In The Beginning . . .
Ju-Long gasped for air as the demon held him suspended with its huge hand clasped around his throat. "Yen-Lo has sent me to offer you the power, strength, and speed to defeat any opponent you face."
"And the price, demon? What must I do in return for this power. Ju-Long bows to and worships no one.?"
"You will feed on human blood and human blood alone. Only it will sustain you. By doing this, you will feed more souls into the hell in which we exist."
"That is all that is required? What treachery are you leaving out? Answer me demon!"
The creature tightened his grip. Ju-long couldn't breathe. "My time on this plane is limited. If you refuse - I will simply clench my fist and end you're existence. There are others who would take your place."
One thing Ju-Long hated was ultimatums. The beast eased its grip enough for Ju-Long to draw a ragged breath. "Well?" Slowly the grip began to tighten once again. Ju-Long had no choice. Later he would make this demon pay for its transgression. For now, there was only one way out.
"Yes" The creature leaned in and placed its lips on Ju-Long's. He could feel the life being sucked out of him. It is a trick! Ju-Long pounded his fists against the demon to no avail. He felt his heart slow, his world became cloudy, until he finally blacked out.
A moment later his eyes became clear and he could feel his strength growing. His head began to swim with the rush of power that coursed through him. He felt giddy as the demon released its grip and dropped him to the ground. Whatever just happened, he liked the feel of things ahead.
Zhan
The eldest of seven brothers, all Buddhist monks, Zhan was born with the gift of vision. Lately the visions were more like nightmares. He sat down on his bed, knowing the six other bunks would remain empty this night. His brothers were on an errand to see an old friend off into the next existence. There would be no one in the room to wake him when the terror came and he began to scream and cry out in his sleep. Whatever was coming was eluding him. Whatever was coming was going to be an abomination like man had never faced before. He hoped when the nightmares came tonight they would finally reveal what lie ahead.
Zhan had long been a fan of strong drink, but lately he was consuming more and more of it. He had two wineskins beside him and had emptied two others earlier this evening. He opened the first and poured its entire contents down his throat. He sat for a moment, feeling the effects take place. He sipped out of the second flask as he tried to think of lighter and happier times in his youth. By the time he drained the last sip his head was swimming. Zhan dropped the second flask on the floor and laid back on his bed, praying that the nightmares wouldn't come, hoping they'd bring answers when they did.
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Wei
Twenty of the teen age apprentices held onto one end of the rope. The sweat beaded on their shaved heads as they strained to pull their opponent toward them. The young, developing muscles in their arms bulged, veins threatening to burst through the skin. This was part of their strength training, a weekly ritual performed just before sundown. The next day would be a day off from physical activity other than routine chores. They would need it. The master worked them all week, drilling with a variety of weapons, running, hand to hand combat, and various muscle building exercises. Gan, one of their brightest pupils even though he was younger than every other apprentice holding this end of the line, stared across at their challenger.
Master Wei, second eldest of the seven brothers, held the other end of the rope with a single hand. They hadn't moved him an inch, and they had been putting everything they had into it for over ten minutes. His size alone made him hard to budge. At almost eight feet tall and over five hundred pounds, his immense physical presence only told half the story. His strength was unmatched, and his agility and balance were parallel to that of a much smaller, lighter man. They would never move him. What they waited on was his sudden release of the rope that would signal the end. Gan's arms burned, his back and legs ached, but he would not stop pulling with all he had. If Master Wei felt them let up before he thought they had reached their limit, the time would just extend.
Te
"Can you save her? Please tell me its not too late! My wife pleaded with me to seek you out sooner, but I didn't want to trouble you. I may have waited too long!" The man, tears pouring down his cheeks as his wife sobbed into his chest--pleaded with Te. Te merely held up a finger to hush them. Almost immediately the couple quieted, feeling a calm gently roll through them. The first step was to calm the people around the ill or injured, then he could focus on the healing itself.
Te knelt beside the adolescent girl. Her body was covered in sweat, her clothes drenched in it. Her body temperature was sky high and would continue to rise if nothing was done about it. Her insides were cooking. Death would come within hours, if not sooner. Typically he would scan the body finding the culprit causing the injury and focus on it. There was no time for that today. He would have to just start at the head and push his energy throughout the girls body. The move would heal any malignant presence in her body. It would work, but it came with a price. He would be spent for several hours after. It was easier if he could focus on a specific spot, like healing a broken leg.
While death might take a few hours, every moment her body temperature stayed this high damage was being done. There soon would be a point of no return, when even he couldn't save her. That moment was not here yet, and he wasn't going to let it come. Te laid his hand on the girls forehead and began to push his energy into her.
Cai
The eagle glided through the air, wings fully extended but not flapping, as it floated on the breeze. Of all the animals Cai communed with, the big birds - especially the eagle, were his favorites. There was nothing like the view from the eyes of an avian. It wasn't just the majesty of the world from this angle, it was also the sharpness of the eyes that saw detail like no human ever could from this distance.
Cai often used animals to help him search for things, keep an eye on potential dangers, and complete other tasks that would be impossible for a man by himself. His touch on them was always gentle so as not to deter them too far from their way of life. He trusted animals far more than he would ever trust humans. They were always true to their nature, unlike man who often went in whatever direction served him.
Cai did not posses the strength of Wei or the speed of Ling, but he didn't need to. He could call on the power of the tiger, the stealth of the black panther, the speed of the horse, and the flight of the bird when needed. Working through them he could accomplish many things that his brothers could not. Today, there was no mission. Today was just about enjoying the company of a friend and soaking in the breathtaking beauty that is China.
Ling
There were three mounted on horseback circling to the left, with an identical trio circling right. Nine men on foot were rushing straight for them. Jie saw a flash bolt by him. At first he thought one of the others had fired an arrow, but it was too big to have been an arrow. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Biao and Xiong, but no Ling.
The nine men stopped abruptly as someone appeared in front of them, as if out of thin air. "Don't listen to that blow-hard behind me. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You can take us." Ling smiled as he studied the look of confusion on his opponents faces. In a move barely noticeable to the human eye, Ling closed the distance between the thief standing directly in front of him and himself. "Nice sword." he said as he disarmed the man.
"D-D-Don't hurt me."
"Relax my friend." Ling looked the man up and down. "Oh, my. I do believe you have pissed yourself." Ling smirked. "Don't worry, it'll all be over soon." The rest of the men had backed further away. Ling tossed the sword aside then cupped the man's face in both his hands, the way a lover would, only firmer. He leaned in and gave the man a kiss right on the lips before he backed away.
"Now, whose coming at me first? Oh, c'mon now. My sword is sheathed." Instantly it was in his hand. "No, wait, here it is!" The men turned in unison, running for the tree line from whence they'd came. The mounted bandits on either side were riding away as fast as they could. "Oh, c'mon! It was just about to get fun."
Biao and Xiong
. Xiong, seven years younger than Biao, and youngest of all the brothers, had won the spear throwing competition and bested his brother in the sprint. The two had similar powers of strength and speed, thought Xiong had been a little faster and a little stronger than Biao since he was seventeen. They had these competitions at least once a month as Xiong tried desperately to finally win the trifecta. Despite his physical edges, Xiong could never take his brother in a wrestling match. Biao was second only to Wei in his hand to hand combat skills. As hard as he trained, Biao trained even harder. Biao couldn't let his little brother best him at everything, and even if it did happen someday, it would not be today.