THIRTY-NINTH SCROLL: WEP'KEER
The stench of a curse struck me as I passed beneath a snowy arch towards the Oina's village. I stopped and stared, feeling both horrified and weary. Here, clinging to the icy ground like a blight on a white flower, lay the remnants of Orochi's curse. Would I never be rid of this demon? My lips lifted in a snarl. I was worried. The Oina were already suffering from the unnatural blizzard raging down from Ezofuji. So far, when people were touched by the curse they turned to stone until it lifted. But in their weakened state, would any of the Oina survive? Or was the curse only here, cutting off the village without engulfing it?
A moot point; I needed to lift the curse to reach the village. I looked around, seeking some sign of Sakuya's Guardian Sapling. There had to be one here, but I saw nothing. Only the snow, the curse, a huge boulder…and an archer. I stared for a moment, trying to place them. Then I remembered. When Issun and I had reached the City Checkpoint, there was an archer, Yoichi, whose arrow we'd set alight to help lower the bridge. He'd given me some apples as a treat. I recalled seeing him again on Ryoshima Coast, firing arrows at Sakuya's Guardian Sapling and, just to tease, I'd used my brush to wrap water around the arrow, which seemed to alarm him. Each time we'd met, Yoichi had left in a hurry. And now here he was in Kamui, firing his arrows with a huge boulder as his target.
I padded over and he was both startled and pleased to see us. He seemed to be under the impression that his bow was cursed, so he'd fled to Kamui where no one could come to any harm. I cocked my head to one side. His reasoning seemed odd; aside from the unfortunate…accident at the City Checkpoint (which might have caused a lot of damage but didn't hurt anyone) his bow hadn't done much of anything. I eyed the boulder as lighting flashed in the distance. Past Yoichi's small dwelling, there seemed to be no paths leading deeper into Kamui. Perhaps…it was a long shot, but I had to try. With a silent apology to Yoichi, I called lightning from the sky to zap his arrow.
Imbued with the destructive power of lightning, Yoichi's arrow struck the stone. The lightning sizzled and wormed along the fault lines in the rock. Then, with a roar, the stone exploded. The icy winds swept away the smoke and dust, revealing a shriveled, but still living, Guardian Sapling. Grinning, I turned to Yoichi, who was staring at his arrow's handiwork with awe. But not fear. With a snap of his fingers, the archer said that this was not a curse, but a sign from the gods that he was meant to live and die with his arrows. A new sense of purpose seemed to fill him and he smiled at me. I don't think he realized who or what I was, but I could feel a flame start to burn brightly within him, the light of faith.
I watched him walk away, beginning the long journey back towards the mainland of Nippon, and I could feel a little more strength flow through my veins. Gods may have many powers, possess strength and insight far beyond that of mortals, and yet we are completely dependent on the existence of faith. Faith in us. Without that faith, immortal gods like myself will weaken and can even die. That was why I took the time to stop and aid mortals, to show them signs of my presence. By keeping their faith alive, I could ensure my own continuance. And mortals who had faith in something beyond themselves often reached greater heights of achievement than they could have imagined.
Turning my attention back to the Guardian Sapling, I called on the power of Bloom to rejuvenate it. Cherry blossoms sprung from the once-withered branches, and a cleansing gust of wind swept the land clear of the curse. I could feel life pulse deep within the earth beneath the snow-clad veneer. The air was still bitterly cold, but at least now it was clean. And, most importantly, with the curse gone, I could now reach the Oina.
However, I'd barely taken two steps before something surged out of the snow. It was a demon, kin perhaps to the bud and pot demons I'd faced on the mainland. This demon was comprised of a snowy dome set on top of a circular basket-like base. Underneath, icicles dangled and four skinny arms made of ice with long, grasping talons let it scuttle across the snow. Its tail, a long, rope-like thing with an unlit lantern at the tip, lashed back and forth. Within the protective snow globe, there stood a deceptively peaceful-looking straw doll. I lashed out at the igloo demon with my Divine Instrument. My weapon rebounded off the snowy shell, and the demon swiped at me with icy claws. I side-stepped and rained heavy blows onto the demon's hide. The barrage sent it reeling and it fell. The lantern on its tail abruptly burst into flame. I drew a fiery ring around the igloo demon, the heat melting the protective shell. With the straw doll, the heart of the demon, exposed, Moegami's Inferno Brush made short work of the beast, turning it to a puddle of ash and melted snow.
With the igloo demon out of the way, I combed through the rest of the area to rid Kamui of any other lingering demons. I met two Oina in the formerly cursed area, although neither of them could tell me anything that might be happening in the village. One was a merchant with the mask of a mouse, and the other a young man named Wali with a fish mask who seemed to think that by touching the sacred sword Kutone he had brought all kinds of misfortune upon the land, including an angry posse of demons. I was skeptical of his interpretation of events, but took great pleasure killing those demons nonetheless. I even ran into Kokari and Ume on the shores of the icy northern sea, fishing. Kokari had grown up quite a bit since I'd last seen him in Agata Forest, and both boy and dog were enjoying the challenge of ice-fishing. Once I was certain no demons lurked near them, I left them to their sport.
