Battle of Treacherous Pass

== Preambles ==
=== Phoenix Slight ===
The Phoenix found the Moto family had a curse in their bloodline, and anyone of Moto blood drew ill fortune, which they passed to the descendant they bore with the members of other families. Once the notice was spread the Unicorn considered it a Phoenix insult. Blood of Heaven, Blood of Earth, by Robert Denton The Unicorn army invaded the Phoenix lands and laid siege at Kyuden Agasha until they were repelled. The remains of the attackers were pinned in the Mountains of Regret, cut off from the main forces, trapped in Treacherous Pass. Spring 2015 Kotei Fiction – Act 2: Troubled Waters (Part 1), by Chris Hand, Maxime Lemaire, Mari Murdock, Fred Wan, and Robert Denton
=== Force Deployment ===
The Unicorn managed to seize Orange Flame Village, allowing them control the entire area near the pass. Reinforcements moved from the nearby Kintani Valley, and the Unicorn army tripled its numbers. The pursuing Phoenix army swore to the Moshi not one Unicorn would step foot into the Valley of the Centipede, so they were forced to advance further into the pass, making smooth retreat impossible. Odd Fortunes: The Battle of Treacherous Pass, by Robert Denton III
=== Phoenix Leaders ===
Isawa Koiso had pondered with the Moshi Daimyo Moshi Ikako that using the kami for violence disgraced all shugenja. After a failed attempt of parley, the Master of Fire forbade any shugenja to participate in the incoming battle, they only might aid the wounded and permitted self-defense. Immediately Koiso relinquishing command to Shiba Kakei. 
=== Unicorn Leader ===
Moto Tadasu, youngest son of Moto Chagatai and shireikan of the Khol, wished to fulfill his destiny becoming a hero of his clan to redeem his ancestors. The day before the battle he was informed the Moto Curse had reached him, suffering a stroke of bad luck that would sabotage all his efforts. Tadasu rejected to pass command despite he was warned that an army led by him could not win. 
== Battle ==
Tadasu's curse surfaced on the morning of the battle, so thick was the fog that no one barely saw three feet ahead. Fog favored a smaller army and one unreliant on cavalry. The sun-kites of the Khol were useless, while the Shiba used conch-shell horn to coordinate their units. Few Unicorn units accidentally mistook each-other for the enemy, making the first casualties. Unicorn scouting forces advanced unsupported, being slaughtered by the Phoenix who had been deployed in scattered skirmishing groups. Tadasu and Kakei agreed to perform a duel to first blood, and the victor would define the terms of peace. The duel was won by the Phoenix commander as a consequence of his enemy's bad luck. 
== Aftermath ==
The Unicorn and Phoenix ceased hostilities, signing a treaty at Kyuden Moshi oversaw by the Moshi Daimyo Moshi Ikako. The Iuchi, the Isawa and the Moshi agreed to more openly share information. Echoes of Thunder, by Robert Denton III, Shawn Carman and Fred Wan Moto Naleesh had accepted the Phoenix terms, that no Moto might marry out of their Clan without approval from the Phoenix, so only the Phoenix might officiate Unicorn marriages henceforth. They also had accepted a massive scroll with a way to defeat the Moto Curse, a way of living that might free the Moto of their karma. Shinjo Min-Hee considered completely unacceptable these terms, so she decided the Shinjo would contest the Moto's leadership and begin a Unicorn Civil War. 
== Known Contenders ==
* Moto Chizura
* Moto Kyung-won
* Moto Tadasu
* Shiba Kakei
== Present but not on the Battlefield ==
* Aikiren
* Asako Miyabi
* Isawa Ichimon
* Isawa Koiso
* Kuronada
* Moto Naleesh
* Nakadai
* Utaku Eun-ju
* Utagawa
Treacherous Pass