The clouds parted and the suns warm rays filtered down over Shou Lung nation, but still, the enormous wall of fog that ringed the land remained. Even the living elders did not remember when the fog came, but the stories were that the Gods were angry with the people for growing too mighty. They had grown in the centuries that passed. Their culture was refined, their numbers mighty, their knowledge vast, but still, no matter how many prayers were given to the pantheon of ancients and Gods, no matter how much incense the people burned, the ring of fog remained, preventing any from seeing beyond the borders of the empire.
Shen Ju Rong sat on top of the temple on the hill, his preferred spot ever since his twelfth birthday when the caretaker chased him from the temple grounds. He had found the hidden stairwell and when he was up here, the view was breathtaking. He watched the people of the Imperial Capitol bustling about, their cows lowing with the loads they pulled. He was now twenty, strong, muscled, and continuing to learn his discipline. Still, his teacher, Ran Bin Rui said he was too willful, too much of a dreamer. Shen Ju Rong could admit this to himself. None had ventured beyond the Dragonwall and into the fog. They said to do so was death. Punishable by the Gods themselves. Shen Ju Rong did not believe them and never really had.
He slipped down from the temple roof and made his way through the streets before finding his friend Tan Meng. "Fishbait," Shen called, grinning as he walked up to the stall where Tan Meng worked along side his father.
"Shut up, I'm working."
"Come here for a minute, ask your father if he'll give you some time off." Tan Meng rolled his eyes. "Just ask!" Shen snarked.
"You are no longer a boy," Tan's father said with a stern frown. "But you may do as you wish if you do not care for your family."
"It's just a minute..."
"Go," Tan's father spat.
