Three Kingdoms, Three Messengers

by LitD

China is plagued by inner unrest and bitter rivalries between the imperial court, its eunuchs and its provincial lords. As order collapses three ambitious men are plunged into the maelstrom. Declared "Messengers of Heaven" will they save China or damn it?

1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Koihime Musou, at all.

A concept that appeared almost immediatly after trying the trail version of Koihime Musou. With three main factions wouldn't it be interesting if all three had a "Messenger from Heaven" to justify their claim to uniting China under their banner?

Afterwards I gathered more information, watched the series, found out about the changes in Shin Koihime, learned about the novel on which the franchise is based and the history behind it and the urge to write something like this only grew. The time period and the heritage of the "Messengers" was a bit of an accident as during my readings I found a photograph presenting a "Foreign Soldier" whose appearence led me to think of them, as it turned out several people reached similar conclusions and the vision stuck. I tried to rech a healthy mix of history and fiction in this one.

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- 'Here they come!'

It was a matter of stating the obvious as it was difficult to miss the mass of men picking up pace as they closed the distance between the two armies.

- 'Archers! Make ready!'

Those called upon made a last check of their bowstrings before drawing an arrow from their quivers and resting the groove on the string and slid their fingers onto the string itself before waiting for the next order. The dark mass slowly changed into individuals and individuals had faces, than traits and than mutilations, missing ears, eyes and noses… traits of punishments for minor offences.

Kocho frowned, at times she hated her hawk like eyes as the various mutilations reminded her that many among the Yellow Turbans had had no desire to become bandits, becoming so out of desperation to either escape high taxes and the justice that enforced them. The woman forced herself to remember that these people, though originally maybe victims, had resorted to violence against those weaker to sustain their selves. That was enough.

- 'Loose!'

She gave the order, drawing and loosing her bowstring as she did, her arrow followed by a thousand others. Even as the arrow flew she had already drawn another and fitted it on her string ready to be loosed on the enemy.

- 'Ready!'

She called out and as one a thousand bows were lifted, a thousand bowstrings were pulled back. Today she would kill, for those that were unable to defend themselves, no matter how much she disliked it.

- 'Loose!'

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Men tumbled and fell, some to rise again with a curse others to try only to look down wondering why and on seeing the arrows jutting from their legs, arms or stomach they began to scream. Many simply collapsed, neither trying to rise, giving only a last sigh as their life ended.

Many would now hesitate as the distant death fell upon them only to be pushed forward by the mass behind them. Few amongst the yellow clad had led violent lives prior to donning the yellow cloth, and most of them would never had, were it not for starvation or abusive officials nominated by the capital. If they were not damned before becoming Yellow Turbans they most definitely were now and that damnation gave them a grim courage, either they swept aside this army opposing them or they would all die.

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- 'Now?'

- 'Not now.'

The Yellow Turbans slammed into the readied ranks with a cry. Men screaming, rendered flesh, shattered bones, breaking spears and the dull thud of attacks being blocked sounded out louder than any thunder making Shokatsuryo wince, despite everything she still felt uneasy around combat, the more people involved and the more distant she was from the slaughter the greater her unease. But she had a job here and people she counted amongst her closest friends expected much of her, she would not be found wanting.

- 'Now?'

- 'Not now.'

Timing was everything. Heavily outnumbered the "Volunteer Army" had to time its counter attack for maximum effect. The Yellow Turban numbers combined with courage born from desperation enabled them to trample the front ranks of the Volunteer Army and the conflict now descended into a chaotic melee. Shokatsuryo observed as more and more of the bandits poured into the broken formation, mentally blocking out those from amongst the Volunteers who were dying for the sake of her plan.

- 'Now!'

Nothing happened and the "Hawawa" Strategist looked to her companion. Chohi, or Rinrin as she referred to herself, was observing the battle with mouth hanging open and despite her previous nagging seemed not to hear the order she wanted.

- 'Rinrin! Now!'

The mouth snapped shut and Rinrin looked at the blonde for a second, making Shuri ready to repeat the order before a grin spread from ear to ear and the midget general literally jumped forward, calling her men to follow. Jumping over the front ranks Rinrin landed amongst the Yellow Turbans who had enough time to wonder what had happened before the Viper spear lashed out, breaking bones and slashing cloth and flesh. Her men reinforced the lines, pushing the Turbans back who were reluctant to go anywhere near the small female wielding a spear longer than she was tall with deadly efficiency. In a heartbeat those who had pushed the furthest had been cut down and the Volunteers Army centre pushed into the hesitating turbans.

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- 'You see them yet?'

Kan'u kicked the man off of her spear and using the fact that she was momentarily free of enemies took a look around.

- 'No.'

She replied which drew a hissed curse from Cho'un as she brought her own weapon round with a sickening crack onto her opponents shoulder.

- 'Remind me why we're the bait again?'

- 'Because "somebody" bragged that she would be capable of taking on twenty thousand Yellow Turbans by herself thus influencing the decision of the imperial Commander in Chief Kashin that we would be best suited for the job.

Came Kan'us' reply, heavy with annoyance. Seemingly oblivious to the fact Cho'un skewered a wounded Turban as she replied.

- 'I knew it was something silly.'

- 'Sei!'

Came the dark haired girls voice, close to a growl.

- 'If you have enough breath to growl with you're not fighting hard enough!'

Kan'u bit back the retort she had on the tip of her tongue and concentrated on the fight. Push your way to the front, stab into the opening. Twist the blade as you pull it out or the muscles and organs will suck your weapon in and repeat. That was the theory anyway in practice there was the small problem that the other side had the intention of doing the same to you and when you multiply the number of combatants… The black haired bandit hunter had to withdraw her weapon sharply and barely managed to block the blow that would have connected with her shoulder, a shift in her weight threw the attacker off balance leaving him open for a counter that was not needed. An ally stabbed the man in the back, grabbing him by the shoulder to push him deeper on the blade before pulling it out.

This was what martial arts could not prepare anyone for, a battle. Hundreds of bodies crushed in a small space, everyone pushing to get in a killing blow. Here the fluid, graceful movements of most martial arts had no right to exist, here it was only sharp, brutal attacks, smashing aside your opponents defence and leaving him open for you next attack or, more commonly, an allies. Kan'u still had difficulty taking the necessary changes in, and truth be told she doubted she ever would.

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The Yellow Turban stabbed a powerful stab, one that would render flesh and shatter bones if it connected, drawing out the intestines as it would be withdrawn. Fortunately a soldier saw it and caught the attack with his own spear, twisted his wrists and brought it to the ground leaving the turban enough time to open his mouth to scream as Bacho stabbed him. The opening caused by the mans untimely demise was immediately used by several soldiers, forcing the turbans to give ground or be individually attacked from several sides. The girl used the sudden pause to catch her breath, how long had the fight been going on? It was difficult to say, as combat was something that made time seem to pass incredibly fast and painfully slow at the same time.

