Great Getsu-san dominates the skyline of Kagejima. Named for the cool luster of its snow-capped peaks— shining in the day and glowing in the moonlight—it is visible from anywhere on the island. The majestic view is especially dramatic as one moves inland from the eastern coast. Here, the land rises from the coastal cliffs to the foothills of Getsu-san. Villages push into the borders of the great northern forests and skirt the edges of rougher land to the south. Beyond rice and timber, this region yields the rare and wondrous minerals, materials, and the black blood of the earth that fill the island’s forges. These are the lands of the Tora clan
The Tora are often a difficult clan. Like their totem, they can be proud and haughty, always ready to pounce on an opportunity or perceived weakness. They love games and contests of physical skill, strength, and agility. Taunting and one-upmanship are common, especially among the Tora youth, and challenges for racing, rock climbing, swimming, or similar competitions often quickly follow. Arrogance, abuse, or excessive ego, however, are not tolerated. There’s always someone faster or stronger; and more experienced or skilled clan members have no qualms about knocking unruly youth down several pegs if necessary.
These activities are more than fun and games. The Tora see these challenges as the best way to improve oneself and the clan. If you’re the best, say so, but be prepared to back it up. Everyone is expected to give as good as they get, and to have a thick enough skin to laugh off the taunts. Anything less is considered poor sportsmanship. Likewise, the flamboyant bragging and bravado is supposed to be just that— more vim and vinegar than vitriol. Anyone who lets it pass into true venom quickly finds himself with more challenges than he can handle.
These attitudes make it hard for the Tora to understand or trust anyone who doesn’t openly express their passion or energy. If someone is an excellent swordsman, he should say so. If someone else is an incredible horsewoman, she should announce it proudly. Likewise, those who will not fight for their beliefs or ideals leave the Tora cold and suspicious. Honor is of extraordinary importance to this clan, and they express, pursue, and defend it as loudly and ostentatiously as they do everything else.
On Kagejima , a clan that over specializes cannot adapt and becomes vulnerable. The Tora have not thrived for so long by being nothing more than strutting athletes and boisterous braggarts. Despite their outward emphasis on physical prowess, the Tora recognize skill in nearly all its forms, and they have applied their relentless refinement of talent through constant challenge to many arenas.
Tora quickly learned to take advantage of the myriad resources of their homeland. The mountainous geography both toughened them physically and provided access to minerals and metals in abundance: lead, copper, tin, sulfur, mica, jade, limestone, granite, flint, salt, niter, and iron, among others. Indeed, the rough terrain proved a boon. While many areas of Tora lands are ill-suited to cultivation, they support many hardy and fastgrowing trees which provide a continuing supply of charcoal. All this combines to make the Tora the preeminent smiths and alchemists of Kagejima.
Constantly competing to improve the beauty and quality of their creations, Tora smiths equip their warriors with some of the finest and most lethal weapons and armor in the world. Their understanding of metallurgy is unchallenged on the island and rivaled only by a few masters working in the Sun Empire’s most important and prestigious cities. Their mastery of alchemy is, perhaps, not as great, but they have taken this discipline in far different directions than the stuffy and hidebound potion-brewers of the Sun Court.
This combination of circumstances, attitude, and material wealth has allowed the Tora clan to lead the way in developing and refining numerous new technologies. They built the first firearms on Kagejima and, by most accounting, still make the finest. They pioneered the creation of small, concealable concoctions and clever tools that their shinobi use to excellent effect. Indeed, all the warriors of this clan boast a tremendous variety of high-quality equipment to complement their finely honed skills. They are among the most formidable of foes, both for their raw physicality and surprisingly subtle tricks. In the past decade, every mission to the Sun Court has included at least one Tora shinobi, and the clan elders have no intention of seeing that change.
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