The Tale of Shou

Beginning

“You work harder today than I’ve ever seen you work, Shou,” Master Snowdrift said as he walked through the training yard.  His Wu Kao student fired bolt after bolt at the moving wooden targets in front of him.  The red fur of his brow was furrowed in concentration, but the master knew that it was only a mask for another emotion that burned within him.

            “There is anger in your eyes, my pupil.  Tell me what troubles you.”

            “The Vale troubles me, master; and the escape of that vile orc.  I will hunt him down, no matter what.”

            In that moment he released a furious volley, each one aiming for the heart of the painted targets.  But Master Snowdrift leapt in front of his bolts, brushing each of them away as if they were paper zeppelins. 

            “You speak of hunting Garrosh Hellscream, but you are not prepared.  That was the best volley I’ve seen you deliver, but it was as nothing before me.  Lord Taran Zu is far more powerful than you, and he nearly lost his life to that monster.  You are not prepared to challenge one such as him, nor will you be for many years.”

            “That isn’t true master!  You leapt in front of my shots when I wasn’t ready!  I was aiming for the targets, not you.”

            “And if you had been aiming at me, it would have made a difference?”

            “I would never aim at you, master.  But if you had been an opponent, those shots would have connected.”

            “Then let us test this,” the master said as he turned and walked a few feet further from his student.

            “But master, these bolts don’t have safety tips.  They are dangerous.”

            “The weapon is only as dangerous as its wielder.  If the wielder is unskilled, the weapon’s edge means little to a strong opponent.”

            “I am skilled!  I’ve been training for months!”

            “For months… Not even a full year, Shou!  You have been a Wu Kao trainee for a very short amount of time.  Yet revenge drives you to make claims against the life of a man far more dangerous than you can handle.”

            “My parents served in the Golden Lotus!” Shou roared.  “They died protecting it from his filthy horde.  I will see Hellscream pay.  I don’t care if he kills me in the process, I will see him suffer and die by my hand!”

            Master Snowdrift stared at his student, pain and sorrow etched on his face.  He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he opened them again his face was full of resolve.

            “Then why don’t you show me how you will make him suffer,” Master Snowdrift said.  He took a simple stance with one paw behind his back, and the other paw held out in front of him.

            “Attack me now, boy, or else I will keep you here as an initiate forever.”

            “As you wish, Master.”

            Shou gritted his teeth, raised his weapon and fired at his master.  From thirty feet Shou thought that it should have been easy to track and hit Master Snowdrift, but the casual speed with which the pandaren dodged and moved was extraordinary.  Shou had fired only two shots and his master was already less than ten feet away.  Snowdrift charged straight on as the young Wu Kao fired his third bolt.  The master swiped it away with his right paw and Shou was struck dumb as his master’s left paw closed on his throat.