An ancient temple sat on a high, thunder-scarred mountain. A winding path lead to the dense forest below - and at the edge of the trees, three red-robed figures stood in waiting.
Padova, an old master of Thunder Palm.
Jian, his personal student.
And Hua Yingtao, one of the temple's strongest.
Master Padova was one of the temple's elders, perhaps even the oldest - his deep brown skin was smoke-dried, almost like leather, and his eyes were locked in a permanent squint. It was a miracle his tall, thin frame wasn't blown away in the wind. He was missing more than a few teeth, some from fights, some from his years of smoking. Even now a wooden pipe hung from the corner of his lip.
He held a scroll in his hand as he looked from one of his students to the other. It was an invitation to the Phoenix Empress Tournament, given to his temple. As an old friend of the tournament's council, it was Padova's job to select the fighter who would represent the temple this year. He had competed once himself long ago, though he had only reached the second round before losing.
Jian was a lanky young man with a messy mop of black hair. Padova could remember the day crisp in his mind: eighteen years ago, he had been left at the temple's doorstep. The other monks wanted to bring him down to a nearby village and find a family for him there, but Padova decided to keep the boy as his own.
Over the years, he had grown into a whiplash quick martial artist, easily the most skilled at hand to hand in the temple. As his natural talent became apparent, many of the masters tried to claim him as their student, and he practiced with many. However, he struggled with channeling his inner power, at performing the temple's secret Thunder Palm techniques that had been passed down for centuries.
Yingtao was in the opposite situation: skilled with the Thunder Palm techniques, but only so-so with martial arts. Beautiful and small, her father was a general of the royal army and her mother was his chief strategist. Her busy parents couldn't give up the time to care for her, so she was sent to live with a good friend of her father's - Padova. He could only barely convince the other monks to let her stay - they didn't want to keep a young girl on the temple premises. So, he built her a small shack outside the temple, which had served as her home all these years. Still, she trained among the monks as if she was one of them.
The contempt she faced from the elders and others who rued her presence only fueled her ambition. She trained day and night to become stronger, delving into the scrolls and manuals where the Thunder Palm techniques were described. She even stole some and kept them in her shack, reading them and practicing them over and over into the early hours of the morning. Since no master had claimed her as a student, she never practiced much in the clan's fighting styles or sparred with the other monks. Still, she had defeated all others in the matches the temple held for the tournament spot. All except Jian.
The final test was about to begin.
"You are both powerful fighters." Padova's weary eyes passed from one student to the other. "We could have you fight over and over, but you two are an even match. So the winner shall be decided in a different contest. One that will test you in other ways."
He reached into a fold of his robe and retrieved a small, carved wooden totem of an elephant embedded with a single green jewel. Both of his students recognized the figure as soon as he pulled it out. He had another elephant, just like it, that he would use in a game they would play as kids. Padova would hide the totem away in the woods and send out one or the other to try and find it. Often he'd hide it up in a tree, or near a nest of bees, or some other place that was hard to get to.
"You must be kidding." said Jian, shaking his head. "The elephant game?"
Yingtao's arms were tightly folded against her chest. While Jian was mostly just confused, she was visibily angry. "This is how you're choosing the representative?"
Padova nodded at her. "Yes. The first of you to bring me the elephant will attend the tournament."
"Surely there's a better way to settle this." said Yingtao. "This is just a game!"
"Maybe." said Padova, taking a long draw from his pipe. He blew the smoke out in a ring. "But this is what I've decided on. If it's just a game, it should be easy, right? I'm sure you'll have no trouble, Yingtao."
Yingtao met his words with an indignant glare. She looked to Jian for support, but he was already at work stretching, eager to start the game. Ugh. Of course he was doing that, she thought. He might have grown into a man physically, but mentally, he was still that same playful young boy.
"Begin." said Padova. Taking off like a bolt, Jian sprinted into the woods. Yingtao lingered a little longer, burning eyes still fixed on the old master, then calmly took off on the same course as her opponent.
Jian stood in the middle of the forest, looking around as he caught his breathe. It was the same as it always was: the ancient trees stood as tall as they did when he was a child, and thick green vines still hung down from their branches all around. In the distance he could hear the sound of buzzing insects and animals crawling through the underbrush.
He scanned the ground in all directions. Jian didn't know when Padova had gone through here to hide the little elephant, but maybe he could find footprints or something. He was just about to get on the move again when he heard a noise from above. Suddenly, a massive tree limb fell down, smashing to the forest floor - if he hadn't jumped out of the way just in time, Jian would've been flattened beneath it.
"Whoa!"
Smoke drifted up from the charred spot where the severed limb was once attached to the tree. Jian's eye moved from the fallen branch to Yingtao, electricity still crackling around her two extended fingers. She had used one of the deadliest Thunder Palm techniques: a bolt of lightning fired from the fingertip.
"Whoops." she said. "Almost hit you there."
