The Exemplar

[Shang Tsung]

The Spartan was a jumpy one. He had proven as much when he nearly impaled the tower commander for rushing up the stairs and through the access door. After the commander’s arrival, the pair had been pulled back into the interior of the structure to undergo the garrison’s hazing procedure. A smaller man had been ejected for managing to already fail to meet expectations. When the commander reached Atelos, the two exchanged a momentary look before the officer moved on to the next would-be soldier.

When he reached Shang, the commander likewise offered no harsh language or glares. For someone in such a backwater post, the officer clearly excelled at reading people. That also meant that the Spartan was probably the only person of merit in the small garrison. Shang didn’t risk glancing at the others, but he doubted there were any Primes in the bunch beside himself and the Grecian. Once the commander completed his inspections, he ordered that the would-be soldiers pair off for the sake of impromptu combat practice. While he would have much rather beaten down on a bald-faced farmhand, Shang found himself confronted by the Spartan, who wore a wide grin across his chiseled visage.

Without requiring the prompting, the sorcerer drew the jian from the scabbard on his back. The Spartan drew his own blade, and in silence, they began to parry one another’s strikes.

"So how about you tell me about yourself since we were so rudely interrupted?"Atelos inquired as he swung high and to the left.

The sorcerer had to stifle a laugh as he sent the blow wide of its intended target and followed up with a blow that was parried just as easily. “My name is Shang Tsung. I was born during the time of the Tang Dynasty to a family of local bureaucrats.”

Atelos furrowed his brow as he mulled over the information. After the two exchanged another set of blows, the Spartan came in with a low-aiming attack. Seeing the change in pattern, Shang likewise inverted his blade to mimic the swing. With a clang, their two weapons met, and on this occasion, neither man capitulated. “You’re quite proficient with that blade to be a bureaucrat,” Atelos remarked before stealing a glance at the other recruits. “And you’ve also got more muscle than you let on.”

“I couldn’t handle the clerical work, so I left home to join a monastery. They were the type of monks who dedicate themselves to not only their religion but also to mastery of kung fu,” Shang responded as the two broke away from one another. A beat later, they looked blades above their heads. “It was a slightly more exciting existence, but I craved more, you see.”