Jade Empire
Saving China: A Fable of Li Hong
Disclaimer: I do not own the Jade Empire Franchise or China (obviously) but all of the characters in this fan fiction are mine. I have borrowed the martial arts system from the game as well as the places such as tien's landing, the Imperial City, and so on and so forth.
Prologue
It was a cold winter evening with white snow covering the ground. Most stayed in side to keep warm but those who had no choice worked hard to keep food on the table. In a little village in the jungle not far from the Imperial City lay a mother bleeding out of the womb, shrieking in pain, crying for her husband. The father of this unborn baby was out selling goods. The woman was at the tea house when she began to go into labor, blood was everywhere. An old woman noticed the commotion and summoned her husband and a midwife. It wasn't long after that, that the head started to crown. Her husband frantically ran to be with his wife, tripping over everything in sight, his body shaking hoping he will make it in time. The midwife rushed to the woman telling her to push but the woman had not the strength in her to go on any longer The little boy whose name would be Li Hong would not make it if his mother were to give up. His mother knew this and continued until the cries of a baby were heard. His father did not make it in time, he was too late. His wife had passed on to the next world, the spirit world. The baby was crying franticly now as the midwife took a knife to cut the umbilical cord the father arrived and when he saw his wife lying dead on the cold ground he began to weep with much sadness and sorrow. He saw his son and took him in his arms holding his kin close weeping for his wife but still happy that his son had made it. Li was new to the world and his father made a solemn vow right then and there that he would never abandon his
Five years had gone by, they had done many things together, they would fish and hunt and cook, but Li's father never forgot his wife and the hurt never went away. He wanted to be so angry, but his son did nothing to deserve judgment and discontentment. The night of Li's fifth birthday He lay next to the fireplace in a small cottage on the outskirts of the village, on a small farm. It was in the dead of winter. It always snowed this time of year it started in October and ended in March. A couple of hours went by as the boy fell asleep, the snow started to fall heavily. Footsteps could be heard from miles away. An army crept close to the village but it was not the Imperial Army but a savage army of the west. As the army crept closer more and more people became aware of what was happening. Many of them gathered their things and took off. But would be found later in the wilderness cold and tired and there they would meet their end.
Arrows started to fly as women ran for their children. Men on horse back bearing swords and spears and heavy armor tore the village apart looking for "The One."
The five year old boy, Li cried for his father as steel cutting through flesh could be heard closer and closer. The cries of war could be heard from far away. His father put Li into the basement under the Cottage. It was a safety precaution he knew he would need one day. For he also knew the Prophecy, an old blind man passing through village had once told him of the greatness his son would one day, not only bring for their village but China as a whole. He would reunite China and become its leader. Li's father was no warrior. These barbarians from the west, white men, carrying torches and steel, bearing thick armor and broad shield tore Li's father apart, into pieces of flesh and gore. It was a slaughter. Not one man, woman or child were left alive that day. Save one…