By the time I'd cleared the area of demons, night was fast approaching. I could feel the temperature falling with the light and shivered. I wasn't sure if even I could survive the wilds of Kamui without shelter. I had no desire to stay the night with fish-masked Wali, and as long as Oki bore that blood-drinking sword, I wanted to steer clear of him.
I was standing at a crossroads. Directly ahead of me was a bridge leading over the frozen river with a path just beyond that wound up the mountainside. To my right was a broad avenue lined with old, twisted trees. It looked like the edge of a forest, but a massive wall of stone blocked the way. A symbol, a kind of crest of three red circles, one inside the other, and points of flame like marks on a compass, was painted on the stone. A warning of some kind? It looked familiar, but I couldn't place it. Issun seemed nervous about getting too close to the not-quite-woods, so I loped across the bridge and up the mountain path, passing a sign with the word "Wep'keer" inscribed on it. Wep'keer. The name of the Oina Tribe's village. I remembered that. A feeling of nervousness ran through my body, along with a certainty: I had been here before.
If possible, the air became even colder as I stepped into Wep'keer. Huge wooden columns carved with the animal totems of the Oina Tribe stood proud and silent, defiant against the snow coating their outspread wings and horns. The entire place felt eerily silent. Issun was subdued, worried. Oki had known Issun and I knew that Poncles lived somewhere in the north…so how many of the Oina did Issun know? How many of his friends were dead from the cold, starvation, or under the claws of demons? I shivered and made my way through the village.
All of the round, sturdy huts were sealed shut. Many had smoke coming from their chimneys, so at least some of the Oina were still alive. But no one responded to my increasingly frantic barks. Nothing stirred, nothing lived in the snow. I felt dread creep through me. Perhaps the Oina were gone and the fires warmed empty homes. If I managed to break inside one of the houses, what would I find? Corpses emaciated from starvation? Or were their bodies strewn about, covered by layers of snow? I climbed to the higher levels of the village, my worried whines and scratching turning into sharp barks and rushes at the sealed doors. Nothing. I could feel Issun shivering in my fur. If we didn't find some shelter soon, both of us were going to freeze to death.
A whiff of scent on the wind caught my attention. An Oina. There was someone outside! I raced towards the scent coming from the highest hut in the village. Just from the position, I thought it was probably the home of the Oina chief. Perhaps we could find welcome, shelter, and a few answers.
I was sorely mistaken. A gruff voice called for me to halt. In the dying light I could see a man in white and blue robes standing in front of the hut's entrance. His hair was long and two-toned like Oki's only this warrior's started with lavender and shaded into inky black. He wore a blue falcon mask with a crescent moon symbol on it, and blue feather dangled from his earlobes. Every line of his body vibrated with suspicion and anger. Issun grumbled and shouted back. The Oina warrior, who called himself Samickle, was shocked. He also recognized Issun and wanted to know what the Poncle was doing with a strange white wolf.
Oddly enough, Issun was more offended by Samickle's uncompromising attitude than I was. I had a sense that Issun might have a history of butting heads with Samickle, and two hotheads can't talk to each other. But I had a feeling that, underneath the bluster and anger was something else…another emotion I couldn't place. My thoughts were distacted by Issun demanding to be let into the chief's house. Samickle refused, saying that he was the chief of Wep'keer and, by his orders, no one would be given shelter in the village. There was a familiar sizzle of power and suddenly a huge lavender wolf with a thick white mane crouched in the doorway, snarling at us. The change was not as noisy or impressive as Oki's transformation, and I sensed that Samickle was probably older and more experienced than Oki was. And now I recognized the other emotion lurking beneath Samickle's anger: fear. He was afraid, terrified even, but determined to defend the former Oina chief.
I decided not to press the issue, turned, and walked back down towards the rest of the village. Night had come and I could not believe how much colder it felt without that wane sunlight. Without the help of the Oina, I would have to find another place to go for the night. Perhaps one of the caves near Oki's hut would be enough…But just as I was about to leave the village, a young female voice called out to me. I turned and saw a small, slender red-brown wolf with large floppy ears come loping towards me out of the darkness. The mask on her forehead was of a deer, and her breath plumed in white clouds around her. She skidded to a halt in the snow in front of me, asking us to wait.
Issun gave a cry of surprise and pleased recognition. I supposed they must have been friends before Issun left for Nippon. It made me wonder if perhaps Issun had spent time traveling with someone else before coming to me. I confess…that prospect made me a little…uncomfortable. Well…maybe even…a little jealous. He fired off a few questions, but the Oina girl said that we should get out of the cold before we froze. She offered us a place by her hearth for the night, and I was eager to accept. I had not been looking forward to a night in a cold cave, so I followed her back into Wep'keer and hoped she would be able to answer our many questions.