In a kingdom called Izumo, there is a princess named Kushinada. She ruled her kingdom with kindness and honesty. Her people loved her and respected her and even though her father, the king, had died a year ago they allowed her to rule the kingdom. The one problem was that a man called Susanoh. Susanoh, an outcasted god, wanted to marry Princess Kushinada but she rejected him which infuriated the god. He knew that deep within Izumo Forest lay a world of dragons that the Izumo Kingdom did not know about. So Susanoh tricked Princess Kushinada in taking a horseback ride with him into the forest.
Princess Kushinada followed Susanoh into the forest planning on explaining to him why she could not marry a person like Susanoh who only cared for power and not for the people. Before Kushinada could begin her sentence, Susanoh took a nearby branch and knocked her unconscious. He carried her limp body to the entrance of the dragons’ lair then took her horse and his and galloped away back to Izumo.
At the kingdom, Susanoh told the kingdom that their princess had gotten lost in the forest and for days they searched for Princess Kushinada. After a month of searching they gave up and with no other blood relatives or marriage relatives left to make king or queen the kingdom held a tournament to decide their new king. After a week, Susanoh easily won the tournament and was named king of the Izumo Kingdom.
Meanwhile, in Izumo Forest, Princess Kushinada wakes up disoriented near the entrance of the dragons’ lair. Having never been this deep into the forest Kushinada was not sure where to go and walked through the entrance to finds herself in a beautiful, mystical world. There were rolling grasslands for miles, erupting volcanoes, a beautiful lakeshore, dark caves in the distance, mysterious rock formations waiting to explored, and puffy clouds in the deep azure sky that one could stare at for hours. But what captured Kushinada’s attention were the dragons.
They were huge, magnificent creatures. Some were breathing fire, while others spat out ice. Others stayed hidden in the distance. Kushinada even saw piles of dragon eggs where baby dragons and teen-sized dragons played nearby the nests. One of the dragons flew towards her and landed in front of her growling, “Who are you? And how did you come to enter this haven?”
Kushinada was afraid but stood firm and spoke honestly. “I am Princess Kushinada from the Izumo Kingdom. I was out on a horseback ride when a man named Susanoh knocked me out and I woke before the entrance of your world. I entered because I did not know what to do. Who are you and what is this place?”
The dragon gave a sort of smile. “I can tell you are being honest so I will be honest too. My name is Chrysophylax and I am one of the non-elder leaders of the clan. I am a fire dragon. This land is called Silmarillion. Only those with pure hearts can enter this world. Susanoh, the man you speak of, is actually an exiled god who wants to control us dragons and gain our power but we will not let him. Our true goal is to partner with pure-hearted humans and protect the world but we are not safe leaving here without a human partner. And people rarely find this place, and those who do cannot enter because they are not pure of heart like you.”
Another dragon flies up. This one was shaped different than Chrysophylax. “Chrysophylax stop telling her our story. She will only lead to our demise by sending other people here to try and claim us.”
Kushinada sighed. “I do not wish to harm any of you. What if I made this place known as a place where good people can buy dragons? The only catch is they have to be able to enter this world to be proven pure of heart and able to be your partners. Then the dragons will be able to go into the outside world and be free. Plus people will be able to benefit from your knowledge. What do you think of that… um I do not know your name yet?”
This dragon definitely smiles. “I am Ancaladon, a water dragon and another non-elder leader of the clan. And your plan may work if we can create a path from your kingdom to Silmarillion. Let us do this project.” They all agreed and spent the next month planning how to connect Silmarillion to Izumo Kingdom.
Kushinada was about to exit Silmarillion after her month long when two women entered Silmarillion and everyone looked on with surprise. The two girls looked at the dragons and then at Kushinada. “Um, can we have an explanation?” said the girl, who had all sorts of things on her person but the most notable was the huge, furry fan she held. The other girl looked like a nun.
Kushinada knew she could trust the two girls because they were able to enter Silmarillion so, after introductions, she, along with Ancaladon and Chrysophylax, explained everything to the two girls and asked them if they wanted to help Kushinada run the adoption agency-like shop. Misa and Kadari, who had been wandering travelers, decided it would be good to settle down in one place for a while at least.
The three girls found there way out of Silmarillion and back to Izumo Kingdom where the citizens were shocked to see their princess alive. After Kushinada told her story to her people, they were furious at Susanoh and he was driven out of the kingdom by the angry peasants. After that, the girls told the people about the good dragons who wanted partners and asked the citizens of Izumo to help them make a path to Silmarillion. The people agreed and within a month they had made the path and entered Silmarillion where they built a shop for their princess and her two new friends.
Kushinada was happy that her people had worked so hard for her and that the shop was finished so that the dragons could now find a home outside of Silmarillion. “Ready to open?” she asked of the two women who had become her best friends in the time that they had been together. “Yeah!” the two answered in unison and with a simple cut from a dragon’s tail the ribbon fell away from the shop’s entrance and they were officially opened. The people and the dragons cheered.
Kadiri Mizumaki – Bounty Hunter Victoria
Misa Hiranuma – KagomeHigurashi08
