CHARACTERS
THE ZODIAC GUARDIANS
SHEN - THE RAT
A young man of about 19-20, he lives in a small industrial town in central MK,
not far from the regional capital. His father died when he was young and he can’t
really remember him, only through the stories that his mother tells, with whom
he still lives. Many of his friends have travelled or gone on to University, but
Shen has a dead-end job at a small tool-making factory, where he works in IT.
His passion is to become a computer games designer in the regional capitol,
something he works on endlessly at home, much to his mother’s disgust, who
feels he should get a proper career. But he is fanatical about this and often works
on his ideas through the night, making him regularly late for work. Fortunately,
his inherent charm usually means he keeps his boss happy.
His other passion is messing about on the river. Nearby is the mighty Yangtze
River – Shen has built himself a small boat and goes out fishing …or hanging with
friends.
Although personable and seemingly content with life, he does harbor a deepseated feeling that perhaps he’s missing out. All his friends are doing great
things, but he’s still at home with Mum and working in a factory.
When he was 13, his mother gave him something that had belonged to his father
– a small golden rat on a chain. It was the only thing of his that he was given and
his mother told him that his father wanted him to wear it all the time. Most of the
time though, he just stuffs it in his pocket. He doesn’t treat it with much respect
but, as it was his father’s, he will not be parted from it.
Over the past six months, Shen has had four strange experiences where he
suffered bad accidents, the last of which should have killed him. Yet he survived,
much to his surprise – not to mention that of the shocked onlookers as the truck
ran over him.
At first, these incidents were explained away by him being “The Rat” …and any
who have attempted to kill a rat will know how indestructible they can be! But as
his journey continued, a far more sinister reason began to emerge.
Shen; The Rat. Born 1996; aged 19 in 2015 – tenacious, meticulous, charming – can
be obstinate and ruthless
LIANG – THE BOAR
20 years old, Liang is a very bright physics student at the capital’s university.
Small in stature, he is shy and perhaps a little lonely as he finds it hard to make
friends. But he desperately wants to be liked and finds his doubtless intellect a
bit of an embarrassment at times.
Liang lives in the North West of the Capital of MK – an area popular with
students. However, since the death of his parents in a road crash when he was
seven, Liang has lived with his aunt. She moved with Liang from a nearby town
so that she could be with him during his university years. Her over-protective
influence has been somewhat of a drawback to him in terms of meeting new
friends …and girls.
Although studying physics, he has long held a fascination with the ancient
history of China, and loses no opportunity to read about it or visit museums and
archaeological sites. In particular, he has a fascination for the Banpo symbols
and believes that, with his analytical mind, he can solve their riddle – something
he has written about endlessly on the Internet.
Liang; the Boar. Born 1995; aged 20 in 2015. Honest, hard working, intelligent –
can be naïve and gullible
LIHUA – THE TIGER
A young woman in her mid twenties, she lives on the outskirts of the forests in
South West China near to the border with Laos, where she practices Chinese
Medicine. Spritely in build and not very tall, she can often be seen by the locals
walking through the fields and forest gathering flora and fauna for her craft.
Slightly eccentric – a trait inherited from her now dead father – she is very much
a loner, although very sociable should you happen to meet her. She is also
passionate about conservation and rues the loss of wildlife in the area, having
grown up on the other side of China, in the South East (once the habitat of the
South China Tiger). She knows progress is necessary and enjoys all the trappings
of the modern age – Internet, mobile phone, iPad – but believes that a balance
must be struck.
Lihua came to the South West (Yunnan Province) four years ago after the death
of her father – something she felt powerless to prevent at the time, hence her
desire to learn more about Chinese Medicine.
This area of Yunnan also used to be home to Tigers. Some still exist in Northern
Laos, but none in China. However, unconfirmed reports from some locals tell of
recent encounters with tigers – something that Lihua knows more about than
she is prepared to let on.
Lihua; the Tiger. Born 1986; aged 29 in 2015. Rebellious, daring, affectionate – can
be reckless and moody.
CHENGLEI – THE SNAKE
Originally from North East MK, Chenglei is now in Central MK (Sichuan,
Guanghan) where he is in the final year of his training to become an airline pilot
with MK Airways.
The son of a systems manager in an inorganic chemical processing plant, his
father had wanted him to go to university and study science. But Chenglei had
always dreamed of flying and dropped out of his chemistry course in the first
year.
