See bottom of chapter for disclaimer.
~Chapter 4: Possession~
Far, far to the east, further east that Irontown and even further than Ashitaka's clan's home, was something terrible and powerful. Its presence in this land was yet unknown to any god, although surely one would have met it in battle had they known. Its presence was unknown to any ruler, who would surely have saved his people from this terror. And most importantly, its presence was yet unknown to any common person, for this creature was a nightmare of legendary ilk, a bad dream of dry death and sickly decay. The rising sun heralded yet another dreadful day for this place far, far in the east, as it was again on the move.
The very land reviled it. Where it touched, the grass withered and died, roots trying to claw deeper into the ground for safety. In its presence, trees withered and their leaves turned a sickly gray, and they withdrew into their hardwood and sap in hopes that this unspeakable death would not touch them there. Animals knew it was coming a long ways off, and panicked and ran for their lives- better to die exhausted from fleeing than to experience death at the hands of this unnamed horror. The dirt dried and buckled where it stepped, and the air was thick with a smell that was worse than that of death- it was corruption at the very heart of nature. This blight was moving, and it was moving west. West, to greener lands to despoil and a richer feast to bleed dry.
These pastures had too quickly dried and rotted in its presence, the animals sparse and the trees few and far between. It feasted on decay, and the grasses here were not enough to sustain it for longer than a short while, so once again it was on the move. There was a beautiful scent off to the east. A smell of warmth, livestock and people, fires for cooking and fields and forests of abundant crops and game. A beautiful smell. It would devour it and leave no trace of it behind.
The sun rose and this horror left the field, heading toward the last village of the Emishi.
~
This morning, the guards sent to watch Ashitaka and distribute his punishment were in fact the very guards he had spared the other day. They had actually been ranking officers, but now were stripped of their titles and assigned to guard duty in the wake of their humiliation. When Ashitaka recognized them, he felt a deep fear, for these men would surely want revenge for their ridicule. Surprisingly, they were far from malicious. They may have lost their titles and been robbed, but they knew that this fate was preferable to death and that they owed their lives to Ashitaka. While they were assigned and expected to complete his now daily beating, they (keeping an eye out) skipped it, and actually helped to try and treat some of his wounds. One had smuggled in a small bread roll and a dumpling, and Ashitaka was grateful to have these men on his side. He was in need of friends and allies in this place, and these men putting their heads on the line for him were truly courageous and honorable.
It was about two or so hours after the sun was visible over the courtyard walls, when Ashitaka was left alone in the courtyard with his guards on their morning meal break. Asano was apparently confident in his city's security, enough to risk his prisoner's escape- but Ashitaka didn't have the means or aid to do so. If the guards had helped him to escape, or if he had done so without assistance, they would surely be blamed and likely executed. So for now, Ashitaka sat with his back against a rather thick pole, hands folded in his lap, half dozing in the morning sun.
His eyes fluttered. The buzzing of a fly in his ear was keeping him from nodding off. The courtyard was illuminated in the morning light, the dew still on the plants by the east wall. For holding a cage, the courtyard was very well tended.
His eyes fluttered again. This time, there was a shadow blocking his view of the wall. No, a cat. A huge cat. Ashitaka opened his eyes fully and sat up straighter. The cat sat patiently, somewhere about seven feet tall as it sat. It was a solid black, and watched Ashitaka with a somewhat bored expression on its feline face. It's tail twitched bemusedly.
"Good morning." Ashitaka said. This cat would be about the size of a god, and if it could talk...
"Good morning." The cat said after a moment. It said it as though it were agreeing with Ashitaka, in a slick and royal voice. It sounded a bit like one of the elders from his tribe, a man who was technically Ashitaka's second cousin.
"Are you...a god?" Ashitaka asked. There was really no other way of finding out.
The cat seemed to think for a moment before choosing his response. "When I want to be. It is a weighty responsibility, one not to be handled lightly. I have often yearned for escape." He stood and walked around the cage on all four legs. He examined the cage closely. "Escape, as you well know by now, is not something to be taken lightly, young Ashitaka of the Emishi."
"You know my name, cat god, but I do not know yours. I can only assume that you are Neko-Goto, lord of cats and king of thieves."
"Well then," said Neko-Goto, sitting back onto his hind legs and staring down at Ashitaka, "we know more about each other than we think. For example, young Ashitaka, I know that you came here some day and a half ago and freed San of the wolf tribe, the young girl whom you love." The cat god said the last word with a bit of an edge to it. Love, as if such an idea both sickened and interested him, and was both purely natural and a perversion of the worst kind.
"You know much." Ashitaka said, treading carefully. This god was unlike Moro, or Okkoto, or Nago. He was a god of thieves, as well as assassins, spies, and mercenaries. He sat back and observed until it was time for him to make his move. No one could outwit him, no one could predict him. This was a cat that always landed on his feet in any situation, and could never be thrown off.
"Of course. I know much about you, Ashitaka, and I know much about your future. And of how little of it you hold in your hands." He sniffed. He turned and walked over to the courtyard wall, and jumped a good fifteen or twenty feet to sit on the sunlit stone. "Allow me to give you a little advice- she'll break your heart. There can be no relationship between the daughter of a god and the son of humans."
"Wait! Neko-Goto!" Ashitaka said, as loud as he dared. The cat god ignored him and dropped out of sight over the courtyard wall. Ashitaka sat back against the cage wall again. Break his heart? San?
...would she?
~
San stood alone in the middle of a clearing. The morning sun was now high in the eastern sky, and the light shone through the trees. She was dressed again in full battle regalia, which doubled for this purpose of ceremonial dress. Her mask, the half-face clay eyes that were attached to a wolf fur headdress, was pulled down over her eyes. It obstructed her vision very little, as the eyes were the thinnest part of the mask, but was going to become even hotter as the sun continued to rise. She turned her head to look behind her and her earrings clicked against the clay.
Kuma Tsume had instructed her to be here, but where he was she did not know. For that matter, there were no other gods anywhere to be seen. She kept checking behind her and in trees above to see if Fukuro had again arrived unnoticed, but the owl was absent. Her brothers were with Kuma Tsume, for reasons she hadn't been told. So for now, she stood and waited, her hand brushing the hilt of her dagger now and then just to make sure she wasn't caught off guard and unarmed.
