This tale you read now is many centuries old, told to each new generation of Fu Chun since the formation of the tribe. The editing you will see is a good bit more recent, and is my own work. I am but Kinfolk, a writer and genealogist in the employ of Ki-rin's Children. I have love for the tribe, and it pains me to see its near-obsolescence in the Beast Courts. It pains me even more to see them attempting to make gains in the Beast Court through violence lately. I feel that honesty and a more objective accounting of the Fu Chun's history can only help the tribe in the present times. If I can inspire any readers to question, to look deeper, to think critically, then I have done a good thing and my research has not been wasted.

We are not an elder Breed in the Beast Courts, but newcomers brought by the Age of Testing. We are not descended from royalty, but are the offspring of exiles from other lands. We are not many; even by the reckonings of the Beast Courts, our numbers are few. We do not claim a single animal species as our kin, but we are a tribe of two different Breeds. You may ask, how could such an unusual tribe born gain prominence and honor in the Middle Kingdom and influence the creation of the Beast Courts of the Emerald Mother? Listen, and learn.

A rather rosy and self-aggrandizing account, but forgivable, as these claims are not unfounded and all hengeyokai does this. There is a great deal for the Fu Chun to be proud of. It is a shame that, for the most part, the tribe's stories rarely reach the ears of others.

Though the Fu Chun are one people of two clans now, Wolf and Lion, our ancestors of long ago knew no kinship with one another. Our Lion ancestors called themselves Simba, once the most noble of the Bastet, and the tribe ruled the Dark Continent. The great Lion Lords Amadu, Mayi and Abuja led their Lion clans against the forces of the Wyrm. Amadu was corrupted by love of power, however, and the bloodthirsty Lion Lord instigated conflict within his tribe. The three Lion Clans arrayed against one another, and the Simba tribe warred with itself. Our ancestors were of Mayi's clan, and were defeated by the warlike Amadu. We fared better than the Abuja, however, whom were slain to the last by Amadu and his followers. Our ancestors, the Wu-Mayi, were not as violent as Amadu's clan; they learned to control their Rage, and became philosophers and shamans. They lived in their African homelands for some time, avoiding the Wu-Amadu and studying Gaian lore. During this time the War of Rage -- the Western War of Shame -- broke out, and weakened and divided Simba fell before packs of maddened Wolves. Thus did Amadu's arrogance destroy the unity of the once-great Simba tribe, drive a Lion Clan to extinction, and seal the fate of the Lions before the coming of the Garou. This most assuredly pleased the Destroyer.
A clan of Bagheera in the Lands of Dharma, carefully hidden from the Garou, learned of the Wu-Mayi's enlightenment and contemplative ways. Wishing to redress the rift between the tribe of the Leopard and that of the Lion, these Bagheera invited six Wu-Mayi prides to their homelands. The prides accepted the invitation and traveled East. For some time the two Bastet tribes studied with one another. However, treacherous Wu-Amadu prides followed the Wu-Mayi to the Eastern lands, and declared them traitors for shirking their responsibilities in the War of Rage. The Wu-Amadu made war upon them and the Bagheera. The Leopards fled, and did not defend their lands or their Wu-Mayi guests. The Wu-Mayi's Kalahari territories had been taken by other Wu-Mayi prides, and they did not offer assistance to their brothers. Without allies, the five remaining Wu-Mayi prides in the Lands of Dharma retreated further East, traveling into the Middle Kingdom where Amadu's clan did not follow. They sought hospitality from the local Khan, but the Tiger Folk bore the Simba no love, and they had their own worries at the time.

