Coast
Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 5:37 pm
Coast
The industrious and practical Rokugani people have built villages, towns, and cities on the more accessible sections of the coast to facilitate farming, fishing, trading, and travel. The rest of the coast—the cliffs, crags, and crumbling shorelines— presents far more dangers than boons and remains isolated and uncivilized. These parts of the coast represent two different elements merging in harmony or warring and bringing destruction. Earth and water—the first solid and unchanging, the second surging and ever-moving—combine to give both life and death
The unsettled lands of the north tend to be rocky, from their sheer cliffs to their beaches of stones. The massive cliffs, cold and blustery winds, and roar of the chilly ocean can give even the most stoic monk pause, as the elements whip and churn around them.
As a traveler moves south, the coast becomes flatter and more pleasant due to the warmer cur-rents. With calm winds, temperate weather, and soft, sandy beaches, these coastal areas elicit tranquility, peace, and willful contemplation. A famous example is the Fields of the Morning Sun in Shinkyou Province, a place dedicated to sacred nonviolence.
The Islands of Spice and Silk exemplify every aspect of this duality. The volcanic activity there has created sharp, craggy cliffs and shores, but the wind, rain, and water have eroded some into beach-es that rival the best of the Crane coastline. Given the islands’ subtropical climate, the weather tends to be warm most of the time, but rains and typhoons batter the shores, changing the coastline on a yearly, or sometimes monthly, basis.
This duality also reflects how peasants view the ocean. The sea is a source of life: it provides salt, fish, and seaweed, nourishing heimin and samurai alike. Fishing villages dot the coast, allowing a traveler to wander without fear of solitude, hunger, or lack of shelter. The ocean, however, also brings tsunami and typhoons, causing destruction, death, and misery.
For this reason, peasants entreat Shinseist and Fortunist priests to calm the spirits of the water and air, and because earthquakes spark tsunami, they ask them to calm the earth as well. Most villages, too small to have their own priests, seek them out in larger towns or wait for a wanderer to come by to help with blessings. Many an adventure has begun with a villager seeking out someone kind enough to visit and bless their village
Water and Salt
Because the Elemental Masters are part of the Phoenix Clan, the Phoenix suffer less from natural disasters than do other clans. The knowledge and expertise of their shugenja mean that the villages of the coast can enjoy relative safety from the vicissitudes of the elements. Peasants in Phoenix territories are well aware of their dependence on even common priests, and they devote more resources than peas-ants in other clan territories to providing room and board to these blessed individuals. Coastal villages are also an excellent source of salt, and villages with the purest salt have a mutually beneficial relationship with priests, who come to consecrate it in exchange for a portion for traveling.
Traveling clergy should not overestimate a village’s gratitude, however. Overstaying their welcome drains a village’s much-needed resources, and many villagers seek out blessings only in times of trouble—though at that point, they have little money or food to donate. Clergy also face additional hazards. If their blessings fail to provide good fortune, they may be barred from returning, or worse, attacked by angry, starving heimin. Demands for priests’ and shugenja’s services may compel them to travel up and down the coast, making them vulnerable to attacks by animals, bandits, pirates, or the strange creatures that lurk in the shadows.Villagers in Crane territory are more vulnerable to the whims of nature, as starkly illustrated by the tsunami three years ago. Even during a typical year, a severe storm can scatter friends and family. The land still hasn’t recovered from the devastation, and some villages remain in ruin, if not completely wiped out. Refugees have wandered farther inland into farmland, and tensions exist between the farming villages and these coastal newcomers.
The displacement of the population has further disrupted food production, curtailing the collection of taxes. The Daidoji Trading Council, a group of intermediaries formed centuries ago to handle the Crane’s economic affairs, provided some help in reestablishing trade after the devastation. However, it suffers from a combination of nepotism, incompetence, and negligence, forcing the Doji family to send representatives to both the council and the area devastated by the tsunami to ascertain details of the malfeasance
Refugees may be the victims of bandits or villagers who don’t want to help them, as people succumb to fear or greed, seeing the refugees not as poor souls but as vulnerable targets or a drain on their resources
The Mantis Clan lives and dies by the sea. They have mastered the water, but they also have to manage earth and fire. The volcanoes on the Islands of Spice and Silk are a source of earthquakes, steam vents, and hot springs, though no eruptions have threatened the Mantis yet. Their wealth from trade and piracy and ambitions for greater Imperial recognition mean the clan has schools, a strong literacy rate, and a quality of education as good as those of any of the Major Clans. They see the water, air, earth, and fire not as disasters to overcome but as boons to their success.