With his mother and father now divorced by agreement, Chenglei lives with his
father and the atmosphere at home was tense, to say the least, once he had
dropped out of university. Secretly, however, Chenglei spent hours and hours
studying for the sponsorship exams of MK Airways. Quiet, but very determined,
Chenglei finally received notification of his acceptance by MK Airways …and
nobody was more shocked than his father. However, his delight and pride soon
came through.
As Chenglei left for the training academy in Central MK, his father handed him
details of a safe deposit box at the NBMK …’Just in case’ his father said – and
Chenglei thought no more of it.
Now regarded by some of his fellow students at the academy as a bit of a swat, he
is nevertheless liked and certainly respected by his tutors as his grades indicate
that he has a very promising career ahead.
A couple of puzzling things happened, though, during recent months. During a
routine training flight in a twin-engine plane, control tower staff were suddenly
baffled by the noise over the RT traffic – it was perfectly clear, without distortion,
but sounded as if Chenglei was hissing his words. Secondly, in an incident where
Chenglei and his fellow students were fooling around over dinner, Chenglei
accidently bit someone’s finger. The student subsequently fell ill for some weeks
with an inexplicable poisoning.
Chenglei; the Snake. Born 1989; aged 27 in 2015. Wise, soft-spoken and cautious –
cane a loner and distrustful.
LUXI – THE DOG
Luxi dreams of going to the province’s university (Ningxia, North West MK) to
study agriculture but, being a girl in her late teens, the pressure is on her to stay
in the village, work on the goji berry farms and, ultimately, get married. She is
bright and attractive and so has no shortage of boys after her at school.
Both her mother and father work on the goji berry farm run by her uncle – a
domineering man who acts as the overall head of the family. As Luxi is a good
worker, he has no desire for her to waste her life on university.
Luxi’s father and mother don’t get on very well. He has become cynical and lazy,
drinking and smoking too much, and regularly turning up for work late.
However, her mother, who fears her brother (the uncle), secretly wants Luxi to
fulfill her dream.
A few years ago, the mother caught the father trying to sell off some old family
trinkets and, knowing that his own father had reverently passed these on to him;
she stepped in and took them. Only she now knows where they are hidden.
Popular at college, Luxi is seen by students and teachers alike as friendly and
dependable. She organized a college council and has been seen as promoting
fairness in college life, so much so that her efforts were recently recognized in
the province capital on national TV. During her interview on TV, the presenter
tritely asked what her favorite pet would be, who was then shocked by the
vehemence of her answer, stating that she would hate to have a cat.
Luxi; the Dog. Born 1994, aged 21 in 2015. Loyal, sense of fair play, amicable – can
be pessimistic and stubborn.
JUNJIE – THE HORSE
Like his father, Junjie became a miner – in fact, his father still works at the same
coal mine in North East MK (Near Harbin). Married to his childhood sweetheart,
he now has a one-year-old daughter with whom he is totally besotted. She, too,
like him and her Granddad, is a Horse.
Quiet some of the time, but cheerful and witty the rest, Junjie is popular with his
fellow miners and, although too young to be a foreman yet, his colleagues often
seek his advice when the foreman is not around.
His father, a miner for nearly 30 years now, works on a higher level in the mine.
Proud of the way his son has blossomed, it wasn’t always that way. Junjie’s late
teens saw him fall in with the “wrong crowd” and he became arrogant and
stubborn.
But that is now all in the past, particularly following a recent mining accident. A
gas explosion left 8 miners injured and unconscious. The ninth was Junjie, who
shook off the rock and dust to see his colleagues lying about him. With the sound
of groaning rock all around him, there was no time to carry them out one by one.
Instead, Junjie put them all into an underground truck and pulled them to safety.
That one man of diminutive statue could quickly lift so many into a truck was
amazing in it self. However, what really caught the public’s imagination was that
he dragged the truck up a slope some 400 metres to safety. The local media was
full of stories about “The Strength of a Horse”.
It was shortly after this that his father handed over his golden lucky charm to
Junjie. He told Junjie that he had earned the right to wear it …there was
something more as well, but in due course he would tell him, not now.
Junjie; the Horse. Born 1990; aged 25 in 2015. Popular, quick-witted and agile –
can be anxious and fickle.
