Fantasy Regions of Rokugan~ Clan and World Info

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Regions of Rokugan~
... is set in the land of Rokugan (also known as the Emerald Empire), based in the time of feudal Japan, where samurai, shugenja (magic user), and trained courtiers fight for control of the noble courts. Rokugan itself is home to mostly humans, divided into a society based on clans, with eight Great Clans and various minor ones. They are regularly threatened by evil plots from within, but the main threat still lies to the southwest of Rokugan: the deadly wastes of the Shadowlands, where demonic hordes of demons, onis, and taint roam. There are 5 rings scattered among the major clans. One ring for each element and gives the holder unnatural powers along with the ability to speak with the Kami (gods). Now everyone in the lands are in search for the mythical rings to call forth aid from the Kami once more.

 

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The Eight Great Clans​

Crab
No clan in the history of Rokugan can hope to rival the reputation the Crab Clan has for resilience and siege prowess. The Kami Hida, son of the Sun and Moon, brother of the Emperor, volunteered to defend the Empire from the nightmarish demons of the Shadowlands, far south of Rokugan. In the wake of the war with the taint, the Empire had a great deal of fear regarding the Shadowlands, but fear was not something that Lord of the Crab Clan and his followers understood. They were warriors whose sheer physical power was without compare, and for centuries they stood against an enemy limitless in number and unrivaled in evil.
Clan strengths- strong willed, physically strong, great warriors
Clan weaknesses- not very good at politics, magic
Key Traits-
Iron Willed
Defenders
Builders
Live in the harshes of the Rokugan Lands
No love for politics or fancy things.
Branches or Families-
Hida- First clan created by the Kami
Kuni- The Shugenja of the clan.
Hiruma- Studies the taint. Has the most knowledge over taint


Crane
During the dawn of the Emerald Empire, it was the Emperor’s beloved sister, who created the traditions and customs that would become the social system of Rokugan. In the one thousand years since that time, there have been precious few times that the Crane have not utterly dominated the social environment of the Empire. Through the manipulation in court and the use of their swords the clan supply almost limitless waves of support to the empire. The beauty of the Crane’s system is that they reinforce their dominance of social conventions through iaijutsu, the formal dueling method that is used to resolve differences. The fact that the Crane were partially responsible for the creation of the Empire’s justice system and the emphasis on iaijutsu, an art at which the Crane are unquestionably the masters in the whole of the Empire.
Clan strengths- arts, beauty, swordsmen ship, politics, healing magic
Clan weakness- the clan is good at many things. But that within itself is a weakness. They are too diverse. They don't have much stamina and can't do most types of magic.
Key Traits
honor
Love of the arts and poetry.
One of the richest clans
best at dueling.
Branch or Family Names
Doji- First family created by the Kami. Mostly artist and courtiers
Daidoji- The army of the crane clan. The duelist
Ashidaka- The shugenja of the clan

Dragon
While the roles and the duties of the other Great Clans have always been relatively straightforward, the Dragon Clan has always been something of an enigma. Founded by the Kami Togashi, the most mysterious of the children of the Sun and Moon, the Dragon Clan was founded with the purpose to watch over the rest of the Empire, and watch they did. For more than one thousand years, the Dragon remained almost entirely apart from the other clans, engaging them in battle rarely and in court only slightly more frequently. Few could claim to understand the Dragon or their motivations, at least until the war spilled into the empire, when at last the Kami Togashi, still alive in spirit if not in flesh, led the early days of the campaign against the Shadow Lands, when the other clans were still at one another’s throats the Dragon suffered significant losses. Using a mysterious art of tattooing. Tattoos were common in the Empire. But only the tattoos of the Dragon clan granted powers. But each power granted also has an equally powerful drawback. Making tattoos an extremely dangerous double-edged sword.
Clan strengths- Hand to hand combat,
Clan weaknesses- not very good at politics
Key traits
Not much is known about this mysterious clan.
Mostly monks
Prefer hand to hand or blunt weapon fighting
the only clan that has tattoos that give strange powers. But ALL tattoos have drawbacks that are as great as the powers the tattoo gives.
Branches or Families
Hitomi- monks
Mirumoto- duelist
Agasha- thought to have dragon blood running through their veins, monks


