CHAPTER THIRTY-TEW

Deep in the Ruins

The crumbling buildings were wreathed in mist, making it difficult to see. I padded forward silently, looking around the moss-covered ruins. Long ago it must have been grand and well-kept, but even now, the old walls had crumbled into pieces. Still, there was a gentle peace that swept through the ancient shrine, and a feeling of graced awe flowed through me. These ruins were not at all like the Tsuta Ruins, a faint, but strong power welled around the area. "Dragon." I whispered aloud.

"What did exactly Otohime say again, about the other dragons coming here?" Hiraku asked. "She didn't give a specific day." I replied, my eyes still scanning the crumbling stone walls in curiosity. "She just said that the Ryo Court was gathering, here." Jimmu's face grew suddenly nervous. "Oh, I sent an envoy to my mother to tell of the monster and ask for assistance. I must find another emissary to tell her I'm alright before the first oarfish reaches her. Tell the others I will return shortly!" He bowed to us and then receded back into the water. As the pond's surface rippled, I turned back around to face the ruins. The large pool that lead to the Dragon Cave laid in the north-west side of it, and as I padded forward under a great arch towards the center of the ruins, I saw a giant open meadow with large stone tablets lying along the outskirts. I walked closer to one of them, on the far side of the tablet were ancient symbols, text with instructions for a ceremony. I saw the carving of a bird, a tiger, a turtle, and a dragon grouped together, forming a shield for a city that looked like Sei-an...

Something moved in the mist, and I saw a giant snake's tail slide out of sight. "Hello?" I called out into the fog. "Are you a dragon?" Hiraku followed up. "You can come out, we're here with the blessing of Otohime." A woman appeared from behind one of the crumbling walls, tracing a finger over the stone. Her messy dark hair parted over her bare chest, covering the risqué parts, her lower half obscured by the remaining ruins. "The blessing of Otohime..." She hissed. "But not MY blessing." She moved out from behind the wall, and we could see that instead of legs, her body tapered into that of a giant snake's. Her eyes glowed red, and she hissed at us, two headless stone guardians landing on either side of the demon. "Oh, I know this one! It's a kiyohime." Hiraku whispered to me. "Well done. Do you know how to fight one though?" I whispered back, and he shrugged. "Very helpful." I said, whipping my rosary around the field to force the monsters to keep their distance. "That wasn't a part of the deal, Akime." He retorted, which was true. "But I think I heard that their tails are their best weapon, and you should beware getting wrapped in it."

"I knew there was a reason I keep you around!" I exclaimed light-heartedly, and caught one of the guardians' weapons wrapped in my rosary, managing to whip it away from them.

The fight was quick and furious. As Hiraku said, the kiyohime tried to trap me with her tail a number of times. One time I dodged it by cutting behind one of the stone guardians so that the kiyohime's tail instead wrapped around it, and proceeded to choke some of the life out of the animated statue. Her powerful embrace cracking some of its body and she breathed fire upon it so that its golden weapon melted before she realized her mistake. The guardians were fairly easy to take down, once they were near defeat, I drew a cherry bomb beneath their collapsing forms, causing an explosion that rained down yen and demon fangs. The kiyohime took a bit more time and effort, but the snake-woman at last collapsed and erupted into a bouquet of flowers. Then, as the fighting ring disappeared, a great shrine appeared from where the monsters had vanished, clearly suppressed by the demons' energies. The stone had seven different circles carved into it, almost resembling a giant snowflake with three branches leading in one direction, and the other half leading in the opposite, with one orb in the middle. Just to the far side of the stones was a giant, burned-out, lantern- like those scattered throughout Sei-an's commoner's quarters. I paced around the stone structure, glancing over the carvings embossing the sides, with stylized fireballs and long, dragon-like figures weaving through the flames. I hopped up stairs on the far side and looked into the wide, empty basin, drawing an infinity loop with my tail. The dried wood in the basin of the lantern blazed to life, lively flames reaching several feet into the air. I heard a rumble, feeling it down to my paws. Then a massive form appeared out of the flames, erupting into the sky, thin, lengthy body seeming to have no end. I tumbled backwards off the stars in shock, Hiraku too, just as a tail at last appeared from out of the great fire. The giant figure circled around in the sky to stare back at the ground, announcing for all to hear: "I am Zennyo, the dragon of fire, leader of the Ryo Court."

The great dragon and I stared at each other, I was captivated by his dark, shimmering eyes. Zennyo must have been well over fifty feet long, with his tubular body in long coils. His back was covered in gray scales, but his stomach was white and he had orange-red flame markings licking up his sides, like a great asagi koi. He had a thin beard, and mane that spread along his back in a dorsal line into a tuft on his tail that all looked like it was made of smoke. The ends of his long mustache were lit on fire. "Who are you, and what is your business in this sacred place?" He bent his enormous head down, examining us with a giant black eye. "My name is Akimeterasu, I am here upon invitation of Queen Otohime." I spoke in the language of gods.

