Once upon a time, there was a story. It is long dead among humans but still told by youkai, recounting the tale of a land where worlds collided. In a remote part of Japan, secret but still well-known, lay an easy to dream worlds, Makai, Hell, and even worlds beyond that. Unsurprisingly, the land burgeoned with youkai and creatures of all kinds, often clashing with the few humans clinging to the same territory.
The youkai called the place the Well of Spirits, a paradise and nightmare wrapped up in one.
The only person keeping humans from extinction was their champion, a shrine maiden with mysterious powers living in an old shrine. She guarded the entrance to other worlds and fought the youkai without fear, even as rumours abounded she was more than half youkai herself.
If you tell this legend to a resident of Gensokyo, they will scoff at you. What, are you trying to trick them? The old shrine is the Hakurei shrine, the shrine maiden stomping on the youkai's faces is the Hakurei shrine maiden, and the Well of Spirits is clearly just another name for Gensokyo. Are you trying to be clever? Go fetch them a fresh drink and next time, tell them a proper story.
Only, they would be as wrong as they were right.
The story goes further back in time, far, far back...
The harsh winds of late winter swept across the barren fields and the few people out on such a freezing day. Two such people, a man and a boy, wrapped their warmest clothes closer to their bodies and kept walking down the narrow path, slowly approaching the stone steps ahead.
The man paused abruptly, and looked at the hill ahead of them. Already, the red gate above the steps was clearly visible, the only patch of colour in a grey and dreary world.
He turned his head towards the boy. "Mind your bearing. "You can't stand gawping at everything like that once we reach the shrine."
The boy, a gangly youth with more than one person's share of nose, bowed his head. How was he supposed to stop looking? Everything in this new village was so strange, so different he could never have guessed such a place existed merely a day's walk from the house where he had been born.
In recent years, youkai attacks in the area had become all too frequent, but nothing had shocked the boy more than when at the end of a torturous winter, his father had announced that they would move to Reishoumiya. All the boy had known of the village rumours were warning of it being a nest of youkai, but his father had assured him that the number of monsters meant nothing when there was someone watching over them. The Hakurei clan would surely keep them safe. The boy had been uncertain, but the steel and determination in his father's eyes had ultimately made him agree and help pack their meagre belonging.
His father gave him a stern look. "With any luck, we are going to meet the leader of the clan. You had better not embarrass me in front of her."
The boy wrinkled his nose. "A village run by a woman?"
His father clicked his tongue. "Less of that lip, boy. Not just a village run by women, but by a goddess."
"A goddess?"
"We have lived here for half a month, and you didn't know that? Have you paid no any attention to the world around you since..."
The man fell silent as the boy looked away. "I'm sorry, son. I didn't mean that."
The boy nodded curtly. It had been a mistake, and he readily forgave his father for it. It was a wound in both of them, after all.
His father cleared his throat. "But yes, they have a goddess in flesh here. She's called Princess Ayame."
His tone altered, tinged with a deep-seated reverence like he had personally been there to witness the birth of the deity. "She is a daughter of the Hakurei clan. It is said that she already possessed extraordinary abilities as a child. One day,they brought a man mauled to the brink of death by oni to the shrine. He was beyond hope, so when their attempts to tend to him failed, they took him to an unused storage beyond the boundaries of the shrine to die in peace. Only, when the villagers came the next morning to retrieve their friend's corpse, they found him alive and well, with no sign of the fatal wounds. Stranger yet," he hushed his voice, "the entire storage was full of fresh irises and chrysanthemums. Mountains of them, though there was still snow on the ground.
The boy's heart stopped. Chrysanthemums had been his mother's favourite flowers.
"When they were still aghast," the man quickly continued, "the young Hakurei daughter, stepped forward from amidst the flowers and smiled at them. Her hair had turned gold, the very colour of sun. They all immediately fell to their knees, knowing they had witnessed the birth of a goddess."
The boy's shoulders relaxed as he pictured the scene. His father smiled. "That's why she's called Princess Ayame. A goddess whose miracles bring flowers in their wake."
