Shi-Tien Yen-Wang
From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings
The Shi-Tien Yen-Wang are the original gods of the Ujik-hai tribes. Gods of death, they granted their worshippers power, and demanded reverence. When the bulk of the Ujik-hai joined the Unicorn Clan as the Moto family, the ten Shi-tien Yen-Wang were left powerless, and dying. To get revenge on their wayward followers, they planned to resurrect the evil Moto Tsume, to plague the Unicorn Clan anew. However, due to the sharp mind and diplomatic skills of Moto Chagatai, the Death Gods relented, with an agreement; Moto Chagatai would arrange for them to be worshipped again.
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[edit] Description
There are ten. Each has the power to manifest with any appearance they choose at any time, but they appear "naturally" as emaciated, almost skeletal humans with fine robes, lavish jewelry, and a crown encrusted with gems. The Lords of Death have no names, but claim the truly wise can tell them apart. They are accompanied by an honor guard of Ujik-hai and Moto who have fallen willingly in battle serving them. These honored dead wear white armor and ride white horses.
[edit] Origins
The Shi-Tien Yen-Wang claim to have always existed, more or less disinterested in humanity at the dawn of time, but eventually the mortal realm garnered their attention. They grew disgusted with other gods, whom they saw as corrupt, as well as their decadent followers. Deciding these gods must be punished and their followers annihilated, they chose the most noble of human tribes, the Ujik-hai, to champion them, becoming their gods. They passed down a system of complicated laws and exacting, sometimes bizarre punishments unto the Ujik-hai, which they called the Iron Book.
[edit] Corruption
The Shi-Tien Yen-Wang led the Ujik-hai on a 3000-year long reign of terror in which they annihilated everything in their path. During that time, the Lords' definition of "corrupt" and "unworthy" became so broad that it essentially included "everyone else." Ironically, over time, the Lords of Death had become themselves corrupt, delighting in the terror and devastation their followers were causing.
[edit] Shinjo
Things came to a head when the Ki-Rin Clan passed through the Burning Sands during their exodus, and the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang predictably ordered the Ujik-hai to slaughter them. In the messy and ultimately one-sided battle that followed, Shinjo reportedly beheaded the Ujik-hai chieftain, then cut the head in half before it hit the ground. On top of being repelled time and time again afterwards, the Ujik-hai came to the realization that the so-called heathens they were fighting were not only worthy, they were honorable, more so than their own death gods, whose corruption was becoming evident. The vast majority of the Ujik-hai, remembering true honor, led by a man named Moto, swore fealty to Shinjo. This became the Moto Family of the Unicorn Clan.
[edit] Forgotten
With most of the Ujik-hai gone, the rest scattered to the Burning Sands, no one was left to worship the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang. And without worshippers, they began to die. Wandering between the realms Slaughter and Dreams (Toshigoku and Yume-Do respectively), they tormented the Moto with nightmares, attempting to drive them to insanity. As such, before their ascension to ruling family of the Unicorn Clan, the Moto were the most nomadic family of all, as they attempted to escape the revenge of their former gods.
[edit] The Burning Words
Lacking any other choice at the time, they even came to an agreement with Fu Leng, who by their every standard was the kind of corrupt and foolish god they would have sent the Ujik-hai after in ages past. The deal was that the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang would drive the Moto into the Shadowlands on the condition that once Fu Leng was finished tainting their bodies, the Lords would gain control of their souls. This contract was called the Burning Words, and led to the rise of the Dark Moto. The Burning Words were nullified when the Otaku decimated the Dark Moto in the War Against the Shadow. The Shi-Tien Yen-Wang condemned Fu Leng for his incompetence, and have since vowed never to work with the Dark Kami ever again.
[edit] Second Rise
Following the incident of the Burning Words, however, the Moto ended up in power of the Unicorn Clan, and as such could no longer run. Upon the completion of Shiro Moto, the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang knew exactly where to find them at all times. They planned to take the soul of the Kahn, Moto Gaheris to preserve their strength, but a strange thing happened. Using Naga magic, Moto Chagatai and Moto Chen followed Moto Gaheris on his way to Meido, and stood against the Lords of Death, and proposed a compromise: the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang would cease terrorizing the Moto, and the Lords of Death would become minor Fortunes in Rokugan. The Shi-Tien Yen-Wang were impressed with Chagatai, who reminded them of the Ujik-hai's old ways, and accepted his offer.[1][2]
[edit] Meido
The Lords took their place in Meido, but once there, they immediately declared Emma-O inept and foolish for letting Fu Leng escape, and tried to overthrow him. It was a Kitsu who interceded and brought them to an agreement that they would aid Emma-O in regaining his honor and defending Meido. They now share power over the Realm of Waiting. While Emma-O determines how long a soul must wait until reincarnation, the Lords of Death judge whether that soul should be punished during that time.
[edit] The Lords in Rokugan
The Shi-Tien Yen-Wang appear quite willing to participate in the Rokugani pantheon, rising up against Fu Leng when his forces try to invade the Celestial Heavens. Conscious of their bloody past, the Lords of Death are fairly certain they will never find a place there, but are quite content to rule over Meido. The punishments of the Iron Book await criminals and villains who they judge and find wanting, but the Lords remember the day their power corrupted them, and do not revel in the torment to which they subject the souls of the unworthy.
[edit] The Lords and Emma-O
Though the Lords of Death serve with Emma-O, they show him little respect. Power struggles occur routinely as the Lords carry on their attempts to subvert him, although since their agreement with Kitsu Hisashi, this rivalry has never erupted into violence. Since their ascension, the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang have garnered a small cult following in the Moto Family (and only the Moto Family); the Moto Death Priests. [3]
[edit] References
- ↑ The Last Ride part 1
- ↑ The Last Ride part 2
- ↑ "Secrets of the Unicorn" p.84-86
