Great concept, terrible, terrible execution.

I've seen 5th graders with better writing skills.

And that quote at the end, my lord, that is just... there are no words.

I personally, dislike the idea of ninja and stars. If thinking in terms of balance then I would assume nature would be easiest to observe. The Takanu was a test Shen resolve and control over himself. If Shen father was his teacher and a master ninja, it would be hard for me to believe he would do something out of character to elicit a response from Shen. ex begging Shen to help him. I'm just assuming both him and Shen are alike and therefore just stayed there quiet and emotionless as he was tortured. Also, Shen should know that his father life would never been endangered in the Takanu. This is on the assumption that master ninjas are rare and provided protection to the community. If you think on terms of testing, if the Takanu is used as the standard test then variables such as the relationship of the individual and their parent is called into question. That test would have to be based on the assumption there is a strong positive relationship between the parent and child.

Zed's banishment would have been before Shen Takanu trial because Zed would have also been considered if he was around during that time. Zed knows that Shen is the master's son and should expect him to be favored. If Zed wanted an advantage, why would he go wondering around in the temple?

Shen lore seems to be wide open for anything and to me, it feels like they just forced Zed in without improving on Shen background at all. This is the reason why I would have put in childhood relationship so it would have more of a dramatic effect when Zed murders Shen father.

It is not that I'm misinterpreting Shen and Zed's lore but just throwing it away and presenting what I would have used to provide a more complex relationship and depth to the characters. Thank you very much for reading my post and providing feedback.

ha I know. My writing skills are really bad.

This lore reeks of Matt Ward, did he get a seasonal job here? I know, no one knows who Matt ward is, and thats okay. This story went for the edgy dark approach but failed miserably. Though it probably doesn't help that i think ninjas are laughable in the first place.

Here you're assuming that a highly respected and honorable master would essentially cheat. In addition, you're assuming that the tortures were visually bearable and that only audible stimulus would bring out a response from Shen. This is simply not true, as you have a few other stimuli at play here (even if the tortures themselves were not detailed)

I've mentioned this plenty of times before, the Takanu would be a traditional ritual/ceremony and would not be altered for special provisions (aka: special treatment) given the status of the father of the person who is to become the Eye of Twilight. Whether it was Shen, or someone else -- more specifically, Shen's father or someone else -- it would be the same.

Also, most tortures aren't meant to kill (though some were made to either torture or kill depending on its usage), but instead to draw out response either from the one being tortured or anyone observing it.

Generally speaking, the master is the one who is protected. Even so, whether he provided protection to the community or was to be protected from harm, I'll return to my previous statement about tradition vs special treatment.

Balance, Discipline, Respect and Honor, these are common traits among the Order of Kinkou (literally, Order of Balance for anyone who didnt know) the assumption of a strong positive relationship between parent and child is (while still an assumption) is a very reliable assumption. The only known occurrence that showed anything that did not follow the ways of the Kinkou is Zed.


In a culture centered on balance, you expect favoritism leaning towards one person or the other?
Yes, Zed wandered the temple, he was looking for absolutely anything that might give him the advantage he needed to defeat Shen believing that was what he needed to do.

Zed's Creative Design AMA mentions the possibility for lore additions to Shen (and Akali/Kennen i believe) due to Zed's release.

I wasn't saying you were misinterpreting the lore. I was simply saying i've seen other people misinterpret the lore very badly and that I had never seen anything before regarding the lore like what you posted.

I really like his look. The whole shadow-aspect thing is something I've always wanted to see more of. It's just too bad that his story is so lackluster.

Zed's whole design, including lore, is garbage.

Might as well call him Naruto.

(By the way, ninjas suck, only 12 year olds like them)