Prologue

Once upon a time in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, he was unhappy and lonely. Such is the price for his species, for he was a Hanyou, that much you could tell from the white dog ears atop his silver-spun mane. Though he was more fortunate than most of his kind, because he had afew select friends in his staff that didn't despise him for his heritage.

One winter's night, a priestess wearing the traditional red and white garbs came to the castle seeking shelter from the cold. Her name was Kikyo, and she held such a beauty that the prince could not send her away. He welcomed her into his home, and even long after the cold had disappeared, the priestess remained. The two had fallen in love and planned to marry the next spring.

The prince was not the only suitor that Kikyo had. There was another; a bandit that went by the name of Onigumo had become so enriched by her beauty that he became determined for her to become his own. Soon Onigumo and Kikyo became friends, even through the Hanyou prince's warnings.

Before anyone had realized, it was already the beginning of winter. The cold weather seemed to suit Kikyo and the prince's relationship, for it had been on the rocks as of late. The prince kept telling his bride to stop seeing this bandit, because she spoke to this other man more than she did to him. Kikyo became enraged that he would tell he to abandon her dear friend, and yelled at her lover for being so jealous and barbaric, then ran off.

Kikyo had been gone almost all day and the prince had become worried. He begin searching for her in the garden's, one of her favourite spots. He started to sniff around, trying to catch her scent when suddenly an arrow was shot at the Hanyou. He dodged it, mind you but it was the shock of who the shooter was that hurt the prince more than any arrow could do. There stood Kikyo, still holding her bow from when she shot, but what caught his attention was the large wound on her shoulder that blood seeped out of.

"Kikyo? What are you doing? Are you alright?"

"I was such a fool for ever thinking that an abomination like you could ever love." was her answer, each word filled with venom.

Frozen to the spot, the prince could only watch as his lover pulled out another arrow and took aim at his heart.

"Although my love for you still keeps me from killing you, I can still punish you for your evil ways!" She snarled at him, and changed the direction of the arrow from the prince's chest to straight up in the sky.

"I call on the power of the Shikon,

Purify what is tainted.

Curse the beast to walk alone,

unless he can find a love so pure.

He must love, and so must she.

All of the servants will suffer

for your wickedness,

each with a punishment of their own."

And with that, she released the arrow into the sky with a burst of miko energy. She once again turned her attention to her ex-lover as he lay on the floor, howling in pain.

"I leave you with this, the Shikon Jewel. You have until the jewel becomes nothing but dust, or everyone in this castle will die a slow, agonizing death." She paused for a moment before continuing, "an you, you're soul shall be devoured by the beast of carnage that lives within you, and it will run among the land, killing everything in its path..."

Those were the last words spoken by the priestess Kikyo before her body erupted in a mass of colours.

Disgusted by himself, and worried for the safety of the other inhabitants of the castle, the prince locked himself away in his castle, carrying the sacred jewel with him. An enchanted mirror was his only window to the outside world as the years passes, he lost all hope.

For who could ever love a Hanyou?