Denizens
Fish, sea urchins, kelp and other seaweed, cuttlefish, oysters, and clams are just a portion of the variety of sea life that villages and sailors gather for sustenance. While these bring life, sharks, octopuses, and other predators of the deep pose a constant threat to fishers and divers. Stories abound of impossibly giant examples of these creatures dragging ships to their graves.
Water and air kami can also threaten the coast. The key to ending such attacks usually lies in how the people there have offended the kami. It can be difficult to see the difference between a natural storm and an angry spirit. A giant squid might be a spirit taken form. Sailors under attack often pour sake, sanctified salt, or rice into the ocean, along with constant prayers. Many fishing villages have a small shrine for these offerings. A village that takes care of and is favored by the kami not only receives bountiful fish and protection from the elements, but might also gain from a patron spirit some valuable lost knowledge of the coast or protection from pirates.
Sailors also tell stories of other denizens hiding in the depths of the ocean. These beings—which look part human and part fish—don’t appear to be kami; no offering, blessing, or prayer attracts their attention. They swim in the wake of ships, watch as sailors drown, and seem to have no interest in the cargo. Villagers say they have seen these beings in inland waters also, such as White Shore Lake in the Unicorn lands. Some stories name these beings ningyo, and say they live in ruins of cities and palaces that have sunk into the sea, such as Kyuden Morehei. It is also said that if mortals eat the flesh of a ningyo, they can achieve immortality. When ningyo-sighting rumors spread, desperate or greedy hunters descend upon the hapless village causing chaos and misery in their wake
The industrious and practical Rokugani people have built villages, towns, and cities on the more accessible sections of the coast to facilitate farming, fishing, trading, and travel. The rest of the coast—the cliffs, crags, and crumbling shorelines— presents far more dangers than boons and remains isolated and uncivilized. These parts of the coast represent two different elements merging in harmony or warring and bringing destruction. Earth and water—the first solid and unchanging, the second surging and ever-moving—combine to give both life and death
The unsettled lands of the north tend to be rocky, from their sheer cliffs to their beaches of stones. The massive cliffs, cold and blustery winds, and roar of the chilly ocean can give even the most stoic monk pause, as the elements whip and churn around them.
As a traveler moves south, the coast becomes flatter and more pleasant due to the warmer cur-rents. With calm winds, temperate weather, and soft, sandy beaches, these coastal areas elicit tranquility, peace, and willful contemplation. A famous example is the Fields of the Morning Sun in Shinkyou Province, a place dedicated to sacred nonviolence.
The Islands of Spice and Silk exemplify every aspect of this duality. The volcanic activity there has created sharp, craggy cliffs and shores, but the wind, rain, and water have eroded some into beach-es that rival the best of the Crane coastline. Given the islands’ subtropical climate, the weather tends to be warm most of the time, but rains and typhoons batter the shores, changing the coastline on a yearly, or sometimes monthly, basis.
This duality also reflects how peasants view the ocean. The sea is a source of life: it provides salt, fish, and seaweed, nourishing heimin and samurai alike. Fishing villages dot the coast, allowing a traveler to wander without fear of solitude, hunger, or lack of shelter. The ocean, however, also brings tsunami and typhoons, causing destruction, death, and misery.
