Youganryuu

The Legend

As the sun dipped below the peak of the great mountain, a young man - his skin bronzed from a life spent outside in the sun, stepped from his hut. He held aloft a lit torch as he approached the village center, where throngs of children sat huddled around an aging man. All focus was on that single blaze drifting slowly toward the crowd. The children made a short sound of awe as the torch ignited a careful arrangement of kindling, sending a plume of colored smoke and dancing sparks into the darkening sky.


A small girl shifted impatiently on her small mat of woven grass. "Grandfather, which story are you going to tell us tonight?"


"Patience, young one," the old man smiled. He folded his hands in his lap and tilted his head back to gaze peacfully up at the night sky. When he finally turned his attention on the hushed audience, he discovered half of his young audience was now staring intently at the sky. "When our island was still very young, there lived two children: one of the forest, and the other of fire..."


Just outside the ring of the firelight, a slim figure perched carefully near the top of an ancient tree. The only motion was the slight twitch in the tip of a bushy red tail that draped below the thick branch, but the villagers were completely unaware of the presence. Thin fingers tapped once against a knee in slight impatience as the listener waited for the elderly human to continue speaking.


The children gave him their full attention as he spoke, but a few occasionally glanced at the stars to see what had been so interesting to the Elder. "The boy was the only son of the fire clan, who thrived in the lava that bubbled up and gave birth to new land." The elder's hands drifted together and upwards as he spoke, animating his words with flowing motion. "They were the people of the mountain and slept within the great rivers of fire, emerging only for short spans of time during their long lives. They could call upon the liquid rock to form and reshape our island as they saw fit, and it is believed that it was through their wise influence that our island first came to be."


"The girl was the daughter of the forest people, who nurtured the flowers and trees from shore to shore." His fingers twirled and the youngest children gasped in surprise as a flowering vine seemingly appeared out of thin air. "The people of the forest were a beautiful people, full of life and love and the desire to grow, not only as a people, but also by creating and guiding the plant life around them.


"The two children were ignorant of an uneasy relationship between their families. The first time they met upon a grassy slope, they played and laughed until it came time to return home for the eve. The little boy kept his new friend a secret from his aging parents, but the little girl twirled and danced with her mother that night and spoke endlessly about the handsome boy she'd met." A few of the older girls sitting in a small group giggled amongst themselves for a brief moment.


"It was rare that the children chanced upon each other, for the son of the fire clan slept for long lengths of time within the burning peak of our mountain. Months turned into years, and the children grew. On a morning warmer than most, the young man woke from his fiery rest and sought out his secret friend from the forest. In hushed whispers, both confessed their growing affections for one another and agreed to meet again in two days' time."


He lifted his hand so that the fiery glow illuminated a thin braid of the flowering vine and red ribbon held carefully between his fingertips. "But, their fate is mysteriously tragic: The day the two young lovers had chosen to meet, both of the great families vanished without a trace." He held the braid over the flickering fire, allowing the tip to smolder.


"In remembrance of the love they held for one another and respect of the ancestors that helped shape our island, this story is told once a year as a symbol of their intended unity is engulfed in the flames. May their souls rest in peace." The braided length burned quickly after he spoke, as though it had waited for the short prayer to be spoken aloud.


The bright flare of light reflected in the silent creature's bright green eyes, drawing the sharp gaze of the Elder to his carefully concealed position. A single leaf falling to the dirt below was the only sign of the being's departure as the Elder quietly concluded the evening's story with a reminder of the next morning's duties, and he watched over the flickering firelight as each child carefully sought out his or her home in the darkness.


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Youganryuu is the son of the fire clan. Original character for the IY/YYH fanfic/sequel/crossover I'm working on called The Blue Anshan. (Yeah, I know, OCs generally suck, but this one has a whole lot of planning behind him!)

Youganryuu means (I think?) 'lava flow.'

To read this story, it's posted in two places:
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/130954/
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3200998/1/