This forest was much quieter than her own. There were no Kodama here, probably because there were no trees old enough. The mother-trees of her forest had hundreds of Kodama to each, but the trees here were still young- still children themselves. Mother had told her once of a time long ago, when Kuma Tsume was still young and untempered by time, when he had driven back the humans from this cleared land and the bear tribe had sowed a forest here. It must have been fifty or sixty years ago, and it would still be another hundred years before Kodama would start appearing. San would never live to see it, but Kuma Tsume would. Humans and animals were mortal, their lives dependent on their own bodies. But gods, like Kuma Tsume, depended on something greater- their life force flowed with the life force of the world.
There was a clattering of talons above San and she looked up. Above her, and staring down with a razor gaze was Taka, the hawk god. She gave two thrusts of her thirty-foot wingspan and landed neatly in front of San. She was the size of an ox on the ground, in the air she was twice as large. Her plumage was a very light brown, lighter than normal for her tribe, and each feather was easily a foot long, two or three on the pinion feathers. Her talons were each as long as a pickaxe, her beak was both tool and keen weapon. Taka folded her wings along her body and blinked. She turned her head again and looked at San with her other eye. Another blink. There was a small fluttering of wings again as three other hawks, these as large as men and clearly sentient. One, who was much older than the rest and shook very slightly with his age, stepped forward to stand level with Taka.
"Lady Taka greets you, San of the wolf tribe, and wishes to extend her deep regrets on the death of your mother and patron Moro." Said the old hawk in a croaky voice. It was typical for the gods to have a small escort to announce them and represent the body of their tribe.
"It is good to see you again, Lady Taka. My gratitude for your kind sympathies." San said in response and bowed slightly. It was ceremonial, really. Now Taka herself would speak.
"I am also very glad to see you assume the role of your clan head, San." Taka acknowledged, and bowed back, blinking once again as she did it. Her voice was strong and high, and had a quality to it that was avian- perhaps the speed or measure, San couldn't tell. She just though Taka sounded like a bird did. Just more elegant.
"Is it a position you are ready for, San?" Said another voice behind her, this one a fast, high pitched chatter that would better fit the gossipy ladies of Irontown. San turned slightly, and saw clinging to a tree Risu, the squirrel god. This was a god who did not travel with her tribe, as they were present in virtually every location. She was a vivid, almost obnoxious red, and would never have survived in the wild if she were a normal sized squirrel. Being a god, she could afford to visually announce her presence. Risu was not very tall, even a bit shorter than San, but still was a commanding figure. She moved down from the tree, her nimble fingers gripping into unseen crannies in the bark, and perched at the base on a tangle of roots.
"It is, Lady Risu. It is a position I do accept with a heavy heart, however." San bowed again, and Risu bowed back.
"And here are your brothers. They have grown." Taka said, looking past San. San turned again and there were Kuroi and Shiroi, along with Kuma Tsume, entering the clearing. Kuroi and Shiroi walked over to San and stepped on either side of her. They nodded respectfully to the hawk and squirrel gods. Kuma Tsume had brought with him two of his bears, but the bear lord himself was easily the most impressive god to yet arrive.
"It is good to see you again, Risu and Taka. I trust your regions and tribes are not under any threat?"
"Never, Kuma Tsume. You know our willingness to give and take help when it is needed." Taka said.
"Kitsune sends her regrets that she will be unable to attend. She's dealing with a group of poachers in her forest." Risu chattered.
"Her presence will be missed, but if it is necessary, then so be it." Kuma Tsume said. Risu nodded in agreement in the rapid nod of a squirrel. There was a crash somewhere in the forest and Risu rolled her eyes.
"I'll be amazed if I don't know who that is." She muttered. Kuma Tsume smiled in agreement, revealing those deadly white fangs. San felt she knew as well- it was a sound much like that Okkoto had made on his way to die. It was the sound of a boar god. The bushes of the clearing again parted and forward stepped Inoshishi, the last of the boar lords.
Inoshishi was the smallest of the boar gods, although not by much, and was also the least foolish. It was a sad testament that the two stubborn brothers he had were victims of their own folly. Inoshishi was a black boar, with eyes dark and brooding in his head. His tusks were normal sized for his stature, but seemed strangely large, white against his black body. He grunted and stepped forward into the clearing.
"I have word from Neko-Goto that he will not be arriving until later. He has matters he needed to attend to." He grunted out. His voice was gravelly and harsh, higher than Okkoto's but also quieter. Okkoto's voice would have filled the clearing, Inoshishi's merely made itself known.
"The god of cats always seems to have other business to attend to. His appearances have become few and far between." Said a fifth voice, this time from the trees to the right of Inoshishi. Fukuro had again arrived unnoticed, and was his usual solemn self.
"Then we are all accounted for, with Kitsune and Neko-Goto absent." Kuma Tsume said.
"We are not." Replied Inoshishi. "Where is Moro no Kimi? And Okkotonushi? And Lord Nago?"
"They are dead." Kuma Tsume said flatly.
A stir went around the clearing at these words. Taka blinked several times and rapidly, Fukuro closed his eyes and nodded. Inoshishi allowed his mouth to hang open in shock- both of his brothers were dead and he had never known.
"D-"Inoshishi stammered, unable to complete the word.
"Dead," Repeated Kuma Tsume, "Along with the patron spirit of their forest and, except in Moro's case, their tribes."
Inoshishi let out a terrible cry that shook the clearing and chilled San to the very bone. Shiroi and Kuroi's fur stood on end, and Risu clapped her hands to her ears. Miles away, guards on the walls of Kaigan heard it and only knew that it was an unearthly shriek. The gods and San knew it was a cry of mourning and an oath for vengeance.
The boar god stopped and grunted out a long string of oaths in his own language. San reflexively rubbed her arms- her skin had crawled at the noise of that cry and had tightened as though she was cold. The gods had largely maintained their composure, except for Risu, who was now quickly working to smooth her tail over.
Kuma Tsume reclaimed order in the silence that followed. "All of the clans share this pain, as we all fought alongside our comrades at one time or another. But now the burdens of these tribes must shift to their successors. Inoshishi now bears the mantle of the boar tribe, but he, unlike the wolf tribe's heir, is already a chief."
All the gods in the clearing turned to look at San, and she felt dizzy with the weight of their eyes. She was meeting with the gods, and she felt very small next to each of them.
