You must go. It is your duty, the way of our family."
Zhao Yun sighed as he listened to her. She had grown so frail lately. Since his father had been killed in the wars against the Yellow Turbans her health had begun to worsen. And with the ascension of the Yuan and Gongsun Clans they family had lost favor. Medical treatment was expensive and hard to come by as well in those days.
"I cannot leave you mother!" he pleaded, though he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
"You must. Ours has always been a warrior house. Now that we are vassals of Master Gongsun Zan you have a duty to answer his call to arms." Lady Zhao fell into a coughing spell for a moment, but was able to recover. "A new threat has risen, one even greater than Zhang Jiao. You must do what you can for the people."
"A new threat? You mean Dong Zhuo?"
"He is but a symptom of the greater illness. No, it is the corruption of the Han which threatens us all. The weakening of the Emperor allows these warlords and bandits to harass the people. As a noble of the Empire you must fight this evil, as your father did."
"But what about you?"
"My time grows short. Your future is not here with me but with your Lord. Go now my son and bring honor to your name. Take this." She handed him a silver wolf pendant, the symbol his father had worn into battle. "Wear it with pride. Farewell my son." She then turned away from him, no longer speaking to him or even acknowledging his presence, though her heart broke inside. But he was a man now and must find his own destiny. Soon she would return to her husband's side. She must first know her son walked the path of honor as her beloved Zhao Xi had.
Zhao Yun sighed and picked up his travel sack after slinging his Dragon Fang over his back. Looking back briefly, he walked off from his ancestral home. He would travel to Bei Ping where he would swear fealty to Gongsun Zan.