Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Written for the LiveJournal 30shards community for theme #1 - legend, being a slightly different look at Jaken. Slightly. Err. Yes. Also, Jaken so needs to be added to the character selector. Yes he does.
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Tall Tale
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Among the toad people of Musashino, there are tales of days when they were a great and mighty clan, far more numerous and important than they are today.
In those times, demon tribes of all kinds roamed the lands, and among them many wars were fought. The lands were unstable, and to survive, the toad people too had to fight many wars.
The leader of their people in those days was mighty lord, much beloved by all the people, and well-known for his wisdom, his strength and his courage. The lord led them to many great victories and the rumor of his might spread far abroad and his name was greatly feared by all their enemies.
Then one day, the people were attacked by a particularly strong and fearsome enemy; an army ten times the size of theirs led by a lady with the strength of a thousand ordinary demons. Despite these overwhelming odds, the lord rallied the people and bravely led his army against her forces. The battle raged for days upon days, and despite their courage the toad people were hard pressed. The lord himself killed many enemies, and the enemy came to fear him greatly. And so it was decided that he had to die. Through trickery and foul play, they managed to cut him off from the rest of the army. He was just about to be executed when the people holding him captive and their leader were slain by another demon lord, a dog demon of great fame from the Western Lands who happened to be passing through the lands at that time.
And so the life of the lord of the toad people of Musashino was saved, and their luck turned. Soon after, the battle was over and the toad people had won.
So the lord turned to his saviour and said,
"You have saved my life, and I now owe it to you. I will follow you in the hopes that one day, I shall be able to repay this debt."
And there instantly grew a great friendship between them.
And so, the lord left his people, and was never seen by them again. For a while, though, rumors of him reached his people. They spoke of the great deeds he and the dog demon did together, and it was said that the two saved each others lives many times, and thus the debt was paid and paid again many times over.
And it was said that so great was the power they wielded together that soon they gained many followers. Rumor spoke of a tribe of dragons following them willingly, and even of a battalion of female human warriors who would have given their lives for them in a second.
In the time when the Jewel of Four Souls had re-awoken, and the lands were troubled again, it was said that the lords gathered together an army of demons and half-demons, and humans of great spiritual strength to fight the powers coveting the Jewel and bring back order to the lands. Even demon slayers recognized their power, and swore to follow them in this battle.
And so, they went up against Hell itself, and were victorious. Peace was restored and the lands no longer trembled in fear.
Soon after this, the people had word that their lord was traveling north. This was the last they heard of him, for the foreign lands he now entered were so distant and far away that no word got back from them, and the toad people stay in their own lands and do not like to travel.
But the legend also speaks of the lords return. If ever the toad people are in a danger so great that they cannot overcome it, he will return to unleash all his power on whoever threatens to destroy them.
So in times of danger, the legend of the lord is told, and the people say to each other,
"We will fight. If he returns, he can not find that his people have grown cowardly in his absence."
And he has not yet had to return.
And the toad people have survived.