- 'General Bacho!'

She turned to look at her subordinate. The man was pointing off in the distance with a satisfied grin.

- 'It looks like we've held long enough.'

The girl turned in the direction he was pointing and had to agree with him. The rearmost of the Yellow Turbans also turned and cries of panic rose from their ranks. White stallions from the Imperial stables and the grey ranks of Kosonsans' army informed everyone that the overall strategy had worked, the Yellow Turbans had pushed too far and were now surrounded. Individuals were already breaking from the ranks in an attempt to flee the inevitable slaughter. Bacho nodded and lifted her spear, catching the attention of those closest to her.

- 'This is it! Everyone attack!'

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Ryubi nearly gagged. No matter how many times she saw it the battlefield still effected her in such a way. There had been various suggestions over time, in various thickness of disguise that she shouldn't walk the battlefield after the fight was done but she persisted, these men died because of her. Though often she allowed others to suggest courses of action the final decision was always hers and she made a point of reminding herself what the costs of her decisions were.

There had been more than twenty thousand of the rebels/bandits known as the Yellow Turbans and most, if not all, of them now lay dead. Amongst them lay the dead from three armies, the Imperial Army, the army of the lord Kosonsan and her own "Volunteers".

"Her own". She almost laughed at that. Others, Aisha, Rinrin, Sei, Sui, Shuri, Shion, and many others did all the real work. All she was was a figurehead. That did not diminish the sense of guilt at all.

- 'Toka?'

She turned at to face the one addressing her, Kosonsan walked up with a faint smile on her face though it took Ryubi a moment to recognize her, not even because of everyone's usual trouble of remembering the lesser lords name but because of the layer of red mud born from dust mixed with blood that covered her white armour. The lord walked up and rested a hand on the other lords shoulder.

- 'The generals are gathering and Kashin wants us present.'

- 'Pairen.'

She replied instead, not taking her eyes of the dead. Hearing the tone Kosonsan did not interrupt, nor express surprise at her true name being pronounced properly.

- 'There was no other way, right?'

She paused and turned around, face serious and a sense of guilt heavy on her frame.

- 'There was no way to avoid this, right?'

'Other way?' Kosonsan thought, "The only other way would be an emperor that was not a child that did not allow his eunuchs to run the country as they saw fit appointing corrupt, incompetent and/or vicious officials to rule the country while persecuting those that were not.' She did not say that however, what good would that do? Instead she chose to say.

- 'No, there was no other way.'

Ryubi nodded and allowed herself to be led away to the meeting amongst the victorious armies officers and receive her new orders.

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Though he did not understand the words coming from the mans mouth there was no mistaking the meaning as testified by the eyes that were wide open, the hands in the air and the mans entire body shivering despite the days heat, he was begging for mercy. The horsemen sighed and stabbed downward, the guttural sounds turning into a high pitched scream of pain before the man twisted his weapon and pulled it free, cutting the irritating sound short.

- 'A little excessive Stanbor.'

Another rider chided the killer in a casual tone. The man spoken to turned round as he answered.

- 'Explain which part, Hugo. It's not like he'd be able to pay a ransom.'

- 'Probably not.'

Came the friendly reply. The bear of a man named Hugo let his spear slid in his grip till the end rested on the ground. Letting the weapon rest on his shoulder he reached up and undid the clasp keeping a length of mail covering his lower face to reveal a mouth turned up in a friendly smile as well as a chin liberally coated in stubble. Hugo looked around him, taking in the scene of similarly armed men casually dispatching those of their enemy that had not been able to flee their assault. Some had already taken to pillaging the tents and wagons, an activity the man fully agreed with. There was, however, a matter that he felt he should at least mention.

- 'You seen your brother around?

- 'He's your brother as well.'

The man replied before casting a look around.

- 'Knowing Zhyv, however, I'd say he should be…'

As if on cue a woman screamed and several men turned to the source of the sound to see a heavily robbed shape burst from on of the tents, pursued by an armoured individual. The woman didn't get far before the man grabbed the loose cloth and pulled her back, the speed with which she hit the ground depriving her of her senses for a moment.

- 'He's chasing women?'

Stanbor said, disbelief heavy on his voice. The man had followed his eldest brothers action and let the spear slid to rest and undid the mail covering his face, revealing a face much like his elder siblings bar the lack of facial hair and looked to the cloudless sky were the vicious orb of fire hung unchallenged.

- 'You think the sun got to him?'

The eldest of the siblings shook his head and spat before replying,

- 'He's not chasing her, so much as what's on her.'

Stanbor frowned at the words before turning his attention back to the discussed man who was in the process of tearing off the girl's necklace. With a foot crushing her to the ground he looked the jewellery over and, with a nod, slid it into his pouch before leaning down and proceeded to remove other shiny elements.

The others nodded knowing nods before turning their attention back to their own plunder, Zhyv was infamous for his love of gold and his virtual lack of interest in all things female. Hugo and Stanbor gripped their spears tightly and kicked their horses into a walk, moving to their busy brother. Zhyv glanced up at the sound of movement but seeing who it was he turned his attention back to his captive. He made to pull off the rings, drawing a sharp cry of pain from the woman who began to say something in her throaty language and the man stopped and lifted his foot off of her. She rose to her knees and, with surprising speed, removed the rings and earrings before handing them to the man.

- 'Find much, Zhyv?'

Hugo asked in good humour as he dismounted. Zhyv didn't even turn to reply as he collected the offered gold and slid them to his pouch.

- 'Plenty. Food, wine, gold, silver and even silk along as other expensive garbage from Persia, Cathay, Nippon or some other heathen land.'

Stanbor whistled as he dismounted and approached the tent to see for himself, turning around and nodding his confirmation to Hugo after doing so. The man slammed a ham-sized fist on Zhyvs' shoulder, his grin growing even wider.

- 'Nice work, only you didn't mention one treasure.'

Zyvs' eyebrow rose at the words as if not understanding. Before he realized what was meant Hugo moved past him and knelt in front of the woman who had been edging away and now froze like a deer who realized it was being hunted. An accurate enough description, Hugo thought, as the girls eyes were large and brown and currently expressing a lot of fear, like a deer. She shuddered and tried to pull away when the man lifted his hand to her veil, only to find the butt of Stanbors spear prodding her back. She seemed to accept her fate than and did not move as Hugo's bloodstained hand undid the veil.

He whistled at the sight, Stanbor leaning in and nodded his agreement. The reaction from Zhyv was a slight upward tilt of his lips.