"San, our Princess Mononoke, must inherit the leadership of the wolf tribe." Kuma Tsume said. San noticed he was the only god who was got meeting her eyes directly. For that matter, neither were her brothers...
"Is she ready, Kuma Tsume? Can she handle the rituals needed to seal her leadership?" Fukuro asked. His voice was now grave with concern.
"She is strong by any standards, Fukuro. You know your part in this."
"Very well," said the owl god, "but it has been a dreary age since these rituals have been performed by any god." Fukuro drifted down from his perch and stood in front of San. "Forgive me, child."
San took a step back. Forgive me? She would be strong enough? What did all this mean? Her pulse quickened as fear flooded her. Would they hurt her in some sort of test? What was going on? San looked quickly towards Kuma Tsume and her brothers, but the bear god was the only one of the three who met her gaze. Fukuro snapped his beak to get her attention, and she turned back to face him.
Then, Fukuro's golden eyes snapped shut once, and when he opened them in the moment following, they were a piercing, midnight black.
Through her yellow-eyed mask, San looked into those eyes for only a split second, sensing that there was something magical about them, before she slumped to the ground, dead. Fukuro, unwavering at having just slain her, blinked again, and this time his eyes were a startling blank white. San's body twitched and jumped, and let out a feral scream. Fukuro blinked again, his eyes returning to their normal golden hue.
San's body leaped and trembled, and finally curled itself into the fetal position and lay shaking.
"Arise." Fukuro said, and took a step back.
San uncurled, and firmly planted her left foot, then her right. Using her hands, she shakily pushed herself back on her heels and steadier herself with her hands. Her eyes were closed behind the mask, and she seemed strangely unbalanced. When she opened them, it was clear to Kuroi and Shiroi, as well as all the gods in the clearing, that it was no longer San staring back at them.
"Stand!" Said Fukuro, louder this time. "Stand now as you once did, proudly and fiercely, Moro of the Wolf Tribe!"
"Silence yourself, Fukuro." Said San, but in a voice that was no longer her own. It was deeper, grating, and clearly embodied the spirit of the late wolf god Moro. "It is hard enough to stand on two legs, but this body of my daughter's is strange."
"So the great Moro walks again on this world for a short time." Murmured Inoshishi. "Yet is there no way for either of my two brothers to return to this plane?" He said, his anger rising.
"You know the rituals of possession can only take a human host of tribal lineage, Inoshishi. Besides, it is a terrible exertion on a human to undergo such a thing. Moro can only remain a short time or San's spirit shall never find it's way back to her body." Kuma Tsume snapped. Time was of the essence here.
Moro crouched there, surrounded by gods she had fought with in her life, now borrowing the body of her adopted daughter for purposes of a temporary resurrection. She felt the blood pounding in her head- it was so strange to feel such a thing, after having no pulse for weeks of afterlife. Her hands clenched the grass, feeling even in those tiny strands of life the much greater pulse of the world. She opened her eyes, seeing the world through those of a god instead of merely a mortal. The world was a blinding array of color, the trees and grass a swaying vibrant bright red, older wood the color of blood- the life in them was radiant. Each leaf reflected the rainbow of light bathing the world from heaven. The gods were each cast in gold, as though they were living statues, proud and immortal. Her sons- her sons!- they were green with their half-mortality, but still gleamed with a dull yellow sheen. And Moro looked at her own body- the green life force that would burn itself out was a beautiful green, a young green that suited one such as her daughter. But as she looked, the green flickered once- it momentarily was stained and streaked with golden color. The body was trying to adapt to Moro's arrival. And while she longed for life again, she would never sacrifice her daughter to gain mortality.
"You...my comrade gods...have called me back to this wonderful...beautiful world. I have missed it, and each of you. But...there is a purpose for my return, and it lies within my daughter." Moro spoke breathing heavily. It was already straining San's body to have this spirit of a god residing in it.
"You must transfer your position as your tribe leader on to your daughter, Moro." Kuma Tsume said.
"It has come to this, has it? My poor San. She does not deserve this burden with all others." Moro said, once again staring at her- San's- own hand.
"She is strong, Moro. She will make a good leader." Taka acknowledged.
"But she is no god." Moro snapped.
All the gods cast nervous glances at each other. That fact was unsettling.
"You all know the prophecies." Moro said. "She has fallen in love with one who is not wolf- and now he lies caged by the warlord who resides in this land. She is too proud to ask your help, but I beg you to aid her. The prophecies command it too. And one of you-"Moro looked around the clearing at this, "has come dangerously close to telling her the truth." Neither Fukuro nor Kuma Tsume showed emotion towards this statement. "She must choose for herself. She will fight, and she may yet die in her path, but as my daughter, she will never fail me. Let her assume the mantle of my tribe. Now send me back, so that she may return to this warm world."
"Rest in peace, Moro no Kimi." Fukuro said as his eyes again flashed black.
"Rest in peace." The gods echoed as the world snapped away from Moro.
~
Death was cold, black, and dry. San knew not how long she had been here, nor where "here" was, she only knew that she was dead. She cried- for she did not want to be dead. She had so much living left to do. She had so much responsibility on her shoulders. But here, at least, there was no more responsibility. No more tears- they dried as soon as they left her eyes. That was strange, she noticed, her mask was gone. But here, there was no protection from death, not even for something like tears. There were no ears for sobs to fall on. She was alone in the inky blackness of her own personal hell.
All she could think about were those eyes- she had been betrayed and killed before she could even say a word. She hadn't been strong enough. And now she was dead.
Something nudged her- something that glowed with a light so bright it was blinding in this darkness. San opened her eyes- it was mother.
"My beautiful daughter..." Moro said. She smiled sadly.
"Mother?" San said, not wanting to believe it and have her heart broken again.
"Do not cry. You will live again soon. But first, we must talk." Moro lay down, and San folded her legs and sat leaning against her. Now that mother was here, she felt strangely calm- safe. It was a feeling she remembered from her childhood, before the horrors of war and death. And in this cold place, mother was so warm.
"Where is this place?" San asked.
"It is nowhere- a place where gods and men go to spend eternity. It is a place your Ashitaka has seen, and that is why he so desperately clings to life."
"It's cold." San said, pulling herself closer to Moro.
"Shh..." Moro said. "...you know, I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, mother...I wish I could stay with you..."
