Authour's notes -
Well, due to the fact that something went wrong with the html coding for the first chapter, reversing the in front of the code to a , I am going back to my old stand-by of lines with-in the *stars* being thoughts.
"Shao-sifu, are you sure about this?" The voice was deep, rumbling through the masters room. The speaker is the large foreigner that had fought Wusheng the day before. Garth Axeblade is his name. He spent five years working for the city of Waterdeep, far to the west. He had, over time, found that his life was missing something, and had set off in search for this elusive need. He wound up here, at a monastery a few miles outside of Kuo Te'Lung, three years ago and has long since become a trusted adviser to Master Shao.
He stood besides Shao Yun Ng, his nearly seven feet in height towering over the much smaller master. He was, in fact, much more intimidating, physically. Yet, when one looked at the two of them standing next to each other, there was no doubt who was more the master. They were looking out the window, watching the figure in the distance disappear into the sunrise.
"Very sure, Garth." the master says, at length. "Wusheng is very skilled, but he is lacking in the very basics of what it means to be a demon hunter. Humility and humanity."
"I agree, sifu, but to send the boy after the Subarashii no Oni..." the big man begins.
"He will find it not." the master interrupts Garth, knowing where the warrior is going.
"I would not underestimate his ability to track demons, sifu."
The old man laughs. "I do not."
Garth looks at the sifu confused, fearing the man's mind to have finally given into his age.
"Oh, do not look at me like that, Garth. You should know me better than that."
The large man finally grasps what the old master has done. "There was no report of the demon." he says at last.
"Very good. And when Wusheng fails to find and capture the demon, he will understand that he has failed. Having failed, he will be humbled and will understand."
The wind blows its welcome warmth over Wusheng. The sun had just risen, and the air still had a chill to it, even for elves who normally do not notice such trivial temperature changes. With his trusted dao strapped to his back, and Shao-sifu's prized gim at his side, he left the monastery for the first time in almost 5 years.
Well, not quite. He left regularly to hunt for the other monks, who's skills in the woods were lacking. But, never farther than that. He found himself feeling something completely knew to him. Fear. Fear of the journey between him and his target. Once he arrived in the Yehimal mountains, he would be back to his own business, what he has been trained to do, hunt demons. After that, he would return to the monastery.
*But, between here and there, there is so much.... uncertainty.* he thinks. Shaking his mind clear, he travels on, following a branch of Hungtse, a major river that crosses all of Shou Lung.
The area around the monastery is lush and green, leading Wusheng to, once more, wonder why the structure was built where it was. In fact, there was a jungle, which the elf is traveling through now, less than an hours walk from the monastery. Yet, it was built where the land cannot support plant life.
Looking around at the giant panda resting in a tree nearby. A crested ibis, a rare bird, and growing rarer as it is hunted for it's fine feathers, flies past the elf, it's song floating peacefully in the air. This brings a smile to Wusheng's face, as it would any elf, as he makes his way towards the Yehimal mountains.
As the sun continues to rise behind him, the day begins to warm and Wusheng settles into what he knows to be a long trip.
Three days of quiet travel, and Wusheng leaves the pleasant travel of the jungle behind him. In the near distance, Hungtse, the main body of the river, sounds loudly, telling him of his progress. The border of Shou Lung rests only another days travel past this river. In two days, he'll be in Tabot.
Walking through the quiet grasslands, the elf starts to look for supplies for building a float to get across the strong waters of Hungtse. A sudden scream from just over the next hill draws his attention. Rushing up the hill, the elven warrior-priest skids to a stop just as quickly.
A young woman stands, trying to support man, human both. Surrounding them are three creatures with the bodies of serpents, but the upper torso like that of a human, though they have longer, pointed ears of many other races. Each carries a naginata and slithers around the pair of humans, taunting them.
