Komachi's Travel Guide
This is the only shrine to Lord Moon in the city. Most people detest the site, and walls were erected around the compound after the kidnapping of Hantei XXXVIII by moon cultists. Inside, only the driest of plantlife grows, and everything is grey and bland.
Tadaji's Memoirs
Everything had gone wrong.
It was Winter Court, in Kyuden Bayushi, so we were away from the Imperial City. Doji Satsume had been dismissed by the Emperor, and the tournament to choose a new Emerald Champion was still being organized. Akodo Toturi was in Kyuden Akodo, under siege by the Matsu and other Lion in rebellion. The Emperor’s Utaku had been sent away with the Emerald Magistrates who were trying to find a diplomatic solution to the Lion coup, and Doji Hoturi had withdrawn along with many Crane in protest to the treatment of his father.
In short, the Emperor was as unprotected as he ever could be.
You cannot imagine the terror when the Emperor’s absence was discovered. No one knew what had happened, or how. Without an Emerald Champion, no one was in position to direct his rescue.
Perhaps we should have known it was the moon cult. In retrospect, it was obvious. They had already been involved in several kidnappings over the previous year. But no one had imagined they would be so bold as this.
Sadako's Musings
Everyone blames the Moon Cult for the Emperor’s kidnapping, but I ask you, dear readers, can that story be trusted?
Fact: I was there when the Moon Cult kidnapped Bayushi Otado. On his return, he told us that the cult was comically inept, and ultimately disorganized. He had been close to engineering his own escape when the magistrates showed up to rescue him. I ask you, does this sound like a group capable of kidnapping an Emperor?
Fact: The Elemental Council died in the rescue of the Emperor. The entire council. What powerful magic must they have faced?
Fact: The ancient sorcerer, Hab-Utet was said to have died, but DID HE? We have all heard the stories: the ancients ones told by Magda, and the story of this downfall, but over and over the stories stress that he ALWAYS RETURNS. That he is always looking for new people to possess. And who better than THE EMPEROR?
Of course, no one would want this story to come out. Even the implication that the Emperor might have been touched by such foul magic—magic so powerful the Elemental Council had to sacrifice themselves to stop it—it would have to be kept a secret. Especially considering the even greater implications…
What if Hab-Utet returns again?