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Ainu: Greetings. I’m just passing through. I’ve heard stories among the sisam. Bloody ones. I prefer tales told by the yukar storyteller at my kotan.
Atsu: Any favourites?
Ainu: Something tells me you would like the Legend of Opusnupuri.
Yukar Storyteller: Eci nu yan. Come and sit. For I have a tale to tell! There once was an owl who caught a salmon up river. “Please!” said the salmon, “if you don’t eat me today, I will tell you the story of the arrow that pierced through a mountain!” ‘The Legend of Opusnupuri’. One day, the great okikurmi kamuy, teacher of the Ainu, and he who has many names, caught sight of a group of arguing Ainu. To prevent a battle, okikurmi proposed to settle things with a contest of the bow. He crafted a single arrow out of mugwort and shot it past the river. With magnificent force, it pierced through the mountain leaving a giant hole in its wake. Seeing this, the Ainu conceded and returned to their homes unscathed.
Atsu: What about the arrow?
Yukar Storyteller: They say it landed on the other side of the mountain where a vast field of mugwort sprung. But the caves surrounding it fester with bad kamuy, corrupt spirits thirsting for blood. None who have gone in search of okikurmi’s arrow have ever returned.
Atsu: An arrow that pierced a mountain. Could be useful… if I can find it.
Child: They say it’s in Niptay Mountain. There are traits past the white flower fields. They don’t let us play there.
Atsu: Good thing I’m not a child anymore.
Child: (Laughs)
Yukar Storyteller: The owl learned so much from the salmon’s story that it agreed to let it go. “A lesson well learned,” it said, “for that story, I thank you. I will not hunt you today.”
Atsu: There should be trails nearby leading to Niptay Mountain. Hello, there. You haven’t seen a mountain-piercing arrow, have you? You want to show me something? A large hole in the mountain. Just like the Legend of Opusnupuri. Hey! Where are you off to?
Ainu: Katkemat, he! Are you hungry? I was about to prepare a meal.
Atsu: Do you always offer a meal to strangers?
Ainu: It’s tradition! And good manners.
Atsu: Tradition will have to wait. I’m looking for something —
Ainu: Ah. You seek okikurmi’s arrow?
Atsu: That’s right. Do you know where I can find it?
Ainu: Not on an empty stomach.
Atsu: (Sighs) I’ll start the fire.
Ainu: Few people come this way. Those who do are not seen again.
Atsu: You don’t seem afraid.
Ainu: Bad kamuy have no reason to come after me. You, on the other hand…
Atsu: What makes me so tempting to bad kamuy?
Ainu: (Knowing chuckle) Tell me, traveller. Why do you seek the arrow?
Atsu: If it can break a mountain, it can break the people who’ve taken from me. Outlaws. Murderers.
Ainu: I see. And what are you willing to lose to achieve this?
Atsu: (Deep breath) Everything.
Ainu: Very well. Follow me. I will show you the way to the arrow. But what happens next is up to you. Your weapons will be of no use on the path ahead.
Atsu: What does that mean?
Ainu: What’s the fun in giving out all the answers? Try not to die.
Atsu: Thanks.
Atsu: The wind is strong here. The Ainu are losing a lot to this conflict. Someone’s been here. Still warm. Fresh blood. What happened here?
Atsu: (Gasping for air) Is that gunfire? Where is it?
Ronin: Damn it! Why won’t you die? I shot it… so many times.
Atsu: Did that bear do this?
Ronin: I got lost. Stopped to make camp. And then it found me.
Atsu: Your gun—
Ronin: Did nothing. All weapons are useless!
Atsu: It’s an animal. There has to be a way to kill it.
Ronin: That thing isn’t an animal. It’s a demon.
Atsu: Shit! Have to get out of here! There has to be a way out. That was close.
Atsu: It’s trying to find a way in. You again?
Ainu: Ah. Good. You are not dead.
Atsu: What was that thing?
Ainu: These caves are plagued by bad kamuy. It is hurt. Corrupted. Angry. Okikurmi’s arrow is the only thing that can kill it.
Atsu: And where exactly do I find this arrow?
Ainu: Journey up the mountain, look for where the mugwort grows. The snow cannot touch it.
Atsu: Mugwort growing in the snow. Got it. Should I bother asking how you got up here?
Ainu: Like I said. Bad kamuy have no reason to attack me. But the pain you carry… they feed on it.
Atsu: Right. I’ll find the arrow. You stay put.
Ainu: The path is down below. But I’d be careful if I were you.
Atsu: Don’t look down… This bear… How did it…? (Sigh) I’ll have to find a way around. Just stay low. Better find a path up the mountain. Mugwort. Growing in the snow. There it is. Okikurmi’s arrow. And… some kind of magatama. From another victim. Sounds close. Past the frozen waterfall.
Atsu: I told you to stay put!
Ainu: I wanted to make sure you were safe.
Atsu: Are you serious?
Ainu: Quiet. It’s here.
Atsu: He looks like he’s in great pain. More than I thought.
Ainu: It does not care whether it lives or dies. That arrow you hold was used to end conflict. It can end this kamuy’s suffering.
Atsu: It’s over.
Ainu: May its kamuy find their way safely to kamuy mosir.
Atsu: I’ve never seen an animal attack so recklessly.
Ainu: It’s easy to be careless with one’s life when you’ve been hurt. If only they found a way to heal their wounds instead.
Atsu: It’s not that easy.
Ainu: It rarely is.
Atsu: Where are you going?
Ainu: Home. It was nice meeting you, Atsu.
Atsu: I never told you my name.
Ainu: Must have heard it in a dream.
Atsu: I think this belongs with the Ainu.
Yukar Storyteller: A mugwort arrow.
Atsu: Someone told me it’s used to end conflict. I get the feeling it won’t be as powerful in my hands.
Yukar Storyteller: You met someone in the mountains?
Atsu: An Ainu man. The bad kamuy seemed to leave him alone.
Yukar Storyteller: (Laugh) Perhaps you were visited by okikurmi himself. He must have been curious to meet a sisam who believed our stories. Or he thought you had something to learn.
Atsu: Maybe he was right.