A crackling fire crawled up the pillars of the Wu Lin temple, smoke and sparks boiling into the air and lighting up the night sky with an ominous red glow.

Three young boys, Po, Chi, and Lam huddled around their dying master. His injury was grave and deep and would not be long until he would succumb to it. Dozens of other young students lay strewn about the training ground, undone by the merciless hands of the Chao Fan army. 

"Sifu Hung!" The boys yelled in unison, holding the dying white bearded master of the Dancing Mantis style in arms as he struggled to keep his eyes open.

"My disciples. You are the last surviving keepers of the Dancing Mantis style, and this school which has been run by my family for generations. I never had children of my own. So with my dying words, I adopt you as my own, and pass the family name of Hung down to you." He turned his head to face Po, whose dark eyes were narrow with anger.

"Po...the eldest of my remaining disciples. Strong of heart, filled with determination. A natural born leader." Sifu Hung produced a flat ornament from his robe - a jade dragon, with three heads. He cracked it into three pieces. "I give to you the middle head - the one that connects the others. You will be the head of this new family. It will be up to you to guide your younger brothers, to keep them focused, and to continue cultivating the Dancing Mantis style. Help to train your brothers - master the secrets of the Dancing Mantis! You will find them where they have always been, hidden deep within your heart."

He turned to face Chi, the scrawniest, white haired albino brother.

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"Chi. You have fought hard and with courage to get where you are. You were the weakest among my disciples, always thirsting for knowledge, always looked upon with contempt and scorn by many of my other disciples and treated unfairly. But despite that you always persevered, and I am proud to call you my son. I give you the left head, because you were always the odd one out. But you never let that define you, nor did you let it hinder your training, and I am confident that you will become a great warrior some day."

He turned to face Lam, the most boisterous of the three brothers, who always had a smile and a laugh to share. But today, his sadness was deep and tears flowed freely down his face.

"Lam...always getting into mischief and trouble. Long have you frustrated me in so many ways. But so too has the ineffable joy in your heart been infectious. And despite your lax attitude, you fight with such a passion that it's hard to imagine anyone besting you! To you I give the right head, the bedrock of physical strength, as yours is unmatched by any other."

With that, Hung began to fade, his body going limp in their arms.

"Go now, find the strength to carry on down the trodden path of my ancestors. Reveal to yourself the secrets of the Dancing Mantis, and become great warriors. Avenge me and your brothers, and defeat the dark lord Chao Fan."

With that his spirit passed from his body and onto the sacred realm.

Po lowered his head into his hands.

Chi stared wide eyed with disbelief at the empty vessel of his masters body.

Lam screamed toward the sky as his tears wet the ground below him.