The Great Kharlan

Elite had stretched himself out, reclining nice and lazily on Master Roshi's couch. It seemed to him lately he was becoming a bit of a test for Roshi's newest pupils. Though in actuality he'd only had to spar two of them. Uub and Yajirobe. Both of whom displayed a certain amount of skill and power, and in all honesty had a lot of potential. This was fine though, along with Junior, and several others who sopped by Kame House to train, it meant that he had more people to test his skills with and a greater challenge to his personal strength. He'd have to work hard to prevent them from becoming stronger than him.

"Get up, boy!" The Invincible Old Master commanded, kicking over the comfortable piece of furniture.

"Bwah!" Elite shouted as he landed without grace on the floor, thankful the couch hadn't flopped over onto him. "What's the big idea!?" He shouted at the aged master.

"You came here to train, not watch TV. Now let's get to work before you end up getting sloppy!" Roshi declared as he picked Elite up by the back of his shirt. "And believe me, today's drills are gonna be a real killer." He told the young warrior with a smile.

When Elite had once again found himself on the training island, the old master had quickly bound Elite's hands and feet each to a separate large rock before forcing him to try and sprint the length of the beach. Naturally, while his pupil was undergoing this first part of the arduous training, the rocks being pulled along behind him at a slow but steady pace, pulling through the sand.

"At...this rate...I might as well...be plowing fields!" Elite grunted.

"I usually make the new trainees do that." Roshi commented idly, flipping the page of his latest magazine. "You're lucky, I gave you the advanced course." He laughed before pushing his sunglasses back up to look at the picture on that page.

"Yeah...yeah..." The young trainee grunted, trying to pull the rocks as quickly as his body would allow him to.

Elite puffed as he struggled, still dragging the rocks behind him as he made his pass back towards Roshi. By this time he had done enough laps to scrape through the sand on the beach to the larger stones that had yet to wear down. "There...has got to be...an easier way to do this." The young warrior panted, leaning as far forward as he was able, his calves screaming at him in anger as the rocks moved forward only a little bit.

"When it comes to martial arts 'the easy way' is NOT how you want to go." Roshi chastised Elite from his spot on his own rock, the sun was high into the air, and with a certain amount of interest he was watching his pupil now. True, he could probably use a break, but the old master was curious how far the young martial artist could and would push himself for his training.

Fortunately, Elite did not disappoint as he forced himself to continue, stone grating over stone as he walked onward. This walk however, was interrupted not soon after by a voice from one of the small sand dunes that had formed on the beach.

"I see where your reputation has developed, young warrior." A man spoke up. He wore what seemed to be the robes of a Shinto priest, his hands held in front of his chest, placed together in a prayer position. His face was at once serene and yet hardened. "There are indeed few who take to the training of Kame Sen'nin so...vigorously."

"Have we...met?" Elite inquired, taking this moment to give himself a short break from the current exercise Roshi was putting him through. The man was speaking as if he and Elite had some prior knowledge of one another, but so far as the Turtle school pupil was aware, he had never encountered this man before.

"Forgive me for my rudeness." He chuckled, letting his hands fall to his sides. "I am the priest Wan-Lo. I have come on behalf of the Temple of Kharlan." He added with a small smile. "We have heard stories of your strength from the locals, and as the Temple of Kharlan is a warrior sect, we had hoped to bring you to see our temple, and perhaps bring you into our fold as a pupil, and maybe a teacher."
Elite blinked several times in his confusion before looking at Master Roshi. The aged martial artist seemed anxious about something. As though part of Wan-Lo's story bothered him, but the young warrior couldn't figure out what had his teacher on edge.

"Well...I suppose I could check it out. Some more training is usually a good idea, right Master?"

Roshi stayed silent for a moment, eying the priest. "Yes...yes, I suppose it is, Elite..."

Elite wasn't entirely certain where the 'temple of Kharlan' would be, but he figured it had to be close considering this man had heard of Elite's 'reputation' which, so far as he knew, was pretty impressive but confined to only a few remote locations. Of course, all bets were off when he and Master Roshi were lead to a modestly sized boat off of the docks. The structure was a motorboat, looking as though it was sized to send a small group of people on a trip of at least a modest length.
The young warrior and the hermetic martial arts master looked at one another before taking their seats on the boat, each finding their own thoughts preoccupied by the group that had come to summon Elite to meet with them.

Wan-Lo, however, seemed largely unconcerned with his two guests' thoughts as he turned on the motor, guiding the boat along the calm seas, looking up occasionally at the lightly clouded sky. "It's a good day for a trip." He spoke nonchalantly to both of his passengers.

Indeed, the weather was nice, despite the clouds it was pleasantly warm, even on the ocean they were traveling. It didn't take long for the island to recede into the distance, and from Master Roshi's expression, Elite had to guess that the father away from familiar territory they went, the more anxious the old master was feeling. In the back of his mind, the young warrior had to wonder what Kame Sen'nin knew that he didn't.

