Schools

The guidance of the Oracle of Thunder allows the shugenja of the Mantis Clan to discover new ways to call on the power of Thunder.

Perhaps no family in the Empire is so keenly attuned to the ways of the Realm of Animals as the Kitsune family. Throughout their long history, first as the Fox Clan and later as a family of the Mantis Clan, certain individuals within their ranks appear to be able to slip free of the normal confines of Earth magic and accomplish amazing feats through their pacts with the animal spirits of Chikushudo.

The Mantis love chain weapons, especially the kusarigama ; which was wielded by none other than their clan founder, Kaimetsu-Uo. Basic Mantis chain weapon training is similar to the training in other clans, but the clan’s most advanced chain-weapon fighters train in the Cliff’s Edge Dojo, learning specialized maneuvers taught only by the most experienced sensei. Many students undertake special pilgrimages to be able to truly master the Mantis techniques.

For much of their history, the Kitsune people have been sequestered in their own small region of the Empire, struggling for survival and attempting to overcome the many deficits of resources that have plagued them since their creation as the Fox Clan a thousand years ago. Because of their struggle for survival, the Kitsune have rarely possessed the resources to devote any time or energy to the pursuit of the arts. Despite this, however, a unique tradition of artistry has arisen among their ranks, a testament to the notion that the soul of a samurai yearns for beauty, no matter his surroundings. Those who have spent time in the forest have learned to see the beauty of their surroundings, appreciating it for exactly what it is, and leave their mark upon it in delicate ways. The most unique aspect of the Kitsune artisan tradition, however, is that in its purest state, it is performed without damaging the materials from which it is created. Living sculptures are created from the trunks of trees that continue to grow and thrive following their creation. Others are crafted from boulders that remain in place, continuing to support whatever lay atop them with no loss of stability. With the increase in the family’s profile as part of their incorporation into the Mantis Clan, they were called upon to create more permanent, traditional works of art for the benefit of their clan’s court endeavors, but the spirit of their work remains the same. The removal of their creations has caused some degree of discomfort to many Kitsune artisans, but the strange nature of their craft is such that it has become an instant sensation in many courts, and the displays found in Broken Wave City are among the most popular in the current court season.

At their heart the Kitsune are a simple people who have weathered the centuries due to their unique harmony with the forest and spirits around them. Although many of the family possesses the ability to speak with the kami, there are plenty in each generation who are unable to do so. These men and women still serve their clan, however, and still possess the same link their kinsmen enjoy with the wilderness. They are among the finest woodsmen to be found anywhere in the Empire.

The Mantis Clan is the undisputed master of the seas. Each captain of their ships is trained to handle the worst the waters can throw at him. The Mantis Navigator, meanwhile, can solve any problems beyond the abilities of a normal man. His mastery of the seas is unparalleled; his whispered prayers can calm the roughest seas and clear the darkest skies. The crew can rest easy , knowing the Navigator will get them back to land without fail.

The strange origins and history of the special groups known as the Orochi Riders are explained in the L5R 4th Edition supplements Enemies of the Empire (the Spirits chapter) and The Great Clans (Mantis chapter). In the latter half of the twelfth century, the Orochi Riders are a small but extremely powerful element of the Mantis Clan military, and the closest thing the clan has to a cavalry tradition.

Yoritomo is credited both with perfecting the final technique of his family’s school and also with developing this powerful variation of the Mantis fighting style, the so-called Whirlwind Fighting style. This form relies on a mixture of relentless motion and relentless attacks to both obstruct enemy blows and overwhelm the foe with rapid strikes. Among the Yoritomo it is often the preferred fighting form to use in duels within the family, and some Mantis call the masters of this style “Whirlwind Duelists.”

For much of their existence the Moshi family were without a ready source of bushi to defend their holdings. The family's meager resources permitted them to hire a small number of ronin to supplement the very limited numbers of their own family who were not shugenja, but it was generally agreed that this was insufficient, and only the extreme isolation of the family's holdings prevented it from being a critical problem. The lack of bushi has been less of an issue since the family's induction into the Mantis Clan, since the Yoritomo can supply ample forces to secure the Moshi homelands, but the family still prefers to have its most sacred locations defended by its own.

The bushi unit known as the Guardians of the Sun has evolved over the centuries. It is comprised of the finest Moshi warriors available and specializes not only in the defense of the homeland but also in the protection of the family's shugenja. While not as well known as the Shiba or Daidoji yojimbo traditions, the Guardians of the Sun are nevertheless well regarded for their dedication and prowess.

The Rajya ke Varisa are a group of Crab, Unicorn, and Mantis samurai who study the fighting techniques of the Ivory Kingdoms kshatriya and find ways to use them in conjunction with Rokugani combat techniques. The gaijin turned-Mantis known as Yoritomo Singh also contributes to the organization’s training, seeking to preserve some aspects of his former culture. So far they have managed to devise only one technique, albeit one of significant value.

