Daigotsu Yajinden

Daigotsu Yajinden was born Asahina Yajinden. He was the lieutenant of the maho-tsukai Iuchiban and the creator of the Bloodswords. He joined Iuchiban because his thirst for knowledge and power was greater than his will. It was whispered for centuries that Yajinden never truly died, but in any case the exact date of his death was forgotten and never celebrated. Way of the Crane, p. 89
== Appearance ==
Yajinden was tall and broad-shouldered, with thick arms. He had white hair tied back in a careful topknot. Sacrifice, by Rich Wulf
== Early years ==
Yajinden was a promising student full of curiosity and gifted with a great talent in arithmetic, crafting wondrous gifts for the Daimyos and Crane courtiers. Bloodspeakers, p. 51Yajinden had an incredible gift for artifice and mastered the art of Tsangusuri in mere weeks long before his gempukku. He easily became bored and used his art to gain a position at the Imperial City. Bloodspeakers, p. 60
== Hantei Jama ==
Dissatisfied with the placid pacifism of his own family, Yaiinden had traveled to Otosan Uchi in search of excitement. The Tomb of Iuchiban: The Journal of Kuni Visten There he become a close friend with the Imperial Prince, Hantei Jama, Blood Dawn, Part VIII: Shadows of Yesterday, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf son of the Emperor Hantei X. Enemy of my Enemy, Part One, by Rich Wulf Yajinden was drawn by the magnetism Jama irradiated, and he entered in interesting research, even if they turned into sinister things. 
=== Jama's friends ===
Suru, Yajinden, and Doji Tsugiko were the only friends of Jama, being his older brother, the Imperial Heir, who was beloved and worshipped by all around him, the charismatic boy that would one day be Emperor. When the heir became terrible ill and Hantei Jama looked as the future Emperor, the children turned on him, including the heir's best friend Matsu Arashige. Suru, Yajinden, and Tsugiko were left apart. As soon as Jama's elder son recovered, the things became as before the illness. 
=== Jama's Gempukku ===
In his gempukku Hantei Jama abdicated the throne and abandoned the Hantei name, becoming Otomo Jama, as was tradition. Shortly aftr Suru and Yajinden were called by Jama and Tsugiko, and they saw the body of Arashige, stabbed to death. They hid the corpse and the assassin was not exposed. 
== The First Rising of Iuchiban ==
In 499 Yajinden helped his friend Jama in the research of the journals of the corrupted sorcerer Kuni Nakanu, which had been found by the Otomo. Jama and Yajinden studied the notes, learning the secrets of maho. Four Winds, p. 126 He saw how much his earlier studies had limited him and his curiosity became an obsession. Yajinden joined his master in a desire to overthrow the established order. Jama forced Jama Suru, a former vassal of the Shiba family who had pledged himself to Jama's service, and others to use such dark arts in his stead, while he and Yajinden remained pure. Blood Dawn, Part IX: One Tribe, by Rich Wulf Yajinden began to create the infamous Porcelain Masks which, when put on a dead body, would animate it as a Zombie. Way of the Scorpion, p. 29
=== Marching to the Burning Sands ===
When Jama went on a diplomatic mission out of Rokugan, Yajinden followed him. They journeyed to the Burning Sands, but their travel through the Ujik-hai deserts was a disaster and only four remained. The first was Suru, the second was Yajinden, and the fourth was a young maiden named Doji Tsugiko, bride of Iuchiban. Yajinden used his magic to sustain them, supplying sparse food, fresh water, and shelter from the fiery sun, but even he pleaded with Jama to turn back. Jama endured and they were granted shelter in the palace of Adisabah, a Rakshasa demon. 
=== Imprisoned ===
Adisabah imprisoned the four, in a prison designed that if Jama were to escape, he would die and the others would be free. Should another escape, they would live and their companions would die. Should any attack another, all would die. During their imprisonment Jama learned much of gaijin magic in the library of his captor, and about the people and places where he could find the knowledge that he sought. Afterwards, Jama ordered Tsugiko to kill herself, which she did willingly, freeing Jama, Suru and Yajinden. The three went to Medinaat al-Salaam. Blood Dawn, Part IX: One Tribe, by Rich Wulf Legend of the Five Rings; Fourth Edition, p. 105
=== The Khadi ===
Adisabah helped Jama to learn the secrets of the Khadi from the sorcerer Chephren. Jama later took the name Iuchiban. Blood Dawn, Part XI Adisabah realized that it had made a mistake. Iuchiban was growing in power and might eventually be able to kill the Rakshasa. Adisabah plotted with Yajinden to destroy Iuchiban. 
