| Please note: This article is about the first Susumu Daimyo. For other uses of the term, please see Kuroko (disambiguation). |
| Susumu Kuroko | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born: | 1172 |
| Died: | - |
| Parents: | Susumu, Kakita Shizuka |
| Spouse: | Susumu Takuan |
| Children: | Un-named son |
| Titles: | Susumu Daimyo |
| People | |
Susumu Kuroko was a magistrate of the Spider Clan and the founder of the Susumu family.
Appearance[]
Kuroko was Daigotsu Susumu's daughter, but also shared features with her Crane mother, [1] a woman possessed of incredible beauty. Her features were pristine, and perfectly placed. [2] She dyed a single lock of her hair white over her right temple as a tribute to her mother's clan. [3] Susumu had become engaged to Kakita Shizuka in 1171 during Winter Court at Kyuden Gotei. [4]
Susumu Family[]
The Susumu family was founded in 1174, when the infant which would be known as Kuroko was two years old. She was named the family's heir. [5] This courtier family was newly founded once the Spider were made a Great Clan by Iweko I and it was named after Susumu, former Imperial Advisor and the Dark Fortune of Deception. [1] Daigotsu Masisha joined the family and led them until Kuroko came of age. [6]
Training[]
The regent of her new family, Susumu Masisha, trained Kuroko in the sinister social techniques created by the Daigotsu family. She became skilled at reading people to understand their weaknesses, as well as at creating weaknesses where none existed. [3]
Susumu Daimyo[]
Susumu Kuroko
In 1188 Kuroko became the first Susumu Daimyo. She had spent the past few years ingratiating herself to the political elite of the Empire. Kuroko's friendly, unapologetic, and sincere attitude earned her a great many allies. [5] She felt torn between loyalty to the Empire and loyalty to her lord Daigotsu Kanpeki. [3] Kuroko worked to adapt the Daigotsu Courtier school to her family's idiosyncratic approach to courtly duties, developing new variations on that school's existing techniques. [7]
Married[]
When she was daimyo, during the Age of Conquest, her family was very small, but growing by birth and marriage. Kuroko married Otomo Takuan, who took her name, becoming Susumu Takuan. [1] Love blossomed in a marriage that had originally been made solely for personal convenience. [3]
Winter Court[]
It came as a both a surprise and a triumph to the Spider when the Empress declared that Winter Court was to be hosted by their clan in 1197. Negotiations with the Unicorn led to the use of Shiro Ide. [8]
Ambushed[]
In 1198 during journey, Kuroko was escorted by a Unicorn unit led by Moto Jun-Ni, the legendary Demon Slayer, as Kuroko requested. Her entourage suffered a suicidal attack of Rokugani who did not accept the Spider as a Great Clan. Jun-Ni died pierced by an arrow targeted against Kuroko. [2]
Meeting Shibatsu[]
Kuroko was met at Toshi Ranbo by Iweko Shibatsu, son of the Empress, who had been fostered to the Spider and raised in the Colonies. Kuroko renewed the support of the Spider in any difficulties, including those involving Shibatsu's brother, the heir apparent. [9]
Imperial Court[]
Kuroko attended the Imperial Court, where performances about happenings in the Colonies were displayed. She met other courtiers there as Ikoma Aimi. [10]
P'an Ku's Madness[]
In 1199 the Heart of Fudo, a nemuranai which contained a portion of the mad dragon P'an Ku, was presented to the Imperial Court. Asahina Nanae reported that one of her magistrates, Tamori Yayu, would study it, to understand how to stop its influence, or communicate with it. The Imperial Advisor Moru was outraged by the Jade Champion, and blamed her for the newly revealed dealings of the Asahina with the Fudoist. The Master of Air Isawa Mitsuko revealed her presence, and alongside Nanae performed a ritual to diminish the effects of the Heart upon those in attendance. Moru's outburst was a side effect of the Heart. Mitsuko advised to take the Heart immediately to the Second City, as the way to deal with P'an Ku's madness. Kuroko protested, as she believed it would risk the Colonies, and all that they had attained for the Empress there. [11]