Lion
For more than one thousand years, the Lion Clan has served as the Right Hand of the Emperor. They are the greatest military force in the known world, the sword that destroys all that threaten the Emperor or the Empire. In the eyes of many throughout the Empire, the Lion embodies honor and tradition, for all the good and bad that such a description implies.
Clan strengths- Leading and strategy, warfare in general
Clan weaknesses- infiltration and stealth combat
Key traits
Tacticians
The army of the empire
loyal to a fault
Has very few shugeja
Branches or Families
Akodo- Warrior-scholars who dedicate themselves to mastering the art of war, they are perfectionist tacticians
Kitsu - A relatively small family of shugenja who descend from ancient lion spirits
Matsu - Brash, hot blooded warriors who define the Lion stereotype, are the backbone of the Lion's famed army and provide the majority of its bushi.

Mantis
Alone among the Great Clans, the Mantis Clan has carved its position from the world by pure force of will, seizing destiny where others merely accept what is offered to them. Despite their position as equals among the other Great Clans, the Mantis remains somewhat apart from their peers. They are separated both by geography and philosophy, for the Mantis believe in their hearts that the other clans have never truly accepted them and perhaps never truly will. This could be partly due to the fact much of the clan are pirates.
Clan strengths- Trading, naval battles, hoarding money
Clan weaknesses- Not very well like, always the outsiders
Key traits
Pirates
bandits
Untrusted
hoarders
free spirited
Branches or Families
Yoritomo
Moshi
Tsuruchi

Phoenix
The history of the Phoenix Clan is unusual, compared to most. It was created when Shiba, a child of the Sun and Moon, knelt before a mortal and pledged to protect his line for all time. The mortal and his tribe were known in the early Empire to be the most powerful shugenja (sorcerers), and Shiba knew that they were needed to create a stable domain for his brother’s new nation. Thus the Phoenix was created, and despite a turbulent past with frequent incidents of members falling to darkness in pursuit of knowledge, the clan has remained the preeminent mystical force in an entire Empire. The status of the Phoenix Clan as the greatest shugenja in the Empire has never been questioned, nor should it.
Clan strengths- magic
Clan weaknesses- combat in general
Key Traits
Shugenja
Magic users
power hungry
Not to many fighters or defenders in this clan.
A few duelist
some secretly use maho ( blood magic)
branches or families
Isawa - great scholar and sorcerer before the Kami fell
Agasha - Shugina monks
Asako- monks

Scorpion
Throughout history, few clans have been as reviled as the Scorpion Clan. Founded by the wily and manipulative Bayushi, the Scorpion’s Kami was tasked by the first Emperor to ensure that his clans never turned against him. Bayushi and his followers accomplished this most sacred task by providing the other clans with a villain they could despise, in order to ensure that they never turned their thoughts to claiming the throne for themselves. Toward this purpose, the Scorpion embraced all manner of tactics and customs considered disgraceful by the other clans and were generally regarded as dishonorable in all cases. The one true virtue espoused by the Scorpion, however, was that of loyalty; just as the Scorpion was loyal to the throne, each individual samurai was undyingly loyal to his superiors. It was only through this method that the clan could survive. The Scorpion have sacrificed a great deal in the fulfillment of their duties. And to help maintain their honor in the line of duty, they all wear masks.
Clan strengths- assassinations, trading secrets
Clan weaknesses- seen as being honorless and less trusted than the mantis
Key traits
this clan does the emperors dirty work
assasions, ninja, kolats
trade in secrets
always wears masks
Branches or Families
Bayushi - public face and leaders of the Scorpion Clan.
Yogo - shugenja
Shosuro - excellent spies and courtiers, as well as assassins.