"You're taking this a little seriously, aren't you?" Jian asked. Yingtao was never one to be nice, but through the whole selection process, she had been even more ruthless than usual. She drew blood in every fight, a violent fervor seizing her the moment hands flew. For someone who had known her as long as Jian did, it was more than a little disconcerting to watch her brutalize her fellow monks. "It's just a tournament, Yingtao."
"Just a tournament?" she said, starting to circle around him, her feet crunching against fallen leaves. She still had her fingers pointed at him, ready to loose a bolt. "Well then, I guess you wont be too broken up that I've already won."
"You found the elephant?" he asked, genuinely surprised. They hadn't been in the woods too long - had she really managed to find it in such a short time?
"Yeah. I did. Why don't you come and take it?"
She took off. Jian rose an eyebrow. Okay, she was definitely trying to bait him into something. She probably didn't have the elephant... but it didn't hurt to make sure. And personally, he felt like she needed an attitude adjustment. Maybe a good kick to the head could give her one.
Grinning, he ran off after her.
He followed her trail to a dark cave in the side of a rocky mountain wall. Standing in front of the entrance, he peered inside, but he couldn't pick anything out in the shadows. He noticed a sturdy, dry stick on the ground and snatched it up, focusing hard. A current ran through his hand into the wood. He couldn't muster up much electricity, but it was more than enough to light up a makeshift torch.
Stepping into the cave, he wove the branch around, the bright fire illuminating things nicely. Yingtao was here, definitely - there were wet footprints on the stone. She must've ran through a puddle without noticing.
"Ying-yang!" he called out. She hated that nickname to no end - he came up with it when they had first met as children, and she had never liked it once. "Oh, Ying-yang! Come on out!"
"Don't call me that!"
A kick slammed into him from behind, knocking him to the floor. His torch tumbled in front of him, and he whirled back to see Yingtao standing above him. Before he could scrabble his way to solid footing, she had already spun in front of him and grabbed the burning stick. She stamped it into the ground to put out the flame, then made a dash for the exit just as Jian rose to his feet.
"Hey!"
He reached out, grabbing the collar of her loose-fitting robe, but she jerked forward with a growl and the fabric ripped off in a jagged piece. She threw a sloppy, blind kick behind her and it hit Jian square in the gut. The air forced from his chest, he crumpled to the ground, but Yingtao fell over too from the loss of balance.
She was on her feet first. Her footsteps heavy as she ran for the exit, she spun around just in time to see Jian following after her. The girl made it out of the cave first, spinning around and grinning widely. She rose up a hand and flicked her fingers forward.
Jian watched helplessly as the streams of lightning hit the top of the cave entrance. The rock shook and crumbled under the concussive pressure, bringing down huge, heavy stones that blocked the way out. Only a few trickles of light shone through the rubble.
"Yingtao!" he yelled, slamming his fists against the mound of fallen rock. Could she even hear him? "Get me out!"
"I'll come back when I have the elephant." she said. From how it sounded, she was pressed up against the rubble. No doubt with that evil smirk on her face.
"So you were lying?"
"Well, no. I do know where it is. But I just wanted to get you out of the way so I wouldn't have any trouble."
"For all that whining about this being a game, you sure are glad to take advantage of it." he said. "Whatever happened to fair combat?"
"Is it fair that you got training from every master, while most of them barely even spoke to me?" she asked. "Just because I'm a woman?"
There was a pause.
"Is that what this is about? Some kinda... woman thing?"
She was gone by then.
Jian stood up and took inventory of the situation. Okay, he was trapped in a cave that seemingly only had one exit. Yingtao knew where the elephant was - or maybe that was another lie. And he didn't have any light source, given that she had put out his torch and took the stick with her on her way out.
Heading back to find another exit wasn't an option. There was no light and no way of making a new torch. And even if there was another exit - which there was no guarantee of - he wouldn't know where he was when he got out.
That left one choice. He needed to find a way past these rocks!
Taking a breath, he took a stance, drew his foot back, and lashed out in a snap kick. His foot impacted the rock and knocked a chunk loose. He could hear other rocks shift in the pile outside, shaken out of their places by the kick.
Oh, yeah. He could do this. Smiling, Jian got to work.
But then, he heard a deep growl from behind him. Turning, he could just barely pick out two glazed-over eyes in the darkness...
Yingtao craned her head way, way up. All the way at the tippy-top of the highest tree in the forest, the little wooden elephant hung from a scraggly branch. Duh, of course Padova would hide it where it was hardest to get when a tournament spot was on the line!
She smirked, proud of her intellect. She wasn't eight anymore, she wasn't some little girl, she didn't run around in the woods playing little games. Everything she did was a calculated decision - down to stomping around in a puddle to get her feet wet so her tracks would be more clear.
Yingtao knew Jian well. He was a lunk for sure, but he had something of a clever streak. Sooner rather than later he'd figure to look for the highest tree, and if she was in the middle of climbing it when he found it, he'd find a way to get her down. With him trapped in that cave, she could scale the branches at her own leisure, worry-free. She started doing just that, pulling her way up limb-by-limb.
