Recent History
by Ide Ryoso
The arrival of the Unicorn Clan into Rokugan could have caused a disastrous mess. The Ide Emmissaries ensured that the Emperor would recognize the Unicorn Clan under penalty of ancestral retribution, but a clan needs land in Rokugan. Potentially a war could have broken out between the Unicorns, the Lions, and the Cranes for the Unicorns' former ancestral lands.
Fortunately, the Unicorns were granted the relatively uninhabited lands of the northwest. Other clans had neglected it because of its more remote location and smaller amount of prime farmland. This remoteness and lesser promise of agricultural wealth have prevented the unprecedented level of fighting many feared.
However, the Unicorns only have a fragile welcome.
Every clan developed its character over the eight centuries the Unicorns traveled. A delicate balance between the clans existed based on their talents, and not one clan could truly claim absolute superiority over any other.
But the Unicorn Clan suddenly appeared and became a declared equal. In a conservative society, such a change posed incredible problems. How could it assimilate so divergent a culture despite its common base? Would the Unicorns' barbarian tricks remove balance from the clans' power? Could the Unicorns be courted as a full ally unlike any other clan?
Since its return, the Unicorn Clan has remained the unknown factor in most matters; no clan could guess with certainty how the Unicorns would or could react to anything.
