Xiao Fenix
When a series of uncanny events unfold in her sunny Californian neighborhood, May, a Chinese American teenager discovers she is actually a celestial bird incarnated on earth to defend the ancient Kingdom of Fire, but thanks to the dark sorcery of a rival kingdom, has mistakenly ended up in the wrong time period. Now she must discover the truth about herself and her supernatural abilities and journey back in time to a world she has never known and face an enemy more powerful than she ever could have imagined.
An early rendition of Xiao Mei and her fenix counterpart
May has always had a fear of heights. She does not have any memories from before she was adopted, but she has increasingly been having a recurring dream about falling from the sky. In each dream before she hits the earth, a bright flash of light jolts her out of bed.
Her somewhat awkward personality at school often masks some of the inexplicable changes she is desperate to keep secret, such as her when her skin randomly starts glowing and strands of her hair turning magenta. If only she could fit in like the popular girls and attract the attention of Jackson, the boy she’s had a crush on since middle school…
One day an odd looking boy and a girl way too young to be in high school show up on campus, dressed in what look like very thorough cosplay outfits. They seem to May as if they are looking for her. Wanting to keep her secret cosplay obsession, well... secret, May does her best to avoid the strangers. They show up again at science club and then at her part time job at the local noodle restaurant, but May manages to escape home. After this crazy day, she’ll take her chances with her nightmares. She drifts asleep on the soft comfort of her duvet. Feathers, clouds… falling…
Suddenly she jolts awake to see the two kids sitting on her bed speaking to her in a strange language that sounds like Chinese, though May does not speak any. Before she can scream, the girl covers her mouth and then introduces herself. They speak her language!
The kids explain that they are from the Kingdom of Fire, one of five kingdoms in ancient China at war with one another, and have been sent to find May and bring her back with them to defend their kingdom. The emperor of the Central Kingdom of Earth has fallen ill without a male heir, leaving only a young daughter, and the Northern Kingdom of Darkness, led by the twin Turtle prince and Snake princess have joined forces with the Tiger prince of the Western Kingdom of Metal to seize power from the central Kingdom and control the land. Scouts have reported that the Wood Kingdom of the East, once their ally, is building up their naval fleet in preparation for war.
May, the kids explain, is a fenix, also known as the Vermillion Bird, one of a flock of giant celestial birds who live above the clouds just a strata below heaven and are worshipped by the people of the Kingdom of Fire. With the peace of the realm shattered and their existence threatened, they prayed to the Fire God for a guardian, who evaporated a hole in the cloud where May’s egg was nesting, allowing it to fall to Earth. Her real name is Xiao Mei, or little beautiful.
When a fenix egg falls to Earth it is born as a human with some of the supernatural powers that fenix possess, such as flight, invulnerability to heat, and the ability to turn its body into pure fire. However, assuming a the lesser form of a human also poses a learning curve and the uniquely human trait of selfishness. If the fenix is to once again resume its original form and rejoin its family in the sky, he or she must earn this honor by achieving a heroic deed and proving that it can be a virtuous human being and use its powers for good.
May is skeptical. How can they prove this is true? The kids exchange a glance then produce a feather shaped metallic shard. It is a single scale from the sacred armor of the Fire Champion, which only a true fenix in human form can wear and which glows when near one. As May reaches out to touch the shard it begins to glow magenta red. This is how they found her.
May wakes up the next morning like any other. No shard. No strange kids in her room. Or at school. Part of May is relieved that it was all a dream and she can go back on with her life and her dreams of catching Jackson’s attention. She absentmindedly makes her way through class but today a new set of strangers show up at school. This time they are wearing menacing black Chinese armor and they do not seem interested in talking. Suddenly May finds herself in serious danger, not to mention the rest of kids at school.
Out of nowhere, Jin and the fox girl show up and open a portal back to their world, shouting at May to jump in. Is this some kind of trick? Or will May risk everything she has known and find the answers to the questions she has been wondering her whole life?
And if May is able to prove herself worthy of resuming her celestial from and returning to the heavens, will she choose to go? Or will she remain on Earth with the friends she has made and continue to use her supernatural powers for good…
