Snippet #2816898

Serene music drifted throughout the town like a cool breeze, failing to be drowned out by all the noise and merriment of the festival and instead blending in and creating atmosphere on such a warm evening. Children and adults alike stood by the ponds, attempting to catch fireflies while the elderly exercised their minds as they tried to out-maneuver each other in slow and calculative games of Móu Zhi. Crowds gathered wherever money could be spent as fireworks decorated the sky, leaving trails of embers burning up the night sky...

"It was on an evening like this..." the gravelly voice of azure skinned oni, sporting tiger fur leggings and loin cloth recounted. He sat on the ground, inclined, up against a small house. "That they say the first emperor was born...." Gathered around him was a crowd consisting of townspeople and tourists alike, of all ages. The oni had long wild hair, black and gray, with equally wild looking eyebrows. He was a rather portly one, though upon closer inspection one could tell that he was quite sturdy. In his hands were two mallets and sitting before him was a large drum. The blue oni, Suiken, began his story, accompanied by the methodical thwack of the mallet against the drum.

"It was over three hundred years ago and there was deadly drought spreading the land..." Suiken began to sing, to the beats of the drum. "The livestock were dying, the crops became sand. The people prayed to the Heavens for an end to this drought," Suiken recited. "And the gods, they heard them, they heard them plead and shout," he continued, his pace along with his rhythm began to increase and intensify.

This crowd was the biggest Suiken had seen in at least a decade. Which, given that this was the smallest town he'd even seen to date was more than a little disappointing. He always did what he needed to draw in as many people as he could. Today's story was no different from his usual routine. As loathe as Suiken was to admit it, regardless of his opinions of Yune's... most glorious Empire, reciting the tale of the Imperial Family's lineage on the Emperor's birthday is the biggest draw he’s ever had. And more coin meant more food, particularly pork buns. Quality ones. The kind you could only find in a small town like Poyo.

Although, for all of his complaints about the size of the town, he couldn't help but admire it's people. Some would say they weren’t the best Yune...but they were a kind, simple folk. They wore their emotions on their sleeve and that was something Suiken could respect, at least as a storyteller. "The gods gave their answer within a beacon of light!" Suiken shouted in his guttural voice, almost frightening away some of the younger villagers. "It descended from the heavens, through the clouds, in the sky of darkest night! A golden dragon had appeared," he sang, his mallets scraping against the drum in broad swipes, giving out a unique echoing sound.

Thwam! Crakk!

“His appearance was frightening, but he alleviated all fears, for with a single roar and a shake of his mane!"

Thwam! Crakk!

"The cloud ripped open and at once...there was rain."

Suiken suddenly ceased his drumming to let another sound resonate itself within his audience’s ears; the slight dripping noises lightly tapping the drum skin. The children in the audience looked up in astonishment at the rain that had just poured from the sky as if by magic while the older and more wizened members of the audience figured Suiken had consulted the locals scholars and sages beforehand to time his story with the changing of the weather.

Regardless of what happened, the performance went over perfectly. Suiken stood up and bowed in gratitude at the applause he received and took his well earned coin graciously. Letting the applause of his audience die out behind him, he went on ahead to further explore the town. "Where to next...?" he sighed to himself. "Hmm. Maybe an inn...That'd be better than sleepin' near the pond again..."