yoritomo Naizen Kyuden Ashinagabachi Eastern Hub Port Koutetsu Unabara The Mantis’ Strength  Moto Chagatai The Temple of Death The Utaku Plains Koutetsu Chikara The Unicorn’s Strength  Daigotsu The Spider’s Lair The Ruined City Koutetsu Iyoku The Spider’s Strength  Doji Domotai Mountain’s Shadow Dojo Shizuka Toshi Koutetsu Meiyo The Crane’s Strength  Matsu Yoshino Crossroads Fortress The Hall of Ancestors Koutetsu Sessou The Lion’s Strength

Bayushi Paneki Deception’s Veil Dojo Kyuden Wasuremono Koutetsu Shinri The Scorpion’s Strength  Isawa Ochiai The Agasha Foundries Kyuden Asako Koutetsu Kyuui The Phoenix’s Strength  Togashi Satsu Mountain Summit Temple Tetsu Kama Mura Koutetsu Mukei The Dragon’s Strength  Hida Kuon The Seventh Tower Razor of the Dawn Castle Koutetsu Kabe The Crab’s Strength  Ring of Air Ring of Earth Ring of Fire Ring of the Void Ring of Water

The Green-Green-White
By Rusty Priske
Edited by Fred Wan

A young boy, no more than four, picked a small red flower from the edge of the trail. “What is it called?”

Morito Tomomi thought for a moment and said, “I have heard it called the Sorrow flower and the Victory flower, both for the same reason.”

The boy scrunched up his nose. “How can it have two names?”

Tomomi stretched her arms and smiled. “Some things have many names. Even people have more than one name in their lives. Take yourself… now you are Kiyoemon, but one day you will have your gempukku and you will take a different name. Still later, you may retire and take yet a third name.”

Kiyoemon discarded the flower and looked up at his aged attendant. “What is retire?”

“Well, when a samurai has seen many summers and feels it is time, he may leave the life he has known and become a monk. As he moves on to this new life, he will take a new name in order to mark the passage from one life to the next.”

Kiyoemon looked at Tomomi, puzzled. “Why would someone want to stop being a samurai?”

Tomomi thought and then said, “I don’t know, really. Retirement isn’t for me. Maybe we should ask a monk.”

“I don’t know. Retirement should seem like a good option right now.”

Tomomi spun around, with her hand ready to draw her katana at the sound of the newcomer. The voice belonged to a man in rough, dirty garb. He lifted his hands, trying to calm the old samurai-ko. “No need to draw, old mother. We don’t need this to end in violence. That would end badly for you and we don’t need that.”

Tomomi used her off hand to usher Kiyoemon behind her. “What do you want?”

“We,” he motioned with his hand and four more ruffians emerged from the trees all around the Ox woman and her charge. He continued, “Are here for the boy. Just step aside and let us have him and we won’t have to kill you. In fact, you can take the ransom demand back to his father and be of some actual use.”

“I would sooner die than turn him over to a group of bandits.” She spit the last word as she drew her katana.

The man shrugged. “We can take care of that as well.” All the bandits produced weapons of their own and moved towards her, cautiously. As the leader felt the heft of his own sword and readied himself to attack he was struck in the side of the head by a stone. He staggered to the right as blood started to trickle from his temple. “What in Jigoku!”

One of his companions pointed to the trees. “It came from there!”

The wounded man gestured to two of his men and said, “You are with me. You others… finish the woman!” He then dashed into the tree line, with the other two close on his heels.

Tomomi faced the two remaining ruffians. One wielded a katana, marked with wear and use. The other held a naginata and was the first to advance. Tomomi readied her own katana and braced for their attack. She managed to dodge the killing thrust of the first lunge, but the naginata found purchase in her shoulder, tearing it open and causing her to drop her weapon.

The bandit with the naginata went down suddenly, bowled over by a rush of fur and crushing stone. He did not rise. The second vagabond spun to face this new threat, only to see a muscular Nezumi, clan in a tattered tunic and holding a stone axe in each hand. Without uttering a word, the creature moved in, swatting the bandit’s sword away with one axe and crushing his skull with the other.

