This giant rope creature perplexed us all as he sort of dabbed us onto the cliff before the Fountainhead Palace.
While it's mentioned in no item descriptions
We can actually make an educated guess about what he represents
So let's tie a knot in it once and for- I'm so sorry about the pun
A shimenawa or enclosing rope is a length of hemp or rice straw
That's commonly found woven around torii gates, shinto shrines, and also sacred landmarks
They're here to act as a sort of ward against evil spirits
Or to indicate passage into a pure, sacred space
Quite a few of these exist in game,
For example, there's the gate right before the valley that houses the Sacred Serpent God and
Since the Divine Dragon looks about 20 times as divine as the Serpent God
I guess they needed a bigger rope for the divine realm
Blocking our way to said realm however, is the real Corrupted Monk
A warrior woman who guards the Vermillion bridge
So one thing that marks female warriors as of the Okami clan is a vulnerability to Sabimaru's poison
She doesn't have that vulnerability
But what she does have is the signature laugh and movement of the Okami
Which marks her as a part of their clan, but perhaps she is not a part of their bloodline
Anyway
She has some really fascinating additions to her character compared to the rest of the Okami
First and foremost
She's infested. Hence
She's immortal and
This happened to be a quality that the Fountainhead thought would be quite appropriate for an eternal watcher of their palace
Her true name is Priestess Yao
and this is a name that user tsurumaru on reddit thinks is a reference to Yao Bikuni
A fisherman's daughter who became immortal after eating the flesh of a ningyo and I completely agree with this theory
So a ningyo is best translated to mermaid for those of us in the West though more accurately
it's described as a fish creature with shining scales, a humanoid face, and the mouth of a monkey
In the story of Yao Bikuni, she eats the flesh of the ningyo and
Those who do so are said to be blessed with incredible longevity
And this is what happens to Yao Bikuni who in the story
Went on to become a wandering, immortal priestess
So there's clearly a parallel here to Priestess Yao, the Corrupted Monk
Which leads me to believe that Priestess Yao may have eaten immortal ningyo flesh as well
Because the Divine Dragon, in fact, is called the Ningyo Dragon in the game's hidden files and
Related to the Divine Dragon through a Chinese legend are the Great Carp. The Great Carp are also a type of ningyo
They're a fish with human origins because the pot nobles all aspire to become a Great Carp
Pot Noble: If you ever happen across another pot like mine ignore any requests he makes of you.
Pot Noble: He's the shame of our clan, he's a treasonous villain who attempted to kill the Great Carp for his own benefit
Thus
There have been many Great Carp over the years and you can find their corpses littering the Fountainhead lake bed
All of these rotting corpses are a sort of testament to the ambition,
the backstabbing, and the desperation of the Pot Nobles to become eternal
Pot Noble: Soon, I will be a carp. And as age withers you away,
Pot Noble: as you sit powerless in the face of eternity, I will be the new Great Carp
Curiously, one such corpse is infested with luminescent centipede creatures
Which may well explain the infestation of Priestess Yao
If she did indeed eat the ningyo flesh like her namesake did
So this is a really strong theory to think it could be this Japanese legend about eating the flesh of the ningyo
which is the missing puzzle piece to us understanding where the infestation comes from and
at the very least it is the Fountainhead rejuvenating waters that spread the infestation throughout all of Ashina
As many of the infested have clearly drank deeply of these waters
Near the infested corpse of the Great Carp is the fallen spirit of Yashariku who haunts the bottom of the lake
so the headless are ruined forms of Ashina's heroes and
Yashariku in particular has a really interesting story
So he died to the palace Nobles but his spiritfall states that he might not have
Had his twin been at his side
Alas, his twin was lost in childbirth
Which goes on to explain why we lose half our health when using his item and
Why a second apparition fights beside him below the lake. He was never quiet whole even after death
Much of the architecture below the lake has become uninhabitable
Thanks to the overflow of divine water and
There's no one here capable of rebuilding this because
Their civilization is now literally comprised of a warrior caste in the Okami, and a noble caste with the palace Nobles
And even more of their area is in the process of being destroyed by the Great Carp
So placating the carp has become a necessity
This explains our slug harvest discussion in the last episode and
All of those slugs likely end up here in the hands of the Great Carp attendant
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: My father is now a noble and the moment he became one
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: he found himself entranced by a carp, the Great Carp
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: For a long, long time since, he's done nothing but feed that cursed carp
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: Young man, please, release my father from the carps bewitching powers.
