Silence nestles softly in the monastery's courtyard. The grass, dark and dry, gives way to the sandstone tiles, smoothed by the wind, marking a path from the monastery's main building through the courtyard. A solid ring sounds, startling the brown eared pheasants that move lazily through the dry grass. Unable, truly, to fly, they glide away from the source of the offending sound.
A second ring course through the massive courtyard, metal on metal, bringing the monks who live and worship here out. What they see does not surprise them.
"Wusheng is at it again." one monk says, shaking his cleanly shaven head.
A second monk, joining him, sighs. "How many this time?"
The monk pauses briefly before answering. "All of them."
--------
Three men stand, weapons drawn, ready to fight their enemy, if they can find an opening. The first stands well over six feet tall. Dark blue silk covers his legs and waist, a sash of similar color crosses his waist. A heavy battle axe rests in his hands, balancing against the pull of his over-sized muscles. A tuft of black blonde hair shows on the humans head. A thick layer of sweat covers the heavy muscles of his exposed chest.
The second, wielding a gim, is smaller, more agile, than the first. His long, silver hair is pulled back into a tail, and hangs to the small of his back. His silvery-blue skin marks him as a moon elf. The course cotton suit he wears is a deep brown that seems to blend in with the very land around him. His stance is strong and sure as he holds the blade before him.
Thick blonde hair runs from the top of his head, down to the bottom of his jaw, and hangs just below his shoulders. His thick broad sword and fair skin marks him as a westerner, one of the few ever allowed to stay in the monastery. His heavily muscled frame and strange fighting style, remnants of his time as a captain of an army in a place called Waterdeep, often is too much for his enemies here.
A blur of golden blonde hair streaks past the first warrior as he tries to draw a bead on his opponent. Thinking he has the pattern of his enemy solved, he brings his heavy battle axe down, only to find the ground. A second warrior, this one with a gim, a slender long sword, slashes just above the axe in nearly the same instant. The target, though, manages, some how, to twist and spin out of the sure death.
In a blur of red and gold, he throws himself into the air backwards, turning and flipping, before extending his leg to bring down third combatant, the foreigner. Landing in a spin, he takes two spinning steps, causing his long, braided hair to spin about him, making a loop around his neck and hanging over his shoulder, neatly out of the way.
The two remaining warriors look at each other, then at the fifteen other warriors that lay, groaning, on the sandstone and rough grass. Weapons lay strewn about the courtyard, making acrobatics dangerous. They look back at their enemy. His momentum played out, he can be seen clearly for the first time since the battle had begun.
The light blonde hair plays of his darker, golden skin. Two large dao, each nearly the same size as the wielder, play lightly in the hands of this strange elf as he widens his stance, preparing for the attacks of the two that remain. The red and yellow silk that covers most of his body is met and matched by the red sash at his waist. The gim at his side marks him as a Lieren-Mogui, a demon hunter of lesser rank.
The first warrior, with the battle axe rushes in, blade leading the way. With a vicious slash, the axe drops hard. Spinning to the side, Wusheng narrowly misses being hit and his hair stands out from his body. The end of his braid connects with the big mans forehead with surprising force, staggering him.
The moon elf, not pausing for a moment, comes in, gim first. The sun elf continues his spin, bringing his left leg up and connecting his heel with the forearm of the attacking elf. Before he can press his attack, though, the large man grabs him from behind, throwing him over his shoulder. The elf's dao drop to the ground, one clanking against the sandstone.
Twisting his body with the throw, the sun elf lands in a dive and rolls twice before coming to his feet to meet the charge of the moon elf. Twisting to the side to avoid the thrust of the slender long sword, he grabs the thrusting wrist, forcing it to continue moving forward, as he steps back with it, dropping his dantian, his center of balance, where the qi is held.
The moon elf's eyes open wide in shock as he's pulled half-way past the sun elf. With the momentum of the strike added to his own, the sun elf lets go of the wrist and his palm connects with the moon elf's chest. Stepping forward, pushing his qi out, he extends his arm, just shy of full extension, sending the moon elf tumbling through the air to land hard on the grass many feet away. He lay there and groaned, unable to stand again to continue his fight.
The large man, the only one now standing against this elf, seems to have lost the will to fight. He stays, though, with his battle axe before him. With a screaming battle cry, he charges in with the axe held high. Stepping to the side, the sun elf's fist connects with the knuckles of the large man, sending the battle axe spinning away. With a quick grab, the elf twists the large mans wrist, locking it tight and dropping him to his knees, which brings his face level with the elf's. The elf's right hand streaks in, a blur of motion, aimed for the mans throat...
... And stops just touching it.
In disgust, the elf pushes the large man away from him.
"This was supposed to be a challenge." he says, unable to hide his low opinion of his opponents. "You are all supposed to be my superiors." With a snort, he stalks off to collect his blades.