*Shinomen Naga. Asps.* he adds, looking closer. *Not my problem.* Wusheng thinks, until he notices that it is along his path. He is likely going to encounter the creatures, so he might as well do it when he has the humans for a distraction.
A dao in his right hand, his pack off his back and in his left, he moves down the hill. Just before reaching the naga, he drops his pack and draws his second dao. With his natural speed and stealth, the first asp naga never saw him coming as his first dao pierces the creatures neck, nearly severing it completely.
The five remaining naga turn on the new comer. One, the closest, charges the elf, thinking him to be an easy target. Wusheng raises a dao as if to block the naginata. Seeing this, the naga adds more force into the strike. The elf, though, pivots to the side, never intending to block the heavier weapon. The heavy pole arm buries deep into the ground, slightly over-balancing the snake-man. More importantly, his head is exposed. Wusheng, continuing his pivot, gains more momentum by dropping low. His second dao, in his left hand, digs deep into the skull of the naga, killing it instantly.
Suddenly down to four, the remaining naga are more cautious. Asp Shinomen are not known for fleeing from a fight. Nor are they known for dying easily or fighting with-out thinking. Two of their number had already died to this elf, so it becomes time for strategy.
The four naga spread out, keeping out of the elf's reach, surrounding the dangerous fighter. Moving in unison, they approach cautiously. Their plan is simple. Get in close enough for every one to strike at once. After all, the elf can dodge one naginata, but four at the same time?
The elf watches the naga move around him, lowering and opening his stance to allow him to attack any direction. He's seen them do this before. They were using this tactic on the humans when he arrived. iBut, they do not realize I have seen it./i A wry grin, bordering on evil, crosses his lips as he begins to formulate a counter.
He studies the way they all hold the weapons. *They all intend the same strike, likely at the same time.* he realizes. *A downward slash. Pathetic.* he decides at length. Waiting for the swing to start, sure he can avoid the much slower weapons, he steps forward, raising his dao, not in a block, but in a strike.
The blade connects hard against the weapon, cutting through the shaft, dropping the blade to the ground. With his step forward, the elf is out of reach of the other three weapons, leaving him plenty of time to bring the second blade across the naga's throat.
Turning, the elf squares himself against the three remaining attackers. They look at each other, uncertain, but none want to be the first to turn from the battle against a solo opponent. The shame it would bring them would be immeasurable. One naga suddenly has an idea, remembering the two humans. Turning quickly, it slithers full speed at them. Stopping just short, it presses the heavy blade of its naginata against the throat of the already injured man.
"Ssstop fighting or I will kill them both." it says, struggling slightly with the language.
The elf struggles for a moment. They were speaking in the human tongue, which he does not understand. Still, their intentions were clear. Wusheng merely shrugs. "I do not know either of them." he says, in the elven tongue, dismissing the threat. "Besides," he adds after a moments thought, "They are both human."
The naga, unable to understand what the elf said, understands his attitude, though. *Clearly, it thinks, *this elf does not believe I am serious.* In a quick motion, the asp naga draws the blade of his naginata hard against the man's throat, cutting it nearly to the bone. The man falls silently, dead before he reaches the ground.
The woman screams, drawing the attention of one of the closest naga from the elf. Not one to ignore an opportunity, Wusheng leaps forward, a dao cutting deep into the naga's neck. The other naga near him reacts by trying to sweep the elf's legs with his pole arm. Wusheng has another idea, though. The nimble elf leaps the blade, leaving the first naga in it's way. The weapon digs into the snake-man's torso, lodging between it's ribs.
Having lost it's weapon, the asp naga tries backing away, but the elf is too fast. Two sprinting steps and he leaps, dao forming an 'x' before him. At the last instant, he snaps them closed tight, severing the naga's head from it's neck.
The remaining naga, having just watched five of its fellow warriors die quickly, turns and slithers away as fast as it can. Fortunately for it, the elf decides that he has no reason to chase it down.