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: I know my father wouldn't wish for an eternity like that
So their father became a Noble in the lifetime of these two daughters
So it follows that these women might have been some of the last to come through here from Mibu village
They're the only remaining humans we find in this place and they're so old now that they've basically
Become all but invisible to the palace Nobles
Because they no longer have any youth to drain
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: Young man, please be careful, the palace Nobles have a craving for the vitality of youth
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: They can't help themselves, they want nothing but to sap away more and more of it
For generations wedding processions were led from Mibu village
Leading to the divine realm which was an honor that was bestowed only upon those who could master the Mibu technique of breathing underwater
And when they arrived the wedding procession was allegedly given water of the palace
Which can then turn you into a Noble and then you would be fit to become a citizen of the palace or were you?
Because behind locked doors in a dark room that leads up to the Fountainhead peak
There are these red Nobles of the palace
Whose outfits likely denote their higher rank and here they feast upon the corpses of the Okami
And they do so while right behind them lie a set of white wedding palanquins
Palanquins that surely belonged to the wedding processions derived from Mibu village
And if they had no problem devouring their own kind then they certainly
Wouldn't have a problem draining the life force of those coming from Mibu village
And if they had no problem killing them then the very least of their concerns
Would be the Great Carp attendant who they tricked into performing a really undignified task
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: You...you beasts, you tricked him all this time
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: Nobility this and eternity that, pretty lies to fool him
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: Give him back! Father... My Father!
Daughter of the Carp Attendant: Give him back!! *crying*
So as Fountainhead culture descended down a really dark path
It's no surprise that Tomoe and Takeru saw fit to leave
So these two are basically mirror images of Sekiro and Kuro
The Divine child and their guardian just like us
Except that Tomoe and Takeru
Descended from the Fountainhead and then began to mingle with the Ashina elites
Emma: Back then, Lord Genichiro and I would come here a lot
Emma: Lord Takeru would play the flute and Lady Tomoe would dance under the Everblossom
Emma: It was a wonderful sight
Notes that just as Takeru played the flute of the palace Nobles
So too did Tomoe dance like the Okami of the Fountainhead, it's a cool little detail
Emma: That day beneath the branches of the Everblossom tree Lady Tomoe
Emma: tried to commit suicide
Sekiro: Why?
Emma: She said those made immortal by the oath of the Dragon's Heritage
Emma: Shackle their masters.
Sekiro: So in order for the purification to occur, the oath bound of the Dragon's Heritage must die?
Emma: Yes, precisely
Speaking of the oath bound, one trait of those touched by the Divine Dragon
Appears to be this streak of white atop one's scalp
Sekiro has it, Kuro has it, Kuro 2.0 has it
Hell even the Okami warrior women have it
But none have it more than the purple garbed lightning-bearer atop the great sakura tree
Her hair is pure white
Perhaps a testament to the age of these eternal beings that were blessed by the Divine Dragon
And it bears mentioning that the actual name of the Divine Dragon in Japanese is the Sakura Dragon
Which is a name that suits it way better when you consider the nature of the sakura tree
These cherry blossoms, if you didn't know, they only bloom for one week in an entire year
It's this period of exquisite beauty that
Sadly cannot last but is all the more beautiful for it
To the Japanese, this symbolizes an acceptance of destiny, karma, and mortality
And this balance is really usurped and turned kind of unnatural in Sekiro
Because the sakura here bloom permanently and this is of course thanks to the Sakura Dragon
Who drifted here from the west and he probably was lost
Until he discovered Japan which luckily also had sakura trees and he decided to settle in this fertile land which
Which forced the lesser gods out and I've spoken of these lesser gods before
Since it's possible that the lesser gods are the Serpent God and Buddha who were once a part of this region
But I should really also be mentioning the white dragons of the tree
These wise and little dudes that also fit the description
Their faces can be found on the architecture of the palace
Thus I think it's likely that they were actually here before the dragon took root
They are of the tree, after all, and I reckon these little gods were merged with the
