Kemuri

The story of a Tengu, a Dragon, and a dark creature.

The last of the sun’s light stretched across the expanse of the forested mountain as it began to dip beyond the horizon�"its golden fingers brushing against the green of the leaves, and the grey of the mountain side.  Atop the mountain, perched in the high branches of a warped tree�"was the solitary Tengu. Clear eyes as green as the leaves that hid him from the untrained eye, surveyed the rolling hills and the setting sun. With the breath of mountain air rustling through the halo of grey feathers, the Tengu exhaled slowly. He reached upwards and ran his clawed fingers over the crude, ebony mask resting atop his face, thinking to himself. The beginnings of a perfect evening. With thin lips, he smiled contentedly.

    The gnarled branches around him rippled in the cool breeze�"now tangling the grey halo with his feathery silver hair�"a mane of wild frost and ash. With the breeze came an array of scents; damp earth, sweet grass, berried bush, and wild flower. The Tengu plied the mask from his face, to better feel its brisk caress against his grey speckled flesh and leaned from the branch�"catching each soft shiver of the shifting wind in his claws. He closed his eyes and exhaled.

    As the Tengu dug his talons further into the thick branch�"an abrupt roar pierced the calm. The Tengu startled and lost his grip, teetering back and forth before promptly falling in a flurry of feathers. Midair he rolled and caught hold of a lower branch with one of his claws and pulled his shaking form upright. His chest heaved, as his head wildly jerked from side to side, searching the sky. He saw…nothing. But, that can’t be right. A loud crack rang through the night air. Within moments, a second roar sounded�"a deafening cry that rung sharply in his ears. This time, the roar clearly came from behind, accompanied by the sound of tree branches snapping, splintering.  He turned in time to see a massive wriggling mass�"heading straight for his tree. Time slowed, as he realized what it was�"a silver, horned serpent. Ryu. Dragon!

    The Tengu leapt from the branches with a loud cawing shriek, moments before the colossal serpent barreled through. His tree snapped and fractured, bursting into an array of thick and thin slivers, before the wriggling mass came to a stop, chunks of grassy earth, and hard rock showering the ground. Just beyond where the Tengu’s tree sat, in the side of the craggy mountain, now lay an immense crater. A low thunderous, rumble came from its center.

    Gasp. The Tengu regained consciousness face down in the earth. Covered in fragments of the downed tree, leaves, and dirt, he began to stir, willing his limbs to move. The moment he opened his eyes, his already frantic heartbeat went into overdrive. An inch beyond where he had fallen from the tree, was the edge of the overlook on the mountain�"a drop that would have left him mangled and dead on the forest floor below. He grit his teeth. Still dazed, ears ringing, he dug his talons into the ground, as an anchor, and pushed himself onto his knees. A dull painful throb welled in his shoulders, and his forehead where he felt a small stream of blood dripping down his cheek. The Tengu had escaped serious damage. By some insane luck. The initial shock of the fall began to fade, and his thoughts returned to his beloved tree.

    He rose to his shaking legs, and took a few steps away from the ledge before turning around. What a mess!  The doddering beast had obliterated his tree�"although it wasn’t the only one. The line of destruction of mangled tree branches, and downed trees had been wrought far as the Tengu’s eyes could see. Turning from the line of destruction, past the broken stump that was once his favorite perch, and to the crater in the mountain side, the Tengu glared. Dragons weren’t necessarily the most graceful of creatures, even if they professed as such. But, the gravity of this blunder was beyond any he had seen any Dragon commit before. It made his feathers stand to attention, a long-exasperated hiss escaped past his darkened teeth. Why my mountainside!? Enraged, he determined that he was going to knock whatever was left of the dragon, into kingdom come. Rubble still shifted from the massive crash, and dust hung in the air. He cracked his knuckles, and despite his sore muscles, hastened to the mouth of the hole.