The Nezumi then chittered in his own language, calling into the forest. Tomomi tried to reclaim her katana, but instead, feeling the blood loss, collapsed to her knees as five more Nezumi emerged from the trees. They spoke amongst each other but Tomomi could understand none of it. Finally, the first one, seemingly their leader, said to her, “You are hurt. We must-must stop bleeding.”

The creatures snapped to readiness seconds before Tomomi heard the approaching horses. They formed a semi-circle around Tomomi and Kiyoemon as the riders galloped into view.

“Stand down creatures! In the name of Morito Kitaji, you will stand down!”

“They have your son, Kitaji-san!”

“Kill them all!”

The eight riders, all wearing the Ox mon, moved in to attack the Nezumi. Their horses seemed spooked and did not want to approach, but the riders goaded them on. The Nezumi did not back down at all, with weapons, claws and teeth bared.

“No! Stop!” Tomomi pulled herself to her feet and pushed past the creature who had saved her.

“Tomomi-san? What is this? Stand aside!”

“No, Kitaji-sama! I cannot!”

The leader of the riders pulled his horse up and dismounted. “What is this? We had reports of these creatures in the forest and now we find my son under attack and two dead men and you wounded, yet you tell us not to attack? I ask again, what is this?”

“It was these men who attacked us, not the creatures. There were five bandits who wanted to take your son for ransom! These creatures saved us.”

Kitaji looked at Tomomi with a stern expression. He then turned to the Nezumi. “Is this true?”

“Men threaten matron and her cub. We kill-kill all bad men.”

Kitaji’s eyes darted between the Nezumi, Tomomi and Kiyoemon. He motioned towards his son, who scrambled from where he was to stand behind his father. “In that case,” he bowed deeply to the creature, “I am in your debt. You saved Morito Kiyoemon… my son. I am Morito Kitaji of the Ox clan. It is Ox lands that you are traveling through.”

The Nezumi bowed awkwardly in imitation of Kitaji. “I am Ep’kee of the Green-Green-White tribe. We do not wish to intrude. We have been summoned and we go.”

“After what you have done for us here, you are more than welcome to safe passage through these lands. Where is it that you heading?”

“The forest you call-call Shinomen.”

“You have quite a journey ahead of you. Please, join us in a meal before you continue on your way.”

One of Kitaki’s men was dispatched to take Tomomi to be tended to, but the rest, including Kiyoemon, stayed to have a meal with the Nezumi.

Kitaji’s brow furrowed. “So, all of you Nezumi are going to face…what you call Tomorrow.”

Ep’kee nodded.

“And this will likely mean your deaths.”

“It is our end.”

“Then we will join you. You risked your own lives to save my family. I could do no less.” There was a general note of agreement from the men in Kitaji’s unit.

Ep’kee bowed his head. “I thank-thank, Ki-taji. But is not possible. Only Nezumi can face Tomorrow. Is Nezumi destiny, not Ki-taji. Is nice to have human friends. Not like other horse riders.”

Kitaji cocked his head. “What do you mean? What other riders?”

“The horse-men. The purple ones. They have killed many Nezumi. Nezumi fight back and kill many purple horse men, but now we must face Tomorrow and revenge must-must end.”

“That is the Unicorn. You are not the only ones that they have come against of late. Still, you are our friends and your battles are our battles. If we cannot help you face Tomorrow, we can at least defend you as you leave. I give you my word as a samurai, that my squad will fight the Unicorn wherever we can find them, in the name of the Empire and the Green-Green-White tribe.”

Ep’kee bowed. “You do us great-great service, Ki-taji. You are friend.”

****

One Last Task
By Rusty Priske
Edited by Fred Wan

Kr’chan sniffed the air as his eyes darted back and forth. He carefully touched a tree, twisted and withered, and then examined the putrid fungus that hung off it. He nodded in satisfaction and then dashed back over the ridge and called down, in hushed tones, to the other Nezumi who were following. “We are close. This way.”