ZHILAN -THE MONKEY
Graduating from Gaozheng University (MK’s capital) with a degree in Arts and a
specialism in digital media, Zhilan got a job as an Art Director at one of the
world’s leading Advertising Agencies in MK’s second city, Shangzu.
Now, from an open plan office on the 22nd floor of pristine glass tower, Zhilan
looks out over the city, towards the ocean beyond. She is one of MK’s new breed
– ambitious and keen on the trappings of modern life, something rued by her
mother.
She was so proud of her daughter when she graduated, but two years away in
Shangzu have changed Zhilan. With her parents separated in her teens, Zhilan’s
mother did her best to instill her daughter with traditional values – these have
now all but gone. Whilst visiting Zhilan in Shangzu, her mother handed over a
box of family heirlooms, hoping it might make her feel something for the past,
but she just sniggered. Now Zhilan has no idea where the box is located …after a
party at her flat, she thinks she gave to someone as a joke.
At the same party, she nearly killed herself. Her flat is on the sixth floor and she
had been drinking a little too much wine. With the karaoke blasting out, she
danced out onto her small balcony and promptly fell over the edge.
Her horrified guests crowded onto the balcony, peering down into the hazy
street-lit garden area. They saw nothing …but they heard her still singing. Then
someone pointed to the tree – swinging from one of the outer branches by one
hand was Zhilan. Effortlessly she dropped to the ground then injured her self by
walking into the glass doors of the apartment building.
Zhilan; the Monkey. Born 1992; aged 23 in 2015. Improviser, artistic, inquisitive –
can be vain and selfish.
XIAOLONG – THE OX
At the age of 42, Xiaolong sometimes feels that life has passed him – unmarried
and with few friends, he now runs an orphanage in one of the many industrial
towns of Sothern MK …and runs it well. His staff is loyal to him and the children
respect him.
Calm, but tough when necessary, nobody has ever seen him lose his temper,
except for once. To the young ones, he is their ”Dad” – someone to pick them up
when they fall, someone to listen to their funny stories, someone to cuddle when
you need it. To the older ones, he’s more like your favorite Uncle – sharing a joke
that your parents would not approve of, dealing with teenage angst, gently
nudging them in the right direction.
But rumours abound about his past – stories about him having been in the army
and killing ten, twenty or hundred people are rife amongst the kids – particularly
the older ones – and Xiaolong does nothing to dispel them. In the event of any
trouble or teenagers just trying it on, he has only to appear at the scene, look
displeased and it all goes quiet.
The truth is, though, Xiaolong was in the army. He was a sergeant and, in a
hostage situation, killed six terrorists …and one six-year-old boy, something that
has never left him. As the sixth terrorist fell, he heard a rustle behind and turned
rapidly - the chain of the talisman around his neck caught on the trigger of his
gun as he stood. He no longer wears it, instead keeping it in the drawer of his
desk, along with the broken remains of an old clay tablet, also left to him by his
father.
In their town, land has become very precious. The orphanage is a big, old
building with a large garden area. It used to have a view across the plain, until a
shoe factory was built right at the back. Now, the factory manager wants to
expand – he wants to build on the orphanage garden and will use every
unscrupulous method to get his way. Keeping the factory working through the
night so that it disturbs the children, throwing over dangerous rubbish into the
orphanage garden and getting lawyers to constantly call on the orphanage staff.
This all led to the one time where Xiaolong lost his temper. A large forklift truck
“accidentally” drove through the garden fence at night and into a play area. The
next morning, seething with fury, Xiaolong stormed through the hole in the
fence, scattering sniggering factory workers, grabbed several large chains and
hooked them to the forklift truck. With a terrifying roar, he then dragged the
truck across the soggy ground, right round to the front, where he pushed it into
the plush main entrance of the factory, sending glass and metal crashing to the
floor.
The local media loved the story, but it has now got Xiaolong in trouble with the
authorities.
Xiaolong; the Ox. Born 1973; aged 42 in 2015. Dependable, calm, born leader – can
be hot-tempered and rigid.
TANG - THE ROOSTER
Despite his childhood passion for meticulously recreating works of art from
ancient MK, Tang’s domineering father insisted on him studying a “proper”
subject at university. And so, Tang read electronic engineering. Now, aged 34, he
is in charge of quality control at a major telecommunications company in the
regional capital.
His meticulous attention to detail and plain, emotionless manner made Tang
somewhat unpopular with his colleagues, so much so, that he was the constant
butt of jokes and comments throughout the company.
