The Muromachi Period (1542–1550)

As Chronicled in the Eventide of Albion – MET LARP Setting

Overview: The Empire of the Moon-Watchers and Beast Courts

The Muromachi Period in the year 1550 is a time of both bloody division and supernatural awakening across the islands of Nippon. In the mortal world, the Ashikaga Shogunate is little more than a shadow, its power fragmented as ambitious daimyō clash in an endless storm of war and ambition. Yet, within the deeper veils of Japan’s spiritual tapestry, the Courts of the Changing Breeds—known as the Beast Courts of the Emerald Mother—hold their own, ancient order.

It is a time when old spirits stir and ancient pacts fray under the weight of gunpowder and foreign faiths. The very balance of the Gaian tapestry in Japan now sways like a temple bell before the typhoon.

The Clans of Fera in the Muromachi Realm

Oda Clan – Khan Bastet (Weretigers of the East)

The rise of the Oda Clan, led by the ambitious and ruthless Oda Nobunaga, coincides with the resurgence of the Khan, the tiger-spirited Bastet of the East. Known for their cunning and wrathful enforcement of Gaia’s Law among the shapechangers of Japan, the Khan now seek to unify both mortal warlords and supernatural courts under a single banner. The Oda are whispered to have struck ancient bargains with spirits of flame and steel, forging their will as conquerors with both claw and arquebus.

Nobunaga himself is rumored to be protected by a trio of Khan sentinels—siblings of the moon-born line who stalk his enemies and hunt the rogue Wyrm-tainted within his lands.

Takeda Clan – Shadow Lords (Garou of Thunder’s Will)

The Takeda, noble and fierce, are the mountain wolves of Japan. Garou of the Shadow Lords tribe they uphold a legacy of discipline, tradition, and ruthless cunning. The great Takeda Shingen, though Kinfolk in mortal form, is deeply respected among Garou society for maintaining sacred cairns deep within the Japanese Alps and for hosting moots that draw spirits older than memory.

The Shadow Lords in Japan have adopted aspects of Shinto and esoteric Buddhism, binding ancient spirits of wind, storm, and vengeance into their war-form totems. They war constantly with the Wyrm-corrupted remnants of the Kuei-Jin warlords and the silent poisoners of the Nezumi who have gone rogue.

Mōri Clan – Kitsune (Fox-Changers and Tricksters)

The Mōri Clan, sea-bound and far-seeing, has long harbored the Kitsune among their ranks. These fox-shifters—masters of illusions, wordplay, and spiritual guile—guide mortal courts in subtle ways. It is through their auspices that the Beast Courts have remained hidden even during this time of war and foreign contact. The Mōri aided in directing foreign ships to specific coves where spiritual wards and kami-summoning rites protect the sacred sites of Nippon.

The Kitsune remain neutral in the Oda-Takeda conflicts, preferring to manipulate outcomes with precision and subterfuge.

Shimazu Clan – Nezumi (Ratkin of the Deep Caves)

In the south, the Shimazu harbor a dangerous secret: alliances with the Nezumi. These Ratkin, born of plague and prophecy, are both scavengers and sacred record-keepers. Among the Shimazu, they act as spies, saboteurs, and seekers of forbidden lore. Their presence helps keep other supernatural threats in check, but their motives are rarely clear. Some Nezumi have begun to show signs of madness from contact with Western artifacts brought by the Portuguese.

The Coming of the West: Gunpowder, Faith, and Silver Blood

In 1542, the Portuguese arrived, bringing with them the matchlock arquebus—a weapon that had already begun to alter the flow of battles. Over 400 trained warriors now wield these thunderous arms, many of whom are secretly Kinfolk or even low-ranked Fera trusted to keep these weapons from falling into the hands of Wyrm-servants.

More consequential to the balance of spirits, however, was the arrival of Lord Francis Xavier in 1549. A Silver Fang Kinfolk disguised as a Jesuit missionary, Xavier walked into Kagoshima not merely as a preacher of Christ but as an agent of the Gaian Concordat. He came seeking to understand the sacred balance of the East and to ensure that the beast-children of Gaia were not corrupted by demonic or infernal powers hidden behind the guise of European piety.

He now serves as a spiritual diplomat between the Beast Courts and the Silver Fang-controlled Cairns of the West, aiding in the translations of prophecy and ensuring that Western Kindred influence does not claim more ground.

The Serpent Awakens: Yamata no Orochi and the Naga Legacy

The legend of Yamata no Orochi, once thought to be a mere myth, has been proven in recent years to be the obscured memory of an ancient Naga nest. Deep beneath Lake Kusari, in the misty wilds north of Kyoto, an eight-headed and eight-tailed snake once rose not as a beast of evil, but as guardian and prophet of a Cearn older than all others in Japan.

When the god Susanoo "slew" Orochi, it was in truth a sealing ritual, not a murder. The Orochi itself was not a single entity, but eight ancient Naga siblings whose power over the veil of fate had begun to fracture time itself. Some remain as spiritual sentinels, while others have slumbered for over a millennium.

At the center of this ancient lake—still veiled from mortal eyes by the Kitsune and Khan alike—lies a sleeping Mokolé elder, said to have taken the form of a vast, coiled dragon with scales like obsidian glass. It is believed he dreams the memory of Gaia into the Emerald Isles, and should he awaken in wrath, the islands may change forever.

1550 and the Coming Storm

The Muromachi period in this version of the World of Darkness is not merely an age of steel and rebellion, but a battleground of spiritual sovereignty. The Fera of Japan—Khan, Shadow Lords, Kitsune, Nezumi, and others—struggle to preserve their sacred lands and ancient rites while facing the threats of mortal ambition, foreign influence, and the whispering corruption of the Wyrm.

As the Beast Courts convene once again beneath the red lanterns of Kyoto, and rumors spread that Nobunaga seeks a permanent alliance with European powers, the fate of Gaia’s Emerald Jewel hangs in the balance.