"You have to go back, though, San. Your brothers need you. Your tribe needs you. When you return to the world of the living, you will be leader of our clan in full. You have your own life to live...and share."
"Mother, Ashitaka...he's..."
"Shh, shh, shh...I know everything. You will have the chance to save him. But remember this, daughter- you must always put your duty above everything else. Even your love."
"Mother, what about what Lord Fukuro said?"
Moro sighed. The truth could not be told to her. "That owl's half-crazy, but I can't tell you any more, daughter. Now, you must go."
San stood, looking one last time at her mother. "Will we meet again?"
Moro smiled. "We shall."
San closed her eyes and drifted into what felt like a wonderful sleep.
~
Something nudged her again. San opened her eyes. She was back, back in the clearing, back lying with the circle of gods around her and her brothers protectively at her side. The world, though- something was different. The colors were all wrong. The very world seemed to pulse with a beautiful warm light, and the life force that her mother had so often mentioned was so visible. It was in the trees and grasses, a blinding and beautiful red. She sat and looked around with this wonderful new vision and only then noticed the tears still fresh on her cheeks- she had been crying. No, her mother had been crying. The world slowly faded back to its normal hue as San wiped the tears from her face, further marring her own blood, still dried there as war paint.
"What...what was it?" She asked aloud, looking again at the world through her normal eyes.
"You have seen the world through the perspective of a god, an immortal." Said Fukuro, standing there. San was the very slightest bit afraid of him, as now she knew the full extent his knowledge had. "It is a thing that in time you may yet control and use to your advantage. You will be able to see more than the mortality of a person, you will be able to see where their heart lies."
"It...it was beautiful."
Fukuro snapped his head around- unsettling- to glare over his shoulder. Someone or something had just entered the clearing.
"Again, Neko-Goto has sent you in his stead, Kinjiru? One would think that a god such as he would take more pride in fulfilling his duties." Taka spoke coldly.
"If my father is unable to attend, Lady Taka, does not his son provide adequate representation for his tribe?" Countered a male voice, this time adolescent and steely. "My father sends his regrets that he is unable to meet with the rest of you, and I apologize myself for my lateness. I was unable to cross the river for human soldiers on the move, and was forced to take a detour around them."
San wanted to see this new son of a god, who was as of yet still blocked by Fukuro standing in front of her. She rose to her feet and stepped around Fukuro, expecting to see a god-
But instead she saw a boy.
He was about her age, or Ashitaka's, and stood only an inch or so taller than her. His hair was a fair brown, and ran long down to the middle of his back in an ornately braided tail. His facepaint denoted him as a member of the cat clan, with a bright blue line running the bridge of his nose and three horizontal lines on each cheek, running back to the edges of his face. His eyes were steel gray, bent into a glare. San noticed he was returning her customary icy stare. His outfit was clearly designed for silence and stealth, everything being strapped tightly to his frame. His leggings were of a white hide, the knees studded with hooks for climbing, the pants behind them a deep brown that was scattered with pockets. His shirt was a very deep red tunic, with long sleeves and the forearms bound in white straps. Daggers were held tightly by these bindings, as well as having hilts at right angles with a second blade on them, creating both lethal assassination weapon and climbing aide. At his waist, on one of the many straps that secured every loose inch of cloth to his body, dangled a facemask that was brilliant white clay with two long, triangular blue eyes and no mouth.
"Kinjiru Dorobo Oji, Prince of Thieves, pay homage to the new leader of the wolf tribe, San Mononoke Hime, Princess of Monsters."
Kinjiru bowed, but did not take his eyes of San. His gaze was level, that of an equal, and San wondered.
Who was this boy like her?
~
DISCLAIMER AND OTHER INTERESTING FACTOIDS TO NOURISH YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BASIC JAPANESE! (In which I have no skill whatsoever...)
Concerning ownership and character names...
San, Ashitaka, Lady Eboshi, Gonza, the "unnamed" wolf brothers, Moro, Okkoto, Nago (not even sure I mentioned him), the concept of Asano, and everyone else originally appearing or referenced in Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime for you hardcore fans out there) are property of Hiyao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Miramax, Disney, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and whomever else they came into contact with along the long and complicated journey to America.
Characters of my own creation include the following, with a bit of background on each for those of you who haven't realized just how much of this is basic Japanese:
Asano – well, I flushed out his personality and physically created him, and you'll be leaning much more about him in future chapters.
Kuroi and Shiroi – I expanded a bit on them (They might be twins but from experience twins are usually different) and gave them names. The names also are a duality in that they reflect personality differences- "kuroi" means "black", "shiroi" means "white". Imagine that.
Taisho – Definitely filched this one from the Jap-English dictionary. Taisho means "general (military), leader, admiral". He is the eunuch general of Asano's army.
The gods!
Kuma Tsume – Means "bear claw", and Kuma Tsume is the king of the bears, and you shall see him live up to his name in future chapters. The "action/adventure" this is categorized under gets started now.
Kitsune – "Fox", for those of you out of the loop. Kitsune, as a refresher, is the Fox god, and is generally considered to be a god of magic and war.
Risu – "Squirrel". Simple and effective. Risu is a god of nature and it's perpetuation.
Inoshishi – "Wild boar". The last of the boar gods. Brother of Okkoto and Nago, he is the smallest and least rash of the three.
Neko-Goto – "Cat burglar" or "cat robber". Which he is, of course. He's god of assassins, thieves, and spies. He'll be around.
Taka – "Hawk". One of the two bird gods appearing in the story. She is a god of fierce battle, and is unparalleled in the air.
Fukuro – "Owl". The sage and often silent god who has told San something very important and very true. He is a scholar god, one who fights little but possesses powerful knowledge nonetheless.
Kinjiru- "Forbid", and although technically in the verb form see it as past tense. His full title, Kinjiru Dorobo Oji would be Kinjiru, Prince of Thieves, as San is Princess Mononoke.
...and that's another new chapter down. Now I just have to keep the momentum. I've got big things planned for the plot of this in the future, and you'll probably see some rather startling revelations. Thus ends chapter 4. Chapter five is to be entitled: Betrayal.
...and the obligatory review request is supposed to go here, but if you've read this far, you're either a diehard who has to finish something even if you hate it or you're someone who likes/loves/is indifferent towards the fic. Drop me a line, I need a bit of motivation to stoke my creative muse.
