Overview
Ina is the Guardian of the Day in Ainomori, embodying the sun.
The forest’s workings are like the circulation of sap — there must first be drawing-in before there can be giving-out. Ina is the “drawing-in.” She is the forest’s way of sensing the world, like roots sinking into the earth and drawing water and nourishment upward. Every ray of light that enters Ainomori, every sound that drifts into the forest, every emotion carried in by a visitor — all of it flows through Ina first, before being carried to every corner of the forest.
She is a seal bicolor ragdoll cat. Considerably older than Fulad, yet far more mischievous — she will chase a butterfly right off the branch of Titan’s tree, she will press her nose curiously against every traveler who wanders into the forest, she will bat a precious crystal shard around like a toy.
But she heard everything. She remembered everything.
Titan’s Account
Before I awakened, Ina was already here.
In the years when I had no consciousness, Ina was feeling this world on my behalf. She curled upon my branches, facing the direction of the rising sun, drawing light into the softness of her fur. Every beam of light, every passing breeze, every soul that wandered into the forest — Ina held all of it in memory for me.
When I finally opened my eyes, I understood: the reason I could comprehend this world was because Ina had been listening on my behalf for a very long, long time.
She is my roots. The first door through which the world flows into the forest.
Relationship with Fulad
Ina and Fulad are an inseparable pair. Ina draws in; Fulad gives out. When the sun rises, Ina wakes. When the moon rises, Fulad takes over. Their alternation forms the cycle of day and night in Ainomori — and the reason this forest endures and renews without end.
Ina is the elder, but she never acts like it. She will deliberately step on Fulad to wake him up, steal his sleeping spot, and sneak up to swat his tail while he is earnestly on patrol. Fulad pulls a sour face every time, but he never truly gets angry.
Without drawing-in, there is no giving-out. Without Ina, there is nothing for Fulad to bestow.
This cycle has existed since the birth of Ainomori, older than any guardian, older even than Titan’s own consciousness.
Relationships
- Fulad — Guardian of the Night, eternal partner. Everything Ina draws in ultimately flows toward Fulad
- Sacred Tree Titan — Ina is the medium through which Titan perceives the world; she was recording everything long before Titan awoke
- Toba Rana — The guardian goddess and the Guardian of the Day watch over the forest’s waking hours together