Translations can be found at http://wuyausu.homestead.com/home.html under glossary
Well, due to the fact that something went wrong with the html coding for the first chapter, reversing the in front of the code to a , I am going back to my old stand-by of lines with-in the *stars* being thoughts.
"Shao-sifu, are you sure about this?" The voice was deep, rumbling through the masters room. The speaker is the large foreigner that had fought Wusheng the day before. Garth Axeblade is his name. He spent five years working for the city of Waterdeep, far to the west. He had, over time, found that his life was missing something, and had set off in search for this elusive need. He wound up here, at a monastery a few miles outside of Kuo Te'Lung, three years ago and has long since become a trusted adviser to Master Shao.
He stood besides Shao Yun Ng, his nearly seven feet in height towering over the much smaller master. He was, in fact, much more intimidating, physically. Yet, when one looked at the two of them standing next to each other, there was no doubt who was more the master. They were looking out the window, watching the figure in the distance disappear into the sunrise.
"Very sure, Garth." the master says, at length. "Wusheng is very skilled, but he is lacking in the very basics of what it means to be a demon hunter. Humility and humanity."
"I agree, sifu, but to send the boy after the Subarashii no Oni..." the big man begins.
"He will find it not." the master interrupts Garth, knowing where the warrior is going.
"I would not underestimate his ability to track demons, sifu."
The old man laughs. "I do not."
Garth looks at the sifu confused, fearing the man's mind to have finally given into his age.
"Oh, do not look at me like that, Garth. You should know me better than that."
The large man finally grasps what the old master has done. "There was no report of the demon." he says at last.
"Very good. And when Wusheng fails to find and capture the demon, he will understand that he has failed. Having failed, he will be humbled and will understand."
The wind blows its welcome warmth over Wusheng. The sun had just risen, and the air still had a chill to it, even for elves who normally do not notice such trivial temperature changes. With his trusted dao strapped to his back, and Shao-sifu's prized gim at his side, he left the monastery for the first time in almost 5 years.
Well, not quite. He left regularly to hunt for the other monks, who's skills in the woods were lacking. But, never farther than that. He found himself feeling something completely knew to him. Fear. Fear of the journey between him and his target. Once he arrived in the Yehimal mountains, he would be back to his own business, what he has been trained to do, hunt demons. After that, he would return to the monastery.
*But, between here and there, there is so much.... uncertainty.* he thinks. Shaking his mind clear, he travels on, following a branch of Hungtse, a major river that crosses all of Shou Lung.
The area around the monastery is lush and green, leading Wusheng to, once more, wonder why the structure was built where it was. In fact, there was a jungle, which the elf is traveling through now, less than an hours walk from the monastery. Yet, it was built where the land cannot support plant life.
Looking around at the giant panda resting in a tree nearby. A crested ibis, a rare bird, and growing rarer as it is hunted for it's fine feathers, flies past the elf, it's song floating peacefully in the air. This brings a smile to Wusheng's face, as it would any elf, as he makes his way towards the Yehimal mountains.
As the sun continues to rise behind him, the day begins to warm and Wusheng settles into what he knows to be a long trip.
Three days of quiet travel, and Wusheng leaves the pleasant travel of the jungle behind him. In the near distance, Hungtse, the main body of the river, sounds loudly, telling him of his progress. The border of Shou Lung rests only another days travel past this river. In two days, he'll be in Tabot.
Walking through the quiet grasslands, the elf starts to look for supplies for building a float to get across the strong waters of Hungtse. A sudden scream from just over the next hill draws his attention. Rushing up the hill, the elven warrior-priest skids to a stop just as quickly.
A young woman stands, trying to support man, human both. Surrounding them are three creatures with the bodies of serpents, but the upper torso like that of a human, though they have longer, pointed ears of many other races. Each carries a naginata and slithers around the pair of humans, taunting them.
*Shinomen Naga. Asps.* he adds, looking closer. *Not my problem.* Wusheng thinks, until he notices that it is along his path. He is likely going to encounter the creatures, so he might as well do it when he has the humans for a distraction.
