Irontown was a village unlike any other, one that disregarded whether it
was day or night. The sentries in the watchtowers had eyes so well-trained
that they could keep watch by moonlight, looking across the fields and
forests to see the other villages that grew rice and raised oxen - for
Irontown.
Lamps and fires spread their flickering orange light, and for the half of Irontown that worked the night shift, this was the only sun they would know for months. Unabashed, the men traded bawdy jokes and men's gossip in that lurid light, resting between their usual manly tasks as soldiers, ox- drivers or heavy laborers.
The women, however, had a unique position: pumping the immense wooden bellows that made the forge glow white-hot in the night, and made the air of Irontown hang heavy with the smells of charcoal and hot iron. They had come from brothels, from exiles, from all places that had no use for them, and here they were the lifeblood of this sleepless village.
The men griped that Lady Eboshi spoiled the women shamelessly, but Ashitaka thought something different. He'd been with this Irontown since they'd rebuilt it not so long ago, and he listened to the forge's deep, fiery rumble, the wheezes and exhausts of the bellows, the clanking of new iron bars, the chatter and sighs of the women. Sometimes all the sounds blended and he could swear he was hearing a song - the song of the women of the forge, a song that would be sung for ages hence.
Ashitaka hated walking to the main gate; even the few that had not yet met him turned their heads when he went by. Nearly everyone in the village was a mongrel in terms of lineage, but he was of pure royal Emishi blood, and there was no mistaking his luminous brown eyes or sharp jaw. Most were surprised at his youth; he probably wasn't even twenty yet. The onlookers kept watching him after he'd passed by; so this was the young man who, rumor claimed, had defeated a demon's curse and saved Irontown's people from a god of death.
"Ashitaka!" He stopped when a woman came out of the forge, waving to him. She was a few years older than himself and clad in a commonsensical red kimono with her hair tied up completely beneath a kerchief. "Where are you off to, then?"
He spoke quietly: "Good evening, Toki."
"Out with it, you're going to see the wolf-girl." She wore a smug grin, reveling in the power of idle talk. "You'll have to bring her here sometime. She's making all the girls jealous. You'll break their hearts if you keep doing this."
"I hear Lady Eboshi brought back some more workers. How are they doing?"
Toki sniffed at the level answer that told her he wasn't letting on. "The usual problems. Either they're terrified of the forge or they think it's a toy. It's just new to them."
"Good luck. I'll be back by nightfall tomorrow."
"Oh, take your time. Take a week if you want to." On this note, several girls who'd been eavesdropping from the forge entrance started giggling. "Good night, Toki," Ashitaka replied, walking away with a warrior's grace and gravity amidst the feverish village crowd. He heard Toki shout good- naturedly "Back to work, you layabouts!" followed by a cluster of female chatter.
The guards at the gate that night were new, a pair of hulking men who were baffled by the sight of Ashitaka's mount Yakkul - the creature seemed to be part yak and part antelope. They crossed their bulky iron hand cannons and pestered him with questions - who was he, what did he do in Irontown, what was that beast, and so on. He couldn't leave until the captain of the guard intervened, a towering, blustery figure named Gonza who thundered "Quit giving this boy trouble, you hear! He can tear you limb from limb if you give him any reason! And your weapons won't stop him! Not for a minute!"
The captain was so busy shouting he barely noticed when the lad said "Thank you," leaped atop Yakkul and vanished into the darkened woods. It was done so swiftly that Gonza took a moment to look around before turning back on the guards: "Back to your posts! And watch carefully! Strange things come out of the forest after dark!"
Lamps and fires spread their flickering orange light, and for the half of Irontown that worked the night shift, this was the only sun they would know for months. Unabashed, the men traded bawdy jokes and men's gossip in that lurid light, resting between their usual manly tasks as soldiers, ox- drivers or heavy laborers.
The women, however, had a unique position: pumping the immense wooden bellows that made the forge glow white-hot in the night, and made the air of Irontown hang heavy with the smells of charcoal and hot iron. They had come from brothels, from exiles, from all places that had no use for them, and here they were the lifeblood of this sleepless village.
The men griped that Lady Eboshi spoiled the women shamelessly, but Ashitaka thought something different. He'd been with this Irontown since they'd rebuilt it not so long ago, and he listened to the forge's deep, fiery rumble, the wheezes and exhausts of the bellows, the clanking of new iron bars, the chatter and sighs of the women. Sometimes all the sounds blended and he could swear he was hearing a song - the song of the women of the forge, a song that would be sung for ages hence.
Ashitaka hated walking to the main gate; even the few that had not yet met him turned their heads when he went by. Nearly everyone in the village was a mongrel in terms of lineage, but he was of pure royal Emishi blood, and there was no mistaking his luminous brown eyes or sharp jaw. Most were surprised at his youth; he probably wasn't even twenty yet. The onlookers kept watching him after he'd passed by; so this was the young man who, rumor claimed, had defeated a demon's curse and saved Irontown's people from a god of death.
"Ashitaka!" He stopped when a woman came out of the forge, waving to him. She was a few years older than himself and clad in a commonsensical red kimono with her hair tied up completely beneath a kerchief. "Where are you off to, then?"
He spoke quietly: "Good evening, Toki."
"Out with it, you're going to see the wolf-girl." She wore a smug grin, reveling in the power of idle talk. "You'll have to bring her here sometime. She's making all the girls jealous. You'll break their hearts if you keep doing this."
"I hear Lady Eboshi brought back some more workers. How are they doing?"
Toki sniffed at the level answer that told her he wasn't letting on. "The usual problems. Either they're terrified of the forge or they think it's a toy. It's just new to them."
"Good luck. I'll be back by nightfall tomorrow."
"Oh, take your time. Take a week if you want to." On this note, several girls who'd been eavesdropping from the forge entrance started giggling. "Good night, Toki," Ashitaka replied, walking away with a warrior's grace and gravity amidst the feverish village crowd. He heard Toki shout good- naturedly "Back to work, you layabouts!" followed by a cluster of female chatter.
The guards at the gate that night were new, a pair of hulking men who were baffled by the sight of Ashitaka's mount Yakkul - the creature seemed to be part yak and part antelope. They crossed their bulky iron hand cannons and pestered him with questions - who was he, what did he do in Irontown, what was that beast, and so on. He couldn't leave until the captain of the guard intervened, a towering, blustery figure named Gonza who thundered "Quit giving this boy trouble, you hear! He can tear you limb from limb if you give him any reason! And your weapons won't stop him! Not for a minute!"
The captain was so busy shouting he barely noticed when the lad said "Thank you," leaped atop Yakkul and vanished into the darkened woods. It was done so swiftly that Gonza took a moment to look around before turning back on the guards: "Back to your posts! And watch carefully! Strange things come out of the forest after dark!"