The sunlight shines on this land.
It ushers in the morning, pushing away the night.
Sunlight streams through the gaps in the trees of this forest.
This forest is vast, spanning thousands of hectares. The naked eye cannot see the end of this forest.
We find a person asleep on one of the trees in this vast forest.
There is no movement except for the rise and fall of their chest.
Sigh, gasp, sigh, gasp,
The sound of calm breathing echoes in the quiet forest.
"Enghh....Hoam....."
The person slowly wakes up and stretches.
Their sleepy eyes scan the surroundings, and no thoughts form yet.
They slowly look around and realize they are amidst a thicket of trees.
They stand up and brush off the dirt clinging to their clothes.
While cleaning themselves, they notice their attire. A black veil covers their head, with a white hood underneath. A black robe clings to their body, the typical outfit of a nun. They also wear white gloves on both hands.
Apart from the dirt from sleeping on the forest floor, they are spotless.
'A nun's habit?' she mutters. 'Whose body is this, and where am I?'
She continued to look around and noticed footprints a few meters away.
Approaching the footprints, she sees strange tracks. A. humans can't leave such tracks.
It resembles hoofprints but with six toes.
'I must be careful,' she thinks. Suddenly, they become distracted, their thoughts scattered.
She suddenly remembered that moss points toward civilization, so she started looking for moss-covered stones.
Moss grows near civilization and leads to where intelligent life is.
'This is a forest, why aren't there any mossy stones?' she think irritably.
After searching for some time, she finds a mossy stone. The moss points in a certain direction, so she follows it without a doubt.
They keep walking, walking, walking, walking, walking, walking, walking, walking, walking, continuously. Walking non-stop following the revelation of moss.
Her footsteps cease to exist because of what's in front of her.
She reaches a not-too-wide river, fifty meters across. The river's current is gentle, as soft as the breeze of the season.
She stops for a moment to recover energy after walking for an unknown length of time. She squats down and scoops the river water with her hands.
"Ah..... this water is refreshing, my thirst is quenched," she says as her exhaustion fades.
After drinking, she sits and ponders her next destination.
'My path is blocked by this river. The moss guidance is no longer useful. What should I do?'
As her thoughts question what she will do next, she quickly begins to fall asleep on the riverbed.
Darkness appears in her vision. Indescribable beings fade in and out of her surroundings.
A huge shape appears suddenly in the distance, quickly closing in with unknown intentions.
At a certain distance, she sees what it is. A huge mouth full of razor-sharp teeth, promising a painful ending.
When the mouth is in front of her face, everything turns white.
In the distance, a shadow moves quickly from the riverbank downstream. The shadow rushes toward Imelda rapidly.
"GRAAAR"
A sound like thunder roars very close. Imelda's body stiffens, trying to figure out what made the sound. She tries to evade, but a large claw is already in front of her.
There is nothing she can do. She can only wait for death.
Whoosh,
An arrow shoots from the opposite direction of the creature and strikes its skin. The arrow doesn't penetrate, just grazes it.
A face of unwillingness appears on its face.
Thump-thump,
The tiger runs away frantically in the direction it came from.
'Am I okay?'
Imelda opens her eyes and sees the tiger running away. The creature was a tiger.
She looks around and something catches her eye.
Someone is running toward her.
They are wearing a white kimono. Wide hakama pants cover their legs, allowing quick and agile movements. A bright red obi wraps tightly around their waist.
In their right hand, they hold a bow, and a quiver of arrows is strapped securely to their back.
They are not human.
Triangular ears stand erect atop their head. A tail sways behind them as they run toward her.
"Are you alright?" the tailed person asks, concern evident in their voice.
"I'm fine," she replies, staring at the unusual ears and tail.
They notice her gaze, and their face becomes wary. Then they ask her,
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Their tone turns interrogative, unlike before.
It seems what she said touched a sore spot in her benefactor.
'Is it because of my movement earlier?' A guilt arose in her heart.
"My name is Imelda. I'm just following nature's guidance. I'm lost. Could you help me?"
Her answer seems to ease their wariness, their face now less tense.
"I'm Miko, Kageyama Miko. If you want, you can come with me back to the village. Maybe the village head can answer your questions."
"Alright. I'll follow you to your village."
Imelda and Kageyama Miko walk upstream to Miko's village.
Throughout the journey, only silence stood between them.
Not one word is exchanged between them. An awkward atmosphere persists until they arrive in the village.
Near the village, a road appears leading to a path to the tall bridge that crosses the river.
Imelda follows Kageyama Miko into the village.
At the gate, two humanoid dogs in armor stop their advance.
"Who is the one with you, Lady Miko?" asks one of the dogs.
"It's not one of your concerns," she says as she continues to lead Imelda further inside the village.
The two guard dogs appear confused, but they quickly reposition themselves as if nothing happened at all earlier.
As they walk, Imelda observes the village.
The village is neither big nor small but teeming with life.
A plethora of people walk around the village, working at the farm, tending their shops, or just walking around.
Many small children can also be seen in what looks like a town square.
The village is surrounded by a wooden wall that is at least three trees wide.
Wide roads connect the village square to the gate near the river where the road path is visible and to the gate that leads to the mountain in the distance.
As she walks through the village, many pairs of eyes fall on her. Wariness and doubt cross their faces.
It is strange for a human to be walking alongside a non-human.
After a considerable distance from the village gate, they arrive at the village square.
In the center of the square stands a huge banyan tree. The crown of the tree is thick and full of leaves. Many vines adorn the crown like jewels.
Beside the square is the village chief's house.
They walk to the house and enter through its front door.
Inside, a male cat-eared person sits like Miko. As he sees them, especially Miko, he smiles and says,
"Welcome home, Miko. Do you want tea?"
"I'm home. Yes, I'd love to, with honey, please. One more for this person."
As the male cat-eared person prepares tea for Miko and her new acquaintance, he asks the person beside Miko,
"Who are you? Where did you get to know Miko?"
"You may call me Imelda. She saved my life from a beast in the forest. If she hadn't arrived, I don't know if I would still be alive," replies Imelda.
Relieved, he exhales and says to her, "It's a good thing you were not harmed. Many creatures in this forest are dangerous."
He then asks Miko about the beast that attacked her. Miko explains that the beast looks like a bear. Three pairs of legs support its huge figure. Sharp claws adorn its paws. Iron fur shields its body from harm.
When he hears the description, a name forms in his mind: Hyrylmaw.
"Praise the Goddess," he devoutly praises with a fanatical smile on his face.
Miko explains that the village chief has been bestowed a boon by the Goddess of this nation, Amaterasu no Omikami. He can receive a revelation after coming in contact with a description or certain information.
'A boon, huh..'
The village chief, after his praises, turns to her and smiles with open arms.
"My name is Kageyama Miko. Welcome to Sanson no Shiro, Imelda. We welcome you."