Unicorn
Sons and daughters of the Lady Shinjo, the most compassionate of the children of the Sun and Moon, the Unicorn Clan has long sought to find its place in an Empire that forgot about them during a long and difficult absence. Early in the existence of the Empire, when the first war with the dark god Fu Leng had been concluded, Lady Shinjo petitioned her brother the Emperor for the right to travel the world and discover other potential threats like Fu Leng. If the Empire was ignorant of such threats, she reasoned, it could not hope to stand against them. The Emperor reluctantly agreed, and Lady Shinjo and her followers departed from the Empire amid much fanfare and mourning. For more than seven centuries, the Unicorn wandered the world beyond Rokugan, encountering countless cultures and gaining many allies and enemies. When the clan finally returned to Rokugan, many doubted their identity, for most had assumed the followers of Lady Shinjo had been dead for centuries. In time, the Unicorn proved their identity through political favors and battlefield victories, and they were granted their position and their old lands. Like the Mantis, the Unicorn feel truly at home in the Colonies, which is both a frontier and yet part of the Empire that they call home. They are the only clan that breeds war horses and specializes in mounted combat.
Clan strengths- mounted combat
Clan weaknesses- the "barbarian" clan
Key Traits-
Loved their mounts
Nomadic
Considered barbaric
Branch or Family Names-
Moto- The strongest of the three branches, the most barbaric
Shinjo- the first clan, might have blood ties to the Kami, cavalry
Iuchi- The shugenja of the clan

 

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Minor Clans
​

Key Traits of Minor Clams
All the nonhumans that aren't shadowlands
All the dishonored or masterless.
Usually seen as honorless or dishonored

Naga
The naga were an ancient race of serpent-folk that existed before the rise of Man and the fall of the Kami. They were the oldest of the civilizations, spanning the far west of the modern Rokugan. Before the fall of the Kami, the naga entered an enchanted slumber in an attempt to preserve their dying race. All Naga begin their lives within an egg, tended by the Naga Vedic. After they hatched, first they were an Ashamana, a Naga youth, distinguished only by their 'egg-name'. Then, once they had performed the first shedding ritual, they choose the path of their lives, taken the name they would be known. When it happened, the young Naga underwent a special magical ritual that made him forever immune to the Shadowlands Taint. They willingly shared this with some of the Crab Clan.

Ratling
The Ratling, also called Nezumi are rat like humanoids. They have walking the Earth just as long as the Naga and the Oni. Nezumi tribes are led by a chieftain instead of a daimyo although the two titles are roughly equivalent in authority, with the Nezumi being slightly more democratic. Unlike Rokugan, where all clans are part of the same empire and subject to the will of the Emperor, not all tribes are subservient to any one person. While the One Tribe is composed of more than one tribe and is ruled by a Chief of Chiefs who holds similar power to an Emperor, his authority is limited only to those tribes who have sworn fealty to the One Tribe. They hold Rokugan and the Shadow Lands at equal vale, both are pests that need to be wiped from the Earth.

Spirit
Spirit is a term which described creatures not native to Ningen-do, the realm of the mortal man. It was used for magical entities, good or evil. It was only after a great war split into Rokugan that Spirits came into being. After the Dragon Clan used an unknown typo of magic to call forth help to sent the taint back into the Shadow Lands.

Ronin
A samurai would became masterless from the ruin or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege. A samurai was forbidden to become employed by another master without his previous master's permission. When the samurai's previous master died without an heir or was stripped of his lands and title, the samurai became unemployable.

In addition, a samurai could become ronin if he was not recognized as an heir by his samurai parent, was outcast for a failure and denied seppuku, or was simply someone who had chosen to abandon his station.

To a samurai, for whom their duty to their master was their life, the loss of duty was often seen as a fate worse than death. Generally, a samurai would request to commit seppuku(kill themself) to absolve himself of whatever shame caused him to.

 

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Shadowlands​

As the Kami created the Empire of Rokugan, the fallen Kami Fu Leng created the Shadowlands. The Shadowlands are the wasteland that laid to the southwest of Rokugan, a twisted, nightmarish place corrupted by the power of Jigoku, the Realm of Evil. When Fu Leng fell from heaven, he left a crater known as the Festering Pit deep within the Shadowlands. It was from here that the Taint spread out, blighted, and corrupted the land. The Shadowlands was a constantly shifting and uninhabitable nightmare come to life. It was home to oni, ogres, trolls, goblins, the Lost and countless other vile creatures.

In all of Rokugan's history, there has never been a more implacable foe than those that exist within the Shadowlands. Warped by the will of an insane god and corrupted by the essence of Jigoku, the spirit realm of evil, the Shadowlands are a place of pure darkness and hatred. All that is evil is embraced, and all that is good is either corrupted or destroyed outright.