    As he grew close to the crater, he was sure the dragon was seriously injured, by the strong smell of coppery blood that filled his nostrils. But was it dead?  His anger began to morph into curiosity. What creature could take down a dragon so effectively?  His curiosity turned to fascination and longing, as he climbed the outer ring of the crater. Anyone who could knock sense into a dragon, was well worth knowing.Reaching the edge of the crater, the Tengu peered inwards. Inky darkness met his gaze, that seemed to drop into the very heart of the mountain. He was having second thoughts about investigating any further, and took a deep breath, his talons kneading the ledge.  In shifting, he knocked stones from the edge of the crater. A low growl caused the mountain to tremble. Bright yellow orbs peered back at the Tengu. S**t. Not dead.

    The Tengu had little time to scramble from the mouth of the crater, before the dragon surged from its center�"nearly skinning the tip of his hooked nose. He was certain, the dragon was out for him�"but as sudden as the dragon had leapt into the air, it fell�"landing unceremoniously on what was left of the tree stump, and mangled trees. The downed dragon, growled pitifully, as blood welled from its crooked maw. The Tengu, gulped still not trusting the seemingly weakened state of the serpent, and cautiously padded around the fallen serpent. From what he saw, the silver serpent’s body lay upon the ground like tangled vines, it’s chest slowly rising as it struggled to breathe. It was likely because of the long lacerations that covered its scaled hide, scales once shimmering now scuffed and cracked. The lacerations themselves were long as the Tengu was tall, and wide as his wrists.

     

    It was…almost pitiable. Even though it had ruined his favorite perch. Yellow eyes rolled backwards, before fixing on him. The Tengu’s anger began to subside. The dragon shifted, grunting as more blood gushed from its maw, drawing out his paw from beneath his twisted body. The Tengu leapt back, surprised by the sudden movement, falling back after tripping on an upended branch. The serpent extended its paw, which was clasped tightly around something. It slowly opened, exposing an egg the size of a smoothed river stone. His eyes opened wide, as he watched the plain stone morph into a translucent thing, it’s insides surged like the glittering sea, casting the air around it a vivid azure.

    The soft, tremulous voice of a woman murmured in the Tengu’s ears.

     Onegai, please. Keep it safe. Kemuri.

    Kemuri blinked slowly, and opened his lips in confusion. How did the beast know his name, when it had been so long that he had nearly forgotten it himself? And the egg. It was clear the beast had fought tooth and nail to keep this in its possession. To near death…And it was offering it to him.

     He crawled to his knees, and stood slowly before reaching out to grasp the egg. Within moments of his talons touching the egg’s shell, he felt a jolt of cool air from all sides, whipping his feathered hair, and robes, into a frenzy. He squinted his eyes, as the cool air was sharp, watching as the world around him fade. The dragon burst into a flurry of golden ribbons and light before shrinking into a form much smaller. A beautiful woman, bathed in a weak light, and stained robes floated before him, the egg still laying in the palm of her hand. The dragon was a celestial. An immortal. Her features seemed vaguely familiar, like waking from a dream.

    Her smile was pained, still painted with blood, her yellow eyes fixated on Kemuri.

    “I…,” Kemuri croaked, his mouth suddenly dry.

     “I know you, don’t I?”

    The pale immortal nodded, her pained smile grew soft a moment before returning, her brows furrowed.

    “You must go. Take the egg, keep her safe until she can hatch. The demon who has killed me will be upon you soon. He thirsts for her blood.”

    “Killed you? But…”

    The immortal melted away like water at his feet as the world around him began to fade back into view. He stood alone with a pool of azure water before his feet and the imprint of where the dragon’s mangled body had lain. The sky was an inky blue, with the moon watching from above�"dark clouds fringing the pale. In his balled-up hands he held the egg, cool and smooth in his grasp. It was almost peaceful again. Kemuri opened his fist, and watched the lights swirl. What kind of egg would an immortal give its very life, for? Was this…was this egg, her child? A daughter? Who…what are you? It was then that the mountain beneath his feet, shook.

