The tale as it follows...
Mar. 17th, 2013 12:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ryuuhimeIn the Heian period of Nippon (Japan), Kosuiryo is the seventh daughter, and youngest child to Watatsumi, the Dragon King and Otohime, the Dragon Queen. Kosuiryo and her six sisters live with her parents and their aquatic retinue in Watatsumi's underwater Ryugujo (the dragon palace), which had been given to Watatsumi by the first Dragon King, Ryujin. The royal Dragon family lives in servitude to the Centipede, a terrible water creature who controls the waterways of ancient Japan. The Centipede allows the Dragons to live, so long as they produce no male heir who could rightfully go against the Centipede to take back the Dragon King's watery throne. And after daughter after daughter being born, Watatsumi is confident that he and his family will remain safe from the Centipede's wrath.
However, when Queen Otohime becomes pregnant with the next Dragon child, Kusuiryo has a prophetic dream by the water gods. It takes place during her mother's third month, and that is when Kusuiryo knows that the baby in her mother's belly is male, thus, will provoke the Centipede into attacking the Ryugujo. Fearing for her family's lives, Kosuiryo asks the water gods what she should do, with only nine months or less to follow before her mother births Watatsumi's first son.
The water gods tell Kosuiryo to seek a land-dweller who is strong, wise, and brave. Only he can stop the Centipede. Kosuiryo takes the water gods' advice and goes to the land above her home. That land is the place of Seta Bridge, not too far a distance from Ryugujo, and constantly crawling with merchants and warriors going this way and that throughout Japan. Kosuiryo sees the opportunity for finding her land-dweller hero, and shifts into her dragon form, knowing that only a brave individual would dare to stay upon the sight of a mighty dragon. Her appearance on the bridge scares everyone and they flee immediately from Kosuiryo's sight.
Dejected that no brave warrior had been among those crossing the bridge, Kosuiryo asks the water gods once more for help, but when they do not answer, Kosuiryo realizes that the fate of her family lies in her own hands. So she devises a cunning plan, and climbs up onto the bridge and lays herself across it, making a maze of sorts with her long body that leads to the other side of the bridge. Having left enough room for a person to weave their way alongside her body to get to the other side of bridge, Kosuiryo believes that this test will bring her better results than her first test.
Many a warrior and merchant turn away from the bridge after Kosuiryo starts her test. They are too fearful of Kosuiryo's scales, which are sharp and can cut through water (and skin) like knives, and her tons, which can poke holes in the land and instantly kill five bold men at a time (though this is in theory, as Kosuiryo has no intention of killing anyone). Months pass, and Kosuiryo falls into a slumber, tired with the disappointment of not encountering her brave land-dweller, and exhausted by keeping her dragon form on land (as she is a Water Dragon, she requires annual dips into water to maintain her energy).
She does not wake until Queen Otohome's eighth month of pregnancy, when Kosuiryo is awakened by the sound of someone walking past her head. She opens her eyes, and finds herself staring at the stoic, tense-shouldered Fujiwara no Hidesato. He holds Kosuiryo's stare for a minute more before turning his back to the Dragon child and continues crossing the bridge. But before he can cross the bridge completely, an elated Kosuiryo transforms back to her human form and calls out to Hidesato.
Hidesato is stunned by the lovely young woman replacing the large, shining dragon in its place, so Kosuiryo beckons Hidesato forward and begs the lord to listen to Kosuiryo's story. The princess tells the lord that she is Dragon Princess Kosuiryo, and is the daughter of Dragon King Watatsumi and Dragon Queen Otohime. She then tells Hidesato about her family's servitude to the cruel Centipede, and how the Centipede had kept at bay by her Kosuiryo's mother producing no sons to take the Dragon throne. But now that Otohime will bear a son, the Centipede will come after the Dragon family and surely destroy all that Kosuiryo holds dear.
"Please, brave lord, help me save my family!" she begs. Hidesato is moved by Kosuiryo's words and agrees to help, getting down on his knees to swear protection to Kosuiryo. It is in that moment that Kosuiryo believes she falls in love with Hidesato -- his bravery, his courageousness, and his nobility have great effect over Kosuiryo. But as soon as she thinks she is in love, does Hidesato rise, and Kosuiryo is brought back to the graveness of reality. She does not waste any time in bringing Hidesato to Ryugujo, where they are ambushed at the gates by the Dragon guard. They attempt to part Hidesato from Kosuiryo, all while reprimanding Kosuiryo for worry her family by leaving without telling her parents, but Kosuiryo gruffly and loudly uses her power as Dragon Princess to silence the guard and orders them to bring Kosuiryo and Hidesato to King Watatsumi and Queen Otohime.
The King and Queen are furious with Kosuiryo for leaving as she had, but are very much puzzled by Hidesato. Kosuiryo tells her parents that the Centipede must be stopped, for she received a vision from the gods that the baby in Queen Otohime's belly is a boy child. She continues to tell her parents that this boy child's birth will incur the Centipede's wrath, and most likely, destroy everything that the Dragon family holds dear, which is why she left so abruptly for the surface and returned home with the courageous Hidesato. The King and Queen are surprised that the gods visited their youngest child, but are both elated and fearful of the reveal of their first son.