Achirin nodded and motioned to the other Nezumi to continue. There were six others with him, all of whom were laden with large sacks. They were carrying them with some difficulty. They made their way up the hillside, staying alert and watching for any other motion around them.

As they reached the top of the ridge, another scout, Nem’tek, approached from their flank. “Achirin, there is a group of goblins approaching. I don’t think they have seen us, but they are coming this way.”

Achirin smiled grimly. “Good. Once we are inside, wait for twenty breaths before letting them see you.”

Nem’tek nodded and dashed off.

Kr’chan motioned towards Achirin and said, “Just over here.”

The group followed him around a copse of gnarled trees until the saw their destination. The stone had collapsed over the entrance at some point, but enough had been cleared for a man to pass through. It gave more than enough room for the Nezumi. Kr’chan pointed. “It is empty. It was once a tomb for a bad man but he is gone. It is a perfect place for us.”

One by one, with Kr’chan leading, the Nezumi filed through the opening and into the tomb. Once inside, Achirin started barking orders. “Leave the bags over there! We need the nets ready before Nem’tek gets here! Move!”

The Nezumi all scrambled to get into position.

Nem’tek looked up at the sky, trying to see where the sun was to see if it was time to act. The haze that settled over the area made it impossible to get a good read but he decided that he had waited long enough, and that…

He was interrupted by a goblin coming out of the underbrush, less than ten feet away from him. The creature let out a high-pitched scream to alert the others in his band. Nem’tek set off like a shot. He wanted to get the goblins attention, but not when they were so close! He leapt over a fallen log with the squad of goblins – a dozen of them based on his earlier scouting – close on his heels. He managed to stay ahead of them, but he was running over unfamiliar terrain. Any misstep would allow the goblins to catch up to him and then he would have to fight. Even if you could defeat the entire squad, it would spoil Achirin’s plans. That would not do because Achirin’s plans were essential to the Nezumi.

Nem’tek was faster than the goblins, but that advantage was negated as he dodged around trees and boulders. Finally, he reached the tomb and sprinted inside; making sure that the goblins could see where he went. He dashed down the passage and dropped into a forward roll once the passage opened into the main tomb. The allowed him to scoot under the falling net and the pouncing Nezumi. A couple of the goblins were not so captured, but the Nezumi quickly killed them before they could overcome their surprise.

Skirk had led his squad of goblins for a long time, nearly three weeks. Their duties were not complicated, which was good because Skirk was not overly bright, even by goblin standards. They were to wander the area around Iuchiban’s former Tomb and report back if anyone were to disturb it. Easy enough.

Then this damned Ratling had shown up. There was only one, and Skirk had stumbled on it when he was following a tasty looking roach. Skirk was not the smartest goblin, but he also wasn’t the dumbest so he called for the rest of his squad. A squad of goblins could easily beat one Ratling. Then they could have something even better than roaches for dinner.

Then the Ratling ran right into the Tomb! The next thing Skirk knew, he was under a net and being hit on the head with some heavy club.

When he woke, he was tied to a stake and surrounded by more Ratlings. Why they hadn’t just killed him confused Skirk. Then one of the Ratlings started talking to him in the human tongue.

“We not-not hurt you. This make you better. You see.”

If Skirk was confused before, he was more so now. The Ratling was making noises with its teeth and shaking a stick and looking sick. This lasted for some time. Skirk was not sure how long, but it was long enough that he started feeling bored and not paying attention.

Then Skirk started feeling funny. He felt like something was entering him, though he couldn’t see anything. He felt almost like he had a big meal. Like they had killed an animal and eaten their fill, but throughout his whole body and not just his gut.
He felt… complete.

As he tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head, the Ratling asked him, “How do you feel?”

“Odd.” It wasn’t until he answered that he realized the Ratling had spoken in their odd language, yet he had understood.

“What is your name?”

“Sk’rk.” He had been Skirk, but now… he was Sk’rk. This wasn’t a thought in his head. It was the truth and it filled his existence. More than that, he had always been Sk’rk, even though he was just Skirk.

