Post by Rakugo on Feb 10, 2018 22:31:08 GMT
The Phoenix Clan is known throughout Rokugan for their skilled shugenja and mastery of elemental magic. The Phoenix are also noted pacifists, preferring diplomacy to war if at all possible. The Phoenix presence in the courts of the land is not great as their courtiers are relatively few, although they are not isolationists like the Dragon Clan. The Phoenix Clan was founded by the Kami Shiba, while the family of his vassal Isawa, generally ran the affairs of the clan.
The mystics and philosophers of the Phoenix seek enlightenment, but the clan also seeks to ensure their position as the controllers of magical knowledge within the Empire. With three of the four Phoenix families studying the elements it is hardly surprising they have been widely recognized in this area by the rest of Rokugan. This attitude has a detrimental side in that the other clans often see the the Phoenix as being arrogant and disinterested, as having a more intimate knowledge of the kami and their ways.
At the extreme north end of Rokugan, the Phoenix suffer some of its harshest winters. Even on the plains along the clan's southern borders, winter always brings a thick blanket of snow and ice. The roads through their territories are generally small and winding, making them very hazardous in winter. To deal with these conditions, the Phoenix have developed special outerwear for the winter months. They have cloaks to keep them warm and special shoes that allow them to walk atop the thick snows. These allow the families of the Phoenix Clan to stay in contact with each other even in the deepest winter.
The lands of the Phoenix Clan, on the far northeast corner of Rokugan, have been largely spared from the bloody conflicts that have raged throughout history. Nowhere in the lands of the Phoenix is a traveler very far from either a shrine or monastery, and the kami have roamed the land since before the rise of humanity. The whole area seems covered with a magical aura that often radiates reverence and peace.
The Mori Isawa is one of the most magical and most secluded areas within Rokugan. The Isawa family requires a great deal of solitude to conduct their research, and as a result, they have declared the forest largely off-limits to those outside the Clan. Shugenja regularly meditate in the natural clearings of the forest, and Isawa reaching their gempukku are required to spend at least one night there alone, meditating in the woods. The forest is also home to a large group of kenku who have good relations with the local humans and have a great deal of autonomy.
The leadership of the Phoenix Clan expects the members of the clan to be at least somewhat in touch with the kami and be also knowledgeable in the areas of spellcraft and magical theory. Shugenja are omnipresent in the lands of the Phoenix, and children are raised seeing spellcraft every day of their lives. Magic is the backdrop for all their studies, examinations, and work as children.
The Isawa Shugenja school accepts new students at the age of six. When a child reaches this age, the shugenja within, or closely connected to, his immediate family come together to study the child and determine if he has the ability to receive shugenja training. Among the Isawa family, nearly all children are sent to the school, as it is a great dishonor to the child's family otherwise. To the Shiba and Asako families, the testing is merely a chance to determine the child's abilities and destiny, and the schooling is not an obligation but simply a path the child might take.
The Phoenix are staunch pacifists. They have been known to intercede on behalf of oppressed minor clans and other daimyo in attempts to stop warfare within Rokugan. The Isawa believe that all life is valuable, from the weakest peasant to the mightiest emperor, and no life should be thrown away.
Many other clans take this as a sign of the weakness of their armies or the imbalance of the rule of the Council of Five. On the contrary, the Isawa do train in military maneuvers, and once the Phoenix fully commit themselves to a war, they unleash their magics with such power that the effects take years to fully heal. Because of this, the Council does not involve the clan in battle unless it is an absolute necessity. And once it becomes a necessity, the rest of Rokugan is often shocked and repulsed by the brutal efficiency of the Phoenix war machine.
Within the Phoenix Clan, one of the most valuable resources that a samurai can control is knowledge. Outside of the Phoenix, most Rokugani do not even know these secrets exist. Within the Phoenix, it is generally known which family controls a certain secret, but not necessarily who specifically knows it. These secrets pass from one holder to the next only upon the first one's death. This forbidden knowledge ranges from obscure or ancient maho rites to pre-imperial history or rituals to the location of a Black Scroll. The one thing all of these secrets have in common is that their knowledge, if revealed, would not only damn the keepers, but the clan as a whole.
