The Imperials

The Imperials

Emperor: Togashi.
Colours: Green, gold.
Main worship: Amaterasu and the Heavenly Dragons.
Virtue: Honesty.
Allies: Ki-Rin, Phoenix.
Rivals: None.

The mysterious Emperor Togashi of the Kami, favoured son of the Heavens, has chosen his seat of power in the remote northern mountains of the new Empire, in the mountain castle known as the High House of Light. There, the Dragon Emperor is surrounded by only the most loyal followers and allies, such as the priestess Agasha and the warrior Mirumoto - and their respective followers - along with the enigmatic Order of the Dragon, disciples chosen by Togashi personally.
Few would have expected the outcome of the Kami’s tournament to result in the quiet and introspective Togashi to become the one all the Kami would look to as their leader, but as the events unfolded the Dragon seemed to accept these results as a destiny he was deeply aware of and understood in a way no one else could. Those who encountered him in his travels prior to the tournament spoke of remembering little of the exact details of the encounters, but they all agree that they found answers they needed, and describe Togashi as someone possessing a wisdom so profound no humans can comprehend it even if they spent all their life trying. These stories have spread far and wide, along with tales that Togashi has heavenly dragons answering his call, or that he is a dragon himself. Some who have travelled to the mountains of the Dragon claim to have seen a great dragon near the highest mountaintops. Whether true or not, it seems to be agreed upon across all the clans that Togashi is probably the most powerful of all the Kami, and those who follow him are among the most respected individuals in the Empire. After all, they have been bestowed a part of Togashi’s wisdom, to guide them in life and to best serve the Empire.
While Togashi is considered to have somewhat of a hands-off approach to many topics that concern the Empire, as he is willing to let the people figure things out for themselves, the Emperor also seems quite aware of all that happens in the Empire and is known to act swiftly when a matter is brought to him personally, as if he had already anticipated the situation and how to best respond. The Emperor does grant personal audiences to whoever will make the trek up the mountains to speak with him, but a majority of matters are handled by the Mirumoto and the Agasha. Matters concerning military or defence of the Empire are almost always handled by Mirumoto and his followers, while topics more aligned with magic or sciences are overseen by Agasha and her students. In matters of a more political nature, the two branches there tend to unite to best handle it, though their lack of focus in politics has created a vacuum of sorts to be filled - something the Crane and Phoenix are both eager to do. The Phoenix are the Left Hand of Togashi, but even they don’t have the political acumen that Doji has taught her loyal students. Thankfully, any rivalry between the Crane and Phoenix to fill this need is a friendly one, as the two clans are very aligned in ideology. The Agasha seem mostly fine with letting the two clans have their shiny toy to play with which only benefits them, as it satisfies two clans and keeps them busy, letting the Agasha focus on their own projects and specialties. The Mirumoto on the other hand are more concerned with how this weakens the strength of the Imperial group, by letting others fill the role. If those who are sworn to serve the Emperor directly cannot do what their duty requires of them, have they not failed? So far there is no noticeable tension between the Agasha and Mirumoto over this situation, but if the matter is not addressed before the Crane or the Phoenix take too much advantage of it, it could very well escalate.
Togashi’s personal students, known as members of the Order of the Dragon, are not people to involve themselves in the politics of things. And certainly not on the level that the Agasha and Mirumoto are involved in with the Phoenix and Crane. The monastic people come and go as they please from the High House of Light, sometimes offering to guide pilgrims up the mountains to see the Emperor, or wandering the Empire. They do work closely with the Agasha and Mirumoto when there is a need for it, often by reporting observations or troubles to them that they have seen in their travels. In a way, these few monks are like the eyes and ears of the Emperor and the Imperial families, but they are also the Emperor’s voice. They deliver his messages and commands to corners of the Empire, even to individuals that the Emperor has marked out for destiny.

The Order of the Dragon

Leader: Togashi, the Dragon Emperor.
Mon: A dragon holding a plum blossom in its talons.

Little is known about the monks who belong to the Order of the Dragon, except that they are all adorned with tattoos that seem to shift mysteriously on their skin, made with the most brilliant ink one could possibly imagine. Many of its members also take new names upon being sanctified with the tattoos from Togashi directly, that reflect their new path in life, personality, or visions for the future. The names often evoke imagery of the pure and sacred, with examples like Pious Truth, Faithful Heart, Sacred Lotus, and Radiant Spirit. Each member is handpicked by Togashi himself, and their training is done under his watchful gaze. Of all the Kami, he is the most difficult teacher to understand, and much of the training is for the students to figure things out on their own, which seems to please their teacher the most.
Togashi himself is a private person, sharing little of his inner thoughts and emotions even with those closest to him. Having risen to become the leader of humanity in this new age, he seems to be absorbed with that vision for most of his waking hours, which seems to be all the time as none can recall having seen the Emperor stop to rest or sleep, unless one counts meditation, but even those who know Togashi would know better than to call that rest. Visitors and guests remark at how serene the Emperor seems, but his disciples know that there are troubles resting on his shoulders that he has not divulged about yet. They know what the Emperor is like, and that he will speak of these troubles when the time is right.

