Fan-fiction based on ‘Princess Mononoke’.
Lady Eboshi
"Lady Eboshi? They're back." I heard the fear in his voice and this annoyed me. "If it's a war they want, it's a war they'll get; now when there is a real emergency you may alert me." He started to retreat "Y-y-yes Ma'am". Sometimes I wondered about the men in Iron town, they seemed more fearful than the women. The only reason my town was still standing was because of the women. I walked out to the courtyard and in the distance I saw her. Her eyes glistened and she stood firm with a glare across her face. It wasn't long before I noticed her family, they were always close by. Before I had a chance to call out she had vanished, leaving the cool crisp night feeling eerie. I knew it wouldn't be long before they'd be back. San, and her wolf clan.
I awoke to see a young man sneaking in my chamber. I grabbed my rifle ready to fire but he gestured for me to be quiet. He obviously didn't know who I was, what I was capable of, and the gesture bothered me. "Young man, this is my town I will not be told what to..." The stranger quickly ran towards me and covered my mouth. He whispered in a sharp tone "Lady Eboshi, I know who you are but you are in danger, iron town is in danger, as well as the forest. I need your help, but please it must be kept secret!" I was unsure but took the benefit of the doubt and decided I would hear the young man out. "Please, take a seat."
"You want me to what?" I almost laughed at the insane idea the young man had for me. I learned that his name was Ashitaka. Prince Ashitaka. He had travelled from distant lands to ask me to cure him from a curse; a curse which I doubted was true. "Please, don't laugh! I need you to help me! Without your help, I will die and you will lose everything, please help me restore peace to the land" he pleaded convincingly. For a moment I considered all that I could do but this was impossible. Me working alongside San and the wolf clan, who I despised; prince Ashitaka could forget that. He had many other capable people that could help him I was sure. "I'm sorry Ashitaka, but I am not the right person to help you!"
As I walked Ashitaka out of Iron town I couldn't help but feel guilty. Helping people was what I loved to do but I did this through offering the outcasts work. I gave them jobs, a nice lifestyle of equality. Deciding to help the environment would destroy everything I believed in, how would my business thrive? I needed the land and resources. Just as I got to the gate, I heard a noise. I whipped around to see San, the wolf girl charging at me with a spear, she screamed "You are going to die for what you've done to the forest! Stop clearing our land!!!" I jumped out of the way just in time, dodging the sharp end that should have been thrust in to me. San was fuming, I could see it. Despite this she really was no threat to me. I wrestled to get the spear off her and suddenly the role reversed and I was in control. Life and death was in my hands; she clearly did not understand this concept. She continued to ramble and curse. I edged the spear close to her neck and whispered "Don't be naive! You are not welcome here" just as I did, a hand reached down and pulled the spear away.
I was startled, the hand was strong and when it was exposed it was clearly not the feature of a human. It vibrated, throbbed and jilted. I looked into the eyes of the man who owned this monster of a hand and saw it was Prince Ashitaka. He was struggling to stay in control and in his grasp the spear snapped. He clenched his teeth together, clearly trying to fight against the evil spirit possessing him. The words "Man-kind will pay! Lady Eboshi must die!" We're chanted as I stood in disbelief. It was only now that I had realized the curse was true, and I had somewhat been responsible for it. I saw the pain and rage feed through Ashitaka's eyes. The hatred rippled like waves and it consumed him. I wondered for a moment if he would be able to overcome the disease. San and I stood together stunned. Eventually the malicious being passed on and Prince Ashitaka returned. After what I had witnessed I decided I would help; even if it did mean putting aside my long beheld feud with the wolves.
San, sat in a corner while Ashitaka shared his story, we both sat intrigued. Apparently he had come to be cursed after a wild boar possessed by a demon took charge at him, he claimed the boar had come from Iron town as there was a piece of iron in the pit of its belly. I couldn't remember shooting such animal, but it was probably true. The Prince shared his idea of how we could stop the demon boar from possessing anyone else. Due to the curse of hatred, I had to try and make amends to the forest and forest gods. In return they would leave me in peace, there was only one problem however, I could not see how Iron town and the forest would be able to co-exist.
