Gisei Toshi

From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings

Gisei Toshi -- the City of Sacrifice -- was a myth to all outside the Phoenix, and most within as well. The City of Isawa had been believed to be destroyed by a disaster in the year 234, but in reality, the city was rebuilt and kept secret from all of Rokugan by means of a powerful shrouding spell. Even so, a new disaster befell in 283, when Isawa Akuma summoned Akuma no Oni, who ravaged the city, destroying portions of the original manuscripts of the Tao of Shinsei. ^{[citation needed]}

Contents 1 Secrecy 2 Founding 3 Treasures of Gisei Toshi 4 The Asako and the Library of Gisei Toshi 5 Iuchiban's attack 6 Children of the Last Wish 7 References

[edit] Secrecy

The city was so secret that its population was reported to neither the Emperor's census takers nor tax collectors. Because of this, among the very few who were even aware of its existence it was sometimes called the Hidden City.^{[citation needed]}

The Elemental Masters wrapped the valley of Gisei Toshi in a very powerful ward: the further one moves from the city, the more disoriented one becomes, until they not only cannot find their way back, but don't even remember the time they spent there.^[1]

[edit] Founding

Gisei Toshi was founded in the year 1, and the Isawa Calendar marked its beginning by the founding of the city.^[2] The city was built by Isawa's family in response to the Fall of the Kami. Isawa and his family were present at the Tournament of the Kami, though Isawa was one of the only ones who did not bow to the newly proclaimed Emperor afterward. Not seeing any reason to fall into a life of servitude to the Kami, Isawa took his family north and began to build Gisei Toshi.^[3]

[edit] Treasures of Gisei Toshi

Gisei Toshi was the final resting place of the Tao of Shinsei,^[4] as well as many other artifacts that the Isawa collected over the centuries that they do not want known to the empire as a whole. Gisei Toshi was also the city in which Shiba knelt before Isawa, and after his oath, the Phoenix Kami even lived in the city with his new followers.^[5]

Gisei Toshi also contained the original seven temples to the Seven Fortunes. The Fortunes were worshiped by the Tribe of Isawa even before the Kami fell, and after the family's acceptance into the Phoenix Clan and Rokugan as a whole, their worship spread among the rest of the empire.^[6]

Unknown to other Phoenix families, each of the seven temples contained some of the most important and the most dangerous artifacts in all of Rokugan. They were as follows:^[7]

• Yajinden's Scrolls which were kept in the Temple of Ebisu.
• Gusai's Corpse which was kept in the Temple of Hotei.
• Iuchi Karasu's Sai and Mask which were kept in the Temple of Daikoku.
• Shiba's Shadow which was kept in the Temple of Benten.
• A Yobanjin Flying Carpet which was kept in the Temple of Fukurokujin.
• Morihono's Cipher Scrolls which were kept in the Temple of Jurojin.
• Some of the Black Scrolls which were kept in the Temple of Bishamon.

Some of the other items that had been hidden away in the depths of Gisei Toshi included:^[7]

• The sword Hunger, forged by Togashi Nyoko.
• A bronze lantern from the Burning Sands, taken from the Scorpion Clan.
• The white pearl that imprisons Kuni Yori and Iuchi Karasu.
• The Bloodsword Ambition and the skull of Sanzo, the ronin who last wielded it.
• The Egg of the Void^[1]

[edit] The Asako and the Library of Gisei Toshi

Shortly after the death of Shiba, the Isawa found out that Shiba had shared his secret with Asako, but left their family completely unaware. It is not known how the Isawa found out the of secrets existence,^[8] but they did not discover the nature of the teachings of the Asako until centuries later.^{[citation needed]} When the Asako refused to share the information with the Isawa, the Isawa expelled all of the Asako from the City of Sacrifice, never allowing another to set foot on the city's soil.^[9]

Unfortunately, the Asako family had been tasked with being the librarians of the city's great library. Unable to retract this mandate, the Isawa instead forced the Asako librarians to lead lives sequestered within the library, never again setting foot outside. These librarians ever more led sheltered lives, completely devoted the the scrolls they kept.^[10][9]

[edit] Iuchiban's attack

In 1165 Shiba Aikune moved the city to a new hidden location with Isawa's Last Wish to escape Iuchiban during the Siege of Gisei Toshi.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Children of the Last Wish

A group of benevolent creatures known as the Children of the Last Wish have appeared in Gisei Toshi. They seem to be made entirely out of pure Void. They were the messengers and companions of Isawa's Last Wish, and now pressure the Elemental Council to remake the Last Wish. ^[11]

References