Moto Gaheris

Please note: This article is about the Khan of the Burning Sands who returned the Desert Moto to Rokugan beside Lady [[Shinjo]. For other uses of the term, please see Puja (disambiguation).
Moto Gaheris was appointed by Shinjo herself to lead the Unicorn Clan after their previous Champion, Shinjo Yokatsu was exposed as a Kolat and the Shinjo family removed from power. Gaheris, disgusted with the Shinjo family commissioned the construction of a new castle to be the base of power for the Unicorn. Shiro Moto was the resulting structure. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 300 His gaijin scimitar hung in the walls of Shiro Moto. Secrets on the Wind - Part 3, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman
== Ujik-hai ==
Gaheris was descendant of the Ujik-hai, a nomad tribe of murderers who did not know the grace of the Fortunes and the protection of the kami, worshipping the Lords of the Dead, the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang. The Last Ride, Part 1, by Rich Wulf They knew of the Rakshasa of the Ivory Kingdoms in the East, and the worshippers of the dead, the Senpet Empire from the West. Gaheris (LBS - Shadow of the Tyrant flavor)
=== Arrival of Shinjo ===
When Lady Shinjo first appeared, the dark Gods ordered the Ujik-hai to attack the Kami, but they were defeated. Those who swore to follow Shinjo got protection from the demons they once served, took a new name becoming the Moto. 
=== Cursed by the Lords of the Death ===
The dark gods without their worship withered, surviving only by the power of their anger, waiting for their vengeance. They went to Toshigoku, the Realm of Eternal Slaughter, a place to die or to kill. The Moto were moving for eight centuries until they took rootin the soul of a Moto who lingered in one place for too long, Moto Tsume. The Lords took his soul, made a bargain with Fallen Kami and gave Tsume's body to him, setting a trap for the Moto. The Last Ride, Part 2, by Rich Wulf
== Khan of the Moto Clan ==
Somehow Gaheris deposed the Khan Moto Kiyoshi, and became the new leader of the Moto Clan. Kiyoshi (LBS - The Awakening Boxtext)
== Rokugani in the Burning Sands ==
In 1130 Kiyoshi told Gaheris the Senpet had enslaved the Scorpion Clan. The former Khan saw it as an opportunity to take revenge on the Senpet, easy prey after the combat. Gaheris refused, believing it would be challenging prophecy, and it would only give problems to the Moto. Kiyoshi alongside Moto Marik took half of the Clan to fight the Scarab Empire warriors. When Gaheris realized it took the rest of the clan to avoid the total demise of Kiyoshi's supportes. His wife, the Ashalan Moto Kara, saw a storm in the distance, a bad omen. The Senpet, by Patrick Kapera
=== Defeated by the Senpet ===
The Moto-Senpet War began when the Senpet were returning from their victory over the Scorpion Clan and the Moto descended upon them. But a sudden sandstorm swept up around them, and the will of the Lady washed them away into the sand. Kara (LBS - Shadow of the Tyrant flavor) As they charged the Senpet army, the sand beneath them opened and wretched, Ghul's twisted fingers reached up at their horses' legs. Kara watched the Khan Gaheris slip into the sand, followed by the screaming Senpet. Army of Ghuls (LBS - Shadow of the Tyrant flavor) The Senpet riders came from the west and Senpet chariots charged from the east. They turned the horde about, but there was nowhere left to run. Kara's Last Stand (LBS - Shadow of the Tyrant flavor) Gaheris and Kiyoshi were gone. Lost to the Sands (LBS - Shadow of the Tyrant flavor)
== The Prophecy ==
Gaheris was supposed to be dead and Kiyoshi got the khanate. Gaheris began a journey to fullfill an ancient prophecy, the Awakening. 
=== Black Earth ===
In 1132 Secrets of the Unicorn, p. 81 Gaheris underwent a divine experience and traveled to the Black Earth. Black Earth (LBS - The Awakening flavor) Gaheris focused on the swirling darkness, and gazed a figure into the rift, Ryoshun. Gazing Into the Rift (LBS - The Awakening Picture and flavor) The Tenth Kami, the Guardian of the Rift, guided him there, but suddenly he disappeared. Guardian of the Rift (The Awakening flavor) Gaheris did not know that Ryoshun had been retrieved by a maho ritual and shortly after was killed by the Bloodspeaker Jama Suru. Deadly Fright (Soul of the Empire flavor)
=== Awakening ===
The screaming voice of the Kami Shinjo was sharp, hollow, and filled with remorse as she soared out of the barren realm. Voice of the Star (LBS - The Awakening flavor) The great goddess Shinjo had awaken from her slumber beyond the rift and flied forth into the Black Earth where Moto Gaheris was waiting. They eventually escaped the barren realm of the Black Earth, and Shinjo's freedom was complete. Re-Awakening, Part 1, by Lucas Twyman Gaheris' wife Kara was one of the four mystical avatars who sacrificed themselves to free the Kami Shinjo from her long sleep. Great Clans, p. 249
=== Releasing the Hanif ===
During the Awakening the enslaved Hanif had escaped from their Senpet captors. They tried to elude the pursuing Senpet, but it appeared that they would nearly all be recaptured this night. Then, without warning, Gaheris arose from the Burning Sands to aid them. Steed of the Goddess (LBS - The Awakening flavor)
== Clan Champion ==
Ahter Gaheris had walked alongside a living god and knowing the impossible fate of the future he decided to follow Shinjo. Casualties of Fate (LBS - The Awakening flavor) He knew the time had come for him to lead his people back to Rokugan. Only a handful of tribes remained in the Sands, under the leadership of Moto Ambaghai, son of Gaheris' younger brother Moto Khaidu. 
