Higi Village

==Quests==
==Features==
===Exploration===
*Bake-Danuki
*Electro Current Puzzle
*Electro Seelie
*Sword Hilt
*Thunder Sakura Bough
===Enemies===
===Interactables===
*Incomplete Register
==NPCs==
* Chouji (Although he resides at Jakotsu Mine, he is still considered an inhabitant of Higi Village)
* Washizu - Village Chief
* Yasumoto - Pharmacist
==Soundtracks==
==Lore==
===Past===
Higi Village on Yashiori Island was one of the areas worst affected by the ongoing conflicts between the Watatsumi Army and the Shogun's Army. Not only did the residents have to suffer through constant losses, due to the ongoing war, but they were regularly being visited by the Shogunate's Officers — both to ensure the villagers wouldn't side with the resistance and to commandeer the village's supply of Crystal Marrow, their biggest export and source of income, for the war effort.
Washizu, the village chief, remained throughout to try and help his people to the best of his ability, while also relying on the capabilities of both the village pharmacist Naoko and his student Yasumoto. Early on in the war, Washizu kept a diary of sorts in the Incomplete Notes, where he stated that both sides of the conflict did not seem to care for the plight of Higi Village, only showing up to hand out propaganda for their respective side, while the village itself became inundated with refugees from Jakotsu Mine and started to succumb to a shortage of food and wealth. Due to the dire circumstances with which the village found itself in, Washizu decided to adopt a socialist approach, by gathering up the wealth of his citizens and redistributing it equally between them. He also set aside a portion of the wealth for the local Pirates, who seemed to have a symbiotic relationship with the village. Finally he nominated himself to guard the local Shrine, as he believed it to be his duty as the village head.
After Orobashi fanatics in the Watatsumi Army destroyed the wards protecting Yashiori Island, the residents slowly started to succumb to the effects of the newly released Tatarigami. Many of the residents either fled, with some joining the local Pirates, or fell ill and eventually died, while others started to lose their minds and descend into madness and insanity.
Washizu started keeping a logbook in the Incomplete Register, which was originally used to keep track of the residents who unfortunately perished, either due to the war, or due to the effects of the Tatarigami. While he could not do much himself in the face of such an invisible enemy, he was reliant on the abilities of Naoko and Yasumoto to find a cure for the sickness, although he never did trust Yasumoto. Many residents fell to the effects of the illness, without Naoko or Yasumoto making any headway with a cure, before, eventually, Naoko himself fell ill and started to lose his mind. Washizu had no other option but to lock him up, where he eventually passed, leaving Yasumoto to be the sole pharmacist. In his Pharmacist's Notebook, Yasumoto reveals that he could not do anything to combat the Tatarigami and thus resigned himself to making Lavender Melon and Sugar Soup, under the deception of it being a sort of medicine for those who were sick. Washizu eventually caught on to this and labelled Yasumoto as a fraud, while believing that his initial distrust of him was indeed warranted.
It was during this time that many of those who were sick decided to flee and seek aid from the local Pirates, under the command of "Uncle" Onitaka. As is heavily implied in the Pirate's Diary on Nazuchi Beach, one of those who fled was Chouji's father, who seemingly abandoned his wife and son under the influence of the sickness. Despite making a decent recovery to the eyes of the Pirates, he declined their help in returning for Chouji and his mother and instead disappeared, leaving the Pirates somewhat bewildered by his actions. This also led the remaining villagers to tell Chouji and his mother that their father and husband had died at the hands of the sickness.
Back in the village, Washizu had begun his slow descent into madness. Most of his villagers had either fled or died, while the Tatarigami's influence led him to begin having auditory hallucinations about a god he addresses as "Him." Washizu began sacrificing the remaining villagers and even passersby to the village, whether they be man, woman, or child, and recorded their names in the Incomplete Register. One of the villagers that was to be sacrificed was Chouji's mother, whom Washizu alleged was special to "Him" and that "He" was pleased with her.
However, Chouji's mother had departed from Inazuma altogether by that point. She had gone to seek aid from Yasumoto for her random bouts of fevers and bleeding, only to discover that she was not tainted by the Tataragami like the others, but that it flowed freely inside her. Yasumoto recommended that she seek out Onitaka and have him give her passage to Sumeru, where he hoped Sumeru Akademiya would have a cure for her. Even though she was abandoning her son Chouji, much like her husband had done, she believed she had no other choice if she was to get better and find her husband, to eventually reunite their family. Yasumoto, writing in his Pharmacist's Notebook, explained that he would take care of Chouji when the situation was stable. Onitaka, for his part, entrusted the safety of Chouji to some of his men, before eventually setting sail with Chouji's mother for Sumeru.
Chouji, unaware of the reason why his mother departed, was left alone in Higi Village. Cognizant that Washizu was no longer in his right mind, and finding Yasumoto "creepy" as a result of misunderstanding Yasumoto's reluctance to reveal himself to the boy, Chouji began collecting Crystal Marrow to try and scalp enough Mora out of an unsuspecting traveler or merchant to set off and find his parents.
===Present===
;Editor's Note: As the items and World Quests pertaining to the story of Higi Village can be discovered and completed in any order, please be aware that the following story might not be in canonical order.
