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Of Mythos and Ancient Lore; Kenta the Spider
An introduction to one of my newest enteries to the MAL universe, as it were; Kenta the Spider. A trickster spirit with a tragic past who's story was built with a father's greedy hands and torn down by an Oni's deceit.
Warning; The story of Kenta the Spider includes brief mention of parental death, shitty parenting, bridal grooming, forced crime, maiden corruption, murder, prolonged periods of torture, and child death. Viewer Discretion is Advised.βββββββ βͺ Β°γΒ° β« βββββββ
Kenta was originally the second daughter of an imfamous rotten wretch of a merchant, but she loved him all the same. The man had already had one daughter, doomed to be groomed into the ultimate merchandise to be use for future business-settling, and he desperately wanted a boy to do all the harsh and trying chores and, hopefully, to take the business when he inevitably passed. Or some time before, so that he might be able to spend the rest of his dead lounging in his ill-gotten luxury.
Instead, on what would become her death bed, the man was blessed with Kenta.
At first he was excited. After all another girl-child meant another future business partner earned, or business deal settled (or debt repaid). But as Kenta grew older he realized that Kenta was not taking after her mother or her sister. While his late wife and Kenta's sister were very beautiful women, Kenta was very plain and tended to get decent amounts of muscle on her bones and dirt on her hands because she liked playing outside so much. Specifically, Kenta enjoyed playing out in the untamed wilderness at the base of the mountain.
So, Kenta's father decided that she would just Be his son.
Kenta didn't mind, of course, as she preferred working hard instead of sitting idly inside, trying to learn how to be pretty and all things feminine. Ger sister was far better at all of those things already and this way her father actually praised her for her accomplishments. So she worked hard, eventually coming to call herself 'Kenta', as she felt it was a better fitting name than the delicate, feminine name she had been given at birth.
Misfortune, however, is never far from those who lead rotten lives. Kenta's father one day decided that he was smarter than he truly was and got himself in deep, deep trouble at the nearby city's gambling hall. Usually this would not be an issue; a slip of coin here and a honeyed promise there, what was a little gambling debt between like-minded men. But this time he had not lost to just anyone. He had played against, and lost to, an Oni. When begging and pleading for his life did not suffice he resorted to the two greatest assets; His children. His eldest child was beautiful and humble, perfect company for an Oni, and his youngest child Kenta had come to know many tricks of her father's undesireable trade. Thus Kenta was thrust into a life of crime under the watchful eyes of the Oni in order to try and earn her family's way out of debt and out of his pockets.
The problem was, however, that this Oni had absolutely no desire to let them go, made even worse by the fact that the Oni had indeed taken a liking to Kenta's beautiful sister. But Kenta was a spunky, clever sort who had practically grown up being a little trickster and a thief and had been encouraged to do so by her father, so in time Kenta actually manage to get quite a bit of wealth for the Oni.
And with the oni liking Kenta's sister, and with Kenta being the one to settle her family's debt, well.
The Oni didn't have need of their father anymore.
But you see, while Kenta was a child playing outside in the woods, Kenta actually became rather friendly with the local wildlife. Specifically, a peculiar fox that liked hanging out around this queer little building in the middle of the trees. Kenta wasn't raised to be religious, so shrines and spirits didn't really mean much to Kenta, but one of them certainly took a liking to her. So, when Kenta started asking questions about the whereabouts of her lay-about father, and asking about how her sister was doing but got no answers from the Oni or his lackeys?
It was that peculiar fox that showed her to the site where they had haphazardly thrown and partially buried her father's body.
Worse yet, the Oni had already had her sister carted away to his home up high in the mountains, where the corruption of her human body was already taking place so that she might one day be able to deliver many half-demon children without losing her life.
Now, Kenta wasn't very happy about all of this. After all, the only reason she had even taken up a life of crime was because she wanted to protect her father and her sister. But now, not only had Kenta paid the Oni back and he had no intension of releasing her, but her father was dead and her only remaining family was lost to her forever.
So she tried to run away. Tried, and failed. And because she attempted to escape, the Oni decided that her already completed contract was now completely null. And, because her father and her sister weren't around to accept the father's punishment, they took it out on poor Kenta instead. For four weeks she was tortured by the Oni, barely given any food or water and unable to truly get much rest, until finally one day they decide that she was no longer entertaining. So, they tossed poor Kenta out into the woods, expecting her to die.
Except... she did not.
Instead, she was found by a peculiar fox that looked somewhat familiar in her fading eyesight. Familiar, but for the strange dancing flames around it's head. Familiar, but perhaps with not so many tails.
The Kitsune asks Kenta a simple question; Will you let me in? And since Kenta recognized the Kitsune as a friend, she said yes.
Kenta no longer remembers her true name, the name she held before she accepted the mantle of First Son, the name before she accepted the trickster spirit into her body. She does not remember exactly when or how she came to be as she is now. All that she remembers is that she seeks a delicate and rare flower, one kept high up on a mountain she's never seen before in a place she used to call home. A fact the remembers only in those moments when the moon is high and the grasp of the Fox is strangely weakened. When the sun rises she becomes more of the Fox once more, tricking and tempting travelers in her woods to a game of risk and chance.
Woe upon those who believe that they can out-trick the Trickster, Woe upon those who lead lives built upon the misery of others. Woe upon the Oni, for her grudge runs deeper than even she is aware, and Woe upon the poor child who lost their life so long ago deep within the forest as she rested upon the bones of her father, for now she too is merely the plaything of Spirits.
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coloring Β© 
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editing Β©
character concept Β© &
Category Artwork (Digital) / All
Species Vulpine (Other)
Size 1280 x 1163px
File Size 2.15 MB
I was actually so tempted to give her another set of eyes, but I thought that it might throw off her character a little too much. Especially because 'The Spider' is more of a nickname, or a title, rather than any hint of her species or origins.
But now I have an idea for a many-eyed spirit. I just need a species for it, now. 
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