Hantei XXXVIII

From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings

Hantei XXXVIII
Born:	1078
Died:	1123
Parents:	Hantei XXXVII
Siblings:	None
Spouse:	Unknown, Hantei Hochiahime
Children	Hantei XXXIX, Daigotsu
Titles:	Emperor of Rokugan
People

The reign of Hantei XXXVIII was marked largely by a lengthy period of peace in Rokugan. The Emperor managed to keep the Clans from warring excessively, though it had a toll on his health. His death at the hands of Bayushi Shoju in 1123, however, marked the beginning of one of the bloodiest periods known in Rokugani history.

Contents 1 Birth and Coronation 2 Early Reign 2.1 Wives and Heirs 2.2 The Heir and the Bloodspeakers 3 Later Reign 4 Prophecy 4.1 Death 5 References 6 External Links

[edit] Birth and Coronation

Hantei Jodan was born in the year 1078. Since his youngest years he has been a pupil in the Kakita Dueling Academy, and he was known for his idealism and hope for a better Empire. He deeply believed in the code of bushido, and his beliefs were recognized and amplified by his teacher, Kakita Toshimoko. He was the eldest son of Hantei XXXVII chose the name Jodan upon his gempukku, using that name until his coronation in 1103 when he became Hantei XXXVIII. ^{[citation needed]}

He also proved to be an exceptional student of the court, and a wise and compassionate man, his rule expected to be long and prosperous.^[1]

[edit] Early Reign

The daring and spirited young man that Jodan was, he quickly found his life force slowly crushed by the relentless conflicts that erupted among the Clans.^[1]

[edit] Wives and Heirs

At that time he was a different man, perhaps due to the fact that he has wed three times, and had to attend the funeral of each of his wives. The majority of his reign was fairly uneventful, and most of his concentration was spent on trying to secure a heir. Through barrenness and misfortune, he, his wives, and his concubines had great difficulty bearing and keeping children. In the year 1107, his concubine from the Crane Clan bore him a son: Hantei Sotorii, and Jodan married her. She died three years later after giving birth to Sotorii, wracked by a mysterious fever.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] The Heir and the Bloodspeakers

In 1111 Hantei Hochiahime, Hantei XXXVIII's fifth wife, and a four year-old Sotorii were kidnapped by Bloodspeakers while traveling with a caravan. Held in a camp in Kiken no Roka, they were intended for a sacrifice to fulfill an ancient prophecy. The camp was discovered by a mountain-dwelling Ronin, Yotsu, who entered the camp intent on freeing the Empress and the heir. The Empress was pregnant, and would only slow Yotsu down leading to both their deaths. Yotsu asked the Empress for permission to die in her name, but the Empress forbade it, instead insisting that Yotsu rescue the young heir and pass her husband a message to mourn for her, and their unborn child. Left with no other choice, Yotsu replaced the heir with his own son, Kyoden, and fled to the capital.^[2] When the Bloodspeaker sect realised what had happened they planned to kill the Empress, what was not known at the time was that the empress was pregnant with the second son of Hantei the XXXVIII, the child was raised by the Bloodspeakers and placed in a different spirit realm until he had matured. This child became Daigotsu.^{[citation needed]}

After Yotsu managed to return to Otosan Uchi and reunited Sotorii with his father, the Emperor recognized his sacrifice and gave him the name Yotsu Yatoshin (named for the Emperor's father), a small fiefdom in the Mountains of Regret, and authority over a district in Otosan Uchi.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Later Reign

The Emperor fell into even deeper political apathy, and devoted himself completely to raising his son. The clans, and various military oligarchies grew in power, to the point where the Crab Clan Champion, Hida Kisada, spoke openly against the Emperor: He's a fool. A weak product of a corrupted and dying bloodline. Hantei got his power from the gods, that's true, but how long ago? ^{[citation needed]}

For a thousand years, the dynasty has not known a crisis such as this. A civil war seemed to hang on a thread, and only the loyalty of the Akodo family and the strategic genius of Akodo Toturi seemed to hold back the events that were waiting to transpire. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Prophecy

The Scorpion Clan Champion Bayushi Shoju discovered an ancient prophecy in a scroll hidden beneath Kyuden Bayushi. The prophecy held that the last Hantei Emperor would bring about the return of Fu Leng. Shoju, after reflecting upon the meaning of this for quite some time, decided to assassinate the Emperor and his heir. Shoju used the entire Scorpion Clan, including Bayushi Togai, in an elaborate plot to end the threat of the prophecy.^[3]

[edit] Death

Hantei XXXVIII was killed in 1123 at the beginning of the Scorpion Coup, cut down by his close friend Bayushi Shoju.^[4] Shoju claimed the throne afterwards, until the remaining Great Clans wrested control from the Usurper and placed it back in control of Sotorii, then Hantei XXXIX.^{[citation needed]}

References

[edit] External Links

• Hantei XXXVIII, (SCC)

Preceded by: Hantei XXXVII

Emperor of Rokugan 1103 - 1123

Succeeded by: Bayushi Shoju