Tsuno

The Tsuno were creatures similar to ogres. Originally from the Spirit Realms, they were savage creatures who were consumed by bloodlust. Like ogres, tsuno worked together in groups and had a strange code of honor. Tsuno used weapons and armor and followed a veteran tsuno who was refered to as a ravager. The shugenja of the tsuno were called soultwisters. Their magic called upon the different spiritual realms and was not considered maho. Soultwisters could learn blood magic if they wish. Fortunes & Winds, pp. 92-94
== Appearance and Life Cycle ==
The Tsuno had smooth shells and curving steel horns, The Last Rememberer, Part Three, by Rich Wulfwith little physical distinction between the male and female genders. The Tsuno were extraordinarily long-lived, and Soultwisters were effectively immortal due to their mastery of spirit magic. Tsuno reproduced very rarely, producing one offspring per century. Tsuno children were rare and tended to by the entire order as treasures. Fortunes & Winds, pp. 93-94
== Origin ==
=== Order of Tsuno ===
The Kitsu race were a peaceful people, divided into eight great orders, each representing a different facet of their society. Only one brotherhood was dedicated to the arts of war, acting in the defense of the whole. This was the order led by a great elementalist named Kishenku, the order was called Tsuno. Fortunes & Winds, p. 92
=== Fall of the Alliance ===
It was recently been discovered that the Tsuno were originally renegade Kitsu. Jigoku took act in its attempt to control Ningen-do and sent oni and began to wage war upon Ningen-do. Succumbed to rage and hatred the Kitsu leader of the Tsuno Soultwisters, Tsuno Kishenku, attacked the City of Night governed by Soli Xiaomin, an elder Kitsu mystic. Kishenku got control of a powerful nemuranai, a crystal focus and used the crystal to incinerate most of the twisted invaders from Jigoku, but he lost control of the crystal and a wave of energy ripped through the City of Night, killing its inhabitants and turning the city itself into a strange purple crystal. The shockwaves rippled across the world, bringing death and ruin to all the cities of the Five Races. Enemies of the Empire, pp. 175-176 The Kenku had installed safeguards against the ambitious, and when Kishenfeu attempted to reshape the world, those safeguards had taken effect. It marked the end of the Alliance of the Five Races. 
=== Banished ===
Soli Izumo, the fallen lord of the Kitsu, hunted the rebellious Tsuno, and captured them after a great battle. The Tsuno were banished from the City of Night as traitors, sent to Toshigoku by their brethren. Over the centuries they were twisted into becoming the creatures known as Tsuno, Four Winds p. 90 and not surprisingly grew to hate the Kitsu and the Lion Clan. Lifeless, Part Two, by Rich Wulf The Tsuno attempted to return Ningen-do two times. Both attempts met with egregious failure, and were not spoken of by the Tsuno elders. They eventually managed to control the travel between Realms, releasing from their imprisonment in Toshigoku. Fortunes & Winds, pp. 92-93
=== Daigotsu's Visit ===
In the 12th century Daigotsu visited Tsuno Nintai in their imprisonment at Toshigoku. After the Dark Lord informed that the kitsu had been slain and all but swallowed by the Lion Clan, Nintai thirsted for vengeance. The Tsuno leader followed Daigotsu's instructions to lead the Tsuno to freedom, back to Ningen-do. Rather than return to the mortal realm immediately, Nintai and his brethren began to explore the Spirit Realms, learning to harness the powers of each dominion and incorporate them into his own magic. Nintai founded his own school in the temple of Toguchi Shinden to instruct others, and also trained them in the arts of war. Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 42
=== Tsuno and the Taint ===
Tsuno were not native Shadowlands beasts. The taint had no hold on them; they merely wore it as a cloak to mask their true origins. 
=== Traveling Between Realms ===
The Tsuno had become a separate, independent race. Though the magic that bound them in Toshigoku endured for many centuries, the Tsuno Soultwisters eventually shattered the prison, allowing the Tsuno to wander freely once more. Wherever foul murder had occurred or the earth had drunk the blood of samurai armies, they could appear. Aid of the Grand Master (Dark Allies) This ability permitted the Tsuno to appear in different places, using the surprise in the most devastating way.
