The Period of the Warring States

Many battles and skirmishes were fought after the Fourth Age. This period was so called because society existed in a fractured, unstable, and dangerous way. People were divided by clan, prefecture, their status as Bushi or Kisou, race, and creed. Temples and monasteries and forts clashed regularly and the world tumbled to its knees, shaken to the core with decades of fighting.

All the while, the legendary Shadow Clan strove to reemplace an Emperor and restore order to their fallen kingdom. However, those of imperial heritage were very difficult to find and convince; the Kuieh Yosei were still about and the Lotus Clan was still unsafe. To make matters worse, several of the old provinces were host to governors with massive land ownership and gargantuan armies, and many of these men were positioning to take the throne for themselves.

The Period of the Warring States was a dangerous time. However, approxamately four years ago, a member of the Lotus Clan approached the Shadow Clan about rulership. They accepted the soon to be Emperor and made plans to attack the Imperial City and install the Emperor once again. The Kuieh Yosie spies were immediately aware and counter tactics began.

In preperation, the Kuieh Yosei went to the Kanshuu Shadow Dojo, a place where for hundreds of years the best fighters of the Red Islands had been trained, to recruit powerful allies. They picked the most dangerous young man they could find, a 16 year old martial artist by the name of Hikitsukeru Jinji, heir to the legendary Kage Ryu school of Battojutsu. To protect his identity, he was given a name by the Kuieh Yosei, the name Kyuuden.

In response, the Shadow Clan hired Kyuuden's extremely tallented training partner, also a Shadow Clansmen, named Kankyo An'ya. Shadow Clan planned to have them duel to make sure that Kyuuden would not obliterate their forces during the attack.

When the day came, it was chaos. The Shadow attacked hard and fast, but the Kuieh Yosei had superior fighters, though fewer in number. The Battle was hard fought and Kankyo was stationed with the Emperor to make sure that no one would slay him. Kyuuden approached them and was preparing to fight, when he heard from his compatriots that Kuieh Yosei member Shinden was ordered to kill his lover, who was going to be captured by the Shadow Clanin order to protect the Kuieh Yosei. Kyuuden raced across the entire Imperial City to save her from his own allies.

At the same time, a warrior called Zunshu was called upon to execute the Emperor in Kyuuden's stead. He called upon his allies and laid an ambush for the Emperor. As the Kankyo led the emperor into the throne room, they were attacked en masse by the Kuieh Yosei and seperated in the melee.

Both Kankyo An'ya and Hikistukeru Jinji were made to watch that night as their respective charges were slain. They both disbanded, the Kuieh Yosei having won this battle. Hikitsukeru found his sister missing as well and fled south on a pilgrimage to find another life. Kankyo slipped into depression for a time and vowed to one day find and slay the Kuieh Yosei Zunshu.

And with that, the world turned, the Period of the Warring States over.