It hurt Sk’rk’s brain to try and understand. He just knew that the Ratling, Achirin was his name, had given him a greater gift than he could ever imagine. Before he had only a name. Now… he had a Name.

Tch’wik unpacked one of the bags, and pulled out the bundles of sticks from inside. Achirin looked over the piles that were being created and smiled. “Now the Nezumi will go on forever. These sticks chronicle all of our history – as much as we know. If we pass from this world, there will still some mark to show that we have been here. This is our legacy.”

Soon the sticks were all unpacked, and the strings were cut. The Nezumi laid the sticks out, one by one, until the entire floor of the room was covered. Then, without a word, they turned and left the history of their race behind.

As the Nezumi left the tomb, they were met by the squad of goblins waiting for them outside. Sk’rk bowed to Achirin, much in the manner of the humans. Achirin grasped the goblins paw in friendship and said, “You understand?”

Sk’rk nodded. “We will protect the Tomb. Nobody will get the memory sticks unless they are Nezumi. Your history will be safe.”

Achirin nodded gratefully. Then the Nezumi started their trek back to the Shinomen Forest in order to join with the rest of their kind to face Tomorrow.

*

Discuss these events in our Story Forum!

Les Dojo Days débutent et les magasins ayant 3 joueurs membre de l’Assemblée Impériale du même Clan recevront prochainement un colis comprenant des produits de décoration aux couleurs de ce Clan ainsi que des surprises pour les membres de l’Assemblée Impériale.

Remplissez le formulaire ci dessous et renseignez les champs demandés afin de faire participer votre magasin local aux Dojo Days!
Vous n’êtes pas encore membre de l’Assemblée Impériale? Envoyez un email à nbongiu@gmail.com pour plus de renseignements.

Go to http://www.l5r.com/dojodays/ and use the password recovery tool to get your password and log into your account. There, you can see the most recent announcements, update your address and link your account to your home store.

If your password recovery fails, email ImperialAssembly@alderac.com with your name, address, and email and the error message you received.

Not a member of the Imperial Assembly? Sign up today in our Online Store!

Note: This story is the result of an auction at the Feeding Hills Charity Tournament run by Eric Devlin. The auction was won by Chris Yau, who passed the reward to Mark Cimino. Mark requested a fiction focusing on Qolsa.

***

Mirumoto Taikishi traversed the mountainous cut with a grace belying his large frame and bulky armor. He stepped carefully amongst the smaller rocks across a barely seen path. Countless had walked this path over many years but there was hardly a sign of their passing. Only a trained tracker could find evidence that this mountainside was not untouched by human hand and foot.

He stopped, listening intently. The normal sounds of the mountain were present, but there was something else – something foreign. It was not the footsteps of a visitor to the mountains. It was almost a dragging noise, though faint.

Taikishi chose discretion and stepped silently behind a large boulder, ensuring he would be concealed from any walking the path.

He did not have long to wait, as two Naga soon slid into view. Taikishi recognized one of them instantly as a Constrictor, the bloodline that served as the priests of the strange, serpent-like race. The creature was simply too large to be anything else, which was surprising to the young warrior, as his sensei had once told him the Constrictors were all but extinct. Taikishi had learned of the Naga in the studies that were common among his clan, but he had never seen one in person. They were larger than he expected, the Constrictor so much so that there was an involuntary flutter of panic in Taikishi’s chest that he squashed at once. The smaller Naga’s eyes and head shifted often, as it appeared unsure of its surroundings. The larger seemed much calmer, almost regal, in his bearing.

They both stopped in perfect unison before reaching Taikishi’s boulder. The smaller spoke with a sibilant hiss. “Please come out from your hiding place, hu-man. We mean you no harm.”

Taikishi was surprised, certain that he had done nothing to expose himself, but he stepped out just the same. He adopted a formal stance, with no wasted movements that the Naga might construe as aggression, though he remained wary and ready. Bowing, Taikishi said, “Welcome to the lands of the Dragon, friends of Rokugan. It is rare that we see Naga venturing out into the Empire these days.”

