In Gensokyo, seeing humans or other creatures soar through the air is not uncommon. Reimu and Marisa were humans that seemed to have learned the knack of it, but numerous other creatures including Aya and Keine seemed to manage it as well. That said, it didn't seem to come naturally -other than Keine, no one we knew of in the village could fly. I had never seen Kotohime fly, but Keine had mentioned before that she was a capable combatant against youkai and as far as I could see the ability to fly and the ability to oppose youkai were practically synonymous.

Renko had attempted to gain an understanding of the principles of flight employed by various people we knew, but had quickly given up after finding that not only did the explanations offered by everyone we talked to make no sense from her perspective as a student of Hyper-Unified Physics, but that the explanations varied wildly from one individual to another depending on the nature of their unique abilities. Marisa, for example, talked of flying being the product of a spell placed on her broom, and found flying without a broom slow and difficult. In Keine's case, flight was something that had come naturally to her after becoming a were-hakutaku. There was no thought or process to it other than willing herself into the air. It did become easier closer to the full moon though. She described the feeling of flying as being identical to jumping and just not coming down -one could twist one's body in the air or change direction by pushing off from against something, the only difference was that one could jump off of or away from anything, even empty air by simply willing it to be so. From there speed could be achieved by simply concentrating one's power in the direction opposite the direction of flight, which was something that was easy to say, but impossible to understand. What did it mean to 'concentrate one's power' in a given direction, and what form did that power take when the resulting flight appeared, in all the ways Renko could find a way to measure, to expend no thrust or release any detectable form of energy?

Although we hadn't been able to ask them, presumably Ran and Alice flew in much the same way. The only hint Renko had uncovered that might explain how any of it worked was two observations she had coaxed out of Marisa. The first was that hovering in place was more difficult and energy intensive than flying forward or even straight up, which seemed counter-intuitive. This was why Marisa preferred to orbit or dismount when talking to someone stationary rather than just stay in one fixed position. Marisa's second observation was that whatever the secret of flight was for people employing sorcery like herself and most youkai we had met, the way Reimu flew was different. She hadn't been able to explain how, but was adamant that the method Reimu used to fly was wholly unlike her own. To hear Marisa tell it, Reimu's flight was effortless, graceful and as unconscious as breathing, coming to her naturally in a way the witch sometimes found infuriating.

-.-.-.-.-

Now why would I bother mentioning any of this, you may ask? It is certainly not my intent to turn this record into a scientific investigation of the mechanics of the impossible. That sort of madcap employment of specious reasoning and wildly unfounded theorizing is something I'd rather leave to the good Dr. Latency. I bring up this discussion here only because it was immediately clear to us, as we both hurtled through the crisp autumn air toward Youkai Mountain, that Sanae's method or flight was once again clearly different than any other we had experienced. Travelling with Sanae was something akin to sailing: we were very noticeably being propelled by a strong tailwind, albeit not one that seemed strong enough to bodily hurl a human into the air on its own. I suppose 'sailing' was a poor metaphor though, as a sailboat travels only at the whim of the wind and Sanae's flight seemed to work on entirely the opposite principle: when she turned, the wind turned to align with her.

Sanae had introduced herself as 'wind priestess' and she seemed to very much live up to that name. She needed no ritual, nor magic words or the like but simply turned her head and a great rush of wind roared up to follow her aim. I couldn't help but compare her in my mind to fictional characters with similar powers I had read about in the past -heroes and villains in manga who had used their mastery over air to create vacuums around their opponents or twist tornadoes that could level a city out of clear skies. I couldn't imagine how close to those fictional portrayals her power might be, but it seemed undeniable that she was strong.

-.-.-.-.-

"We're nearly there. Hold tight, it may get a little bumpy as I bring us down."

While I had been lost in my head thinking about the physics of flight and old manga, Sanae had flown us nearly a quarter of the way across Gensokyo, a trip that would have taken us half a day on foot assuming we could have even reached such a position. The strong tailwind behind us cut out and was replaced by a swirling updraft from below. Renko and I had to switch our spare hands from holding our hats on our head to holding our skirts down as we slowly descended into a dense and steeply sloped forest. The trees drifted up towards us as Sanae directed us to a bare patch of ground then released our hands as we touched down gently on the slope.

"It's quite steep here, so please be careful," she said as she began walking through the woods. I wondered why she hadn't taken us all the way to the shrine itself, but I could hardly complain after having bypassed nearly the entirety of the ascent. We followed silently behind her through the gloomy chill of the looming trees.

"We must be more than half way up Youkai Mountain at this point," Renko said as we picked out footholds among exposed roots and rocks.

"Yes, close to two thirds of the way. You can see the peak from the shrine." Sanae replied from up ahead.

"Why build a shrine in a place like this? I don't think any humans will be able to make it here to worship."

Sanae let out a small groan. "It's a bit of a concern, I'll admit. That's why I went to the Hakurei shrine today."

If this shrine were so isolated as to be unreachable by humans, it made sense that they would want to have a foothold at another location. The Hakurei shrine was an odd choice though, it was already far enough from the village to see very few visitors, and even if a secondary shrine was needed, it didn't explain why the goddess of this mountain would try to take ownership of another shrine rather than just ask to have a sacred object of theirs enshrined alongside whatever divinities were already present.

What we had heard so far painted Sanae's goddess as a rather scheming individual. The Tengu had been discussing how to deal with her arrival for a month, so she must have had some plan that bothered or confounded them in the works alongside this suspicious effort to take over the Hakurei shrine from its current god. Or perhaps she was merely a greedy goddess always on the lookout to expand her powerbase. Mentally, I reminded myself to be extra vigilant in her presence and ready for anything.