------
"You wished to see me, Shao-sifu?" the sun elf asks later. The room he's in is fairly spartan, by most peoples standards, with only a minimum of furniture. To Wusheng, though, it was the most lush room he had ever seen.
A shelf made of dark wood rests against three of the four walls, lining the room at waist level for the man who it belongs to. Numerous candles illuminate the room, showing dozens, maybe even over one hundred, leather bound books lining the shelf. In the center of the room rests a thick cushion, surrounded by wooden scrolls, tools for calligraphic carving, even a brush and ink and expensive papyrus scrolls, a rarity here, brought by the warrior from Waterdeep as a gift to the master of the monastery.
Resting in the thick cushion was Shao-sifu, master Shao Yun Ng. The man, despite being human, was nearly as old as Wusheng, who was just shy of his first century of life. In his youth, he had been a demon hunter, one of the few to survive more than 30 years of the work. He had earned the greatest title possible, Fu Yao Da Chia, the great demon catching hero. Now, he was the master of the monastery and, quite possibly, the only one here Wusheng felt was worth his respect. Even at his great age, he could still use his demons sword better than most of those he had fought earlier this afternoon.
Shao's face was wrinkled, his hair, stark white, showing his immense age. His dark blue silken clothing was dirty, showing that, despite his age and position, he still did his share of the work around the building.
"Yes, Wusheng." he says softly. "I saw your sparring session this afternoon."
Wusheng practically beams. He fully expects his master to tell him how impressed he was with the fight.
"You fought well." the elderly master says. "You have the potential to become Fu Yao Da Chia. However..."
The addition of 'however' gave the sun elf pause. iHowever what?/i he wondered. iWhat could I have possibly done wrong? I fought nearly flawlessly./i Then it dawns on him.
"I apologize for allowing myself to be thrown and disarmed, sifu. I will do better next time." He bows his head, staring hard at the floor in shame.
The old man merely chuckles, drawing a confused look from the relatively younger elf.
"There is more to being a demon hunter than being a great fighter." the old man says.
"I have been studying the Wan Gui Yao." the elf insists. The Wan Gui Yao, the book also known as i"Essentials of the Ten Thousand Infernals"/i, lists most known demons, their powers, and their known or suspected weaknesses. "As well as studying the languages you asked me too."
"Have you been studying the languages of the humans?" the old man asks.
"Sifu... They are not considered demons now, are they?" Wusheng asks confused.
"No, no. I asked you to study their languages, though."
"Why? What possible use for the human tongue could I have? I can speak, read, and write two elven languages, as well as Baatezu common and Tanar'ri."
The old man sighs. "I think, young Wusheng, that it is time you learn that for yourself. I have a mission for you."
Wusheng nearly jumped, he was so excited. Most demon hunters would only track three or four demons in their whole life, if that many. To be sent on a mission at his early age was surely a sign of greatness.
"I wish you to hunt the Subarashii no Oni."
Wusheng nearly collapsed. The Subarashii no Oni is a demon so great that none that track it have ever found it. In his native tongue, the demon is called Diyu-dailai, the hell bringer. Master Shao, though, is from Kozakura, an island off the coast of Shou Lung, and he still uses their language.
Many who track the Diyu-dailai disappear, vanish completely with-out a trace. No one even knows what it looks like, or if it really exists. Stories of it are plentiful, though. As with any legend, though, one must sift through the garbage, the lies, and the simple mistakes, to find the truth, if any exists.
"Word of it surfacing in the Yehimal mountain range has reached me." the old master says. "You will go there and investigate." The old man pauses for a moment, then grasps the gim at his side.
"Take this." he says, holding it before him.
iWu Yao Gim.../i Wusheng thinks, knowing the name given the blade and the story behind the blade. It is said to have been created by Tyr, a human deity from the west, for the sole purpose of hunting demons. It was handed down from hunter to hunter for centuries before being offered to a Shao master demon hunter. The original appearance of the sword is said to be similar to the heavy blade the westerner from Waterdeep uses, but it changes to fit the owner. For the last three hundred years, it has been a gim, the slender long sword of the area, as is the preferred weapon for demon hunters of the monastery.
"Sifu.." he says, unable to bring himself to grasp the jade inlaid handle. It is his masters prized possession.
"Take it, or I will beat you with it." the old master says, a trace of humor entering his voice.
Wusheng merely nodded. He never understood his masters sense of humor, or any humans, for that matter. The grasp of the blade, the weighting of it, feel so natural, so balanced that it's as if it has grown straight from the elf's hand. Staring at the blade, he sees the blood groove is also inlaid with jade and 'Kuni' crystals.
The jade is said to help protect from the touch of the undead, as well as cause it severe pain. The kuni crystals prevent them from regenerating, healing their wounds unnaturally.
