In the summer of 1296, a small group of samurai had crossed the steps of Asia in pursuit of a Mongolian horde responsible for the death of their shogun master. As they tracked their master's killers they happened across a Christian crusading army returning home to France and England after suffering defeat and exile from Jerusalem. King Philip had found the samurai's code of ethics so compelling that he retained their services in hopes of retraining his own army's thinking. The samurai had found a new master in King Philip and soon began teaching the way of the sword to the King's finest Knights, who over the years had been given the name Samurai Knights.