Shizuka

Many centuries before the villages took their present shape, Shizuka first entered the world through a strange boundary inhabited by Unown.
Embodied and alone, she was discovered by a Tropius gijinka who sheltered her and patiently taught her how to live within a body she scarcely understood.

Over time, Shizuka discovered that her voice possessed an alarming relationship with meaning: words spoken with genuine intent could influence the world around her.
Cautious of what an accidental word might cause, she eventually chose silence, reserving her own voice for the rare moments when necessity outweighs its danger

Gradually, the formless companions she had left behind began joining her, with Shizuka's voice helping each one take a stable form and receive a name.
One became two, two became many, until twenty-eight distinct Kotodama stood beside her.
Out of the home they built together grew Kotonoha-in—the Monastery of the Leaves of Words—a place devoted to listening, questions, remembrance, and the belief that words should be chosen with care.
Despite the centuries that have passed, Shizuka remains at its heart today: its High Priestess, the First Listener, and the quiet mother of an exceptionally noisy family.

Travelers now arrive at Kotonoha-in carrying questions. Some seek knowledge or shelter, some hope for an audience with its mysterious High Priestess, and some simply follow the sound of a bell. Those expecting a distant oracle instead find a quiet woman who loves Nanab berries, calligraphy, tea, strategy games, gentle rain, and the enormous family continually finding reasons to disturb her peace.

Shizuka is rarely difficult to find, though she may be difficult to understand. She might be performing calligraphy with black-and-gold Hidden Power, tending quietly to the monastery, walking beside a newly welcomed child beneath the Grand Nanab, or simply sitting beside someone who needs to be heard. The Unown drifting around her often become her words, and those patient enough to listen may discover that silence is not the same thing as having nothing to say. Although, if you are mute or deaf, she does know JSL.

Kotonoha-in itself is an open door for interaction. Visitors may bring a question to the Hall of Questions, seek knowledge or refuge, witness one of Shizuka's performances, investigate the strange Unown inhabiting the grounds, become tangled in the daily lives of twenty-eight wildly different Kotodama, or slowly uncover why their silent mother guards her voice—and what waits beneath the roots of the Grand Nanab.

At Kotonoha-in, you need not arrive knowing what you wish to say.

Someone will listen.