The Thousand Year War

“There weren't always dragons in the Valley… at least not that anyone remembered. Great tales remained, becoming myths and legends of the Great War. 999 years ago, the young emperor Huangdi united the kingdom with the help of Ying Long, the Great Dragon, using Ying Long’s Yeouiju, which some believed to be the stone of all creation. It was a time of magic and mysticism with many creatures, long forgotten, freely roaming the kingdom. The many tribes worked harmoniously with the various dragon’s, who provided knowledge of the heavens and land. They came to be revered as gods. There was one god however, who was angered by the peace and harmony between the many races of Seoul. The God of War, Chiyou, leader of the Nine Li Tribe, sought to steal the great dragon’s Yeouiji, for the same stone used for creation, could also bring destruction. He had the head of a bull with brass horns; four eyes, one facing in every direction making him impossible to sneak up on. Chiyou’s six arms could wield the most terrible weapons and with the torso and legs of a massive bear, his speed and strength, truly terrifying….”

“Chiaotzu! Stop filling your sister’s head with those silly stories Dr. Huang tells you! You know they give her nightmares!” Chiaotzu’s mother Yuko snaps at him scoldingly. “Those tales aren’t real darling.” she says in a comforting tone to his little sister Ren.

“You spend too much time with that crazy old man, living in fantasies when we need your help here, on the orchard!” Yuko said sternly. “You’re just like your father!” That last part hurt, it always did... sighing as he blew out the lantern to go to sleep.

Chiaotzu lived in the Jiuli Province, in the shadow of Jiang Mountain…. The Black Dragon River running through the valley providing the land with the water it needed for its many peach and cherry orchards. It was a beautiful and peaceful place, but Chiaotzu found it to be incredibly dull and boring; where anything of note that happened, took place long ago. There were few who still believed the old tales to be anything more then stories. But there was one who remembered… Whenever possible Chiaotzu would sneak off too Dr. Huang’s clinic, to hear the legends of old, it was almost like Dr. Huang had been there himself.

“It was before the final battle of the Great War, Emperor Huangdi climbed to the summit and there he made a deal with Ying Long, thought to be the oldest and wisest of all the dragons! A deal to borrow Ying Longs mystical orb and use it to lock away the evil tyrant Chiyou within the mountain for a thousand years!” Dr. Huang exclaimed. “Chiao, I tell you my boy, the time is coming!”

As the doctor spoke, the sky began to darken… Thick unnatural clouds, threatening a storm. Thunder began to echo through valley, seemingly amplified by the mountain. Rain fell like daggers, pounding the roof of the old shack, and the winds seemed to blow in all directions at once.

Chiao felt his heart begin to race, “Have you ever seen a storm like this?!” excitedly asking the old doctor. But as he looked at Dr. Huang’s face his excitement soon began to turn into confusion. The old man was always smiling and had never once lost his temper or even raised his voice to Chiao. The look on the old healer’s face so unsettling, it almost looked like a mask. His usual humorous and genial tone starkly changing to a more serious urgency.

“I am so sorry my boy, I thought there was more time… In all these years of living I must have lost track somewhere… I have so much left to teach you and prepare you for. But it seems we haven't the time, the clock has run out!” The thunder now bringing with it great, green flashes of lightning!

Perplexed by this, Chiao asks, “What are you talking about doctor? You’re not making any sense…” The shack now sat in the eye of the storm. There was a complete stillness in the air, but the thunder grew to a deafening roar... the lightning strobing so quickly now, it reminded Chiao of an old flip book he used to show his sister Ren. The strikes, quickly framing each moment in time, then gone in a flicker of green light.

Dr. Huang rushed to the window, “Its all real Chiaotzu, all the stories and tales I’ve told you during our time together… The veil is thinning and Chiyou’s cage in the center of the mountain is weakening!” Noticing someone or something outside, “They’re here,” he spoke grimly.

“What do you mean!? What veil?! Who’s here!?!” Chiao exclaimed in confusion.

“The Ichneuman, an enemy of the dragons, who long ago joined Chiyou in his battle against the Great Dragon Shin Long and the Emperor. They are here for me boy… you must hide!” the doctor speaking nervously as he pulled up a hidden door in the floorboards.

Ignoring the doctor Chiao ran to the window, wondering if the old man had finally lost his mind, like his mother always said he would. But looking out only made him feel like he might be the one going crazy… The rain had muddied the ground around the old shack, and there, crawling through the mud were large weasel like creatures. They looked to be at least 6 meters long, with what appeared to be metal claws, digging their way into the mud, making an unsettling noise by grinding its teeth erratically. With a long tail, split at the end with two, razor-sharp needles on the ends. Remembering now, the old doctor had spoken of them before. “Ichies” he called them. They would dig themselves into the muddy ground, hiding until a dragon or other unlucky creature would stumble upon them. Digging its terrible claws into unsuspecting prey and using its long tail to wrap up their snout… and finally using its needled tail to enter the nostrils and pierce the brain.

“Get away from the windows Chiao! They mustn’t see you!” Again, the doctor beckoning him to hide in the floor. The sound of grinding teeth seemed to surround them now, growing closer as every boom of thunder faded.

Suddenly, a great bolt of what appeared to be black lightning struck the ground outside the shack, keeping its form it remained, and emanating from the beam, a great roar could be heard… it reminded Chiaotzu of the roaring waterfall on the Black Dragon River, at the base of the mountain… the sound was almost comforting. As the black bolt of lightning dissipated, solidifying the ground it had struck… there stood what appeared to be a man… wearing a long black coat, it had a shimmer too it, like oil on water. The tail of the jacket appeared to have been cut some time ago.

“What the fuck is going on doctor?!” a very confused Chiaotzu questioned. “Did that man just come out of the lightning!?!” feeling his grasp on reality slipping more with each passing moment.

The old doctor ignoring the question, now appearing relieved, even smiling as the silhouette turned to speak. His hair a deep black that shimmered in the same way his jacket did. The stranger’s eyes, deep and dark like black holes, with no whites visible.

“Chiao my boy…. That is no man at all, but an old friend! Short-Tailed Old Li, the Black Dragon!” Dr. Huang said reminiscently.

Old Li turned to face the old doctor, “Emperor Huangdi! 999 years is a long time… you look like shit by the way.”