A dao in his right hand, his pack off his back and in his left, he moves down the hill. Just before reaching the naga, he drops his pack and draws his second dao. With his natural speed and stealth, the first asp naga never saw him coming as his first dao pierces the creatures neck, nearly severing it completely.
The five remaining naga turn on the new comer. One, the closest, charges the elf, thinking him to be an easy target. Wusheng raises a dao as if to block the naginata. Seeing this, the naga adds more force into the strike. The elf, though, pivots to the side, never intending to block the heavier weapon. The heavy pole arm buries deep into the ground, slightly over-balancing the snake-man. More importantly, his head is exposed. Wusheng, continuing his pivot, gains more momentum by dropping low. His second dao, in his left hand, digs deep into the skull of the naga, killing it instantly.
Suddenly down to four, the remaining naga are more cautious. Asp Shinomen are not known for fleeing from a fight. Nor are they known for dying easily or fighting with-out thinking. Two of their number had already died to this elf, so it becomes time for strategy.
The four naga spread out, keeping out of the elf's reach, surrounding the dangerous fighter. Moving in unison, they approach cautiously. Their plan is simple. Get in close enough for every one to strike at once. After all, the elf can dodge one naginata, but four at the same time?
The elf watches the naga move around him, lowering and opening his stance to allow him to attack any direction. He's seen them do this before. They were using this tactic on the humans when he arrived. iBut, they do not realize I have seen it./i A wry grin, bordering on evil, crosses his lips as he begins to formulate a counter.
He studies the way they all hold the weapons. *They all intend the same strike, likely at the same time.* he realizes. *A downward slash. Pathetic.* he decides at length. Waiting for the swing to start, sure he can avoid the much slower weapons, he steps forward, raising his dao, not in a block, but in a strike.
The blade connects hard against the weapon, cutting through the shaft, dropping the blade to the ground. With his step forward, the elf is out of reach of the other three weapons, leaving him plenty of time to bring the second blade across the naga's throat.
Turning, the elf squares himself against the three remaining attackers. They look at each other, uncertain, but none want to be the first to turn from the battle against a solo opponent. The shame it would bring them would be immeasurable. One naga suddenly has an idea, remembering the two humans. Turning quickly, it slithers full speed at them. Stopping just short, it presses the heavy blade of its naginata against the throat of the already injured man.
"Ssstop fighting or I will kill them both." it says, struggling slightly with the language.
The elf struggles for a moment. They were speaking in the human tongue, which he does not understand. Still, their intentions were clear. Wusheng merely shrugs. "I do not know either of them." he says, in the elven tongue, dismissing the threat. "Besides," he adds after a moments thought, "They are both human."
The naga, unable to understand what the elf said, understands his attitude, though. *Clearly, it thinks, *this elf does not believe I am serious.* In a quick motion, the asp naga draws the blade of his naginata hard against the man's throat, cutting it nearly to the bone. The man falls silently, dead before he reaches the ground.
The woman screams, drawing the attention of one of the closest naga from the elf. Not one to ignore an opportunity, Wusheng leaps forward, a dao cutting deep into the naga's neck. The other naga near him reacts by trying to sweep the elf's legs with his pole arm. Wusheng has another idea, though. The nimble elf leaps the blade, leaving the first naga in it's way. The weapon digs into the snake-man's torso, lodging between it's ribs.
Having lost it's weapon, the asp naga tries backing away, but the elf is too fast. Two sprinting steps and he leaps, dao forming an 'x' before him. At the last instant, he snaps them closed tight, severing the naga's head from it's neck.
The remaining naga, having just watched five of its fellow warriors die quickly, turns and slithers away as fast as it can. Fortunately for it, the elf decides that he has no reason to chase it down.
Translations can be found at http://wuyausu.homestead.com/home.html under glossary
