My God Has Nine Tails
Prologue: Dark Genesis
In the beginning, there was formless perfection. An abyss of fire, anger, blood, and teeth: A nine tailed Beast, formed of chaos and madness. It saw that It was alone, and despaired. For who will cower before Its might?
In Its rage, the great Beast breathed fire into the heavens and thus the stars were born. Every star that the Beast created caused Its mighty form to wither. For each star was made of Its fire, Its power, and the Beast was Its fire.
Any one star was as a grain of sand to the beast, but the sky is an ocean with a size beyond imagining and required a beach near as large. The Beast grew weary, as the effort of filling the heavens with glorious fire had weakened It.
With Its work done for the moment, the great Beast slumbered. As It slept Its flesh turned to ash, and the pain caused It to weep. The flesh and tears of the mighty Beast formed the land and seas. From Its blood, which flowed endless without flesh to hold it at bay, arose the many plants and creatures that inhabit our world.
Some creatures, cunning as they were, stole a portion of the sleeping Beast's fire. Its power burned through their veins, and made them like unto the Beast.
For this transgression their souls were bound into service. The still sleeping Beast, having no need for servants, granted them to the humans. For they were the only creatures of the land, sea, or air that did not steal Its fire.
As the humans prospered, the other creatures grew bitter and resentful. Eventually the Tailed Ones, who were the original creatures to taste the fire, banded together to slay the great Beast.
Tanuki, cleverest of the Tailed Ones, knew that they could never defeat the still sleeping Beast. For, even at rest, he was mightier than they. Tanuki spoke with the most powerful of the Tailed Ones, he convinced them that they could win if they stole more fire.
Not willing to risk waking the Beast just yet, they fought the weaker tailed beasts and stole their fire. These weaker Tailed Beasts lost their great tails of fire, but nothing that touches fire is free of its mark.
The lesser beasts bore these marks with pride, for fire is a boon from the heavens: It brings light, warmth, nourishment, safety, and cleansing.
The greater beasts now bore many tails, some more than others. The Tanuki, who was neither brave nor ambitious, had only one tail. The Snake, swift and cunning, had nine. For in his hubris, the Snake saw himself as equal to the Beast.
The night before they were to slay the Beast the greater beasts celebrated raucously, and partook of much alcohol. Their singing was so loud that it disturbed the Beast's slumber. Tanuki saw this, but the drink had gone to his head, so he goaded them to sing louder anyway.
The drink had given him so much confidence, that he felt that nothing could stop them. He sang to them of Snake's many tails, and how fighting together they had the strength to do anything. He sang of the glory of battle, and of freedom from the humans.
The humans heard Tanuki's song, and saw the Beast's fitful slumber. Thinking quickly, the humans went to the disgraced lesser beasts and pleaded with them for aid. The lesser beasts were pleased to see their masters bow before them, and were quick to forge contracts with them.
The contracts freed them from slavery, and made them allies instead. The humans would grant the lesser beasts offerings of blood and fire, and they and their descendants would fight for them as warriors. The lesser beasts knew that the humans had no fire, and thus could not provide proper offerings.
However, one human knew better. This human was called the Sage, and he knew the secret of fire. He gathered his fellow humans from all across the continent. The sun rose behind him as he walked before the leaders of the many nations.
He placed a piece of wood in a metal bowl filled with dry grass. He took a small hand spade he sharpened for battle, and began twirling it on top of the wood as if he were drilling into it. Eventually smoke began rising, and an ember was born: A tiny spark of fire.
He blew on this spark, and fanned a roaring fire for all to see. He lifted the bowl of fire above his head, and humanity was silent. He spoke quietly, but all could hear him. He told them all of the three things needed for a fire: Breath, fuel, and heat.
He told them that their spirits can provide that heat. Their bodies can be that fuel, and their minds can be that breath. He taught them how to work their bodies until they were as wood, how to hone their minds until they were as the mighty north wind, and how to make their spirits burn like the heavens.
The Sage, in his unearthly wisdom, realized that humans were born of fire. As are all things, and thus the fire was in them all along. With their new found fire, the humans rode the lesser beasts into battle against the greater beasts.
Working together the lesser beasts and the humans overwhelmed the greater beasts. For all their combined might, the humans and lesser beasts could only stay the greater beasts' advance toward the slumbering Beast.
The dust worked up by the fighting gave Snake enough cover to sneak away, he approached the Beast and bit him. The Beast awoke and roared in pain, weakened by the poison the Beast shrunk further. Becoming just a bit larger than the Snake.
Snake, upon seeing his work gloated loudly, which ended the battle between the creatures. The Beast snarled, and showed Its teeth to the world. It told Snake that although It was no bigger than he, and had no more tails than he, It was still his better.
Snake preened smugly, he questioned how this could be the case. The Beast smirked darkly, and captured the Snake beneath Its paws. The Beast then answered his question by tearing off his head and eating it.
The Beast tore off each tail, and scattered them to the elements. One for fire, one for earth, one for wind, one for water, one for lightning, one for yin, one for yang, and one for yin-yang. The last tail, he granted to the humans.
The Beast spoke to everyone, It told them that Its job was done and that It will sleep no more until it is time for It to sleep eternal. It then named Itself Fox, and wandered off.
The humans began fighting over the tail. The Sage, seeing this, cast the tail into the heavens where it became the moon: A divine symbol of the Will of Fire.