~Chapter 4: Possession~
Far, far to the east, further east that Irontown and even further than Ashitaka's clan's home, was something terrible and powerful. Its presence in this land was yet unknown to any god, although surely one would have met it in battle had they known. Its presence was unknown to any ruler, who would surely have saved his people from this terror. And most importantly, its presence was yet unknown to any common person, for this creature was a nightmare of legendary ilk, a bad dream of dry death and sickly decay. The rising sun heralded yet another dreadful day for this place far, far in the east, as it was again on the move.
The very land reviled it. Where it touched, the grass withered and died, roots trying to claw deeper into the ground for safety. In its presence, trees withered and their leaves turned a sickly gray, and they withdrew into their hardwood and sap in hopes that this unspeakable death would not touch them there. Animals knew it was coming a long ways off, and panicked and ran for their lives- better to die exhausted from fleeing than to experience death at the hands of this unnamed horror. The dirt dried and buckled where it stepped, and the air was thick with a smell that was worse than that of death- it was corruption at the very heart of nature. This blight was moving, and it was moving west. West, to greener lands to despoil and a richer feast to bleed dry.
These pastures had too quickly dried and rotted in its presence, the animals sparse and the trees few and far between. It feasted on decay, and the grasses here were not enough to sustain it for longer than a short while, so once again it was on the move. There was a beautiful scent off to the east. A smell of warmth, livestock and people, fires for cooking and fields and forests of abundant crops and game. A beautiful smell. It would devour it and leave no trace of it behind.
The sun rose and this horror left the field, heading toward the last village of the Emishi.
~
This morning, the guards sent to watch Ashitaka and distribute his punishment were in fact the very guards he had spared the other day. They had actually been ranking officers, but now were stripped of their titles and assigned to guard duty in the wake of their humiliation. When Ashitaka recognized them, he felt a deep fear, for these men would surely want revenge for their ridicule. Surprisingly, they were far from malicious. They may have lost their titles and been robbed, but they knew that this fate was preferable to death and that they owed their lives to Ashitaka. While they were assigned and expected to complete his now daily beating, they (keeping an eye out) skipped it, and actually helped to try and treat some of his wounds. One had smuggled in a small bread roll and a dumpling, and Ashitaka was grateful to have these men on his side. He was in need of friends and allies in this place, and these men putting their heads on the line for him were truly courageous and honorable.
It was about two or so hours after the sun was visible over the courtyard walls, when Ashitaka was left alone in the courtyard with his guards on their morning meal break. Asano was apparently confident in his city's security, enough to risk his prisoner's escape- but Ashitaka didn't have the means or aid to do so. If the guards had helped him to escape, or if he had done so without assistance, they would surely be blamed and likely executed. So for now, Ashitaka sat with his back against a rather thick pole, hands folded in his lap, half dozing in the morning sun.
His eyes fluttered. The buzzing of a fly in his ear was keeping him from nodding off. The courtyard was illuminated in the morning light, the dew still on the plants by the east wall. For holding a cage, the courtyard was very well tended.
His eyes fluttered again. This time, there was a shadow blocking his view of the wall. No, a cat. A huge cat. Ashitaka opened his eyes fully and sat up straighter. The cat sat patiently, somewhere about seven feet tall as it sat. It was a solid black, and watched Ashitaka with a somewhat bored expression on its feline face. It's tail twitched bemusedly.
"Good morning." Ashitaka said. This cat would be about the size of a god, and if it could talk...
"Good morning." The cat said after a moment. It said it as though it were agreeing with Ashitaka, in a slick and royal voice. It sounded a bit like one of the elders from his tribe, a man who was technically Ashitaka's second cousin.
"Are you...a god?" Ashitaka asked. There was really no other way of finding out.
The cat seemed to think for a moment before choosing his response. "When I want to be. It is a weighty responsibility, one not to be handled lightly. I have often yearned for escape." He stood and walked around the cage on all four legs. He examined the cage closely. "Escape, as you well know by now, is not something to be taken lightly, young Ashitaka of the Emishi."
"You know my name, cat god, but I do not know yours. I can only assume that you are Neko-Goto, lord of cats and king of thieves."
"Well then," said Neko-Goto, sitting back onto his hind legs and staring down at Ashitaka, "we know more about each other than we think. For example, young Ashitaka, I know that you came here some day and a half ago and freed San of the wolf tribe, the young girl whom you love." The cat god said the last word with a bit of an edge to it. Love, as if such an idea both sickened and interested him, and was both purely natural and a perversion of the worst kind.
"You know much." Ashitaka said, treading carefully. This god was unlike Moro, or Okkoto, or Nago. He was a god of thieves, as well as assassins, spies, and mercenaries. He sat back and observed until it was time for him to make his move. No one could outwit him, no one could predict him. This was a cat that always landed on his feet in any situation, and could never be thrown off.
"Of course. I know much about you, Ashitaka, and I know much about your future. And of how little of it you hold in your hands." He sniffed. He turned and walked over to the courtyard wall, and jumped a good fifteen or twenty feet to sit on the sunlit stone. "Allow me to give you a little advice- she'll break your heart. There can be no relationship between the daughter of a god and the son of humans."
"Wait! Neko-Goto!" Ashitaka said, as loud as he dared. The cat god ignored him and dropped out of sight over the courtyard wall. Ashitaka sat back against the cage wall again. Break his heart? San?
...would she?
~
San stood alone in the middle of a clearing. The morning sun was now high in the eastern sky, and the light shone through the trees. She was dressed again in full battle regalia, which doubled for this purpose of ceremonial dress. Her mask, the half-face clay eyes that were attached to a wolf fur headdress, was pulled down over her eyes. It obstructed her vision very little, as the eyes were the thinnest part of the mask, but was going to become even hotter as the sun continued to rise. She turned her head to look behind her and her earrings clicked against the clay.
Kuma Tsume had instructed her to be here, but where he was she did not know. For that matter, there were no other gods anywhere to be seen. She kept checking behind her and in trees above to see if Fukuro had again arrived unnoticed, but the owl was absent. Her brothers were with Kuma Tsume, for reasons she hadn't been told. So for now, she stood and waited, her hand brushing the hilt of her dagger now and then just to make sure she wasn't caught off guard and unarmed.
