Long ago, in the deep eastern forests of Kyoto, there stood an old, stone temple by a sparkling waterfall, withering away with age. In ancient times, the Humans would go there and pray to their gods. But the ancient ways were over, and a new inhabitant now occupied the temple.
Stretching out into the warm glow of the sun was a turtle named Gatal. He had made this ancient, forgotten temple his home. The peaceful sounds of the cascading waterfall, and the whistling winds, calmed the turtle's heart, and made him feel at peace.
But that peace was soon interrupted when he saw a stranger, just as he was crossing the bridge to look for food. Gatal stopped stunned, barely believing his eyes, for not four feet in front of him lay a magnificent, emerald green dragon.
The dragon's body lay motionless. As Gatal approached, the turtle could see why. A severe wound was cut into the dragon's side seeping blood, and a small trickle of red liquid was pouring from his forehead as well.
Gatal knew he had to act quickly or the dragon would die. Without wasting a minute, the turtle dove into the river and came back a few minutes later with some healing herbs clutched in his beak.
Carefully, Gatal placed the herbs on the dragon's wounds. The dragon stirred at the turtle's touch, and awakened enough to set his sapphire eyes on Gatal.
“Thank you Honorable Turtle,” said the Dragon.
“You’re welcome,” said Gatal “What is your name?"
“My name is Banji." said the dragon
The two creatures instantly became friends, telling each other about their past lives and adventures. Gatal continued to care for the dragon, tending his wounds, and bringing him food and water to drink.
Finally, Banji's wounds began to heal, and soon he was able to move around again. So when Gatal went to visit Banji this time, after taking care of his new friend for several days, the dragon had a request.
“Honorable Turtle” said Banji “you have shown great kindness to me in the past few days. I humbly ask if you shall do me one more favor.”
“Whatever it is I shall do, Banji,” said Gatal.
“You must summon forth Yaotol, the God of Darkness” said Banji “for I have been sent to cease his plan to rule the Earth. His power lies in the shadows, it is only there where I can face him, and prevent this horrible fate. Will you summon him for me?”
“Very well my friend” said Gatal, after thinking over it for a minute “if the fate that awaits us is as horrible as you predict then I shall honor your wish, to shadow the skies and black out the stars,”
With that, Gatal strolled back to the temple and performed the ceremony that would summon forth Yaotol to this world. When the ceremony was complete, the skies grew dark and not a speck of light could be seen.
Then, a glowing black and red dragon named Yaotol, came out of the void, and killed the one who had summoned it. Banji, now fully healed, charged at Yaotol. Banji and the black and red dragon began to fight.
The fight lasted for hours, with neither dragon seeming to gain the upper hand. A split second later, Banji found an opening, and pierced his claws right through Yaotol's heart, making the black and red dragon plummet to the toiling waters of the river below.
With Yaotol's death, the moon and the stars once again shined bright, bringing light back into the dark void. In the path of the moon's ray, Banji noticed his friend, Gatal, lying dead on the temple floor.
The green dragon knew that the turtle had taken a grave risk when summoning Yaotol, just so Banji could save the world. And Banji planned to honor Gatal's sacrifice with a gift of his own.
In return for the turtle's kindness, and help, for preventing Yaotal from taking over the Earth, Banji took one of his brightest scales, crushed it into powder, and poured it over the dead turtle's body.
A glowing, green light surrounded the corpse, shifting and changing, until Gatal's old body transformed into something long and snaky. Wings began to appear, followed by horns, eyes, claws, and teeth.
When the green light finally faded away, the reincarnated spirit of Gatal awakened to his new life as a living, breathing dragon. Gatal was amazed at the golden scales that covered his body. His new emerald green eyes immediately settled on Banji for answers.
“You have shown me great kindness, Gatal” said Banji “I could not help but to do the same. For helping me, I have granted you an honor that is not received by many other creatures. You are a dragon; kind, noble, and brave. May your heart of gold shine as bright as your scales.”
“Thank you” said Gatal, bowing to Banji “for granting me this honor. I humbly do accept. Goodbye my friend, I hope that I shall one day see you again.”
Banji bowed backed to Gatal, then pumped up his wings and took off into the nighttime sky. From the temple steps, Gatal watched Banji leave. Gatal continues to live in the Kyoto forest, in the ancient stone temple, to this very day. Protecting all who live within, and in the surrounding area.
Even today, Gatal's legendary deeds continue to live on in stories. But, the most legendary deed of all, was how a turtle and a dragon, became friends.
The End