As we talked some more there was a sudden uproar of panic, I heard villagers screaming and I peeked out to see what the fuss was about. At the sturdy gates there were thousands of boars, all contaminated and contagious with the disease of hatred. I saw some people being eaten and decapitated, as this happened their souls would turn dark and a fiery tar would melt contaminating and painting the town with passionate hate, a deadly evil. I looked at Ashitaka and saw he too was struggling to maintain his normal self. San was quiet and I wondered if I trusted her; part of me thought she enjoyed seeing my town suffer in such a horrific way. I grabbed my rifle and marched out but Ashitaka's firm grip stopped me. "No, can't you see that it what they want! They will infect you too! You will be of no help when you are dead!" I scoffed "Well I can't just stand here and watch my people suffer! They have faith in me! I will protect them!" I ignored Ashitaka and marched out of the chambers to fight.
Exegesis:
I based my story on 'Princess Mononoke' directed by Hayao Miyazaki. In this Fan-fiction I have focused on writing it from Lady Eboshi's perspective and although there are noticeable changes from the storyline there are still some similar themes I kept.
To write this story I tried to incorporate some of Vogler's story structure points (1998), mainly focusing on the call to adventure, refusal of the call and Tests, allies, enemies. In this fan-fiction Lady Eboshi is the one who gets the call to adventure, with Prince Ashitaka awaking her at night, he then asks for her help specifically as she is the only one that can help him, the curse, Iron town and the forest. Lady Eboshi likes to help people however she doesn't believe Ashitaka and she doesn't want to work alongside the wolves (her enemies). Once the refusal to the call is made Eboshi decides to walk Ashitaka out of Iron town so he can therefore go and find someone else to help. The refusal to the call is important in a story structure as according to Vogler (1998) it makes the character more believable and we can identify with possibly saying or doing the same, as it is only natural to have self-doubt.
Tests, allies and enemies are presented in my story in numerous ways. The first test is whether Eboshi will help Ashitaka, even when it is revealed to her that he is cursed. An ally that Eboshi will have to work alongside is the wolves, whom she hates this in some way is also a test, to see whether she can work together for the greater good of everyone around her. Working alongside the wolves is also hard for her as she doesn't know whether she can trust them. Trust is important and something Lady Eboshi has to learn, especially as she doesn't know Ashitaka and she has everything to lose (Iron town). The enemies that are developed briefly in the story are the boars, they are they animals that carry the disease of hatred for mankind and want to punish them.
Although some of these ideas were touched on briefly Vogler also has character archetypes that contribute in making a successful storyline. The one that I used was the hero. As defined by Vogler (1998) 'The hero or heroine is the classic protagonist of the story with whom we associate most. They embody our most aspirational values and put higher duty and the welfare of others before their own, even to extreme forms of self-sacrifice. Achieving the goal of the story may thus be achieved only at terrible personal cost, although the hero may gain much personal learning and growth in the transition. Heroes can be willing or unwilling, deliberate or accidental, solitary or leaders, already-recognized as a hero or start out as an ordinary person.'
In my fan-fiction Lady Eboshi is the intended hero, despite the original film where Ashitaka was. Although it is hard to compare from how Eboshi was to how she is going to be, the story ends on an event that will test her character and either make her or break her. She is an unlikely hero that’s motives are mainly to help people because of her nature; although she can be mistaken as arrogant. She is defined as a hero through her willingness to put aside her differences for the good of her town and the forest, as well as Ashitaka; even though she is hesitant.
References:
Miyazaki, H. (Director). (2006). Princess Mononoke. Tokyo: Studio Ghibli Productions.
Vogler’s Story Structure. (2002-2014). Changing minds.org. Taken from The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for writers. Vogler. C. (1988). Retrieved from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/plots/vogler_structure.htm
Vogler’s Archetypes. (2002-2014). Changing minds,org. Taken from The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for writers. Vogler. C. (1988). Retrieved from http://changingminds.org/disciplines/storytelling/characters/vogler_archetypes.htm
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