There was no road or even a trail leading up the mountain, but it seems that a small number of trees had been cleared and the slope had been partially flattened for a short distance to make the last leg of the ascent more manageable. As we emerged from the forest we came to a section of slope that rose beneath a clear view of the sky to be surmounted by a large wooden torii gate which stood arching over the path. Sanae hopped jauntily through the gate then turned to us, one hand sweeping behind her and the other extended in welcome. "Welcome to the Moriya shrine! You two have the honor of being our first human visitors."

With that welcome, Renko and I took eachother's hands and passed through the gate, and onto the grounds of the shrine proper. It was a much grander sight than the Hakurei shrine. There was a large, beautifully ornamented and constructed great hall directly before us, hung with an enormous shimenawa braided from countless woven cords. It was by far the largest shimenawa I had even seen, and sagged under its own weight as it hung from the support beams of the main shrine building. Several smaller but still impressive wooden buildings sat elsewhere on the grounds, each one of them larger than the relatively meager Hakurei shrine.

Renko and I stood silent for a moment as we took in the impressive sights. "That shimenawa is huge," I muttered. "Could it be the one from Izumo grand shrine?"

"No," Renko said, as she turned her head to look around. "The knot on this one starts on the right, like at the Suwa Grand Shrine."

"Oh, very good! Not many humans would know the difference," a voice called out. The voice was feminine, older and dignified, but we couldn't see where it had come from.

Sanae, however, turned her head, looking at a fixed point in the empty air beside her. "Lady Kanako!" She exclaimed, jubilantly.

The next moment something impossible happened. To my eyes the space just beside Sanae suddenly and violently distorted, as if a tall oval of reality were turning itself inside out without warning. In less than a second a border, standing between the world of reality and some other existence I couldn't identify appeared, distorted, inverted, tore open then collapsed. Where it had been, a woman now stood. Her appearance was striking, and not only for the dramatic and improbable way in which she had arrived. She was tall and sturdily built, with a look of supreme but amiable confidence on her face. Her clothes were made of simple, rough-hewn cloth but ornamented with a brilliant circular mirror that hung on her chest and a large hoop of braided shimenawa rope somehow affixed to and standing erectly behind her back.

Although looking at us as we stared in surprise, she spoke first to Sanae. "Before worshippers you are to address me as 'Lady Yasaka', Sanae.

"Ah, sorry" the priestess said, bowing her head.

The woman gave her an affectionate poke on the forehead, then turned her head back to us, regarding us with a fearless smile.

"It's been a long time since I appeared before human visitors in a physical body. Getting to breathe the air again is one of the many joys of this new world," she said, inhaling deeply. "You two are the first human visitors to behold me in an age. What are your names?"

"Renko Usami. Pleased to meet you," Renko said with a quick bow.

I was never sure of the proper etiquette when meeting someone new for the first time. Was a bow proper? A handshake? I had never met a god before, but somehow it seemed like there should be some appropriate level of ceremony. "I'm Maeribel Hearn..." I managed. "You can call me Merry if you like."

"Renko and Merry. Let me officially welcome you to Moriya shrine. I am Kanako Yasaka, the patron deity of this shrine."

Meeting a goddess in person was a new experience for us, but nothing outside the realm of what we might have expected to see in Gensokyo. The name Yasaka definitely brought to mind places we knew of though. Yasaka Shrine was not far outside of Kyoto, and Renko and I had been there on more than one occasion. That shrine existed in the Outside world, however, and looked nothing like this one. Moreover, it was dedicated to Susano-o and Kushinadahime as well as their children, none of whom I saw representations of here.

"I see. I suppose that would make you the deity known as Yasakatome in the Outside world?" Renko asked with a grin.

Kanako opened her eyes wide and then laughed pleasantly. "So you are from the Outside world too then. Tell me, were you born in the Suwa region?"

"No, no, but I spent several years in Kyoto."

"I see. I suppose I should have expected there would be a few people here who might be familiar with the Suwa Grand Shrine. Even in Suwa though, few humans know of me any more. At any rate, you are both most welcome to come to this shrine and pay your respects. Sanae, please show them around."

Saying that, she instantly vanished from the spot. There was no great distortion or undoing of the inversions that accompanied her arrival this time. She was simply there one moment and gone the next. I wondered if the woman we had seen before us might have been some sort of illusion. If so, she was different than anything we had seen before, as she neither dissipated into something else as Suika had been known to, or concealed herself behind any sort of displacement my eyes could detect as Reisen often did.

"Oh wow," Sanae cooed in awe. "You guys are really lucky, it's rare that she comes out to see worshippers. OK, I'll give you guys the grand tour then!" With a determined expression she whirled around and began marching off, her boots crunching on the gravel. Renko and I looked at eachother then hurriedly followed her.

Taking Renko's hand, I held her back just enough that we could whisper without being heard. "Renko, who was that goddess you mentioned, Yasakatome?"

"She was one of the gods worshipped at the Suwa Grand Shrine, the wife of the god Takeminakata. Not too much is known about her specifically, but the shrine was dedicated to the both of them. If she's here though..."

"Then would that mean the entire Suwa Grand Shrine had come to Gensokyo?" I asked, finishing Renko's question. The shimenawa, the name Yasaka and the mention of the Suwa region all seemed to suggest that this Moriya shrine we were now exploring might be the illusionary counterpart to the Suwa Grand Shrine outside of Kyoto. There was just one problem with that.

The Suwa Grand Shrine still existed outside Kyoto in the 2080's where Renko and I had come from. It was a popular tourist destination during the Onbashira festival held every six years. Both of us had even been there.