..turns out a group I liked split, one half going for more 'epic', the other half wanting vocals. This is from the former.
EDIT: for giggles, since was explaining the pic to Jaise..it's based on an old (Muromachi period, so, 1300s) story about a tiny (and i mean a single inch) boy who wants to be a samurai. So he sets out, wielding a sewing needle in a sheathe of straw, for adventure. In a rice bowl paddled by a chopstick he sets down the river.
Eventually he joins up with a daiymo to serve him, but because of his tiny stature, they humour him: he's to be the
playmateprotector of the daimyo's daughter.
One day though, a hammer-wielding oni attacks them, grabbing up little Issun-boushi and swallowing him. Not surrendering, Issun-boushi stabs the oni with his needle repeatedly until he is spat out. Dropping his hammer, the oni flees.
Now this hammer wasn't just any hammer, but a magical mallet that allowed wishes to come true. In some versions Issun-boushi shakes the mallet, causing riches to come forth, going on to enjoy life in the court. In others though, the princess recognises the mallet and tells him 'whatever your wish, this can make it so, be it fortune or glory'. He simply replies with 'I have no interest in either, I merely wish I would grow'. Waving the mallet, the princess commands him to grow, and so the tiny samurai was tiny no more. Now full sized, he returns with her to the city, and eventually they are wed.
.... and this is why in final fantasy when you are hit with the Shrink spell, the item to grow back to full size is a mallet
