In the time before

At first the people of the village of Sho Mei believed that this day was like every other before it. Then they heard the thundering hooves of the dark steeds growing louder and louder. The riders of Ku Thain had been dispatched by the Whispering Circle to eliminate the monks that lived at the temple in the hills just north of their village. The monks knew they were coming. The priests all spoke of doom. The gods were no longer answering their prayers and all of their wards had failed.
The Brotherhood of the Lotus Tigers had been established to protect the priests that resided here. Training relentlessly in martial ways, organized to be the first line of defense for the priests and The Whispering circle had found them out. The organized defenders could not be tolerated and were to be dispatched directly. Made an example by the new tyrants that controlled the lands..
As the brotherhood prepared for the assault Master Dolan Traxx was tasked with getting the youngest member of the brotherhood away from the temple to hopefully keep the monastic order alive in the future. Kane was only 4 or 5 at the time and could not fully understand what was happening. He wanted to stay and help defend what had become his home but Master Traxx assured the boy that he would have his day. He was bundled up and slipped out the back in a hidden tunnel.
The pair traveled about half a day before running into a patrol that recognized the Master as a member of the Tigers. They were intent on slaying the “old man” and placing the boy into slavery but Master Traxx was able to turn the tables on the pair, killing one of them with his own sword. Unfortunately the other managed to Hamstring the man before he could do anything more. As the guard towered over Dolan’s body the boy crept behind the man at arms picking up the very sword that had been used to slay his comrade, he buried it up under the man’s armor plate skewering his innards with a lucky blow. Master Traxx showed the boy how to bind his leg and they made their way into hiding.
Eventually Kane began to refer to his master as “father” who kept them safe. Hiding among the peasants earning their trust by mending their wounds and curing their ailments. Dolan trained the boy in the ways of the brotherhood and through the years he became an able student.
Two weeks ago Kane was out collecting herbs for his “father” when a patrol found Dolan in the town of Anneover and slaughtered him in the street in front of the villagers as a warning not to harbor such fugitives. When Kane (now in his early to mid 20s) returned he was met with the gruesome sight of his “father” strung out in the middle of the street with his entrails a tangled mass over the ground. A great sadness came over him first as he wailed then a quiet resolve. He knew he had to move on to keep the villagers safe. Kane buried his mentor and quietly left the village. He hasn’t spoken a word since.