Although his manner remained stark - just like his father’s – deep down, you
would have to be a robot for all this not to affect you. Unmarried and estranged
from his parents, Tang is a lonely man.
Despite being in a boom sector of the economy, the company is not doing well.
Tang’s attention to detail led him on a trail where he discovered that some 20 of
the workforce were guilty of corporate theft and selling products illegally.
Praised by the directors, but despised by the workforce, Tang watched as the 20
men were dismissed – all of them protesting their innocence, including one man
whom Tang had known since childhood.
His bitter outburst towards Tang stunned him. He began to doubt himself and
went back over his investigation, only to find a more shocking truth. The trail of
corruption went beyond the 20 who were sacked, right up to the board of
directors. In fact, it seemed that the sacked employees were right in protesting
their innocence, as it appeared they had been framed.
Being the sort of person he was, and now angered at his own foolishness, Tang
confronted the board. Their friendly demeanor towards the man hailed in the
press as “Hero of the Hour” changed dramatically. They warned him that things
could go badly for him if he were to take his claims to the Authorities.
But now Tang’s zealous nature took hold and he ignored their veiled threats.
Deciding to work late to pursue investigations, Tang found himself alone in the
building when the fire alarm started blaring. Running to the window, fear rising,
he flung a metal chair at the window, shattering it into razor like shards. He
peered out – he was eight floors up. Burn to death or die falling …Tang leapt and
below, the crowd gasped.
But, with his arms outstretched as he fell, he started to slow down. He still hit the
ground hard and twisted his ankle badly …but he was alive, only to find himself
grabbed by an aggressive old lady, who had run out of the throng and proceeded
to half carry him away from the scene.
Tang; the Rooster. Born 1981 – aged 34 in 2015 – Scientific, neat, meticulous,
puritanical, given to empty bravado.
NB Roosters, if not bred for food, are capable of flight.
DAIYU – THE DRAGON
Her father worked on the big Metro project for Xi’an, her mother worked in the
restaurant at the station and they insisted that Daiyu work there as well – she
now worked in the ticket office; but all was not well.
Daiyu wanted to go to University and study Archaeology - her parents thought
this was a waste of her life …why not study engineering, like her younger
brother? But Daiyu was adamant – it was Archaeology or nothing. However,
three years ago, her father was killed in a track accident and, with her younger
brother away at University, any hope she had of saving and studying were
vanishing fast.
Undaunted, she continued with her passion in her spare time. Many a weekend
or day off, she could be found either at the Terracotta Army Museum, or a little
further away at the Banpo Museum. Despite her undoubted self-gained
knowledge – irritatingly for some of the tour guides, she would often correct
them – the curators were not able to offer her a post, always stating that she was
not qualified.
However, managers at the Railway Station liked her a lot. Her polite, but forceful
manner, made her very good at dealing with awkward customers. Her colleagues
also liked her; she would often intervene in the concourse if she saw someone
being bullied or unfairly treated. She wasn’t very tall but, when roused, she was a
force to be reckoned with.
It happened to be her day off and she was once again at Banpo when the incident
with the so-called fox occurred. She didn’t see any of the goings-on and
dismissed all the stories about a fox as nonsense. However, she offered to stay
late and was helping to clear up the mess left in the storeroom after the old
woman had kidnapped the boy – even that she found a bit far-fetched. (See
Episode 1)
As evening fell, she was sorting a box of bones when the door opened and a
young man with fierce eyes strode towards her. That he looked fierce didn’t
bother her. What did was how close he stood to her and how he hemmed her
into a small space. He proceeded to ask lots of strange questions – no, she didn’t
have any gold medallions …her father had given them all to her brother, along
with some other old bits ‘Go ask him, if you’re that bothered!’ she finally
snapped.
The man’s temper broke. He reached out for the gold chain hanging around her
neck and ripped it off, only to find a piece of black jade hanging from it. Daiyu’s
temper also broke and, with a strength that was not her own, she swept an arm
out at the man, lifting him off his feet and sending him crashing into a glass case.
Panicking, she ran from the room.
Born 1988 – aged 27 in 2015 – works in the ticket office of the huge Xi’an Railway
Station
CHIMEI – THE RABBIT
Weird …that’s how the some in the town described Chimei …just plain weird.