Members of the Order of the Dragon serve the Emperor as his eyes, ears, and voice in the Empire, where many of them travel around either seeking heroes the Emperor has foreseen are destined for greatness (or for joining the Order), deliver his messages, or observe the unfolding of foretold events at his behest to report back to him. To carry out these duties, they are bestowed with a touch of Togashi’s divinity, through the sacred tattoos they all bear that hold a drop of his blood. This origin of their tattoos remains a closely guarded secret of the Order, as none would want this knowledge to fall into the wrong hands. The blood of a Kami might be of interest to those with impure intentions, and it could have dire consequences for all if it was somehow misused. This blood once infused in Togashi’s chosen students grant them not only exceptional powers that could make a shugenja marvel at their feats, but also grants them a connection to Togashi that allows for him to pass knowledge to them from great distances without the need for speaking, which is how members of the Order sometime seem to know what it is they must do without having spoken to the Emperor.

The Agasha Family

Leader: Lady Agasha, The Genius of the North.
Mon: A dragon grasping a pomegranate fruit, its seeds representing endless possibilities.

Considered to be one of the most brilliant minds in the Empire today on par with the likes of Lord Kaiu and Lady Asako, Lady Agasha is a patron of science and progress in the Empire. Where Kaiu is a master engineer, and Asako the greatest proponent for widespread education in the Empire, Agasha is seeking to harness magic in a way that would let even the most common person in the Empire be able to use magic in their daily life. Through great studies of the world, the elements, and experimentation, she has invented the truly unique method of capturing the results of the kami’s magical creation, storing it and using it for later. At this point, the technique isn’t developed enough for what Agasha wants it to be, and it remains a secret exclusive to her and the Imperials as they continue to work on it.

Ever since joining Togashi’s side, Agasha has remained unaging. Which in fact annoys her to some degree as she is not only fascinated by the transformation and change that is a natural part of a life’s cycle, but she would prefer at this point in her life to have the gravitas of being an older woman who can tell noisy people to get off her lawn. Figuratively speaking of course. At least it has given her the blessing of keeping a sharp mind, undulled by age and decay, for which she is thankful for, as there is no end to projects, studies, and experiments that she juggles every day, in addition to her more direct duties to Togashi to guide humanity into a new glorious age of enlightenment. As someone who always sought self-improvement, Agasha is dedicated to bringing about this enlightenment, and wishes all this budding politics could go away so that they may all focus on learning all there is to know.
Of those who come seeking to swear direct allegiance to Togashi, if they are not chosen by the Emperor himself, the ones who possess the gift of magic and a love of science find a place with Agasha and her family. Those who swear fealty to Agasha are expected to not only serve the Emperor, but also uphold the banner of enlightenment for humanity and dedicate themselves to furthering knowledge and understanding of the world.

The Mirumoto Family

Daimyo: Mirumoto, Master Of Blades.
Mon: A dragon holding a pair of swords.

The self-proclaimed defender of the Emperor, Mirumoto is known as one of the - if not the - best swordsman in the Empire. He had followed Togashi since not long before the tournament of the Kami, and was among the first to kneel to the god who represented the dawning of a new age for humanity. Before joining Togashi’s side, he had lived a colourful life. Coming from humble origins of a bandit lord’s son, Mirumoto eventually struck out on his own as a vagabond, travelling the land looking for anyone or anything to fight and to prove himself the strongest. Years of such a rough life made him uncouth and brusque, as he became accustomed to favouring intimidation over diplomacy. It is unknown when he met Togashi, or what transpired between the two, but since their encounter Mirumoto became a changed man. He still favoured the sword above all his pursuits, but he would also take up such practices and meditation as well as scholarly studies. And when he knelt to the Emperor and swore his undying loyalty, he found his vitality and youth restored. This makes it difficult to pin down Mirumoto’s exact age, though many speculate he must have lived almost half a century when he swore fealty to Togashi, at least judging from the tales he tells and the many experiences he has in his life.

