Echoes of a city that’s long overgrown

[temperedwill]

[It's said that a long time ago that the volcano on the island was the home of a divine entity with a temper that could not be quelled. The volatile nature of the creature gave no rest to the mountain villages that inhabited the forests and lands surrounding the great mountain. No one knew as to when the otherworldly being would lose their temper and if they would eventually be doomed to be buried in the lava that would pour out if the creature became too enraged.

It is said that brave warriors would venture to the shrine at the base of the volcano and would challenge the creature to battle. The villagers thought that if they were to imprison the being and force it to become dormant; they would finally have the peace they sought after. No warrior could best the entity at combat and the villagers continued to worry of their future livelihood.

A valiant warrior then approached the shrine, but they did not come for further carnage. Instead, he extended his hand to the being. A bond formed between the two and the divine entity seemed to have been quelled. The villagers, too stricken with fear, by the strength of the being betrayed the trust of the creature. The valiant warrior slain despite the peace that had came while trying to reason. As the villagers entrapped the being into the volcano did it howl a great howl. It's said that the eruption that buried the island was fierce and the howl that resounded was the most heartbreaking sound that rung in the hearts that heard it.

At least, that's the supposed tale of the great eruption. It's been many centuries since the eruption. The volcano is dormant and the island is one of the most beautiful islands to exist It thrives and many scholarly types now visit the island. Archeologists and scientists alike are unearthing the history of the island and the villages that used to reside.

Some have said that the mountain is haunted. That one could feel the sadness that comes from deep within the volcano.

Despite what some say in the small town that has flourished since the volcano eruption, the island thrives with tourism. A shrine at the base of the mountain had recently been unearthed and remnants of previous mountain villages have been found.]

Comments

[felidae]

[ When Dr. Holt had decided to investigate the island, having found signs of a lost culture in the fertile land that's grown up because of an ancient eruption, many people in the small town had told him about the stories. Rather than being frightened off by them - especially since they were half serious, believing the stories to be superstition of the old - he'd brought his team with him to excavate the shrine, and he'd had every intention of digging deeper, looking for more of the old villages that'd been swept up in the lava flow.

Takashi Shirogane is one member of his team, and a close friend of the Holt family. At first it'd just been curiosity and their preexisting relationship that'd brought him to the island, but it's more than that, when they step foot on the shore. Almost immediately, his heart aches, like someone's twisted a knife between his ribs and lodged it there. There's something sad, heartwrenching, about this place. He doesn't know what it is, but he feels it.

Ever since he was young, his mother would say that he was touched by something. In another life, tragedy had struck him - that was why his forelock grew in white from birth, a sign of what'd happened to him. He'd always told her, when he was older, that it was simply genetics. But somehow, seeing this island, this mountain that stands above everything, dormant... it makes him question his explanation, and wonder if hers was the right one.

So it doesn't take long for him to trek out on his own, telling Dr. Holt that he's going to explore the trails, see if he can't spot something that the locals simply consider the norm. It's the truth, but more of an excuse for him to leave. He has to, to find out what this feeling is. Something's calling to him, and he needs to find it. It's not even a simple want.

He needs to.

It leads him to the shrine, at first. Like it's the gateway to where he needs to go. ]