For this reason, peasants entreat Shinseist and Fortunist priests to calm the spirits of the water and air, and because earthquakes spark tsunami, they ask them to calm the earth as well. Most villages, too small to have their own priests, seek them out in larger towns or wait for a wanderer to come by to help with blessings. Many an adventure has begun with a villager seeking out someone kind enough to visit and bless their village
Water and Salt
Because the Elemental Masters are part of the Phoenix Clan, the Phoenix suffer less from natural disasters than do other clans. The knowledge and expertise of their shugenja mean that the villages of the coast can enjoy relative safety from the vicissitudes of the elements. Peasants in Phoenix territories are well aware of their dependence on even common priests, and they devote more resources than peas-ants in other clan territories to providing room and board to these blessed individuals. Coastal villages are also an excellent source of salt, and villages with the purest salt have a mutually beneficial relationship with priests, who come to consecrate it in exchange for a portion for traveling.
Traveling clergy should not overestimate a village’s gratitude, however. Overstaying their welcome drains a village’s much-needed resources, and many villagers seek out blessings only in times of trouble—though at that point, they have little money or food to donate. Clergy also face additional hazards. If their blessings fail to provide good fortune, they may be barred from returning, or worse, attacked by angry, starving heimin. Demands for priests’ and shugenja’s services may compel them to travel up and down the coast, making them vulnerable to attacks by animals, bandits, pirates, or the strange creatures that lurk in the shadows.Villagers in Crane territory are more vulnerable to the whims of nature, as starkly illustrated by the tsunami three years ago. Even during a typical year, a severe storm can scatter friends and family. The land still hasn’t recovered from the devastation, and some villages remain in ruin, if not completely wiped out. Refugees have wandered farther inland into farmland, and tensions exist between the farming villages and these coastal newcomers.
The displacement of the population has further disrupted food production, curtailing the collection of taxes. The Daidoji Trading Council, a group of intermediaries formed centuries ago to handle the Crane’s economic affairs, provided some help in reestablishing trade after the devastation. However, it suffers from a combination of nepotism, incompetence, and negligence, forcing the Doji family to send representatives to both the council and the area devastated by the tsunami to ascertain details of the malfeasance
Refugees may be the victims of bandits or villagers who don’t want to help them, as people succumb to fear or greed, seeing the refugees not as poor souls but as vulnerable targets or a drain on their resources
The Mantis Clan lives and dies by the sea. They have mastered the water, but they also have to manage earth and fire. The volcanoes on the Islands of Spice and Silk are a source of earthquakes, steam vents, and hot springs, though no eruptions have threatened the Mantis yet. Their wealth from trade and piracy and ambitions for greater Imperial recognition mean the clan has schools, a strong literacy rate, and a quality of education as good as those of any of the Major Clans. They see the water, air, earth, and fire not as disasters to overcome but as boons to their success.
Denizens
Fish, sea urchins, kelp and other seaweed, cuttlefish, oysters, and clams are just a portion of the variety of sea life that villages and sailors gather for sustenance. While these bring life, sharks, octopuses, and other predators of the deep pose a constant threat to fishers and divers. Stories abound of impossibly giant examples of these creatures dragging ships to their graves.
Water and air kami can also threaten the coast. The key to ending such attacks usually lies in how the people there have offended the kami. It can be difficult to see the difference between a natural storm and an angry spirit. A giant squid might be a spirit taken form. Sailors under attack often pour sake, sanctified salt, or rice into the ocean, along with constant prayers. Many fishing villages have a small shrine for these offerings. A village that takes care of and is favored by the kami not only receives bountiful fish and protection from the elements, but might also gain from a patron spirit some valuable lost knowledge of the coast or protection from pirates.
Sailors also tell stories of other denizens hiding in the depths of the ocean. These beings—which look part human and part fish—don’t appear to be kami; no offering, blessing, or prayer attracts their attention. They swim in the wake of ships, watch as sailors drown, and seem to have no interest in the cargo. Villagers say they have seen these beings in inland waters also, such as White Shore Lake in the Unicorn lands. Some stories name these beings ningyo, and say they live in ruins of cities and palaces that have sunk into the sea, such as Kyuden Morehei. It is also said that if mortals eat the flesh of a ningyo, they can achieve immortality. When ningyo-sighting rumors spread, desperate or greedy hunters descend upon the hapless village causing chaos and misery in their wake