Hmm... should she go back later and get Jian out, she wondered? Eh, nah. No, it'd be much more fun to let him spend the night there with some rock as his pillow.
"Master Padova!"
Yingtao stolled proudly into the temple, heads turning her way. She savored the attention, her arms folded neatly behind her. It was not only formal, but it helped draw attention to the totem that dangled from her neck: a carved wooden elephant,with one sparkling emerald embedded into its head.
"Master!" she called out again. This time, the old monk came - along with the other elders. They all gawked when they saw the totem and realized what that meant. "I've won your game."
"I can tell." Padova said, stepping forward. He slipped a scroll from his robe - the invitation! Yingtao eyed it with lust. "Well... where's Jian?"
"He'll be back soon enough." she said. "Don't worry about him."
The door to the temple swung open again. This time, a doubled-over figure limped in. It was Jian, his robes shredded, blood streaming down his forehead and knuckles.
"A bear?" he groaned. "Seriously?"
Yingtao stared at him with slackjawed surprise, her eyes wide as they could go. The other monks and the elders were in similar states of shock... but they soon turned to anger.
"What is this!?" Padova roared, his normally weak voice growing full and strong. It was the angriest Yingtao or Jian had ever heard him before, and it scared them both. "What has happened here!?"
Jian explained what happened as Yingtao stared at the floor. "She lead me into a cave, then caused the entrance to collapse with her lightning. She wanted to stop me from getting the elephant - I was trying to get out, but then a bear came from the darkness and tried to eat me. I had to kill it." he stopped to take a strained breath. "I barely escaped with my life..."
One of the elders stepped up to his side, gingerly taking his arm in his hands. Yingtao looked over as he scanned Jian's injuries. "Bite marks on his sleeve." he said, running his finger along a row of punctures. "What he says is true."
"Yingtao." Padova looked to her. "Explain yourself."
"I..." she shook her head. "I didn't know there was a bear!"
Questions for her began to come from all sides of the room. Her head was swimming.
"You trapped him in a cave? The falling rocks could've killed him!"
"Did you intend to let him out? Or leave him to rot?"
"That's not fair at all!"
Not fair?
Something in her snapped. "Not fair?" She scanned the crowd. "Who said that?"
One of the elders stepped up, an expression of disdain on his aged face. He looked down on the girl as he spoke.
"We are trying to decide who should represent us in the tournament, and you resort to deceit and trickery? Perhaps we wouldn't be in this situation if you just played fai-"
She struck him, lightning quick, her arm moving so fast she could barely see her own fist slamming into his chest. He flew back a few yards, hit the ground and tumbled a few more, then finally crashed in a heap against the far wall. As gasps raised from the crowd, the girl walked to strike him again. But someone intercepted her.
It was Jian. Even bruised and broken, with blood seeping from the bite on his arm, he stood defiant against her. His form was tight - it was clear that if she tried to make a move, he was going to lash back.
Yingtao stepped back. She looked at what she had done. Then, she looked around. A circle of monks was closing in around her, spurred on by Jian's bravery. Her hands tightening into fists, she turned around and sprinted off, out through the doors and down the path to the woods.
"Yingtao!" Jian shouted. "Where are you going?" he moved to follow her, but he felt a hand rest on his shoulder.
It was Padova. He smiled warmly at his pupil. Behind them, several monks were moving to help the old master Yingtao had struck to his feet. Jian tried to go assist them, but Padova pulled him back again.
"Come now. You need to rest." he said, slipping something into Jian's palm. The young man opened his fingers to see that it was the scroll. "You've got a tournament to train for."
"But what about Yingtao?" he asked.
"I have a feeling she'll return." Padova said. "And she'll be dealt with then."
Jian
Age: 19
Bio: A young monk from a temple in the mountains. Was adopted as an infant by one of the temple elders and trained in the Thunder Palm style. Honest and brave, but somewhat childish. Still, he has a penchant to pull out a smart trick or two.
Abilities: The Thunder Palm style allows its user to channel their internal energy into powerful electrical attacks, as well as sense the electricity of others. However, Jian struggles with these techniques and prefers to fight hand to hand instead.
Appearance: Tall, lanky, and limber. His jet black hair is shaggy and messy. Wears red robes that are unique to his order of monks.
Hua Yingtao
Age: 19
Bio: A young woman who trained among an order of monks in the mountains. She was left there as a child by her busy parents in the care of an old friend of her father's who happened to be an elder of the temple. Ambitious and cunning, has a cruel streak.
Abilities: The Thunder Palm style allows its user to channel their internal energy into powerful electrical attacks, as well as sense the electricity of others. While Yingtao is well versed in these techniques, she struggles with skillfull hand-to-hand combat, and overrelies on her abilities.
Appearance: Very short and very pretty. Keeps her hair in a prim and proper bun.