=== Yajinden as a Khadi ===
Iuchiban performed the same ritual with Yajinden, but commanded to never touch or seek his own heart. In this way Yajinden had been forced to live every day knowing that it reminded vulnerable. The heart was tucked away among the many treasures of the Imperial House. Shadowed Souls, by Rich Wulf
=== Return to Rokugan ===
After his return to Otosan Uchi Yajinden became his most trusted second. Iuchiban's Legacy Iuchiban founded the Bloodspeakers, an organization of maho-tsukai, and began making plans to raise an army of the undead to help him overthrow his brother and conquer Rokugan. Iuchiban asked Yajinden to use magic of tsangusuri and Kuni Nakanu's writing, to make four Bloodswords with the Anvil of Despair. They were gifted to four Clan Champions. After the death of three of these gifted champions, the surviving one, Bayushi Rikoji, started an investigation into the origin of the blades. 
=== Swapping bodies ===
Yajinden began experimenting with the body's spiritual harmonies and ways to imbue one's essence in the form of another. Artifacts required spirits to be imbued or awakened within them. Theoretically, the same could be done with the essence of a human being. Bloodspeakers, p. 52
== Servant ==
=== Bloodswords ===
The Bloodswords were four katana forged by Yajinden in 508 using the Anvil of Despair. Each weapon was of exceptional quality, and granted its wielder unnusual abilities as a powerful nemuranai. Each sword was also cursed, however, and its owner would eventually be obsessed by the trait for which each katana was named. The bloodswords were each gifted to a daimyo of a Great Clan with the intent that the weapon would destroy them, causing confusion in the Empire and aiding Iuchiban's attempt to dominate Rokugan. Three of the four cursed blades resulted in the deaths of their wielder before the Scorpion Clan Champion, Bayushi Rikoji, became suspicious and started the investigation that led to Iuchiban's downfall. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 13
=== Battle of Stolen Graves ===
In 510 at the Battle of Stolen Graves Yajinden acted as Iuchiban's shireikan and was called The Kurai no Iuchiban (The Dark Hand of Iuchiban). After the battle Yajinden was captured by the Crane Clan Champion Doji Hejiko and put upon custody by his family, the peaceful Asahina, but they decided not to kill him. They magically erased his memory and let him live out his final days peaceful as a gardener. Or so they believed. Way of the Crane, p. 45
=== Escaping ===
This was not the end of Yajinden's story. He had discovered a method of immortality that involved trading bodies with another person, allowing him to transfer his conciousness between bodies for centuries. Blood Dawn, by Rich Wulf Yajinden swapped bodies with one of his jailers and watched the unfortunate man receive the terrible sentence meant for him, then slipped away from Otosan Uchi. 
== Second Rising of Iuchiban ==
=== Ruby of Iuchiban ===
Yajinden worked to restore the Bloodspeaker Cult and free his master. In the bodies of dozens of hosts, he guided the Bloodspeakers. In 714 he gave the Ruby of Iuchiban to Iuchi Mohai, who unlocked the full potential of the stone. Imperial Histories 2, p. 131
=== Working to Free Iuchiban ===
During his long imprisonment Iuchiban had learned to project his mind to the winds, allowing his consciousness to escape the twisting corridors of his prison. While his body rotten in its chains, his spirit traveled the length and breadth of Rokugan. He began appearing to Yajinden in dreams, giving the artimancer hints and instructions. Yajind3en was set about retrieving the artifacts they would need. He attempted to retrieve the four bloodswords from where they lay, but a decade of effort retrieved only one: Revenge, snatched from Agasha Palace where it had been studied by the shugenja there. He also found the first porcelain mask, the one used by Iuchiban himself, in the workshop of a Kuni shugenja. Using it, he place the mask over the face of Fushiki, a peasant, who was transformed and set to work creating more masks, enough to furnish an entire legion. 
