Editing Phoenix Clan (section)

==Culture & Role==
The Phoenix Clan is entrusted with developing and protecting the Empire's magic, though the duty is theirs as much through self-appointed ego as it is through having the most knowledge and expertise for the job. Shugenja of other Clans are certainly taught to respect the kami and maintain balance between the spiritual and physical realms, but they are also often devoted to a duty that fits their unique abilities or Clan, be it as artisans, monster hunters, or ancestral bridges. For the Phoenix, however, protecting the magic is a full-time gig.

This is done through more than just studying mountains of scrolls in libraries, of course. Phoenixes monitor Rokugan's spiritual health, carefully watching for upset spirits, heretical beliefs, and blasphemous magic which can wreck the delicate mystical balance of the Empire. As the mystic troubleshooter's and Rokugan's version of the Inquisition, the Phoenix Clan is the one you call when magic bullshit starts to go horribly wrong, holding knowledge of how to face threats which no amount of martial might can neutralize. They are the ones best equipped to defeat magic with magic, hunting down spiritual beings run amok and malevolent Bloodspeaker cults engineering massacres for human sacrifices. The Phoenix, more than pretty much every other Clan, knows how to recognize the signs of a magical problem, how to fix it, and failing that, how to reduce the offending source to ashes with extreme prejudice.

Oh, rest assured, it's just a rumor that they hoard any ''maho-tsukai'' scrolls and knowledge in their own libraries. And even if they DID have those juicy tidbits of forbidden knowledge, it's only so that they can keep it locked up for the Empire's safety. They'd NEVER study these scrolls themselves to satisfy their own ambitions or curiosity! Only to better understand their foes! Really, it's as ludicrous as the allegations that they not only safeguard magical knowledge but monopolize it as well to be the undisputed guardians and masters of magic. It's utter slander to suggest that they'd even work against the Imperial Court by sabotaging the credibility of the Jade Champion in order to remain essential. The noble Phoenix would never do such things!

So yeah. As you can see by now, the Phoenix Clan's character is a study in paradox. On the one hand, they are idealistic pacifists who desire peace in the Empire between its different parts, and have stood up for the oppressed, believing that all life is valuable, from the lowest peasant to the mightiest Emperor. At the same time, however, they are also prideful shugenja who think their magical mastery is a sure sign of superiority (though the Asako are content to be quietly proud of themselves while it's the Isawa who wave their MAGNUM MAGIC DONGS in everyone else's faces), with an insatiable desire to know everything about magic (including things better left forgotten). Much of this stems from the policies of the ruling Isawa family, and yet even then, they themselves often get into arguments with the other families (and each other!) over just about anything. As a particularly snarky Crane playwright once noted, "''The Phoenix seek peace within the Empire because they can't get it at home.''"

To be fair, it's not like the Phoenix Clan are absolutely blind to the pitfalls of power, despite their track record of self-control looking as spotty as the Thousand Sons. They do, in fact, stress the danger of forbidden knowledge and the gravity of their powers. Their shugenja are generally taught some form of "with great power comes great responsibility" and are encouraged to be humble and restrained, never unleashing their might unless absolutely necessary, which also lends itself to their idealistic and pacifistic ways. In effect, however, being raised to believe that you're a one-shugenja WMD with a unique and divine connection to the single most important aspect of the universe tends to inflate the ego, so even if they believe in restraint and peace, it has undertones of arrogance in a "You should be grateful for my mercy and control" or "I am so much more peaceful, enlightened, and humble than the rest of you warmongers" sense.

Still, they try their best, and honestly do fairly well in ensuring mistakes and calamities are the exception, not the norm (albeit being mostly avoidable exceptions that happen far too frequently for comfort). And for those Phoenixes who truly grasp the cosmic enormity of both their elemental gifts and the teachings of Shinsei, their connection can be truly humbling as it teaches them just how small they are in the grand scheme of things.

===Tactics===
Phoenix Clan tactics can be roughly summed up thusly:

# Shugenja start praying. 
# Bushi and ashigaru defend shugenja's position. 
# Either fall apart under a sustained offensive or pull off magic to utterly curbstomp the enemy.

More seriously, they actually do take this very seriously; the Phoenix may stand against war, but they are keenly aware of its danger and the need to play to their strengths. The Shiba diligently train in military maneuvers, and make sure that they can form the best walls and defensive lines to defend their charges, knowing such a high concentration of force multipliers can easily decide a battle. The sheer power of the Phoenix shugenja can change landscapes, level hills, turn rivers into floods, and battlefields into ash...and that's not even counting more [[Iskandar Khayon|cunning applications]] like teleporting a kill squad of elite warriors to assassinate the enemy's commanders in their own tents. And if the call for [[Exterminatus|total annihilation]] ever goes out, they unleash their full might, deploying the ultimate elemental deterrents. Such a decision is not made easily, but when it is agreed upon, it can bring a decisive end to any conflict, even capable of stopping the especially pugnacious Lion and Unicorn in their tracks. Good thing, too; as one of Rokugan's smallest armies, they wouldn't be able to defend themselves otherwise.

Of course, the actual success of such tactics depends on just how canny or arrogant the Phoenix commander is. If they're wise, they'll plan their spells to maximize terrain and counter their enemy in stages with contingencies in place while trusting military matters to actual military experts. But if their hubris is showing, a rash Phoenix leader will underestimate their foes and overestimate their magic, commonly dictating a battle plan made by a wizard who has never seen active combat to the exasperated Shiba without considering whether the enemy can strike faster than they can pray, or if they have shugenja of their own. Or worse, are able to resist or outright nullify magic.

===Bushido & Religion===
As THE shugenja Clan, magic and religion are at the heart of who the Phoenix are and what they do. They are one of the most devout Clans in Rokugan, and set the traditions for religion the way the Crane set the traditions for court. Not surprising given that they worshiped the Fortunes even before the Kami arrived, then became the custodians of the Tao of Shinsei which Shiba recorded, and finally made sure to spread these faiths across the Empire and incorporate rites and rituals from both throughout virtually all parts of everyday life.

Because the power of magic and religion are so closely tied in Rokugan (what with shugenja spells being prayers to the kami and the spirits), Phoenixes are both dedicated magic scholars and devotedworshipers who spend just as much time studying scrolls as they do conducting festivals and ceremonies to please or petition the Fortunes. And because they're the Phoenix, they take matters of new magical or religious ideas very seriously. On the one hand, their knowledge-boner tempts them to explore almost any new avenue of faith and power. But on the other hand, their highly traditional natures makes them very cagey around ideas outside of Fortune worship and Shinseism, such as the Iuchi's magic which draws on the power of sacred words and names, not the kami.

Despite being know mostly for huge egos, magic, and pacifism, the Phoenix are actually quite respectful of the tenets of Bushido. Though not as devoted as the Lions, their traditionalist mindsets hold it in high regard as a societal pillar, and Phoenix samurai try to do right by it. Notably, the Phoenix have traditionally been closely associated with the virtue of Righteousness, which is often taken to mean "do what's right no matter what" in contrast to Sincerity and Courtesy representing the face-saving part of Rokugani ethics. In effect, this means that they will either [[Noblebright|stand up for what is right and true no matter the cost]], or be [[Stupid Good|utterly convinced about the infallibility of their cause]].