The boy smiled back weakly, more to himself than to his father. It would be wonderful to visit the shrine of such a goddess, even if the odds of actually seeing her were slight. Still, the honour! A humble peasant like him petitioning a goddess! He followed his father up the path and then the steps with renewed vigour.
His legs began to shake on the final steps. Heart pounding, he raised his gaze to witness the courtyard and the shrine standing before it. The shrine was no palace, but still grand enough to impress him with its elegantly decorated roof and porch.
There was only one person on the courtyard: a young woman dressed almost as plainly as the village girls, her long black hair tied back with a single white ribbon. She was lazily sweeping the ground by the porch, and as she spotted the visitors, her muddy brown eyes narrowed into slits. She discarded her broom and vanished inside the shrine without a word.
"That was..." The boy's words petered into uncertainty.
"The elder sister of Princess Ayame, from what I've heard." The man cast a sharp eye at the boy. "Lady Hakurei, in other words. Keep your head down."
The boy did as he was told, but his mind was reeling. Weren't the Hakurei a noble clan? A noblewoman sweeping, in what amounted to underwear, where people could see her? Did they have no servants? He had to admit he didn't know if this was truly unusual, as his only experience with nobles and important people came from stories of people in shining palaces and stunning women whose faces no commoner would ever see, but he had to admit that his expectations had been dashed.
The door slid open, and the surly shrine maiden returned, this time with company: first, an ancient woman, so small and wizened the boy expected her to collapse at any given moment. Yet her eyes burned with life. She leaned into a cane decorated with etchings of vines and flowers, and soon made way for another shrine maiden.
The boy's jaw dropped.
His father immediately prostrated himself. The boy hastily followed suit, but couldn't resist catching another glimpse of who had to be Princess Ayame.
She only wore four layers over her undergarments, each well made but relatively plain, but while her dress was plain and unadorned compared to her distant peers, her beauty was unmatched: perhaps only the rumoured Princess Kaguya could truly outshine her radiance. Her cascading golden curls marked her as truly alien, more goddess than human.
As the boy stared, she opened her eyes, revealing a pair of irises as blue as the midday sky. The boy quickly bowed his head again.
"It is alright. There is no need for such formalities," Princess Ayame's voice, clear as bells, kindly beckoned them. "You two must be our new residents. It is a pleasure to meet you in person."
"Thank you, Princess Ayame," the older man muttered, raising his head ever so slightly from the ground.
The boy gasped, not believing what he was seeing. His father had told him thing were handled differently in Reishoumiya, but to first have a woman of noble birth tidying up the courtyard, and now to greet the mistress of the house, who was also a goddess, face to face? His knees quivered from the shock.
And what a goddess! The boy had never seen anyone like her. Her hair was like spun gold, flowing gently down her back with nothing to fetter it. Her eyes were like gentle flowers, her skin like silk. He saw a certain resemblance between the two Hakurei maidens, but it was also clear why one was the goddess of the shrine while the other swept the porch. His heart pounded so loudly he feared it would rip itself right out of his chest in its haste to present itself as a humble offering to the goddess.
"Please, do stand up. We are but a small community, and we all stand equal here."
The boy stood up, scarcely believing what he was hearing, and dared to steal another glimpse of the goddess' lovely countenance.
"Thank you for paying me a visit." Princess Ayame bowed shortly, and the boy thought he was going mad. What kind of an insanity was this land, where humble peasants could walk right into the dwellings of gods and aristocrats, and not only be admitted, but be bowed to by them? None of this could be real, but yet when the boy looked at Princess Ayame he knew his imagination didn't stretch this far,
His father bowed again, though not as deeply as before. "Princess Ayame, we bring you a petition from the old couple living by the northern border of your domain."
"Is something amiss?"
"They are in great peril, Princess Ayame," The father said smoothly. The boy looked at his father with new amazement. How quickly he adapted to these bizarre circumstances. "Youkai have begun to invade from the east, and the entire forest is teeming with them. The haven't dared to leave their homes since yesterday for fear of being eaten or worse. Only today, they sent the fastest runner they had to dispatch a warning to the rest of the village." He bowed deeply. "They beg for your assistance, Princess Ayame."
