The Killing Stone and the Deer

Entry/Story inspired by Tamamo-no-Mae and the next School for Monsters Origins comic

Sesshō seki (The Killing Stone) by Anna Wieszczyk from the panels of the upcoming MSSM: Origins #2 comic

The darkness inside the Sessho seki was all encompassing and the stench of the toxic fumes around it were suffocating. Mae had been imprisoned in this tomb since she battled a legion of warriors centuries ago. She had outsmarted and battled them for days until they finally cornered her. A simple arrow sliced one of her magical tails before hitting this infernal stone and confining her powerful spirit inside it. She had controlled powerful landowners, emperors, kings, entire dynasties, yet one simple warrior and his flimsy arrow had trapped her in the Sesshō seki (The Killing Stone). She had replayed that day on the plains of Nasu again and again but could not determine exactly how it had been possible. Yes, the arrow was made with wolfbane but that would not have been enough to maim her, let alone trap her in this cursed stone. The arrow must have been created as a powerful ward. Or maybe it was the stone that was a ward. Once inside the stone, she was able to feed off its power. Her magic aligned with the dark powers of the Sesshō seki, and she could practice her magic, enabling her to become stronger and stronger within her confines. The downside is that the stone drained out the small part of her that had once been fond of humanity, desired to guard over it. Something about her magic combined with the stone’s, made them both more vengeful and deadly. Thus, every person who had touched the stone since Mae had entered it, died.

One morning, many decades after she had been trapped within the rock, Mae’s daily meditation was interrupted by the sounds of awkward footing and pebbles rolling down the slopes of Mt. Nasu. As the footsteps grew closer and closer to the Sesshō seki, Mae became frighted. She could not see out of the stone, but she could sense the immense spiritual power moving toward her. The human approaching the stone was most certainly a monk but not just any monk, a very devout and powerful one. There were few things that could harm a legendary nine-tailed fox spirit such as Mae, but powerful magical wards and exorcisms could destroy her. She could always sense a being as powerful as her, and this man was such a creature. Mae cursed. Her magic could not be released from the stone. The only way she could harm this man was if he was foolish enough to touch the rock.

Gennō Shinshō, a monk of the Soto sect, now stood beside the Sesshō seki. He pulled from his robe, a powerful relic, a Buddhist exorcism tool, a Dharma vessel. The vessel was an ornate blade coming out of the mouth of a terrifying carvings of an elephant and three terrifying buddha faces on the hilt leading to a horse’s head at the top.

Gennō began chanting the words to accompany the ritual. Mae countered his words with incantations of her own. Entering his mind was the most difficult thing she had ever done. Manipulating him would be near impossible. She promised him she was ready to do good in the world and become one of his disciples. She felt his heart fill with joy at this promise and latched onto that weakness. He welcomed this kind of transformation in her and agreed to help her on the journey. As his words heightened and quickened, so did hers, filling his mind with images of the good deeds they would do together. Gennō placed the tip of the Dharma vessel against the stone’s surface as Mae placed her fingers from within. There was a blast of golden light, and the glowing figure of a nine-tailed fox formed around the Sesshō seki.

Slowly the figure transformed from a golden fox into a woman with nine tails covering her naked body. Upon seeing her true form and feeling his own desire to take her as his, he became enraged. He shook off those dirty feeling, determined that Mae had tried to possess him. He blamed her darkness and anger for his own desire. Gennō backed away, stammering about the horrible mistake he had made in releasing her. He pivoted quickly from the role of mentor and protector to one of accuser and destroyer. “I can’t let you live, Tamamo-no-Mae.”