There was a pause before the Naga answered and Taikishi recalled that the creatures were able to communication with each other somehow without speaking aloud. He was certain there was a separate conversation occurring that he was not privy to.

It was once again the smaller Naga that spoke. “We leave the forest only when there is sufficient need.”

Taikishi nodded. “I must assume then that there is something important to bring you to our mountains. I am Mirumoto Taikishi and I would be privileged to aid you in as much as I am able.”

A momentary silence followed as the Naga seemed to discuss the issue between themselves. Finally, the smaller one said, “We are Qolsa,” he nodded slightly towards his companion, “and Zamalash.” It gestured to itself. “We need to speak to the Son of Mara.”

Taikishi thought for a moment. “I beg your pardon, noble ones, but you mean Mirumoto Mareshi, correct?”

Neither Naga answered even after the Dragon left time for their internal discussions.

Taikishi continued. “Mareshi is the son of Mirumoto Daini and…”
Zamalash nodded quickly. “Yes, the Son of Mara is the Son of The Daini also. Please take us to him.”

Taikishi bowed again and Zamalash mimicked the motion.

***

Zamalash and Qolsa waited in the courtyard of Shiro Mirumoto. Mirumoto Taikishi waited with them, after sending word on ahead to the new master of the castle. He had tried to engage them in small talk as he walked but the Naga were not conversationally inclined.

In time, both Mirumoto Mareshi and Mirumoto Kei emerged from the gates from the castle proper. Mareshi looked somewhat pensive while Kei frowned. They both bowed deeply and Zamalash reciprocated awkwardly. Qolsa made no motion other than locking his gaze on Mareshi.

Mareshi spoke in a very formal tone. “Welcome to Shiro Mirumoto. I am, as requested, Mirumoto Mareshi, the daimyo of our family. This is Mirumoto Kei, my betrothed.” He glanced pensively at Kei. “It is fortunate that you came here to seek us, my friends. Kei-san and I are only here briefly to deal with family matters before we return to the battlefield. We must hurry if we are to beat the coming winter snow.”

Zamalash introduced both Naga as he had done earlier on the trail. “We come with an important request, Son of Mara.”

“The Naga are ever friends of the Dragon. If there is something we can do for you, please let me know.”

“We need you to return to Shinomen Mori, with those that follow you.”
Mareshi’s gaze darted over to Kei and back to Zamalash. “This is not an easy request, my friend. May I ask why you ask us to go to Shinomen Forest? Is there something that threatens the Naga?”

For the first time, Qolsa spoke. Its voice was gravely and deep. It had an authoritative quality that normally came from men who were used to having their orders followed. “The sleepers must be guarded. You must do this.” There was no inflection. This was not a request.

Mirumoto Kei’s eyes flashed and she looked towards Mareshi as if she wanted to say something. She did not.

The young samurai chose to ignore the command for the time being. “Are the Naga not well guarded? I thought that arrangements had been made for their welfare when they returned to their slumber.”

Zamalash nodded. “They were. After we granted the Uni-corn the great pearl of Akasha herself they agreed to guard our place of rest. I was given the task of watching with our guardians to keep my people safe.”

The Naga’s head dropped suddenly in shame as if it was being admonished. Its voice was quieter when it continued, “I failed in my task. I felt the Akasha was enough to maintain the human’s watch over our sleep. She is not. When I asked her to have the Uni-corn send more guardians, she turned away. She claims that these hu-mans can spare no more to guard the Naga.”

Mareshi and Kei shared a concerned glance. Taikishi knew that Kei had faced the Unicorn in battle some years previously during the War of the Rich Frog. From her expression, she was concerned over the notion of having to do so again.

Zamalash continued. “The creatures you call ratlings dwell within the forest as well. It was the Nezumi that protect those precious few that still sleep within the ruined city of Kalpa. They would all have died had not the Nezumi protected us. I awoke some time ago, and have attempted to maintain contact between our two races. They have been our tentative allies, but they have come into conflict with the Uni-corns. There are those among the Naga who fear that our alliance with the Uni-corns will destroy what peace has been forged with the Nezumi.”

