The Battle with the Rocs began while the Ki-Rin had left Rokugan to explore the rest of the world, in the Ki-Rin's Exodus. They encountered the Rocs, which attacked the Clan. Using a powerful spell, Iuchi caused a rockslide in the mountain pass that killed not only the Rocs but also a large number of Ki-Rin samurai and one of Shinjo's sons. With the pass back to Rokugan, the Ujik-hai lands, or the Burning Sands, now blocked by the landslide, the Ki-Rin split up to look for another way back home. The riders of the rocs most probably would be the Hawk Riders, who lived in these mountains.