3) Before the Great War

The Age of Splintered Harmony

Long before the Great War, Yamato was a land of balance. Humans tilled rice in Sakuragawa’s fertile plains, yōkai roamed forests and rivers, and the kami walked openly among shrines and mountains. There was tension, yet life was lived in rhythms of respect and negotiation. Each clan—be it mortal, spirit, or divine—tended to its own lands while trading and feasting with neighbors. It was a fragile peace, like the still surface of a pond, beautiful yet easily broken.