"And my assistance they shall have." Princess Ayame turned and bowed at the old woman. "I will return as soon as possible, Grandmother."
The wizened face cracked into a toothless smile. "Of couse, my child."
"Good luck, Meizuki," the other shrine maiden suddenly interjected, hands on her hips.
As the boy frowned at the strange name the shrine maiden had used for the goddess, Princess Ayame nodded. "Thank you, sister." She turned towards the gate. "Please, lead the way."
The boy knew his heart would explode before he ever saw the village again.
As soon as the delegation was beyond hearing distance, Awazuki grabbed the broom and sighed. She began sweeping, more out of habit than need. "I wish they stopped calling her that."
"And why is that?" her grandmother asked.
"It's not her real name, for starters. Besides, Meizuki doesn't like it. She's just too polite to tell them no."
Grandmother gave her a piercing glare. "Has she told you that herself? She has never said a half a word against it in my presence."
"You know she doesn't want to be called a goddess." Meizuki was always so quick to humbly downplay any praise, and there was a lot of it. It was silly, but Awazuki felt bad for her.
"She ought to be grateful for the honour of received such a lofty title, and
to consider the shrine's prestige more carefully the next time she denies her divinity."
"Bah." Awazuki kicked a stubborn block of ice clinging to the porch. "Does listening to people's complaints and exterminating youkai make you a goddess now?"
"Nothing good comes from jealousy, Awazuki."
Awazuki rolled her eyes and focused on her sweeping. Why did she even bother?
She had swallowed her reply, but it was as though Grandmother had heard it regardless. "If you are not jealous, show it. Be grateful to your sister, and for everything she has done for you." She slowly hobbled back inside. "There are still leaves by the eastern corner of the porch."
"Right, right."
As soon as Awazuki was certain Grandmother was beyond hearing distance, she blew a raspberry in her general direction. Then, with a sigh, she resumed her duties, occasionally pausing to glance at the valley below, wondering exactly where Meizuki was at that moment and what she would be fighting against. A tsukumogami? A tengu? A nature spirit gone awry? It would explain why spring was yet to come.
She shrugged. Whatever it was, Meizuki would win. She always did. If anything, she'd outlive every youkai infesting Reishoumiya.
With a secret smile at the thought, Awazuki kept sweeping.
Reishoumiya, a tiny community nestled between a mountain and a large forest. Most of its inhabitants were simple farmers, working unflinchingly on their small rice paddies, satisfied with their simple lives. The village was all but isolated, with only a handful of visitors from nearby villages brave or foolish enough to risk facing the youkai on the way. What little advances made it into the community were mostly religious: the inhabitants alleged their shrine to be the first in the world, and their jizou statue to be one of the first ever brought to Japan.
All in all, Reishoumiya stood alone. The few merchants and visitors hardly ever brought news from further away, and what was told was swiftly forgotten. The residents had very little interest in the rest of the world, and whoever was the de jure lord of their community was anyone's guess. They had chosen their own leaders, and one family especially stood above the rest: the Hakurei clan, with their wisdom and uncanny skill at fighting youkai. It had been three generations since they had taken control of the shrine, and had successfully ruled Reishoumiya ever since. Even the nearby villages respected the name of Hakurei, especially now that they had a living goddess guarding the village, unanimously hailed as the new leader after her parents' deaths. In spite of her young age, she had succeeded perfectly as both a shrine maiden and a diplomat.
She was gracious. She was of divine descent. She was undefeateable...
"Meizuki! Meizuki!"
Awazuki ran towards the solemn procession approaching, desperately hoping the night betrayed her eyes. Her gut twisted. There was no mistake. The villagers were indeed carrying her sister, her clothes drenched in blood.
"What happened? Where did you find her?" she half gasped, half snarled at the villagers.
"By the forest to the east," said one of the villagers, her face nearly as pale and stricken as Meizuki's. "We have no idea what could possibly have caused this..."
Awazuki gritted her teeth. "We'll find out." She looked around, trying to swallow her panic. "Bring her inside. Quickly!"