The Phoenix was mostly identified with red, yellow, and orange colors.
The mystics and philosophers of the Phoenix seek enlightenment, but the clan also seeks to ensure their position as the controllers of magical knowledge within the Empire. With three of the four Phoenix families studying the elements it is hardly surprising they have been widely recognized in this area by the rest of Rokugan. This attitude has a detrimental side in that the other clans often see the the Phoenix as being arrogant and disinterested, as having a more intimate knowledge of the kami and their ways.
At the extreme north end of Rokugan, the Phoenix suffer some of its harshest winters. Even on the plains along the clan's southern borders, winter always brings a thick blanket of snow and ice. The roads through their territories are generally small and winding, making them very hazardous in winter. To deal with these conditions, the Phoenix have developed special outerwear for the winter months. They have cloaks to keep them warm and special shoes that allow them to walk atop the thick snows. These allow the families of the Phoenix Clan to stay in contact with each other even in the deepest winter.
The lands of the Phoenix Clan, on the far northeast corner of Rokugan, have been largely spared from the bloody conflicts that have raged throughout history. Nowhere in the lands of the Phoenix is a traveler very far from either a shrine or monastery, and the kami have roamed the land since before the rise of humanity. The whole area seems covered with a magical aura that often radiates reverence and peace.
The Mori Isawa is one of the most magical and most secluded areas within Rokugan. The Isawa family requires a great deal of solitude to conduct their research, and as a result, they have declared the forest largely off-limits to those outside the Clan. Shugenja regularly meditate in the natural clearings of the forest, and Isawa reaching their gempukku are required to spend at least one night there alone, meditating in the woods. The forest is also home to a large group of kenku who have good relations with the local humans and have a great deal of autonomy.
The leadership of the Phoenix Clan expects the members of the clan to be at least somewhat in touch with the kami and be also knowledgeable in the areas of spellcraft and magical theory. Shugenja are omnipresent in the lands of the Phoenix, and children are raised seeing spellcraft every day of their lives. Magic is the backdrop for all their studies, examinations, and work as children.
The Isawa Shugenja school accepts new students at the age of six. When a child reaches this age, the shugenja within, or closely connected to, his immediate family come together to study the child and determine if he has the ability to receive shugenja training. Among the Isawa family, nearly all children are sent to the school, as it is a great dishonor to the child's family otherwise. To the Shiba and Asako families, the testing is merely a chance to determine the child's abilities and destiny, and the schooling is not an obligation but simply a path the child might take.
The Phoenix are staunch pacifists. They have been known to intercede on behalf of oppressed minor clans and other daimyo in attempts to stop warfare within Rokugan. The Isawa believe that all life is valuable, from the weakest peasant to the mightiest emperor, and no life should be thrown away.
Many other clans take this as a sign of the weakness of their armies or the imbalance of the rule of the Council of Five. On the contrary, the Isawa do train in military maneuvers, and once the Phoenix fully commit themselves to a war, they unleash their magics with such power that the effects take years to fully heal. Because of this, the Council does not involve the clan in battle unless it is an absolute necessity. And once it becomes a necessity, the rest of Rokugan is often shocked and repulsed by the brutal efficiency of the Phoenix war machine.
Within the Phoenix Clan, one of the most valuable resources that a samurai can control is knowledge. Outside of the Phoenix, most Rokugani do not even know these secrets exist. Within the Phoenix, it is generally known which family controls a certain secret, but not necessarily who specifically knows it. These secrets pass from one holder to the next only upon the first one's death. This forbidden knowledge ranges from obscure or ancient maho rites to pre-imperial history or rituals to the location of a Black Scroll. The one thing all of these secrets have in common is that their knowledge, if revealed, would not only damn the keepers, but the clan as a whole.
The Phoenix was mostly identified with red, yellow, and orange colors.