Air Dragon
The Dragon of Air was one of the five Elemental Dragons. The form of the Dragon of Air was unknown as it was believed to be invisible, which was of course difficult to prove. [1]
Appearance and Demeanor[]
Air Dragon
Dragon of Air was seen in human form as a pale white-haired samurai, [2] and its dragon form tookg the appearance of a swirling mass of foggy coils headed by two piercing eyes of light. [3] The Air Dragon was capricious and whimsical, the most curious of all the dragons, and was known to visit the mortal realm with greater frequency than the others. The dragon was also believed to be the patron of prophets and visionaries. [4]
Creation[]
The Elemental Dragons were created with the universe, as the primal stuff of creation slowly formed into the five basic elements. These Dragons moved among mortals when the Celestial Heavens was much closer to Ningen-do, and took great interest in them. Dragon of Air saw how the kami that surrounded the Empire loved these humans, and did the same. [5]
Interaction with the Mortals[]
Air Dragon
The most curious of the Elemental Dragons, its interaction with mortals were usually subtle. Air Dragon whispered to worthy men in their dreams, foretelling the future. [6]
Flight of the Dragons[]
In 1127 during the Clan War, several Black Scrolls were opened, disturbing the Celestial Order. The Elemental Dragons withdrew from Rokugan and their Oracles went into hiding. [7]
Fall of the Age of Man[]
In 1132 Hitomi sent the child of the Ki-Rin to seek the Dragons and bring their power back to the Empire. As they returned, the Age of Man began to fall, restoring to the Age of Myth. [8] The dragons involved themselves in the War Against Shadow in a subtle way, being forbidden to act directly in the Mortal Realm. In 1133 the seven dragons carried the last of Rokugan's greatest heroes toward Volturnum's gates. [9]
Shadow Dragon[]
At the Battle of Oblivion's Gate in 1133, the Dragon of Air would allow itself to become corrupted so that Master of Fire Isawa Hochiu could reach the Master of Darkness, Goju Adorai. [2]
Adorai's Defeat[]
Hochiu riding the Air Dragon
It appeared in human form, and offered himself to transport Hochiu and his yojimbo, Shiba Seiko to the inner city of Volturnum, which was heavily corrupted. He took the dragon form and was rided by the Phoenix. Yet as they passed to the inner city gates, the Dragon's eternal light began to fade, drifting into nothingness as the Taint took its toll. They reached the coliseum where the Oblivion's Gate was, and Adorai was making a powerful ritual that would conquer Jigoku and destroy the ancestors of Rokugan. When passed the archway of the coliseum a dragon, no longer of air, but of ash and shadow appeared, only the emerald eyes were unchanged. With the aid of Seiko, who was a former Scorpion trained as a Shosuro Actor, the Phoenix deceived Adorai, who mortally wounded Seiko disguised as Hochiu, to be strike down by the real Hochiu by surprise. [2]
Birth of the Shadow Dragon[]
Birth of the Shadow Dragon
The destruction of the Shadows' avatar weakened the Lying Darkness enough for it to be named by Hitomi. [10] The corrupted Dragon or Air was dying, severed from the Heavens by its direct intervention in human troubles, and badly injured by its passage through Volturnum. It saw a small crap of Nothing scaping, which in time would lead in the return of the Lying Darknes entity. The Dragon swallowed it and became the heir to the Lying Darkness, the Shadow Dragon, wielding the power of the Taint and Nothing. So long as it could survive the Lying Darkness could never truly return. [11]
The New Air Dragon[]
New Dragon of Air
Not long after the corruption of the first Dragon of Air, a new one appeared. Little was known of this creature, but it had a very pronounced dislike of the Shadow Dragon. [12]
The Will of Heaven[]
In 1170, the Dragons, tired of Man's rule of the Heavens, exerted their will upon Tengoku. The Seven Fortunes allowed the Dragon of Jade and the Dragon of Obsidian to replace Hida Yakamo as Lord Sun and Hitomi as Lord Moon respectively. The other Dragons, save the Dragon of Thunder, left mankind to cement their power. [13]
Thunder's expulsion from Tengoku[]
Air Dragon
Despite the Elemental Dragons' purge of all non-fortune, non-Emperor mortals in the heavens, the Dragon of Thunder did not wish Yoritomo to be cast out of Tengoku. The Dragons allowed Otaku Kamoko to stay in Tengoku as Shinjo's substitute until Shinjo's return, but they would not allow Yoritomo to remain because he had no divine patron. Thunder, feeling that Yoritomo was worthy of being allowed to remain, gave up a part of its own divinity to make Yoritomo a rightful resident of the heavens. Thunder was cast down and Yoritomo was allowed to live in Tengoku permanently. [14]
Favored of the Air Dragon[]
When the War of the Twins broke, the Dragon of Air found Asahina Shigemitsu worthy of its favors. Shigemitsu had offered his aid to harvest Scorpion crops before the fields were ravaged by the war for the sake of the Empire. The empathetic mortal was able to change his beliefs to match the times. [15]
See also[]
External Links[]
Air Dragon
Air Dragon
- Air Dragon (Imperial)
- Air Dragon Exp (Soul of the Empire)
- Air Dragon Exp2 (Path of Hope)
- Air Dragon's Guidance(The Plague War)
- Air Dragon Exp3 (Twenty Festivals)
References
- ↑ Way of the Dragon, p. 84
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Voices: The Final Days of Oblivion's Gate, by Ree Soesbee
- ↑ Fortunes & Winds, p. 74
- ↑ Emerald Empire; Fourth Edition, p. 186
- ↑ Rokugan, p. 180
- ↑ Fortunes & Winds, pp. 73-74
- ↑ Time of the Void, p. 33
- ↑ Restoring the Age of Myth (Soul of the Empire flavor)
- ↑ Temples of the Crow Seven Dragons (Soul of the Empire storyback)
- ↑ Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 24
- ↑ Hidden Emperor, p. 84
- ↑ Air Dragon (Lotus flavor)
- ↑ Scenes from the Empire IV, by Brian Yoon
- ↑ Preparations, Part I, by Rusty Priske and Shawn Carman
- ↑ The Righteous, by Brian Yoon
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