The Golden Fox,Unknown,50

<b>Dawn, Dusk and Night</b>

Once upon a time on a distant continent, three foxes were born. In their den between the roots of an ancient tree, the siblings had known only darkness from their first moments.

But one day, a song whispered through the earth, reaching the three siblings. Though they were but days old, their hearts were filled with longing for something they had never known, and suddenly wanted to see the world beyond their home. Led by the melody, the young foxes stumbled forward over each other, drawn to its source.
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The eldest brother was the first, and he beheld the brilliance of the sun rising in a cloudless sky. In that moment, his mind was filled with inspiration and wonder at its radiance.

The younger brother was second, and he entered a world cloaked by dusk. He saw in the distance freshly reaped rice paddies, and his soul grew melancholy at the realization that life and death are inseparable.

The littlest sister was the last, and she climbed out into the hushed air of night. Through the branches of the cherry blossom, she gazed upon the shadows of falling petals against the moons, and the fear in her body was replaced with peace.
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Nourished by the warmth of the heavens, the spirit of life, and the bounty of the earth, the siblings grew into their own. The song they had heard in the darkness contained all three, and it seeded the spark of divinity in them: gold, white and red, Yufu, Kizuami and Horome were their names.


<b>Yufu the Golden</b>

Assuming human guises, the siblings parted ways. Generations passed quietly; Kizuami lived amongst mortals, while Horome was rarely seen by them.

Their brother Yufu was revered in their homeland, a golden deity of benevolent guidance to all. "Yufu the Golden", the mortals of that distant continent called him, preferring that name to "Yufu of Inspiration".
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The Age of Harmony would not last, for life and death are always in each others' shadow; when the Age of War began, Kizuami and Horome sought to hide from the conflict. With scant power compared to the Pillars or Chaotic Gods, their only hope was to save their homeland and wait until life was reborn from the ashes of civilisation.


<b>Yufu's Ambition</b>

Having sided with the Chaotic Gods, Yufu had other plans. Seeing the human dynasties he molded fall repeatedly to their dissensions wearied him, for they were the exact same squabbles that plagued the gods. If the Chaotic Gods could defeat the Pillars, he could betray the wounded survivors and claim Ylva for the three siblings alone.
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With a single unified purpose, the circle of Ylva's death and rebirth with each age could become a straight line, leading towards a future where humans would eternally prosper.

It could be just three foxes in the shade of the cherry blossom again, in the months of long daylight before they knew their first winter.

Kizuami knew there was no truth in the eternal summer his brother promised; prosperity itself sows the seeds of ruin.

Horome realized Yufu's golden ambitions had blinded him; his cruel means would change the ends he sought to achieve.

Despite seeking to avoid war, the two were forced to oppose their brother.
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<b>The Severing</b>

Yufu was no warrior, but as the Chaotic Gods were defeated it grew harder for him to hide amongst his allies. Eventually, Kizuami and Horome, who had been hunting him all this while, cornered their brother.

As Kizuami struggled with Yufu, Horome drew her blade and cut deeply into her eldest brother. When that was not enough, she drove her brother's shortsword into Yufu's side, too.

Dawn, Dusk, Night.
Heaven, Spirit, Earth.
Mind, Soul, Body.
Gold, White, Red.
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With his last breath, Yufu cursed his brother for loving the broken things of Ylva, and spat upon this ridiculous sentiment that would deny them perfection.

He cursed his sister for her soft-heartedness, and wished death upon the mortals she had denied lasting peace.

Yufu's curses flowed with his blood into the blades, tainting their divinity; one sword became broken and worthless, while the other thirsted eternally for human lives. But in the end, the foxes had torn their brother in two, severing his soul from his body.
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<b>The Two Towns</b>

Unable to accept what she had done, Horome brought Yufu's body to a secluded waterfall. There, she recalled her first memory: the shadow of cherry blossom petals in the light of the moon. Created by the goddess' memory and watered by her tears, a sacred tree sprouted, pinning Yufu's body beneath its roots so that he might never rejoin his soul.

Deserting the war, Kizuami wandered until he came across a mountain stream. Seeing wild rice growing by the water, he recalled his first memory: that of reaped rice paddies and deep melancholy. Kizuami settled there and tamed the mountain's wild rice; he wove the golden stalks into a prison for Yufu's soul beyond life and death, forbidding it from reincarnation or rejoining his body.
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In time, guardian villages were settled to watch over Yufu's halves. But as death follows life, so rebirth follows death: it can only be delayed so long. Perhaps Yufu's soul will escape to be reborn, perhaps his body will claw its way to freedom and rejoin his soul. In the eleventh age, when the Chaotic Gods stir once more, who knows what will happen?
