The legend of Po
The sun is shining brightly and Po is preparing to head down to the river near his house to go fishing. He starts to pack up the things he will need: A fishing rod, a small box full of worms, a chair, and some snacks to eat. With an electrifying spirit, he leaves the house, making his way toward the river. As he goes, he sings, and the birds join him. Life is so much fun.
He walks through the woods full trees; the wind flows through the trees to make them look like they are waving to welcome him. As he continues, he hears the sound of rushing water and he knows the river is just a few steps away. He comes to the river bank and he pauses to take in his surroundings. The river appears to be more beautiful than he could image. The surface of the river sparkles under the bright sun. The water is so clear that he can see the fish swimming in the water. He is proud of himself for making such a great decision to go fishing today. yes, it was a great decision… He starts to set up his chair, his small box filled with worms, and he sits down and begins to pull the fishing rod back. Using all of his strength, he throws the rod full speed ahead so that it goes as far as possible. The bait creates a small plop sound when it hits the water’s surface. The only thing left to do is to wait for the fish to take the bait. One hour passes and not a single nibble. He starts to become bored and sleep takes over him. Suddenly, he feels cold and as he wakes up, he is surrounded by water. and there is an enormous whirlpool that pulls him in. It is so deep, Po cannot even see the bottom of it. He fights the current, but eventually his arms give out. Little by little he is swallowed into the darkness.
When Po regain consciousness, he is both amazed and terrified by the thing he is seeing. The world had changed; he was teleported to a different world. It takes him a moment to realize that. The view around him is not the river he was fishing at anymore. It had changed into a village in the early 1800s. The things that surprise him the most are the monsters. Before, he never saw monsters, but now, he sees them everywhere. Amazingly, they seem to live and work with humans. He can see dragons, werewolves, the Lizard men and many more… Po runs away and hides in the corner of the alley, trying to hide from the truth that he is trapped in this strange world. Unexpectedly, a group of monsters come near to him and speak in the language that he can understand.
“Hey, you look like you are not from around here, so you must have a lot of money. Give us all you have,” says the Lizard man
“Leave me alone!” Po shouts aloud
“We will leave you alone if you give us what we need!” the Lizard man says impatiently
“I do not have any money; I’m being trapped here, so leave me alone,” Po replies angrily.
“You’re a liar, we will beat you until you give us your money,” retorts the Lizard man while running towards Po with two other Lizard men.
Po is struck repeatedly by the Lizard man and he curls up on the ground to protect himself, hoping someone will help him. He realizes that it does not matter which world he is in, there are always good and bad people. This world is no exception. Blood runs down out of his mouth as Po’s shoulders and his belly are bruised. The lizard man can hear the sound of the bones cracking like a breaking a stick. All of a sudden, three fire balls shoot toward the Lizard men and knock them away. After being knocked, the Lizard man become terrified and run away. Po was amazed by what he had seen, magic. He uses all his strength to look up who has saved him. It is a woman with white blooming hair, a white dress and beautiful blue eyes. She is gorgeous. She comes near him. She waves her magic staff that glows with warm light and suddenly Po does not feel pain anymore. Soon, Po is fully recovered. With a beat up face, he says thank you to the woman.
“You don’t need to thank me; I was just doing the right thing” says the woman while looking at Po clothes
“You are not from here, are you?” the woman asks.
“Yes, I don’t think you will believe me, but I’m from a different world” answers Po.
“Really!!!??” The woman replies enthusiastically
“Wait, you believe me?” responds Po with surprise
“Yeah, I believe that other worlds do exist,” says the woman with a knowing smile. Her smile warms Po heart. He is overjoyed because he finally has someone who understands him.
“What is your name?” the woman suddenly asks
“My name is Po.” Po answers with a loud voice
“Po, what a funny name” The woman grins to Po and Po blushes because he his slightly embarrassed.
