The Journey Begins

After hearing the tale that Li Bai told of Dragon Gate, the Nine Koi were even more determined to swim the route along the Yulong River to Dragon Gate, the fire inside Naruhito burned fiercer than ever.

The story had filled the Kois energetic minds with determination to fulfil their collective desire to protect the Princess Yazumi and the Empire, and within days the none warriors were planning their ultimate journey of destiny!

“I am afraid” cried Yazumi, the brave Princess was now showing her softer side, faced with the determination of her nine Koi friends there was a feeling of unease in her.  “I understand that you feel that you must do this for me, but surely this tale is only a myth, this Li Bai cannot be sure about his friend Li Chan…can he?”

“There will be no stopping us Yazumi” replied Naruhito “we all have agreed that this is our ambition, we feel the Chi between us even as nine Koi, so we know what we have to do”

“When will you leave?”

“We leave in the morning for Yulong and our journey will take three days, you must have faith in us Yazumi, this is our reason for being here with you today, fate has led us to your doorstep and fate will carry us to the end of our journey”

“You must promise us this Yazumi” Eko whispered in a soft voice “when you are sitting under the night Skies in the Imperial Gardens and you see not one but nine shooting stars overhead, you must carry the story of the nine warrior Koi forward”

“Of course Eko, I will carry your tale forward through the Imperial generations, I promise you all!”

With this Yazumi said her goodbyes to all nine Koi, her heart sank and her tears were unstoppable, the heartbroken Princess retired to the palace and waited for the night skies to arrive.

The very next day, the nine Koi arrived at the Yulong, a ferocious torrent ensued exactly as Li Bai had foretold!  The Spring time thaw at the tops of the mountains was plummeting into the river through many different waterfalls and inlets, the Koi had not experienced such a force, nevertheless they pursued their adventure.

“we must try to stay together my warrior friends” yelled Akihito over the roar of the river “no matter what happens I feel that it is our collective destiny to remain together in our battle to Dragon Gate, stay tight!”

Naruhito swam at the front and the nine Koi followed in a delta shape, very closely behind, the cherry blossom swirled in the whirlpools which crashed against the banks of the Yulong, the river was awash with Multi coloured Koi and Cherry blossom, a beautiful sight on a beautiful bright Spring morning, this made the start of the journey easier as natures beauty lifted the spirits of the Koi.

Akihito followed very closely at the back of the delta to ensure that the pack stayed close together, it was as if the delta formation and the collective Koi Chi were carving through the mighty Yulong…but not for long.

As with most Spring days in the Yulong valleys, the weather was known to turn very quickly.  What was a beautiful Spring morning had turned into a turbulent bleak afternoon, the dark clouds above gathered thicker and thicker around the mountain tops, droplets of rain began to fall onto the rivers surface.  Thunder began to roar above the mountains and the tops were completely covered, only flashes of lightening revealed the outline of the peaks occasionally.  The mood was set and the Koi were only driven by the fear that should have been in their hearts.

The rains fell harder and harder and the torrents of water from the mountains at the side of the valley plunged with great force creating huge waves and whirlpools, this was no ordinary storm…it was Monsoon, the weather conditions that most Koi feared.  The vibration on the surface of the water was enough to turn any Koi to stone, the noise was deafening but they pressed on forging through the choppy waters.

It was evident that throughout the journey, the Koi population became less and less, the conditions were not for the weak or mild minded an many Koi turned back, floundered or worse, they died.  Many were smashed upon the rocks of the valley walls, others were trapped in the under water caverns, in the main these Koi were tired, these extremes had never been experienced before.

Akihito and his eight warrior friends persevered, they too were exhausted, but the Chi seemed to carry them through, providing that extra burst of energy that the journey needed.

They reached the final stretch, this was the hardest they recalled from Li Bais tale, running only on euphoria now, the Koi were in sight of the end game, and by far, the hardest part of the journey was on the approach to the falls, the spring thaw had indeed caused a gargantuan torrent of water to flow from the mountain tops and down the waterfalls, sending a frantic current against the path of the Koi.

As they each poured into the pool at the foot of the falls, they were thrown against the sides of the pool walls, it took all of their might to remain in the centre of the pool, nevertheless they had arrived at the penultimate stretch of the epic road.

They looked around through the spray on the surface of the water…

‘Look’ said Michiko ‘We are alone!’

They scoured the pool for more Koi, not one could be found, could it be that they were the only Koi to have made it this far?  The route was perilous for sure, but they could not have made it alone…could they?

After a few moments the Koi had searched the depths of the pool, they plunged to the caverns, only to see a bed of dead Koi laying in their watery graves.

‘My nine warriors, we have arrived as one’ stated Akihito ‘our collective strengths have delivered us to this point in our destiny, we have out survived many hundreds of fellow Koi on this arduous journey and we must now push forward to complete our odyssey.

Akihito the leader took the first leap up the fall, followed by Naruhito, Noryuki, Jakehiro, Michiko, Eko, Etsuko, Juri and finally Ikumi.

The nine brave Koi warriors leaped with all of their combined might, the Koi Chi was strong, lifting the nine to the very top of Dragon Gate, the water was crashing from the top as the fearless fish broke through the clouds towards the summit, then the lightning began to lash out against the water, the air was electrified, blue in colour creating a rainbow like pattern through the mist from the falls, each Koi fell into a trance like state floating with their backs arched towards the sky.

As the lightning became more frenzied Akihito received a powerful blow to his head, then Naruhito, Noryuki, Jakehiro, Michiko, Eko, Etsuko, Juri and finally Ikumi, the lightning struck again and again at the Koi, their bodies in a lifeless state.

Then, it happened, the most magnificent and magical sight to behold, each of the nine Koi transformed from beneath the blue mist, little by little the metamorphosis to Dragon, first the head and then the body, the scales turned into strong shell like armour, the fins to legs as sturdy as oak trees, tails as long as the body again with a forked end.

Each fell down towards earth like a maple leaf in an Autumn wind, almost fluttering like a butterfly, falling, falling as if supported by the air.  Before reaching the Dragon Gate pool at the base of the falls the Dragon Chi took over from the Koi Chi and all proud Dragons took flight into the mountains, they were led by a Silver Dragon, strong and proud, into the distance they flew until out of sight.

The symbol of Akihito the Silver Koi Dragon appears on the gates of the Palace, together with a further eight warrior Koi Dragons as a warning sign to intruders and enemies of the Empire…’this land is sacred, protected by those Koi who persevered in the chase to find their destiny at Dragon Gate’ is the inscription below the carvings.

Princess Yazuri tells the tale of her 9 warrior koi to her children later in life, keeping the promise that she made all of those years ago, frequently she sees a spray of nine shooting stars above the palace…she knows that her protectors are watching over her and the Imperial family.

Koi Fish Tattoo - Choose Wisely!

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