Nevertheless, her bakery shop remained very popular with all the locals,
particularly at lunchtime, when queues would form down the street, largely
made up of the workers from the nearby garment factory. People loved the
bread, cakes and specialty steamed buns – they also loved some of the nutty
stories they heard from Chimei whilst they were being served.
The town was near the foot of the Taihang Mountains, North East Henan – a
beautiful setting, but rapidly becoming part of the booming regional economy.
The bakery shop had been her parents’, but the baking skills she had inherited
from her now dead mother. ‘Make your bread like you’re giving someone a big
hug’ she would always say to the young Chimei. Her father was still alive, but
frail with arthritis and largely cared for by an Aunt, while Chimei ran the shop.
In the evening, Chimei loved giving talks on Daoism to any who would listen.
Some would come just to jeer, some would come for company for a while; others
were genuinely interested. It was here that Chimei would often go on about how
she believed she was the reincarnation of Laozi. From the skeptics – of which
there were many – this would produce shouts of derision but, undeterred, she
would carry on and eventually they would get bored and leave.
The reason behind her belief was the ancient clay tablet, left to her by her
mother – ‘It speaks to me,’ she would say ‘in the ancient tongue of MK.’ Sadly,
only some of the more eccentric visitors to her lectures could also hear the
voices …many who claimed they could translate it for her.
But one young man was different – tall, well dressed and certainly not from the
town, he smiled and stared at Chimei with his unusual piercing green eyes,
telling her that it was indeed the ancient tongue. He had heard of Chimei’s
lectures from a local news programme and, if she could manage some free time
away from the shop, he would be delighted to explain more to her.
Offers from young men did not come very often to Chimei and, despite her
reluctance, her Aunt urged her to go and meet this dashing young man with his
smart German car. Handing her the carefully wrapped clay tablet, her Aunt then
rummaged in a draw, producing a small wooden box. ‘Here, while you’re with
him, why don’t you ask him about this as well …it’s your mother’s gold talisman.’
Chimei; the Rabbit. Born 1987; aged 28 in 2015. Kind, sensitive and thorough – can
be detached and self-indulgent.
NING - THE SHEEP
Being a trusting sort of person, Ning had made the mistake of telling a couple of
her fellow factory workers her nickname from when she was at school
– The Fat Ghost. Now, just about everybody in the Sugar Refinery knew it.
These things used to trouble Ning and still do a little, but now she seems to just
absorb any harsh comments, taking them in her stride. So, when some of the
younger men make jokes about “Hide, here comes the wobbling ghost!” she
smiles and let’s them carry on until they get bored.
That she was a big girl – now 24 years old – was plain to see. What many did not
hear of her story was how the “ghost” part came in. This stemmed from her
troubled childhood in a small town in central MK. Many times, her domineering
mother would find the young Ning in tears, or screaming at people, shouting that
she could see things on them …or see them surrounded by strange colours.
Years passed and, throughout her teenage years, the lonely Ning gradually
learned to control what she saw. Her mother still dragged her to every doctor
she could find to see if they could cure her child of her madness, but Ning came
to learn that she was not mad, she had a gift.
Finally gaining the strength to leave her now divorced mother, she travelled to
find work in Southern MK (Guangzhou) at a Sugar Refinery. Although the butt of
jokes, a few people have found her true value. Troubled souls, they started
talking to Ning, who would listen and just let them talk …sometimes just sit in
silence with them …sometimes just ask them a simple question, but never tell
them what they should do. In this way, Ning helped them to find the path out of
their worries.
But all this changed dramatically one day. Ning had been seen in the town
walking with an old, wiry man – “Who’s the new boyfriend?” the men joked, only
to be shocked by the anger in her response. Nobody had ever seen Ning angry,
but they soon just laughed and Ning dissolved into tears.
The next day, she didn’t turn up for work. Two days later, someone knocked on
her apartment door – no answer. Ning had vanished.
Ning; the Sheep. Born 1991; aged 24 in 2015 – has the ability to see someone’s
aura; the screen of colours and images that surround all of us. From it, one can
apparently see into someone’s past, judge a person’s mood (even if they are hiding
it) and predict his or her likely action.
THE MENTORS – SHAPESHIFTERS
QINSU – THE WOLF
At the time the first of the 12 guardians were chosen – some 1,500 years ago – it
was decided that there would be a need for somebody to look out for them …to
act as their mentor each time a new guardian came of age following the death of
their predecessor.