“My name is Lisa.” She smiles as she holds out her hand for him to shake. Po looks at her for a moment and then he sheepishly shakes her hand. Lisa then begins to tell Po about this world. She says this world used to live in peace. All the humans and monsters lived happily together. But one day, the sky turned dark, ocean rose, and lighting enveloped the sky. A dark cloud appeared which turned into a five headed dragon. It turned good monsters into bad ones who then began to follow the dragon. This village is the only village where humans live with monsters. Unfortunately, the five headed dragon is going to destroy this place soon and there will be nothing left. “I’m going to defeat the five headed dragon no matter what” Lisa proclaims with an angry voice. “In this case, I think I will go with you because I owe you for saving my life,” whispers Po fearfully. “It is very dangerous, and you are too weak to fight back against the dragon” Lisa says. “Then, I will practice until I become stronger; besides, maybe if I defeat the dragon, I might find a way home” says Po with more confidence and with a fire in his eyes. Finally, Lisa agrees to let him go with her and they begin their journey to the Golem mountain where the master Shifu can teach Po everything he will need to know. Po learns very quickly, quicker than any student Shifu has ever had. Normally it takes people 3 years to learn everything, but Po takes only 3 weeks to finish his training. The reason for this is Po’s undefeatable will to become strong enough to defeat the dragon and protect Lisa.
The time has come, Po is well prepared and master Shifu gives to him the legendary sword, “Excaliburn.” It is unbreakable and can cut through stone. This sword had two different forms, a fire sword and an ice sword. Additionally, it will never hit its owner. Po and Lisa then make their way to the castle where the dragon is hiding. As the step into the castle, the ground starts to shake heavily, and from the dark, a dragon with five heads slowly step out. It is 30m tall with razor sharp teeth and claws. As it was said in the legend, each head of the dragon uses one element of nature; fire, water, wind, earth, and metal. The battle begins as the dragon starts to shoot a fire ball toward Lisa and Po. Lisa creates a large ice wall to defend herself and Po turns his sword to ice to block the fire ball. Then, the dragon uses all of its heads to create a giant energy ball and shoots toward Lisa. She uses all of her strength to construct a great a massive ice walls but the energy ball is too strong. It destroys the wall of ice, knocking her back. Lisa hits the wall of the castle and slides down to the floor unconscious. Po screams aloud “Lisa!” and runs toward the dragon, his face contorted with rage. With a single slash, he successfully cuts one of the dragon’s heads. He then immediately jumps back to Lisa to protect her. He stands between the dragon and Lisa. Po whistles the magic tune. Suddenly, his sword begins to emit a beautiful yellow light as he shouts “Excaliburn!” The sword becomes massive, and he runs toward the dragon. The reptile creature, with all 8 of its remaining red eyes, stare at Po like he is its prey. The scaly beast points its sharp teeth, like a thousand steel swords, toward Po, its greatest enemy. The creature’s spines turn a dark red, the air around it, once moist, now turn into a dry hot air that is unbreathable. It creates a massive lava ball that is big enough to swallow the whole castle. “This is my final chance to defeat the dragon” Po reflects to himself as he sprints toward the dragon without regard. He swings his magic sword at the dragon, the dragon strikes back with the lava sphere. The sword collides with the lava sphere; Po hide his tears as he can feel the heat burn every part of his body. The blade’s power increases, cutting through the lava sphere, aiming right for the dragon. It splits the creature in half with and explosion that blows Po away. The dragon lays on the ground dead, a sign of victory for Po. He tumbles to his knees and then falls unconscious, the background fading to darkness. He is woken up by Lisa’s voice. She is holding his hand, crying and calling his name. “Po, Po, you are bleeding!” she exclaims.
“Bleeding?” Po wonders, looking at his belly, which is covered in blood.
He could not avoid the lava sphere; it had injured him severely. He knows he will not survive but he smiles anyway; knowing that he had successfully defeated the dragon and protected Lisa. He is satisfied. Po’s hand slowly slips form Lisa’s hand and falls on the ground. The hero has died.
Khai Dinh 