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Anime 101
Shuna's Journey
Once upon some time, an undetermined time, maybe far in the past, maybe in the distant future, was a tiny kingdom abandoned by time in the bottom of an ancient valley etched out by mountain glaciers.
Why did people choose to live in this barren land?
The winds blown from the mountain made the thin air even thinner, and the rays from the sun didn't warm the valley.
They scratched the dry ground and sowed the seed of the hiwabie, but the starved earth gave only a small, faltering yield.
The yakoors were always famished on the scarce grass offered, and rarely ever bore young...
But still, the people lived, thankful for the humble harvest....
Working until they could work no more, and dying....
What a sad, poor life.
What beautiful, yet merciless surroundings.
The boy's name was Shuna...the one to someday inherit this kingdom from his father.
A foreign man in unfamiliar garb lay dying from weariness and hunger.
Visitors to this valley were rare. It was the custom of the village to treat rare people with respect.
Even the most effective spells and herbs of the old women of the valley couldn't save the traveler's life.
"He should be freed from his long sufferings by the coming of tonight's moon."
The traveler beckoned Shuna to his death bed. "I am the prince of a small country way to the east. The country was poor, and the people were always suffering from starvation."
"When I was young like you, I met with a lone traveler."
The man then showed Shuna a small bag which was tied around his neck.
In the bag were seeds the like of which Shuna had never seen. "That traveler gave these to me. He said, with this grain, the people would be able to live happy and prosperous lives without the fear of going hungry..." The seeds were large and heavy.
Shuna asked, "Our hiwabie seeds are small and poor. Can we have these?" "You can. But to sow these in the earth would be futile... These seeds have lost their shells...they're dead. He told me that living seeds of this kind are wrapped in a beautiful shiny golden shell..." "I wished to experience the people's suffering for myself, and set out on a journey to find these golden seeds....." "But I am now old... my strength is gone..."
Far to the west where the earth ends, there are rich, waving fields of the golden plants...
The traveler passed away, leaving Shuna filled with yearning. After that, there was many a time that he would be found silently staring to the west. His father and the elders tried their best to reason with him. "We must follow our paths even if it is our fate to be poor, and allow ourselves to be laid to rest here."
Notwithstanding, the time had come for departure. Nobody could stop the boy... the elders gave out deep sighs.
The women could see that Shuna was making far too many bullets for an ordinary hunting trip, and knew that his mind was made up.
On the night of the new moon, Shuna broke the village law and saddled up Yakoor.
Special Thanks to: Raillard from Shuna's Journey for the information.
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