his master handed him the secret manuscript and talisman
then passed from this plane with a whispered word

a snow leopard with grey fur
great mountain ranges and forest traversed
the falling avalanche stance practiced
mastering quiet tactics
with strong fists of tan granite
the massive slab was fractured and slid from the cliffside
by the gentle freeze and thaw great energy released from palm
through mental discipline within the beast of calm

a psalm recited
all great forces must harmonize with the rise and fall of time spiraling
the void eternally swallowing
following the riverbank in meditation
in a sacred place where mountains grew at the same rate the waves ate the continent
in the desolate wastelands wandering

his mission
find an apprentice worthy of the lesson

but town after town he encountered only the aggressive, greedy, inhospitable and bad,
many years passed, he walked alone until the white snow and his beard matched
then one cold day
he came to find an orphan staggering down a steep mountain path
her dirty cheeks streaked by some dark deed shortly passed
bare feet worn ragged in fact she hadn't even looked back
so deep were the scars so bleak was her heart
so feeble and helpless she felt as she watched them rip her family apart

she shuddered frozen and fearful of danger
but an odd calm emanated from this stranger
he would take her to a secret refuge high in the snowy ranges
and there he would train her
to focus the inner strength
take life by the reins and master it
and teach her techniques she would ultimately surpass him with…

and when the great spiral of time finally left her old master breathless
she left his side on the slopes of a mountain high
he requested no burial it was his wish that his flesh might be left as a gift
to the creatures of the wild which inspired his discipline's philosophy and style
the remnants of an earthly vessel whitened and broken
crumbling slowly at the point of snow leopard origin

and so she would creep
to the lower slopes studying the forests beasts and evolving her own jungle cat techniques
she would seek an old blade from the east an heirloom her father had hidden beneath
the shrine where her ancestors sleep
the very artifact that her parents had died hiding from the hands of thieves

a young master
though none could surpass her
on the road her fists were soon tested on those who threatened travelers
hands hardened through hardship
her sword quickened through practice to strike any target
with power and grace through time and space accurately moving
a savage truth fused with mysterious beauty