At the southern border of Rokugan stands a grim miracle: the Kaiu Wall, stretching like a great puckered scar along the landscape, its slate-grey blocks fitted together seamlessly into a structure thirty feet thick and a hundred feet tall. To the south loom the blighted Shadowlands, the domain of the corrupted armies of Jigoku, and to the north lie the lands of the Crab Clan, the Wall’s crafters and defenders.

After the Seven Thunders repelled Fu Leng’s dark army from Rokugan, the first Emperor commanded that a great wall be built to protect the Empire from the evils of the Shadowlands. For centuries, the Crab Clan has carried out that command with dedication. Superstitious peasants whisper that the mortar of the Wall is strengthened with the blood of Crab warriors; although the Crab would never stoop to practicing blood magic— even to protect their beloved Empire—it is an accurate metaphor for their suffering. While others sing the praises of the Thousand Years of Peace, this is at best a false pleasantry to the Crab, who lose troops daily to both the attacks on the Wall and the corruptive power of the Taint. Even when faced with such hardship, the Crab Clan has never wavered, standing steadfast in its duty to protect the border of the Empire.

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to present "Dark Hands of Heaven" by Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda, a new piece of fiction set in the world of Legend of the Five Rings.

"Dark Hands of Heaven" focuses on the Crab Clan and can be viewed here (2.5 MB).