Hey Christopher Silvers here with another story. This idea came to me as I was developing a personality for my personal Dynasty Warriors character, Lu Yan. I hope you all enjoy it!
Chapter 1-Eight Years Ago; Sneak Attack Part 1
Eight years ago: Fire lit the dark night skies. Screams of women, children & dying men filled the air. Villages were burned, horses & other animals were left for dead on the grounds & gates were brought down. Spears & other weapons laid on the cold ground, some with blood & others in brand new condition. Despite it being a chilly -3 degrees, the snow that was on the ground was quickly being melted away by the towering flames around them. The men that fought these battles were exhausted, scarred & completely out of shape. Most were at least...
"Humph, is that really all they have?" a sharp voice spat from the doorway to a destroyed gate.
The man stood nearly seven feet tall & was wearing mostly all black armor. He wore a helmet that had two, thick fuzzy string like antennas that almost went all the way down to the ground. He let out a scoff before he slammed the tail of his halberd onto the cold gravel with his left hand. He looked on into the distance at the fleeing troops, his wild eyebrows in an anger stance on his forehead. He was breathing violently & his face wore a scary mug. Next to him stood an even larger figure: A bright red stallion, the eyes of it were filled with as much anger as the man who owned it. The man held onto a string from the mouth of the horse, keeping it from moving.
"Ah, Lord Lu Bu!" a voice shouted from behind.
Before he could turn around, he heard footsteps grow quiet next to his left side.
"Humph, you want?" Lu Bu asked his eyes now fixed on the man next to him.
"I see you've run off the last of the rebels. Well done."
Lu Bu smirked. "Hua Xiong, did you really think that unorganized mob of rebels would even stand a slight chance against me?"
"Ha, that ignorance never crossed my mind." Hua Xiong's face grew a grin. "I came out here on orders of Dong Zhuo. He told me to tell you that when you're finished with the massacre to come back to the castle. There is going to be a splendid feast!"
Lu Bu's looked at his red hare. "Looks like you're going back into your stable."
Lu Bu & Hua Xiong walked through the halls of the castle. There were random people walking & running by, laughing & having conversations. Most of them stopped & bowed when Hua Xiong & Lu Bu walked by.
"So how many fools did you kill today?" Hua Xiong asked Lu Bu.
"Uhmm, I don't know." Lu Bu began scratching the back of his head. "I don't keep tally with the number of people I kill."
"Well, you'll be proud to know that I personally slaughtered 392 men tonight."
Lu Bu's left eyebrow rose. "Impressive. I didn't know someone could kill that many people in a night not named me."
Hua Xiong began chuckling. "You may be stronger & mightier than I but I'm right up there for second place."
"That I won't argue with."
Lu Bu & Hua Xiong reached the main diner hall & entered it. Once they were inside, the smell of fresh meat, delicious fruit & wine flew up their noses. The room was lit up brightly by the candles on tables & music was being played by the musicians in the room. There were several women dancing around, but that's to be expected when you're partying with Dong Zhuo. You could also hear the laughter & the enjoyment of the troops in the room over the music at times. They saw Dong Zhuo sitting at the head of the table, his arm around one lady while another one was fanning him. He was also drinking some wine & he seemed to be having a wonderful time. He looked up & saw his adopted son, Lu Bu. His face immediately lit up with joy.
"Lu Bu! Come on over here!" he shouted in joy.
Lu Bu began making his way over to his father/ruler. It was a slow process, him having to shove by some people to get by but he made it over to Dong Zhuo.
"My son! You were an unstoppable animal out there!" Dong Zhuo stated as he got up & hugged him.
Lu Bu hugged him back, his face wearing a smile as well. "I am the mightiest warrior in the land. As long as I'm here, you won't need to worry about anything."
"I am glad to know that I have your eternal loyalty." Dong Zhuo reached onto the table & handed Lu Bu a cup filled with wine. "Come spend the night with me & these fine ladies!"
Dong Zhuo began tickling under one of the women's necks. Lu Bu took a sip from the wine before he placed the cup back onto the table.
"I'll be back to party with you in a minute. I have to go check on my child."
Lu Bu pushed back a sheet in a doorway & entered a dark room. If it wasn't for the flames burning in the distance, the room would have been completely dark. Lu Bu looked around for a bit before he saw someone standing on the ledge, looking at the burning city in the distance. Lu Bu began walking towards the short person on the ledge.
"What's on your mind child?" Lu Bu asked once he joined his child's side.
