Every age has its heroes. The vein of heroism sometimes passes from generation to generation; other times, it births spontaneously in a ready heart. Heroism instills a certain earnestness in its inheritors. It lifts the blinders that keep most people unburdened by the knowledge of Evil. It drapes a cloak of responsibility upon the hero's shoulders.
New China had no heroes for a long time. Recently, however, a new group has risen from the ashes of its ancestry. Meet them. Appreciate them. You never know when you'll meet the enemy that wants nothing more than to eviscerate them.
Master Sage His real name is Lo Shu. When he was an infant, the Black Mantis sect massacred his parents in the final attack on the Pale Lotus Temple. Lo Shu survived only because his father's greatest warrior wasn't there that day. Lo Shu grew up in the care of this Pale Lotus warrior. He learned the ways of the sect and became a master martial artist in his own right—in secret, where the Black Mantis sect couldn't find him. When he became a man, he maintained a front. He married and had a child. His child grew up and had a child. His granddaughter grew up and had a child. Lo Shu, his secret unrevealed, settled in for quiet, happy, golden years.
That, however, was not to be. Lo Shu learned that the Black Mantis sect had come to New China and that they were becoming a threat to his family. Finally, his true purpose was to be fulfilled. One by one, he began to gather students around himself, and the next generation of Pale Lotus initiates was born.
Fiery Phoenix His mother called him Jiao. The last sound he heard from her was the anguished cry of his name just before she died at the hands of the Black Mantis. Jiao Feng did not die that day. Master Sage Lo Shu rushed into the burning building and rescued him. The Feng family had done Lo Shu a great favor, and to repay that debt, Lo Shu took the orphaned Jiao Feng into his home and began to train him in the ways of the Pale Lotus.
Jiao grew to manhood in the Shu family. He loves Lo Shu as a father and would die to protect him. He has trained hard and carries a great deal of anger in his heart over the murder of his parents. He has vowed to avenge them. The only thing that has kept him from doing so up to now is his promise to Lo Shu that he will keep his skills a secret. One day, he knows, he will get the chance to call his mother's name with the certainty that it is the last thing her killer ever hears.
Jade Dragon Her nickname seems appropriate, considering the eternal nature of her talent. Jade Dragon, born Aria Chen, carries the blood of the Master Sages in her veins. She is the direct descendent of the Master Sage killed in the massacre at the Pale Lotus Temple. Lo Shu is her great-grandfather.
When Aria first discovered that Lo Shu was teaching Jiao the arts of the Pale Lotus, she was hurt. She followed them and watched them practice from a hiding place. The more she watched, the more she wanted to train with them. The greater her desire became, the angrier she got. Finally, she confronted her great-grandfather and insisted that he train her as well. She reminded him that she was his flesh and blood and thus deserved a chance to learn as much as any orphan. Lo Shu reluctantly agreed, only to discover that Aria did indeed have the aptitude of the Master Sages. Aria took to her training like a fish to water.
These three heroes make up one half of the renewed Pale Lotus sect. All together, six life paths have converged at one crossroads. Six heroes have come together to right old wrongs and to save the world from the Black Mantis sect. To learn about the final three Pale Lotus members, stayed tuned for the second article in this series, "Behind the Scenes: Heroes, Part 2."