Taint was the process of physical and mental corruption gained by entering or associating with the Shadowlands, oni, or the practice of maho, or blood magic. The taint was a physical manifestation of evil's hold on the mortal realm. Sometimes it was called the 'sixth element'. Once tainted it's almost impossible to sure. A person tainted no longer have control over their actions. They are blinded by the evil that now runs through their veins.

But....
The Shadowlands are changing in recent years. The chaotic madness that has existed for centuries seems to be giving way to a new order, one that seems to be a dark reflection of the Empire it stands against. Cities, dojo, and even temples have begun to appear The gibbering madmen who once served as the rank and file of the dark armies are now gone, replaced by orderly, well-trained troops who live for the destruction of their enemies.

This change has come about because of the Dark Lord of the Shadowlands. This lone individual, wielding dark powers of incredible magnitude, has bent the will of the Shadowlands to his own, remaking it in his image. In time, this sinister, enigmatic individual may prove to be a greater threat even than Fu Leng himself.

 

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Classes​

Bushi: Simply put, bushi is a warrior. a person who fights. Most Bushi have a personal code of honor but aren't held to the same standers as a samurai. Bushi can use just about any weapon except the katana. Those are only for duelist and samurai.

Samurai The Samurai, which means servant, were the highest rank in the Rokugani social system, as decreed by the Celestial Order. The Samurai were the warriors of Rokugan, as well as its nobles and rulers. The are one of two classes that can use the katana without punishment.

Assassin- Often times called Kolats (means in question). Assassins used poison to murder maximizing terror while minimizing any chance of detection, while bloody kills were used to frame others planting false evidence. When it was necessary for deep infiltration a specific target was eliminated to replace him with a Kolat actor.

Ninja In the Rokugani tongue, Ninja meaning "one who endures." Ninja were highly-skilled assassins and saboteurs who preferred stealth and trickery to the open and honorable combat engaged in by other members of the Samurai class, though most ninja adheres to their own code of honor.


Courtier: This class are the beautiful politicians that help to run the empire. They make the laws, move the money, and manipulate power. They may not have skills in battle, but they wage a different type of war. One in which you can't always tell who the enemy is.
Merchant
Artisan
Politician
Scholar
Magistrate
Bards
Musicians

Monk: Monks are hand-to-hand or blunt weapon fighters. On a never-ending quest for knowledge and wisdom. Their ultimate go is to obtain enlightenment. Monks in general try to avoid fighting. But that doesn't mean they aren't willing to defend Rokugan and the things they believe in.

Only the Dragon Clan monks can become tattooed. The tattoos work much like a spell. Giving the monk abilities they normally wouldn't have. But... EVERY tattoo has an equally devastating side effect.

Cavalry: Cavalry types generally fell into four categories, Mounted Infantry, Light, Medium and Heavy. Cavalry units usually employed long spears or lances used from horseback which gave them an advantage against infantry and their high mobility on the battlefield enabled them to be decisive weapons when used to exploit gaps or weaknesses in the ranks of their foes.

Pirate A Pirate was one who robbed or plundered at sea without a commission from a recognized sovereign nation. Pirates usually targeted other ships, but had been known to attack targets onshore. These acts were known as piracy. Some accused the Mantis Clan of wholesale piracy because of the methods they employed to secure their waters, but as their raiders were commissioned by the clan, and therefore indirectly by the Emperor, they would technically be considered privateers

Shugenja: They are able to create powerful spells by offering prayers which were written upon scrolls called kiho (magic scrolls). The magic of the shugenja is drawn from one of the five elements: Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Void. Each shugenja can only cast from one or two of the elements. NO shugenja can cast from all five elements.
Water: Mainly Healers
Air: There are spells for just about everything however for Mantis Shugenja, should they have an affinity to air, they can learn thunder and lightning spells.
Fire: Combat oriented
Earth: Combat oriented. Mostly for defending.
Void: Known as an Ishiken, Ishiken can do just about everything. it's alot like wild or chaos magic.
Maho: They are strange in that they have one true affinity and then use blood magic. ONLY the evil and tainted use this magic. You must take a life or have lots of blood to use this type. It stands outside the natural laws of the 5 elements.