=== Iuchiban Escapes ===
Iuchiban used this soul-shifting capacity to escape his Tomb the first time in 750. The Khadi did not care of Yajinden anymore, a means to an end and nothing more. In this way the loyal lieutenant, who was now the heart of the cult, turned against Yajinden. Yajinden was tasked with the crafting of thousand of porcelain masks Bloodspeakers, pp. 52-53 and an undead army was created and took the field at Ryoko Owari, which was seized. After this initial success the Empire joined against Iuchiban and defeated the Bloodspeakers in the Battle of the Bloody Retreat and the Battle of Sleeping River. Disgusted with his master, Yajinden had left him transferring his essence to a new body, and fled just before the Battle of Sleeping River. Bloodspeakers, p. 53
=== Soul swapping ===
Soul swapping for Yajinden was nowhere near as easy as it was for Iuchiban. Yajinden never mastered maho the way Iuchiban did, and found the transition between one body and the next exceedingly difficult. Where Iuchiban could move at will from form to form, it often took Yajinden several hours, and usually left him weak and exhausted. Tomb of Iuchiban, p. 38
== Rebuilding the Cult ==
The Oracle of Blood appeared to Yajinden in the days following the Battle of Sleeping River. Resembling a beautiful, terrible woman formed out of a pool of blood, the oracle encouraged Yajinden to rebuild the cult. Tomb of Iuchiban, p. 45
== Betraying his Master ==
Yajinden somehow aided in the enhancement of the Tomb of Iuchiban, and expected his master would never be freed a second time, for eternity. Legions, Part II, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf
=== Corrupting the Kuni Daimyos ===
In 1109 Yajinden had corrupted the Kuni Daimyo Kuni Kaiden. The smither gave him one of the Four Masks of Iuchiban, and told how the four could release the entombed Heartless. Kaiden betrayed Yajinden and enacted a ritual to find the other three Masks to free Iuchiban, but he activated a curse laid by Yajinden on the mask which brought his own downfall. His own sons killed him, only surviving his elder son Kuni Yori. Yori was able to unlock the curse and take the Mask. Yajinden appeared and bargained with Yori, to teach the Kuni all the bloodspeakers' knowledge. Yajinden won a future ally, and Yori became more powerful and the new Kuni Daimyo. 
=== Betraying his Master ===
In 1120 Bloodspeakers, p. 57 Yajinden believed he was finally Iuchiban's superior, than he had broken free of his servitude and could force his former master to become his slave. He intended to remove the threat his master posed, and Yajinden only intended to use Iuchiban's power to continue the perfection of his art. Legions, Part III, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf He, disguised as Meishozo Nisei, Tomb of Iuchiban, p. 6 manipulated a band of samurai into aiding him in finding the Four Masks of Iuchiban, the tomb's lost keys. When he needed them no longer he had sent Shinko Kamiko to dispose of them. 
=== Entombed ===
Possessing a Kuni Witch Hunter, he managed to open Iuchiban's tomb. There, he used an artifact of his own devising to summon Iuchiban's captive spirit and began to absorb its power. Kamiko failed and the samurai had escaped his ambush and pursued him into the tomb. The timely intervention of the group halted his plan and it was Yajinden who was absorbed by the spirit of Iuchiban. The centuries of imprisonment had only increased Iuchiban's power. Iuchiban imprisoned him, desperate for any form of companionship, any form of amusement. The leadership of the cult was seized by Iuchi Shahai. Bloodspeakers, p. 9
== Third Rise of Iuchiban ==
In 1165 Yajinden was still Iuchiban's prisoner in the Tomb of Iuchiban. Shahai was able to enter the Tomb and bargained with Iuchiban. She would free Iuchiban, if the Heartless would help her make Daigotsu whole again. Shahai commanded Iuchiban to bind himself to a special Ruby, but Iuchiban fooled her and Yajinden entered the Ruby instead. After the wards of the Tomb were released Iuchiban made his way out of the Tomb and Yajinden occupied the body of Kaiu Kuma, who was an unwitting accomplice in Shahai's plan. Blood Brothers, Part IV, by Rich Wulf
=== Rain of Blood ===
After Iuchiban was freed his third rise began and Yajinden was forced again to serve the Bloodspeaker. He and Mohai marched to the Northern mountains to capture the last Ki-rin. The unicorn was sacrificed by Iuchiban to enact a terrible ritual that covered the entire Empire in a Rain of Blood. 