Back then there was a man called Qinsu who lived in a village that was deep in
the forests of South Middle Kingdom. He was the chief hunter for the village –
very skilled in the ways of the forest and an excellent leader who put as much
store in listening to people as he did commanding them.
To those who advised the Emperor, Qinsu was a strange choice for such an
important role – it should be a scholar or a great warrior. But the Emperor
insisted that a man of humble origins with such skills as Qinsu possessed would,
in the centuries to come, be perfectly suited to the task of seeking out and
teaching new guardians.
Thus it was that Qinsu was chosen and became an immortal spirit and, like the
guardians, he was given the power of transformation into an animal – a Shape
Shifter. Qinsu thought long and hard and decided that his animal would be a
hunter like him – the wolf.
In order that none from his past would recognize him, his appearance was
changed – gone was the man of 35; now he appeared as a wiry old man, but still
very nimble, fast and quick-witted.
For many centuries, Qinsu relished his role and knew all the Guardians as they
came of age …guiding them, comforting them, leading them into their destiny.
But then, in the 20th Century, things changed. Middle Kingdom grew into a
modern economic power and it’s people lost touch with the old ways. Now, in the
early 21st Century, it is decades since Qinsu has met any of the Guardians and he
despairs that his time on Earth is pointless.
Then, in early 2015, passengers on a boat travelling down the Yellow River saw
an old man on the far bank seemingly suffering a heart attack. Some tourists on
the boat insisted that the captain turn round to help and, very reluctantly, he
agreed. But, as the boat approached the shore, the old man suddenly leapt up and
ran like the wind into the woods.
It was Qinsu – he had sensed a sudden and violent shift in the Chi of Middle
Kingdom …somewhere in the far West, a great evil had arisen. He cursed himself
for his years of complacency, but knew that his first task must be to track down
his elusive and unpredictable ally – Liu.
Qinsu (along with Liu) is our central character for most of Series 1 as he races to
seek out the 12 Guardians before The Cat can find them. He will also act as our
narrator when necessary.
LIU – THE FOX
The role of mentor to 12 Guardians was deemed to great for one person – there
needed to be at least two, and so the search for a second mentor began.
Having overruled his advisors in the case of Qinsu, the Emperor felt it prudent to
let them decide amongst themselves who should fulfill the second role …and
what an argument it proved to be. Great soldiers, philosophers, administrators,
scientists – they were all discussed, yet none could be agreed upon; nobody
could agree on which man should be appointed.
Tired and despondent, the Emperor confided in his wife. “Why should it be a
man?” she retorted. “In centuries to come, it may not always be that women are
subservient to men …just look at Liu, for example.”
Liu was the youngest and only daughter of the Emperor’s favourite General.
Despite her mother’s best efforts, her father had trained her in the use of
weapons since an early age and now in her early twenties at court, she was not a
young lady to be trifled with.
After another day of bickering, the Emperor once more overruled his advisors
and Liu was selected for the onerous task. Without fully appreciating the scale of
her responsibility, Liu readily accepted – after all, the thought of being immortal
when you are young is an intoxicating notion. What nobody had the courage to
tell her, until it was too late, was that her appearance would change. Although
she had chosen a fox as her animal – cunning, resourceful and swift – to find that
she would spend eternity as an old woman was devastating to her. “No one will
listen to a young woman!” the advisors continually pointed out to her, but Liu
never forgave them.
It was only the sage influence of Qinsu – someone who had also to live his life
now as an old man – that calmed her raging spirit and turned her mind to the
task ahead.
She was still a wild card but, for most of the centuries to come, she remained true
to her task. That was, until the 20th Century – now women truly came into their
own and, once again, her feelings of remorse at her lost youth came to the fore.
With Qinsu feeling that the time of the Guardians had come to an end, he and Liu
slowly drifted apart.
Liu, like Qinsu, will be a central character in Series 1 as the 12 are sought and
brought together. From time to time she, too, will act as narrator. Also, her agility
and fighting skills will come to the fore. Although she looks like an old woman, she
is essentially a teenager with attitude and weapons.
QIAO – THE CAT
As the time neared for the choice of animals that would suit the nature of the
Middle Kingdom, rivalries and factions began to appear – none more heated than
that between the two sons of Jiunjan, the Emperor’s brother.
