Phoenix Clan Champion
From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings
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[edit] Authority
In every other clan in Rokugan, the role of the Champion falls on the daimyo who is in charge of the entire clan, but in the Phoenix, the Council of Five rule the clan and the Phoenix Champion must defer to their authority. He is a mouthpiece to the rest of the empire, and lacks authority to rule over the clan. Strangely, this has rarely been a problem, as the Shiba recognize the Isawa's need for autonomy. Although the Champions will routinely argue with the Isawa leadership, in the end they will comply with the rulings of the Council.
The Phoenix Champion is always the daimyo of the Shiba family. Unlike his dealings with the clan as a whole, the Champion does rule the Shiba with complete autonomy.
[edit] Selection
The Phoenix have a unique method of selecting their Champions: each Champion is chosen by Shiba himself. The Soul of Shiba was anchored to his sword, Ofushikai, throughout most of history, and is now anchored to the Shiba bloodline itself. The knowledge, wisdom, and personality of every Phoenix Champion from Shiba to Tsukune is collected in the Soul. They offer advice to the current Champion, and select the new Champions themselves by passing their consciousness to the new leader of the clan. Only one person in a generation is capable of accepting the Soul and therefore the leadership of the Phoenix (a situation greatly resembling the recently discovered tamashii of the Dragon Clan). This person, through accident of birth, becomes the next Phoenix Clan Champion.
Each Champion since Shiba has been host to the personalities of every Champion that has come before. Although the current Champion's personality usually remains dominant, the potential for psychological trauma should be obvious. Although the Isawa family tries to make the transition for a new Champion as easy as possible, on occasion, the Champion cannot bear the strain of all of the voices in his mind. Champions have been known to slip into prophetic fits and to speak in voices that ring of ages long past. With the knowledge of the burden their Champions endure and the possibility of their being unable to fully cope, it is much less surprising that the Phoenix entrust the Isawa with the true leadership of the clan.
[edit] See Also:
[edit] Champions of the Phoenix
The following are the known Champions of the Phoenix Clan:
| Shiba | Pre-calendar - 42 |
| Shiba Tsuzaki | 42 - ? |
| Shiba Toshiken | (c. 370 - 445) |
| Shiba Esai | (c. 715 - 750) |
| Shiba Toriiko | ? - 827 |
| Shiba Burisagi | ? - 1113 |
| Shiba Ujimitsu | 1113 - 1128 |
| Shiba Tsukune | 1128 - 1158 |
| Shiba Aikune | 1158 - 1159 |
| Shiba Mirabu | 1159 - 1168 |
| Shiba Naoya | 1168 - 1169 (Acting Daimyo) |
| Shiba Tsukimi | 1169 - Present |
[edit] Unknown Dates
The following were Phoenix Clan Champions, but the dates of their reigns are not recorded.
[edit] Major References
- Way of the Phoenix Pages 38-39