This forest was much quieter than her own. There were no Kodama here, probably because there were no trees old enough. The mother-trees of her forest had hundreds of Kodama to each, but the trees here were still young- still children themselves. Mother had told her once of a time long ago, when Kuma Tsume was still young and untempered by time, when he had driven back the humans from this cleared land and the bear tribe had sowed a forest here. It must have been fifty or sixty years ago, and it would still be another hundred years before Kodama would start appearing. San would never live to see it, but Kuma Tsume would. Humans and animals were mortal, their lives dependent on their own bodies. But gods, like Kuma Tsume, depended on something greater- their life force flowed with the life force of the world.
There was a clattering of talons above San and she looked up. Above her, and staring down with a razor gaze was Taka, the hawk god. She gave two thrusts of her thirty-foot wingspan and landed neatly in front of San. She was the size of an ox on the ground, in the air she was twice as large. Her plumage was a very light brown, lighter than normal for her tribe, and each feather was easily a foot long, two or three on the pinion feathers. Her talons were each as long as a pickaxe, her beak was both tool and keen weapon. Taka folded her wings along her body and blinked. She turned her head again and looked at San with her other eye. Another blink. There was a small fluttering of wings again as three other hawks, these as large as men and clearly sentient. One, who was much older than the rest and shook very slightly with his age, stepped forward to stand level with Taka.
"Lady Taka greets you, San of the wolf tribe, and wishes to extend her deep regrets on the death of your mother and patron Moro." Said the old hawk in a croaky voice. It was typical for the gods to have a small escort to announce them and represent the body of their tribe.
"It is good to see you again, Lady Taka. My gratitude for your kind sympathies." San said in response and bowed slightly. It was ceremonial, really. Now Taka herself would speak.
"I am also very glad to see you assume the role of your clan head, San." Taka acknowledged, and bowed back, blinking once again as she did it. Her voice was strong and high, and had a quality to it that was avian- perhaps the speed or measure, San couldn't tell. She just though Taka sounded like a bird did. Just more elegant.
"Is it a position you are ready for, San?" Said another voice behind her, this one a fast, high pitched chatter that would better fit the gossipy ladies of Irontown. San turned slightly, and saw clinging to a tree Risu, the squirrel god. This was a god who did not travel with her tribe, as they were present in virtually every location. She was a vivid, almost obnoxious red, and would never have survived in the wild if she were a normal sized squirrel. Being a god, she could afford to visually announce her presence. Risu was not very tall, even a bit shorter than San, but still was a commanding figure. She moved down from the tree, her nimble fingers gripping into unseen crannies in the bark, and perched at the base on a tangle of roots.
"It is, Lady Risu. It is a position I do accept with a heavy heart, however." San bowed again, and Risu bowed back.
"And here are your brothers. They have grown." Taka said, looking past San. San turned again and there were Kuroi and Shiroi, along with Kuma Tsume, entering the clearing. Kuroi and Shiroi walked over to San and stepped on either side of her. They nodded respectfully to the hawk and squirrel gods. Kuma Tsume had brought with him two of his bears, but the bear lord himself was easily the most impressive god to yet arrive.
"It is good to see you again, Risu and Taka. I trust your regions and tribes are not under any threat?"
"Never, Kuma Tsume. You know our willingness to give and take help when it is needed." Taka said.
"Kitsune sends her regrets that she will be unable to attend. She's dealing with a group of poachers in her forest." Risu chattered.
"Her presence will be missed, but if it is necessary, then so be it." Kuma Tsume said. Risu nodded in agreement in the rapid nod of a squirrel. There was a crash somewhere in the forest and Risu rolled her eyes.
"I'll be amazed if I don't know who that is." She muttered. Kuma Tsume smiled in agreement, revealing those deadly white fangs. San felt she knew as well- it was a sound much like that Okkoto had made on his way to die. It was the sound of a boar god. The bushes of the clearing again parted and forward stepped Inoshishi, the last of the boar lords.
Inoshishi was the smallest of the boar gods, although not by much, and was also the least foolish. It was a sad testament that the two stubborn brothers he had were victims of their own folly. Inoshishi was a black boar, with eyes dark and brooding in his head. His tusks were normal sized for his stature, but seemed strangely large, white against his black body. He grunted and stepped forward into the clearing.
"I have word from Neko-Goto that he will not be arriving until later. He has matters he needed to attend to." He grunted out. His voice was gravelly and harsh, higher than Okkoto's but also quieter. Okkoto's voice would have filled the clearing, Inoshishi's merely made itself known.
"The god of cats always seems to have other business to attend to. His appearances have become few and far between." Said a fifth voice, this time from the trees to the right of Inoshishi. Fukuro had again arrived unnoticed, and was his usual solemn self.
"Then we are all accounted for, with Kitsune and Neko-Goto absent." Kuma Tsume said.
"We are not." Replied Inoshishi. "Where is Moro no Kimi? And Okkotonushi? And Lord Nago?"
"They are dead." Kuma Tsume said flatly.
A stir went around the clearing at these words. Taka blinked several times and rapidly, Fukuro closed his eyes and nodded. Inoshishi allowed his mouth to hang open in shock- both of his brothers were dead and he had never known.
"D-"Inoshishi stammered, unable to complete the word.
"Dead," Repeated Kuma Tsume, "Along with the patron spirit of their forest and, except in Moro's case, their tribes."
Inoshishi let out a terrible cry that shook the clearing and chilled San to the very bone. Shiroi and Kuroi's fur stood on end, and Risu clapped her hands to her ears. Miles away, guards on the walls of Kaigan heard it and only knew that it was an unearthly shriek. The gods and San knew it was a cry of mourning and an oath for vengeance.
The boar god stopped and grunted out a long string of oaths in his own language. San reflexively rubbed her arms- her skin had crawled at the noise of that cry and had tightened as though she was cold. The gods had largely maintained their composure, except for Risu, who was now quickly working to smooth her tail over.
Kuma Tsume reclaimed order in the silence that followed. "All of the clans share this pain, as we all fought alongside our comrades at one time or another. But now the burdens of these tribes must shift to their successors. Inoshishi now bears the mantle of the boar tribe, but he, unlike the wolf tribe's heir, is already a chief."
All the gods in the clearing turned to look at San, and she felt dizzy with the weight of their eyes. She was meeting with the gods, and she felt very small next to each of them.