She slid open the door and looked on as the villagers set Meizuki gently down on the straw mattress. Awazuki immediately knelt down next to her, wiping Meizuki's hair off of her sweat-covered brow. Her face was cold to touch.
She shuddered as she got a better look at her wounds, then began to shake her by the shoulders as gently as she could. "Meizuki? Meizuki! Please, you have to wake up!"
A feeble moan escaped Meizuki's lips, but she did not stir. Half mad with shock and concern, Awazuki turned furiously towards the villagers.
"Do you have herbs? Clean cloth? Water? Don't just stand there! She needs help!"
The villagers dispersed. Awazuki focused her full attention on her sister, her heart pounding so wildly so fast she thought it would simply wear out and die.
"Meizuki?" She shook her harder when there was no response. She couldn't lose Meizuki. She just couldn't.
Finally, Meizuki's eyelids fluttered open. She turned her head groggily, her gaze dull.
"Awazuki?" Her voice was shaky and as weak as a whisper.
Awazuki clasped Meizuki's icy hand and tried to smile. "It's me. It's going to be okay now. I promise. Nothing bad is going to happen to you when I'm here."
Meizuki didn't respond, but a weak smile made its way to her face.
Awazuki placed her other hand over the first one. "What happened, Meizuki? Was it the youkai? What kind of a youkai? You have to tell me!"
Meizuki closed her eyes again, and a weary sigh barely stronger than an exhale escaped her lips.
"Meizuki?" A new wave of panic shook Awazuki. "You can't sleep now! Please!"
Meizuki's brow furrowed and she opened her mouth, as if she was strugging to even form words. Finally, she mumbled: "Wings... giant wings..."
"Wings? Was it a tengu?" Tengu rarely appeared in Reishoumiya; it was usually only the oni who descended from the mountain, over which the two races had argued over since time immemorial. Still, they were the first type of winged youkai that immediately sprung to Awazuki's mind. "What happened?"
But Meizuki didn't respond: she had already drifted to the other side of consciousness. Awazuki quickly reached out to make sure her heart was still beating, still clasping Meizuki's hand as if letting go of it was the same as letting go of Meizuki's spirit as well.
It was then that one of the villagers returned with a bucketful of water, followed by Grandmother hobbling in with uneasy steps, her face ashen.
"Oh, my poor child..." She fell on her knees next to Awazuki and turned towards the villager. "Fetch clean cloth, quickly!"
"It's already being fetched," Awazuki said quietly.
"The more and faster the better. Go!"
The villager left in a hurry.
Grandmother brought her hand to Meizuki's torso and grimaced. "This should never have happened," she muttered, more to herself than to Awazuki. "She is a strong child, but even then I'm not certain she'll be able to overcome these wounds..."
Awazuki's stomach turned.
"This..." She curled her hands into tight fists. "This... whoever did this will pay."
She stood up and dashed to the table where she had left her gohei, then slid the door to the room so violently the wooden frame shook.
"Awazuki!" Grandmother snapped. "You are not going into the woods!"
"I'm not going to justsit here while the creature that did this to her is out there!" Awazuki yelled back.
"She is dying, Awazuki! If you have a heart, you will remain by her side. You will never forgive yourself if she passes on while you're seeking some futile revenge."
Awazuki paused long enough to look at Meizuki again. She shook her head. "I made a promise."
"Enough!" Grandmother growled with such authority Awazuki was frozen in her tracks. "It's a fool's endeavour, and I refuse to lose both of you!"
Awazuki hesitated, but only for a second. "I'm taking the orb with me." She exerted her divine powers and beckoned at the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb, the clan's secret weapon against youkai. The orb rose from its usual place near the entrance and hovered after her as she shed her coat off her shoulders and ran outside.
"Awazuki!"
She ignored Grandmother's cries and the startled looks of the villagers on the courtyard as she ran past them. All she had in mind was finding murderer and slaughtering it.
She slowed down only to pull out a pair of red sashes from her waistband, which she used to tie her sleeves out of the way. That done, she flew down the steps and into the darkness lit only by a sliver of the moon.