Similarly to Agasha, Mirumoto assessed anyone not chosen to be Togashi’s personal student and chose those who possessed a warrior’s spirit to train. And under his guidance, many talented swordsmen have emerged, ready to defend the Emperor’s closest servants, and the Emperor himself if need be. In the northern mountains, the students of Mirumoto train in the ways of warfare and defence, while they also learn practice alongside Agasha’s students to understand the supernatural workings of the world and how they can best defend against it or use it to their advantage. Agasha herself mostly finds it pointless for her students to train to fight, as she believes it detracts from more important studies, but she allows any of them to train with Mirumoto if they so wish, as the two Imperial daimyo hold a great amount of respect for eachother. Or according to some of Mirumoto’s followers, there is an unspoken or unrequited love between the two of them. In return though, Mirumoto’s students must spend some of their time studying with the Agasha.
While they are not a politically minded family, the Mirumoto do consider the growing influence of the Crane and Phoenix within Imperial politics to be a matter of concern. None of them suspect that the Emperor’s siblings would do anything to harm the Emperor, but Mirumoto is more sceptical of the failure of humanity as he grew up seeing some of its worse sides, and is wary of the followers of Doji and Shiba, and what their true motives might be. As they consider Togashi above this concern for now, and the Agasha too busy stuffing their noses into smelly alchemical experiments, they take it upon themselves for now to be the counterbalance to the suggestions and “help” of the Crane and Phoenix.
The use of swords has become widespread in the Empire, but only the students of Mirumoto perfect the art of wielding two swords at once. And if Mirumoto’s pride could truly have its way, the use of two swords would be restricted to the Imperial families only.

Culture

For a group that could easily be overtaken by worldly desires and lust for power, the Imperial Families are surprisingly ascetic and detached from thinking about acquisitions of power. The Mirumoto seem mostly concerned with the protection of the Agasha and the Emperor's followers, while Agasha is caught up in working on how to improve a number of things in the Empire. And the Emperor himself acts in mysterious ways as he carefully guides his followers and subjects onto a higher path of enlightenment.
But if anything ties them all together, it is the wish to bring humanity into an age of enlightenment, which does shape their day-to-day lives to be very altruistic, scholarly, and spiritual. 
Very few among the Imperials care about wealth or worldly possessions, and those concerned with such are considered to be too vain for their own good.

Public Agenda

Furthering the growth of humanity and the Empire. While Agasha is busy with many projects to improve upon many aspects of life in the Empire, Mirumoto is the one who lives by the creed of "when at peace, prepare for war", as he makes sure those who carry his name will be ready to defend the Imperial members and the Empire at a moment's notice.
Togashi, Agasha, and Mirumoto are all together on ushering in a golden age for humanity.

Assets

The actual assets of the Imperials are few compared to the clans, but nonetheless important. The volcanic mountain area known as Agasha's Furnace provides invaluable assistance to the Agasha Family's pursuit of knowledge of the world, as well as magical experiments, though it is still very much a work in progress to fully take advantage of such a dangerous location. 
The most valuable asset so far for them is the high amount of gold found in the mountains, making the Imperial lands the biggest place for export of gold across the Empire. 

Religion

Unsurprisingly, the Imperials are deeply religious. Not only do they worship the kami, Fortunes, Elemental Dragons, and Amaterasu (the High House of Light housing one of the largest temples to Amaterasu herself), but also in worship of the Dragon Emperor. Most among their numbers believe that Togashi is the most divine of the Kami who still possesses most of his godly gifts and blessings of the Heavens, and that his role as Emperor of humanity in Rokugan will guide them into a prosperous and blessed future. 
Already it is very common to come across many small shrines dotting the landscape when entering the northern mountain territory of Togashi and his followers. These shrines are dedicated to everything from local mikokami and minor Fortunes, to the Great Fortunes and Heavenly Dragons themselves. And if one cannot find a shrine, most Imperials tend to carry with them small statuettes or effigies to offer prayers to during the day. 

"Neither Will I."

Founding Date

Year 5

Major Exports

The major export of the Imperial lands is gold; mostly untreated pieces, or actual gold products such as jewelry and accessories. A lesser export that is in demand with clans like the Crane, Owl, and Scorpion are cosmetics made by some of Agasha's students, and their medical supplies are popular with almost all the clans.

Major Imports

The Imperial lands are devoted more to spiritualism than production, with a few exceptions. They are almost fully reliant on importing food and raw materials from the rest of the Empire, which is sent to them by the other clans as gifts and tributes to be distributed among the Emperor's most loyal servants. The Agasha and Mirumoto take what they need, and store any excess to be sent to other parts of the Empire in case of emergencies.