XIV

San: The Convention of Forest Gods

Cicadas buzz in the trees by us. A giant white wolf stalks in the shadows. It is my mother, Moro. I stand up, sensing something coming through the trees. A crowd of boars emerges, but I recognize none of them; they are not from here. The squealing fills the peaceful environment.

I take a protective stance and move in front of the human, Ashitaka. My brothers come out as well, to greet the foreign lords.

"We are here to kill the humans and save the forest," one finally announces. "Why are there humans here?" He is soon to become irate, as most boars are.

"This girl is San, my daughter," Moro growls at them calmly. "There are humans everywhere. Go back and kill them from your own mountains."

"We kill for the Shishi-gami!" they clamor. "Why are there humans here?"

I speak up. "The Shishi-gami healed this man's wounds. We must send him back unscathed!"

Now the boars rage at my speech. "The Shishi-gami saved him? The Shishi-gami healed his wounds?" they squeal furiously. "Why did he not save Nago? Is he not the guardian of the forest?"

"The Shishi-gami gives life, and takes it away," my mother replies. "Have you boars forgotten even that?"

"No!" The boars scream in return. "You begged the Shishi-gami for him! You did not beg for Nago!"

"He feared death. I, like him, carry within me a poisoned human stone. Nago fled, but I remain, contemplating my death." Moro is tranquil, but I turn to her, startled.

"Moro, go to the Shishi-gami!" I urge her.

"I have lived long enough, San," Moro says to me. "The Shishi-gami will take my life."

"No, Mother! You've protected the Shishi-gami!" I set my fists, sad and angry at the same time.

The boars interrupt. "We are not fooled! Nago was beautiful and strong. He would not run! You wolves ate him!"

"Silence!" I demand. "You slander my mother!"

A voice comes from my side. Ashitaka is speaking.

"Listen to me, wild gods of the forest," he says weakly. "It was I who killed Nago. He had become a Tatari-gami, and attacked our village. A huge boar. This is my proof."

He loosens his sleeves and holds up his hand. I gasp quietly.

An ugly dark purple scar runs down his palm. It is a twisted shape, and I know that it is what caused the phantom demon snakes last night at the Tatara Ba.

"I came to this land to ask the Shishi-gami to lift this curse," he continues. "He healed my wound, but this scar remains. I must suffer until the curse destroys me."

A great white boar approaches us. He has four magnificent tusks, hooves like giant pillars, and is a good deal larger than all the other boars. Moro says, "Okkoto-nushi! At last, someone who will listen."

Okkoto-nushi walks to Ashitaka, and starts sniffing him. A terrible image runs through my head of the human being devoured by a boar god.

I rush to him. "Okkoto-nushi, wait! You mustn't eat him!"

The boar raises his head to me. "You are Moro's daughter. I've heard of you." His snout contracts as he takes in a whiff of me.

"Your eyes…" His eyes are pale blue, and milky. Okkoto-nushi is blind.

He tells me, "Stand back. I will not eat him."

"Wolf princess," Ashitaka says. "Do not fear. I tell of Nago's end."

He lifts his scarred hand, and Okkoto-nushi inhales with a windy, hollow sound from his snout.

The rest of the boar lords are watching silently, as Moro, my brothers, and I do the same.

Ashitaka puts down his hand. Okkoto-nushi murmurs softly, "Thank you, young one. It grieves us that a demon has come from our tribe." The tension is lifted, and the smaller boars make depressed noises.

"Okkoto-nushi, do you know how I may lift the curse?" the human asks.

"Leave this forest." the boar instructs him. "Next time we meet, I will have to kill you."

"You cannot win against the guns of the humans," Moro insists.

"Look on my tribe, Moro. We grow small, and we grow stupid. To end like this, we will become game for the humans to hunt for meat."

"To risk everything on a final battle is to play into the humans' hands!"

"I do not ask for the wolves' help," Okkoto-nushi replies stiffly. "Should we die to the very last, we will leave the humans in awe."

With those words, the giant boar god turns and leaves. The other boars follow, disappearing into the trees, their noise diminishing until there is nothing but the peaceful cicadas once more.

I cast my gaze to the center of the lake. Streams of sunlight file through the canopy, and I see the Shishi-gami poised gracefully on the water. He looks at me for a moment, then trots off, leaving ripples of water in his wake.