‘Why would anybody want to be a rat?’ argued Qiao, the older brother ‘They
sneak around in the most revolting of places!’
‘But your younger brother has a point, rats are tenacious and look after each
other.’
‘And cats are self-sufficient, clean and …’
‘And individuals!’ interrupted his father. ‘They look out for themselves …not
others! No more, Qiao …I will have no more argument. The Emperor has chosen
Guoling to be a Guardian …and he has chosen the rat. That is the end of it!
Qiao seethed with hatred for his younger brother – he always felt that he was the
favoured one, just because he was younger. He wasn’t going to let this pass; so,
with only days before the ceremony to appoint the Guardians, Qiao hatched a
plan.
Early the next morning, before the household awoke, he stirred his brother,
telling him that it was time for peace between them and that he was deeply sorry
for all the anguish he had caused. ‘Let’s go hunting together, just as we used to
…right now before sunrise!’
Happy that they were friends once more, Guoling set off silently with his brother.
They rode deep into the forest and on to their favourite spot – a good 4 hours
from home. At one point, the path went past the precipice of a deep ravine –
Qiao slowed to let his brother go first, but as they neared the edge, Guoling felt
his horse stumble.
It was no stumble – Qiao had cut the hamstrings of his brother’s horse. It
tumbled sideways, flinging Guoling off and over the cliff. But he was a skilled
horseman and clung on to the reins of the wounded beast.
Now swinging over the edge of the cliff with a long drop below, he called for help
from his brother, only to look up and see Qiao standing above him with sword in
hand. In a flash, Qiao slashed the reins, sending Guoling falling to almost certain
death.
The next day at the ceremony, the Emperor was growing impatient. Nobody
knew the whereabouts of Guoling or why he should just run away. Running out
of time, it was decided that the cat should now become the twelfth animal and so
Qiao stepped forward, just has the huge doors creaked open behind the crowd.
Framed in the entrance, there stood Guoling – clothes in shreds and covered in
dried blood.
There was a gasp from the crowd then silence as Guoling threw down the
severed reins. ‘It is harder to kill a rat than you think …my brother’ hissed
Guoling through gritted teeth.
Qiao wasted no time - before anyone could stop him, he had fled the city. But he
was not sorry …this only served to fuel his hatred. He would have his revenge on
his brother, the rat, and all the other simpering fools who had become Guardians.
Even if it took him all of eternity, he would find a way.
These days, Qiao would be classified as a psychopath – highly intelligent, no
feelings towards others, utterly ruthless and extremely dangerous. By his trickery,
he too became immortal and had the ability to Shape Shift into a cat.
THE FOUR FIENDS
Some 2,500 years ago in Middle Kingdom, before its unification, there were once
four emperors and, as with any large family, the many children had a range of
virtues and abilities. However, what typified these families was that each
possessed one child that was evil to its core.
Perhaps a harsh thing to say of a child, but despite any amount of love and
attention from their elders, these four children grew into wicked adults. Each
one reveled in there own particular skill at bringing misery to those around
them. What made it all worse was that now, as adults, others were attracted by
their heinous deeds.
Hundun enjoyed acting as an enemy to virtue and spread discord at every
opportunity; so much so that his mother would always say that he could make
two stones fight.
Qiongqi was at peace with slander and relished the chance to spread false
accusations of any and all. His devious ways and cunning with words led many to
be deceived – almost always leading to their terrible downfall.
Taowu was a man of few words. His arguing skills were blunt, but he spoke
violently and without feeling, delighting in the misery he caused to others by
spreading hatred.
Taotie desired only wealth and possessions, and would stop at nothing to get
them. So much so that she would watch families be evicted or see the head of the
household executed in order to profit from their wretched demise.
So vile did these four become that their very human form began to shift. Evil
began to change the very shape of their faces and their bodies grew into hideous
apparitions until they were no longer recognizable as human.
With the threat to Middle Kingdom rising, the Emperors summoned the 12
Guardians of the day. They commanded them to banish the four and their clans
of followers to the barren corners of Middle Kingdom. But on the way, the Four
Fiends – as they were now called – attempted to escape.
Deeming them now to dangerous to leave in the mortal world, the 12 imprisoned
the Four Fiends in a hidden cavern somewhere in the mountains of West Middle
Kingdom. As a final punishment, the 12 then set them in stone in order that may
reflect on their deeds throughout all eternity.