Chapter 1: The Prisoner

A fierce blizzard blew past the mountains, cloaking the area in a thick veil where only the mountains themselves could be seen. On the snowy peak of one of these mountains was an elaborate stronghold, the exterior of the stronghold was merely an enormous set of double doors and the formation of the mountain surrounding it closely resembled a mouth.

But the interior consists of an enormous cavern that was 3,000 feet deep. A pathway spiraled around the walls, reaching all the way down the bottom with sentry towers at multiple intervals. This place was none other the Chor-Gom Prison, which was famous for holding the infamous Kung-Fu master Tai Lung.

In one of prison's many cells a prisoner sat in the darkest corner of his cell, his knees were against his chest and cold, rusty shackles were clamped onto his wrists. Only half of his cell was lit by the flaming torches being held on the wall outside of his cell.

The only sounds in the prison was the crackling fires of the torches that were concurrent with the howling of the wind outside of the prison. The sounds of footsteps echoed in the prisoner's ears, the footsteps got closer and closer until one of the members of the Anvil of Heaven stepped into his line of sight.

In the rhino's right hand was a small, wooden bowl containing the disgusting stew that the prison made along with a wooden spoon buried in it. The rhino chucked it through the bars of the cell door and the bowl clatter onto the stone floor. A few drops of the stew escaped the bowl and stained the floor while the spoon slipped out of the bowl and clattered onto the floor. The prisoner's glowing blue eyes looked down at the bowl.

The prisoner slowly blinked his eyes before returning his gaze towards the rhino.

"Enjoy the food." said rhino sarcastically, the prisoner narrowed his eyes into a glare. A mischievous smirk stretched across the rhino's face, he then turned to his left and walked past the cell door. The prisoner could hear his footsteps getting further away and quieter until he couldn't here them anymore.

The prisoner looked down at the stew, he rose to his feet and approached the bowl. Once he stepped into the light his appearance was shown, he was a white tiger who looked 20 years of age. He was 6 feet tall, broad-shouldered and had a defined muscular build. His most noticeable features were the 3 vertical scars on his left eye that started just above his brow and ended just below his cheekbone.

He was wearing an aged brown tunic, tattered brown pants and a black, silk scarf wrapped around his neck. The prisoner bent down and picked up the bowl and the spoon, he stood up straight and stared at the content.

The stew was green and it was mixed with the leftover vegetables that one of the guards had for dinner the previous night. He dug the spoon into the stew and scooped some of it out, he opened his mouth and inserted the spoon.

He closed his mouth around the spoon and pulled it out of his mouth, he quickly spat out the stew. The taste was foul and rotten, he dropped the spoon causing it to clatter on the floor. He then turned to his left and threw the bowl at the wall, most of the stew splattered against the stone wall. The bowl dropped onto the floor and rolled around in a circle will the rest of the stew slowly poured out while the vegetables remained in the bowl.

The prisoner retreated back into the dark corner of his cell and collapsed onto his posterior and he was once again silhouetted by the darkness. A yawn escaped the prisoner's lips and his eyelids became heavy. The prisoner then slipped into a deep slumber.

A young white tiger cub stood on a grassy, green hill overlooking the sunset which left the sky a beautiful mix of red, yellow and orange. Standing on his right was a female white tiger and to his left was a male white tiger.

The female was 5 ft 8 and had a slender, curved body. She had eyes as blue as the summer sky and a smile that could brighten even the darkest of days. She was wearing a black dress with white trimmings and a white flower pattern on the back.

The male was 6 ft 2, broad-shouldered and was extremely muscular. He had piercing obsidian eyes and a strong jaw. He was wearing armor which consisted of a silver chest-plate, silver shoulder pads and silver gauntlets. He was also wearing black, silk pants and strapped to the right side of his waist was a katana kept in a black sheath with a metal tip.

The scene then turned into a blinding a white light but it faded as quickly as it came. The scene then changed to small village, the houses were on fire and bandits roamed through the village. They were either setting more houses on fire or attacking the villagers. Men, women and children ran, screaming through the village trying get away from the attackers.

The white tiger in armor stood, encircled by bandits. His wife and son dashed into the forest that surrounded the village, the mother was holding her child by the wrist and sprinted through the forest as fast as they both could.

The cub's ear perked at the sound multiple footsteps concurrent with the crunching of the snow. Then an eerie scream echoed through the forest.

The prisoner's eyes snapped open, he brought his paws up to eyes and rubbed them. He heard footsteps getting louder and closer. Two guards stepped into the prisoner's line of vision, they were both wielding poleaxes.

"Get up prisoner, it's time for your execution." said one of the guards sternly, the prisoner rose to his feet and approached the cell door. One of the guards reached for a ring of keys strapped to his waist, he pulled it off of his waist and flicked through the keys, looking for the one that would unlock the cell door.

He finally found the key he was looking for and he inserted it into the keyhole. He twisted it clockwise and a loud click rung in the prisoner's ear. The guard pulled the key out of the keyhole and he reattached ring of keys to his waist.

The other guard slid open the cell door and the prisoner stepped out of the cell. The guards and the prisoner all turned to their left and walked down the cell block. The guards stood at both of the prisoner sides with their hands firmly gripping the poles of their poleaxes.

