Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty as Told by Flavor Text
"In the name of Kyodai, begone!"
In the time it takes most to master one blade, he mastered two.
"We have done our best to heal this land together, but now I must entrust the future to my sister. She will carry our dreams onward into the sunrise." ~ Michiko Konda's journal
Cutting-edge Imperial sentinel mechs patrol the skies over Eiganjo.
Imperial samurai undergo strict training, honing their skills and purifying their spirits in the hope that they will prove worthy of a kami's blessing.
It seeks those who act with kindness and offers friendship.
Students of the kitsune-led Golden-Tail Academy in Eiganjo are unparalleled in both martial skill and dedication to the Imperial cause.
"If your mech is factory standard, you might as well be walking."
Those chosen to guard the Imperial Palace are not only unrivaled warriors but also lionhearted champions of the Imperial cause.
"Cease your pathetic struggling."
"Oh, sorry—were we racing?"
"That way lies death. This way, a chance."
The playful kami reserved its greatest blessings for those who brought not wealth or rare delicacies, but particularly amusing trinkets.
"Be proud, young pup! You've earned your wings. Rise and become the western wind." ~ Swift-Arm, Golden-Tail headmaster
"The blades will have their say, but peace is built with words."
Before her spark pulled her away again, the Emperor appointed the wise Light-Paws to guide Kamigawa in her absence.
"You are a guest in this realm, and you've overstayed your welcome." ~ Yui, Imperial intercessor
"I have taught you all I can. Take this blade and rise as my equal."
Imperial samurai who show exceptional honor and dexterity are invited to train as mothriders, elite guards charged with protecting the skies of Eiganjo.
She formed a friendship with several playful spirits, and soon "the pack" was known as the source of much mischief in Eiganjo.
Just as Jin-Gitaxias's victory seemed certain, the Wanderer appeared, her blade already in motion. One mighty slash was enough to take the praetor out of the fight.
Since Imperial custom strictly forbade the Emperor to reveal her name—even to Kaito, her closest childhood friend—she had to suffer him calling her "your emperorness" for much of their shared youth.
You can never have too many arms.
The Wanderer sighed in relief as the Reality Chip tethered her wayward spark to Kamigawa.
"Let's just turn that off, shall we?"
The Futurists regard the tradition of kami-bonding as anachronistic and inefficient, striving constantly to surpass spiritual power with technology.
"The Imperials can't arrest you for illegal tech if you never even existed."
"I folded a model in paper first to test the relative tensile strength of the plates." ~ Katsumasa, the Animator
It seeks those driven by curiosity and offers enlightenment.
"The palace is closed to outsiders."
"Are you seriously telling me your heavy combat mech . . . blew away?" ~ Risona, leader of the Asari Uprisers
"Let the Imperials search our laboratories. Will they think to look for secrets in a pretty bauble?" ~ Emire, director of the Saiba Futurists
"Research is hardly the dry, serious pastime outsiders make it out to be."
"Just as I suspected. They thought they'd hidden the terminal, so they got lazy with the encryption."
Jin-Gitaxias had long coveted the secrets of planeswalking. Spirits that could pass between worlds made for perfect test subjects.
Kaito grabbed the chip, hoping it held answers.
"Step one is innovation. Step two is production. Sometimes step one is optional."
One to clear the way, another to erase their trail.
Once they swam alone among the clouds, but now the people of Kamigawa have built high enough to reach them.
For all their planning, Tamiyo and Kaito were unprepared to face the full power of a Phyrexian praetor.
With a reckless leap into the pilot's seat, Hirori went from smallest kid on the block to biggest hero in the city.
"Knowledge is the universal currency of the Multiverse. It is power. It is freedom. It is possibility itself."
A Reckoner always has another trick up their sleeve—or as their sleeve.
A kami's anger never fades, never sleeps, never loosens its grasp.
The masters weren't speaking figuratively when they said guilt could be all-consuming.
The squirming is how you know it's fresh.
Don't fear the blade, fear the shadows.
"Heavy? Maybe for you."
It seeks those with hate in their hearts and offers vengeance.
It appears only to those whose lives are ending, welcoming them to their fate.
"They can't follow your footprints if you never touch the ground."
Although officials said it was a sewer failure, the people whispered that it was a warning of night's reach.
Kaito knew every rooftop in the city, and closed in quickly on his quarry—but he knew nothing of the Planar Bridge until it was already too late.
It feeds on things better left unknown, savoring the bitterness of lies and regrets.
"That? A minor test, nothing more. Incompleat flesh is weak." ~ Jin-Gitaxias
The Mukotai Reckoners specialize in stealth and subterfuge.
"It's not one or the other, kami or technology. Both offer power. I will not limit myself."
"Some fool would rather throw a whole mech away than repair one hydraulic actuator? It must be my lucky day."
"That's a start. What else do you have for us?" ~ Takumi, Reckoner enforcer
Restricted auctions are held once a year at the Dragon's Lair—the sacred, neutral meeting ground of all Reckoner gangs.
"You're hurt? Too bad. You stop fighting when I say, and not a moment sooner." ~ Satoru Umezawa
Evil kami are drawn to mortals who share their grim fascinations.
"That will pay for another arm extension all by itself! Well, as long as it doesn't explode."
"They'll be debugging their code for days before they figure out what happened!" ~ Eita, Futurist agent
So swift and sharp was his blade that the ogre never even felt the cut.
"Follow my lantern, little ones."
"Carry the heat of the furnace in your steel, and never let it fade." ~ Keni-Keni, akki smith
Akki paint bright, bold designs on their salvaged Imperial mechs, leaving no doubt as to who they belong to now.
