Wu Xing

**Wu Xings** are mysterious artifacts that hold great power of the five chinese elements — fire, water, metal, earth, and wood. Those who possess the Wu Xings are known as Wu Warlords. The most common method of removing a Wu Xing from a Warlord is through death, however there is another method involving the use of a poison made from the venom of various animals known as **Gu**. If each animal in the ceremony is blessed by the blood of 5 separate people "touched by the power of the Wu" warlord (as in affected their lives in some way), a still-living victim, it will enhance the Gu. And Gu, if ingested, will force a struggle within the body of the Wu Xing holder, which will cause a struggle for the soul. The culmination of that struggle will cause the Wu Xing to be expelled from the body. The latter method is not without risk as the first time it was attempted the holder of the Wu Xing was killed by the Gu.

## History

While it remains unclear how or when the Wu Xing pieces were formed, their existence dates back thousands of years. In Ancient China, five Warlords found the Wu Xing pieces and through them were granted with great elemental powers, but at the cost of being corrupted. They waged war against Ancient China, and was close to conquering it, until 1,000 holy monks sacrificed themselves to empower a Monk Piece that would choose a Chosen One to stop the Warlords.

The Monk Piece found its way to Ying Ying, and the very first Wu Assassin was born. After a period of time, Ying Yang successfully killed the Warlords and tore the Wu Xing pieces from their chest, along with the Monk Piece from her own. When they're all together, they form what appears to be a mystical tortoiseshell. However, she was attacked by an enemy shortly after. The soldier's first blow struck the tortoiseshell, scattering the five elemental powers to four corners of the world. The second strike killed Ying Ying.

Since then, over thousands of years, nine hundred and ninety-nine souls had been named Wu Assassin and tasked with killing the Wu Warlords and saving the world. While some came closer than others, they all failed.

## Types of Wu Xing

The Wu Xings are artifacts of great power that bestow the power of element on the user based on the Chinese symbols of the tortoise shell.

### Fire Wu Xing

The Fire Wu Xing allows the user to control fire. Uncle Six came upon the Fire Wu Xing by chance when he was burying someone for the triad and accidently unearthed the Wu Xing. After touching it, it was absorbed into him making him the new Fire Wu Warlord. He used its abilities to kill the current Triad leaders and take command of the organization, which he retained control of for nearly a decade. After learning Kai was the Wu Assassin he chose to give up the Wu Xing rather than fight to the death with his son. Uncle Six took a poison, obtained by Kai known as Gu, which was made from the venom of various animals,and after a great amount of suffering the Wu Xing was expelled from his body. However, in order to protect herself from opposing threats, Jenny Wah took possession of the Fire Wu Xing, killing several people while it was in her possession.

### Water Wu Xing

The Water Wu Xing allows the user to control water. The first notable Water Wu appeared in the 15th century in pursuit of Alasdair McCullough, the then Wu Assassin. She tracked him and his family down in the midst of the woods during the night. She killed both his son and his wife, though that's all she did before Alasdair drove a sword through her back. Centuries later, Miss Jones claimed the Water Wu Xing and with it, agreed to help McCullough in his pursuit to reunite with his family.

### Earth Wu Xing

The Earth Wu Xing allows the user to control earth. It had been passed down for generations in the Baxter family until James Baxter, who was the most recent to carry the Earth Wu. He was a naturalist that had vanished nearly a decade ago, held up in woods for all that time. He had hoped to pass the Wu Xing down to his son, as his father did to him, but when his son proven a "disappointment", he was forced to consider outsiders to carry on his legacy, kidnapping hikers as they pass through, questioning them to determine if they would be a worthy wielder of his legacy. He did this for years before being killed by Kai Jin, the last Wu Assassin.

### Metal Wu Xing

The Metal Wu Xing allows the user to control metal. Gideon was the last to hold the Metal Wu Xing. Like his partner Miss Jones, the Water Wu Warlord, he too agreed to help McCullough. He used all the types of metal (calcium, iron, copper, zinc, etc) found in the human body to take control of anyone he desired. During his time in San Francisco, he took possession of Inspector Alice Riley, Captain Frank Fletcher and CG. While in control of their bodies, he would lock them in a "mind cabinet", which appeared to them as something they were familiar with. In CG's case, it was an interrogation room.

### Wood Wu Xing

The Wood Wu Xing allows the user to control wood. The user is able to manipulate woodland aspects of nature. They are able to command the woods and vines, fromarr also able to quickly heal from any injuries they received and have a much longer lifespan. Alec McCullough was the last Wood Wu. He was the only person to be both a Wu Warlord and a Wu Assassin. After losing his family and killing both the Water Wu and Wood Wu, McCullough relinquished the Monk Piece through a controlled suicide, while holding the Wood Wu so that it would bring him back with its healing abilities. His intent was to bring his wife and child back to life with its power, however this turned out to be impossible. It did allow him to live indefinitely, which would go on to do for centuries. Over the years, McCullough attempted to gather the remaining four Wu Warlords in hopes of reuniting with his family, which he eventually accomplished.

## Weakness

Although the individuals who have the Wu Xing are incredibly powerful, they can still be killed by normal methods like food poisoning, stabbing wounds, or being killed by a bullet. When the Wu Warlord dies, their Wu Xing is expelled from their body. The Wu Xing can be extracted from their body by a poison called **The Gu**. The Gu is a poison made from various animals. The animals must consume each other, and the last animal will secrete a poison containing the previous animals that will help remove the Wu-Xing.

Ying Ying, the First Wu Assassin, also tells Kai Jin that the process must include individuals who were in contact with a Wu-Xing (as in affected their lives in some way) to make the Gu more stronger; the Gu and the Wu-Xing will fight for the soul of the host body, and if the Gu overcomes the Wu-Xing then the Wu-Xing will be expelled. Ying Ying warns Kai that if the process fails, the host, and the individuals who participate in the process will die.

Finally, if a Wu Warlord happens to be in The Path, then their Wu Xing is expelled from their body against their will, leaving them more susceptible to damage.

## Trivia

* Although the Fire Wu Xing symbolizes rage and impulsive, the individuals who possessed the Fire Wu Xing (Jenny and Uncle Six) are the opposite, as they are more calm and rational.
* Tommy Wah is the only individual to have the Wu Xing the least amount of time.
* It is likely the Wu Xing corrupts the individual it hosts, as Jenny has shown no remorse for killing henchmen (even if they were bad), and when Uncle Six removed his Wu Xing, he was more empathetic.
* Uncle Six is the first individual to remove his Wu Xing without dying.
* When the Wu Xing and Monk shard are together, they form a tortoise shell, which can be used as a portal from The Path to the real world.
* It seems like whenever an individual acquires a Wu Xing, they become corrupted.