- 'Not bad brother, not bad at all.'

- 'True, she'll fetch a handsome price on the market.'

Any comments concerning Zhyv's lust for gold was cut off by a horn signal. The armoured men looked up from their looting and moved to their horses with grumbles varying only in volume and the amount of obscenities incorporated.

- 'Looks like they want us back in the battle.'

Zyv stated the obvious as he shielded his eyes with his hand to look at the distant dark mass barely visible in the massive dust cloud.

- 'Guess we should get going then.'

Hugo replied in a weary tone as he stood up.

- 'What about her?'

Stanbor asked, prodding the girl in question with his spear. His older brothers looked at the girl in question before Hugo knelt and, removing some of the cloths covering her, proceeded to tie her arms and legs firmly together.

- 'Behave or die.'

He said, using his limited knowledge of the local languages to form the threat. The girl nodded her compliance and the three men mounted. As the older two of the trio moved to the forming line the youngest looked back and frowned before calling back.

- 'Someone's making a run for it! See?'

Hugo and Zhyv looked in the direction indicated and had to agree that there was a shape running from them. Zhyv looked to his older brother who calmly fastened his mail back into place.

- 'So it is. Might as well let him…'

- 'He's already after him.'

Zhyv interrupted and Hugo looked up to see that his youngest brother had indeed gone off in pursuit.

- 'Damn that boy!'

Hugo snarled before looking back to the waiting men and back to his brothers' silhouette.

- 'Damn that impetuous youth!'

He snarled again before kicking back his heels, spurring his horse into action. Zhyv sighed a weary sigh before following his older brothers example.

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Stanbor couldn't help grinning as he began to catch up with the fleeing dark robbed shape as the thrill from the hunt pounded in his veins. The young man weighed his options before deciding on one. Shifting his grip on the spear he held it in an over arm grip and closed the distance. His quarry looked back and, to Stanbors shock put on a burst of speed.

The momentary surprise vanished and the mans grin was back in place as he kicked his heels back, forcing his mount to go faster. Soon he judged himself to be close enough and threw the spear. For a second it seemed to hang in the air before slamming into the fleeing mans back.

Stanbor pulled on the reins but he still managed to ride past the dead man and had to ride back. Having dismounted he cobbled his horse to ensure it wouldn't wander and, placing a foot on his preys back, pulled the spear free. Kicking the body over he gave it a quick pat down that did not produce much, a curved bladed dagger, a few coins and a small, bronze disc. Pocketing the other things the man looked over the disc, one side was richly covered in strange marks, the other was smooth and had been polished till Stanbor could see his reflection in it… a mirror. Seeing his brothers ride up he lifted a hand in greeting and called out in good humour.

- 'I beat you to this one!'

It ended in a sharp cry, more of shock than pain as the youngest of the siblings found himself in the vice like grip of the man he had slain. Stanbor was strong and fit yet the corpse knocked him off his feet and its fingers found their way to Stanbors mail covered throat.

- 'It's not for you. Not for you!'

It hissed and Stanbor had to apply most of his strength just to keep the-should-be corpse from sinking its rotten teeth into his neck. The struggle lasted only a second before the attacker was forced of the youngster. Hugo lifted the thing by its filthy hair and brought his sword around, hitting with the middle of the blade. The body fell to the ground leaving the head in the mans hand. Hugo took one disgusted look at the body part before tossing it aside.

- 'You alright?'

He asked his youngest brother, extending a hand. Stanbor nodded as he allowed himself to be pulled up.

- 'I skewered the bastard.'

Hugo shrugged and was saved the trouble of replying by Zhyvs' monotonous voice.

- 'He could have been drunk or on some other substances, clouded his judgement and made him ignore the fact that he should have died.'

Even as he spoke the middle brother knelt and picked up the bronze disc from where it had fallen during the struggle. The man looked it over with a professional eye.

- 'Looks like it's from Cathay.'

He stated, running a gloved finger over the markings.

- 'It worth anything?'

- 'Was a half penny, till you broke it.'

The man replied, indicating the point where the thin metal had been rent.

- 'Pity.' – Hugo summarised – 'But lets get back to formation before those cheap whore-son, wannabe Romans notice we're gone and deduct the fact from our pay.'

The other brothers nodded and moved to their horses, Zhyv tossing the broken mirror aside. It bounced off rocks, rending it further till it fell in two separate pieces.

Suddenly there was a light rivalling the sun and the three brothers turned to see a white light growing and didn't even have time to shout out before it consumed them.

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- 'Well done everyone, well done.'

Imperial Commander-in-Chief Kashin spoke as she always spoke; calm, assertive and confident, the voice of someone who was important and fully aware of the fact. Resting on a throne/sofa on a dais making her easily higher than any of the seated officials present she looked very pleased with herself, albeit not much like an officer, a fact duly noted by those sitting who for the most part had arrived still dusty from the field and, for a part of them, spattered with gore. Undisturbed by the difference between herself and her guests she continued.

- 'I dare to say that on this day the spine of this rebellion has been broken. Whats left of the Yellow Turbans, however, must be eradicated.'

There were nods of agreement at this and only one voice rose in question.

- 'But perhaps if the Turbans have lost the will to fight mercy could be shown?'

Several pairs of eyes turned to the speaker, many an eyebrow raised. Ryubi seemed to shrink under the combined stares but succeeded in holding them without looking down. Kashin did not reply immediately, whether due to surprise at the suggestion or trying to remember the name of a lord from a province in the western regions of the empire is debatable before shrugging.

- 'How exactly you deal with them is your choice. Should you decide that the best course of action is by offering them life you are free to do so. However!'

The sudden raised tone made several stiffen in their seat, Ryubi included. The Commanders eyes had narrowed and for the first time since the meeting started she looked the part of a warlord.

- 'These men and their families are criminals and are to be treated as such! We must ensure that others will not follow in their example. Rest assured if their treatment is not seen as sufficiently gruesome the Imperial court will find out and retribution will be certain.'

Silence fell on the tent like a physical weight, Ryubi dropping her head as she nodded her understanding. Kashin looked at each official in turn, searching for any hint of a challenge. Glad to see none she laid herself down again, her frown disappearing under a smile as if her expression had never changed.

- 'Now that we are clear on that matter let us precisely describe who is to do what in mopping up the country.'

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There was pain. Pain in the head, throat and stomach not to mention the fact that his throat was dry, had he been drinking? Forcing his eyes open Hugo looked around him and decided that was probably not the answer. Firstly he was clothed; secondly there were no unclothed women in the vicinity nor empty bottles. He was also of the type to ensure that he did his drinking and whoring indoors whereas now he was indisputably outdoors.