Kosuiryo calms her parents' nerves, and proceeds to introduce Hidesato to King Watatsumi and Queen Otohime, followed by the eventual procession of Kosuiryo's older sisters. Once introductions have been made, King Watatsumi takes Hidesato away to forge a battle plan. For four days, King Watatsumi and Hidesato study the knowledge they know of the Centipede, and using that information, devise their attack. All the while, Kosuiryo nervously waits at her mother's side, anxious to know the decisions her father and her savior are discussing. When they finally emerge from the war rooms, Hidesato and King Watatsumi are all the more courageous and confident in their attack plan.
Because King Watatsumi is bound by the Centipede to remain out of action, the fate of the Dragon family rests entirely upon Hidesato. Five days after Hidesato first arrived in the Ryugujo, the plans are put into effect. Kosuiryo, her sisters, and her mother are herded into the safety of the deeper recesses of the Ryugujo, surrounded by all kinds of guards of King Watatsumi's court. King Watatsumi calls the Centipede to Ryugujo, making sure to appear unsuspicious and only welcoming. He prostrates himself before the Centipede, while Hidesato notches his bow with an arrow.
He shoots three sacred arrows at the Centipede, each one piercing the Centipede's eyes, blinding the horrible creature. He then fires an arrow to the Centipede's heart, killing the horrible creature of the waters. Hidesato aids King Watatsumi in severing the rest of the Centipede's corpse, destroying all vestiges of the Centipede and its ilk.
Hidesato receives a celebration to end all celebrations in the dragon palace, complete with food, music, stories, singing, and other wonders. It lasts a week, in which Kosuiryo excitedly shows Hidesato about Ryugujo, telling him the stories of her ancestors who had built Ryugujo with their own hands and the sides of underwater mountains and shells. She takes joy in each smile and laugh that Hidesato makes, and by the end of the week, Kosuiryo is very much in love with Hidesato. Something which does not go unnoticed.
At the end of the week, Hidesato expresses a desire to return to his home, prompting King Watatsumi to make a proposition for Hidesato. Kosuiryo is elated when her father offers Kosuiryo's hand in marriage to Hidesato as reward for saving the Dragon family. Hidesato politely declines, saying that, though Kosuiryo is beautiful and would make a lovely wife, Hidesato already has a wife, and he must return to her swiftly, with haste as soon as he returns to land. Kosuiryo is crushed by the new knowledge, but when she bids Hidesato goodbye, she waves him farewell with a smile, still thankful for all that he has done for her family.
Kosuiryo's brother is born two months later, and he is named Tatsuboshi by Queen Otohime. It is Kosuiryo who has the honor of holding Tatsuboshi during his presentation to the Dragon court, and proudly bestows her fealty to Tatsuboshi, that she will be an ever dutiful and helpful advisor to Tatsuboshi when he takes the throne when he is older.
However, when Queen Otohime becomes pregnant with the next Dragon child, Kusuiryo has a prophetic dream by the water gods. It takes place during her mother's third month, and that is when Kusuiryo knows that the baby in her mother's belly is male, thus, will provoke the Centipede into attacking the Ryugujo. Fearing for her family's lives, Kosuiryo asks the water gods what she should do, with only nine months or less to follow before her mother births Watatsumi's first son.
The water gods tell Kosuiryo to seek a land-dweller who is strong, wise, and brave. Only he can stop the Centipede. Kosuiryo takes the water gods' advice and goes to the land above her home. That land is the place of Seta Bridge, not too far a distance from Ryugujo, and constantly crawling with merchants and warriors going this way and that throughout Japan. Kosuiryo sees the opportunity for finding her land-dweller hero, and shifts into her dragon form, knowing that only a brave individual would dare to stay upon the sight of a mighty dragon. Her appearance on the bridge scares everyone and they flee immediately from Kosuiryo's sight.
Dejected that no brave warrior had been among those crossing the bridge, Kosuiryo asks the water gods once more for help, but when they do not answer, Kosuiryo realizes that the fate of her family lies in her own hands. So she devises a cunning plan, and climbs up onto the bridge and lays herself across it, making a maze of sorts with her long body that leads to the other side of the bridge. Having left enough room for a person to weave their way alongside her body to get to the other side of bridge, Kosuiryo believes that this test will bring her better results than her first test.
Many a warrior and merchant turn away from the bridge after Kosuiryo starts her test. They are too fearful of Kosuiryo's scales, which are sharp and can cut through water (and skin) like knives, and her tons, which can poke holes in the land and instantly kill five bold men at a time (though this is in theory, as Kosuiryo has no intention of killing anyone). Months pass, and Kosuiryo falls into a slumber, tired with the disappointment of not encountering her brave land-dweller, and exhausted by keeping her dragon form on land (as she is a Water Dragon, she requires annual dips into water to maintain her energy).