Qolsa spoke for a second time. “They cannot be trusted. More than once they have left Kalpa undefended to roam north and attack Uni-corn patrols. I awoke to rectify our failure.” The glance at Zamalash as it said ‘our’ changed the meaning of that word significantly. “We must do our duty. When one falls, the rest must compensate.”

Mareshi frowned. “You wish the Dragon to become the protectors of the Shinomen Forest?”

“We wish nothing.” Qolsa replied. “Desire does not matter. It is what we must do. It is what you must do. You are the Son of Mara. You must, like Akasha, guide hu-mans to protect our people.”

Mareshi looked troubled. Kei looked angry.

Zamalash bowed towards them again and said, “Please, Son of Mara. The Dragon owe the Naga for what they have taken from us. First the Kazaq was taken, and then you, the son of Mara.”

Mareshi returned the bow. “My friends, I am honored that you would come to me in your time of need, but it is impossible for me to accompany you to the Shinomen. I have duties here among my clan. Togashi Satsu has recently requested that I take my place as Mirumoto daimyo. I am to be married to Kei.”

Kei could hold her peace no longer. “The Dragon are at war. Sending any of us to guard the Naga, let alone one of our most gifted commanders, would be abandoning our duty as samurai and Dragon. Surely you can appreciate the enormity of such a thing.”

Mareshi nodded. “What Kei says is true. Even the need to have both of us here at Shiro Mirumoto to formalize our marriage is a drain on our army that I disdain. I appreciate and respect my ties to the Naga, but my first responsibility, now and always, is to the Dragon. I must respectfully decline your request, my friends.”

Zamalash’s head drooped again but Qolsa’s eyes never wavered. “To use duty to deny your heritage is a disappointing thing, Mar-eshi.”

“Duty makes me who I am, friend Qolsa. It makes me samurai. Will you stay and enjoy our hospitality, friends? There would be a certain symmetry in having Naga present at my wedding.”

There was no response for a moment as the Naga discussed something between them. Then Zamalash said, “We must leave, Mar-eshi. The needs of our people do not wait for the ceremonies of yours.”

Mareshi nodded. “I am sorry for that. Mirumoto Taikishi will act as your guide a while longer, then. The paths in these mountains are not always easily followed.” He paused for a moment. “I hope that you understand my duty to the Dragon is the only thing that could ever prevent me from giving all I can to my mother’s people.”

Qolsa regarded him impassively. “I understand very little of hu-mans.”

***

Taikishi made no attempt to converse with the Naga on the trip back. He had heard what had passed between them and his daimyo and while it was ridiculous to think that Mareshi would accede to their request, it was also likely that the Naga would not be very happy as they travelled.

Zamalash and Qolsa were silent, at least to outside observers. In the shared language of the Akasha, they were anything but silent.

I knew he would not agree, said Zamalash.

He is much like the Akasha child. He is too human, Qolsa responded. He is not truly a Naga.

Yes. We cannot trust humans to help us. They are too selfish.

That is why you were tasked to ensure that Akasha remained true to our cause.

She is true to our cause, Zamalash insisted. She cannot command the Uni-corns. She is not their Qamar, and yet she has convinced the Chagatai to give us much in the way of protection.

Much of which he has called away of late, Qolsa observed.

Akasha believes that the situation is temporary. She believes they will return, and in the meantime, the Tattered Ear have offered us much assistance.

The rat-creatures are not intelligent enough to complete the task. Their minds wander. They cannot maintain the vigil.

Zamalash snorted, causing Taikishi to look over, but the Naga continued to ignore the human. They are scared of something – what it is, I do not know – but how can we expect them to help when you awaken and kill three of them? One of them was Ashi, my friend!

An unfortunate oversight. Instincts are… difficult to overcome.

They were protecting us.

They failed, and the humans fail as well. It seems that we will need to protect ourselves, no matter what it takes.

*

Discuss these events in our Story Forum!