Founded in the years immediately after the creation of the Centipede Clan, the Sisters of the Sacred Light were originally created to deal with infestations of mischievous spirits. Although founded by the Centipede, they recruit women from several clans, and those women are expected to forsake their former loyalties in order to follow the path of purity and wisdom which the Sisters teach. They dress in the traditional garb of a temple priestess (a red hakama and white gi), bereft of all markings save for a single clan mon to indicate their ancestry.

The formation of the Three Man Alliance is the first step in a process of twelfth-century consolidation among the Minor Clans, leading to (among other things) the combination of the Mantis, Wasp, and Centipede clans into the Great Clan of the Mantis and, later in the century, the creation of the Minor Clan Alliance. It is the creation of the Three Man Alliance and their military victory over the Scorpion Clan that first inspires the Minor Clans to band together for greater benefit and effect, and many successful officers from that first military alliance eventually go on to achieve military and political prestige within the Minor Clan Alliance.

The fighting technique of the Three Man Alliance is formed by the combined efforts of several experienced soldiers from the Sparrow and Wasp. The warriors pool their life experience and develop a unified technique to carry back to their respective clans. Although the Three Man Alliance is superseded during the later Clan War by Yoritomo's Alliance, the technique it developed survives, and decades later it is still occasionally taught in Suzume and Tsuruchi dojo.

The Mantis love chain weapons, especially the kusarigama - which was wielded by none other than their clan founder, Kaimetsu-Uo. Basic Mantis chain weapon training is similar to the training in other clans, but the clan’s most advanced chain-weapon fighters train in the Cliff’s Edge Dojo, learning specialized maneuvers taught only by the most experienced sensei. Many students undertake special pilgrimages to be able to truly master

the Mantis techniques.

A creation of the Moshi family, the College of Clarity is less of a formal learning institution and more of a philosophical movement that focuses on allowing one’s ascendant Fire-aligned chi to grant a pure and unadulterated view of the world. The College remained very obscure until some samurai realized its philosophies lent themselves well to the study of iaijutsu. Since that time, some duelists have traveled great distances to avail themselves of the College’s teachings.

Tsuruchi never gave up trying to perfect his skills as an archer, and he perfected this final technique shortly before he was critically wounded at the Battle of Oblivion's Gate. He taught it to only a bare handful of his most trusted followers. Since then, only the most worthy and elite of the Tsuruchi family have been trusted to learn its secrets.

The origins of the Tsuruchi family are found in the Wasp Clan, the tiny Minor Clan that would later join the Mantis Clan and become the Tsuruchi. The family’s founder, a ronin born of a union of Lion and Scorpion, despised the blade because to him it represented all that was wrong with the clans of his parents, the same clans that robbed him of everything he knew and loved in the world when he was little more than a child. Because of this, he eschewed it completely and expected his followers to do the same; the samurai who served the Wasp did not even carry a katana. Generations of war and decades of service to the Mantis, however, as well as the retirement of Tsuruchi himself to the ranks of the Brotherhood of Shinsei, gave rise to a new generation of samurai who saw no reason to cast off study of the blade, and in fact embraced it to the fullest. With the natural athleticism of the Tsuruchi, swordsmanship comes easily once embraced, and the Tsuruchi swordsmen are rapidly developing a reputation as the finest in the entire Mantis Clan. Granted, this is not the greatest praise, given that most families within the clan embrace alternative weapons as their primary combat style, but other clans have begun to recognize the potential of Tsuruchi as opponents.

The Yoritomo as a whole are not known for their patience, but they have found that it is occasionally a useful virtue in the courts. Beginning with the era of White Stag, the Emissaries emerged as the exception to the Mantis Clan's general diplomatic habits. They are well-trained court functionaries, schooled to handle hostile negotiations with calm patience, displaying much greater subtlety then "normal" Yoritomo courtiers.

The Mantis Clan was once a Minor Clan, and the Yoritomo have never shied away from performing questionable activities to make a name for themselves. Over the years they have been smugglers, pirates, and mercenaries. The Mantis have gained legitimacy with time, but old habits are hard to break - especially when those habits are quite effective in fulfilling the Yoritomo's wishes. The Scoundrel may perform feats that are considered beneath a samurai, but he knows what he does is for the good of his clan.

Although the Mantis are not known for their artistic traditions, their sailors' penchant for wood-carving on long voyages has developed over time into a modest school within the clan. The clan drew on commercial ties with the Crane or the Phoenix to gain the services of their artistic sensei and develop its casual skills into a true Technique. In modern times, the Mantis use this group as a source of both political favor and personal leverage.