=== Serving the Master ===
Iuchiban forged new weapons but they were weaker than the first true Bloodswords by far. Omoni told him the Anvil of Despair was not destroyed in the battle Kokujin had had with the Dragon Clan. Yajinden would grant Omoni any favor within his power if the half-goblin helped him to find the Anvil. Iuchiban tasked Yajinden with the mission to find the Rakshasa Adisabah. 
=== Maigo no Musha ===
In 1165 Yajinden discovered the existence of this previously unknown Realm of Thwarted Destiny. He could not enter safely himself and did not pass this information to his hated master Iuchiban, so the artisan searched for an ally instead. Four Winds, p. 106 The swordsmith had spent decades imprisoned in Iuchiban's tomb, suffering all manner of torture at the hands of his master. During that time Yajinden had sought out all possible avenues of escape, and found none. By the time Yajinden made his escape he had prepared his defenses and this realm could no longer claim him. Curious about the potential of this place but unwilling to risk himself personally, he prepared to assemble an army of wretched, expendable spirits to investigate. Iuchiban knew nothing of this. Legions, Part XI
=== Hidden City ===
When Iuchiban was seeking his lost Bloodswords, Yajinden sensed Ambition in the Phoenix lands, which was in a Hidden City, a city with great power. He called Iuchiban through the Oracle of Blood, and the Heartless was interested. An army of skeletons were summoned to aid Yajinden. Fires of the Hidden City, part 1, by Rich Wulf Even with this army led by an Akodo general, Akodo Tadenori, Yajinden alone was not sure he could take the city. Dawn of Battle (Hidden City Rulebook Story), by Rich Wulf Four Winds, p. 107 Yajinden and Iuchiban marched to seize the city and to take the magical artifacts. Battle at Gisei Toshi (Hidden City Booster Story) Before Iuchiban arrived Yajinden began the attack and tried to kill Isawa Nakamuro, who was at the city to defend it, but his yojimbo, Shiba Koseki, took the spell for him instead. The battle fared badly for the Phoenix during three days until the arrival of Dragon and Monkey forces under the command of Mirumoto Kenzo and Toku, who were able to enter the city. Fires of the Hidden City, Part Two, by Rich Wulf
To protect the Black Scrolls inside the City, Nakamuro and Toku, who had come to the rescue, agreed to a counter-attack to attract Yajinden. Toku, his son Toturi Kyoji (carrying the Scrolls) and Doji Midoru fled the city on horseback and at great speed. Yajinden followed in pursuit. When they reached a canyon in the mountains, Toku made the mountains crumble on him and Yajinden together. While Yajinden was trapped under the avalanche, it gave enough time to his son to take the Scrolls to safety and to Nakamuro to hold the City walls longer and reinforcements to arrive. One Man (Imperial Herald v2 #12), by Rich Wulf
=== Yajinden's Return ===
Asako Misao was unfortunate enough to discover the body of Yajinden, who was fatally injured by the landslide caused by Toku's explosive sacrifice. In his panic, he failed to defend himself from Yajinden, who proceeded to steal his body, effectively ending his life. Yajinden despised how weak Misao's body was. Legions, Part I, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf
== Legion of Blood ==
=== Kuni Yori ===
From the vaults of Gisei Toshi he had recovered the naga Pearl Prison, that contained the imprisoned soul of Kuni Yori and Iuchi Karasu. Yajinden bargained with Yori, offering freedom in return for investigation of the Realm of Thwarted Destiny. The Kuni gathered damned spirits to aid in his conquest of the new realm, the Legion of Blood. Four Winds, p. 112
=== Legion of the Dead ===
When the Legion of Blood first began searching for this place, it began to react to their presence. It grew and fed upon them; it began to develop into an independent realm. When the Celestial Heavens sensed the imbalance, the Legion of the Dead was created by Goemon, Fortune of Heroes, to stop it. He simply assumed that his enemy was the army of Bloodspeaker spirits and marched out to stop them, never realizing that they sought this mysterious new realm on Yajinden's behalf, not Iuchiban's. Iuchiban sensed the spiritual activity of the Legion of the Dead to combat Kuni Yori. The Heartless believed this Legion had been assembled to destroy him, and commanded Yajinden to mount a defense. Yajinden gladly complied, adding the damned spirits Iuchiban offered. Four Winds, p. 115
=== Talking with Adisabah ===
Adisabah was back in Rokugan and met Yajinden in the Plains Above Evil. The Rakshasa pondered with the artisan the events about the Realm of Thwarted Destiny. He guessed the smither wished to distract Iuchiban with a war in realms beyond while Daigotsu and his other mortal enemies gathered to finish him. Legions, Part IV, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf
=== Tempting the Lords of the Death ===
The Shadow Dragon was the secret ally of Yajinden. The artisan sent the Dragon to meet the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang in Meido in 1166. The Dragon revealed the existence of the new realm, the Realm of Thwarted Destiny, to tempt them with the desire to rule it. He was swiftly dismissed by the Lords of the Death, casting aside a powerful ally and made a powerful enemy. 