    Kemuri swiveled around in time to see a shadow darker than the night sky swallow the horizon�"the smell of acrid smoke rising from the lines of the treetops, and the pointed mountains. Eyes as fire were searching, long fingers made of what looked like a mass of cursed bats, gripped at the mountain sides, slowly dragging it’s legless form�"an inhuman snout filled with shivering fangs of light, sneered. The beast was easily ten times larger than the immortal in dragon form. The hell! How the immortal had escaped at all, impressed Kemuri, though the feeling was short lived. No time to stand around, I should go before it…An ear-piercing shriek pierced his ears, followed by an earth rocking hiss, one of it’s massive fingers pointing straight at Kemuri.

    “I. Seeee. Yoouu.”

    S**t.

    Kemuri danced between the idea of chucking the egg, and running for his life, or actually keeping the egg safe. He didn’t know the woman. Well, that wasn’t fully right. But, even as he fought to figure out from where, the egg in his hand pulsed�"it was growing warm. The lights dancing in the egg, began to grow in his hands. Kemuri felt led to lay the egg against his bare chest, just above his pounding heart. Time slowed as warm light danced, tinged a ruddy hue within the translucent shell. Bring me to the river. The egg shivered, murmuring softly in his ears. Hurry.

    Kemuri stared out, as the beast drug it’s misshapen form, faster, the ground shaking violently, as it leaped forward, sensing the movement within the egg. Although emotion was hard to read upon the massive face, he sensed desperation coming from the titan.

“Miiinee!” It squealed.

Frightened, and unsure, the Tengu tucked the egg into his robes and turned to run. But where? He stopped. He didn’t have much time. His ledge was in tatters. The drop was too steep to properly glide. He would fall, and break his bones, and smash the egg in the process. He was certain. But, at the same time, he was reassured by the being within the egg. Jump. It called to him. So he did.

Kemuri screamed, his eyes shut tightly. The air whipped around him, his robes in a frenzy, as he plummeted�"stopping just inches away from the tree tops. He opened his eyes, and saw the river as he floated down with a parachute made of amber ribbons of light. For a moment he smiled, forgetting where he was, memories of floating in the air tugged at his consciousness. He landed gently on his feet.

 Keep moving, Kemuri!

Kemuri’s smile faded as blood began to gurgle from the corners of his mouth. He looked down, to see a viscous black tendril piercing through his shoulder�"barely missing his heart. The light of the egg caused a sudden white-out, the tendril shriveling away. Kemuri fell to his knees, in shock, still clutching onto the egg.

Get up!

Kemuri dug deep into his being for the resolve to move his limbs. Slowly, stiff, he stood, and willed himself to weaving run, barely balancing on his own two feet. The sounds around him�"the snapping of trees giving way to the body of the demon, the ground rumbling, of rock tumbling from the mountain side�"faded as he focused on the rushing river. He was almost there, could reach it if he had jumped with all his energy.

A loud, viscous thwack sounded�"as one of the tendrils of the monster made a last effort to grasp Kemuri. He glanced to his shoulder, to see the massive thing digging into blood and bone�"his shoulder hanging from his body in an awkward angle. His brow furrowed, and though he willed himself further he could force his limbs no farther. Kemuri’s knees buckled, as a barrage of tendrils surged from the monster’s arm, embracing his neck, waist and ankle, before tugging sharply back. Kemuri felt the egg quiver, and cry. Kemuri!

 Tears fell from the Tengu’s green eyes. *Plop*

 I remember…

    For a moment the Demon blinked its fiery eyes. He had, had it. He had had the egg. It was his. HIS! But the dying Kemuri,lobbed the egg with the last of his strength. He could feel the Kemuri’s broken form grow stiff and cold within his grasp. But, as the demon threw the corpse, trying to grasp at the submerged egg�"it began to hatch. NO! In spectacular form the egg burst and a cloud of white smoke enveloped the forest and the very mountains�"drowning out the dying shriek of the titan.

    The newly formed immortal burst free of the river and flew to the discarded husk that had been Kemuri. She smiled as the tendrils of her bone-white hair enveloped his body.

Like smoke, Kemuri, you shall fly home.