Disclaimer: This is only based on Princess Mononoke – some similarities, but this is an original story.  Flame me if you must, but at least have a good reason for it. -_-;

I haven't updated this in what?  Two years?  Three?  Well, I'll at least get off my butt long enough to revise the intro…after three years of Japanese study and plenty of accumulated translators, I actually have more confidence in this.  And a looong-overdue sankyuu to Sly Eagle and my other reviewers, hm? ^^v

So.  Let's begin.

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Giniri Hane

It was a time of war, a time of darkness.  It was an age where much blood was spilled and many deaths were spawned.

It was the time of the Kyo - Dobutsugami, the Animal Gods who took earthly raiment of flesh, the better to fight and slaughter.

The forces of nature struggled with each other for vast forest territories, all parties willing to fight for the death.  The tribes of beast, bird and man forged and broke their alliances in turn, the better to gain control of each other.

And yet, amidst the chaos, a few hallowed places remained untouched.  But their inhabitants made ready, for the humans heard the pounding drums of war, and the beasts found the heady scent of blood beginning to permeat the pure air.

In the most beautiful of these havens, among the mist-filled greenery of the Riifa Forest, a legend was born.

The legend of Giniri Hane.

{Silver Wings.}

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*grins* Sankyuu to all my reviewers, ne?  You'll have to wait awhile for future chapters – it's the holiday spirit (and the impending end of the vacation) that made me industrious with my fanfics all of a sudden.  Yes, it's still short.  Yes, I'm a lazy ass.  But whatever, we all do things at our own pace, even if in my case it's the pace of a turtle.