divinity of the Sakura Dragon when he made their tree his own
And we mentioned the white hair of the oath bound as well, something that is also seen with the old dragons
They have become this really sickly white
Literally to because they are very sick, in contrast to the black dragons
these white dragons are a representation of Dragonrot and the stagnation that's afflicting us all and
It's actually the act of killing these white dragons that purges the affliction from the tree
Which causes it to blossom, which causes the Sakura Dragon to rouse itself back to life
And the first thing we notice with the dragon is that it's terribly wounded
And there are some interesting theories on this as well
So first, it could be wounded because it's showing the effects of Dragonrot or
Maybe it had these wounds before
When it was cut free from the West and drifted to Japan or
An even better theory
It's possible that these wounds the dragon has mirror the wounds that we, Sekiro and Kuro also have sustained
We are of the dragon's blood after all and just like the dragon has lost its left arm
We have as well, and just like the dragon has a gash on its chest
Kuro also cut himself with the Mortal Blade when he drew blood for the Fountainhead fragrance
Another really likely theory is that
Maybe it sustained these wounds during an earlier fight and the best candidate for a fight against the Divine Dragon
Is Tomoe, who would have fought the dragon for its dragon's tears
And Tomoe may have also been the original owner of the second Mortal Blade, the Black Blade
It's easy to complete Sekiro without really realizing that the Black Blade exists
But it is a supremely important item for explaining the story
It's real name is "Open Gate", a weapon with the power to open a gate to the underworld
Which, if you didn't know, is what happens at the end of the game when Genichiro
Summons his grandfather back in his prime to defeat you and it's description has one final line
One that reads, "I beseech you make offerings for the dragon's blood"
This links the weapon to the Divine Dragon and
While it's the most sinister example of the Divine Dragon wanting an offering
It's not the only example of offerings, the Okami dance as an offering, the Mibu were brought here as marital offerings
Those of the Fountainhead had a practice of cutting spirit emblems from their flesh with a ceremonial knife
and there's also a shrine maiden here who has passed away praying at the dragon's shrine
And then there's the Black Blade which was allegedly used for offerings as well.
And now let me explain why the Black Blade would have belonged to Tomoe
First we know that Tomoe wanted to sever immortality and for this she needed the tears of the Divine Dragon
However, while the Black Blade could wound the Divine Dragon it couldn't impart its tears
And for this she would need the red Mortal Blade, which is actually named "The Gracious Gift of Tears"
It's designed for this purpose. But, unfortunately for her, it was hidden away by the Senpou High Priest and
No matter what Tomoe tried
She could not get him to reveal its whereabouts and she did try to get it which puts her at odds with the Divine Dragon
Second, those Tomoe was closest to in Ashina ended up knowing a lot about the Black Blade
A scroll describing it is left outside of Isshin's quarters
Genichiro trained under Tomoe and later managed to find the Black Blade
And Takeru wrote of beheading with the Mortal Blade an act that Genichiro
Performs with the Black Blade at the end of the game
My point here, is that Tomoe
Influenced the lives of so many people and it's crazy to imagine that we might not learn more about her in the future
This series took a long time to make so if you enjoyed it
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But only if you order in the next two days, not many of you are still listening at this point in the video
But I got to get something off my chest
This episode marks the end of the five-part series and this explains the majority of Sekiro's story
This was a really lore heavy episode
I know not everyone can stick through these long heavy episodes, but I'm actually quite proud of this series
Which is rare for me to say
Because I feel like this series uncovered a lot of lore that has never been written about online before and
I think this series will stand as a really good resource for people looking to uncover the deeper meaning
That the game has and the game does have a deeper meaning obviously
You know that but a lot of people don't know that because
Unlike something like Dark Souls people don't look for the deeper meaning in Sekiro
Because Sekiro already has a really obvious surface level story
But the depth is there and it's good and I hope you share it with some other people
So I'm happy that I could bring some of that to light and I'm happy that there's some of you who are still listening who
Clearly appreciate that story, too. So thank you for being a part of this and I'll see you next time