"San, our Princess Mononoke, must inherit the leadership of the wolf tribe." Kuma Tsume said. San noticed he was the only god who was got meeting her eyes directly. For that matter, neither were her brothers...
"Is she ready, Kuma Tsume? Can she handle the rituals needed to seal her leadership?" Fukuro asked. His voice was now grave with concern.
"She is strong by any standards, Fukuro. You know your part in this."
"Very well," said the owl god, "but it has been a dreary age since these rituals have been performed by any god." Fukuro drifted down from his perch and stood in front of San. "Forgive me, child."
San took a step back. Forgive me? She would be strong enough? What did all this mean? Her pulse quickened as fear flooded her. Would they hurt her in some sort of test? What was going on? San looked quickly towards Kuma Tsume and her brothers, but the bear god was the only one of the three who met her gaze. Fukuro snapped his beak to get her attention, and she turned back to face him.
Then, Fukuro's golden eyes snapped shut once, and when he opened them in the moment following, they were a piercing, midnight black.
Through her yellow-eyed mask, San looked into those eyes for only a split second, sensing that there was something magical about them, before she slumped to the ground, dead. Fukuro, unwavering at having just slain her, blinked again, and this time his eyes were a startling blank white. San's body twitched and jumped, and let out a feral scream. Fukuro blinked again, his eyes returning to their normal golden hue.
San's body leaped and trembled, and finally curled itself into the fetal position and lay shaking.
"Arise." Fukuro said, and took a step back.
San uncurled, and firmly planted her left foot, then her right. Using her hands, she shakily pushed herself back on her heels and steadier herself with her hands. Her eyes were closed behind the mask, and she seemed strangely unbalanced. When she opened them, it was clear to Kuroi and Shiroi, as well as all the gods in the clearing, that it was no longer San staring back at them.
"Stand!" Said Fukuro, louder this time. "Stand now as you once did, proudly and fiercely, Moro of the Wolf Tribe!"
"Silence yourself, Fukuro." Said San, but in a voice that was no longer her own. It was deeper, grating, and clearly embodied the spirit of the late wolf god Moro. "It is hard enough to stand on two legs, but this body of my daughter's is strange."
"So the great Moro walks again on this world for a short time." Murmured Inoshishi. "Yet is there no way for either of my two brothers to return to this plane?" He said, his anger rising.
"You know the rituals of possession can only take a human host of tribal lineage, Inoshishi. Besides, it is a terrible exertion on a human to undergo such a thing. Moro can only remain a short time or San's spirit shall never find it's way back to her body." Kuma Tsume snapped. Time was of the essence here.
Moro crouched there, surrounded by gods she had fought with in her life, now borrowing the body of her adopted daughter for purposes of a temporary resurrection. She felt the blood pounding in her head- it was so strange to feel such a thing, after having no pulse for weeks of afterlife. Her hands clenched the grass, feeling even in those tiny strands of life the much greater pulse of the world. She opened her eyes, seeing the world through those of a god instead of merely a mortal. The world was a blinding array of color, the trees and grass a swaying vibrant bright red, older wood the color of blood- the life in them was radiant. Each leaf reflected the rainbow of light bathing the world from heaven. The gods were each cast in gold, as though they were living statues, proud and immortal. Her sons- her sons!- they were green with their half-mortality, but still gleamed with a dull yellow sheen. And Moro looked at her own body- the green life force that would burn itself out was a beautiful green, a young green that suited one such as her daughter. But as she looked, the green flickered once- it momentarily was stained and streaked with golden color. The body was trying to adapt to Moro's arrival. And while she longed for life again, she would never sacrifice her daughter to gain mortality.
"You...my comrade gods...have called me back to this wonderful...beautiful world. I have missed it, and each of you. But...there is a purpose for my return, and it lies within my daughter." Moro spoke breathing heavily. It was already straining San's body to have this spirit of a god residing in it.
"You must transfer your position as your tribe leader on to your daughter, Moro." Kuma Tsume said.
"It has come to this, has it? My poor San. She does not deserve this burden with all others." Moro said, once again staring at her- San's- own hand.
"She is strong, Moro. She will make a good leader." Taka acknowledged.
"But she is no god." Moro snapped.
All the gods cast nervous glances at each other. That fact was unsettling.
"You all know the prophecies." Moro said. "She has fallen in love with one who is not wolf- and now he lies caged by the warlord who resides in this land. She is too proud to ask your help, but I beg you to aid her. The prophecies command it too. And one of you-"Moro looked around the clearing at this, "has come dangerously close to telling her the truth." Neither Fukuro nor Kuma Tsume showed emotion towards this statement. "She must choose for herself. She will fight, and she may yet die in her path, but as my daughter, she will never fail me. Let her assume the mantle of my tribe. Now send me back, so that she may return to this warm world."
"Rest in peace, Moro no Kimi." Fukuro said as his eyes again flashed black.
"Rest in peace." The gods echoed as the world snapped away from Moro.
~
Death was cold, black, and dry. San knew not how long she had been here, nor where "here" was, she only knew that she was dead. She cried- for she did not want to be dead. She had so much living left to do. She had so much responsibility on her shoulders. But here, at least, there was no more responsibility. No more tears- they dried as soon as they left her eyes. That was strange, she noticed, her mask was gone. But here, there was no protection from death, not even for something like tears. There were no ears for sobs to fall on. She was alone in the inky blackness of her own personal hell.
All she could think about were those eyes- she had been betrayed and killed before she could even say a word. She hadn't been strong enough. And now she was dead.
Something nudged her- something that glowed with a light so bright it was blinding in this darkness. San opened her eyes- it was mother.
"My beautiful daughter..." Moro said. She smiled sadly.
"Mother?" San said, not wanting to believe it and have her heart broken again.
"Do not cry. You will live again soon. But first, we must talk." Moro lay down, and San folded her legs and sat leaning against her. Now that mother was here, she felt strangely calm- safe. It was a feeling she remembered from her childhood, before the horrors of war and death. And in this cold place, mother was so warm.
"Where is this place?" San asked.
"It is nowhere- a place where gods and men go to spend eternity. It is a place your Ashitaka has seen, and that is why he so desperately clings to life."
"It's cold." San said, pulling herself closer to Moro.
"Shh..." Moro said. "...you know, I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, mother...I wish I could stay with you..."
