The Dragon Amulet

A cold wind blew through the luxurious city of Harrowgate, it pushed past the golden walls of the royal castle, down through the market place, passing the location of the four major clan's mansions. Through the smithing districts, past the entertainment district, blowing a few skirts upwards as it passed, it passed the alchemy sector unril the breeze hit the unconscious body of a young man.

The young man was laying face down in a puddle of his own blood, surrounded by a group of young men wearing the uniform of the Shen clan. The ring leader of the group walked towards the body on the floor and kicked it in the stomach, the sharp pain forced the man on the floor to wake up. The ring leader pulled the other man off of the floor by his greasy long hair and said" I think you should stay away from the heiress to the Shen clan from now on, you agree don't you Shen Nu?"

Shen Nu spat blood from out of his mouth onto the floor and began laughing heavily, the result of his outburst was a punch to his gut. Shen Nu temporarily stopped laughing as he struggled to get his breath back, as soon as he could breathe he began laughing again, he was then dropped to the floor once more.

Shen Nu rose from the ground, his long black hair covering his shoulders, a blank expression on his face, blood dripping from his mouth. He looked at the leader of the group and said" I didn't ask Shen Mei to talk to me, I like you, wish she would leave me alone and get on with her life and let me live my shitty life, the same way it has always been, alone."

As the leader of the group was preparing to strike Shen Nu, a tall slim woman with easily identifiable red hair walked into the alleyway. Horrified at the scene in front of her, she ran in front of Shen Nu and pulled him behind her. She instantly activated the physique of the Phoenix, flames covered her body and two small wings erupted out of her back.

Shen Nu sighed as the woman took a defensive stance in front of him, he simply walked around her and said" I assume the daily beating is done now right? Shen Mei, can you leave me alone from now on? You interacting with me only brings me trouble, don't you have training to be doing right now? You should return to the clan mansion, I will see you guys tomorrow, I guess around the same time?"

Before anyone could respond, Shen Nu disappeared into the slums, his laboured breathing was the only thing that gave away his location. That and the small trail of blood that spilled out of his body, unlike most of the Shen clan, Shen Nu was not able to cultivate at all. As soon as his parents died he was thrown out of the main family and has been living on scraps ever since.

At first Shen Nu was seen with sympathy by the city of Harrowgate however as time went on and his lack of ability to cultivate became worse so did his treatment. It was now an established tradition for the members of the Shen clan that were the same age as Shen Nu to come and beat him regularly, he became the training doll for their new moves and a live target to test their powers on.

The only member of the clan that still treats him as a human is Shen Mei however her involvement only makes the beatings of the jealous teenagers that much worse. Shen Mei was meant to marry Shen Nu as her family were adopted into the Shen family, not descendents of it however once it was found he was powerless, the engagement was cancelled. The pity in her eyes when she looks at Shen Nu hurts him so much more than the beatings ever could however Shen Nu would never have to see that look again as tonight he planned to leave Harrowgate City and make a new life for himself.

As he was preparing to sleep off his wounds an ethereal voice began calling his name, Shen Nu's body acted on its own and began following the voice, he walked for nearly two hours until he arrived at the entrance to some ruins on the outskirts of the city. The voice spoke once more" Enter the ruins Shen Nu, once you get to its depths, you will find the power you need to avenge their deaths."

With nothing to loose, Shen Nu walked into the ruins, he knew that even if he died in the ruins, no one would care, so why not risk it all?