The Revolt of the Yakûsa Clan

The Revolt of the Yakûsa Clan

A dissident goblin colony that has recently been exiled to a volcanic island to the north of the plateau of No-Dan-Kar, the Yakûsa clan demolishes all the common places that are generally attributed to goblins. Cowardice, spinelessness and treacherousness, all the faults that usually give the rats of No-Dan-Kar their unique charm, are fought there under the leadership of one of the most extraordinary war chiefs of the goblin nation: Shogun Yakûsa.

Several years before the Dawn Ritual, which marked the beginning of the Rag’Narok, while the omens were becoming ever clearer and the nations of the whole continent were readying their armies for the inevitable, a simple soldier named Ûraken would, without know it, start preparing the ground for a revolution that would soon shake the empire of No-Dan-Kar.

The Coming of the Master

In the year 986 of the imperial calendar, Ûraken underwent trial by fire during the campaign led by Emperor Izothop, the first one to use this name, against the dwarves of the Ægis Mountains. This operation, which aimed to conquer the fortified city of Fom-Nur to make it the spearhead of a huge invasion, was a horrible disaster. For the two years that this madness lasted, more than 800,000 goblins perished due to the flagrant incompetence of their generals.

Ûraken survived only thanks to an absolutely extraordinary rigor and lucidity for a goblin. He was thus one of the few soldiers who were able to testify to the scope of the defeat suffered by the armies of Klûne. Disgusted by the goblin war staff's calamitous display of ineptitude, Ûraken deserted with the firm intention of coming back one day to change things.

For almost six years he roamed the continent, looking at all times to refine his art of combat. He served as a mercenary in various free companies where he was able to observe the tactics of unknown yet talented strategists. Initiated to many different combat techniques by his companions-in-arms, he devoted all his free time to rigorous training and, when he wasn't practicing the handling of weapons, he worked on writing his Treatise on Martial Discipline in which he set down the principles of the way of the goblin warrior.

After these years of wandering, he returned to Klûne, wishing to pass on the fruits of his work by teaching at the No-Dan-Kar Battle Academy. The coming of a visionary preaching total reform of the rules of war made so many teeth grind in the N.B.A.'s board of administration that Ûraken’s application was rejected. Furious at being confronted with the army's stupidity and failure to act once again, Lira ken nevertheless didn't give up. He gathered around him a small group of disciples who were attracted by his vision of the martial arts and he began training them without anyone showing the slightest interest. For three years no one in the high spheres of power heard about Ûraken or his students. They only reappeared for the first time in 995 during one of the first great battles of the Rag'Narok.

Once again defeat seemed inevitable and the goblin troops began giving in to a horde of berserk barbarians. Appearing from nowhere, Ûraken and his warriors then rushed into the fray wearing strange armor and spinning like demons. Their intervention caused so many losses and such disarray in the enemy ranks that the course of the battle was inversed and the goblins ended up winning. After this feat Ûraken was received lavishly in the imperial court, not without having first been the target of an assassination attempt ordered by an officer who was jealous of his prestige. Emperor Izothop gave him the authorization and financing he needed to establish his own school. Thus, was founded the Ûraken School whose renown never stopped growing.

Unlike the N.B.A., which is known for its corruption, the Ûraken School selects its students according to very strict criteria. Its classes are taught with unequalled rigor, and its graduates are usually hired for a steep price by the imperial army to instruct the recruits and inculcate them with some discipline, which is in such shortage in the goblin armies. Its most brilliant students are directed toward higher responsibilities in the war staff of the armies.

Today Ûraken can therefore take pride in having carried out a gargantuan task and not many would dare deny his success. Yet there was once a goblin among his most assiduous students who believed that his master had strayed from the path that he had himself laid out.

The Student’s Treason

Yakûsa was one of Ûraken’s first disciples, and was surely one of his most talented ones. His sense of rigor and discipline was equal to that of his master, and while certain students simply contented themselves with following the precepts of the way of the goblin warrior without really understanding them, Yakûsa had a very clear vision of them.

This was so much so that when Ûraken pledged allegiance to Emperor Izothop, Yakûsa accused him of denying his very own philosophy to submit to a power that was corrupted by the thirst for wealth and the ambitions of the ruling classes. For Yakûsa, the way of the goblin warrior shouldn't be in the service of a mortal power, but of that of their god, Rat. He tried to persuade Ûraken to subscribe to his point of view, yet without success. His master remained inflexibly loyal to Izothop.

