Okami AmaterasuThis is a featured page

Real Name: Amy Iwato
Room: F20
Age: 37
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Height: 5'4"

Backstory
There are quite a few events that form the Okami Amaterasu we all know (or will know) and love. At the start of her life, and for an indeterminate amount of years thereafter, she was the guardian goddess of the Celestial Plain; looking over the other gods and doing her sun goddess thing. She was a friend of the Moon Tribe, an ancient clan which was entrusted with making sure the Celestials returned to the heavens after their 'furloughs' in Nippon, and more particularly to one named Waka. Her life was a pleasant one, as one could expect, and the praise of the humans fed her almost constantly.

Then came the fateful day when the Ark of Yamato arrived on the Celestial Plain. Unknown to the gods, the Moon Tribe had made the Ark as a glorified prison ship, binding terribly strong demons within the bowels of the vessel. Waka, the pilot of the Ark, had no idea of the demons' power, and so was also caught unaware when Orochi broke free. Orochi, an eight-headed serpent with a body as great as a mountain, soon began laying waste the the entire heavenly realm. Amaterasu, of course, quickly jumped to the defense, apparently the only god who did so- all the others fled to the Ark of Yamato in an attempt to flee. Only Waka stood with her in the defense, and even then he soon retreated in a vain attempt to rescue the other deities.

Even though she was effectively standing alone, Amaterasu didn't give up in her struggle. She and Orochi battered the Plain with their conflict, and in the end, it was the sheer fury of the battle which sent both of them plummeting to their doom. Both goddess and demon fell to the earth below; Orochi into the Moon Cave, Amaterasu outside of Kamiki Village. The combat had left Amaterasu drained and battered, and yet she still wanted to continue it; determined to end the threat of Orochi once and for all. Only Waka's timely appearance and a prophecy kept her from limping into what would have been her death.

The Moon Tribesman prophesied that Amaterasu would be unable to stop Orochi on her own power. However, he also saw that, in one hundred years, a Chosen One would step forth in Kamiki Village, and if Amaterasu were to watch over and aid the Chosen, Orochi would be defeated.

That was all the goddess needed to know. She trusted Waka, even despite his apparent failure, and for the next century she waited because of that prophecy. Even when Orochi began demanding human sacrifices, and the people of the village began calling Amaterasu 'Shiranui', a minion of her mortal enemy... she waited and watched, confident in the Chosen One and in Waka's prophecy. For the sake of defeating Orochi and freeing humanity, she could take all of the hatred and despair of humanity, and even when the people of Kamiki began doubting the very existence of their beloved sun goddess, Amaterasu held fast.

Then the fateful day arrived. Nagi, who would become the great warrior revered in legend, first took it upon himself to fight off Shiranui. That particular battle... ended in failure for Nagi, who was at that point no match for Amaterasu. But the prophecy had already been made, and when Orochi demanded another sacrifice, Amaterasu knew what she had to do. She swiped the garments of the real sacrifice- ogling the maiden while she bathed while she was at it, ugh- and dressed Nagi in them. Then she dragged off the warrior while he was still unconscious, and together they made their way to the Moon Cave.

What followed was a ferocious battle, which ended in Orochi being sealed and victory for humanity... but not for Amaterasu. The goddess had been mortally wounded by the end of the conflict, and she didn't have long to live. She only managed to hold on long enough to be taken back to Kamiki, where Nagi informed all of them that the terrible wolf was actually responsible for freeing them from Orochi's dominion. With her final breath, Amaterasu accepted the apologies of the village elder for all of the pain she had gone through... and then she slipped off into a death-like slumber.

The village constructed statues of both Shiranui and Nagi, and for one hundred years Kamiki prospered while Amaterasu's spirit inhabited the statue created in her honor. But one hundred years after her entombment, one of the descendants of Nagi freed Orochi from his own seal. The serpent's curse swept over the whole of Nippon, and in desperation Amaterasu was reborn to combat the evil.

