Chapter One

When foreigners think of Tokyo, Japan, they think of a huge city. The picture that comes to most peoples' minds is one of neon lights, tall buildings and crowded squares. Travelers like me know that such is not the case. Modern day Tokyo is more than kust a bustling metropolis: it is truly a diverse place, covered in not only tall skyscrapers but also dotted with parks and even small farms.

A truly remarkable story began in one of these small farms. This is a story I know few people will believe but remarkable people know that remarkable things happen every day.

On a normal day, in a farm just south of Tokyo's city center, a dark haired teenager got out of bed and began his chores. He did not do normal farm chores because his farm was not a normal farm – this farm was home to the Supirittokingusuri Shrine that housed a famous tree that the came from the age of the Spirit King. The teenager had to clean the shrine and inspect the tree for damage every day.

But… I am rambling. Let me tell you two important things about this teenage boy, Jon:

Long ago, an age-old war took place between men and Spirits. Legend tells of a Great Forest Spirit that was one of the strongest and most feared. Children in school today still learn of the long war and the spirits and men who fought in it. There is a warrior who tried to help the forces of man work with the forest spirit. The Great Forest Spirit was supposed to be so powerful that a whole army could not take him down but the Spirit listened to the warrior. The stories go on and on like this but Jon does not remember most of them… Jon knows that these stories are nothing but stories and did not really listen to them.

Jon's family has owned the Supirittokingusuri shrine for generations but Jon has no intention of taking over the shrine when he gets older… sure the shrine is an amazing place to live but Jon feel a pull drawing him away already… he just does not know what it is.

The next thing you should know is Jon hates his name. Jon is not even his real name – it is more of a nickname. I am using the nickname in this story simply because of Jon's pure imbarrassment over the real name. So, from here on out in the story, Jon it is!

Jon cringed as the voice of his mother rang through the shrine. She was calling him by his name and the echo vibrated acrossing the mist-filled valley where the shrine ws located. Jon could only roll his eyes and silently prayed that no one else could hear.

"Okay, Mom!" Jon yelled back, equally loud. "I'm coming! I'm coming!"

Jon ran to finish sweeping the deck and steps by the Supirittokingusuri tree. He knew that his mother would call out again if he did not come in soon. He just wanted to finish as quickly as possible but he continuously stopped in his work. Jon could not describe it, but something pulled and almost called him.

He would stop in his work and look around, swaring he heard a voice. Jon looked and saw no one. He began to think he was going crazy… could the voice be coming from the tree?

Jon had lived by the tree his whole life and had felt a pull to be near it often but this was the first time he had heard a voice coming from the tree he had played in as a child. Jon was sure that he had seen every inch of the tree but honestly he had never seen the tree below the deck where worshipers prayed. Jon knew in his heart-of-hearts that the voice was coming from that mysterious section beneath the deck.

He thought of running back to the house… his mother had called him after all. But really, how any times does a tree talk to a person? Jon knew he could not just walk away from this without examining further. He pushed his mother from his mind and walked foreward…

Jon knew that he just had to find whatever had been calling him. He got on his hands and knees and crawled in the dirt below the deck to get a closer look. Rocks and sticks dug into his knees and skins, cutting him until his skin stung and bled, but the voice continued to call to Jon and he could not stop. Desperation seemed to grab him… Jon simply could not stop unitl he found the source of the voice.

Jon became so desperate in his search that he became dazed. He was too dazed to be surprised when a cave-like enclosier appeared infront of him through the roots of the tree. The roots appeared in branch-like formations that twisted and twined into something like a thick braided vine. The braided center of the roots formed the floor of the cave. One wall of the cave was open with bars like a prison cell. The other two walls were so dark that Jon could not see the end of them.

He held his hand out expecting to feel the damb earth of the next wall after a small step or two. Jon's hand didn't touch the wall after two steps, so he took two more and two more and two more… eventually he stopped counting and just kept walking. His feet were tired and his legs begged for rest but Jon knew that the voice needed him to come and he could not stop until he found the source of the voice. So, he kept walking…

Seemingly out of nowhere, Jon saw a light. The light was so bright that it almost blinded him. Jon put up his hands to protect his eyes and suddenly felt the ground fall out from under him. He held in a scream – he was in too much of a panic to scream!

Jon felt the world twirl around him for what seemed like eternity and then, seconds later, he was face down in the dirt. Jon lay still in shock but quickly relized there was chaos all around him.

"Back to the village!" a commanding voice yelled. "Everyone back to the village! There is a demon on the loose."

Jon saw feet rush past him in frantic leeps and hurried steps. "Come on!" a girl screamed as she helped him climb to his feet. "It's coming!"

Jon saw flashes of green as he swayed to his feet, feeling dizzing from even that slight movement. Still, the girl gave him no time to recover as she pulled him in the direction of sturdy looking huts. "We have to hurry," she yelled to Jon.

Jon ran blindly behind the unknown girl, hoping that she was taking him to safety. He saw flashes of what was going on through his own hazy vision and smoke. A man running from growling black vines here and a woman screaming and crying over there… The sadness and distruction went on and on.

Jon was not sure where to go or even what was really going on but he knew that he had to do something… all these people hurting… it all just had to stop. The girl who had been leading him skidded to a halt.

"NO!" She screamed as the ball of black vines with red eyes hurtled toward a young man close to the same age as Jon.

Jon moved between the vine monster and the young man without thinking. He was not trained to fight but it was too late to think of things like that.

The vine-like arms wrapped around Jon's arm. The apindige burned Jon's arm and made his skin sizzle.

"Please," Jon almost whispered.

"Puney human!" The monster sneared. The monster looked like it wanted to say more but the villagers surged from behind Jon and killed the beast before it could say more.

"Get the healer! Quick! He has been injured!" Yelled the young man that Jon had saved earlier.

"But Prince Ashitaka… should we be helping a man who has angered the gods so?" asked a villager with a thick beared.

"This man enjured himself protecting me and the whole village. The demon would have killed everyone in its path. We have to do what we can to help him now."

The villagers did what the young man said without question.

"He really must be a prince," thought Jon.