The Khan's Defiance was the engineered assault on the Imperial Throne by the Champion (Khan) of the Unicorn Clan Moto Chagatai. When the Emperor Toturi III perished during his quest for enlightenment, the Imperial Throne was left empty, with Toturi III's Empress, Toturi Kurako, ruling in her dead husband's absence, though few in the Empire respected her. When the Khan discovered that his former ally the Shogun would not seize the throne, he launched a military campaign in the dead of winter, and attacked the provinces of the Lion Clan. He raided storehouse after storehouse, depleting the Lion's supplies while they were unable to respond to his attacks because of the winter conditions. When the thaws came, the Lion descended upon the Khol army in the center of their lands while the Khan and