That desperation lead to Amaterasu losing almost all of her power and memories. With only a sacred mirror and Issun, a wandering artist who followed her on her journey, Amaterasu immediately began searching for a way to defeat Orochi and free the world from his curse. It was during her journey that she finally met with Waka again, and though she had no memory of him he obviously remembered her. The prophet challenged her to a battle, and the goddess eagerly agreed. Twice they fought, and both times Waka expressed disappointment over her weakened state.

In response, Amaterasu became only more determined to cleanse the world of Orochi's taint, and in the end- with the help of Susano, Nagi's descendent- she proved victorious over the demon. And yet... and yet the curse was not yet lifted. With barely more than a victory howl for celebration, Amaterasu dashed off to continue her quest, Issun by her side as always. From the deepest seas to the Imperial City of Sei-An, the goddess continually fought against evil wherever it reared its head. All during this time Waka seemed to be one step ahead of her, giving her vague (if hilarious) prophecies and always encouraging her to the next step of her journey.

Only slowly did she finally understand what was truly going on. A Day of Darkness, a solar eclipse so powerful that Amaterasu would be stripped of all of her divine powers, was fast approaching. And on that day, the darkness would gather and attempt to destroy her and the world while she was helpless. Of course, Ammy didn't take the warning too seriously; so long as humanity believed in her, she felt like she could face any foe. 'Leap before you think,' as Issun succinctly put it; she wouldn't let something so small as a horrible celestial event slow her down.

Her quest eventually took her and Issun to the frozen wastes of Kamui, where a pair of mechanical demons were wreaking havoc. It was during her explorations there that she finally encountered herself as she had been; an artifact took her one hundred years in the past, and she relived her battle with Orochi. And when she returned to her own time... she met Shiranui. That form was insanely powerful, far beyond what Amaterasu had become, and she finally saw what Waka had meant with his disappointment. With the aid of her past self, the two of them dealt a critical blow to the pair of demons, both Lechku and Nechku were left disabled and vulnerable.

But during that battle, Shiranui had been critically injured while protecting one of the warriors of Kamui from the demons. Ammy was moved as the warrior gave up a long-standing quest to destroy the demons himself in order to stay with Shiranui... and also struck by her past self. Shiranui recovered just enough from the mortal blow to limp back through the portal in time, back to a hopeless battle against Orochi and a hundred years of death-like sleep. And yet Shiranui seemed utterly fine with this; both Issun and Ammy could have sworn that they saw the older wolf smiling as it disappeared.

Strengthened by what she had seen, Amaterasu dashed to the Ark of Yamato where it was buried in the ice of Kamui, determined to put a stop to the darkness once and for all. And it was there that she had to say good-bye to Issun. The Ark was sealed so that only the 'worthy' could enter... and Issun did not pass that test. Amaterasu tried to get Issun on board somehow, even preparing to jump off the ship to grab him... but to no avail. She was left inside with Waka, and it was there that everything was revealed.

All of the Celestials who had fled onto the Ark, all those years ago, were slaughtered by the demons. Amaterasu was the last of her kind, and she had failed in her duties as a goddess. The only thing she could do in atonement was continue to fight on, and yet the failure weighed heavily on her mind as she stepped into the final chamber.

There, she found a battered Waka already in combat with Yami, who was promptly introduced as the source of the darkness and the murderer of all the Celestials. Amaterasu, enraged, prepared to attack... but it was at that moment that the Day of Darkness began. The goddess lost all of her powers, left as a helpless wolf against the most powerful demon in the world. Yami seized the moment, trying to blast Amaterasu into oblivion while she was defenseless, and only Waka interposing himself kept Amaterasu from death. His words, about his guilt for bringing such devastation to the Celestials and how he would fight a losing battle alongside Amaterasu, and that there was hope for humanity so long as she went back to the Celestial Plain, encouraged the goddess to get back up...

...and then Yami finally broke through Waka's guard. The prophet was blasted into the darkness far below them, apparently dead. At first Amaterasu couldn't believe what she was seeing, but her shock was soon replaced with righteous fury. Her wrath recalled all her power to herself, despite the Day of Darkness, and Yami was sent reeling from the sheer ferocity of her onslaught. It seemed like the goddess was victorious when the demon collapsed to the ground, and Amaterasu prepared another victory howl.