=== Magic ===
The Tsuno Soultwisters practiced a powerful form of magic that augmented their battle abilities. As creatures of both spirit and flesh, the Tsuno used their innate ability to access the Spirit Realms to power their spells, drawing upon the essence of different realms in order to achieve different effects. Way of the Shugenja, p. 84 They opened passages from Toshigoku to Ningen-do in places where great battles had been fought. Fortunes & Winds, p. 93
== Tsuno and the Lion ==
=== The Death of Akodo ===
As the Ikoma Libraries and Hall of Ancestors were being built, they were unexpectedly attacked by the Tsuno in 99. The Kami Akodo confronted the army in Seikitsu Pass, and just as the battle seemed lost Akodo called out to his mother, the Lady Sun, Amaterasu. Akodo's mighty roar collapsed the pass on himself and the foul Tsuno. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 10 Way of the Lion, pp. 32-33
=== Shimizu Family ===
When experimenting with maho in his quest for power, the Shimizu Daimyo Shimizu Tamayu accidentally opened a passage to the Realm of Slaughter, where he encoun­tered the Tsuno. They taught Tamayu their technique of binding demons to nightmare. If he succeeded in destroying the Lion Clan, the creatures promised they could teach him more. Shimizu named Oni no Tamayu, and the family began to follow the demon's will. Secrets of the Lion, p. 88
=== Destruction of the Shimizu ===
After the purge of the Shimizu family, the Lion Clan thought them dead. This, however, was not the case. A lone Shimizu escaped the purge of Akodo Giri, carrying a larval offspring of the Tamayu no Oni. While this Shimizu was in hiding, he rebuilt the cult worshipping the Oni, who cautiously presented themselves to the Tsuno. Although the Tsuno consider the Shimizu untrustworthy and pitiful, they entered into a shakey alliance with the decimated Shimizu, and it was through the Shimizu that many major events in Rokugani history have been influenced by the Tsuno. The Tsuno taught the Shimizu a ritual that allowed them to summon the spirits of those slain during Akodo Giri's assault, and allowed the spirits to possess a living body. Secrets of the Lion, pp. 88-89
== Alliance with Daigotsu ==
In 1157 Daigotsu made an alliance with the Tsuno: they would research travel between Realms, as part of the Daigotsu's quest for the return of Fu Leng, and the Dark Lord would aid their revenge against the Lion Clan. Prelude to Darkness, Part 6: The Dark Lord, by Rich Wulf The Tsuno helped create Nikushimi, the so called Nightmare of the Lion. Four Winds, p. 81
=== Tsuno Lands ===
The Tsuno were given control of a large area of land deep in the Shadowlands. They brought their temples from the far reaches of Toshigoku, Jigoku and Yume-do to the mortal realm. This shift had given the Tsuno a base of operations and allowed them to interact with the other denizens of the Shadowlands with greater ease. Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 38
=== First Sightings ===
In 1158 Hiruma Scouts saw the Tsuno for first time in Rokugan while hunting the killers of Emperor Toturi I in Shinomen Mori.Clan Letter to the Crab #15 (Welcome Home Letter) The Tsuno had killed the Unicorn patrol guards, Eyes Shall Not See (Gold flavor) taken the naga cities. There they were torturing the sleeping Naga, using their pain to transport themselves across Rokugan creating connections between the Realm of Slaughter, where they dwelling, and the Mortal Realm. This allowed them to attack by surprise and quickly retreat. To Live By the Sword, by Shawn Carman Shosuro Yudoka was the first human who killed a Tsuno in personal combat. Secrets of the Scorpion, p. 38
== Ogres ==
Kayobun, leader of the Free Ogres, had been approached by emissaries of Daigotsu, the Dark Lord of the Shadowlands. The ogres only respected strength, and Daigotsu's ambassadors, Lost or Goblins, were returned in pieces. Daigotsu approached the Tsuno to turn the ogres in his favor, so Tsuno Kurushimi and a small pack of Ravagers approached the Free Ogres. Kurushimi challenged and defeated Kayobun in an unarmed combat, so the ogres swore fealty to the Tsuno in return for their freedom. Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 43
== Matsu Turi ==
In 1156, under the leadership of Tsuno Kurushimi, the Tsuno had allied with the Dark Oracle of Water Matsu Turi to work together in the destruction of the Lion Clan. The Tsuno discovered a blade they believed to be the sword of Akodo himself, Akodo's No-Dachi, and continued their search for his tomb. Season of the Shadowlands The Tsuno swore they would find Akodo's remains and return them to their Dark Lord, and attacked both the Hall of Ancestors and Kitsu Tombs in 1159 in efforts to aid this search. A Lion's Honor Four of the five urnes with the ashes of the First Five were taken, limiting the Kitsu ability to reach other Spirit Realms. Secrets of the Lion, p. 86 Later in the same year they attacked the Lion forces who retrieved the remains of Akodo from Turi, but were routed without the aid of Turi. 
