The Maw's Skull

The Maw's Skull was the purified skull of one of the most dangerous oni ever to threaten the Crab Clan.
== Skull's Discovery ==
It was following the Battle of the Cresting Wave that Hida Banuken's followers discovered the mighty Oni Lord's corpse among the fallen. A unit of tainted Crab samurai, the first unit in Crab history to carry the banner of the Damned, had brought the demon low. The Maw was the most devastating threat the Crab had yet faced, and the Crab Champion decided to make an example of the demon's defeat. Way of the Crab, pp. 31-34 In 717 Imperial Histories 2, p. 133, the Maw's Skull was cleaned, purified of all taint, and mounted above the gates of Kyuden Hida. Since that day, it has stood as a mute guardian of the Crab's most powerful family. After a time, the purified skull began to adopt the Hida family's fighting spirit. Way of the Crab, p. 34 Any Shadowlands creatures nearby were affected by Fear. Secrets of the Crab, p. 29
== The Maw severed from Ningen-do ==
Since Fu Leng's escape from Meido, his most powerful servants had likewise been summoned forth from the depths of Jigoku. This included The Maw, who stood among Fu Leng's lieutenants in the army of demons besieging the Celestial Heavens. To The Maw's dismay, the Oni Lord had been unable to dispatch any of its spawn to the mortal realm since its return. Apparently the existence of its purified skull barred it from effecting the Empire in any physical way. The Maw had recently begun communicating with human pawns, hoping to manipulate them into destroying the skull. 
== Return of the Maw ==
This manipulation succeeded, as the shugenja Shokansuru sacrificed himself to break the spells over the skull, and a crack began to appear in it. This had allowed the Maw to return from Jigoku once again. Dawn of the Lotus, The Shadowlands, by Shawn Carman
Category:Crab Clan Nemuranai