Current Character Description - Shen Ju Rong

This man stands at average height with his jet black hair very closely cropped to  his head.  His skin is the color of  honey mocha, and  his almond  shaped eyes are  distinctly green  beneath their  epicanthical folds.  He wears  a brown wushu suit, tied at  the waist with a bright satin sash the color of the sea.  On his  shins are a pair of stocking socks in white that  rise to his knees beneath  his suit, wound with a thin strap  of deep brown leather, the same  that bind the arms of his suit - keeping  them out of  the way during battle.  On his feet are a pair of black leather slip-on shoes, so light as to be of no encumberance whatsoever.  His jaw square and well defined, he looks out on the world with a keen eye as well as a measure of cunning and calculation.

Shen Ju Rong - Into the Realms

The spell happened so quickly Shen Ju Rong had no time to gather his thoughts before he was standing at the edge of a bustling town.  It was a port, he saw the ships coming and going, and held his breath, the dragon forgotten.  There was no wall of fog.  Here... he could see as far as his eyes could fathom. He stared with his jaw hanging open and suddenly felt small.  The chatter around him was not of his own people.  A language he could not understand.

The people of New Thalos, for their part, stared openly at him.  His skin was a dead giveaway, as were his strange clothes and his startling green eyes. In his country, it was common.  Here, the various attributes that comprised Shen were so  strange, so out of place, as to  cause some to stop  and look at him  with blatant  curiosity.  Then he felt himself compelled to speak, to breathe words  that were  not his own.  "Good day, where  might I find  lodging and a  place to rent in order to train others?"
A gruff sailor stared at him.  "Whas wrong wid ya?  Speak like a elf."
"I assure you, I am no elf."
"Ya think?  Ya muss think me stupid, too.  Arsehole."
"Not at all."
"Find  yer way at the inn.  There ye can get food and maybe some clothes that don't make ya look like a inmate from the looney bin, yeah?"

Shen felt himself compelled to walk according to the man's directions. He had no idea  what the sailor  had said, he had no idea what he had said.  He knew the dragon was in  control and using him.  This was going to be his lot for a long time coming.

In short  order, he had a  dojo and had  trained three men in the ways of his teacher, Ran Bin Rui. They were able and once they knew all they needed, Shen  sent them to their respective cities. "Teach, and amass monks so skilled they  will follow you anywhere.  Many should follow the path and the way."
"Yes, Sensei."

Shen  heard the voice in the corner of his mind, nearly purring with delight. 'Well done.  This will take time, but I am patient.  Very patient.'

Shen Ju Rong - In the Mists (2/2)

Shen Ju Rong scrambled to his feet, his  breath heavy. He immediately went into a fighting  stance, and  the dragon rumbled out a deep laugh.  'Red dragon, red dragon,' Shen's mind raced, 'What do defeat a red dragon...' Shen rushed through the words to a spell and his fists burst with radiant purple energy. The dragon laughed again.  "Please," it spoke, it's breath so foul as to nearly knock Shen to his knees.  "Tell me you aren't planning a strike on me."

The dragon  moved as quick as  lightning around Shen, sweeping his massive tail  so fast Shen had no time to react. He was on his back and the dragon's face was inches above  his own.  The  saliva dripped from  the jagged teeth and onto his neck.  "You won't have time to  think, boy.  It is your fortune I have one meal thanks to your animal.  It's been a long time since I've had meat.  It's a rare but delectable treat I enjoy, thoroughly."
"What do you want?"
"Want?  To  feast on the number  of your kind  that live behind the wall. There  aren't normally many who are foolish enough to come into the mists... those that do, perish."

Shen rolled from beneath the dragon's mouth and gagged.  He wiped at the saliva that was stinging his skin and  looked up into the red eyes.  "I'll make a deal
with you, any deal you like."
"Propositions from boy mortals.  Fool."
"If you help me find my way out of here... I'll ensure that you get food, meat."
"Human?"

Shen  looked down  for a moment.  He  could say what he wished.  By the time he figured out  how to defeat this creature, he  wouldn't bring him back anything.
"Yes," Shen answered.  "Human."
"And how do I know you will keep your word?"
"I..."
"Perhaps I  will take part of  your power to keep  for my own, your knowledge."
"My teachings?"
"Yes.  You will remember them when you return with your vast army of bodies for my consumption.  Do we have a deal?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Die or agree.  There is always a choice."

Shen glared at the dragon  and nodded once, very curtly.  He felt the weight of  the  dragon's thumb on  the top of his head and a sudden tingle down his spine. He felt a pull, a twitch, and the dragon removed his claws and snapped his fingers. Shen began  to bow and grovel... not  of his own accord.  "Perfect," the dragon hissed.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"I have  a puppet, fool.  And  you will stand  by your  side of the bargain.  I will be sure  of it.  Treasure and meat until you drop in old age and I consume you."
"This isn't right!" Shen shouted.
"Never open your mind to one who is more brilliant than ever you will be."