"Gather your gear." the master says, interrupting his thoughts. "You will leave in the morning."
--------
Translations can be found at http://wuyausu.homestead.com/home.html under glossary
A second ring course through the massive courtyard, metal on metal, bringing the monks who live and worship here out. What they see does not surprise them.
"Wusheng is at it again." one monk says, shaking his cleanly shaven head.
A second monk, joining him, sighs. "How many this time?"
The monk pauses briefly before answering. "All of them."
--------
Three men stand, weapons drawn, ready to fight their enemy, if they can find an opening. The first stands well over six feet tall. Dark blue silk covers his legs and waist, a sash of similar color crosses his waist. A heavy battle axe rests in his hands, balancing against the pull of his over-sized muscles. A tuft of black blonde hair shows on the humans head. A thick layer of sweat covers the heavy muscles of his exposed chest.
The second, wielding a gim, is smaller, more agile, than the first. His long, silver hair is pulled back into a tail, and hangs to the small of his back. His silvery-blue skin marks him as a moon elf. The course cotton suit he wears is a deep brown that seems to blend in with the very land around him. His stance is strong and sure as he holds the blade before him.
Thick blonde hair runs from the top of his head, down to the bottom of his jaw, and hangs just below his shoulders. His thick broad sword and fair skin marks him as a westerner, one of the few ever allowed to stay in the monastery. His heavily muscled frame and strange fighting style, remnants of his time as a captain of an army in a place called Waterdeep, often is too much for his enemies here.
A blur of golden blonde hair streaks past the first warrior as he tries to draw a bead on his opponent. Thinking he has the pattern of his enemy solved, he brings his heavy battle axe down, only to find the ground. A second warrior, this one with a gim, a slender long sword, slashes just above the axe in nearly the same instant. The target, though, manages, some how, to twist and spin out of the sure death.
In a blur of red and gold, he throws himself into the air backwards, turning and flipping, before extending his leg to bring down third combatant, the foreigner. Landing in a spin, he takes two spinning steps, causing his long, braided hair to spin about him, making a loop around his neck and hanging over his shoulder, neatly out of the way.
The two remaining warriors look at each other, then at the fifteen other warriors that lay, groaning, on the sandstone and rough grass. Weapons lay strewn about the courtyard, making acrobatics dangerous. They look back at their enemy. His momentum played out, he can be seen clearly for the first time since the battle had begun.
The light blonde hair plays of his darker, golden skin. Two large dao, each nearly the same size as the wielder, play lightly in the hands of this strange elf as he widens his stance, preparing for the attacks of the two that remain. The red and yellow silk that covers most of his body is met and matched by the red sash at his waist. The gim at his side marks him as a Lieren-Mogui, a demon hunter of lesser rank.
The first warrior, with the battle axe rushes in, blade leading the way. With a vicious slash, the axe drops hard. Spinning to the side, Wusheng narrowly misses being hit and his hair stands out from his body. The end of his braid connects with the big mans forehead with surprising force, staggering him.
The moon elf, not pausing for a moment, comes in, gim first. The sun elf continues his spin, bringing his left leg up and connecting his heel with the forearm of the attacking elf. Before he can press his attack, though, the large man grabs him from behind, throwing him over his shoulder. The elf's dao drop to the ground, one clanking against the sandstone.
Twisting his body with the throw, the sun elf lands in a dive and rolls twice before coming to his feet to meet the charge of the moon elf. Twisting to the side to avoid the thrust of the slender long sword, he grabs the thrusting wrist, forcing it to continue moving forward, as he steps back with it, dropping his dantian, his center of balance, where the qi is held.
The moon elf's eyes open wide in shock as he's pulled half-way past the sun elf. With the momentum of the strike added to his own, the sun elf lets go of the wrist and his palm connects with the moon elf's chest. Stepping forward, pushing his qi out, he extends his arm, just shy of full extension, sending the moon elf tumbling through the air to land hard on the grass many feet away. He lay there and groaned, unable to stand again to continue his fight.
The large man, the only one now standing against this elf, seems to have lost the will to fight. He stays, though, with his battle axe before him. With a screaming battle cry, he charges in with the axe held high. Stepping to the side, the sun elf's fist connects with the knuckles of the large man, sending the battle axe spinning away. With a quick grab, the elf twists the large mans wrist, locking it tight and dropping him to his knees, which brings his face level with the elf's. The elf's right hand streaks in, a blur of motion, aimed for the mans throat...
... And stops just touching it.
In disgust, the elf pushes the large man away from him.
"This was supposed to be a challenge." he says, unable to hide his low opinion of his opponents. "You are all supposed to be my superiors." With a snort, he stalks off to collect his blades.
------
"You wished to see me, Shao-sifu?" the sun elf asks later. The room he's in is fairly spartan, by most peoples standards, with only a minimum of furniture. To Wusheng, though, it was the most lush room he had ever seen.
