"Yoritomo is the greatest mortal warrior ever. Not the best duellist,
tactician, general, strategist or what not. He is simply, hand to
hand, in the thick of combat, with chaos all around, bodies falling,
armies clashing, and arrows flying, the greatest hands down out and
out master of combat in the history of Rokugan.
He's unwashed, unmannered and often ill-prepared. He has no family
worth mentioning. His lineage is unremarkable. His trainers unknown,
his history a mystery, and his desires unspoken.
He is the Son of Storms.
Know fear."
Ryan Dancey, in an email to rec.games.trading-cards.misc dated 12 Sep 1997
Rising from obscurity as the daimyo of the Mantis Clan, Yoritomo is the glue that has secured the power of Yoritomo's Alliance, an alliance of the minor clans of Rokugan that achieved political recognition during the Day of Thunder. Despite a promising start from a promising man, Yoritomo would not see his deepest desires fulfilled...
During the Hidden Emperor story arc he lead his clan to seize the lands of The Scorpion Clan-in-exile, and was attacked from behind by The Crane Clan; he then changed the target of his marches to The Phoenix Clan, and was only turned back by the vicious defending armies of samurai and shugenja.
Yoritomo desired nothing less than the Emerald Empire, but when the throne was offered to him on a silver platter by Shinjo, The Unicorn Clan kami returned from the Burning Sands, he refused her offer, knowing that Shinjo would use his authority to guide Rokugan in her vision.
At the Battle of Volturnum, Yoritomo would eventually fall in battle with The Living Darkness, and his heir Yoritomo Aramasu would take his place as leader of the Mantis Clan. However, without his strong leadership, Yoritomo's Alliance would break apart shortly after. His heir has sworn to restore his Clan to its former place of power, and in the tumultuous times ahead, it is possible he may just do so... |
