The Owl Clan

The Owl Clan

Clan Champion: Hantei.
Clan Colours: White, gold, grey.
Main worship: Amaterasu.
Virtue: Honour.
Allies: Crab, Crane.
Rivals: Ki-Rin, Phoenix.

Hantei's clan was one of the first clans to solidify as a proper group and structure, as the Seppun tribe had already sworn themselves to the youngest of the Kami early on. After the tournament of the Kami, Togashi laid a specific and peculiar duty upon Hantei. His brother, he said, would have been a fine Emperor; he would have brought the people of Rokugan together into a society where their different strengths formed a complementary whole. Now he would put that gift to use by reaching out to the nonhumans in the unseen corners of the Empire.
The duty of the Owl has placed their lands around the Shinomen Mori, as the large forest seems to have many strong ties to not only the Spirit Realms, but is reputed to be the home of many different creatures that the humans of Rokugan still know very little about. Unbeknownst to most, even within the Owl, Hantei was also given the sacred duty of watching over the grave of the dead Kami Ryoshun.
The Owl is still trying to settle into their role of handling nonhumans, trying to find their balancing act of where they should reach out with friendship and where they must strike at dangers to the fledgling Empire.
Hantei as a Kami is in many ways the epitome of honourable ideals, and his strong sense of honour has so far been a defining factor for his followers as they seek to emulate their founding Kami. The virtue of Honour is a cornerstone in Hantei's teachings, encouraging his followers to always hold themselves to the higher standards of chivalry.
As the Seppun have formed the spiritual half of the Owl, their worship of Lady Sun has become the norm for all of the clan and while they give prayers to Fortunes and minor kami, Lady Sun is first and foremost in their prayers and ceremonies.
Their understanding of nonhuman creatures has fostered a strong bond between the Crab and the Owl, as they often find themselves with common interests and pursuits. Hantei had always had a strong friendship with Doji, so the Owl and the Crane maintain a good alliance even if the two clans have very little in common. On the other side, the Owl have often found themselves at odds with the Phoenix and Ki-Rin who both have very different ideas on how to approach nonhumans, with the Phoenix being too curious for their own good and the Ki-Rin being too soft in regards to possible dangers.

The Hantei Family

Daimyo: Hantei, The Wounded Kami.
Mon: A chrysanthemum flower.

Hantei's family benefits from its founder's deep connection to the Heavens. Hantei was trained by the Celestial Dragons themselves before he confronted his divine father, and a touch of his divine favour is passed to those he have personally accepted into his family as well as his descendants.
The Kami Hantei is an excellent leader; he is charismatic, intelligent, thoughtful, honourable, yet also shrewd. Like his siblings, he is divinely beautiful and blessed with an otherworldly youth, and he is known to be an expert swordsman of great swiftness. After the Tournament of the Kami however, his grievous wounds made it difficult for him for a good while to take up the sword himself and he dedicated much of his time to personally train the warriors that joined him. In this time many spoke of Hantei as The Wounded Kami, a moniker that has endured in the many years since then. Those who meet him are awed to be in his radiant presence, as if his very being inspires those who look upon him to be more noble and brave. 

The followers of Hantei are all taught to be honourable and just in their actions, and even those who are not warriors are expected to uphold a warrior's ideal in their daily lives by being courageous and honourable, as well as knowing the basics of swordsmanship. The majority are warriors, but some seek a more scholarly path as they work to establish more knowledge about the many different nonhumans in the world.

The Seppun Family

Daimyo: Seppun, The Lady of the New Dawn.
Mon: The sun along two trailing branches of bamboo.

The Seppun, even before the arrival of the Kami, long have had the blessings of Lady Sun for their devout worship, and each member of the Seppun carry a part of this blessing in their soul making them naturally inclined towards the element of Fire.
When the Kami arrived in Ningen-do, the first ones to greet them was the Lady Seppun of her tribe known as the Tribe of Seppun, along with her husband Akagi. Lady Seppun was the most sacred priestess of her tribe and its leader, and she had foreseen that eight stars would fall from the Heavens, a vision shared by many other powerful seers in the lands. When she saw the Kami, she knelt before them and swore to serve the children of the Heavens. In the time between the Fall of the Kami and their Tournament, she swore fealty directly to Hantei. Hantei saw not only the piety and virtue of Lady Seppun and her tribe, but also their great skill in managing their resources, as they had managed to improve the lands of their tribe immensely in the five years there.

