Elixir of Education:
In a time that history forgot a lost vagrant traveled to China in search of his true death. Either through faith, or blind luck, the vagrant was found and subsequently taken in by a Shaolin Priest and exposed to the divine art of meditation. Taught, that through mastery of the meditative arts an individual could obtain unimaginable power and ability, the vagrant had been set on the road of illumination. So devoted was this vagrant to the dogmatic Shaolin principles that he meditated for a single year without pause, his gaze so focused, he bore a hole through the Sacred Rock of Wu. But it soon became alarmingly evident that the Monks were unable to perform the most basic physical requirements required of the Shaolin mediation techniques. This began the Era of the Golden Tea Leaves. Starting with the fundamental exercises necessary to administer and enhance the Ch'i, or, Life Energy, the vagrant quickly elevated the Monk's bodies up to a level worthy of their intellectual superiority. Predicated on the principle stylistics centered around the movements of the eighteen Indo-Chinese iconography animals, the Monks quickly became skilled in the routine axiomatic artistry that would eventually become the fabled Shaolin martial arts.
Every style was tailored specifically to fit each individual body type with wide ranging versatility and adaptability. Some preferred to study the wild but regal alterations of the Tiger style, others opted to master the martial art of the Shaolin Crane. A style developed by a Monk who witnessed a Crane defeat an Ape by darting repeatedly from unorthodox and unpredictable angles with its dagger like beak. A premium was placed on finding the correct style suitable for each Monk's individual Ch'i.
Over the centuries the styles evolved and solidified. The most technically complex and difficult style was that of the Shaolin Mamba, a style requiring the absolute purest form of elusive angles. Considered unmasterable it was condemned do to its deviation from the 18 sacred Shaolin animals. The Mamba was considered a sign of evil and mistrust do to its ability to strike from deceptive angles unrecognized by the higher order of Monks even though its was regarded as an unbeatable style. In theory a student would progress through various levels of mastery, each more deadly then the last. Every level, or Chamber, took the student closer to invincibility. Upon completion of each chamber the student would replace one of his wooden prayer beads with a gold one meaning they were true masters of the Mamba style. Reputedly, no Shaolin Monk had ever attained such a statues, but now rumors have begun to circulate of a proclaimed Shaolin master who processes a prayer necklace of 36 Platinum beads. He is called, The Black Mamba, the Shaolin Sifu.
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