In the clangor and chaos of the akki attack, few even noticed the frogs on their heads.
The transition from spiritual to material is sometimes as shocking as it is beautiful.
Kaito and Tamiyo charged headlong into Jin-Gitaxias's secret lab, unaware that the praetor was eagerly awaiting their arrival.
"What? Why would it need a cooling unit?"
It seeks those consumed with rage and offers burning blades.
"I prefer to let my sword do the talking."
"I'm glad she can run again, but this might have been a bit much." ~ Kenji, Sokenzan artisan
It takes many arms to arm an army.
"The flames are a gift from my companion. They won't hurt me. You, on the other hand..."
The only thing better than hitting hard is hitting first.
"I fear I have run out of worthy opponents."
"This big metal guy will make some amazing wind chimes!"
"You've got about three seconds to get out of here before you get a faceful of metal."
"Step carefully, Imperial. Even the earth rises against you."
Among the artisans of Sokenzan City, reusing every scrap of metal is a point of pride.
Many master samurai make pilgrimages deep into the Sokenzan Mountains, where they train and meditate in silence, hoping to commune with a lava kami.
Most Uprisers augment their bodies for speed, strength, or protection, but a few just want to be one with the music.
"Pierce the heart and pierce the head, even the mightiest fall down dead."
Touma never met a door he didn't hate.
"My streets, my rules. You picked the wrong neighborhood for a fight."
"Do not mistake tranquility for domestication. This land is wild, and will always remain so."
Members of the Living Historians don't simply chronicle the past; they embody it.
She closed her eyes and remembered the smell of the leaves of Jukai Forest. When she opened them, the buildings of Towashi had grown small.
The kami of Jukai Forest accept only the most respectful petitioners.
"Memories fade and wither with time. If we do not nurture the garden of history, we may once more wander blindly through barren lands." ~ Reki, founder of the Living Historians
"Let me give you a taste of the poison you've poured into our land." ~ Shigeki, founder of the Order of Jukai
The land chooses its own champions.
It is said that one must modestly refuse a gift three times before accepting it to show humility before the kami.
A mysterious kami will sometimes appear to overworked monks and offer them a warm, relaxing bath.
It seeks those with untamed spirits and offers wild strength.
The kami permit few mortals to dwell in Jukai Forest, but the clever, playful tanuki are welcomed as friends and guardians.
Where the spirit and mortal realms overlap, the laws of reality are rewritten.
On the last day of a Jukai agent's training, they are bequeathed a powerful relic blessed by the kami.
After large sections were clear-cut to build Towashi, the once-peaceful Jukai Forest grew violently hostile to outsiders.
"The kami grant you this boon, not I."
"The Order of Jukai accepts only the strongest of body and spirit. I will train until I meet their expectations."
"You have always been a promising student, but your arrogance far outstrips your prowess."
One day the spirit and mortal realms will be one. Until then, she faithfully guards the sites where they merge.
Pavement ripped like paper as the ancient kami awoke from her long slumber beneath the city.
Members of the Order of Jukai commune with kami to enhance their martial prowess.
To keep the Reality Chip out of Jin-Gitaxias's hands, the Wanderer entrusted it to Tamiyo.
"Go! Show them your fury!"
Two different visions of freedom clashed at the gates of the Imperial Palace.
"Greetings, fellow inventors!" the akki shouted, attempting a friendly smile. To her dismay, the greeting was met only with shrieks and alarms being activated.
It's hard to say which is more deadly: her bike or her bite.
Hope races on sunlit hooves.
Trained by the Imperials but disillusioned by their rigidity, he gave his heart—and his swords—to the Asari Uprising.
He had heard rumors of the cities—the constant noise, the stagnant air, the tainted water—and he had no wish to learn if they were true.
"Progress comes only when we rise above our petty quarrels."
"The tempest is the only ally I need."
"I sometimes watch them build more of their kind and wonder: Will there come a day when they no longer need us?" ~ Saku, Futurist technician
"These were made when Michiko was young. Wield them wisely." ~ Chiyoko, Jukai elder
"Send them a message they can't ignore." ~ Satoru Umezawa
Inspired by industrious silkworms, its maker crafted it to restore the broken pieces of the world.
Automated units are deployed to stabilize merge sites deemed too dangerous even for trained intercessors.
"Who cares if the story's true as long as people are entertained?" ~ Shin, Towashi street performer
"I needed an extra set of hands, so I built one." ~ Kenji, Sokenzan artisan
Public access terminals around Towashi provide residents with up-to-date information on everything from traffic delays to hostile kami sightings.
A point to pierce flesh and spirit alike.
"And what, precisely, was so important that you left the entrance unguarded?" ~ Fumika, Imperial enforcer
It dwells happily near the ever-burning forges of Sokenzan City, crafting small things of beauty from discarded scraps.
One day it might roll over your foot, the next day your entire house.
The merging of the spirit and material realms has resulted in some unusual friendships.
From broken swords, the first Imperials forged a peaceful servant to tend the shrines of Eiganjo.
"*This* is what I needed all that alloy for." ~ Arima, to Emire
Travelers who leave an offering may pass freely through the forest kami's domain.
Untouched by mortal or kami, unspoiled by their wars.
Although officials said it was a sewer failure, the people whispered that it was a warning of night's reach.
She formed a friendship with several playful spirits, and soon "the pack" was known as the source of much mischief in Eiganjo.
"Greetings, fellow inventors!" the akki shouted, attempting a friendly smile. To her dismay, the greeting was met only with shrieks and alarms being activated.
He had heard rumors of the cities—the constant noise, the stagnant air, the tainted water—and he had no wish to learn if they were true.