Eagle

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Book 1: Tiger

Book 2: Monkey

Book 3: Snake

Book 4: Crane

Book 5: Eagle

For my father, Roger

Born a Dragon but raised an Eagle, a young rogue monk has exacted a terrible revenge on Cangzhen Temple. He is furious that five younger monks survived the devastation and went into hiding. But unknown to him, the plot reaches all the way to the Emperor's golden throne and is more sinister than anyone realizes. Surrounded by betrayal and corruption, the reluctant Eagle begins to recognize that the future may depend upon …

the Five Ancestors.

T
here is a legend told in warrior circles. One as old as history itself. It concerns the affairs of the four mystical dragons who held the world upon their backs—the Wind Dragon, the Sea Dragon, the Celestial Dragon, and the Treasure Dragon. They had a problem.

Humans.

Mankind was spreading quickly across the vast landscape that was China, and the humans were not doing so in a peaceful manner. They were doing so with warfare. This was upsetting to the dragons. They called a meeting.

“Let me bring a great gale and blow these troublesome human creatures off the face of the earth,” the Wind Dragon offered.

The Celestial Dragon, their leader, frowned and shook his mighty head. “No, too violent.”

“I could unleash a torrent of waves to wash the humans into oblivion,” the Sea Dragon suggested.

The Celestial Dragon's brow furrowed. “How is that better? Destruction only begets destruction. No.”

The Treasure Dragon, the cleverest of the bunch, rubbed his long whiskers. “It seems to me the humans are slow learners. I have witnessed short bursts of peace, which they seem to enjoy, but then they go back to war. They need to be constantly reminded of the simplest things. I will create gifts for them that their leaders will proudly carry wherever they go. Gifts with the power and significance to unite them. Gifts they understand.”

The Celestial Dragon's brow rose up. “Tell me more.”

“I will give them weapons,” the Treasure Dragon said. “Matching tools of war that will be a constant reminder of their need for peace. Only the mighty can speak convincingly of peace, so I will make the gifts strong. Unbeatable, yet unable to beat any of the others. I will retreat to my underground lair and cut identical swords from the finest jade. Then I will assemble a magnificent suit of armor consisting of nine hundred ninety-nine jade plates. I will pour my very essence into these gifts until the green jade turns as white as the pearl of wisdom we dragons carry beneath our chins.”

“That is very noble of you,” the Celestial Dragon said. “How many swords will you make?”

“As many as I need to,” the Treasure Dragon replied. “How have the humans divided themselves?”

“They've separated into the Four Winds,” the Wind Dragon replied. “There is the Eastern Warlord, the
Western Warlord, the Southern Warlord, and the Emperor in the North. The Emperor is supposed to be their leader, but he is not strong enough.”

“I will make four swords, then,” the Treasure Dragon said. “One each for the three warlords, and one for the Emperor, who will also receive the armor. The Emperor will be the leader of leaders. With the armor, his word will be final. These enchanted gifts will bring them together. There will be peace.”

“There might be peace,” the Sea Dragon said, “but worse problems than war will arise if the Emperor's heart is tainted. The current Emperor suffers from this affliction. You cannot bestow such a powerful gift upon him. It would be disastrous.”

“Then we shall wait,” the Treasure Dragon replied. “I will hide the gifts in one of my treasure hoards and devise a test for those that might be worthy.”

“How will the humans learn of this test?” the Celestial Dragon asked.

“I will spread rumors among individuals with the most potential. Strong, brave people who are not afraid to fight. If any among them are also intelligent and compassionate, not to mention clever, they might find my clues. If they can locate the hoard, they can keep my jewels, as well as the swords and armor.”

“You cannot spend all your time watching and waiting for a human who might never exist,” the Sea Dragon said. “Your responsibilities are great.”

“I will appoint a keeper,” the Treasure Dragon said. “A watcher, of sorts. There must be one human out there
who is worthy of knowing my secret. Someone with a keen eye and a good heart. Someone who might not be a great leader but can see greatness in others. I will make this individual swear to keep the hoard's location secret within his or her family, for it may be many generations before someone worthy surfaces. As long as the family remains untainted, the treasure should never fall into the wrong hands.”

The Celestial Dragon nodded. “Jade is like a mirror. It reflects and amplifies whatever is near. In the right hands, your swords will bring peace and unity as you intended, and over the right shoulders, the armor will ensure that the peace lasts. However, in the wrong hands, ill intentions will be magnified. There is risk, but your idea is sound. Make it so.”

The Treasure Dragon bowed. He flexed his eagle talons and stood. “I had better get to work. I fear it will take me longer to find a keeper than it will to carve the swords. It seems the fate of mankind may rest in the character of a single individual. I had better choose wisely.”