The man stood up and looked around, rather than the dry nearly a desert plain he was in he was currently in a forest, it was hot and in the distance rather than mountains he saw… a sea? The man spat, crossed himself and spat again at the thought of the witchcraft involved.

- 'Zhyv? Stanbor?'

He waited, and listened but there was no reply of any kind. Hugo cursed, looked around and, choosing a direction at random, began walking.

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The massive gates slammed shut, once more cutting off the imperial city from the capital. Though strange the statement was absolutely true for there was nothing tying the city of Luoyang and the Emperors palace save location and Kashin couldn't help but frown at the implications that were thrust on her from the moment she entered, outside these walls she was Imperial Commander in Chief and her word was good as the Emperors inside however she was only one of thousands of politicians, officials, concubines, soldiers and eunuchs that battled in a brutal conflict for power. To make matters worse she was at a disadvantage as her position actually forced her to leave the isolated capital to conduct her duties, allowing free reign to plot against her.

- 'Greetings noble Commander in Chief. Word of your glorious triumph over the bandit inconvenience has already reached our ears.'

"Inconvenience" Kashin had to stop herself from snarling at the thing greeting her with a smile. An estimated million Yellow turbans spread throughout the Empire that have destroyed several armies and a difficult year long campaign to destroy them as an effective force that was issued to her in the hopes of ending her rise to power and they were already downplaying it, hoping that she will not gain anything from her victory. Instead Kashin smiled and bowed slightly.

- 'You are most gracious, Imperial Advisor Chojo.'

The eunuch smile deepened as he bowed deeply. If their was anything he did not like about Kashins words or manner he did not mention it, knowing fully well of the dozens of eyes observing the exchange. Straightening the castrated stood to the side and made a sweeping gesture with her hand.

- 'The emperor awaits your report Commander.'

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- 'Report.'

- 'Sir.'

The man was still in his travelling clothes, heavy with dust from the road but he knew better than to delay delivering his report by the time it would take to wash and change, Kannei was not one who allowed minor inconveniences stall in furthering her masters cause.

- 'It is confirmed, the Yellow Turbans have been declared vanquished. A general order has been dispatched to all regional lords to continue the eradication of any remnants.'

- 'Anything else?'

The scout paused, understanding the order as one informing him the information had already been given by another and he was to continue on to the next report.

- 'There is word of the wise-man Kanro making a prophecy.

- 'Elaborate.'

Ah, something no one else had reported.

- 'Near the capital a group had been discussing word of a "Messenger from Heaven" being sent to this earth to restore order. Upon discovering that the one who made the declaration was the honourable Kanro I went to question the man who claimed to have understood the messages on heaven and earth only recently as the flight of dragons put the recent oddities into perspective.'

Pausing to catch his breath the scout lifted his eyes to catch a glimpse of his superior. She had her eyes on him, narrowed as she took the information in. Hands folded in front of her their was nothing betraying any sign of what she was thinking, the fact that she had not interrupted him, however, was sign enough that he was to continue.

- 'Little was said about this, "messenger" on questioning the best that could be obtained was that one would "obviously be such". This "prophesy" is likely not to become too widely known as Kanro is a reclusive man and not prone to "blowing his own trumpet", so to speak.'

Kannei did not reply, nor did she show any sign of anything really, the man kept his subservient position just in case. After a while she nodded,

- 'Well done. Continue your report.'

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- 'The hell is up with this guy?'

- 'Are you asking about the fact that he hasn't moved at all for the past five minutes'

- 'No Fatso, I'm talking about the fact that he's in a shirt made of metal. A metal shirt! Have you ever heard of such a thing Bro?'

Several men, armed in a motley collection of weaponry and the tattered remnants of yellows scarves tied around various parts of their body discussed the strange phenomenon that was standing on the edge of a cliff some twenty meters from them. Well, three discussed him while the rest rested in the shade of the woods that concealed both from the object of their interest and the soldiers of the local lord.

- 'No Shorty, I have not.'

The man addressed as "Bro" stated, without looking back to the others. With that silence fell. Fatso and Shorty looked at each other with a shrug of their shoulders.

- 'So, Bro. You think he's a barbarian?'

- 'Obviously not a local.'

Bro replied, finally turning around.

- 'Instead of thinking about useless stuff help me decide whether we kill him for his stuff or ditch these yellow rags and take him to the local lord and see if he'll pay a reward for bringing him a barbarian.'

- 'Ditch the Yellow Turbans?'

Shorty nearly shrieked, barely stopping himself but still saying it louder than any of the previous discussions.

- 'Actually, that's a pretty good idea… I think.'

Fatso contributed his two cents. His initial reaction over Shorty actually thought about the choice and nodded.

- 'We could go out with most of the boys, see how he reacts. And the rags…. Well there not much help to us now are they?'

Bro nodded.

- 'Right. Get the lads up and lets go talk to the man.'

Quickly and with surprising stealth the Former Yellow Turbans surrounded the man, most quietly moving out of the woods and approached him. Despite their stealth the man seemed to stiffen and turned around, causing the brigands to stop, whatever they had expected to see was not this, a man most of whose body was concealed under a grey shirt that dimly caught the midday light, even the head bare the face was covered in this material not that much of the face could be seen from beneath the iron bar extending from the bottom of a simple helmet. Perhaps most stunning for them were the mans eyes, cold and grey. Was it possible for a man to have such eyes?

Momentarily taken back by the reality of the stranger Bro was the first to regain his composure.

- 'Good day friend, it would seem that you are a tad out of place; perhaps we could help? Of course as we would be taking a break from our normal activities to do so we would need to be reimbursed for our trouble.'

The stranger did not reply, in fact after he gave the bandits a glance he turned his attention back to the valley below him. Surprised by such a dismissal Bro stood staring at the strangers back before looking back to his compatriots. Fatso looked as surprised and merely shrugged his shoulders in reply to the unasked question. Shorty, on the other hand, snapped his jaw shut and stepped forward ready to say something but was interrupted.

- 'That river, what is it called?'

- Eh? Er, the Wei if I'm not mistaken.'

Shorty answered on reflex his anger being swept aside by surprise, the look of bewilderment on the others only increasing. The stranger nodded, moving his extended hand to his chin.

- 'Wei? Wei. Where on earth do they name rivers like that?'

The man paused and turned to the bandits again, making most take an involuntary step back. Now he seemed to see them for the first time, taking a step up to Bro he stared at him for a second, seemingly oblivious to the unease he was causing or the naked steel resting in the other mans hand.

- 'You don't look like Muzelmen, nor Seljuk's… could this be Cathay? But why would I be able to understand them? What sort of black arts caused this?'

Though spoken out loud the words were not understood by any in the area nor did the strange stranger seem to expect them to. He suddenly straightened and nodded.