"You have to go back, though, San. Your brothers need you. Your tribe needs you. When you return to the world of the living, you will be leader of our clan in full. You have your own life to live...and share."
"Mother, Ashitaka...he's..."
"Shh, shh, shh...I know everything. You will have the chance to save him. But remember this, daughter- you must always put your duty above everything else. Even your love."
"Mother, what about what Lord Fukuro said?"
Moro sighed. The truth could not be told to her. "That owl's half-crazy, but I can't tell you any more, daughter. Now, you must go."
San stood, looking one last time at her mother. "Will we meet again?"
Moro smiled. "We shall."
San closed her eyes and drifted into what felt like a wonderful sleep.
~
Something nudged her again. San opened her eyes. She was back, back in the clearing, back lying with the circle of gods around her and her brothers protectively at her side. The world, though- something was different. The colors were all wrong. The very world seemed to pulse with a beautiful warm light, and the life force that her mother had so often mentioned was so visible. It was in the trees and grasses, a blinding and beautiful red. She sat and looked around with this wonderful new vision and only then noticed the tears still fresh on her cheeks- she had been crying. No, her mother had been crying. The world slowly faded back to its normal hue as San wiped the tears from her face, further marring her own blood, still dried there as war paint.
"What...what was it?" She asked aloud, looking again at the world through her normal eyes.
"You have seen the world through the perspective of a god, an immortal." Said Fukuro, standing there. San was the very slightest bit afraid of him, as now she knew the full extent his knowledge had. "It is a thing that in time you may yet control and use to your advantage. You will be able to see more than the mortality of a person, you will be able to see where their heart lies."
"It...it was beautiful."
Fukuro snapped his head around- unsettling- to glare over his shoulder. Someone or something had just entered the clearing.
"Again, Neko-Goto has sent you in his stead, Kinjiru? One would think that a god such as he would take more pride in fulfilling his duties." Taka spoke coldly.
"If my father is unable to attend, Lady Taka, does not his son provide adequate representation for his tribe?" Countered a male voice, this time adolescent and steely. "My father sends his regrets that he is unable to meet with the rest of you, and I apologize myself for my lateness. I was unable to cross the river for human soldiers on the move, and was forced to take a detour around them."
San wanted to see this new son of a god, who was as of yet still blocked by Fukuro standing in front of her. She rose to her feet and stepped around Fukuro, expecting to see a god-
But instead she saw a boy.
He was about her age, or Ashitaka's, and stood only an inch or so taller than her. His hair was a fair brown, and ran long down to the middle of his back in an ornately braided tail. His facepaint denoted him as a member of the cat clan, with a bright blue line running the bridge of his nose and three horizontal lines on each cheek, running back to the edges of his face. His eyes were steel gray, bent into a glare. San noticed he was returning her customary icy stare. His outfit was clearly designed for silence and stealth, everything being strapped tightly to his frame. His leggings were of a white hide, the knees studded with hooks for climbing, the pants behind them a deep brown that was scattered with pockets. His shirt was a very deep red tunic, with long sleeves and the forearms bound in white straps. Daggers were held tightly by these bindings, as well as having hilts at right angles with a second blade on them, creating both lethal assassination weapon and climbing aide. At his waist, on one of the many straps that secured every loose inch of cloth to his body, dangled a facemask that was brilliant white clay with two long, triangular blue eyes and no mouth.
"Kinjiru Dorobo Oji, Prince of Thieves, pay homage to the new leader of the wolf tribe, San Mononoke Hime, Princess of Monsters."
Kinjiru bowed, but did not take his eyes of San. His gaze was level, that of an equal, and San wondered.
Who was this boy like her?
~
DISCLAIMER AND OTHER INTERESTING FACTOIDS TO NOURISH YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF BASIC JAPANESE! (In which I have no skill whatsoever...)
Concerning ownership and character names...
San, Ashitaka, Lady Eboshi, Gonza, the "unnamed" wolf brothers, Moro, Okkoto, Nago (not even sure I mentioned him), the concept of Asano, and everyone else originally appearing or referenced in Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime for you hardcore fans out there) are property of Hiyao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Miramax, Disney, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and whomever else they came into contact with along the long and complicated journey to America.
Characters of my own creation include the following, with a bit of background on each for those of you who haven't realized just how much of this is basic Japanese:
Asano – well, I flushed out his personality and physically created him, and you'll be leaning much more about him in future chapters.
Kuroi and Shiroi – I expanded a bit on them (They might be twins but from experience twins are usually different) and gave them names. The names also are a duality in that they reflect personality differences- "kuroi" means "black", "shiroi" means "white". Imagine that.
Taisho – Definitely filched this one from the Jap-English dictionary. Taisho means "general (military), leader, admiral". He is the eunuch general of Asano's army.
The gods!
Kuma Tsume – Means "bear claw", and Kuma Tsume is the king of the bears, and you shall see him live up to his name in future chapters. The "action/adventure" this is categorized under gets started now.
Kitsune – "Fox", for those of you out of the loop. Kitsune, as a refresher, is the Fox god, and is generally considered to be a god of magic and war.
Risu – "Squirrel". Simple and effective. Risu is a god of nature and it's perpetuation.
Inoshishi – "Wild boar". The last of the boar gods. Brother of Okkoto and Nago, he is the smallest and least rash of the three.
Neko-Goto – "Cat burglar" or "cat robber". Which he is, of course. He's god of assassins, thieves, and spies. He'll be around.
Taka – "Hawk". One of the two bird gods appearing in the story. She is a god of fierce battle, and is unparalleled in the air.
Fukuro – "Owl". The sage and often silent god who has told San something very important and very true. He is a scholar god, one who fights little but possesses powerful knowledge nonetheless.
Kinjiru- "Forbid", and although technically in the verb form see it as past tense. His full title, Kinjiru Dorobo Oji would be Kinjiru, Prince of Thieves, as San is Princess Mononoke.
...and that's another new chapter down. Now I just have to keep the momentum. I've got big things planned for the plot of this in the future, and you'll probably see some rather startling revelations. Thus ends chapter 4. Chapter five is to be entitled: Betrayal.
...and the obligatory review request is supposed to go here, but if you've read this far, you're either a diehard who has to finish something even if you hate it or you're someone who likes/loves/is indifferent towards the fic. Drop me a line, I need a bit of motivation to stoke my creative muse.