It was during this time that the Traveler and Paimon met Inaba Kyuuzou, a Samurai from the Shogunate army who was under siege by a group of Pirates, who are heavily implied to some of Onitaka's men. The Traveler and Paimon save the injured samurai from the raiding Pirates, much to his chagrin, as he is not following the Samurai code by accepting help, instead of resigning himself to death in battle. Over the following days, the Traveler and Kyuuzou formed a rapport, with the Traveler aiding Kyuuzou in foiling the Pirates' plans and lowering their numbers through combat. Despite this rapport and having made a recovery from his injuries, Kyuuzou disappears, leaving only his Final Words where he once resided, expressing his deepest regrets and apologies. It is uncertain whether he simply left, or committed seppuku, an honorable form of suicide for a samurai.
Shortly thereafter, the Traveler and Paimon discover Higi Village and make the acquaintance of Yasumoto, who is still living in the village, trying to develop a cure for the sickness, despite the fact that there are very few remaining residents left. Although he hasn't made much success, he has potentially found a clue that could lead to a breakthrough. Seeing as the local Naku Weed is steeped in the Tatarigami's energy, Yasumoto believes that he could potentially use the plant to create a vaccine. However, noting the very harsh and dangerous conditions, he, as a meagre pharmacist, would have to endure in order to collect the Naku Weed, he enlists the Traveler's help in his endeavour. Over the course of the following days, the Traveler proceeds to collect bunches of Naku Weed for Yasumoto, while he remains inside his house working on the potential vaccine and simultaneously using himself as a guinea-pig, leaving payment on his doorstep. In his Pharmacist's Notebook, Yasumoto mentions how the aid of the Traveler has fast-tracked his work on developing a cure and after several days of delivering the batches of Naku Weed, he disappears, leaving the parts of his notebook scattered around the village. The Traveler discovers that Yasumoto headed to the southern shoals of Yashiori Island, to test the final batch of his vaccine on himself, but his ultimate fate is unknown.
While doing the leg-work for Yasumoto, the Traveler and Paimon take note of a young boy, beside the now empty Jakotsu Mine. He introduces himself as Chouji and tries to sell the Traveler his small batch of Crystal Marrow, at a ludicrously inflated price. Having had to grow-up before his time, due to needing to fend for himself, Chouji acts far more mature for his age than normal and uses underhanded and sneaky tactics to try and lure the Traveler and Paimon into buying his wares. After some rebuttal, Chouji backs down slightly, offering to sell the Crystal Marrow for a low share of the profits, if the Traveler agrees to help him actually mine it. Eventually, they all come to an agreement once Chouji mentions his stash of treasure, that the Traveler can take if they help him out.
Upon returning with the Crystal Marrow, the Traveler and Paimon are not amused by the treasure left for them and confront Chouji about his usage of yet more sneaky and underhanded tactics, which are not befitting of someone his age. He starts to open-up about himself, but abstains, saying that he will reveal why he is doing this, if the Traveler helps him out again. Upon returning with yet more Crystal Marrow, Chouji finally opens up about himself, explaining about his parents, Washizu and Yasumoto. He also explains that he plans to either ask Onitaka's men about traveling to Sumeru, not knowing that his mother is already on her way there with Onitaka himself, or that the Traveler has wiped out many of his men on Nazuchi Beach, or that he will go to Narukami Island and board a cargo ship bound for Snezhnaya.
As a final gift, he offers to teach the Traveler how to cook Imported Poultry, although he is lacking the ingredients, due to having lived off of Lavender Melons during the ongoing crises. After retrieving the ingredients, the group sit down to enjoy a meal and Chouji gives thanks for helping him out. Although he is embarrassed to ask, due to his fear of Washizu, he politely asks if the Traveler can do one last task for him, which is find out any information about his mother from the local Shrines, before he eventually sets off on his journey to find his parents.
Upon their departure from Higi Village, the Traveler and Paimon come across Washizu, sitting besides the Village's Shrine. During their first encounter, Washizu appears to be in a deep meditation of some sort, ultimately getting annoyed at the Traveler and Paimon's attempts at conversation. He tells them to pray and worship at the Shrine as he does, so that they can hear "His" words. Despite the fact they hear nothing while praying, Washizu assures them that "He" heard them and will offer them gifts the following day. Upon returning, there are indeed rewards for the Traveler and Paimon and so, under the guidance of Washizu, they continue praying. This continues for several days, with the Traveler and Paimon praying at the Shrine and receiving bountiful gifts the following morning. During this time, Washizu is visually and verbally more erratic, appearing to descend into sheer lunacy before their very eyes. Eventually, the Traveler and Paimon lose hope and wonder if this whole thing is a scam, while Washizu trembles and mutters to himself beside them. As they pray for the last time, Washizu tries to stab them in the back, only for the statue to warn them of their impending fate, leading the Traveler to defeat Washizu in combat.
After searching his house for any clues, the Traveler and Paimon ultimately discover the morbid history of Higi Village:
Most of the residents have either fled, died or been sacrificed to Orobashi, Yasumoto is missing, presumed dead, Chouji's father is missing, his mother is on her way to Sumeru with Onitaka, whose men have been defeated by the Traveler, Chouji himself is on his way to Snezhnaya and Washizu, who was using his sacrifice's belongings to con people into praying at the shrine in order to sacrifice them, met his untimely fate at the end of the Traveler's sword.
==Other Languages==
==Change History==
==References==
==Navigation==
es:Aldea Higi
ja:緋木村
pt-br:Vila Higi
ru:Деревня Хиги
vi:Làng Higi
zh:緋木村