== Daigotsu's soul Recovered ==
While the Lords of the Dead had been diverted from guarding Meido when they aided the Legion of the Dead at Volturnum, Legions, Part XI and Emma-O embroiled with Doji Satsume thanks to a Shadow Dragon's deception, Legions, Part IX Daigotsu Hoturi sneaked in the Emma-O's fortress and rescued the imprisoned half of Daigotsu's soul. The Dragon would gift it to Daigotsu, fully restoring the Dark Lord's former power. The plan made by Yajinden had been completed. He guessed that Daigotsu's back would be the doom of his master. Four Winds, p. 115
== Golden Obi ==
In 1166 Skub discovered the Golden Obi of the Sun Goddess in the City of the Lost, and brought it to his master Omoni. At Yajinden's suggestion, Omoni sent one of his creatures to deliver the obi to Isawa Sezaru. A Moment of Regret, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf
== Seeds of Revolution ==
Yajinden engineered a peasant revolt to harm the Empire. He traveled to a small Crane city near the Lion border, Hitsu Taekeru, that had suffered a lot during the Rain of Blood. All the samurai were tainted and later killed by the villagers. With no more bushi to control them, Yajinden supported their wishes of freedom from the caste obligations, breaking the Celestial Order. No more Crane were delivered and the villagers were rampant in bandit activities. The Lion seized the city and Yajinden ordered the heimin to begin a murdering serial of Lion officers, expecting to begin a Lion-Crane war. The arrangement of a Lion-Crane marriage between Ikoma Kusari and Doji Domotai halted the possible war, but the Yajinden's activities were not exposed. Seeds of Revolution, by Shawn Carman and Rich Wulf
=== Yajinden frees Kinuye ===
Though unable to free himself of Iuchiban's domination, Yajinden did succeed in breaking the bonds that tied Asako Kinuye to the Bloodspeaker. Yajinden would eventually be asking her for a favor in return. Vacant Throne, p. 16
== Iuchiban defeated ==
When Kisada, Matsu Aoiko led the united armies of the Lion and Crab Clans against the Bloodspeaker, supported by Sezaru, Yajinden fled, free from Iuchoban's control. Daigotsu came by sea to Otosan Uchi to fight the Heartless. Enemy of my Enemy, Part Three, by Rich Wulf After the destruction of Iuchiban, Yajinden came to the City of the Lost and asked Daigotsu to meet his ranks. The smither explained he was instrumental in the recovery of the Dark Lord's soul from Meido. He became a sworn servant of Daigotsu, and continued to pursue his art in his service. Yajinden took the Daigotsu name becoming Daigotsu Yajinden. To Save a Soul (Imperial Herald v2 #16), by Rich Wulf
=== Heart of Yajinden ===
In 1167 the smither met Iuchi Katamari and Moto Latomu. The Doomseeker had been in contact with Yajinden to root out the remnants of the bloodspeaker cult. Katamari gave to Yajinden a chrysanthemum formed of perfect crystal, in exchange of Otaku's Daisho, which had been resting in the Shadowlands for eleven centuries. The Unicorn also got the promise that Yajinden would not plot any harm against the Unicorn Clan, with the provision he could not control the actions of those who use his creations. After the Unicorn departed what once had been a crystal sculpture was now an iron box, bound in thin chains, the Heart of Yajinden. 
