Midnight in a nameless swamp. Eight men fight a terrible and
desperate battle against an unearthly host. Eight men of strength
and valor unequaled.
In 1457, in the Awa territory of Japan. The lord of Awa, Yshizane
Satomi and his clan are trapped within their besieged castle;
surrounded by the army of Kagetsura Anzai. Neither food nor fuel
are to be found in the castle filled with the dead and dying.
Murmuring his last despair to heaven, Yoshizane muses that if any
could bring back the head of their enemy they would have his
daughter, the Princess Fuse for a bride. No one hears, except the
bare walls and Yoshizane's dog, Yatsufusa. But that is enough, as
that night, Yatsufusa steals into the enemy camp, and in the
morning returns to lay Kagetsura's head at the feet of his
master.
The Satomi clan is saved, but Yoshizane is forced to keep his
bargain, marrying Princess Fuse to the beast. In shame, Fuse
accompanies Yatsufusa to a solitary existence in the mountains.
When she discovers she is pregnant, Fuse prays for death.
Daisuke Kanawa, one of Satomi clan's greatest warriors and the
fiance of the Princess, thought killed by Kagetsura, returns
after a long journey to Castle Satomi. Learning of his
bride-to-be's sad fate, Kanawa journeys into the mountains to
kill Yatsufusa. He succeeds, but inadvertently slays Fuse as
well. With her final words, Fuse tells Kanawa he is not to blame
for her death, that she has been possessed by the vengeful spirit
of Tamazusa, killed years before by Yoshizane, whose machinations
have caused the tragedies which have befallen the Satomi clan.
She begs Kanawa to somehow save her family from the destruction
that has come upon them. With Fuse's death, the chain of eight
beads hung from her neck scatter and disappear into the sky.
"Dark Music Of The Gods"
1463: A year after the death of Princess Fuse, in Ohtsuka village
in Musashi territory, Shino Inuzuka was born. Now he is 15, the
age of manhood. Shino's father, Bansaku presents him with a
famous sword, "Murasame," the heirloom of a noble
shogun, Nariuji Ashikaga, entrusted and held in safekeeping by
Bansaku. Bansaku, growing old and weary, is uncertain of his
ability to continue to protect the sword from the petty warlords
who desire its prestige. He invests Shino with the mission of
locating Ashikaga and returning the long-lost Murasame. Soon
after, Bansaku is entrapped in a conspiracy between his local
magistrate brother-in-law and a strange, demoniac samurai name
Samojiro Aboshi. Bansaku is forced into commission of ritual
suicide to protect his honor. Aboshi comes for Shino and the
Murasame. Seeking to protect his master, Shino"s dog attacks
Aboshi and is slaughtered by the samurai. Grieving over the
corpses, Shino finds a strange, glowing bead on which the
character "Ko" - or "Duty" - is inscribed.
The first Dog Warrior has been found.
Get your own Free Home Page