In Asorai, kingdoms have not yet solidified into centralized rule. Authority flows horizontally through shrine networks, oath-bonds, and regional necessity.
A clan is not merely a bloodline.
A clan is:
A shared myth
A shrine authority
A political network
A spiritual obligation
A territorial identity
Clans may include humans, yokai, and even minor kami-bound lineages. Membership is determined as often by oath and service as by ancestry.
Some clans stabilize the archipelago.
Some guard its fractures.
Some test its limits.
All influence the balance between Purity and Corruption.
Region: Dawn Isle
Primary Influence: Agriculture, shrine arbitration, early sword traditions
Membership: Predominantly human, shrine-bound families, select yokai envoys
Clan Amayori anchors the Dawn Isle.
They do not declare themselves rulers. They claim stewardship. Their authority stems from irrigation rites, grain storage sanctification, oath mediation, and the coordination of shrine maintenance across fertile regions.
Their warriors are among the first to formalize blade practice into something more than survival technique. What may one day become the Way of the Sword begins here as practical necessity and spiritual responsibility.
Honor, to Amayori, is measurable consequence.
An oath broken weakens crops.
A promise upheld strengthens land and lineage alike.
If Amayori fractures, famine and political instability follow.
Region: Stormreach Isles
Primary Influence: Maritime trade, sea contracts, storm warfare
Membership: Humans, sea-aligned yokai, storm-marked bloodlines
The Raiketsu endure where others hesitate.
Their power lies in sea pacts — dangerous agreements with lingering marine spirits and volatile storm presences. Their fleets maintain inter-island trade routes no one else dares to traverse.
They do not conquer through land.
They control access.
Their warriors fight like the tide: sudden, coordinated, overwhelming. Some bear marks of their contracts — pale eyes, wind-scarred skin, voices that carry unnaturally across water.
Should Raiketsu withdraw their ships, the archipelago’s economy constricts.
Should they break their sea pacts, storms would follow.
Region: Ashen Isle
Primary Influence: Yomi containment, impurity channeling, breach sealing
Membership: Humans, oni-descended lines, outcasts, Yomi-touched initiates
Where the boundary between life and the Root Below thins, Clan Kurogane stands.
They study impurity not to spread it, but to control it. Through disciplined rites, they channel small amounts of corruption to seal breaches and contain rot-taint pockets.
This practice stains them.
Their lifespans are often shortened. Their spirits carry visible weight.
Many see them as dangerous.
Others see them as necessary.
Legends often emerge from Kurogane — either as redeemers who master corruption without succumbing, or as tragic figures consumed by what they tried to contain.
Region: Verdant Veil
Primary Influence: Yokai diplomacy, spirit law, forest contracts
Membership: Kitsune courts, tengu monasteries, human mediators, minor kami-bound families
Shirohana is not structured like mortal clans.
It is layered like forest canopy.
Within it exist courts, sub-courts, and spirit assemblies. Humans and yokai coexist under negotiated law. Territory is defined not by fences but by resonance agreements.
They believe mortals must learn coexistence rather than dominance.
Their influence prevents the Verdant Veil from becoming openly hostile to human expansion. Without Shirohana, the forest would reclaim much of the archipelago.
Many mythic ascensions begin here, where mortals enter contracts deeper than simple prayer.
Few leave unchanged.
Operating across multiple islands, Tsukimori oversees emotional purification rites and dream interpretation. They specialize in diagnosing oath fractures before they manifest as physical corruption.
They serve as mediators between larger clans and often host neutral arbitration gatherings.
Their influence is subtle but profound. A Tsukimori judgment can preserve peace — or expose hidden spiritual decay.
Hoshirendō follows celestial resonance rather than visible landmarks. They chart safe passages based on moon cycles and sky patterns, claiming that the heavens still whisper guidance.
They are essential for long-distance trade and exploration between unstable waters.
Where Raiketsu commands the storm, Hoshirendō reads it.
These groups are smaller in scale but may rise in future generations.
Ashen Isle forge-keepers who bind controlled volcanic spirits into tools and ritual implements. Their craft is both revered and feared.
Human settlers within the Verdant Veil who practice extreme non-intrusion living. They reject expansion and seek near-total harmony with spirit territory.
Stormreach fisher-monks who focus on calming storms rather than commanding them. They believe humility preserves life more effectively than dominance.
Agricultural families on the Dawn Isle who are slowly organizing independent shrine authority separate from Amayori influence. They may one day challenge centralized stewardship.