== Asako Kinuye ==
Yajinden had a strange relationship with Kinuye, the Phoenix Clan Bloodspeaker. She owed her life to Yajinden, because he released her bonds with the Heartless, but he did not demanded the immediate payment. Blood and Steel (Path of Hope flavor) Vacant Throne, p. 16
== Anvil of Despair ==
This year Yajinden noticed his former kin was using the Anvil. He was eager to recover it. Daigotsu Yajinden (The Truest Test flavor)
== Spider Clan ==
Yajinden joined the Spider Clan following it's creation by Daigotsu. Daigotsu Yajinden (The Truest Test boxtext)
=== Death at Kyuden Doji ===
In 1169 during the Month of the Tiger Vacant Throne, p. 99 Kitsuki Orika was found murdered in Kyuden Doji, one day before she was to marry to Kakita Matabei. Conversations in the Garden, by Shawn Carman She had been killed by Yajinden because she was beginning to threaten his activities in Shinden Asahina during the time spent by Orika in Asahina's Winter Court. Preparations, Part 2, by Lucas Twyman, Nancy Sauer, Brian Yoon, & Fred Wan
=== Night of the Spider ===
Yajinden was instrumental during Daigotsu's so-called Night of the Assassins plan in 1170, allowing the Dark Lord to communicate with all of his agents simultaneously. The ritual was enacted by Katsu, was the one that Iuchiban had used to communicate with his cultist followers. It had been modified to allow Daigotsu to see and hear that which took place through the eyes of those who were bound by it. The Heaven’s Will, Part I and Part II, by Shawn Carman
=== Anvil retrieved ===
In 1170, shortly before the ascension of Iweko I, Yajinden retook possession of the Anvil, killing it's keeper, Asahina Keitaro with his bare hands in the forge beneath Shinden Asahina. 
=== Kinuye joined Daigotsu ===
In 1171 Yajinden wrote a letter to Daigotsu, and recommended Kinuye services to him. The Widening Circle, by Nancy Sauer
=== Age of Conquest ===
During the Age of Conquest Yajinden travelled to the Colonies. In 1198 he visited the Colonial Governor Otomo Suikihime in her private audience chamber at the Second City. He did so incognito in the shape of a young man, whose body he had crafted and was possessing via khadi magic.
The man was massive in sight, moved in a hypnotic way and his features were beyond perfection. Although the governor felt alarmed by his presence, she was intrigued by the man, whose smile aroused her. During the conquests all clans discovered the hidden treasures of the now ruined Ivory Kingdoms, the Spider Clan had also found something of worth. On behalf of Daigotsu Kanpeki Yajinden gifted the formerly unclaimed holding to Imperial Families as representatives of Empress Iweko I. Suikihime chose to accept this present from the Spider Clan, but to keep her possession of the holding secret. No Imperial banners, but the Spider mon should be seen there. Before the governor could find out who the man was who intrigued her so much, Yajinden had already left unnoticed, and his true identity remained a mystery to the Otomo. The Age of Exploration, Part 4b, by Shawn Carman The holding was a camel stable in the area which would be known as the Nexus of Boyoh. 2012 Kotei: The Age of Exploration
== Return ==
In 1200 Yajinden reappeared, and taught his knowledge to the Spider, who had gone into hiding shortly after Iweko II ascended to the Throne. Yajinden Sensei (Thunderous Acclaim Title and flavor)
== Works ==
Yajinden wrote the Yajinden's Scrolls, recording his dark knowledge, Secrets of the Phoenix, p. 83 and the Yajinden's Journals, recording his personal views about tainted individuals such as himself, Iuchiban, and others. Clan Letter to the Shadowlands (Imperial Heral V2#12)
== See also ==
* Asahina Yajinden/Meta
== External Links ==
* Yajinden (Reign of Blood)
* Daigotsu Yajinden (Code of Bushido)
* Daigotsu Yajinden Exp (The Truest Test)
* Daigotsu Yajinden Exp2 (Before the Dawn)
* Yajinden Sensei (Thunderous Acclaim)
Category:Lost
Asahina Yajinden
Yajinden
Category:Spider Clan Members