Dawning Sky Chapter 10

                 Sora no Tenmei (Dawning Sky)
                                Chapter 10
                           Orochi of the Dead

                "'Once, long ago… in a land we now refer to as "Ancient Pterra"… when the light had all but disappeared from this world… There was an Eevee. She was beautiful, with bright blue eyes and sleek fur and an awe-inspiring singing voice that sounded like bells and birds' songs…'"
               "Wait, blue eyes….?" Sora interrupted, startled.
               "Sshh…" Ame nudged her. "Don't interrupt the circle…"
                "Sorry…" Sora mumbled back
                Tsuki continued, unperturbed, "'Her name was Amaterasu-Ō-Mi-Kami…"
           Ama…terasu…?  Wait! That's what that voice said… "Sora… No… Amaterasu…"Does that mean…? No… It can't… Sora thought, worriedly.
                "'Her parents had died in a great fire, caused by the overlord's guards… The overlord's name was Yamata no Orochi, often referred to as Orochi of the Dead because he had killed so many, and it was because of him that the light had disappeared from this world… He evolved from Eevee in horrible circumstances and became the beast he was… A red-furred Eevee with coal black eyes… Where the white part of the eyes should be, it was blood red. He had large, leathery wings about the size of a Heaveneon's… and white horns that extended out from the top of his forehead, no longer than a claw… His blood-stained teeth were needle sharp and he never wasted a moment in showing them off with his wicked, evil smile, betraying the thousands… no… millions he had slaughtered…. His tail ended in the shape of an arrow head…'… kind of like what religious humans would call a devil tail…" Tsuki added, to better describe it's appearance. 'He was evil in every fibre of his being… He was… a Deveon…'"
                Sora gasped. I was right… That Pokemon I saw in my vision was a Deveon… but… then why would it appear to me?! She shivered. Luckily, it went unnoticed by her friends and she snapped out of her trance and listened to the legend once more.
                "'He lived in shadows, surrounded by fire… fire so hot it even scorched a Flareon…'"
Hmm… A Fire- and Dark-type then, I presume…? …Ugh… A Heaveneon is Flying- and Light-type… It would be at a serious disadvantage… Soon, however, Sora became far too enthralled in the legend Tsuki was telling to listen to any more of her own rampant thoughts.
                "'Because of Orochi's cruelty, Amaterasu was forced to abandon her beautiful home in the forest… and her much-loved parents… for an old cave… there, she met an old Espeon who told her he had the ability to foresee the future, mainly in his dreams, and knew of her arrival. He also said he was dying and, though she may try, nothing could save him. Amaterasu was saddened by this and tried anyway, but, just as the old Pokemon had predicted, failed. On his last breath, the old Espeon wheezed out just four weak words, separated between coughs of blood, "Beware… *cough* …those… *cough* who seek… *cough cough cough cough*…" He died before he could finish his sentence and Amaterasu wondered for a while what he was going to say… until she found out, horribly.
                One of her two brothers, triplets, whom she had thought had also died in the fire, was found, tortured to near-death by Orochi. To save him, she gathered all of her courage and snuck into the castle to save her dear brother, Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto. When she reached the dungeons, she was horrified by his appearance.
               "What have they done to you, dear brother…" she murmured softly and sadly as she gently picked at the locks holding the chains binding him. When she had finished, she put her weak brother on her back and carried him to the cave which was her hiding home. She spent all day and night tending to her dying kin, collecting herbs and water and applying them to his wounds, but she knew it was no use. He would never recover.
                As Amaterasu tended to her wounded brother one stormy night, a few Eevees and a Vulpix mysteriously appeared. Unwilling to turn down Pokemon in need, Amaterasu relented and allowed them to stay until the storm subsided.
             "Hello. My name is Ōwatatsumi, although I am known to many as Ryūjin. These are my friends, Omoikane, Ame-no-Uzume and Ame-no-Koyane. The Vulpix you see here is Inari. We seek refuge from the storm… and carry vital information about your brothers… Although I see one has already been found." One had said.
             After being settled, Amaterasu built a fire to help provide some light and warmth and asked quietly, so as not to wake Tsukiyomi, but urgently, "What is it you wanted to tell me…?"