A shelf made of dark wood rests against three of the four walls, lining the room at waist level for the man who it belongs to. Numerous candles illuminate the room, showing dozens, maybe even over one hundred, leather bound books lining the shelf. In the center of the room rests a thick cushion, surrounded by wooden scrolls, tools for calligraphic carving, even a brush and ink and expensive papyrus scrolls, a rarity here, brought by the warrior from Waterdeep as a gift to the master of the monastery.
Resting in the thick cushion was Shao-sifu, master Shao Yun Ng. The man, despite being human, was nearly as old as Wusheng, who was just shy of his first century of life. In his youth, he had been a demon hunter, one of the few to survive more than 30 years of the work. He had earned the greatest title possible, Fu Yao Da Chia, the great demon catching hero. Now, he was the master of the monastery and, quite possibly, the only one here Wusheng felt was worth his respect. Even at his great age, he could still use his demons sword better than most of those he had fought earlier this afternoon.
Shao's face was wrinkled, his hair, stark white, showing his immense age. His dark blue silken clothing was dirty, showing that, despite his age and position, he still did his share of the work around the building.
"Yes, Wusheng." he says softly. "I saw your sparring session this afternoon."
Wusheng practically beams. He fully expects his master to tell him how impressed he was with the fight.
"You fought well." the elderly master says. "You have the potential to become Fu Yao Da Chia. However..."
The addition of 'however' gave the sun elf pause. iHowever what?/i he wondered. iWhat could I have possibly done wrong? I fought nearly flawlessly./i Then it dawns on him.
"I apologize for allowing myself to be thrown and disarmed, sifu. I will do better next time." He bows his head, staring hard at the floor in shame.
The old man merely chuckles, drawing a confused look from the relatively younger elf.
"There is more to being a demon hunter than being a great fighter." the old man says.
"I have been studying the Wan Gui Yao." the elf insists. The Wan Gui Yao, the book also known as i"Essentials of the Ten Thousand Infernals"/i, lists most known demons, their powers, and their known or suspected weaknesses. "As well as studying the languages you asked me too."
"Have you been studying the languages of the humans?" the old man asks.
"Sifu... They are not considered demons now, are they?" Wusheng asks confused.
"No, no. I asked you to study their languages, though."
"Why? What possible use for the human tongue could I have? I can speak, read, and write two elven languages, as well as Baatezu common and Tanar'ri."
The old man sighs. "I think, young Wusheng, that it is time you learn that for yourself. I have a mission for you."
Wusheng nearly jumped, he was so excited. Most demon hunters would only track three or four demons in their whole life, if that many. To be sent on a mission at his early age was surely a sign of greatness.
"I wish you to hunt the Subarashii no Oni."
Wusheng nearly collapsed. The Subarashii no Oni is a demon so great that none that track it have ever found it. In his native tongue, the demon is called Diyu-dailai, the hell bringer. Master Shao, though, is from Kozakura, an island off the coast of Shou Lung, and he still uses their language.
Many who track the Diyu-dailai disappear, vanish completely with-out a trace. No one even knows what it looks like, or if it really exists. Stories of it are plentiful, though. As with any legend, though, one must sift through the garbage, the lies, and the simple mistakes, to find the truth, if any exists.
"Word of it surfacing in the Yehimal mountain range has reached me." the old master says. "You will go there and investigate." The old man pauses for a moment, then grasps the gim at his side.
"Take this." he says, holding it before him.
iWu Yao Gim.../i Wusheng thinks, knowing the name given the blade and the story behind the blade. It is said to have been created by Tyr, a human deity from the west, for the sole purpose of hunting demons. It was handed down from hunter to hunter for centuries before being offered to a Shao master demon hunter. The original appearance of the sword is said to be similar to the heavy blade the westerner from Waterdeep uses, but it changes to fit the owner. For the last three hundred years, it has been a gim, the slender long sword of the area, as is the preferred weapon for demon hunters of the monastery.
"Sifu.." he says, unable to bring himself to grasp the jade inlaid handle. It is his masters prized possession.
"Take it, or I will beat you with it." the old master says, a trace of humor entering his voice.
Wusheng merely nodded. He never understood his masters sense of humor, or any humans, for that matter. The grasp of the blade, the weighting of it, feel so natural, so balanced that it's as if it has grown straight from the elf's hand. Staring at the blade, he sees the blood groove is also inlaid with jade and 'Kuni' crystals.
The jade is said to help protect from the touch of the undead, as well as cause it severe pain. The kuni crystals prevent them from regenerating, healing their wounds unnaturally.
"Gather your gear." the master says, interrupting his thoughts. "You will leave in the morning."
--------
Translations can be found at http://wuyausu.homestead.com/home.html under glossary