What is an agent?

Not to be confused with Spy Agents or real Estate Agents, Agents of Wu Xing are human warriors chosen for their hard work and virtuous qualities to harness one of five elemental powers (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood) and keep the world of mortals and spirits in balance.

‘’Agent’’ is taken from one of the many possible translations of ‘’Wu Xing’’ which is often said as ‘’Five elements’’ when translated in English , but it can be ‘’Five Agents’’ as well , along with ‘’Five phases’’ , ‘’Five Steps’’ and ‘’Five virtues’’.

(Would that mean this should be ‘’Agents of Wu’’ instead of ‘’Agent of Wu Xing’’? I would like some suggestions on that)

Spanning centuries now into the modern world, old agents pass on their wisdom and teachings to younger warriors who show potential to be agents. As all humans are part of nature and the cycle of wu xing,thus anyone has the potential to be an agent. But only those who prove themselves worthy of such powers can earn them through hard word and determination.

An agent’s elemental power will manifest by whichever force their personality leans strongest towards (Example:  One agent’s passion and restless energy stirs them more so to have fire powers while another’s more composed and thoughtful nature makes them more suitable for water) Though no two agents are alike as all 5 elements exists in everyone as much as chi is the life force of all living things, just some traits are more dominant than others in a single person.

This is why there is (ideally) a team of 5 agents as opposed to one. While the elements are forces to be reckoned on their own, only when all 5 work together are they truly unstoppable. It is also virtual that to keep the balance, many different people from all walks of life must learn to understand one another and work with each,rather than fight among themselves.

So how did agents come about?

A very long time ago, in a world that only time remembers , evil ruled the land. Humanity suffered as the demon overlord Xiangliu lead four great perils against the mortal realm: Hundun (chaos) , Qiongqi (Depravity) , Taowu (ignorance) and Taotie (greed).

The Benevolent beasts, witnessing the cruelty and suffering , seeked out mortals worthy to harness their divine powers and put a stop to Xiangliu reign of terror. 

Being proved worthy of such a task, the new formed Agents used the forces of nature to oppose Xiangliu and the four perils. After a long and tedious battle , the agents had sealed the evil creatures away at last.

Xiangliu was imprisoned within a mirror , forced to look at an ever changing world as he remained powerless and trapped, hoping one day that some mortal with little compassion for humanity would aid him.

As of the four perils, they were exiled to the deepest pits of the underworld.  To ensure the imprisonment,  28 (based on the Chinese constellations) keys were made to lock the gates between the two realms , each having been scattered across the globe.

And now that leads to today , as the battle of good and evil rages on , so too will agents rise to defend peace and balance in our world.