as written by Script
The summer sun beat down over the hills just outside Yōsái Village, and a gentle breeze teased the grass and trees as it brushed by them. Clouds drifted by overhead, an off-white that spoke of the potential for rain in the near future. Sat upon a rise that overlooked the village, Kyo breathed out a sigh as the wind ran through her black hair, flicking her ponytail to the side. It was a tranquil scene, with only the wind and birdsong disturbing the quiet. From this distance, the sound of the village going about its daily business was inaudible - the hubbub of chatter between locals and the bartering of traders.
The sunlight reflected upon the large lake beside the humble-but-growing fishing village, glittering idyllically with the ripples. Its waters were peaceful and inviting...
...at least, to those who didn't know better. See, the fishing village had a problem. They weren't fishing. They couldn't fish. Their primary produce was inaccessible.
Nobody knew what had caused the kappa of lake to become so aggressive, of late, but it had only taken a few violent assaults on fishing boats and the loss of three good men for it to become apparent something was wrong. The kappa were usually, if not peaceful, unambitious. When they attacked boats - which was seldom - they tended to be in small numbers, relatively easy to fend off with spears and hooks. Now, though they were swarming any craft which dared venture more than five minutes out onto the waters, not only dragging passengers down to the depths but wrecking the boats themselves.
Some of the villages claimed to have seen them venturing out of the lake during the night, vandalising the docks and the homes nearby, but people were hesitant to believe them. The kappa had never been known to raid settlements on the land before, ever.
Kyo wasn't so sure. Damage had been done to the docks, and even the most delinquent youths of the village weren't so foolish as to even further cripple the foremost trade of their home. She'd resolved to stay up tonight and keep watch.
The fishermen were struggling to maintain their livelihoods fishing from the shore or resorting to alternate crafts, and it was only through the generosity of the local farmers that they weren't going hungry. So far, reports to the local minister had produced no real results. Some ministry guard had shown up and sniffed around, made some empty promises and disappeared. That had been over a week ago, and still any boats sent out were swiftly assaulted. Kyo glanced off to her left, at the road that passed by the base of her hilly overlook and wound down towards the village. Still no sign of any horses or vehicles that might bear assistance. It seemed the village was on its own for now.
The young hunter sighed and looked to her bow that lay on the ground beside her. If this were any other threat, she'd be taking up arms to aid her home, but what use was a bow against a foe that made its home beneath the water? There was no way for them to chase the creatures to their source without the aid of machinery or magic, and neither were in plentiful supply at the small settlement. She could at least take heart that her father's trade wasn't suffering too much. So long as she could still bring in game from the nearby forests for him to make his leather, they had a place, for now.
But if the hostilities from the kappa escalated much more, they might have a lot more than money to worry about soon.
Kyo sighed, leaning back and staring up at the sky. Something had to be done. There had to be a way to figure out what had the kappa so enraged. And she had to find it to save her home.
The summer sun beat down over the hills just outside Yōsái Village, and a gentle breeze teased the grass and trees as it brushed by them. Clouds drifted by overhead, an off-white that spoke of the potential for rain in the near future. Sat upon a rise that overlooked the village, Kyo breathed out a sigh as the wind ran through her black hair, flicking her ponytail to the side. It was a tranquil scene, with only the wind and birdsong disturbing the quiet. From this distance, the sound of the village going about its daily business was inaudible - the hubbub of chatter between locals and the bartering of traders.
The sunlight reflected upon the large lake beside the humble-but-growing fishing village, glittering idyllically with the ripples. Its waters were peaceful and inviting...
...at least, to those who didn't know better. See, the fishing village had a problem. They weren't fishing. They couldn't fish. Their primary produce was inaccessible.
Nobody knew what had caused the kappa of lake to become so aggressive, of late, but it had only taken a few violent assaults on fishing boats and the loss of three good men for it to become apparent something was wrong. The kappa were usually, if not peaceful, unambitious. When they attacked boats - which was seldom - they tended to be in small numbers, relatively easy to fend off with spears and hooks. Now, though they were swarming any craft which dared venture more than five minutes out onto the waters, not only dragging passengers down to the depths but wrecking the boats themselves.
Some of the villages claimed to have seen them venturing out of the lake during the night, vandalising the docks and the homes nearby, but people were hesitant to believe them. The kappa had never been known to raid settlements on the land before, ever.
Kyo wasn't so sure. Damage had been done to the docks, and even the most delinquent youths of the village weren't so foolish as to even further cripple the foremost trade of their home. She'd resolved to stay up tonight and keep watch.
The fishermen were struggling to maintain their livelihoods fishing from the shore or resorting to alternate crafts, and it was only through the generosity of the local farmers that they weren't going hungry. So far, reports to the local minister had produced no real results. Some ministry guard had shown up and sniffed around, made some empty promises and disappeared. That had been over a week ago, and still any boats sent out were swiftly assaulted. Kyo glanced off to her left, at the road that passed by the base of her hilly overlook and wound down towards the village. Still no sign of any horses or vehicles that might bear assistance. It seemed the village was on its own for now.
The young hunter sighed and looked to her bow that lay on the ground beside her. If this were any other threat, she'd be taking up arms to aid her home, but what use was a bow against a foe that made its home beneath the water? There was no way for them to chase the creatures to their source without the aid of machinery or magic, and neither were in plentiful supply at the small settlement. She could at least take heart that her father's trade wasn't suffering too much. So long as she could still bring in game from the nearby forests for him to make his leather, they had a place, for now.
But if the hostilities from the kappa escalated much more, they might have a lot more than money to worry about soon.
Kyo sighed, leaning back and staring up at the sky. Something had to be done. There had to be a way to figure out what had the kappa so enraged. And she had to find it to save her home.
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