- 'Thank you for your time, I know what I shall do now.'

With that he turned and began to make his way to the road leading to the Wei valley below. Bewildered expressions still present on their faces the bandits merely nodded with fatso raising a hand.

- 'Safe journeys.'

Bro stood, scratching his head; Shorty likewise scratching his head walked up and commented.

- 'Strange guy, hey Bro?'

- 'Undeniably. Wonder what…'

He paused as his expression changed, a vein appearing on his forehead.

- 'Stop right there!'

He shouted. The stranger stopped and turned around, eyebrow raised. Bro walked up to him, the others following.

- 'Just for you smartass nature I decided not to be polite. Jump out of your fucking gear and get your hands out to be tied, you're coming with us.'

- 'I see.'

That was all the warning received before Bro was thrown to the ground, blood flowing from his broken nose. The shield that had up to know rested on the mans back was in his hand, it's metal boss bloody. The faint rasp of steel scraping on fleece lined wood heralding his sword being drawn. The bandits had enough time to replace their shocked expressions with ones of anger, Shorty even managed to start barking out orders before the stranger was amongst them in flurry of steal and bloodshed.

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- 'Damn it all.'

Taken out of context those may have been strange words to greet the situation in which Stanbor found himself in, when however you take into account the fact that he was balanced on a branch some five meters off the ground after being assaulted by a man he had killed and being blinded by a fierce white light and suddenly such a choice of words make perfect sense.

It should also be understandable that the mans first action was not looking around in wonder or wondering what exactly had happened but rather how to get back to solid ground. Slowly the man made his way to the trees trunk, hissing at every creak of the branch that supported him. The fear of ending up hurtling to the earth was justified, as even without the armour the man was the heaviest of the three brothers. When he finally grabbed hold of the trunk he let out a sigh of relief before making his way down. It was some two meters above the ground that he lost his grip and ended up putting more weight on a branch than he wanted, snapping it and sending him down into an undignified heap.

- 'Bloody, goddamn hell!'

He summarised his descent in a few choice words learnt from Anglo-Saxon mercenaries. With a hiss he straightened himself, succeeded in sitting upright and realized he was not alone. Several men shared the clearing with him, moving to surround him and all of them armed.

- 'Yo bro!'

- 'I do declare we got a gift from heaven!'

One greeted him as he slid a long, thin blade from its scabbard as others bustled around, commenting on Stanbors sudden arrival.

- 'That was a nice fall.'

Stanbor summarized his new situation in a few choice words even as his hand went to his weapon.

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Found a bandit, found a bandit,

Found a bandit just now!

Just now I found a bandit

Found a bandit just now!

Hacked him open

Hacked him open

Just now I hacked him open

Hacked him open just now!

Soldiers sang on four occasions; to conceal uncertainty, when bored witless, when moral was high and, most frequently, when ordered to. Judging from the song it was safe to say that this column was in high moral, and why not? They were marching home from a victory; the time to remember those left in the mud will come later.

Bar the personal guard of the Emperor and regional governors there were no professional soldiers in China, instead those in power would conscript peasants as required, issuing them equipment from their arsenals and taking those weapons away and sending them home after a term. Though the recent decade of civil unrest had led to an unprecedented rise in the numbers of guards the basis of any army still remained the conscript.

It was such a group of conscripts that, after fulfilling an obligation, were on their way home, a number of them singing a modification of a traditional marching song, the loudest being the short figure carrying a spear twice as long as she was tall, Rinrin was one to enjoy singing and not to let such minor details as melody to bother her, after all her grandfather had always said that you have to sing to keep the bears away.

Kan'u smiled as she recalled the first time she had heard the statement. Than it had been only her and Rinrin on the road and the former "black haired bandit hunter" couldn't help but marvel at how much had changed since than. China was still plagued by civil unrest, and brigands still lurked in the forests and mountains but now she was in a position to do something about it, backed by the armies of a provincial governor she could hunt down the larger bands unlike before when she could only deal with the small groups she was lucky enough to encounter, not that most people would call it luck.

Naturally with the good things came additional problems and additional work that she had not had to deal with before, such as leading conscripts back to their respective villages and oversee their disarming, the storage of their weapons and dealing with any other problems the village elder might bring up. Her mind wandering Kan'u thought to a specific piece of news she had picked up, what that caused a small sensation amongst some of those that had heard of it, most dismissing it as the fanciful ramblings of an old man.

"Messengers of Heaven", could something as convenient exist as an individual dropping from heaven and restore order to China? Kan'u sighed and shook her head; it would be good if the problems could be finally solved but she did not really believe that an immortal being would leave heaven and soil its hands with earthly affairs.

- 'Aisha?'

Kan'u lifted her head sharply at being addressed by her true name and looked down at the small form of her sworn sister who was looking at her with concern.

- 'You all right? You've been looking down for a while.'

Kan'u put on a smile and waved her hand.

- 'Just thinking Rinrin, just thinking. After all we've got a lot of work to do once we get there.'

The younger girls cheeks puffed up at the answer.

- 'Don't worry sis, Rinrin is here to help!'

- 'Thank you, that will be of help.'

The smile turned into an authentic one. Though the young girl easily got sidetracked and looked anything but serious once she put her mind to something she would follow through, even if she would complain about the task being boring for the duration of it. The remainder of the road passed to a light conversation about everything and nothing.

'"'"'"'"""""'"""''''"''"'""""'''''"""""''''''""""""""""""""""""""""

- 'Take him from the left!'

- 'Damn it man! Move up!'

- 'Stop pushing me forward!'

- 'Mama! Mama!'

Shouts, the thud of feet on the dry ground, the dull thud of steel hitting wood and the grating ring of metal on metal sounded in the clearing broken occasionally by the sound of severed flesh, cracked bones and men screaming in agony. The youngest son in a minor noble family Stanbor had frequently found himself in fights, since leaving with his older brothers to serve as mercenaries in the south the amount of conflict he saw had only increased, the testimony of his hard earned skill being the two men laying screaming in pain and a third not making a sound their blood turning the surrounding ground into red mud.

Hiding the blade behind his shield he moved his feet quickly, forcing a bandit backwards and the man stumbled, taking his eyes of Stanbor for a second as he steadied himself, that was all the opening the man needed as he shifted his weight and stabbed with the sword, the bandit not even having time to scream as the tempered steel punched through the leather covering his stomach. Stanbor swore as the blade stuck in his victims body and he had to kick the corpse off, the curse turned into a hiss as someone used the opening to deliver a slash to his back, the mail turning the steel aside but the force of the blow still causing pain.

