V

Ashitaka: The Encounter

I come down from a mountain pass and see a muddy river ahead, flooding the banks because of the rain. Still wondering about the musket shots from earlier, I ponder how to cross the water. There must have been some sort of skirmish, because cargo and corpses of oxen float along the current.

Just then, I spot a man on the rocky shores, seeming to be at the point of death. I hurry over and put my hand to his mouth. "He's still breathing. Hang on," I pull him out of the river and run back to see if there are any more survivors.

I carry another man by a huge boulder onto the forest ground. As I lay him down by the other man, I see Yakkuru prick his ears towards the opposite side of the stream, across from a giant tree that has fallen.

What is over there? I pull the mouth piece of my hood up, grab my bow, and leave the men. I hop over to the tree, peering between the branches. I am not very well concealed, but the opposite bank of the river is quite far, many yards away. I lean in for a closer look. There is a white figure lying by the shore.

Suddenly, two wolves appear out of the trees. One of them carries a human, covered in the furs of a wolf. I decide it is a girl, despite the short hair. As soon as she sees the white lump, she slides down from her wolf and rushes over to it. The lump raises its head. It is a giant white wolf. They are the Wolf Gods of the forest.

The girl examines the wound on the biggest wolf, and begins sucking it, spitting out the blood. The wolf growls softly in pain. I watch, fascinated.

Then she turns her head around, and sees me, her mouth still full of blood. Her eyes widen. Her earrings glint, catching the sun and ring as they bump against her necklace. I catch my breath. Her face is painted with red triangles, two side by side on her cheeks, and one pointing down on the forehead. The markings make her intimidating. She is not pretty by typical standards, but I think, still, that she is unconventionally beautiful.

The girl stands up, spits out the blood, and wipes her mouth with a bloodied hand, all while glaring icily at me. The giant wolf she is nursing sees me also, and growls. No use hiding now. I climb up to the top of the trunk and pull down my mouth piece.

"I am Ashitaka! I have come from far to the east! Are you ancient gods of the forest of the Shishi-gami?" I shout across the muddy river. A slight breeze makes my straw cape fly slightly from my shoulders.

The girl does not reply. She glares at me, and I stare back at her. Then the great wolf growls and they turn to leave. She mounts one of the smaller wolves.

As they disappear back into the forest she calls to me, "Leave!" The other smaller wolf grabs a dead ox, and drags it along.

So just like that, they are gone, leaving me to stare after them. I am not surprised, however. I did not expect them to tell me anything.

A scream pulls me out of my reverie. I hurry back to the men. One of them has wakened, and is in a terrified state as he stares at something on a mossy rock. The man kicks violently, his arm hanging limply by his side.

The thing on the rock is white, with black holes on its face and a small, half-transparent white body.

"A kodama! Are they here too?" I am pleased. The kodama are forest spirits; nothing to fear.

I kneel by the man on the ground, now quaking with fear. "You're hurt. Keep still." The kodama shakes its head and clicks, making an eerie noise. "They won't harm you. Kodama are a sign that the forest is healthy."

"They'll call for the Shishi-gami!" the man says softly, looking around in fear.

"Shishi-gami?" I recall the words of the monk. "A large mountain wolf?"

"No! Worse! A huge monster!"

The kodama stands up and walk away, vanishing into the air.

"Aah!" He screams. "It's gone! Aah!" Another has appeared on Yakkuru's saddle, and more on the trees behind.

"Yakkuru is not afraid. There's no danger," I tell him.

I walk over to the kodama in the saddle. "We beg passage through these woods."

The small creature turns around and disappears. I take that as a "yes". We continue into the forest of the Shishi-gami.