Tatsukojima

The Dragons do not belong here.   These are the words whispered in the back parlors of the city. The dragons, who have been here for as long as even the oldest Ape clan members can recall, are poisoning the world. What started out as an equitable deal–draconic prestige for a home, draconic wisdom for mortal education, draconic protection and might for food–has in the past few decades become a burden. Taxation and famine starve the people, even as wars between the clans, the dragons, and other countries send the younglings to the grinder. While the dragons sit at the top of the mountain above their capital city of Keydo, attended to by those willing to serve them, those unwilling or unable to serve languish in the city below. The clans squabble, some trying to break free of the chains of obligation while others snap to keep their fellows on the leash. Those who are clanless, without safety or security, live by the whims of nature, starving in the streets below or working in the barren fields until they drop.   The city of Ryuyama stands divided, 13 districts all waiting for someone to drop a match and watch the world explode so they can scoop up what remains before the impending war that even the most blind can see coming. They know that the peace beneath the dragon's claws can only last for so long, and that victory will come to those who can seize the advantage and the eye of the Dragon Clan.   But that doesn’t matter to you, The 13th District residents. You have long been cut from the society that birthed you, placed in a gated slum “for your own protection” and allowed to make money by entertaining, serving and skirting that society. The Orian walk the street, drugs are used for more than health treatment, and good food, or any for that matter, is hard to find.   But you can change that. All of you can. A benefactor has reached out. Knowing the inevitability of the upcoming war, and believing that your understanding of the people’s suffering is the needed tool to prevail, they have offered you a choice: Stand for your people, protect them, or refuse and become fodder to feed the fires of war when they reach your gates.   The choice is yours.