See also: Legend of the Five Rings, Last week, Next week

Next morning, left at my door there is a scroll case from Akodo Yorokobi, inviting me and my companions to accompany her daughters to the ceremony of viewing the cherry blossoms at the Imperial Palace. It specifically mentions my human companions, rather than my horse. Oh well. This is for the day after tomorrow.

We go to the mansion of Rama Singh. The guard outside has a huge hairy growth on his face, and a really big curved sword.

Cult of the Destroyer was thrown down about 10 years ago, with the help of the Mantis and the Swordsman. The Swordsman leads the Sword Saints.

He starts at the beginning:

His master's father was one of the descendents of an ancient dynasty that has always ruled their Kingdom. He was not of the direct lineage, which had ceased to be, so there was lots of fighting over who would rule the kingdoms. The Lady Shinjo came to help them about 60 years ago.

She brought the Moto and there was much warring, and his master's father was established as Lord. Then things were peaceful and quiet and my kinsmen established a city and trading center amongst them. The kingdom was prosperous until the Lord died, and his sons started fighting again. The Lady Shinjo had departed but her successor supported his master who grabbed the throne.

Then there was the cult of the destroyer. The chief of his gods has many shapes and forms - creator, destroyer etc etc. They claimed to have found a child who was the avatar of the destroyer, so they recruited many people in a crusade to destroy everything. The Mantis helped in stopping them invade Rokugan under the direction of Aramasu.

There were many great battles, but Aramasu got the help of the Sword Saints. They defeated the leader of the Sword Saints, and took control of them, bringing them in on the side of his master. The child described as the Avatar was wanted to be killed by everyone, but his master said that each man can make their own destiny, and took the child and made him a Sword Saint.

1) The gods act in threes, because their nature is tri-fold. They always come in two, male and female. The magic number is 6.

2) Something the gods always do as they dance. Every thousand years ago. Last one was about a thousand years ago.

3) Lost cities. Mahenju Daru.

4) When the undying dies is when the wheel turns. This is when civilisations etc are overturned.

5) He suggests we are looking at Shinjo Jinnai for the traveller's child.

We agree to take a letter and presents to his wives if we ever encounter them in the Ivory Kingdoms.

Meet Akodo Yorokobi with her daughters and travel to the Imperial Palace. We are taken through to the imperial gardens. Whilst passing the Empress, a woman leaps out from one of the crowds, drawing a war fan. I charge forward, wrestling the assassin to the ground. There are shouts and yells from around as the two of us roll around in the mud.

I am joined by some others, and we subdue the assassin. Looking up, the Empress seems to have escaped under the cover of pink candy floss. A sudden explosion on a nearby roof seems to be the result of Fujiko randomly fireballing targets.

We are debriefed sometime later. Asked questions about whether we know the Shogun.

As a reward, we are each given a deed to a nice house in the Imperial Capital, as well as lands to help support it to the amount of 4 Koku a year.