Ujik-hai

From L5r: Legend of the Five Rings

The Ujik-hai were a race of of nomadic, warrior horsemen who lived on the steppes of the lands past Rokugan, towards the Burning Sands. At first, they tried to conquer the Ki-Rin Clan when the Ki-Rin first started their exploration of the lands beyond the Empire, but eventually several of their number joined the with the Rokugani. They gifted the Ki-Rin with several innovations in both survival and horsemanship, and were a large influence on Unicorn Clan culture and practices.

[edit] Meeting the Ki-Rin

The Ujik-hai were the first inhabitants of the Burning Sands that the Ki-Rin Clan encountered. They were a warrior people, living on the harsh steppes of the Burning Sands, and noticed the Ki-Rin's scouts. The chieftain of the Ujik-hai decided to take the Rokugani's equipment and mounts for his people. They approached Lady Shinjo under a banner of peace, and she agreed to meet with them, accompanied only by the heads of the other Ki-Rin families and a small retinue.

Once the barbarians had Shinjo and her people surrounded, the chieftain launched his attack. While the Ki-Rin were not by nature warriors, and rather explorers, they were not as defenseless as might be hoped. Shinjo, a Kami, personally slew fifty men, including the Ujik-hai's chieftain. The likes of Otaku Shiko, Ide and Iuchi also accounted for several dozen. The chieftain's son, horrified by Shinjo not only cleaving his father's head from his shoulders but also lopping the head in half before it touched the ground, led his remaining men in escape.

[edit] Joining the Ki-Rin

Several of the Ujik-hai approached Shinjo after their disastrous ambush, wishing to follow a leader as powerful as the Kami. After a night's discussion, Shinjo agreed to let the barbarians join the Ki-Rin. Further hostile encounters between the Ki-Rin and the Ujik-hai convinced more and more of the nomadic horsemen to join the Rokugani, and it was not long before the Ki-Rin were a true power in the steppes beyond the Empire.

It was the Ujik-hai who taught the Ki-Rin how to best survive out in the wilderness, where both food and water were not easily found. Also, they brought the explorer clan new innovations in the riding of horses - the saddle and the stirrup.

Lady Shinjo often spent time with one of the Ujik-hai's elders, an old woman named Martazera. She would often tell the Kami stories of the things her dead sons had done, such as fighting against other peoples of the deserts, and strange creatures to be found in the Burning Sands. It was Martazera that led Shinjo to realize how much other lands truly differed from that of Rokugan. She also introduced the custom of the kurichitai, or 'last ride,' that some Unicorn whom are too weak to support their clan in any way take at the end of their lives, instead of retiring to a monastery.

[edit] Major References

• Way of the Unicorn Pages 27-29.

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