Many thousands of years ago, before the rise of men and the rule of the Hantei Dynasty, a vast Empire covered all of what would become Rokugan. It was the Empire of the Naga, a race of sorcerous serpent folk who ruled over the land. Theirs was a civilization of art and science, an enlightened culture that had become complacent, content to gaze at its own reflection. Much of the Naga philosophy dealt with cycles, and many seers and philosophers spoke of a time when the Naga race would fall into a deep slumber. Such a time was spoken of in the holy texts, but most Naga were too busy creating self-glorifying art and poetry to be concerned with warnings from old books