Since swearing fealty to Hantei, Lady Seppun seems to be blessed with divine vigour and slow ageing. She is not physically imposing to look at, but she has a demeanour that simply demands attention and respect. Yet in her actions and words are warmth and great care for her people. Still to this day she is regarded as a most holy woman, who still performs all the ceremonies and rituals for her people even with all the demands her new position requires of her now, as she certainly has greater burdens of duty now than she did as the leader of a tribe.
The Seppun have a strong tradition for magic, with most being blessed with the gift to speak to the elemental spirits. Their piousness and devotion has meshed well with Hantei's teachings and supplement the teachings of Hantei and his followers most suitably. Particularly those among Hantei's followers with more scholarly inclinations find themselves very much at home with the Seppun.

Culture

With the influence of Hantei and the Seppun, the Owl are a very pious and well-mannered people. Worship of the Sun is an integral part of daily life, featuring in important moments for its members. Even those who are not priests tend to memorize prayers and rituals to show their piety, and believe that some of those will protect them against evil and darkness. 
Practical elegance is the norm for style as most members seek to emulate Hantei's grace and beauty, but not interfere with their sacred duties. 

Public Agenda

As of yet, Hantei isn't sure if the various nonhumans in the land are a threat or possible allies. His brother Hida is insisting that nonhumans are hostile, but the Owl have been gathering reports and accounts of various encounters with nonhumans, of which many are peaceful ones. At the moment, they are more focused on learning more and seeking out places where nonhuman-groups might dwell. 

Assets

Thanks to the Seppun, the Owl have gained some fame across the land for talismans, and it is considered especially good fortune to carry with you a Seppun-made talisman. The talismans are prayers written on special paper or parchment, folded, and then sealed within a protective casing - which can be as much as a silk-pouch or a wooden trinket with ornate carvings. These talismans are carried for protection against evil, or blessings for specific occassions, such as a blessed marriage, or safe childbirth. 
Other goods of interest gaining popularity are various drinks made in their lands, such as wine and dried leaves used to make a concoction called tea.

Religion

The worship of Amaterasu is the center and core identity of the Owl. The tribe of Seppun already worshipped Lady Sun prior to the arrival of the Kami, and they believed that Hantei was the favored child of the Sun goddess given his radiance and natural leadership, a belief they still hold to today - some say that while the Emperor is beloved of all of Heaven, Hantei is beloved of the Sun. 
Members of the Owl frequently offer prayers to Amaterasu in their daily routines, and their priests claim that their magical powers are granted by the Sun herself to them to be used in defense of humanity and her divine children. The chrysanthemum is considered to be a symbol of the sun, with its many petals made by the goddess to symbolise the rays of the sun, so it was only natural for the flower to represent both Hantei and Seppun. 

"All must bow before Heaven's Light"

Founding Date

Year 5 of the Isawa Calendar

Major Exports

While the Seppun-made talismans are in popular demand, the main export of the Owl are rice-wine (called sake) and tea-leaves (called cha). Hantei learned to make both from his mother and the heavenly dragons, and while the ingredients found in Ningen-do are not the same as those found in Tengoku, the bountiful lands of the Owl have allowed them to replicate it to their best efforts. Doji, and thus the Crane, are quite enthusiastic about these products and trade richly for them (even if they have begun to produce both themselves, the refined palates claim that the flavours are different depending on where the rice or tea-leaves are grown, and how they're harvested). 

Major Imports

The Owl trade for a lot of iron, weapons, and armour from the Crab, which helps in keeping close relations between the two of the groups. Silk and perfume from the Crane, and incense from the Phoenix are also popular items that are highly in demand. While the two groups are a bit at odds regarding some topics, the Seppun do wish for more trade with the Phoenix.