She does not wake until Queen Otohome's eighth month of pregnancy, when Kosuiryo is awakened by the sound of someone walking past her head. She opens her eyes, and finds herself staring at the stoic, tense-shouldered Fujiwara no Hidesato. He holds Kosuiryo's stare for a minute more before turning his back to the Dragon child and continues crossing the bridge. But before he can cross the bridge completely, an elated Kosuiryo transforms back to her human form and calls out to Hidesato.
Hidesato is stunned by the lovely young woman replacing the large, shining dragon in its place, so Kosuiryo beckons Hidesato forward and begs the lord to listen to Kosuiryo's story. The princess tells the lord that she is Dragon Princess Kosuiryo, and is the daughter of Dragon King Watatsumi and Dragon Queen Otohime. She then tells Hidesato about her family's servitude to the cruel Centipede, and how the Centipede had kept at bay by her Kosuiryo's mother producing no sons to take the Dragon throne. But now that Otohime will bear a son, the Centipede will come after the Dragon family and surely destroy all that Kosuiryo holds dear.
"Please, brave lord, help me save my family!" she begs. Hidesato is moved by Kosuiryo's words and agrees to help, getting down on his knees to swear protection to Kosuiryo. It is in that moment that Kosuiryo believes she falls in love with Hidesato -- his bravery, his courageousness, and his nobility have great effect over Kosuiryo. But as soon as she thinks she is in love, does Hidesato rise, and Kosuiryo is brought back to the graveness of reality. She does not waste any time in bringing Hidesato to Ryugujo, where they are ambushed at the gates by the Dragon guard. They attempt to part Hidesato from Kosuiryo, all while reprimanding Kosuiryo for worry her family by leaving without telling her parents, but Kosuiryo gruffly and loudly uses her power as Dragon Princess to silence the guard and orders them to bring Kosuiryo and Hidesato to King Watatsumi and Queen Otohime.
The King and Queen are furious with Kosuiryo for leaving as she had, but are very much puzzled by Hidesato. Kosuiryo tells her parents that the Centipede must be stopped, for she received a vision from the gods that the baby in Queen Otohime's belly is a boy child. She continues to tell her parents that this boy child's birth will incur the Centipede's wrath, and most likely, destroy everything that the Dragon family holds dear, which is why she left so abruptly for the surface and returned home with the courageous Hidesato. The King and Queen are surprised that the gods visited their youngest child, but are both elated and fearful of the reveal of their first son.
Kosuiryo calms her parents' nerves, and proceeds to introduce Hidesato to King Watatsumi and Queen Otohime, followed by the eventual procession of Kosuiryo's older sisters. Once introductions have been made, King Watatsumi takes Hidesato away to forge a battle plan. For four days, King Watatsumi and Hidesato study the knowledge they know of the Centipede, and using that information, devise their attack. All the while, Kosuiryo nervously waits at her mother's side, anxious to know the decisions her father and her savior are discussing. When they finally emerge from the war rooms, Hidesato and King Watatsumi are all the more courageous and confident in their attack plan.
Because King Watatsumi is bound by the Centipede to remain out of action, the fate of the Dragon family rests entirely upon Hidesato. Five days after Hidesato first arrived in the Ryugujo, the plans are put into effect. Kosuiryo, her sisters, and her mother are herded into the safety of the deeper recesses of the Ryugujo, surrounded by all kinds of guards of King Watatsumi's court. King Watatsumi calls the Centipede to Ryugujo, making sure to appear unsuspicious and only welcoming. He prostrates himself before the Centipede, while Hidesato notches his bow with an arrow.
He shoots three sacred arrows at the Centipede, each one piercing the Centipede's eyes, blinding the horrible creature. He then fires an arrow to the Centipede's heart, killing the horrible creature of the waters. Hidesato aids King Watatsumi in severing the rest of the Centipede's corpse, destroying all vestiges of the Centipede and its ilk.
Hidesato receives a celebration to end all celebrations in the dragon palace, complete with food, music, stories, singing, and other wonders. It lasts a week, in which Kosuiryo excitedly shows Hidesato about Ryugujo, telling him the stories of her ancestors who had built Ryugujo with their own hands and the sides of underwater mountains and shells. She takes joy in each smile and laugh that Hidesato makes, and by the end of the week, Kosuiryo is very much in love with Hidesato. Something which does not go unnoticed.
At the end of the week, Hidesato expresses a desire to return to his home, prompting King Watatsumi to make a proposition for Hidesato. Kosuiryo is elated when her father offers Kosuiryo's hand in marriage to Hidesato as reward for saving the Dragon family. Hidesato politely declines, saying that, though Kosuiryo is beautiful and would make a lovely wife, Hidesato already has a wife, and he must return to her swiftly, with haste as soon as he returns to land. Kosuiryo is crushed by the new knowledge, but when she bids Hidesato goodbye, she waves him farewell with a smile, still thankful for all that he has done for her family.
Kosuiryo's brother is born two months later, and he is named Tatsuboshi by Queen Otohime. It is Kosuiryo who has the honor of holding Tatsuboshi during his presentation to the Dragon court, and proudly bestows her fealty to Tatsuboshi, that she will be an ever dutiful and helpful advisor to Tatsuboshi when he takes the throne when he is older.