 

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Races​

Human- do I really need to explain?

Naga- half snake, half hunan. One of the first races on the Earth. Immune to taint. Creators of magic. They tendend to the balance of good and evil.

Ratling or Nezumi- Think of splinter from the Turtles. They are walking, taking rats. Immune to taint. As old as the Naga.They are not evil but they don't often care for other races.

Kitsune- A humanoid Fox spirit. Normally with fox ears, tail, eyes, and sometimes claws. In the l5r world they are tricksters and well adapted to magic.

Spirits- humans that have come back from the dead in a spectral form. If they are killed they go to a place kind of like purgatory. Jade and blood magic are the only things that can kill a spirit.

Oni- Oni are the demonic monstrosities that made up the most powerful forces of the Shadowlands.They come in all shapes and sizes. Onis are spawned from the Oni Lord.

Goblins- Native to the Shadowlands, they were small in size, around three to four feet in height. Hunched and twisted, with mouths full of sharp, misaligned teeth, goblins varied in color from pale green to dark olive. They never cleaned and reeked of unspeakable filth. Typically, goblins were very low in intelligence, violent in temper, and generally lack a sense of self preservation.

Trolls- trolls are grayish in color, flabby, and about 6 feet tall. They lived in the shadow lands before the fall of the dark kami. Back then trolls weren't good or evil. They were just extremely territorial and very superstitious. But after the fall their minds warped and their hearts filled with taint.

Blood Seaker- A vampire like parasite. As soon as they infest a body, they gain the recent memories of that person. Blood Seakers eat a living host from the inside out. Until the host is fully devoured they wear the skin to try and blind into Rokugani society.

Taint Turned- The taint turned were once Spirits, humans, Kitsune, and an thing else that can be tainted. But they became so tainted from the shadow lands that Thier body died and was reborn as a twisted shell of their former self.

 

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Key Terms and Definitions

Daimyo:
The head or leader of a clan.

Jigoku:
The Realm of Evil and the birth place of taint.

Kami:
The 9 gods that fell to Earth and formed the clans and empire.

Kiho:
A spell that consists of one of the 5 elements.

Kolat:
A person who specializes in interrogation, secrets, and assassinations.

Maho:
Blood magic, requires sacrifice.

Ningen-do:
The mortal realm, Earth.

Rokugan:
Also known as the Emerald Empire, the lands in which the RP takes place.

Seppuku:
An act of ritual suicide. A way for a dishonored to regain their honor.

Shugenja:
A person trained in the art of magic of Rokugan.

Taint:
Also called the blood of Jigoku. It is the physical manifestation of hate and evil. Once a person is tainted they have to use Jade to cure it or they will lose control and become evil.

 

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Taint was the process of physical and mental corruption gained by entering or associating with the Shadowlands, oni, or the practice of maho, or blood magic. The taint was a physical manifestation of Jigoku's hold on the mortal realm. Sometimes it was called the 'sixth element'.

A single piece of Jade, approximately the size of a man's finger, could protect one person from the taint for about a week. The Jade would slowly turn black and soft, as it absorbed the tainting effect of the Shadowlands.

Immunity to taint
The Naga race became immune to the 'Dark Gift' in their ceremony of "come of age", where the young Naga were inducted into society and were exposed to an elaborate spell woven with pearl and jade.

Nezumi were entirely immune to the Shadowlands Taint and their immunity extended beyond invulnerability to corruption. The Nezumi were unable to explain this phenomenon. The Transcendents were the beings responsible for the famed Nezumi immunity to Taint. All Nezumi carried a little yumeji, the control exerted by Yume-do, with them, lending them both the immunity to Taint and drawing them to Yume-do for their afterlife.

Dangers of the Taint
There were numerous ways for Rokugani to contract the taint. Foremost was spending time in the Shadowlands. If the person had any open, unbound wounds while in the Shadowlands then the likelihood of contracting the taint was drastically increased. The taint could be contracted by eating or drinking tainted food, and as such Maho-tsukai had been known to attempt to taint water supplies and rice fields to cause chaos. Shugenja calling upon the kami while in the Shadowlands often summoned kansen instead, and kansen loved to taint shugenja. Dying in the Shadowlands often meaned being ressurected as a zombie. This could only be prevented if the body was decapitated or burned.


