Hello everyone!
My name is Jules, and this is the third story me and Warrior of Spectra will write together. Some time ago, I told Warrior about the Kung Fu Panda fandom, and he quickly took a liking to Shen. And why wouldn't he? Shen is awesome!
This story is the first part in the 'Rise of Shen' saga, wich will exist out of three stories. In this one, we will follow Shen as he is banished from Gongmeng, and follows a dark path...
This story will take place after Shen is banished from Gongmeng, and how he got his Army and made his plans to take over China. This story is also part of Warrior of Spectra's series 'The Spectra Chronicles'.
We hope you like it! :D
And if you do, please leave a review :3
-The Shadow Gryphon and Warrior of Spectra.
The sun stood high at the sky, as underneath lay the ancient Chinese city of Gongmeng. Two Peafowls, a male and a female, looked out of the window of their tower. The Peafowl was sobbing as the Peacock held her in his wings.
"H-How could he do this?" she sobbed. "What did we do wrong?"
The Peacock sighed. He desperately wanted to give his wife an answer that would make her feel better. But what did you when you just discovered that your loved one had just wiped an entire species?
Instead of answering, the ruler of Gongmeng sighed and stroked his wife's head feathers, looking at the horizon. In the distance, a huge army of Wolves, ex-soldiers of Gongmeng City, were marching away. And if he looked closely, he could see a white Peacock in front of them.
"I don't know, my love...I...Just don't know" sighed the ruler of Gongmeng City, not taking his eyes of his the bird, Ex-Lord Shen. The one who had wiped out all Panda's in China...And his son.
Lord Shen, the former Prince of Gongmeng City, had trouble not looking back. Yesterday, a goat Soothsayer named Gothi, his nanny and stand-in-mother, had told his parents that a Warrior of Black and White would defeat him. Shen had no idea why, how and when he would be defeated, but he had assumed the Warrior would be a villain. After many brainstorming, he had concluded the Warrior must have been a Panda. So he had concluded that the only way to save China from this evil, was too elimate all Panda's. It would be a terrible thing to do, but if the fate of all of China was at risk, he had to do it. And he had succeeded.
But instead of rewarding him, his parents had banished him and the Wolves that assisted him. His own parents had exiled him! He knew they used to be a little disappointed in him, but he was always sure they loved him.
Apparently, they didn't.
"Are you okay, my Lord?" asked a voice next to him. Shen looked up. His Second-In-Command, Fang. Fang was a large Wolf, and the leader of the Wolf soldiers that served Gongmeng before their exile. He had a bandage over his right eye, wich he had lost in the previous days against the leader of the Pandas.
Shen didn't answer him immediately. After a while, he opened his beak.
"Do not worry Fang, we will have our revenge...Gongmeng City will bow before me...Just like all of China will!" he vowed, finally looking behind at Gongmeng City.
"You will pay, Father and Mother...I will become Gongmeng's ruler...And all of China will bow at my feet!" he called. Fang and the Wolves looked worriedly at their master, but didn't say anything. After all, what was there to be said?
The Cave of The Old Ones had been known by the Crow clans of China for many generations, long before the Empire of China had even begun to take root and become the leading government. To the Crow Clans, who were one of the social outcasts of China due to their "frightening" black feathers and a common trait, which the Crow were commonly best known for, of stealing and being scavengers, along with the Raven and Magpies.
While most of the animals of China believed the Crows were an unorganized race, believing that the Scavengers were so untrusting of themselves that any form of alliance of organization would collapse since the Crows had a habit of stealing.
But the animals could not have been even farther from the truth.
The Crows were indeed organized, had their own system to govern themselves and that they were indeed much more than thieves. The Crow Clans took pride in their clans and families, stealing for the benefit of not only themselves, but also their families.
And the Crows also had Patrons…The Old Ones themselves and, unlike the other races who judged the Crows, the Old Ones supported the Crows and for the past centuries…the Crows had been preparing for this moment. The moment that would grant the Crows, and many other races, the respect they deserved.
And in order for their moment of triumph to begin: the group of four Crows making their way up the snowy path of the mountain peak, entering a dark cave, were carrying a stretcher made of soft white clothes…on the stretcher was the outline of a Peafowl, a female, covered with a white sheet…a sign the peafowl was dead.
Or so would the common animal mind would think.
One of the Old Ones, the gracious Persephone herself, the Raven of Black, told the Crow clan of a Peahen…whose life would end tragically this very day. She told the Clan leader where his clanmates would find where the Peahen's body lay…and what state it would be in.
The Crow leader dispatched four of his fast flyers to where the Peahen predicted location would be.
And sure enough: the Crow's found her.
The Indian Peahen's body lay near the side of a lake, her body covered in bruises and deep wounds that were fatal. There were various signs that the poor female had been defiled by whoever her attackers were. The heartbeat of the Peahen was deathly slow…meaning the Crows had to reach the Cave of the Old One's quickly.
Despite the travel up the mountain taking several hours, the Crows had reached the entrance of the cave in time…and proceeded to make their way into the Cave of their clan's patrons.
The Cave, despite the exterior weather and temp, was surprisingly warm, allowing the Crows to take off their traveling cloaks since they were no longer needed.
Eventually, the Crows reached the very center of the mountain, entering a large circular chamber. Looking up towards the ceiling fifty feet above, the Crows saw what appeared two wisps of mist. One wisp of mist was Black with a crimson glow around it, while the other wisp was gray which had a yellow glow.
The Old One's were, as always, circling one another…in perfect harmony.
The Crows carefully walked forward, placing the stretcher in the center of the circular chamber, the only female crow of the group carefully removed the blanket from the head of the Peahen, revealing the once beautiful sapphire blue colored face of the peahen, now covered with bruises and cuts.
The crows slowly backed away from the center chamber…bowing to one knee…waiting for whatever their Clan's patrons…
For a half a minute, nothing happened. The two mysterious Old Ones remained in their perfect circling pattern…but another half a minute later, the two Old Ones, for the first time in centuries, broke their circle and flew down towards the dying Peahen and proceeded to circle her, causing the mist trails to fill the chamber. To the assembled Crow's, what happened next became a blur.
But in the center of the circle, the dying Peahen's body slowly rose up, the blanket covering her body flying off of her as the Old One's caused her body to ascend.
Suddenly: the Peahen's feathers began to shift from their sapphire blue color…to ebony black.
Twenty seconds later, the two Old Ones ascended back towards the ceiling…circling one another again.
The assembled Crow's unshielded their eyes…and stared in awe at the Peahen before them…The once dying Peahen they had brought in now stood up proudly...the Power of the Old One's had healed her…
Her Ebony black feathers almost reflected the light that touched them. Blue and emerald markings blazed her feathers beautifully and her silver talons shined in the sun light that peered through a crack in the cave.
The Peahen's emerald green eyes glanced over at the Crows.
The Assembled Crows bowed before the Peahen, who bowed back to those who had saved her.
There was no need for the Crows to explain who they were, or what they wanted from the Peahen…since the Peahen already knew. The Old Ones showed her everything…and what they wanted of her.
The least the Peahen could do for the ones who saved her life…was be their faithful follower. She would do so with no regret.
The leading crow slowly stood up and approached the reborn Peahen.
"Who are you…milady?" The Crow asked politely.
The Peahen's emerald eyes looked at the Crow. She answered in a calm voice.
"My name is Pia'long…I am Old ones' faithful blade and hand…"