As the Eevee called Omoikane rested his gaze on her, she gasped, noticing his green eyes for the first time.'"
             Amaterasu wasn't the only one to gasp, it seems… All the listeners around the circle gasped in unison upon hearing this, but Ame quickly regained silence.
            "'You- You're eyes… They're…"
            "Yes, I think I know by now what my own eyes look like…. Besides, yours are 'oddly coloured too, I see…" He waved off the question with his tail, while Amaterasu looked guiltily at the floor. She returned her gaze to him as he continued. "But, more importantly… I see Tsukiyomi is here..." Omoikane rested his gaze on Amaterasu's brother upon mentioning his name. "Although…" He brought his gaze back to Amaterasu, then looked down at the floor, sighing and shutting his eyes tight as if holding back tears. His voice reflected this assumption, cracked from held-back sobs. "S-Susanō-no-Mikoto… He's… no more…"
            "What… What do you mean by that…?" Amaterasu stammered, the fear already showing in her blue eyes.
            "He… He died… last moon…"' Cultural note insert for most of you… I doubt you've studied Pterran history… The Ancient Pterrans followed the lunar calendar rather than the solar.
           '"No…. No… He can't be… dead… No… NOOOOOO!!!" Amaterasu screamed. She had thought her brother had died in the fire. She hadn't wanted this. She had to restrain herself from running outside and went silent once more, hoping she hadn't woken Tsukiyomi. Her body shook with sobs and tears ran down her face. "How… How did he die…?" Her feeble voice could hardly be heard over the rain and thunder roaring outside the cave.
           Omoikame looked up at her once more, revealing tear-stained cheeks and eyes raw and red from crying. "It… was my fault…" He looked quickly away again, ashamed, as more tears poured down his face. "He was journeying with us… He wanted to find a Thunder Stone so he could become a Jolteon… but… He was told there was a sheer cliff in the way… He wouldn't let that stop him, though. He left… the night after a vicious storm… like the one now raging outside…He claimed he could sense its power in a cave halfway down the hill.
          I told him to atleast let me watch him to make sure no harm came to him… He made it into the cave, fortunately, but…" The green-eyed Eevee breathed in a few times in an attempt to keep his voice steady. "…but… the rock was loose and slippery… As he emerged from the cave, I was overjoyed to see him achieve his wish of becoming a Jolteon… but the happiness was short-lived. I yelled down some congratulations and in that moment, while he was distracted, he took one wrong step, placing his weight on a loose stone.
         His eyes were wide with surprise as he tumbled down the cliff into the raging torrent below. I called his name a few times, receiving no answer, then sprinted down the cliff via a path through the forest… When I got to the river, it was red with his blood… All that was left of him was this… A single bead of the necklace he was wearing…"
         "The bead from my necklace I gave to him before the fire…" Amaterasu whispered. Omoikane placed the bead in her hand and she slid it back onto its rightful spot on her necklace. There was silence for a while. Amaterasu didn't even hear the storm let up.
         "Well… we should be going…," Ame-no-Uzume stood up. Ōwatatsumi and Inari soon followed, but Omoikane and Ame-no-Koyane decided to stay, saying he at least owed that to the sister of his deceased friend.'
        After they left that cave, more legends unfold… summing them up, Inari evolved into Ninetales, with blue tail-tips, rather than the customary brown. Ame-no-Uzume and Ōwatatsumi joined up with Orochi, Ame-no-Uzume even becoming his mate. Inari, however, was horrified by this. She fought against them in an attempt to change their mind, but was killed by Orochi. Her spirit would not rest, however, and remained in Pterra, even until today. The Vulpix and Ninetales of following generations looked up to her bravery and wisdom and followed her command, delivering messages far and wide, across the land. Finally, Omoikane, now an Espeon, and Amaterasu, now a Heaveneon, fell in love and became mates and Tsukiyomi, now an Umbreon, recovered from his wounds, although he still bore the scars and felt phantom pain. Ame-no-Koyane evolved into a Vaporeon.
         So, now that that's covered, let's skip ahead a few legends and get to the part I really wanted to talk to you about…"