Slashing the freed sword in a wide arc several bandits jumped back only to jump back in during the short time that Stanbor needed to bring his weapon back to a position he could use. One sword was caught in the shield, another slid off his mail but the third caught his leg, drawing a cry of pain that quickly turned into an angry snarl. The shield jumped upwards catching a bandit in the jaw, shattering teeth and sending the man to the ground, senseless. None of the bandits could say they saw the action but suddenly the sword fell, cleaving the one that had succeeded in wounding the foreigner, he fell in twisted mess of blood and shattered bones.

The third jumped back before Stanbor could do so with him and the remaining bandits closed a circle around the foreigner, cautiously like hunters circling a wounded bear. Stanbor cursed and limped back till his back rested against a tree and tried to calm his breath.

- 'So much for your gift from heaven.'

One of the bandits snarled at his companion. Six of their comrades dead or dying the bandits still closed in on the wounded man, anger as much as greed motivating them now but having seen the terrible wounds the foreigner could cause they were reluctant to actually attack, perhaps that's why one of them stepped forward and began talking.

- 'Well done, well done. Can't remember the last time I saw one man fight such odds and leave so many bodies.'

- 'In that case be thankful you're not fighting my oldest brother.'

Stanbor interrupted. The bandit spokesman paused and like most of them looked around the surrounding forest as if expecting to see a similar figure as the one they had cornered charging them. The pause was a short one and the talking bandits look of uncertainty was quickly replaced by one of confidence.

- 'You're a smart man, no? Why don't you drop that metal shirt along with your gold and we'll call ourselves even.'

- 'But Aniki!'

One of the other bandits started to protest but fell silent when he received a glare from "Aniki". Opposition silenced he turned his attention back to Stanbor.

- 'So, what do you say?'

Stanbor did not reply immediately as he thought it over, after all if they were offering negotiations than they were weakened, but than again so was he… even if he wasn't he doubted he could defeat that many as he now faced, he was however saved from giving an answer. As one Stanbor and the bandits turned at the sound of breaking branches to witness a shape burst from the tree line and rush up to the nearest bandit. A crack was heard and the man fell in a heap. Jaws fell as if on order and everyone, bandits and Stanbor took a step back from the newcomer. She had long, black hair and wore cloths that Stanbor could honestly say to have never seen before in his life and perhaps most surprising was the richly decorated polearm.

- 'Villains! Cease this at once!'

There was no immediate reply as every man in the clearing stared with open mouths at the woman. Stanbor was the first to react as he shut his mouth and turned to the bandits.

- 'Who do you think she means by villains? You lot? Us collectively? Or does she use the plural in addressing someone individually?'

- 'Who knows?'

Came the reply and a short discussion broke out amongst the men as the discussed the problem. The woman's pose slackened first, than she gripped her polearm tight till her knuckles went white before she shouted, making everyone jump.

- 'I meant you! How dare you assault this man! Leave now or face justice.'

- 'I think she means you.'

Stanbor offered helpfully, judging from the looks he got the help was not appreciated. The bandit addressed as Aniki shot Stanbor a glare.

- 'You be quite.'

He snarled before turning his attention to the newcomer.

- 'And you girl, get lost before I lose my patience!'

He stopped and took a closer look at the woman and took a step forward.

- 'Though actually, stay. Drop the weapon now and we wont even touch you before selling you off… or at least not that much.'

Neither Stanbor nor the bandits would be able to tell you what happened next, one moment Aniki was standing and the girl was several yards from him, the next she was behind him and he sank to his knees before sliding to the ground. He kicked the earth a few times and then went still. The girl regarded the remaining bandits as she shook the blood off of her weapon.

- 'What will you do?'

Came her question. For a moment nothing happened before slowly the bandits lowered their weapons and began backing off, the ones furthest from the girl turned round and ran and soon the clearing was free of bandits save the dead and dying. Stanbor was tempted to follow their example but doubted he'd be able to make such an escape with his wound. Though he never let go of his sword he turned to the girl with an as grateful a smile as he could muster considering he wasn't sure whether he was safe.

- 'I guess I should thank you for your intervention miss…'

His sentence trailed off, not only because he didn't know how to continue but also because the girl suddenly marched up to him and with an earnest expression asked.

- 'Are you alright, Messenger of Heaven?'

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The shrine was a mess. The statue that had at one time taken the prime spot was long gone as was anything that might have presented any value. Most of the roof had fallen through in several places and Kan'u found herself expecting the floorboards to give way under her weight, but that was not why she had been brought here. The dust, thick on the floor, had been disturbed while outside there were the remains of a fire.

- 'You see than lord?'

The village elder asked from the temples entrance with a tilt of his head meant to show respect.

- 'I see. There was definitely a group here… have your men found any track of where they went.

- 'Zhou?'

The elder turned to his companion who nodded and waited for Kan'u to leave the building before pointing off to the woods.

- 'Faint tracks leading off that way. I didn't want to follow them too far as I though the men might be more needed in the village in case our suspicions were correct.'

Kan'u nodded. Life, it seemed, refused to be simple. Having arrived at her destination she was greeted by the elder who reported evidence of a group camping near the village and the disappearance of some supplies from outlying fields. With Rinrin investigating the other end she went with some men to where the newest signs were.

- 'Spread out and lets search the area, we might find something more. Stay within eye distance of each other.'

A chorus of muttered confirmations sounded in reply and the group headed into the woods. Shifting her gaze from the ground to the surrounding area Kan'u marched, looking for any signs. Time passed and no visible signs appeared, the heavy undergrowth not helping matters as the moss left little trail and the shrubs forcing one to pause and pull them aside to see what little there was. Kan'u paused as something caught her eye, though for a moment she thought she saw the flash of light on metal.

Being the furthest on the right she signalled the man to her left to follow and the order was passed along the line. It wasn't long before the woman reached an obstacle in the form of a small cliff, she also confirmed that she saw light flashing in the distance as well as something else, she heard the sound of metal on metal and screams of agony.

- 'Soldier! Get the others to follow, silently mind you!'

- 'Yes lord!'

As the man passed the order Kan'u slid down the cliff and moved to the fighting as quickly as she could without making too much noise. Not being Rinrin she had no intention of charging in without getting an idea of who was fighting whom and other vital information but when she was close enough to see the combatants she paused for a completely different reason, she had simply never seen one such as the man fighting off several men still bearing the yellow scarves of the Yellow turban movement.

He was a broad shouldered man in a simple helmet and a hooded shirt that was a dark grey but occasionally shone white when it caught the light. Most of his left side was hidden behind a shield and his right held a sword, that looked more like a bar of iron that the elegant weapons she had seen produced by the armourers in the cities for the Imperial Guard. Though unimpressive the weapon smashed through a bandits body, cleaving armour, bone and muscle, a task that would break many a more elegant weapon.

