¶ Falcon Clan
The Falcon Clan was a Minor clan homed in the Twilight Mountains, in the Toritaka Province. The Toritaka family was the Falcon's family, and Yotogi its original founder. The Castle of the Falcon was their ancestral seat of power. The Council of Twilight was a living repository of wisdom for the clan and had a strong hand in guiding its activities. [1]
¶ Founding
A father in Toritaka Province gave his life to protect the visiting Emperor's chief advisor from assassins. The Emperor granted his son Yotogi the right to form the Falcon Clan, in his village and surrounding lands. He investigated and found the assassins who killed his father were only peasants, but had been possessed by evil, otherworldly beings. Yotogi called to his father's spirit for aid in understanding what could have caused this to come about. He meditated for months, and when he emerged he said “there are not enough names” for his new knowledge. Learning about the Spirit Realms became the Falcon's new mission. [2]
¶ Yotogi
Yotogi's successors made his name synonymous with clan daimyō, and like their founder, each Yotogi had a preternatural awareness of spirits. [3]
¶ Motto
Unknown
¶ Colors & Mon
The official clan colors are white and black. The family Mon is a symbolic deer’s head with a black antler and a white antler. (featured top-right of this page) [1:1]
¶ Bushidō
The Falcon Clan values Duty & Loyalty, and views Compassion and Sincerity as less significant. [2:1]
¶ Ancestral Weapon
The ancestral weapon of the Falcon Clan was a yari. [4]
¶ Duty
The keen-sighted bushi of the Toritaka family specialized in finding and, if necessary, defeating ghosts and other hostile spirits. [5] The Falcon Clan were phantom hunters, those who banished souls who did not notice when death comes. The moment passed and they were left behind, invisible and unseen, feeding off the living. [6] In the forests surrounding the lands of the Falcon Clan a person could enter Gaki-dō. [7]
¶ Gempukku
When a member of the Clan would pass his gempukku, he was moved to the Shinomen marshes and abandoned, leaving him alone to find his way back. [6:1]
¶ Aviary
The Falcon Clan had an extensive series of mews set off of Shiro Toritaka's main keep, where the clan's famous aviaries resided, home to many dozens of highly-trained eagles, hawks, and falcons. The clan often uses its falconers on scouting missions, drawing on the strong connection between bushi and raptor to survey far afield for possible threats. Other clans often sought them out to join their own patrols, compensateing the Falcon Clan in gold and supplies. [8]
¶ Allies and Rivalries
The Crab Clan and the Falcon were strong allies. However, many Kuni saw the efforts of the Falcon to seek understanding of their ghostly foes as suspect. The Falcon had aa lengthy history of enmity with the Hare Clan, another Minor Clan which had lands along the opposite side of the Shinomen, near the southern edge of the forest. Some wondered if the neighboring Scorpion Clan could be playing a role in the hostilities as a way to keep the Hare and the Falcon from gaining power. [9]
¶ Families
- Toritaka - Only family of the Falcon Clan
¶ Points of Interest
¶ Seat of Power
- Shiro Toritaka - Clan Seat
¶ Major
¶ Minor
¶ Schools
The following are the most prominent Falcon schools: [2:2]
- Toritaka Phantom Hunter (Shugenja)
¶ Champion
The leader of the Falcon Clan and Clan Champion. Known Champions of the clan are listed here: [2:3]
| Champion | Date Range |
|---|---|
| Yotogi | 621 - ? |
¶ References
Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, pp. 81-82 ↩︎ ↩︎
Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, p. 81 ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎
Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, p. 84 ↩︎
Celestial Realms, p. 105 ↩︎
Legend of the Five Rings - Roleplaying, p. 18 ↩︎
Celestial Realms, p. 24 ↩︎
Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, p. 82 ↩︎
Shadowlands: The Essential Guide to the Dominion of Fu Leng, pp. 83-84 ↩︎