The schism between the student and the master was sealed when Ûraken unraveled a plot thought up by Yakûsa to take the power in Klûne and establish a new order. In spite of the protests of the goblin high dignitaries, Ûraken decided to spare the life of Yakûsa and his partisans. They were nevertheless condemned to exile on the island of Zoukhoï.

When they got there, Yakûsa and his companions were confronted by goblins who already lived there, cut off from the rest of the world since dozens of generations. The arrival of these armored warriors wearing masks in effigy of Rat impressed the natives so much that they welcomed them as divine envoys who were there to release them of the yoke of the demons that had forever been oppressing them. These demons were in fact a community of ogres that already lived on Mount Zoukhoï before the first goblins even arrived. Wishing to place his authority over the archipelago, Yakûsa defied and vanquished the chief of the ogres in single combat. He gained the respect of these creatures by sparing his opponent's life and thus sealed a solid alliance with them.

From then on, the islander ogres and goblins consider him to be the unchallenged master of the island and unconditionally subject themselves to his authority. The new order of Rat was ready to see the day.

The Way of Rat

Yakûsa claimed Ûraken’s philosophy for himself, enriched it with his own precepts and taught it to his followers. Furthermore, not being limited by the structure of a simple school, he was able to apply the discipline of the way of the goblin warrior to a whole society by dividing the population into castes according to each individual's aptitudes.

The bizhus are the lowest caste of the clan. They take care of mundane tasks: agriculture, raising livestock and various hard and annoying jobs. The castes of warriors have total power over them and even have the right to take their life for any reason whatsoever (or even without having one). In addition to their chores, they are forced to undergo military training, which is the only way for them to climb a few rungs in the clan's hierarchy.

Indeed, the way of the goblin warrior is based on the notion of an all-powerful martial elite. The most promising individuals are chosen to undergo intensive training that will make them bush is or even samurats for the most skilled among them. These fanatical fighters consider themselves to be those chosen by their god, Rat, to reestablish his domination over the goblin people and the whole continent. Their arrogance only being equaled by their valor in combat, they treat their fellows with incredible scorn and only account for their acts before Yakûsa and Rat himself.

In addition to the classical art of combat, some warriors undergo special training, for Yakûsa hasn't abandoned his plans for a coup. With this in mind he supervises the training of assassins nicknamed "Yakûsa ghosts." The corrupt aristocracy of No-Dan-Kar has already learned to fear darkness even more, for notables have been found assassinated, the mark of the rebel clan carved in their skin!

Nowadays Yakûsa is no longer in exile. His warriors have made several incursions on the continent and have launched raids on merchant caravans to steal supplies as well as to show their strength and determination.

And it works! In Klûne they are beginning to worry about exactions committed by these renegades, especially since there are rumors that they have supporters in the various secondary cities and even in the imperial capital. The palace guard has been tripled and the emperor regularly sends spies to the island of Zoukhoï. Until now all of their heads have been sent back in beautiful wicker baskets...

The Empire Strikes Back

Becoming ever more paranoid, Izothop has recently commanded Ûraken to bring back Yakûsa’s head or risk being disgraced. Loyal to his allegiance, Ûraken didn't dispute the order. Yet deep inside him the same doubt that had pushed him to spare Yakûsa the first time came back to the surface. What if his disciple was right? What if he had made a mistake when swearing loyalty to the emperor? Prey to torment, Ûraken took time off to meditate. To make Izothop happy he nevertheless charged his first lieutenant, Bazûka, to chase off the rebels.

Ambitious and cruel, Bazûka doesn't let himself be affected by his master's moods and sees this as an unexpected opportunity to win the emperor's favor. So it's with great zeal and ferocity that he leads the hunt every time a raid by the Yakûsa clan is reported. It is even whispered that he is planning a punitive expedition to crush the rebellion on the island of Zoukhoï.

Of course, Yakûsa is aware of all this, his network of spies being just as efficient as the emperor's, if not more. These rumors of a landing don't frighten him. Attacking him on his own turf would be the worst mistake that Bazûka could make. Yakûsa now knows the mountains of Zoukhoï like no one else. He has had many caches built, as well as a network of tunnels from which his clan would be able to wage an insurgency that Bazûka would be unable to suppress. Yakûsa is a thorn that Izothop has stuck into his own side and which is now impossible to remove. And, little by little this thorn is digging ever deeper, for Yakûsa has more and more allies in Rat's clergy on the continent. Soon, with the priests' help, he will be able to raise a true army and then he will march on Klûne!

Notes

The Revolt of the Yakûsa Clan lore excerpt is from Cry Havoc volume 7.