Chapter Two-The Guan Family

The Guan family was an ancient clan, whose name was marked in history by its great ancestral patriarch, Yu Guan. Known in antiquity as General Red Crow, he was a close disciple of the semi mythical Emperor Fei Yue and the emperor's best general.

All the knowledge coming from the Water School of Daoism was passed on to Yu Guan by Emperor Fei Yue. He was the only one to have the knowledge and was responsible for its survival and this knowledge remained a close secret of the Guan family.

It was him that gave the Water School's fighting art a name, using the Daoist term, "Shi San Shi," meaning thirteen postures.

Over the thousands of years, the family name survived the times, they had a long history of Lei Tai champions, and every family member was involved in the military. This only changed within the few hundred years till modern times, with some becoming entrepreneurs, journalists or they followed alternative careers. However, the fighting tradition was kept in the family. Given that they were descendants of Yu Guan, who became a king himself carving up most of the Fei Empire during its decline, the family, therefore, was of a noble line. Many of its family members settled in Eastland.

Although they historically aligned themselves with the military, few became politicians. Phoenix Guan, Sun's father was an example, he was the standard-bearer of the Guan family's Shi San Shi fighting method and its Water School knowledge, he focused on being a Lei Tai champion never losing the title until he retired. He was also the clan head, in control of many of the family's businesses. He used a large portion of the family's wealth to fund Gaia Corp, which was a very rewarding investment as Gaia Corp evolved into the biggest corporation in the world.

Daniel Faris the founder of Gaia Corp had become close friends with Phoenix, who even married Daniel's sister Estelle, Sun's mother. The Guan family became intertwined in the affairs of Gaia Corp. When the marriage of Estelle and Phoenix Guan slowly began to decay, they separated. Sun was thirteen years old at the time and then in an inexplicable bizarre act, Phoenix disappeared into obscurity.

His last words to his son were, 'Never forget the teachings of the Water School and train hard. Honour yourself and honour our ancestor, Yu Guan.' Sun remembers his father looking sad at the time, however the next day the man had disappeared. The Guan family were shocked not by the divorce but by his disappearance. No one heard from him again and nor could he be found. Kelly Kray his twin sister, born Kelly Guan, continued training Sun. She loathed Estelle, blaming her for her brother's disappearance. Replacing her brother, Kelly became the Guan family head, highly suspicious of Daniel Faris and his Gaia Corp.