(Mael's POV)
"No, I don't mean any harm." I said as my bow disappeared, "I don't know where I am, that's all. I was just chased down by that thing."
"I see." She said, "Seems you were the unfortunate one. To land in the forest, within he territory of a Forest Okuri."
I blinked, "Right...." I said, looking around, "And where am I, exactly?"
She looked at me, "Hm, come inside." She said, turning around and walking to the building, "I shall explain things to you."
I followed her inside, towards a mat in the center of the polished wooden floor. She knelt down on the mat and gestured at me to do the same.
I reluctantly knelt down, looking at her. Looking at her caused my heart to beat a bit faster, she was that beautiful.
"You are in the Distorted Godlands." She started
"That much I know." I told her, "I breached through the Distortion, that is what I am aware of."
"Yes." She said, "You are in the Sun and Moon Realm, a vast realm rich with magic. In Kazuha, to be precise."
"Kazuha...." I said, "This land....I take it it is a feudal era Kingdom."
"It has its Feudal System, yes." Ren said, her eyes piercing through me, "It is a vast land with various regions, ruled by its own Feudal Lord. But the entirety of the Nation is governed by the Shogunate, led by the Nakamura Clan."
"I see." I said, nodding, "I know somewhat how that works."
"Is there a Kazuha where you come from?" She asked
"A different land, similar to it." I said, "But not currently, I think. The Shogunate is a thing of the past, especially the Feudal System."
"I see." She said, "Well, Kazuha has a Feudal System. The Nakamura Clan is at the top, with various Clans governing the regions of the nation."
"And this region...?" I said
"We are in the Kurama Forest, which is at the edge of the Akatsuki Region." She said, "It is a vast Forest that holds a few villages spread throughout by the rivers that run through."
"I see." I said with a nod, "So even in this massive forest, there are villages?"
"Yes." She said
"I take it that they could be prone to attacks from beasts like that wolf, right?" I said, "They are not in Shrine grounds."
"The villages are safe, as long as they give offerings to the Four Kurama Shrines." She said, "This is the Northern Shrine. Not too far from here is the Ichitsune Village. The people from the village come and give offerings to the Shrine. In exchange, I give them charms that act as protection from the Yokai. But even so, they must not venture out of the premises should it be too dangerous."
I nodded, "I see...."
She tilted her head, "Might I ask you something, stranger?"
"Mael." I said, "My name is Mael. And you can ask away."
"What have you done for your eyes to turn that way?" She said, a cautious tone in her voice
I reached for my eyes, "Oh..." I said, "Are they different?"
"Do you not know what they look like?" She asked, "The sclera is black and your irises are a dark blue."
"Oh....." I repeated, "I see....is that bad?"
"That is a sign of corruption." She said, "But judging by the Distortion in your body, you have not been truly corrupted."
"Hm...." I said
"Might I ask again, what have you done to have that happen to you?" She asked
"It's....hard to explain." I said, "I really don't know. I was.....I was blind. Then, I was not. When I crossed over, I was able to see again."
She blinked slowly, "I see."
"And how are you able to see my Spirit?" I said, "Aren't Kitsune only able to be shapeshifting tricksters? Or do you have any other talents?"
Her eye twitched, "Shapeshifting...." She said, "That...ability....has been lost to my kind long ago."
"What?" I said
"We cannot do that anymore." She said, "I would rather not speak about it."
"I see." I said, "I won't pry."
"But my kind are more attuned to the Spiritual Realm. We are not only Yokai, but children of the Distortion." She said softly, her husky voice giving a soothing effect to my ears, "Most humans worship us as Kami...or gods.....guardian spirits that take care of them. But we are nothing more than Yokai."
"Yokai...." I said, "Distortion....."
"We are not like the Yokai you just encountered." She said, "There are many types of Yokai. But the most common are either the Beasts like the Okuri or the more autonomous ones like myself."
All of this is still a bit overwhelming. I am in a foreign land that has many things I need to learn about. Yokai, Spirits, gods.....I really don't know anything about The Distorted Godlands. But if I am able to befriend someone who knows about this, that would be good.
My first goal is to get on Ren's good side, maybe she will help me get my bearings in this place.
"I...." I said, "Well, I have to-"
"Lady Ren!!" I was cut off by the sound of some shouting, "Lady Ren, this is bad!!"
Ren immediately stood up and made her way to the sliding door, opening it, "Yes?" She called out, "What is it?"
I stood up and looked past her, seeing that outside, two individuals had ran up to the building.
"It's bad!" One of them, a young girl, said with tears in her eyes, "T-The Okuri! It ambushed us! It ripped Hei apart!!"
Ren's face turned pale, "W-What....?"
The other one, a young man, was hunched over, panting heavily as he sweated.
"W-We were on the way to turn in this week's offerings..." He said, "But, on the way over, a Forest Okuri ambushed us and killed two of our friends! The others scattered...!"
"It cannot be....." Ren said
I walked up to her, "Was it the wolf that attacked me?" I said, "Don't tell me....."
Ren looked at me, "No." She said almost immediately, "It is no fault of yours. Something had riled up the Yokai already as of late, they have gotten violent."
"What do we do?" the young man said, kneeling down, "Lady Ren, we cannot hunt down the Okuri because of the curse! B-But if this keeps up, it'll be too dangerous to make our way to the Shrine!"
Ren's expression hardened, "I...." She said, "I cannot....leave the Shrine....I would-"
We were cut off by the sound of a woman's scream, followed by a loud and deep growl. My stomach churned as a response, my skin beginning to crawl as a shiver ran through.
"Shit...." I said
"Oh no!" The young girl exclaimed, "It's Sumi! The Okuri is going to kill her!!"
"What do we do?!" the Young Man said
Without thinking, I took off into a sprint, rushing past them and making my way in the direction of the scream.
"M-Mael!" Ren called out after me, "Do not go! What are you thinking?! That is no ordinary wolf!"
I didn't look back, "I...." I started,
"I have to do something!"