The kid looked up at his dad, an unsure look on his face. His hair was dark brown & short, only a little on the top & the sides. His eyes were a cold brown color & he had decent looking eyebrows as opposed to his father's wild ones. He wore a light cloth wrap around his waist, showing off his well-toned stomach. Under the cloth on his waist he wore armored pants that were black & went all the way down to his ankles, which were covered by low boots that were silver & armored in a similar pattern that matched his pants.
"These wars...the more we battle, the more moving we have to do. It's fatiguing to me," he told his dad.
Lu Bu smiled down at his son. "You need not worry Lu Yan...this war may be the last one you'll see in a while."
Lu Yan looked back to the flaming city. "You don't have to beat around the bush with me dad. I know a lot of people hate grandfather & they won't stop until either he's dead or they're dead."
Lu Bu looked forward as well. "That may be true but why does it bother you so much? I've raised you to be a fine warrior in the future. You should love these experiences. You get to watch & learn before you're sent to take some heads."
"I don't necessarily have a problem with battling others...I just want to be happy."
Lu Bu snickered a bit. "Son, you are merely thirteen years old. You'll have plenty of time to worry about happiness. You need to have a stronger mind than you have right now. You know Dong Zhuo is going to make you happy as long as I'm around. He'd know better than to anger my kin."
Lu Yan looked over at his dad. "I know he'll take care of me but that's not my concern...I'm worried about everyone else. The leaders of the other provinces being taxed. I'm sure he may have a reason now since they were crazy enough to come down here & attempt to kill him but why did he heavily tax them in the first place?"
"Lu Yan, you need to get those weak thoughts out of your head. Sure, Dong Zhuo can make some happy but no one can make everyone happy. Only the strong will survive in this world & since that's how it is, shouldn't we only make sure the strong survive?"
"Then what happens? The weak fall of the face of the Earth & only the strong remain. Who'll do the weapon polishing, tend to the fields & do all the things we have the peasants do?"
Lu Bu looked back to the city. "Don't worry about it Lu Yan. I'll make you a strong warrior...a warrior who'll be the 'me' of his era."
Lu Yan nodded. "Yes father."
The cold air & snow filled up the air in the camp of the coalition army. The leaders were sitting in disappointment, most notably, Cao Cao. He sat alone in the corner of the camp, looking at his comrades in the camp. Outside, he looked calm & able to accept the defeat he was handed. But inside, he was destroyed. He was screaming, kicking things over & tearing out his hair. This was his second & greatest attempt to dethrone the tyrant, Dong Zhuo & it blew up right in his face. He looked to his left & saw Guan Yu & Zhang Fei carrying Liu Bei back into the camp. Very curious, he jumped up & powerwalked to them.
"What happened to him?" he asked once he was over there.
Guan Yu, after placing him down, looked up at Cao Cao. "Our brother was pierced by Lu Bu's halberd in the lower area of his chest & now he's in & out of consciousness."
Zhang Fei tore the armor from his sworn brother's chest, revealing a nasty & large stab wound right under one of his lungs. Thankfully, he was still breathing.
"Oh brother!" Zhang Fei exclaimed as he buried his face into his brother's chest. "I promise to make that bastard pay!"
Cao Cao observed the wound, looking at every angle of it. "You two need not worry. I know some men that can clean & patch that right up."
Zhang Fei immediately raised his head & got right in Cao Cao's face. "Please...tell me you're not joking."
"Liu Bei was a brave man for even stepping toe-to-toe with the mighty Lu Bu. We need men with hearts & bravery like your brother's. I will be honored to help your brother for his valiant efforts." Cao Cao turned around & began walking to a large tent. "Bring your brother & he'll receive the proper treatment...on me."
Yuan Shao kicked over a chair & slapped a glass off the table. He was storming through the main meeting hall on a tear.
"Dammit!" he screamed as he ripped a curtain from a window.
Yuan Shu walked into the meeting hall wiping his eyes. "What's going on?" he groggily asked.
Yuan Shao spun around to face his relative. "What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! One, Dong Zhuo reinforcements from Chang An arrived & began to absolutely run through our men! Secondly, despite my pleas, people pursued Lu Bu! And finally, with no regard for his own men, Dong Zhuo launched a large scale fire attack & his main army emerged, killing & frightening our men!"
Yuan Shu sat down in one of the few chairs that were still sitting up. "So I'm going to take that as...we lost the battle, right?"
Yuan Shao punched a mirror on the wall, shattering glass everywhere. "You cur! If you weren't lying on your ass in your tent sleeping you would know!"
"Oh I'm sorry commander! I was resting from a gruel stalemate duel I had with Li Jue before sundown! What's your excuse for being so mad? You sat on your ass in the camp since this campaign started! Who's head have you claimed?!"
"How dare you take that tone with me!" Yuan Shao began marching over to Yuan Shu. "I am the commander of this army! I am your leader! I am superior to you in both power & the family tree!"
