The YoraxIn the village, before it was hidden to history,
There were tales that spoke of a curious mystery.
It was once, so they claimed, that a girl there would roam
On the land where these humans now put up their homes.
She was known as the Yorax, but one day she was gone,
And without her, the humans, well, they just moved on.
But who WAS the Yorax? And why was she there?
And why did it seem she had vanished somewhere,
And why did the humans, well, not even care?
If you wanted to know, just as one person did,
You could ask the great Akyu, even though she's a kid.
Akyu sat for a bit with her guest for some tea,
Then she tried to begin: "Well, if you're asking me,
I can tell you the things I saw some time ago,
And if I did that, it would go something like so..."
Way back in the days when this town was not here,
It was youkai that roamed there, and that was quite clear.
There were countlessly many, and countlessly kinds.
And they loved having fun. That was all on their minds.
Not all started off well, but they'd soon get on great.
They would never let fun fall victim to hate.
But the humans, you know, they just grow and they grow,
And they'll just keep on growing wherever they go.
So one day I was with some, and we found the spot,
And the others exclaimed, "We'll bring more here! A lot!"
But of course, I thought, "not with these youkai, we're not."
Alas, humans are clever, and get what they seek.
There were quite a lot more of us there in a week.
We had made an agreement for part of the land,
Thanks in part to some gifts which we'd made them by hand.
But the youkai were not quite as quick to agree
When the other side cut away all of their trees.
The youkai, in truth, only humored the deal
So we humans would bring them a great human meal.
That we borrowed and so quickly ravaged their land
Was an act which the youkai would not just let stand.
But before they began on their preemptive snack,
Their leader, the Yorax, told them to hold back.
She discussed with the humans and firmly assured
That they would do no more, and stay true to that word.
So the deal went on for a little bit longer...
During which time the humans, they only grew stronger.
With just part of the land and no right to cut wood,
The humans soon filled it as much as they could.
We would have to find some way to fit both combined,
But the Yorax had quite different plans in her mind.
Now was time for the feast, which we suspected too,
And although it was vile, we knew what we would do.
On that night, youkai died, in twos and in threes,
And the humans cared not if they shot any trees.
"What are you fiends DOING?!", we heard poor Yorax shout;
"We shall never forgive you! Get OUT, OUT, OUT,
OUT!"
Yorax fought for her fallen all throughout the night,
But against our assault, it was not a fair fight.
She was forced to abscond, and she vanished for good,
Leaving humans to clear out the rest of the wood.
"After that," Akyu sighed, "I can tell you no more."
Then she slowly looked up. "Well, unless, of course, you're..."
Her guest there was smiling, and smiling quite wide.
Though sad, Akyu's story had warmed her inside.
"It is good that you say that. Yes, it is good,
There is one who remembers that this was once wood.
And there was one among you who noticed their ways...
I feared that there would not be by the end of my days."
The Yorax stood up and said, "You will soon know
How the story of "Yorax" leads into "Yakumo."
And this story is one that will soon come to grow
When a new land develops: a "Gensokyo.""