But just when she had been about to, she faltered to a stop. It was at that moment she realized what a state she was in. Issun was gone. Waka was apparently dead. And all of the rest of humanity was remote, their prayers no longer reaching her. The howl that she did eventually give was mournful, filled with her sudden loneliness and the realization that she truly was the last of her kind, in every sense of the phrase.

Yami seized that moment, suddenly grabbing Amaterasu and nearly crushing her. His power vastly outmatched hers at that moment, and before she could do anything her body was flung to the ground, again depleted of the divine energy that should have sustained her.

It is at that point, when darkness seemed to be shrouding all of Nippon and even the sun goddess herself, that Amaterasu was taken to another world...


Telepaths' Section
Amaterasu is pretty much an open book when it comes to telepaths; indeed, it can sometimes be difficult to ignore her, simply because her emotions and thoughts are expressed far more clearly and vibrantly than most normal human's are.

Personality
Amaterasu, being a goddess, is a bit complex. Her 'portfolio', or what she's supposed to be doing as a deity, is quite broad. "Origin of all that's good and mother to us all," as it's commonly put. It's more accurate to say that she's a deity concerned with bringing good about to people, and enabling humanity to be happy and therefore to offer the praise deities need to remain powerful. Therefore, she's extremely benevolent and goes out of her way to do good things to people- even if they might not necessarily deserve it at the time.

She's also extremely caring. She plays games with children, she helps little old ladies put out their laundry, she even romps with other canines and feeds hungry animals. Ammy's happy to do whatever she can for those who are in need, and the praise and happiness they feel enables her to do more powerful things for those who need it. She's also a tremendous lover of nature; constantly rejuvenating barren trees and bringing back green to a land that's in desperate longing for it.

On the other hand, Amaterasu WAS a wolf. Her ability to express herself was often limited- and the gestures she learned as a wolf can sometimes be misunderstood, as what's normal for a wolf might not be for a human. There is also a pronounced tendency to get distracted by shiny objects and- for reasons no one has yet been able to fathom- beautiful women. Long expositions tend to make her curl up and doze off, and she rarely feels the need to explain herself or her actions. She also has an endless appetite, and eats practically anything edible set before her. Or put in her line of sight. Or kept in an open area. Or locked tightly and held for a special occasion. Even as a wolf, she would eat vegetables and cherry cakes and... well, no need to belabor the point.

She has a deep-seated hatred for demons and other 'unclean' creatures. She wishes to purify the world of their kind, and refrains only when there seems to be no other means of getting what she wants. The largest case in point being disguising herself (vaguely) as a demon in order to get close to Orochi.


At Landel's
Thus far Amaterasu hasn't done too tremendously much in Landel's; other than discovering that many of her brush techniques are lost, and that she requires a physical brush to replace her lost Celestial Brush (not her tail, as Waka calls it,) she has done little exploring or investigating. As well, the crimson marks on her body can apparently only be seen by those who have some sort of spiritual insight or power; normal individuals see her only as an equally normal women, albeit a beautiful one.

On the positive side, she has met up with Reinforce and Raine Sage, both of whom seem to trust her to an extent. She also protected Asato Tsuzuki and a group of others during the Twenty-Second Nightshift, and later checked with the shinigami, only to be confused when he asked her if she was a 'shikigami' and the conversation was ended before too much more could be said.

Tao Master Waka has been and remains her closest friend, and she is overjoyed to finally be able to converse with him in person. He restored her faith in herself after her defeat at the hands of Yami, and her trust in him has not abated. Therefore, when he said she should do godly things and restore humanity's faith in the gods and in herself, she began doing so immediately.

It should be pointed out that Amaterasu is always looking for opportunities to earn praise and faith in herself. PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS!


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jade_pen
Latest page update: made by jade_pen , Apr 19 2007, 10:20 PM EDT (about this update About This Update jade_pen Edited by jade_pen

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Keyword tags: Amaterasu character okami
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WhiteWolfOkami Good Job 0 Oct 4 2007, 9:03 AM EDT by WhiteWolfOkami
Thread started: Oct 4 2007, 9:03 AM EDT  Watch
Hey, great job describing all of that. I'm kind of not that person who would take much of the time to do so, but great. Heh.
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