"Oh you really want to go there?! At least I know the Han is going to die, regardless of the outcome of this battle!"
"How dare you! The Han will never die!"
"Yes it will!"
"What's going on in here?" a voice said from the doorway.
Both men looked to the doorway to find Gongzun Zan standing there, holding his head. He looked beaten up from his battle earlier with Lu Bu.
"Oh...nothing!" Yuan Shao assured with sheepish laugh before he made his way back to the table in the room.
"Yeah don't worry about it. We're both just mad about the outcome of this battle," Yuan Shu added.
"Well I hate to sound like I'm the victim but if anyone has a reason to be mad it's me."
"How so?"
"Well first of all, my only daughter, Gongzun Sam, was kidnapped early yesterday morning. Then today I got the hell pounded out of me by Lu Bu & I literally HAD to be saved from death."
Yuan Shao snickered. "Okay, being mad about your daughter...I can understand, even though that little girl got on my nerves. But Lu Bu...I warned you not to even attempt to fight him."
"So what was I supposed to do? He didn't look like he was going to say 'Oh hey buddy, you want to pass by Hu Lao Gate? Go ahead.'"
Yuan Shu burst out laughing. "'Hey if you don't want to fight me, I'll let you pass' seemed like it was going to escape his lips."
"Exactly! Did Yuan Shao really expect getting by Lu Bu to be possible?"
Yuan Shao sighed. "Let's just...forget this defeat. This never happened. We all need to fall back, get better & stronger guys to join us & come back." Both men nodded & Yuan Shao sat down in the chair at the head of the table. "Get the main generals in here. We need to discuss what's next."
Present Time, 199, Late Summer: The sun sat high in the sky, burning bright down on the castle of Luo Yang. The exterior of the castle looked marvelous, the stone standing out with its dark gray, orange & bright red color scheme. It wasn't a busy day in Luo Yang today, most people getting a day off for a while. Only the main generals were in Luo Yang today, mostly because despite being the emperor finally, Dong Zhuo always had a phobia of being killed by surprise. The only guard that wasn't there today was Lu Bu, who was off with Diao Chan in secret. The castle was next to a beautiful plantation. A luscious forest was next to the castle, trees, flowers & bushes making up it. The forest was several hundred meters long & wide, making the castle a possibility for a perfect surprise attack, though no one feared it. The road to the forest was always guarded heavily, the nearby provinces & fiefs always having a lot of men watching for possible attacks & uprisings.
Deep in the forest was Lu Bu's son, Lu Yan. He was sitting down, his back against a tree. His dark brown hair was longer, some covering his eyes & the rest resting below his his ears & right at the back of his neck. He wore a black tank top & grey armored pants with low shoes on. Unlike his father, he wasn't a tall & intimidating figure. He stood at exactly 5'8. He was currently watching the animals in the forest & trying to get peace in his mind. Just when it seemed to be going well, he heard footsteps. He placed his hand on his katana, planning to remove it from its sheath. Slowly, he began getting to his feet. It was nearly impossible to get up quietly since grass was everywhere but Lu Yan managed to pull it off. His eyes began studying in front of him but he saw nothing. The footsteps were heard again, this time behind him. Lu Yan removed his katana, walked away from the tree & turned around.
"Whoever you are speak up before I'm forced to slice you open," he demanded.
"Oh will you relax?" a female voice said.
Lu Yan knew who it was & he put his katana away. Once he did, his friend/enemy appeared: Gongzun Sam. She had her long black hair down & she peered at Lu Yan with her blue eyes.
"You need to stop with this creeping up on me stuff," Lu Yan said before he walked back to his tree & sat back down.
"You chose to sit in a quiet forest so if you heard my footsteps not my problem. What are you doing?"
"Relaxing...I haven't been able to do so in days."
"Are you blaming me?"
"No, you I can deal with. It's just the work schedule that Dong Zhuo has made for me recently."
"Oh you don't say?! That little pig is trying to make me dance at parties for him now!"
"You're not even grown! How is he going to make a 17 year old dance for him? That's next to rape."
"Ask yourself...have any of the women Dong Zhuo have been with not been raped?"
Lu Yan snickered. "Good point."
Sam sat down by the tree with Lu Yan. "I kind of wish I never ran away from home. If I didn't, I wouldn't have to deal with this."
"Yeah but where do you think your father is at now? I highly doubt Dong Zhuo is handing him free sticks of gold to keep a place."
"My dad was a bitch anyways so I guess I'm screwed either way I look at it."
Lu Yan began laughing but not a lot. "Tell me...despite Dong Zhuo & his silly demands are you happy with this life?"
