Bayushi Tomaru

Please note: This article is about the general of the Scorpion Clan. For other uses of the term, please see Tomaru (disambiguation).
Bayushi Tomaru was a general of the Scorpion Clan in the early 12th century. His military career was checkered at best. Tomaru only had two widely-known battles under his command, both against minor clans. One he won, but the other, he was defeated handily.
== Family ==
Tomaru was the son of a Bayushi geisha who was adopted in the Scorpion Clan. Winter Court: Kyuden Kakita, p. 81
== Appearance and Demeanor ==
Bayushi Tomaru was a large man, with strikingly handsome features and an arrogant cast to his face. Tomaru was known for his direct and blunt tactics, preferring to remove obstacles through sheer determination. Tomaru was known to have an arrogant streak, and believed that thanking others was a sign of weakness. Before the Scorpion Clan Coup, Tomaru was considered to be one of Bayushi Shoju's best front-line officers. Bells of the Dead, p. 16
== Doji Hiroko ==
Doji Hiroko was a woman who insulted the honor of Tomaru, and paid for it with her life in her own dojo. Game Master's Pack; The Hare Clan, p. 36
== The Sparrow Clan ==
Tomaru was dispatched by the Scorpion Clan in 1121 to deal with the Sparrow Clan, who launched an attack in the Month of the Horse. Bells of the Dead, p. 8 Unfortunately, the general was forced to retreat from the battlefield. Much to Tomaru's surprise, when he faced the Sparrow, the small clan had found the aid of both the Wasp and Fox Clans. Not only did Tomaru suffer a humiliating defeat in the battle, but the aggression of the Scorpion led to the formation of the Three Man Alliance, which held strong for many years. Way of the Minor Clans, p. 33 For his failure, Tomaru was publicly rebuked by his Champion, Bayushi Shoju. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 17
== Dangerous Allies ==
After his defeat Tomaru was visited by Kitsune Hamato, who offered that they would provide an opportunity for him to regain his reputation. He accepted to destroy an enemy of their choosing, so long as that enemy was no ally of the Scorpion. Two years later Hamato targeted the Hare, and the price were the children of the Hare Clan Champion, Usagi Ozaki and his sister Usagi Tomoe. Bells of the Dead, p. 16 Hamato was a member of the Dajan's Kolat, a splinter sect of the true kolat. Bells of the Dead, p. 9
=== The Hare Clan ===
In 1123 in the Month of the Goat Tomaru led another army, this time against the Hare Clan at the prompting of Dajan's Kolat. The Hare were accused of murdering Soshi Yukio and stealing a scroll from her. Tomaru's army laid siege to the Hare for four days, trying several tactics to win out over the Hare. In the end, on the sixth day Tomaru lost patience and launced a full scale attack. Game Master's Pack; The Hare Clan, pp. 35-40 In the end the Hare Clan Champion Usagi Oda died in a duel during the last days of the siege, in return for the safe passage of his peasants and a few loyal retainers. Tomaru was strangely silent on the subject, and he claimed no glory for the victory. Way of the Minor Clans, p. 117 He captured Oda's daugther Usagi Tomoe. Oda's son Usagi Ozaki escaped with the Hare Clan Sword and the Kolat Scroll. Allegations of maho use were levelled at the Hare Clan to justify this assault, and the Emperor had no choice but to disband the Hare. Legend of the Five Rings; Third Edition, p. 18
=== Usagi Tomoe ===
Tomaru later married Tomoe, claiming to have been smitten by her beauty and innocence. Book of Earth, p. 48 Tomaru had fallen in love with his prisoner, so he had attempted to keep her for himself. Hamato slipped through Scorpion security and explained to Tomaru what the Kolat would do to him if he reneged on their deal. Tomaru passed Tomoe to Hamato and missed her greatly. 
