A.N: Well, this is the beginning of the Mountain of Promise Reboot I was so excited about making for all of you. Do not worry if you found the original to be full of flaws; I will correct many of those in this version. However, it won't be perfect, so this will be an AU fic of sorts, you will see how.
A.N.2: BTW Stevo, I watched your review of that Kingdom Hearts/Touhou fanfic, and I love your Mickey Mouse voice! It's perfect! It's just a shame you weren't around for the whole thing. Oh well. I wonder, though, are you going to do the other chapters, too?
A.N.3.: Just a question; now that I have a bazillion fanfics being updated that I can't focus on all at once, I need to know which one I should focus on; Kyubee's Lament, At Your Service, or this?
Anyway, let's begin. ZEPHYR OF FAITH!
CHAPTER ONE: NEW BEGINNINGS
Moriya Shrine; it was just one of many places in a wild, and untamed world, Filled with mountains that reached out and grabbed the clouds like greedy seals grabbing fish, Forests that seemed to swallow the very valleys they occupied, and most importantly of all...magic! The shrine stood out as an unusual settlement among the stones and shrubs of what locals call "The Great Youkai Mountain." For being in existence for so many decades, the white and green paint that adorned its walls and pagodas was relatively fresh, and the buildings themselves, while missing a tile here and there, were otherwise well-kept and durable. On the steppes of the shrine sat a young (looking) woman with long, blonde hair and a wide-brimmed straw hat...with eyes! This woman was known as Suwako, the former goddess of earth...now retired after having passed her powers onto her greatest disciple.
"Good morning, miss Suwako," Sanae, the (comparatively) young green-haired shrine maiden called out, "Are we going to pick up supplies at the village, today?"
"Sure, sure." Suwako lightheartedly answered, waving her right hand in response.
"Well, let's go right now!" Sanae squeaked as she grabbed Suwako's right arm, dragging harshly in the direction of the narrow dirt path that winded across the distant, grassy hills that lead off into the horizon.
"Hold your horses!" Suwako protested, "We need to get the trading wagon!"
"Oh! Silly me." Sanae chirped as she ran around the back of the shrine, and grabbed the handles of a wooden cart with two wheels, containing a single wooden barrel and a wooden crate. Suwako grabbed hold of one of the handles, while Sanae took the other. With a huff and a wheeze, both girls hoisted the cart onto the unpaved road.
,,,
In the nearby town, life was bustling and hustling as usual; farmers gathered at their wooden stalls, and spoke casually while waiting for the locals to come over with something to trade, villagers with more permanent shops and homes just waking up and having a hardy breakfast in preparation for a long day. Children ran and played their games with each other, While the village cats, dogs, and birds all chased each other to hell and back. Around the front of one particular store was a small group of rather short girls; fairies, in fact. Among them was a girl with short ocean-blue hair, and deep, azure eyes, who stared blankly off into the cloudless sky.
"Cirno! You hungry or something?" A fairy girl with black hime-cut hair in a blue dress piped up.
"No, Sapphire...I'm just...restless..." The blue-head replied, sweeping her hand through the air dismissively.
"You've been acting weird lately," A blonde fairy with a sunny demeanor chimed in, "Are you sure you're not sick or something?"
"Nothing like that," Cirno grumbled, turning away, "I've just got this feeling..."
"Like I said, she's just hungry!" Star Sapphire spouted triumphantly, "I'm never wrong about these things!"
"Nu-uh!" Sunny Milk retorted, "She's obviously sick! Just look at her sickly complexion!"
The two fairies loudly squabbled and argued as they slapped and bit viciously at each other, while a quiet, curly blonde-haired fairy wearing a beret just sighed and shook her head at the shameful display.
"Look you two!" Cirno snapped, grabbing both fairy girls by their blouses, "I'm not sick or hungry! I just have a weird feeling...like something is about to happen!"
The two were so quiet that one could hear a spider bark. "So are you hungry?" Star Sapphire asked, with a mischievous grin on her face.
Cirno shot her a glare, but then smiled. "You know what? Maybe some food will get my mind off of this. C'mon Luna!" She shouted, gesturing to the mute, who nodded and followed the girls as they flew off to the market stalls.
None of them, however, noticed a lone, murky, sickly figure moping about out of sight behind a nearby house...
(To be continued in CH. 2)