Crab Attacks at Court[]
The Crab Clan sought to destroy the Spider Clan, and they used the Yasuki Courtiers to erode their influence in the courts. Their attacks against the Order of the Spider attracted the ire of the Brotherhood of Shinsei. Kuroko was sent to talk with the head abbot of the Brotherhood, who was receptive to the Spider plans to teach the Crab a lesson. [12]
Taneji's Funeral[]
Otomo Terumoto, her husband's brother, became the new Otomo Daimyo in 1200 after Otomo Taneji was killed by an Oni during Winter Court. Terumoto was with his father during the attack, and he survived but fell to a deep torpor. He had slept through his father's funeral, and there was only Takuan, his son, and Kuroko, to ceremoniously lift Taneji's bones from his ashes. [13]
Reign of Iweko II[]
War on the Empire[]
During the festivals predating Iweko Seiken's coronation, the Imperial Heir had publicly humiliated Daigotsu Kanpeki by announcing that he would remove him as Spider Clan Champion. Seiken's brother, Iweko Shibatsu would join the Susumu family as their daimyo and become Lord Spider. Kanpeki considered this as betrayal of the deal between his father and Iweko I and declared war on the Empire. [14]
Spider Go Into Hiding[]
Kuroko and her yojimbo Daigotsu Atsushi met Kitsuki Kira, an oversee of the Spider Clan, in the House of Ignorant Bliss, a private theatre owned by Daigotsu Meikuko. The place was stormed by undead forces and Kira was killed on the spot by their commander Daigotsu Endo. Atsushi took the life of Kira's yojimbo, Mirumoto Rikiya, who had attempted to strike Kuroko. The undead moved the Spider out of the city, as part of the Spider rebellion against the Empire. Kuroko moved to Kyuden Shizuka, their only holding of note, and summoned there her vassals. Gyushi and the highest-ranked members of the family were beside her, after they had escaped from Toshi Ranbo. Uncertain of the loyalty of the Susumu dwelling within Kyuden Shizuka, Kanpeki elected to burn all inside. The palace was set to fire by the Daigotsu escort, with its doors locked. Survivors were in the custody of the Daigotsu family. [15] Kuroko and Takuan managed to escape, arriving in disguise to Toshi Ranbo. In the Inn of the Wilted Rose they met their new Lord, Iweko Shibatsu. [16]
See also[]
External Links[]
- Susumu Kuroko (Coils of Madness)
- Kuroko Sensei (A Line in the Sand)
| Preceded by: Susumu Masisha |
Susumu Daimyo 1188 - 1200 |
Succeeded by: Susumu Shibatsu |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 State of the Clans, Part 3, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Embers of War, Part 1: The Unicorn, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Sword and Fan, p. 185
- ↑ Kyuden Gotei Winter Court (Clarification from Dace)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Brief History of the Sanctioned Spider Clan, by Seth Mason
- ↑ The Organization of the Spider Clan, by Seth Mason
- ↑ Imperial Archives, p. 11
- ↑ Darlings of the Court, by Yoon Ha Lee
- ↑ Embers of War, Part 3: The Spider, by Shawn Carman
- ↑ There Will Be Blood, Part 2, by Shawn Carman, Seth Mason, & Robert Denton
- ↑ Gates of Chaos, Part 3, by Seth Mason
- ↑ Letters to the Clans – November 2014
- ↑ Spring Kotei 2015 Fiction Act 1: Opening Moves, Day 1, by Chris Hand, Maxime Lemaire, Mari Murdock, Fred Wan, and Robert Denton
- ↑ Thunderous Acclaim, Part 1, by Shawn Carman & Christopher Hand
- ↑ Thunderous Acclaim – Part 2, by Shawn Carman & Chris Hand
- ↑ The Dawn of Onyx Edition: The Battle of the First Seal, by Shawn Carman
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