The Children of the Wind and Earth

Although Matsuko and Yamakaze left the kingdom of earth, their children carried on their legacy. From their powers, the race of Cloud Falcon demons and Wolf demons arose. The Cloud Falcons kept watch over the mountains and carried prayers to the priestesses of the mountain shrine. The Wolves protected the sacred spring. The well now had the power to bind souls, and was closely guarded. Now, there was a High Priestess who read the clouds, and a Wise Woman who read the spring – both oracular in their own right.

Born of Yamakaze and Matsuko were the twins Kazeko, the wind sorceress and Hana, the Oracle.

Kazeko became the first high priestess of the mountain shrine. Her sister became the guardian of the mountain valley. Kazeko was lithe with black hair and an easy laugh. Hana was white as the snow, and thoughtful. Each had their protector, pledged both to their positions, as well as to the ladies themselves.

Kazeko appeared human. She was well known throughout the mountain for tending the sick, aiding the villagers, and for her beauty and purity of heart. Kazeko loved to dance, and when no one was watching, would dance in the sacred garden, blissfully. Occasionally she would ride on the winds to look over her people – but never when they could see her.

Hana was a child of the Earth – a wolf. She guarded the sacred valley as Kazeko guarded the mountain paths. She and her sister did all they could to protect the mountain and all who dwelled within their realm.

The Story of Kazeko

Udo came to the mountain on behalf of his village. A strange plague had broken out, and many of them were dying. On his way up the mountain, he spotted a young woman dancing in a clearing, alone. She captivated him with her every move – with her shining black hair – with her easy laugh. He wanted to stop – to ask her name… but the grumbling in his belly reminded him that no one in the village had eaten for quite some time. Thus, tearing his eyes away from the lithe maiden, he continued to the shrine. Imagine his surprise when he recognized the High Priestess as she who had been dancing in the meadows.

"You have one thing you may ask of me," she said, sitting before him.

Udo stared at the woman. He could ask her anything… and she would grant it. Thousands of possibilities sprang up before his eyes – most of which ended with him claiming the priestess as his own.

But, Udo was an honorable man, and he pleaded for the lives of his villagers. Kazeko was touched by his loyalty, and sent him home with a cure from Hana's garden.

The man restored his village, and then returned to the priestess.

"Was your village cured?" she asked.

"Yes, my lady. I have come to offer my thanks… and…"

"And?" Kazeko raised an eyebrow.

"…And my service. I offer my service."

Kazeko frowned a bit. "I am not sure I understand."

Udo remained bowed before her. "Ask anything you like of me. I am in your service."

Kazeko smiled gently. "You are welcome to help those who come to us," she said. She knew as a high priestess, she had her duties… and no mortal could possibly understand how long she could live.

Udo worked tirelessly for the shrine. He brought the fallen to the priestesses, he chopped the firewood, he weeded village gardens, he helped build homes – anything and everything that could be asked of a person, he did.

And every week, he would come and offer his services to the High Priestess, and every week her answer was the same.

But she could not help but grow fond of the young man who worked so tirelessly for others. He never refused a request – no matter how much work it may entail.

And every week, he would come and offer his services to the High Priestess, and every week her answer was the same.

But one week, he did not come. Kazeko looked for him from dawn until sunset. When the sky grew dark, she frowned. "Perhaps he has given up…" she mused. The priestess slept uneasily that night and had terrible dreams. In the middle of the night, she went to her sister, and begged her to consult the spring as to where he might be.

In the reflecting pool, Kazeko saw Udo pinned under a tree, most of his life drained out of him. His axe was not far away from his outstretched hand. "He was to gather firewood today," Kazeko gasped, remembering what he had told one of the other priestesses.

Without another word, she flew to where he lay pinned beneath the tree. She knelt before him, and heard his gasping breath.

"I… I am sorry I am late," he said quietly, his words dry and cracked. Kazeko blew the tree away and brought him to her sister.

They laid him in the tree of healing, as their mother had their father so many years before.

"I fear he is too far gone," Hana said sadly. "He has not enough blood to keep the life in him." The sisters looked to one another, and each knew what needed to be done. Kazeko floated the man to the spring. There, the wind sorceress drew a glittering dagger across her palm. She then pressed her bleeding palm to the man's heart, and began to chant quietly. Hana dipped a feather into the sacred spring, and anointed the man, for you see, their blood was too strong for a mortal. Their power had to be bound to his life – from now on, he was no mortal, nor was he immortal. He was both. Unlike a half demon, who is part of one, and part of the other, the spring bound the two parts into a new whole. Udo sat up and gasped for breath, and immediately touched his head to the ground before the two women.

"I thank you for my life," he gasped into the sweet grass. "I have nothing to offer you, accept my service."

The sisters looked to one another, and Hana nodded.

Kazeko knelt before the man, who would not raise his head from the ground.

"I accept," she said quietly.

The next week, Udo had carved Kazeko a fan as a present. He tied the feather to it, as a reminder of his being bound to her. She admired the white cloth with the bold red curls across the top. It became her private treasure.

Udo became her protector, and spent his whole life, just as he had always wanted – in her service. When it was time for his spirit to move to heaven, it did not go alone. Kazeko's fan, however, became a sacred object, guarded by the shrine priestesses. It was said that a fragment of the wind sorceress's soul was bound to that fan, so the priestesses guarded it jealously.

However, many years passed, and the fan, like Kazeko and Udo, became little more than a legend – forgotten by those who did not tend the shrine. A petty and ignorant demon stole several good from the shrine, including the fan. He might have discovered he had quite a powerful weapon… had he not joined with several hundred demons in feasting on the thief, Onigumo. With this merger, the sacred fan also became a part of the terrible demon Naraku.

It was some time before fan saw the light of day – the power of the winds and of binding souls used in a dark and twisted manner… but the free spirit and kindness of the priestess had not died completely. It remained as strong and determined as the grip Naraku had on the heart that contained it.

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Translations:

Matsuko - pine tree child

Yamakaze - mountain wind

Kazeko - wind child

Hana – flower, blossom

Udo – ginseng plant