Day 26 - Exile's Road

The mountains of the Empire rise once more around her as the Unicorn lands fade into the territories of the Dragon. Within the mountains, there are no clear boundaries, no place to mark the land's edge between banners of green or purple. Yet in her heart, she knows the moment when she touches the first stones of her mountain home.

From these high peaks, a road winds north through icy cliffs and sheer terrain, shattered by a thousand years of exiles pacing out of the Empire and to their destiny. The Burning Sands lie somewhere beyond these mountains, as do the watery lands of the gaijin horde and the end of the Empire.

Others have bid farewell to Rokugan, crossed these hills and never returned.

Some, like the Scorpion, have come home once more.

As Hitomi watches the red sky fade into a stark, star-covered blackness, she wonders which of these travelers she would become.

Source: posted to www.wizards.com/l5r on 2/16/00