=== Rokugan ===
Gaheris accompanied Shinjo in her return to Rokugan, alongside a vast Scorpion army. Shinjo personally executed hundreds of members of her own clan, revealing them to be Kolat Hidden Emperor, p. 52 and raised the Moto family as leaders of the Unicorn, making the Khan Gaheris the new Unicorn Clan Champion. Hidden Emperor, p. 83 He insisted his followers call him by his traditional title, the Khan. The Legion of the Dead: Khan of the Sands Gaheris advised to kill Yokatsu's son, Shinjo Shono, who had vowed to serve Shinjo loyally and atone the sins of his family. Shinjo spared his life accepting his vow. Hidden Emperor, p. 54
=== March to Otosan Uchi ===
Shinjo and the Unicorn prepared to march against the maddened Emperor Toturi I. Gaheris rode at her side alongside with the White Guard and the Otaku Battle Maidens, leaving Unicorn lands under the care of Shono. At the Imperial City the Unicorn fought the Imperial armies. The battle stopped when they realized Toturi had disappeared again, and Shinjo offered the throne to Yoritomo, who rejected it. Gaheris, the only other Champion Shinjo trusted, was a strange to Rokugan an unable to occupy the throne. Hidden Emperor, p. 55
=== Shiro Moto ===
The same year Gaheris built Shiro Moto, ending the nomad life of the Moto, but the dark Gods knew where to find the betrayers. Gaheris placed the future of the clan before the safety of his own soul. After the death of the Clan Champion the Shi-Tien Yen-Wang would harvest his spirit. 
=== War against the Dark Moto ===
Otaku Kamoko, who was leading the Dark Moto to their doom, informed the Unicorn clan where they would be and their numbers. Clan Letter to the Unicorn #12 (Imperial Herald v3 #4) In 1133 Gaheris led the Shinjo, Iuchi and Ide against the Dark Moto, deep in the Twilight Mountains, beneath the Akui Cliffs, The Battle at Oblivion's Gate, by Ree Soesbee in the Battle of Twilight Mountains. He defeated the lost Unicorn, bringing back the Moto family into the Clan. Secrets of the Unicorn p. 10 Legacy of the Naga, Part 3, by Edward Bolme During the battle he impaled Moto Notu with Kiro, the Ancestral Sword of the Ki-Rin, and when Notu retreated the blade was inside him, and Kiro was lost in the Shadowlands. Hidden Emperor, p. 84
=== Defeated ===
Eager to both expand his holdings and test the powerful Lion Clan, Gaheris commanded his army in a strike across Firefly River in 1136. The returned Akodo family smashed a Moto and Iuchi offensive into the Ikoma provinces. Akodo Ginawa's victory in the Battle of Firefly River was unexpected. Secrets of the Lion, p. 8
=== War of Spirits ===
In 1138 Gaheris backed the right to rule of Toturi I against the wishes of the returned spirit Hantei XVI, which eventually led to the War of Spirits. Imperial Histories, pp. 217-218 Internal conflict wracked the Unicorn as spirit faction sought to usurp power Imperial Histories, p. 221 keeping the Unicorn effectively out of the early years of the war. In 1145 Gaheris had the upperhand and the Clan fully joined the ranks of the mortal armies. Hantei XVI struck back by sending an army, and the Unicorn saw the Fall of Shiro Iuchi, but the next year the stronghold was retaken in the Battle of Shiro Iuchi. The clan was free to assist the mortal forces until the end of the War in 1150. Imperial Histories, p. 230
==== Son's Death ====
His son Moto Gaheris had his own name, and was believed to have been killed by Hida Tsuneo during the War of Spirits, The Last Ride, Part 2, by Rich Wulf but it might have been an assassination plot ordered by Yogo Kitagi. Consumed, by Shawn Carman
=== Legacy of the Naga ===
The Naga gave Gaheris a golden pearl, known as the Legacy of the Naga, just prior to re-entering the Great Sleep. Akasha was hatched from the pearl after several years. Legacy of the Naga, Part Four, by Edward Bolme
== Death ==
Weakened by age and illness, Gaheris was largely confined to Shiro Moto. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 30 He was gifted by Lord Sun with Enginoshi, the Celestial Sword of the Unicorn. Secrets of the Unicorn, p. 6 Gaheris spent his last days in a monastery near Shiro Moto. While hunting alone he was attacked by an Ogre. Gaheris managed to kill it but was severely wounded in the fight. The Last Ride, Part 1, by Rich Wulf In the Month of the Dragon of 1159 Gaheris died in his sleep. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 36
=== After Death ===
Gaheris went to Toshigoku to face the curse of the dark Gods. His grandson, Moto Chagatai alongside Moto Chen traveled to this realm, fought the endless armies of the dead Ujik-hai led by Moto Tsume to reach safe path to the Lords of the Dead. Chagatai killed Moto Tsume, and made a deal with the dark Gods: Unicorn would again worship the Lords of Death and they would forget their revenge. In return Gaheris would be allowed to rest in peace. 
=== Legion of the Dead ===
In 1166 Gaheris joined the Legion of the Dead. He had stepped forward to answer Matsu Goemon's call. 
== See also ==
* Moto Gaheris/Meta
== External Links ==
* Gaheris (LBS - Shadow of the Tyrant)
* Moto Gaheris Exp (Soul of the Empire)
* Gaheris no Shiryo (Broken Blades)
Category:Unicorn Clan Leaders
Category:Moto Clan Members