From the temple, one could see the bottoms of the massive series of falls
that formed a ring around the temple and its rise in the forest.
But as time slowly began to pass and Juzo's training began to run its
course, Keiji found few opportunities to gaze into the mists of the falls
and dream of the old stories about the falls and why they had come to be.
Most of them spoke of the tears of a wife grieving for her lost husband or
that they where the waters displaced by the ancient gods and goddesses in
one of their battles with evil.
They where great stories, to be sure, he had decided, but he only took one
to heart and it was the tale of a old and aging dragon who slept within the
stones under the falls and it was there, the stories told, that the ancient
beast's magic intermingled with the river, and formed the falls.
It was easy for him to see a old beast, its rack of antlers scraping some
low rocks, and its old and gnarled tail stretching around its home, curled
up beneath the sheets of water, sleeping away the decades.
The story of the dragon was only a story to lessen the impact of what was
happening in the world around him as he grew into the samurai his father
had asked of him before the end.
Yet beyond the falls and its temple, terror reigned beyond the forest.
Kazuo was spreading his treacherous fingers throughout all of the land near
and far from the Temple of the Falls.
Several people who had managed to find the Temple of the Falls, and they
had increasing fears as many of them lay dying, that soon, very soon, Kazuo
would attempt to attack on the daimyo's castle.
"Keiji!" Juzo snorted as he thwacked Keiji over the head with his staff,
"What are you doing?"
"Uhh, sorry, Juzo."Keiji replied as he reassumed his drills, remembering
the weight of the heavy katana in his hands.
"Good. Very good. Soon, Keiji, I will have nothing more to teach you."
Juzo commented as he completed the routine and sheathed the heavy katana.
"Then what?" Keiji asked.
"Then you will be a samurai, at least by my standards, and you will be
ready after all these years to face Kazuo. Why do you think I have been as
hard on you as I have been these past few years? Either way, this
afternoon, I would like for you to go to one of the smaller falls and
meditate beneath it. I want to be certain you are ready for this, I can't
do this again, I am getting to old. Remember, your mind must be clear of
all thoughts of hatred, only duty and honor should dwell in your soul."
Juzo replied.
"Understood." Keiji replied.
Soon, after a decade of running and drilling in the snow, rain, and in the
sweltering heat of the summer, he would be ready to reclaim his father's
defiled katana and defeat the man who started all of this.
Later, as the sun began to sink from the sky, Keiji climbed down to the
bottom of the falls and began his way to one that was near the forest's
edge.
The rocks where slippery as he climbed up into the fall and more often than
not, he nicked his hand's against many sharp rocks.
Yet, he pressed onwards, knowing that to stop and swear about how they
ached would not help him reach his goal.
Finally, he reached a familiar place in the fall and he pulled himself into
the small cave concealed by the fall itself.
It was wet and dark, but he found the rock he often used, and began his
time here by closing his eyes and allowing his mind to wander.
Soon, much to his surprise, a droplet of water startled him and he opened
his eyes to find that the fall was gone and the rocks around him no longer
rumbled.
What had happened?
Was he dreaming?
A grunt behind him caused him to turn cautiously and he found that he was
facing a single massive paw concealed in the darkness of the cave.
Keiji began to consider finding a way out this cave, or dream, if he was
dreaming.
He began to back away when the paw moved, and a second joined it, followed
by a massive head on a long neck as light flared into life in the cave.
The creature stood still for a moment and then looked down.
"Ah, a guest!" a voice deep ,and craggy, from age rumbled throughout the
cave.
The beast had a long red body and a head crowned with aging antlers that
spread in every direction around its head.
"W-w-what a-re you?" he demanded, instinctively reaching for the katana
that did not hang at his side.
"I am the dragon, Korekiyo, and this is my place of rest. It has been
centuries since a human has visited me. Why have you awakened me? What
trouble has brought you to me?" Korekiyo replied as he lowered his scarred
and fading red muzzle to where he and Keiji looked one another in the eye.
"Centuries since anyone has spoken to you?" Keiji asked, relaxing as he
realized the dragon could do him no harm.
"Yes, I have wandered this world since the day it was created. I have been
alongside the first humans of this world and I will most likely see their
last days when the end finally comes, which, I fear, will be soon, for my
dreams have been dark of late. Honor is dead in these lands and it
threatens the world beyond with its poison. Is that why you are here, to
revive honor?" Korekiyo answered as his eyes assumed a far even more
ancient look than the appearance of his old and scarred body.
"I was going to stop the man who killed my father. Throughout the country
he has used my father's katana to slay innocent lives." Keiji answered.
"Ah, so it is for your father's honor that you have come to me then. What
was his name?" Korekiyo asked.
"But my father's name was Masake and he died defending our village from
bandits and he was killed by their chief, Kazuo. He died honorably
defending us and giving my mother and I a second chance." Keiji replied,
confused by the dragon's questions.
"Ahh, Masake, yes, I have seen him in my dreams, he was a great warrior,
but he may have died in honor, my young friend, but he is not completely at
peace. His murderer still ravages the land. You are right to seek a
contest with him for your father's well being and the protection of the
weak. Hum, you seem to have your heart in the right place, otherwise, I
would still be sleeping. Who has been training you?" Korekiyo asked.
"The old monk, Juzo." Keiji replied.
"I trust that one, and if he is the one who has trained you, then I have no
objections. Do your best, young samurai, and go with my blessings against
Kauzo." Korekiyo said as he curled up, a massive effort that made the world
shake around Keiji, blinked once, and then settled his upon his paws like a
dog.
The light died then on those last word's and another drop of water stirred
him and the earth began to quake beneath him once more.
The fall was back and he was no longer in the massive cave, and Korekiyo
was gone.
Had it all been just a dream?
He wasn't allowed to ponder this long as he noticed movement beyond the
fall's curtain of water.
Was it Kazuo?
He began the climb down.
If it was Kazuo, it was time.
