TNW Plot Summary [WIP]

The Era of Warring States

Throughout all of written history, the warriors from the war clans across Sokoku have been at war. Each country had always supported various warlords and daimyo throughout their time - economic elites, who have, for their own benefit, hired the previously undereducated warring clans to go to war with the armies and hired mercenaries of other warlords. Centuries of fighting and combat have bloodied the lands to the point of war culture, barbaric values, and broiled hatred between the warring clans in a way that could, by no other means, be replicated.

About 50 years before Shinringakure's founding, most of the warring clans banded together for a precious year, waging wars against their oppressors - the economic elite - and exterminated them all, completely. After that, the fragile coalition disintegrated, and the clans descended into blood wars. Wars more violent, and more terrifying than anything previously experienced by humankind. This went on for five decades, before the more powerful and wealthy clans began to prioritize the education of their young. As they did so, and their young began to get older and mature, and take leadership positions in clans, the villages began to pop up. We play in the three major villages, but there are smaller ones dotted all throughout the lands.

Shinringakure

The current time of TNW is about 10 years after the formation of the first ninja village, Shinringakure.  Shinringakure was created by an alliance between the Senju clan and some other clans, by necessity.  The Senju clan had built too many enemies, and dividing their clan resources between combat, food production, and artisanry had begun leaving them open to attacks from their enemies, and the other, smaller, more domestic clans did not have enough combat prowess to protect themselves.  Because of this, the Senju clan agreed to protect the smaller clans under the condition that the smaller clans feed the Senju clan, and provide them with tools.  It was a mutual relationship that worked to the benefit of both parties.  Over the past ten years, other clans have joined in the alliance, and the clans have together formed a sprawling metropolis of a settlement.  The clans ruled together in a theocracy, each with a single representative.  

However, many families, not parts of clans, have begun to join in the alliance for jobs or shelter, and even the clans that have representatives had begun to agree that the senate they'd created with hundreds of members was too large to deal with problems quickly enough to avoid their damage, and they have begun making preparations for a single leader - a Shinrinkage - to be elected from within the populace, to serve as a military general with the authority to make executive decisions when required, within the scope of law, while the Senate wrote said law.  We pick up during the process of drafting regulations in selecting a Shinrinkage.

Hyougagakure

Three years after the beginnings of Shinringakure, the Hyuuga Clan began the village of Hyougagakure. The Hyuuga Clan had a very different story from the other clans. The Hyuuga Clan took it as their responsibility to protect the weaker clans who needed it. Asking for nothing in return, the Hyuuga Clan traveled from settlement to settlement in the Land of Tundra, protecting weaker clans and tribes, and beating back aggressive enemies, and they, over time, largely eliminated the threat of violence from their country. Over time, an air of peace settled over The Land of Tundra, and the people began to naturally flock together, for ease of living, and out of the simple desire to be near each other.

Eventually, Hyougagakure was formed, as the second ninja village. Hyougagakure is a disciplined people, formed mostly by the Hyuuga Clan. It got to be just as large as Shinringakure, and, eventually, the people of the village agreed that they needed a leader, where previously, everyone just got along rather well. The village is still currently debating on how to choose this leader, but it is likely that one will naturally emerge from within the Hyougagakure people as a mentor and leader.

Kazangakure

Kazangakure was formed by far different means, about four years after the formation of Shinringakure, six years before present time. It began similarly to how Shinringakure did - economic and practical partnership. It went well for the better part of five years, as the village prospered and grew, and, again, got to be as large as the other two villages. However, it had little military presence - at least not as much as the other villages. As a result, it was a victim of frequent raids from other settlements and bandit clans. Kazangakure begged the Uchiha Clan for the better part of three of their six existing years to come and join them, to give them strength and protection - it did not go as they planned.

The Uchiha clan, while they, at first, ignored the requests of the villages, eventually, a year before present time, came to see the village as a weaker group - a group to be dominated. Finally agreeing to join the Kazangakure partnership, the Uchiha set many terms - their people got the best real estate, the best land, and set taxes. Over the course of this year, people began to realize the error of bending to the Uchiha Clan - and a revolt began. First, there were riots in the streets, then, people began to sneak into the Uchiha compound and torch their buildings. The Uchiha retaliated by issuing executions. Kazangakure, five years after its creation, descended into Civil War. Well educated members of the village realized the danger, and negotiated a deal with the Uchiha - as the Uchiha made up more of the population than any other clan, they'd get to pick a champion, and the rest of the village got to pick two more. These champions would then fight in an arena for the position of Kazankage, leader of the village. The Kazankage would then be followed unconditionally by every member of the village, in order to prevent more bloodshed.