"A god, hmm?" The dragon spoke in his deep tone, not moving his mouth, and not losing my gaze as he stretched his neck high. "Yes, I am." I replied, sitting down. "Hmmph… A little small for a god." The fire dragon huffed, reminding me slightly of Daiko with his attitude. "Come, little god, the earth-keeper needs awakening." The dragon grumbled. He began to move along the ground towards a few trees on the outside of the forest. His body had graceful rises and falls along his spine as it stretched out behind him, hovering in the air. There was not enough open ground to yet set his entire body down. His claws were large and white like his belly, and they looked strong enough to pierce stone. I trotted to keep up with his long gait. "Zennyo, who -or what- is the earth-keeper?" I asked, arching my head up to look at him. "You will soon see." The dragon spoke, and stopped before a mangrove tree, a bush and a skinny birch. He padded closer, and then took a deep breath, he blew a small but strong gust of smoke over the trees, and took a step back. For a moment, nothing happened, and we sat in silence. Then the trees shook at the roots, and the ground cracked. My fur stood up in alarm, but the fire dragon stood unnerved next to me. The whole patch of ground separated itself from the earth and stood up. A large dirt-crusted rock lifted itself from a tendril connected to the earth, and opened bright green eyes. I blinked and shook my head, realizing the tendril was a neck, and the rock was a head! This was another dragon. The brown dragon shook itself, and I heard its body creak, then, with the excess dirt off of it, I got a good look at him.

This elderly dragon, now I could see his face, had a cow, or perhaps more of a goat-shaped face, with a long beard and mustache, four stumpy legs and a far wider and shorter body than Zennyo. On his turtle-shaped back were the three flora. He had a long, drooping tail and large backward-facing horns on his head. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh air, and blinked his eyes slowly. "Ah…Zennyo… How long has it been, my brother? The last time I saw you, was the last court gathering… When you were ready to take over your father's place." He said in a low, raspy voice, not moving his mouth just like the gray dragon. "Koke o shūshū shi kare, it is an honor to see you again." Zennyo said, dipping his head to the elder dragon. "Huh?" Hiraku and I made the same noise at the same time.

"That is my full name, young ones." The dragon creaked, bending his head to be at eye level with me. "But, if it pleases you… You may simply call me… Moss." He smiled at us.

The pool bubbled and burbled behind us, and Jimmu's head appeared above the waves once more. "Ah, at long last..." Zennyo floated back towards the entrance to the ruins, spiraling lengths of body pushing him through the air like water. "Otohime and Wada's successor, the water dragon prince." Zennyo gazed down at the young dragon, a look of growing disappointment on his face, the same as when he'd seen me. "I must admit, the next generation thus far leaves me greatly underwhelmed."

"Let the prince breathe, Zennyo... He has time to grow into his role. There is more that matters... Than size." Moss chided.

Unable to help himself, Hiraku whispered to me while the dragons were distracted: "You know, I may be small, but you know what's huge? My-"

"What was that deal we made back when we first met in Kamiki, Hiraku?" I interrupted dryly.

"HEART, Akime. I was gonna say my HEART is huge."

"Suree." I rolled my eyes.

"I swear to do all in my power to live up to the court's expectations, to use my powers to protect Nippon from evil." Jimmu said, looking shaken but not backing down from Zennyo's snubs. "I will not hear you speak ill of myself or Akimeterasu. We have gone through great lengths to get here, and together vanquished a demon of the deep sea." Zennyo seemed to pay him little mind, but made no further disparaging comments. "Returning to the topic of our guest..." Zennyo's attention turned again towards me. "Why ARE you here?" He cast a demanding, fiery gaze upon me. I could tell he was trying to intimidate me, so I stood straight and tall.

"I have traveled to the coast with the Canine Warriors of the Satomi House to retrieve something that was stolen from their home and cleanse the coast of the evil brewing off the shore. The court and the warriors share a common goal- to rid Nippon of evil. We seek to storm the fortress that has been erected not far from here, however the way has become impassable, so I am here to ask the Ryo Court for help in this task."

"I have seen the fortress of which you speak. Demons have indeed become active as of late, and the darkness oppressing the coast has taken to such deplorable actions as even destroying the stars themselves. The power of the court may be enough restore the constellation of an ocean god that used to reside above the ruins…" Although I had a feeling that the dragons could ferry us across the sea themselves, the idea of restoring a constellation and unlocking another brush god was too good to pass up. "How do we do it?"