Perhaps what struck Kan'u the most was what little of the face was visible from behind the helmet as the mans skin was pale and his eyes were grey. Six men know lay dead or dying and the others surrounded the stranger, his back against the tree. "How will they look? They'll look like bloody messengers from heaven, that's how they'll look." Kan'u suddenly recalled the words of Kanro she had overheard being discussed, admittedly not from the man himself but from others discussing his words, or more specifically, how to make them fit for writing down without losing its meaning. Kan'u felt a jolt in her chest, could this man be…

The fighting had come to a pause as the bandits tried to convince the stranger to surrender, one throwing a comment about him being a gift from heaven. It was than that she decided what to do, ignoring the fact that her men had not yet arrived she moved into the clearing.

- 'Villains! Cease this at once!'

Her demand did not have quite the effect she had hoped for as, though they did stop they did not pay her much attention either as they began a conversation about the exact meaning of her words. Kan'u felt her ears go red and her knuckles turned white as she clenched her fist tight before calling out to them again. The bandits managed to offer her terms of surrender before she lost her patience and attacked, the single casualty she caused enough to send the remainder running leaving her, the stranger and the fallen in the clearing.

Kan'u could now observe the man up close and she found him even more interesting than before, even as he began to form thanks for her intervention she decided, this was the messenger from heaven that would restore order to China.

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- 'The bitch is becoming intolerable.'

- 'I did warn you that sending her out would only increase her standing.'

- 'Deny the appointment of such a station to the Imperial Commander in Chief and the Emperors uncle? How would you possibly manage to achieve that?'

Duan Gui asked, nobody offered any reply and the eunuchs fell silent. A rarity in the capital three people were holding an honest discussion in an isolated room, well certain that nobody could listen in to them.

- 'Those descendents of a butcher are all together becoming to self important for their own good. Having the emperors' mother and the C-in-C from that family was bad enough but now we have a successful commander who may very well become popular.'

Chojo scoffed as she waved her hand in a dismissive fashion.

- 'Since when has the opinion of the masses mattered?'

- 'Never. But the opinion of the army…'

Zhang Rang left the sentence unfinished. The eunuchs fell silent for a moment as they considered the matter.

- 'It is not the first time that those uncouth savages of the army use political unrest in an attempt to move into politics… might as well allow cattle to take up office.'

Nods of agreement followed the statement and it was Chojo who turned the conversation back to its original topic.

- 'And now we have a general with support from the army and elements of the imperial city supporting her and no wars to keep her occupied and away from the capital… we need something to keep the bitch out of the way.'

She paused, letting the words sink in, seeing he had everyone's attention she began to present her thoughts.

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- 'You did too good a job.'

Kashin did not reply, though she had to grit her teeth to stop herself. The one speaking was her younger sister, more commonly known as the Imperial Mother, or the Imperial whore, depends who you asked. The sisters and several of their closest allies in the Capital sat in an isolated room within the Empresses palace as they went over the recent events.

- 'The Yellow Turbans are scattered, leaderless bands now plague the countryside but they are no longer the city sacking threat that they used to be.'

A man spoke calmly, his armour denoting him to be of the Imperial Guard. Not seeing anybody raising any questions he continued.

- 'There is nothing motivating the sending a large force under your command to fight any enemy, there is no way in which to gain the support of the masses while the bandit remnants will erode what support you caught amongst the populace as they continue to pillage…'

The man finished with a shrug. The empress finished for him.

- 'In other words we are forced to stop collecting support before we are strong enough to move against the eunuchs.'

- 'Perhaps not.'

Kashin replied, with a wave of her hand. Receiving silent permission to continue she turned to the Guardsmen.

- 'How many of the imperial guard would support us?'

- 'My men for certain… about three hundred altogether? Not all of the remainder would move against us however.

- 'And I have nearly two thousand outside Luoyang, It should be enough.'

- 'A coup? This is China, not some barbaric land to force a power change through slaughter.'

One of the officials protested, judging by the frowns several others agreed with his objection, Kashin scoffed.

- 'No, as civilised folk we prefer to use poison and daggers in the back. We have the advantage in numbers and the support of the masses. One strike and we remove the eunuchs and take control. Before anyone could object we would have full control of the capital and if they do.'

Kashin shrugged,

- 'We can always cut taxes for those that support us and execute those that resist.'

- 'A very definite method of resolving the issue, I agree.'

Came the guard officer's reply. Slowly those around the table nodded in agreement. The next hours passed as details were laid out.

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Hugo sighed as he sat down, enjoying the meagre shade offered by the trees. The man looked around and satisfied that there were no apparent threats slid his helmet off before removing his coif. Pulling free a length of cloth he wiped his head dry and let out another sigh. Standing up he approached the stream that had encouraged him to take a break here and dampened it before cooling his head and this time he let out a satisfied sigh. It was hot and humid, and the man did not enjoy the combination.

The man had spent most of the morning wandering and though had come across several settlements he was not certain about testing how the locals would treat a lone stranger, though he knew he would sooner or later have to test it. Perhaps a larger settlement where the locals might be more used to foreigners. Being a well-travelled man Hugo had meant plenty of villagers shocked to discover that there were locations further than five days travel away, such people also tended to hold little tolerance for outsiders muddling the peace of their home with their foreign persons.

So decided the man stood up and fastened the cloth around his head as a bandana and slid his coif and helmet back into place. Choosing the direction most likely to bring him to the distant sea, and in his reasoning civilisation, the man began to move only to stop shortly after as something felt out of place, a feeling confirmed by a high pitched scream. Scowling the man looked in the direction it came from and debated with himself whether he should investigate before giving a weary sigh and doing just that.

It wasn't difficult finding the source as he merely followed the angry shouts that turned into vulgar profanities and more shouting. The scene that Hugo witnessed was several men holding down a small figure that was doing a pretty good job of resisting their attempts to restrain her. One man not taking part in the act was busy cursing as he nursed his shin, blood flowing from a wound.

- 'Bitch nearly took my leg off!'

He complained another of the men turned to him with a scowl.

- 'Stop your bitchin' and give us a hand.'

The chastised man stood up and limped over as he had been told though he continued his complaining.

- 'You think it's worth it? Who knows how long it would take to break her for the market?'

- 'I'll break her.'

Came the reply as the man turned to his comrade and paused as he looked at his leg more closely.

- 'On second thought you better sit down and deal with that we're in no rush… OY! Shut up!'

The last part was directed at the small form that, though tied up was still hurling abuse on her captors, abuse that increased in volume when he told her to shut up. The man sighed and kicked the girl without putting much effort into it, but it was enough to silence the abuse and brought her to gasp in pain.

- 'When I said shut up I meant it.'