Shen Ju Rong - (1/2)

Shen Ju Rong could hear the sounds of the city behind him until the thick mists closed.  Then, silence, heavy  and oppressive crowded in around him.  His horse whinnied quietly, then snorted, but the sounds were swallowed in the wet clouds around them.  Shen pulled on the reins and halted.  His confidence was gone. He turned in  his saddle, the wet  leather creaking, to look behind him.  He could turn around if he dared, but he could see nothing and risked getting lost. There  was nothing to fear, besides.  Quiet was not a foe.

Shen turned  back around then held his breath.  It wasn't completely silent any longer. It started as a low growl that came from every direction, then a shuddering rumble and  a flash of scales on their flank.  Shen's horse sidestepped and  let out a screaming neigh. A hot burst of air cut through the mists, and Shen's horse bolted. No amount of pulling stopped his animal, and the rattling undulation of the monster beside them kept easy pace.

They  were at a  full gallop  when the beast  flashed quickly in front of Shen, causing his  horse to rear back with  enough force to knock Shen to the ground. The  horse raced left and vanished into the darkness.  Shen felt a blast of hot breath  at his ear.  "Dross'noct.  Shu  dreckt  meng el'enk."  It's breath  was  rancid, its  voice a polyglot cacophony of words.  The creature was absorbed in the mists.

Shen  dropped onto his back, catching  his breath, sweat pouring from his body.  He had to  think.  He had only a moment before  the scream of his horse reached him and was abruptly silenced.  Suddenly, the dead and mangled equine was dropped at his  side with a sickening thud.  Shen the found  himself staring into a  red eye the size of his torso.

These same  eyes adorned the tops of many temples in the Imperial Capitol.  Ice ran through Shen's  body. The red dragon pulled back his lips into a sneer that  revealed all his teeth.  "Welcome to the mists," he hissed.

Shen Ju Rong - The Exodus (3/3)

Shen's fists  flew, the guard was no match.  Shen's kicks, encased in energy shot forth as quick as darting koi from passing shadows. The guard hit the ground, his skin  charred as well  as his armor, and stared up at Shen.  "Master Weiwu..." he whispered, and Shen bowed deeply.
"Ran Bin Rui.  My teacher.  Yes."

The guard got up, rubbing at his jaw.  He gave a nod.  "Open the gates."
"What?  Duizhang, you know the rules..."
The Duizhang  wheeled around,  his eyes  narrowed.  "I gave my word, now open the gates."

Shen mounted  his horse as the gates rumbled open.  Nothing but fog could be seen as he nudged his horse into  a walk.  The  energy around  his feet and hands went out as the guards  watched the young man move ahead.  Slowly, in swirling eddies, the fog swallowed the young man and his horse.

Shen Ju Rong - The Exodus (2/3)

"What do you want?" Tan asked, wiping his hands on his pants. Unlike Shen Ju Rong, Tan was a  skinny boy with fishmonger skills.  He was not the growing warrior Shen was, but he was still fun to be around. 
"We're going into the fog."
"What?!  No way, no chance.  You're out of your mind."
"Come on, you don't believe all the tales, do you?"
"That the great dragon lives in the fog and swallows up any lost in the mists? Yes."

Shen rolled his eyes.  "Come on, Fishbait, there's no such thing."
"Stop calling me that, it's demeaning."
"I'm sorry, Princess Fishbait.  Let's go."
"You're on your own, Shen.  I've... got work to do."
"Coward," Shen said, punching Tan in the arm... perhaps a little too hard.
"Now you're really on your own.  Hundan."
"Please?"

Tan turned and walked back to his father, leaving Shen standing in the road looking like  a fool.  No matter. He would go, he would personally defeat the fog and  come back a hero.

It took him notime to rush back to the temple and put tack on his horse.  He rode hard to reach  the Dragonwall  and the western gates.  "Where do you think you're  going?" the guards asked as he approached. The Emperor knew none entered or exited the fog, these guards were ceremonial. A show to the people of Shou Lung that all was as it was and ever would be. "Into the mists," Shen said, his chest out. The guards  broke into hoots of laughter.  "We will open the gates for a boy on a mission?"

One of the guards jumped down from his post and rolled his head on his shoulders. "Tell you what," he said.  "If you can beat me, I'll let you leave and die in the mists.  Sound fair?"

Shen  leapt from  his horse and lead it off  to the side.  He  walked to face the  guard, his expression determined.  "Yes."  More laughter.   "Watch out Ying," one of the guards on the wall hooted.  "He's a killer!"

Shen closed his eyes and drew in his breath.  His mind slowed obediently and came into focus. Slowly, he extended one arm, his other back near his head, and lowered his body.  He  uttered a single word and his fists crackled suddenly with energy. His eyes glowed an  electric blue as he stared  at his opponent.  He then spoke a single word that came out softly, but seemed to echo.  "Da."

Shen Ju Rong - The Exodus (1/3)

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.