Sam sat still for a while, thinking about Lu Yan's question. She remembered all the destruction she saw over the last eight years. The burning castles, the dying people, the suffering of others. That was all bad stuff but at the end of the day, she got fed more food than she could eat, got everything she wanted & with an exception of her usual chores & work schedule, she was free to do whatever.
"I don't know. One moment it's all good but then..."
Before she could say anything else, the duo heard several footsteps. They both looked at each other & jumped to their feet.
"Where you followed by anyone?" Lu Yan whispered, pulling out his katana.
"No...those footsteps are hostile."
Sam removed her bow from her back & took an arrow from her quiver. They both walked away from the tree & stood back to back, anticipating the arrival of whoever was coming. Shortly, Sam saw a head pop out of a bush. Without even thinking of who it is, Sam fired the arrow right into the man's forehead. He let out a low cry in pain before he hit the ground.
"One down," she whispered to Lu Yan.
Lu Yan nodded & before he knew it he was faced with three people in front of him.
"Sam, company up front," Lu Yan announced, making Sam spin around & point an arrow at the guys in the bushes.
"Ah, there's Gongzun Sam!" one of the men declared.
"Hand over the daughter of Master Gongzun Zan or pay with your life!" another one added.
Sam put her bow down. "So let me get this straight...you idiots are his men?"
"You got one chance to get lost before you die unceremoniously," Lu Yan warned.
"Lady Sam, please come with us. Your father is really worried sick & was scared you died," one of the men said.
"I'm not going home to that egg headed bastard!" Sam yelled, making the men flinch back.
"We didn't want it to come to this but..."
One of the men lunged forward at the duo but instantly Lu Yan stabbed him in his stomach with his katana. He pierced the man so deep that the front of his blade came out of his back. The other two men leapt for Sam but one met an arrow to his knee. The other man took Sam down & pinned her to the ground. Knowing she was the daughter of Gongzun Sam & really dangerous, he made sure to pin her arms down.
"Don't resist!" the man shouted.
"Get your foul breath smelling ass off of me!" Sam yelled back.
Lu Yan ripped his katana from the dying man & turned to face Sam & the last guy living. Sam spat right in the man's eyes, which caused him to remove his hands from Sam's. With her hands now free, Sam slapped the man in his face. He flew off of her & rolled some distance into a nearby bush. Sam quickly got back to her feet.
"You alright?" Lu Yan asked as he joined her side.
Not saying a word, Sam snatched Lu Yan's katana from him, making him jump back a bit. She stormed over to the bush where the man was regaining his footing. He got all the way to his feet & before he could he do anything else, Sam stood before him. He opened his mouth to speak but before the words came out, Sam swung the katana for his neck, slicing his throat & removing his head from his body in the process.
"Dumb bastard," Sam said in disgust.
Lu Yan began looking around. "How many more do you think there are?" he asked now picking up Sam's bow.
"Don't know don't care...if they're stupid enough to come for me, I'll kill as many as I need to." Sam turned to look at Lu Yan. "Besides, what makes you think more came?"
"I'm all but certain these amateurs didn't think they had a chance against us. They seemed to be more of a distraction to me."
Sam began walking back to Lu Yan. "They could be but where would they be camping besides this forest?"
Dong Zhuo sat in his throne, drinking wine & reading a scroll. Next to him was Hua Xiong & Li Jue, talking to random soldiers about the necessary safety precautions should they need to defend against invaders. Dong Zhuo smirked as he read the scroll. It was stating that Zhang Lu was willing to surrender his fief of Han Zhong without a fight if he met certain conditions. Just then, a lone soldier rushed into the throne room. He stopped right at the red carpet on the floor & kneeled before the generals in the room.
"Your highness I bring urgent news! The forces of Gongzun Zan are advancing on Luo Yang for a fight!" he yelled.
Dong Zhuo instantly got to his feet. "Summon the royal guard at once! Hua Xiong & Li Jue, get the other soldiers ready for battle!"
There's chapter 1! It took me a while to write this chapter since I wanted to make it as long & storytelling as possible. I hope I accomplished that & gave you guys an idea of what's going on in the story. Also, big shout out to Madison Lockheart for submitting me her OC for this story early! I hope you enjoyed her appearance! If you want an OC in this story, submit it in the review section. Be sure to be descriptive about them, examples being usual clothes/armor, personality, army they're in & whether they are loyal or not. Note: If your OC is a part of Dong Zhuo army, let me know whether or not they'll turn on him & if you can think of or feel like it, give me a reason for their betrayal.
I haven't decided on a deadline for OCs so don't worry about it for now. I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll submit chapter two whenever I get the chance. Until then, I'm out of here!