Page 29 of Elemasters

“Prince Fusu and I spent hours upon hours reading every detail of those scrolls, until we discovered the location of a mystical island, thought to be nothing more than mere myth. Mt. Penglai; home of magic and immortals. We knew that there we could find the means to forge a weapon strong enough to strike down the corrupt emperor, but we also knew that we could not do such a thing alone. Thankfully, Prince Fusu had allies, myself among them. And thus, we set out on our journey aboard the ship of Captain Xu Fu,”

Another flash, and this time the group found themselves trailing behind a small group of people, all dressed in similar ragged simple clothing instead of the elaborate fancy robes Dustin had come to expect. Sima Yao and Fusu were among them, but there were three others that Dustin didn’t recognize; a heavily pregnant woman holding Fusu’s hand with every tentative step through the dense forest, another woman with a permanent scowl using a deadly spear like a walking stick, and a younger boy who looked to be about the same age as Sima Yao. He looked quite similar to Fusu; likely his younger brother.

“How much longer until we find what we’re looking for? I’m royalty, I’m not meant to spend my days scouring the forest for ore,” the boy protested, pouting profusely. Sima Yao bounced to his side, planting a kiss on his cheek and rubbing his shoulder supportively.

“At least we’re here together Huhai. It’s better than braving the elements alone,”

“Oh man Sima Yao really had game!” Chris snickered. Dustin quickly silenced him with a punch to the shoulder as they tried to keep pace with the memory unfolding in front of them.

The boy, Huhai, blushed, but kissed Sima Yao’s cheek in return.

“I suppose that is true. It is rather nice to be able to show my affections openly, away from prying palace eyes,”

“And yet the sight of it still sours my stomach,” the stone-faced woman replied with a roll of her eyes that quickly softened into a grin, “young love is always disgusting. Was it not enough that I had to witness Fusu and Yanli fall for one another?”

Yanli giggled, rubbing her pregnant belly as she walked.

“Pretend to be disgusted all you like Minghua. Even you can’t deny that you’re excited to meet the future heir of Qin,”

“Only so I can teach them to be less insufferable than their father,”

“I like her,” Chloe whispered to Bailey, who nodded furiously in response.

The group continued until they finally reached the base of a truly massive mountain; the top of which stretched so far above the clouds that it couldn’t even be seen.

“That’s it, Mt. Penglai. The Eight Immortals are said to live at the top. If we can successfully plead our case to them, they will gift us with ore from the Five Colored Stones,” Fusu said, clearly resolute, “we camp here for the night, and continue our journey at dawn,”

“Wait, the Five Colored Stones? The ones that were supposedly used to patch the heavens during the Era of Creation? I had no idea your plan was so bold brother… what kind of weapon are you seeking to forge?” Huhai asked, raising his eyebrows as the true depth of Fusu’s desperation washed over him.

“The only kind that can defeat a man empowered by a dragon. One that harnesses the full might of the Wu Xing itself. Only the five elements in harmony can defeat what our father has become,” Fusu turned to face the group, his gaze as solid as iron, “take the night to steel yourselves. Once we ascend, there will be no turning back,”

“We are here because it’s already been decided that we aren’t turning back my love,” Yanli assured him, “we are with you until the bitter end. We will see a better future for our empire,”

“The days that followed were rife with trials and tribulations. The Eight Immortals tested our valor, ensnared our minds with riddles, and divined our fate in the clouds themselves. But after it all, they saw our cause as just, and from the womb of the mountain they gifted us with the five colored ore to aid us on our journey. With it, we forged the rings and became the Elemental Sages; Fusu commanded water, Huhai wielded fire, Yanli spoke through the earth, Minghua made metal her weapon, and I embodied the vitality and vigor of wood,”

“So that’s where the rings came from,” James said like he was taking mental notes, “but Qin Shi Huang died relatively young right? So you guys defeated him?”

“That we did Master Zhang. It was long and bitter work; it took years before we fully mastered the powers we had so desperately sought out for ourselves. But when we finally overcame those hurdles, we were ready to dethrone the Emperor at last,”

With another flash of light, Dustin and the others found themselves once again standing over an open field; but this time there weren’t two armies clashing… only the Emperor in his antlered armor, and the five Elemental Sages. The battle was like something out of a comic book; Qin Shi Huang was a force to be reckoned with, summoning wind and rain and lightning like he was composing an orchestra of bloodshed. The Sages were ready for him though, working in perfect unison to counteract his every move.

When lightning tried to scorch them, Yanli sheltered them with shields of stone, reinforced by Minghua’s metal spine. When the wind threatened to blow them away, Sima Yao’s vines held them in place. When the blinding rain obscured their vision, Fusu turned it into a canopy of water that gave Huhai just enough visibility to blast their father with blazing streams of orange flame.

It was like watching the Ancient Chinese X-Men kick ass, and Dustin was completely mesmerized.

“I have sacrificed everything to build this empire, kept my children in luxury’s lap for the whole of their lives, and given purpose to an entire nation… and this is how I am repaid? In betrayal and conspiracy?!” Qin Shi Huang groaned as he dropped to one knee, a scorching hole burned into the chest of his armor, “you may kill me here, but know this; my power, my DIVINE RIGHT will live beyond me. My soul will not rest until the world I sought to build comes to fruition; a world that fears the name Qin Shi…”

His words were silenced by a razor sharp metal shard flying into his throat; a section of Minghua’s armor that she’d detached and fired off like a throwing knife. Dustin winced at the sight, while the others covered their eyes or looked away entirely.

The Emperor gurgled and collapsed into a lifeless heap; the black storm clouds overhead finally dissipating as he drew his final breath.

“Damn, she didn’t even let him finish his villain monologue,” Bailey mumbled, “a queen move for sure but… brutal,”

“We were victorious. A new era awaited us as Prince Fusu prepared to ascend the throne and rule as the next Emperor of Qin. But, as we were soon to discover, Huhai had other plans. In the years between the forging of the rings and our defeat of The Emperor, the younger prince developed a deep disdain for Prince Fusu. He came to believe that his elder brother was not fit to lead the empire, and that only he could succeed where their father did not,”

The open field beneath them was swallowed in a veil of fog, which rapidly consumed the group as well. They couldn’t see anything, but they could hear everything; metal clanging, water whipping against stone, tree bark crunching… the sound of crackling flame. And then came the disembodied voices.

“Huhai?! W-why… how could you turn on us, a-after everything?” Yanli’s tired sobs gave way into a final exhale as she seemed to breathe her last breath.