This is largely accurate, from what I can ascertain. The Dark Continent is of course Africa, while the Lands of Dharma is the Indian subcontinent. Several years ago I traveled to Central Africa, a trip kindly financed by the tribe, where I tracked down and interviewed several erudite Simba Kinfolk, as well as one very suspicious lioness of the Wu-Mayi clan (or Mayi'o, in the tongue of her homeland). The Fu Shi-zi do not exaggerate when they say there is a great schism between they and their ancestral lion tribe... even most Mayi'o had no clue the Fu Shi-zi existed at all. It was difficult getting information from them, though this became somewhat easier when one Kinfolk bush-witch was able to perform a ritual on some of my blood and prove my relation to the Simba. While I was never really accepted among them, they were at least willing to talk to me after then, and were curious as to the activities and fortunes of their Asian kin. (I wonder how well they would have received me had they been able to determine I am also kin to the Garou they hate so much! I am ashamed to have left out mention of the Fu Gou in my accounts to them, but my reasons for this should be obvious to the reader.) The lioness spoke to some Simba elders, and confirmed that of a portion of the Mayi'o clan left for India during the time the lion clans waged war, an arrangement the Bagheera of Africa and India brokered; an attempt to reestablish political ties between the tribes would be a reasonable motive for doing this, supporting our own legends. After that, however, the Simba that left were not accounted for. She told me that there is a small Simba presence in India, though could not tell me if they were descendants Mayi'o or Amadu'o. She also mentioned that the Abuja'o were not slain during that time, but instead fled north into Europe. Curious. My efforts in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were less fruitful. Though I enjoyed my time there visiting the temples of that land, I was unable to find more than a handful of Bagheera and Khan Kinfolk; the single Rajshahi Bagheera I found was very rude and would not speak with me, and I could not find any Khan in that region. The handful of Kinfolk I found were unable to tell me anything of events so long ago, and seemed unaware that Simba ever passed through. This, despite the evidence the Simba have a small presence in India even now. This is disappointing, as I thought that perhaps the accusations of cowardice levied against the leopard tribe were unfair. I wished to hear their own accounts, but we may never know the full story.

The War of Shame had erupted in the Middle Kingdom as the War of Rage raged in the West. Conflict was not a new thing to the Wu-Mayi, but having no hatred for the Garou or stake in the pointless conflict, they attempted to avoid the fight. However, Manda, the greatest Simba of the five prides and their leader, was a shaman and respected for his insight and Gifts of prophesy. One night, Manda was sent visions by the great spirit Ki-rin of a devastated cove; he woke immediately, and led the five prides to the place he never saw with waking eyes but knew was there. There, the Lion Folk came upon five packs of Garou that came to stop the War of Shame, heroically and desperately fighting an army of fifty Goblins and ten Kumo generals. Without a moment's hesitation, Manda led a charge against the forces of the Centipede. The unified force of Lions and Wolves were able to beat back the army, though only four prides and four packs remained. The Wolves of Two Tribes, grateful for the help and bearing Bastet no ill will, gave sanctuary to their rescuers in the small, secret Dragon Nest they defended from the Corrupter. And thus did the Wolf Folk offer succor and friendship to the Lion Folk, when their own Bastet kin turned them away.
These Garou dwelt with the Wu-Mayi for a time as they all rested from battle, and spoke with them of their experiences, and the dream that led the Simba to the cove. The Garou were intrigued, for the Ki-rin from Mana's vision was their totem. Lotus-Walker, the greatest among the Wolves, went on a spirit-journey. He was granted a vision in which a wolf and a lion ran together, and then the two merged to form the likeness of Ki-rin himself. Lotus-Walker shared his revelations with Manda, who also had the same dream. Inspired by this omen, the two leaders declared that the Wu-Mayi and Garou were now one tribe, one people, assigned a new purpose by Ki-rin and the mandate of the Emerald Mother. Thus the Fu Chun tribe was born. The four prides and four packs disbanded, and then reformed into four new groups with both Lion and Wolf members. And thus were the first diverse sentai formed.