"This can only be done by using the full power of the court, and performing a restorative ceremony. However, given the current circumstances, it cannot be done."
"What? Why?" I asked, confused, and Zennyo serenely floated over my head, beginning a legend: "Once, when the world was new, the dragons first appeared in our world. Molded by the gods, the first dragon descended down from heaven. Eldest of the dragon races were the mighty water dragons, next ice and earth, then air and lightning, and then lastly fire. You see, long ago, there were more than the few elemental dragons today. There used to be dragons of ice, lightning, and air. All connected by the divine river of the heavens." Zennyo said, waving his long neck back and forth to look at a carving on one of the ruin's walls. I gazed at the wall and saw a slender dragon with a wispy mane and tail that weaved around a cloud-like background, dancing in and out of the clouds, seemingly creating them. To the right was another dragon, except, this one was was roaring and surrounded by ice, and carved more smoothly than the rest, like it was actually made of ice itself. There was also a dragon with jagged forked horns and a long thin body, crackling electricity radiating around its form. "But since ancient times, many of the dragons have since disappeared through the ages. Air, ice, lighting, and celestial, all gone. Now, there are only three." Below all the other carvings, was the most delicately carved of them all. A long, graceful dragon curled around the world, specks of chipped spots in the rock showed stars in the dragon's hide. It had long slender horns, and a flowing mane. "Yes, the dragon of the heavens." Zennyo murmured from behind me. "The most captivating, and most powerful of all. Or, at least it used to be. The celestial dragon came down from the heavens on a column of light, the very first of the dragons. He was the guardian of the heavens, keeper of peace. He controlled the seasons and the fortune of the people. The dragon of the heavens and its descendants disappeared long ago, not long after, the lightning, air, and ice dragons vanished. There hasn't been a meeting of the court with all the elemental dragons in a thousand years."

"Still now, our power dwindles." Moss groaned. "Zennyo and I are... not only... the dragons of fire and earth." The great dragon sighed, trees moaning. "It seems... We are the last." He creaked. My ears flattened in sadness and pity. "Why are you telling us this?" I asked.

"Because this is vital information, although the court still has power with our few members, we cannot help you with what you seek without a fourth dragon. Three dragons and their elements alone are not enough to revive a god. The ceremony can be completed with only four dragons, if one of them were a celestial dragon. Thus, we need a fourth dragon, or at least a vessel. But the dragon of the heavens disappeared without a heir long ago."

"Do not be so hasty Zennyo… There may be a way…" Moss suddenly spoke from behind me. "You, little goddess… Should have the celestial power required… For this ceremony." He slowly breathed. "Not yet." Zennyo broke in. "She can't possibly hold the power of a full dragon, even if she is the daughter of Amaterasu. If she were even to be considered in the eyes of the court as a replacement, we need to obtain the necessary dragon energy. To do this, she would need to journey to the very source of the Golden River-" He swung his giant head in an arch to turn around to look at the other dragons. "She must go to the Golden Spring."

The other dragons gasped, Jimmu splashed water fretfully from the spring. "No creature… Has scaled the cliffs to the Golden Spring in a thousand years!… It's impossible!" Moss spoke. "But it has been done." The gray dragon spoke. "If this wolf is truly worthy, she will be able to climb the cliffs of the Golden Valley, where she will bathe in the Golden River at its source, and be empowered with the godly energy of the celestial dragon! If we are to summon a god, this is a journey these two must make; it is the only way to gain the celestial dragon energy needed for the ritual." He lashed his lengthy tail. "The journey will not be easy, Akimeterasu, not even for a god. Few have ever lived through the trials to reach the peak, and even fewer retained their sanity after." His eyes glinted with steely light, like he was remembering an unpleasant memory. "If she is truly worthy, she will complete this task by the next moon cycle, when the time is right to preform the ceremony." With that, he turned around and walked back to the great stone wall, his long gray coils looking like moving, fire-streaked ruins.

The next step in our journey was clear, I had to go to the Golden Spring. I turned to head back towards the pool, but was hailed by the mighty earth dragon. "Wait… Young ones… I have some advice for you." I paused, and Moss took a deep breath to continue. "The tree that grows the fastest gets to sunlight first… But the one that grows slower grows with a strong base… Is unlikely to be blown over in strong wind. The tree that is both fast and strong… Wins above all."

"So… Go fast but don't make mistakes? Go slow but don't be overtaken?" I said, tilting my head. He nodded. "Travel quickly, but take notice of all you see… It may come in handy later." I nodded in return respectfully, then turned to face the pool again. "And let those words of advice guide you in all your adventures… Not just this one…" He called after us. I was happy that Moss seemed to have faith in us at least. Regardless of what Zennyo thought, I had succeeded in all my trials thus far, and was sure I could complete this one as well.

(AN: You may have noticed I added a new cover to the fic! I figured I should maybe update it since my art has improved a bit in the past 5-6 years, haha. It's cropped all weird though, and I'm not sure how to fix it. :/

Unfortunately, the next chapter might take a while. I'm hoping since I'm going to be stuck inside quite a bit I'll be able to work more on TDO and my original projects. In the meantime, if any of you have any questions, comments, or anything you'd like to share about the story so far, feel free to share away!)