== Relationship with Fade ==
Some time before the Coup, Tomaru publicly humiliated a Unicorn samurai named Otaku Isas. Isas demanded a duel, but on the day of the duel, he fell ill. Convinced he had been poisoned by Tomaru, he asked for a postponement, and was granted one, though he became a laughingstock as a result. Before the second duel, he was meticulously careful about his food and drink, but he still fell ill. Isas refused to duel in his disadvantaged state and fled. He became known as "Fade", the most dangerous bandit in the Ryoko Owari area. City of Lies: GM's Guide, pp. 11-12
== Scorpion Coup ==
In the fourth day of the Scorpion Coup, Hida Kisada arrived at Otosan Uchi and turned his red flag, Kisada's Allegiance, toward the Clans encampments. The Crab forces attacked the Southern Wall before it was too dark to fight, with Hida Tampako and Yasuki Nokatsu with the Crab Heavy Infantry, alongside Hida Amoro with his Dead-Eyes Berserkers, and Kaiu Kenru overseeing the siege engines. They were confronted by Bayushi Togai and Bayushi Dozan with their Black Cabal, Tomaru with his Scorpion Claws, and Bayushi Tasu with his Scorpion's Strike. Otosan Uchi: The Scorpion's Sting, p. 62
== After the Coup ==
Tomaru and a handful of Scorpion bushi from the Bayushi House Guard Winter Court: Kyuden Kakita, p. 81 were tasked with guarding Bayushi's Labyrinth under the ruins of Kyuden Bayushi once the Coup had failed. Soshi Bantaro, also in residence under the castle, sent many of his students to procure magics that would return Bayushi Shoju to life. Tomaru and his men would only leave the protection of the Labyrinth under the cover of darkness, and dressed in white linen, leading local peasants to claim that the area had become haunted. He lordered the ruins in the absence of his Lady. 
=== Discovery of the Kolat ===
In 1126 while investigating the fate of Usagi Tomoe, whom he had come to love, Tomaru was lead to Morikage Toshi. There he uncovered the existence of the Kolat, and passed this information on to his mistress, Empress Bayushi Kachiko, who contacted them in hopes of forging an alliance. Time of the Void, p. 9
=== Kyuden Bayushi Corruption ===
Bantaro's experiments to return Bayushi Shoju to life made the Shadowlands Taint grew very powerful at Kyuden Bayushi. Gaki were noticed prowling the area and weapons and armor had gone missing from Traitor's Grove. Tomaru wondered whether he made a mistake in allying himself with the shugenja. Even a young Scorpion saboteur named Bayushi Tasu had struck out on their own to try to find some way to stop Bantaro. Way of the Shadowlands, p. 128
== Burning Sands ==
=== Enslaved ===
When the Scorpion Clan was exiled to the Burning Sands Tomaru was with his fellows. They were enslaved by the Senpet Empire, and Tomaru worked in their mines. There he met other men which were enslaved for decades, the Hanif. Re-Awakening, Part 1, by Lucas Twyman
=== Fighting the Senpet ===
Duqaq, the Hooded Ronin snucked into the mines of the Senpet and inspired the Hanif and the Scorpion to throw off their chains and turn on their captors. With his leadership they had managed to distract the Senpet until the Yodotai arrived to liberate the slaves. His mistress Kachiko was not released, but she was safe. Tomaru joined the Erba'a Alliance to depose the Immortal Caliph Hanan Talibah, ruler of Medinaat al-Salaam, and allied with the Senpet. Tomaru was part of the War Council of the alliance prior to the Shattering of the Jewel. 
=== Sun Tao ===
While away from the Empire Sun Tao might have had dealings with, or even founded, the Yodotai Empire. Sometime after the Awakening, the Yodotai soldier, Adrianna heard Duqaq say "A competent general attacks an enemy's army. A superior general attacks an enemy's alliances.". Adrianna recognized those attributed the same words to the Yodotai historical figure Augustus the Uniter, while Bayushi Tomaru declared them to be from Sun Tao. Duqaq told them, "No, both.", and said no more on the subject. 
== See also ==
* Bayushi Tomaru/Meta
* Bayushi Tomaru/CW Meta
== External Links ==
* Bayushi Tomaru (Shadowlands)
Category:Scorpion Clan Members