Here's where it becomes most difficult to separate facts from aggrandizing mythic accounts and to determine the truth at the core of legend. First, it is curious events happened just as they did; it reminds me of the American movies I sometimes watch, scripted to bring the viewer to the action without much attention given to what comes before. Dreams and visions led Manda and his uncharacteristically obedient Simba followers right where and when the Garou needed them, with no dissension among the expatriate Africans on the matter of joining the battle. The "Wolves of Two Tribes" glibly accepted this help, not fearing the strange, dark-skinned foreigners of an alien breed. The Shifters involved found a common connection in Ki-rin, and chose to form a single tribe based on motivations that are not made clear. Not so much as a word on the substantial communication barriers that must have existed between the nationalities and Breeds. And, finally, Ki-rin was apparently waiting for just such an event to unfold, ready to accept the mixed group as his children and provide them initiation rites to bind them to his patronage. I do not doubt the tale's veracity, for this event is the birth and foundation of the Fu Chun tribe... but I find it all is a bit too convenient and abbreviated to be satisfactory. A great deal has been left out, perhaps in the interests of promoting unity between the Fu Shi-zi and Fu Gou. The closeness of the tribe's castes is admirable, but whatever fellowship the tribe enjoys now could not have been the case at its very formation. There must have been in-fighting, power struggles and a great deal of confusion. The melding of the Breeds into a single faction, no matter how willing the participants were, must have taken years and required a great deal of effort. It is a shame none of these accounts remain, for we could learn a great deal from the birth and growth pains of the Fu Chun. Given this greatly condensed and polished version, we can only guess what the earliest days of the tribe must have been like. On the "Wolves of Two Tribes", I have uncovered much about the genealogy of the Fu Gou. The caste keeps very good records of their pedigree, and I have traced them back far enough to determine the tribal makeup of the foreign Garou the Simba first encountered, which fits what I had originally suspected: the Stargazers and Children of Gaia. While I understand multi-tribal cooperation between Garou of the West is common these days, it was quite rare that long ago. Though perhaps this case was not so unusual given the character of those two particular tribes. Why exactly all these Garou were in the Middle Kingdom is an open question. Why they would worry about stopping the War of Shame while their brethren were prosecuting the War of Rage back West is not explained... and so perhaps it was not the true reason for their presence, but an honorable cause adopted once they arrived here. (Forgive my cynicism, I do not mean to disparage the honored ancestors of Ki-rin's tribe, but there is so much information we are not given. This general sort of accounting and embellishment popular with the Xiong Ren is not as frustrating to them as it is to me, but scholars such as myself deal best in facts and defined historical events. It is difficult to be a reliable chronicler when so much I have to go on is conjecture.) The parallels between Ki-rin and the Western Unicorn invite speculation and discussion, especially since the Children of Gaia that venerate that totem so happened to find itself in the Middle Kingdom and following the "Golden Unicorn of the East". However, I will allow those more versed in theological matters to explore these parallels. (A note on enumeration: one should not take these figures given literally. The tales state there were six Simba prides that left Africa, which were whittled down to five, and they met with an equal number of Garou packs, and fought fifty Goblins (bakemono) and Kumo, and so forth. These are estimations, with a bit of numerological license thrown in; there were certainly more of one group and less of the other. Listen to what lessons can be found in the story, and do not focus overmuch on specifics.)

Ki-rin continued to send visions to the Fu Chun, his adopted children. In one vision, one that both Manda and Lotus-Walker received, the Wolf and the Lion again merged into the Ki-rin. The Ki-rin then went forth to stop a great battle among other animals, and to heal wounds now that Bear was dead. However, the dream Ki-rin was wounded during the battle. This dream was revealed to the rest of the new tribe. The Fu Chun, knowing they may fall to the claws of the hengeyokai, nonetheless went forth to stop the War of Shame. One Fu Chun sentai was lost, but remaining Fu Chun did not lift claws against the other hengeyokai and instead preached peace. They saw through our sacrifice that our tribe's peaceful intentions were genuine, and they agreed to stop fighting. These hengeyokai spread the message of peace among their peoples. After the war ended, they followed our example, and formed sentai composed of different Breeds.
We are humble, and do not take credit for establishing the Beast Courts of the Emerald Mother. The hengeyokai community as a whole, led by the Zhong Lung, did that. But we helped pave the way for that possibility. We show our faces in few Courts, for there are few of us. But the Zhong Lung and other hengeyokai remember us, even if they neglect us in their histories.

There's a ring of martyrdom to this, and of sadness. I do not deny the Fu Chun have been overlooked and unfairly treated. But I feel that the tribe was complicit in their own marginalization, by attending only to internal concerns and stoically accepting their lot for so long. It is a bit late for Ki-rin's Children to change policy and attempt to seize power and recognition in the Beast Courts, but I understand that is precisely what some younger members of the tribe are are now trying to do. I approve of their resolve and their cause, though their tactics (too violent) and timing (too late) are issues to which I take exception. Yet it is not my place to advise you or criticize what you do, especially as I am not one of you. The personal opinions I have expressed so far, and the casual rather than formal manner in which I phrase them, are perhaps inappropriate... or at least, not the way things are usually done. But I do not apologize for my honesty, for it is only in service to your tribe they are expressed. I am certain that my commentary would not have been asked for were it unwelcome. I hope the lessons in the ancient tale of Wolf, Lion and Unicorn, as well as my contemporary editorial, benefits you in some way. In the middle path between tradition and innovation, I am confident your great tribe will move forward if equipped with the proper knowledge, wisdom and insight. Ever at your service, Chuang Ku Xiang