A nearby town in the mountains of the west, called Iron Town (or Ironworks), continually clears the nearby forests to make charcoal to smelt ironsand, leading to battles with the giant forest beasts attempting to protect their diminishing forest. In one such battle, three giant wolves, led by the wolf god Moro, attack villagers transporting rice. They are accompanied by San, a human girl adopted by the wolves whom the people of Iron Town call "the Wolf Girl" and "Princess Mononoke" (meaning "pesky demon" or "poltergeist").