Signs and Symptoms of Taint
As the taint developed the person afflicted began to show mental and physical signs of corruption. Skin would turn paler, hair became greasy and they would often have the appearance of being ill. They could become short-tempered, quick to respond to any percieved threats, and if the taint was unchecked the person would lose more and more control over their actions. In the end the taint would completely overcome the person, turning them into a monster under the control of Jigoku. Symptoms were individual to each case, but they all ended with the same result. Any tainted people were kept under close watch by Imperial authorities, but were generally left to live in peace so long as the affliction was not dangerous to others. The Kuni Witch Hunters and other similar organizations created a system to rate how dangerous each tainted person was. The Witch Hunters kept an eye on all tainted individuals, and would not hesitate to act when the symptoms had progressed too far.

First Degree - Passive Infection

This level of taint had no mental symptoms, and little danger of spreading the taint to others. The Kuni rarely punished anyone at this stage. They were checked on monthly to see if they have progressed to another level. The person was not allowed to marry without informing the prospective spouse and family. Any violation of this protocol was considered a "mental symptom", which was ground for execution. The taint at this stage would manifest itself in the form of nightmares. Physically the person would be prone to nausea, vomiting and uncontrolled trembling. They might start mumbling to themselves, without even realising it. At this stage a person should try to get rid of the taint if they can.

Second Degree - Active Infection.

At this level the first mental symptoms began, and the taint could be spread to others. At this point the subject was given a choice of seppuku or joining the Damned by the Witch Hunters if a cure doesn't work. From this point on they would be under constant supervision by the Kuni. The person at this stage would start to become paranoid and irritated by those around him. They felt they could not trust anyone, and that everyone must be secretly tainted. Hallucinations occurred, and the subject started to hear the voices of kansen.

Third Degree - Deadly Infection

At this level the taint was so extreme that anyone who had reached this level were executed by the Witch Hunters when caught. Seppuku was not an option, as they could not be trusted to have a choice. The taint presented in ways unique to each individual. Some choose to disregard their hygiene and stop bathing. Others exibited extreme homicidal behaviour. Some coughed blood, others become gaunt and some even grow long black fingernails. They became very unpredictable, and as such very dangerous.

Fourth Degree - Embrace of the Dark

This category included those possessed by demons using the taint for supernatural powers. They should be executed by decapitation immediately. For the most part symptoms continue as before, and people at this stage fell into two categories. Madmen or Lost. Madmen have completely lost their minds and were nothing more than bestial. Lost retained their intelligence, but were complete slaves of Jigoku.
pitated or burned.



Powers of the Taint
Those who embraced the taint were granted certain gifts to make the embrace slightly more appitizing. People with the taint found they were capable of greater feats of strength, agility, stamina or reflexes. Some powers and more mystical or supernatural. The powers of taint have manifested in numerus ways. For those who wished to mingle in society. without being discovered, it was possible to carry a jade sliver corrupted by the taint. This protected the bearer against detection and pure magic. This jade sliver would only last for approximately five days before crumbling into dust.


Jigoku and the Taint
Jigoku, also known as the Realm of Evil, was one of the Spirit Realms. It was a realm of pure and darkest evil and the source of the oni and the Shadowlands. Though all of the Spirit Realms were occassionally referred to as "Jigoku", the proper use of the name was only for the one dark Realm.

Jigoku is a living realm and all who are tainted are will surcunt to the evil desiers and wishs of this nightmareish place.


Removing Taint
Once tainted it is almost imposible to have it removed. Carrying jade will stop a person from becoming tainted. But it will only last a short period of time in the Shadowlands before crumbling.

Jade is also used in a Purification spell that was created by a Phoenix and a Crab. The spell takes an hour to prepare and uses a masive amount of jade. After the spell is cast the person tainted will be released from it's impending doom over time.. It's not an immediate cure.

After jade is used to cure or stop taint it crumbles away. Most of the jade mines are found in the Crab lands.

 

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