Doji Toru was a samurai of the Crane Clan born in 1180. He was betrothed to a Doji, to secure her cousin's place in the Kakita Dueling Academy. Toru had fallen in love with Matsu Shiko, who was also betrothed. The couple went to see Kasuga Yaniko, a resorceful old woman, and requested the Tortoise to use her abilities to over-rule the nakodo their fathers commissioned. Yaniko eagerly accepted a Lion map with the location of Shima no Quehao, the Lion's island library, an information her clan had sought for years. When marriage was between two clans, it required a higher authority to grant it, so Yaniko forged an Imperial endorsement.