The prisoner decided to wait for the perfect opportunity to make his move, after walking through the cell block they arrived at one of the many bridges of Chor-Gom Prison. They began crossing the bridge, the prisoner's gaze shifted around. There wasn't a guard insight and he knew this was the perfect opportunity to strike.

The prisoner ducked down, extended his right leg, spun around and he tripped the guards, causing them both to land on their backs. The prisoner quickly rose to his feet and turned to the guard on his left, he quickly bent down and snatched the keys off of the guard's waist while he was still dazed.

He stuck a key in the keyhole of the shackle of his left wrist, the prisoner heard a click and shackle released its grip and slipped off of his wrist. He then stuck the key into the keyhole of the right shackle, after a loud click the shackle slipped off of his wrist and both shackles dropped to the ground. The sound of the shackles hitting the ground echoed throughout the cavern.

The guard on his right recovered, he then gripped his poleaxe with left hand and got to his feet. He gripped his other hand onto the pole before he rose it above his head, the prisoner didn't notice until he spotted the guard's shadow.

He quickly twisted around just as the guard brought his poleaxe down on him. At the very last second the prisoner caught the axe blade with both paws, stopping the attack. He then planted a strong kick to the rhino's chest causing him to let go of his poleaxe and stagger backwards.

The guard backed into edge of the bridge causing to slip over it and fall into the cavern below. The prisoner ran towards the edge of the bridge and looked over it, he could watch as the guard disappeared into the seemingly bottomless, black abyss. The guards frightful cries echoed through the caverns.

The prisoner quickly turned around facing the other and he gripped the poleaxe firmly and held it horizontally. The other guard grabbed his poleaxe and rose to his feet, he glared into the prisoner's eyes and gritted his teeth.

The guard swung his axe diagonally at the prisoner's head, the prisoner ducked down causing the axe blade to glide past his head. The prisoner lunged at the guard and swung his poleaxe vertically into the left of the guard's body.

The guard cried out in pain as blood oozed from his wound, staining the axe blade and streaming down his body. The prisoner yanked the axe blade out of the guard's body, the guard dropped his poleaxe and it clattered onto the ground. He placed his hands over his wound to stop bleeding but then the prisoner planted the bottom of his poleaxe into the guard's head. Knocking him out instantly, the guard slumped to his left and the prisoner watched as a pool of blood dilated from the guard's wound.

The prisoner threw the bloodstained poleaxe to the ground causing a clang to echo through the cavern. He then turned around and ran across the bridge.

The prisoner stealthily made his way through the prison, he kept to the shadows so he wouldn't be spotted by the other guards. He eventually reached a wooden door, he kept sticking keys into the keyhole but none of them fit.

Finally the last key managed to fit into the keyhole, he twisted it clockwise and a loud click rang past his ear. He pushed the door open revealing the storage room on the other side, this is where they kept the prisoner's belongings.

He spotted a large chest at the other end of the room, he quietly walked over to the chest and knelt down in front of it. He stuck one of the keys into the keyhole and it was a perfect fit, he twisted the key clockwise and he heard a click. He pulled the key out of the keyhole and opened the chest, inside was just what he was looking for. A long katana that was kept in a black sheath with a metal tip.

The prisoner picked up the sheathed sword before he stood up straight and strapped it to the left of his waist.

He turned and walked out of the storage room, now all he had to do was escape. He quickly and stealthily made his way towards the exit, luckily he hadn't been spotted yet. Once he reached the final bridge his eyes darted across it and he spotted two poleaxe wielding guards.

The prisoner gritted his teeth and a growl escaped his throat, he was hoping to escape this place without them even knowing but that doesn't appear to be an option now. The prisoner gripped the black handle of his katana and slowly unsheathed it revealing a long, shiny curve-edge blade.

The prisoner held out the sword to his right and then he sprinted towards the two guards. The guards' eyes darted across the bridge and they spotted the katana wielding white tiger closing in on them.

"The Prisoner's escaped!" exclaimed one of the guards, once the prisoner was within range one of the guards stepped forward and quickly extended his poleaxe forward.

The prisoner leaned to his left causing the axe blade to go past his left arm, he then raised his katana above his head and brought it down of the poleaxe. The poleaxe was sliced in half, the prisoner then forced his left knee into the guard's stomach.

The guard dropped the sliced pole, wrapped him arms over his stomach and he slumped forward. The other guard swung his poleaxe diagonally but the prisoner immediately jumped back, the axe blade missed with exception of slicing a hole in his tunic.

The prisoner lunged at the guard and slammed the bottom of his katana onto left side of the guard's head. The guard dropped his poleaxe, the weapon clattered onto the floor.

The guard put his hand to his bruised head and dropped to his knees, the prisoner then landed a roundhouse kick to the guard's jaw knocking him out immediately. The guard slumped to his right, the prisoner then glided his katana back into its sheath.

He turned to his right, facing the enormous double doors and approached them. He pushed one of the doors open slightly and he squeezed through it.

The prisoner found himself in the blistering cold of the outside world, the strong wind blew again his person while snow got caught in his fur and on his clothes. His black scarf was blown to his left and danced gracefully in the wind, the prisoner then walked forward, away from Chor-Gom Prison and then his figure disappeared into the snowy veil.