FLIGHT OF HONOUR
"So that was the rumbling noise we heard?", asked crown prince Wang Wei as they walked at a brisk pace.
"It was really intense seeming to come from the ground itself", added Chen Jun.
"Yes your highness, that was your father, the dragon of jade heaven himself passing on. He was roaring his last. At that very moment the harmony of nature itself was disturbed".
"Did he not went to leave a behind a legacy?", crown prince Wang Wei asked.
"That was always his dream, sometimes however we do not always get what we want", calmly remarked Liu Chang.
"But why leave the celestial realm completely devoid of the life it once held?", inquired crown prince Wang Wei as they were walking.
"He had no choice", Liu Chang calmly replied. "Being the jade dragon is a big responsibility. Which at times calls upon the bearer to make difficult choices for the greater good", explained Liu Chang.
"But why?", crowd prince Wang Wei repeated the question.
"He wanted you, his son to come to him that he might pass on the power of the jade dragon", replied Liu Chang looking straight ahead as he walked. "The ceremony had to take place in the Jade palace.
"I was late in responding, this is all my fault", said crown prince Wang Wei sadly. "What have I done, I have ended the Wang dynasty".
"Or it could mark a new beginning", Liu Chang challenged. "The Wang dynasty will carry on because your highness was not present at the jade palace, at the time of the attack ".
"What new beginning, look around you", said crown prince Wang Wei gesturing with outstretched hands towards the burnt vegetation, ugly leafless trees and grey sky above. Gone also was the stream of fast flowing clear water running through the landscape.
"The last time the celestial realm was renewed was 10 000 years ago", said Liu Chang.
"Which was the same time that your father made a full throttle roar", added Kai Shek.
"What are you getting?", asked crown prince Wang Wei.
'That maybe it was time for another roar to bring renewal to the celestial realm. I agree that the circumstances that it is being brought may not have been right . His majesty was much younger then as you are now. He had the strength to control the power that is unleashed by the roar of the dragon".
"Maybe", crown prince Wang Wei conceded, "but I don't have the roar of the jade dragon with me. It was too late by the time I returned to the jade palace for my father to impart to me it to me. Or maybe it was just not meant to be. Maybe the era of the jade dragon is truly over. Don't you see? It could be that it is the time of the red dragon to bring about a new era to the celestial realm".
"It is not that simple your highness, the jade dragon brought balance, it brought harmony. There is no comparison between the two", Liu Chang respectfully disagreed. Look all around you, see what the coming of the red dragon has brought, death and desolation everywhere. The red dragon is not a benevolent power it is a destructive force".
"Sometimes it is not always about time but rather the condition of the heart", Liu Chan explained advised.
"I don't think I understand what you are saying", said crown prince Wang Wei. "Speak in plain language that I can easily understand".
"Your highness you can always claim the roar of the dragon at a later stage", calmly suggested Liu Chang.
"Do you hear yourself speaking?", crown prince Wang Wei challenged. "I will have to get into the jade palace for that. We can be certain that at this very moment Li Yan will be consolidating her power.base. More of field marshal Li Keng's massive army will also be arriving. It will be next to impossible to enter the palace".
"Next to, but not entirely impossible", calmly replied Liu Chang.
"What do you mean?", asked crown prince Wang Wei.
"Your highness will retake the jade palace with the roar of the jade dragon", advised Liu Chang.
"The secret of that power is back there in the jade palace remember", pointed out crown prince Wang Wei.
"It is not", said Liu Chang. "Your highness is the new jade dragon. You do not need to go and seek out the the raor of the jade dragon it is already within you", camly replief Liu Chang.
"Why then do I not feel it?", crown prince Wang Wei quiried.
"That you do not feel something does not mean that it is not within you.
"What must I do in order to be able to roar", asked crown prince Wang Wei.
"Patience your highness, the more you try to force the roar out of you the harder it will become for it to manifest", Liu Chang calmly advised.
"Then it sounds hopeless, if I can not bring out that power within me and the one person who could have taught me to manifest it is gone".
"It was never something that could be handed over the ceremonial passage of being the jade dragon is only a formality. But the roar will eventually manifest itself".
"Your highness, we are here", announced Liu Chang as they came to a stop close to the edge of jade heaven.
"What are the conditions under which the roar of the jade dragon will manifest itself?" asked crown prince Wang Wei curiously.
"There is no set condition", replied Liu Chang, the conditions are never the same from one person to another. What I can tell is that initially it will be an involuntary response".
"Response to what?", asked crown prince Wang Wei.
"All I can tell is that the roar will at first be a response to certain conditions. Over time you will gradually learn to control the roar of the dragon. You will then be the jade dragon of the celestial realm. You will have unlimited power to restore balance to jade heaven. Even the red dragon will not be able to withstand your roar, once you unleash it", said Liu Chang. Until then you must stay alive".
"Of course I will stay alive", confirmed crown prince Wang Wei.
"Chen Jun, you must protect his highness with your life", Liu Chang directed.
"You can rely on me, I have always done my duty to the crown and will continue to do so", confirmed Chen Jun.
"Why the renewed interest in my safety?", asked crown prince Wang Wei.
''Your highness I do not think you quite grasp the gravity of the situation", said Liu Chang.
"Tell me, what is behind this renewed interest?", asked crown prince Wang Wei..
"Your highness is vulnerable until you can master the roar of the dragon".
Isn't there another way to quicken the menifestation of the dragon's roar ?", crown prince Wang Wei anxiously asked.
"There is one possibility", said Liu Chang. 'Though the chance of it happening diminished drastically when you rejected Li Yan".
'How does Li Yan's name come into the discussion?
"Prophecy has it that when the bearer of the power of the jade dragon unites in true love with a partner of equal status, the roar of the jade dragon shall come on its own into the full control of the bearer.
"Li Yan would have been a perfect match for your highness", Kai Shek suddenly spoke up.
"But I do not love Li Yan", declared crown prince Wang Wei.
"The love must be true. Otherwise it will not work even if the two are of equal status", remarked Liu Chang.
How can I marry the person who killed the emperor?",asked crown prince Wang Wei.
"You did not make the right decision, your highness", Kai Shek pronounced.It's time to face the consequences". Now !" Kai Shek called out and several rebel soldiers appeared from the bushes around them weapons drawn.
"Your highness you must go quickly!", Liu Chang urged.
"I have been aware that we were being followed from the time we left the jade palace", announced Chen Jun gripping the hilt of his sword tightly as the rebel soldiers charged at them. Crown prince Wang Wei also stood his ground, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly with both hands.
Then the rebel soldiers were upon them. Chen was wielding his sword like a man possessed. Striking again and again.
A rebel soldier charged at crown prince Wang Wei. Liu Chang pushed him aside
Crown prince Wang Wei stumbled. A blade struck him on the shoulder as he fell from jade heaven. He saw Chen Jun cut down couple of rebel soldiers in quick succession and run towards him calling out,"your highness!" While reaching out with one hand towards crown prince Wang Wei.
Just as Chen Jun was about to grab hold of crown prince Wang Wei's outstretched hand, he was suddenly forced to duck by a rebel soldier charging at him..Thrusting the blade of his sword with all his weight behind it, he drove into the rebel soldier's exposed stomach.
Crown prince Wang Wei felt a sharp surge of pain where the blade had cut him as he was falling and passed out from the pain.
Chen Jun quickly leapt over the edge of the celestial realm after his master.
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