Still, the ride itself was pleasant enough, occasional fish jumping out of the water, the warm sunlight cascading over them. If it wasn't for the small boat, which didn't seem to bad until one was confined in it for a while, it would have been perfect. Still it was a nice day, no reason they couldn't enjoy that.

Temple of Kharlan, huh? Elite thought to himself. Never heard of them. Though he did say they were some kind of warrior monk group. Maybe there's another demon on the loose? At the idea of having to fight yet another demon, Elite shuddered a little. The last one had been trouble enough. The young warrior could only look on into the distance as he considered just what this mysterious sect of holy men could want with himself and Master Roshi.

"So," Elite spoke up as the trip was dragging on. "what kind of God is 'Kharlan?" The youth asked of the priest known was Wan-Lo. His curiosity was slowly getting the better of him, to the point of overwhelming little things like manners. And perhaps, eventually, it may overcome his common sense. But for now, manners were the only victim of his mindset.

Rather than annoyed however, the priest seemed amused as he turned in his seat to look back at Elite. "Kharlan isn't a God per se, but more of a force or an avatar. It is an incarnation of strength that blessed the strongest of men in the past, giving them the power to overcome great adversity and overpower their foes in battle."

"So, 'Kharlan' is responsible for people like Olibu?" Elite inquired with an arched eyebrow. That was certainly one interpretation of the myth he'd never heard before. However, off to the side, realization was ever so slowly etching on Master Roshi's features. However, this went unnoticed by the young man, his attention focused upon the priest.

"Yes, that is one way to interpret it. Olibu was a man of determination and the Kharlan enhanced that determination, that drive and that power that was natural to Olibu and with that, he was to become the first of Earth's mighty champions. And he would end up the ancestor or mentor to many others, including the founder of our temple." Wan-Lo spoke with a simplicity and belief in his words it seemed difficult to argue with his statements.

Of course Elite's curiosity was only piqued further by the priest's response. "Wait...you said 'Kharlan' wasn't a God, that it was a force, but you're talking about it like it's sentient..."

"Just because something takes a surprising form doesn't take away from it's potential mind, nor can you claim there are not forces in this world that are sentient. They could simply be...unknowable to mankind. Discerning the mysteries of the beyond, of the Kharlan is part of what my sect attempts, while at the same time we build out strength in the hope of receiving its blessing one day."

"I...suppose that makes sense." Elite conceded, glancing over at Master Roshi at last. "Are...you okay, sir?"

"I'm...fine." Roshi assured Elite, exhaling a tense breath. It didn't take much to realize Roshi was lying, but it appeared there was something on the ancient teacher's mind, taking up enough of his focus that questioning him at this time was not a wise course of action.

It wasn't long after Elite's discussion with the priest that the boat ride had finally come to an end, bringing master and student to another small island, perhaps half a mile or so across with thick vegetation covering much of the terrain. If one strained their eyes into the lush and densely packed jungle of the island, they could make out a small trail that lead to the interior.

Both Elite and Roshi could sense the island was teeming with life. Both the bits of wildlife that the island was capable of supporting, a small population of birds and reptiles, perhaps a few local predators of slightly greater danger. But they could also feel a handful of additional powers. Much higher. These had to be the other priests, and they felt formidable enough. This was shaping up to be a very interesting trip.

"We have arrived." Wan-Lo informed the duo amiably. "My brother monks will be very interested in evaluating your skills, Elite. If you are brought into our fold there is much you could learn from the abbot."

"I...bet there is." He responded, following Wan-Lo off the boat, towards the short trail, and farther and father from anything conceivably similar to 'safety' and 'civilization'. The one comfort he had was he wasn't venturing into this situation alone. No, Kame Sen'nin was still there with his pupil.

And so, the two followed behind Wan-Lo. The Turtle School preparing to meet, for the first time, the temple of Kharlan. Although Elite hoped it would be a pleasant meeting, the tension on Roshi's features seemed at odds with his hope.

As the trio found themselves further into the thick vegetation of the jungle, the noises of the animals were becoming more pronounced, and perhaps more frightening for those unused to living with such close proximity to nature.

"I am sorry I forgot to inform you," Wan-Lo began to speak after the sunlight had become mostly filtered out of their vision. "the forest itself is sort of the...first test for potential initiates. To survive the dangers within on the trek to the temple is to prove that you retain the edge of the hunter. Of the warrior. Of one who requires their strength to make their living."

"Is...is that so?" Elite mumbled, glancing into the shrubbery, looking for whatever creatures may be hidden within it.

"Oh yes. The Temple must be very careful to maintain the quality of it's disciples. We even released a small population of jungle cats onto the island. Admittedly, not as many as we wished...if they over-hunted, then the cats would die out and we would likely need a new plan."

"Right." Kame Senin'in spoke up this time. "Poor cats..."

Elite, to his credit merely thought to himself Oooh, coming here might just have been a mistake.

*Ready to be Graded.*

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