From the introduction: Welcome to Hyuga, a land with a striking resemblance to Japan. With the squabbling clans of the country having been put to heel the country is at peace and more unified than it has ever been. The increased regulation of blade creation and sword schools has led to the decline of the so-called “Golden Era of Samurai”. But underneath this facade of peace lie old grudges, the sparks of a revolution brought by foreigners and threats that a mere mortal’s blade will not be able to cut down. You arrive in this land in the summer of the Year of the Lion as a certain ronin drinks and waits for their companion in the teahouse known as the Sleeping Duck.