Corruption
Texto
Samurai in Rokugan face all manner of threats on a daily basis, from the mere physical dangers of combat to deeply difficult trials of their honor and duty. These threats, they believe, can all be faced and defeated through sufficient courage and skill. There is one threat they can never defeat, however. At best, they can try to protect themselves against it. This threat is the Taint, the result of the corruption that comes from Jigoku, insidious enough to destroy even the most courageous and skilled of samurai.
This is a hard fact for all who are aware of the Shadowlands and its nature. Many samurai try to push such thoughts away and treat the Taint as something that happens only to the unprepared or inept. Ignoring the implacability of the Taint, however, can only lead to a terrible fate, for only unending vigilance toward this enemy can hope to provide defense against it. Even the Crab, who recognize the Taint is a very real danger and ward against it to degrees no other clan would contemplate, can still become Tainted. To suffer from the Taint is more than just the horrible mental and physical changes it forces upon an individual—it is knowing that one’s very soul is being corrupted. How one deals with this is perhaps the truest indication of a samurai’s spirit.
Texto do livro
Shadowlands · Chapter 3: Out of the Shadows › Corruption · p. 132
Mostrar o texto como impresso
Samurai in Rokugan face all manner of threats on a daily basis, from the mere physical dangers of combat to deeply difficult trials of their honor and duty. These threats, they believe, can all be faced and defeated through sufficient courage and skill. There is one threat they can never defeat, however. At best, they can try to protect themselves against it. This threat is the Taint, the result of the corruption that comes from Jigoku, insidious enough to destroy even the most courageous and skilled of samurai.
This is a hard fact for all who are aware of the Shadowlands and its nature. Many samurai try to push such thoughts away and treat the Taint as something that happens only to the unprepared or inept. Ignoring the implacability of the Taint, however, can only lead to a terrible fate, for only unending vigilance toward this enemy can hope to provide defense against it. Even the Crab, who recognize the Taint is a very real danger and ward against it to degrees no other clan would contemplate, can still become Tainted. To suffer from the Taint is more than just the horrible mental and physical changes it forces upon an individual—it is knowing that one’s very soul is being corrupted. How one deals with this is perhaps the truest indication of a samurai’s spirit.