=== Kitsu Okura's Journal ===
In these raids the Tsuno also retrieved the journals of Kitsu Okura, which contained the research Okura had done about travel between Spirit Realms. This journal aided the Tsuno in further mastering these travels and allowed Daigotsu to engineer the freedom of Fu Leng and assault on Tengoku, the Celestial Heavens. Prelude to Darkness, Part 6: The Dark Lord, by Rich Wulf
== Four Winds March ==
When the Four Winds Marched in 1160 against the City of the Lost the Tsuno fought the Tadaka's Children, the animated clay soldiers. Field of Glorious Slaughter (Winds of Change flavor)
== Nezumi Conflicts ==
=== Chief of Tomorrow ===
The Tsuno used their own mastery of the Realm of Dreams to forge a creature out of nightmares, piecing together the shattered dreams of the Stained Paw Tribe and infusing them into one of their own kind, creating the illusion that was the Tomorrow Chieftain, Ikm'atch-tek, and led the Stained Paw. Report of Miya Shoin to the Righteous Emperor, Toturi III (Imperial Herald v2 #16)
=== Tsuno Trap ===
In 1165 shortly before the Rain of Blood, the Tsuno and the Stained Paw led by Tsuno Nintai and Ikm'atch-tek lured the Crippled Bone Tribe to a trap in the Meeting Place. Blood Dawn, Part IX: One Tribe, by Rich Wulf Only the arrival of the Grasping Paw Tribe avoided the total destruction of the Crippled Bone. The Last Rememberer, Part One, by Rich Wulf
=== City of Dreams ===
The City of Dreams, a copy made by Nintai of the ancient nezumi city of Chitachtr-foo, was used as the warren by the Stained Paw, and guarded by Tsuno Soultwisters. The Last Rememberer, Part Two, by Rich Wulf In 1166 in the Battle of One Tribe the city was attacked and Nintai returned to his kitsu form. The Tsuno wished to destroy Nintai and were magically transported to the city to find Nintai had moved it to I'thich, the Realm of Dreams, a place where even the Tsuno could not escape. The Last Rememberer, Part Three, by Rich Wulf
== Tsuno Holdings ==
* Toguchi Shinden
* Nikushimi Shinden
* Tsukuroi Shinden
* The Vault of the Tsuno
== Known Tsuno ==
* Ikm'atch-tek Ikm'atch-tek
* Kishenku Fortunes & Winds, p. 92
* Nikushimi Nikushimi
* Tatakiwaru Honor's Grave, by Shawn Carman
* Tsuno Kaimen Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 40
* Tsuno Kira Tsuno Kira
* Tsuno Kizuato Way of the Samurai, p. 89.
* Tsuno Kurushimi 
* Tsuno Mohan The Last Rememberer, Part Two, by Rich Wulf
* Tsuno Mosagi Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 41
* Tsuno Nintai Tsuno Nintai
* Tsuno Sochi Tsuno Sochi
* Tsuno Shingai 
* Tsuno Takuma Tsuno Takuma
== See also ==
* Tsuno/Meta
Order of Tsuno
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