Came the mans words in a voice so calm that it chilled the blood. After a moments silence one of the men spoke up.

- 'Hey boss, seeing as we got some time before we gotta report back maybe we could, you know, start breaking her?'

"Boss" thought for a moment before nodding.

- 'Fair enough, prop her up on that rock.'

Two men lifted the girl and did as told as boss undid his belt and let his pants drop.

- 'Congratulations girl, you get to find out what a man is.'

- 'So will you.'

Everyone in the clearing turned to the voice and saw a grey shape leave the trees cover and approached them, sliding his sword from its scabbard as he did.

- 'I listened long enough to know you got no legal right to the girl. So you'll leave and go fuck yourselves.'

- 'Routa, kill this idiot.'

The man whose name was apparently Routa stepped forward, sliding a long bladed knife into his hand before running forward in a burst of speed that few backstabbers could match. Nobody could say for certain what happened but Hugo stepped aside and Routa seemed to stumble, took a few more steps before falling to the ground. He tried to stand up but sank to his knees. Surprised he looked down to see why and began to scream, he screamed till he died a few seconds later. His comrades stood still for a second before, as one, turning and running as fast as they could, "boss" desperately trying to pull his pants up.

Hugo wondered whether to follow but he remembered the girl that started the mess so he shook the blood of his sword and slid it into its scabbard as he crossed the distance to the tied up form. She had been fidgeting, probably trying to loosen the bonds but stopped as she heard the man approach.

- 'It's alright girl, I prefer my women to have a bit more meat on them.'

He said as he pulled his dagger free. The girl stiffened and Hugo couldn't be certain but she seemed to be angry. He shrugged the strange idea aside and cut the ropes. In a flash the girl jumped up and kicked him in the shin.

- 'Byel tvayu mach!'

He cursed in one of the phrases he picked up from the Ruthenians as he hoped around for a second and hissed as he put the leg down. Fully expecting the girl to have bolted he was surprised to see her standing nearby, albeit out of arms reach, and was glaring at him, arms crossed and cheeks puffed.

- 'Strange way to say thank you.'

Hugo commented, sliding the dagger into its scabbard. The girl "hmphed" but her glare lost some of its venom.

- 'It's not like I knew who you were, for all I know you could be worse than them.'

Hugo wasn't certain but he could swear he heard a bit more after that, something about insulting a girls figure? Pushing whatever she mumbled aside he replied.

- 'You're absolutely correct, so why are you talking to me rather than making a run for it?'

This time there was a pause and her glare completely vanished as she formed a reply.

- 'Because… well… You're strange.'

"And you're stranger." He wanted to retort. After all how often do you see a young girl running around a wooded countryside in a white outfit that showed the belly button… even the whores in Constantinople showed more modesty! Though now that Hugo thought about there were plenty of girls he wouldn't mind seeing that kind of fashion on…

- 'Hello? Old man?'

- 'I'm not old.'

He replied on reflex, silently glad for the interruption as it brought his mind to important matters, there was no disputing the fact that he was the strange no one looked anyway like any of the many nations he had seen.

- 'Hey girl, mind if I ask you some questions. Starting off, where am I?'

A logical question for a man in his position the question made the girls eyes open wide and she took a step back, her anger at his not waiting for her reply cut off by the question and she replied on reflex.

- 'Zhejiang province of course.'

- 'Zhe…'

Hugo began but stopped himself and sighed before continuing.

- 'Province of what country?'

- 'Oji-san, you're not making much sense.'

- 'I know but please answer.'

The girl looked over her shoulder, obviously regretting not running when she had a chance. Hugo expected her to actually run for it but she turned to him again and answered.

- 'China.'

Hugo felt his legs weaken underneath him and he sat down rather than risk falling. Cathay! The land of silk that lay beyond Persia … What sort of black arts sent him here?

- 'Oji-san, are you alright?'

He turned his attention to the girl who had crossed the distance between them and was looking at him, concern slowly pushing aside suspicion.

- 'Not really, no.'

The girl looked at him and seemed to be deep in thought before she nodded and sat down next to him an began rummaging in her bag, proudly producing a strange container from which she poured out a liquid and handed it to him with a smile.

The man took the offered cup and looked at its contents… a brownish liquid, pleasant to smell. With a final look at the girl he drained it in one draught. As far as he was concerned it tasted like kvas, perfect stuff for a hot day.

- 'Oji-san, you're lost aren't you?'

- 'You have no idea how badly.'

The girls smile turned into a toothy grin and she stood up, fists on her hips.

- 'I've decided!'

Turning around she thrust a finger in his direction before continuing.

- 'In reward for you're service you are now my bodyguard! You're task is to get my person to safety. Do your job well and perhaps I'll let you look for wherever you're going.'

The man couldn't help but smirk at the statement and he stood up, dusting his hands off as he did.

- 'Fair enough girl lead the way than. Names Hugo, son of Mathew. You got a name?'

- 'Hugo?'

The girl paused at the name before shrugging.

- 'Even your name is strange.'

She muttered before slamming a hand on her chest, producing a hollow thud, and loudly proclaiming.

- 'You should address me as milady, but in view of your loyal service you may address me as Lady Sonshoko.'

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The room was cold. Chojo shivered and cursed as she saw her breath turn to mist in front of her eyes. Such a drastic drop in temperature meant one thing.

- 'What do you want?'

- 'A rather unpleasant greeting, castrate.'

The voice that came in reply was smooth and cold, as if someone poured oil on ice. It seemed to come from every corner of the room and from nowhere at the same time. Chojo cursed as she stormed to the table were a lamp was and, with a small struggle, produced a flame and nearly jumped out of her skin.

Her guest sat in her favourite chair, feet on the table, hands folded, fingers intertwined. As usual not a scrap of flesh was visible beneath the long robes, deep hood and gloves. Though it was impossible to see them she knew that his eyes were digging deep into her, she knew because she could feel them, sinking in like claws.

- 'I thought one would be happy to see their best informant and advisor, they one who produces the poison you slip into the imperial court to ensure that it does as you desire.'

- 'I've had a long day warlock, if you have a point get to it.'

There was no logical explanation to what happened next, in one moment there was a burning lamp and a shape in her chair on the other side of the table, the next the lamp was out and she had nothing under her feet as the warlock gripped her by the neck and lifted her to his eye level.

- 'Politely castrate, politely lest you want me to find another servant.'

Chojo tried to form a reply but the fingers caught off any air from her lungs. Her vision swam and her grip on the warlocks arm loosed till her hands slipped away. Next she knew and she was on the floor, drawing desperate gasps of air into her lungs. The lamp was lit again and the warlock was in the chair, though not as relaxed as before.

- 'Your enemies are moving. Kashin and her lackeys have tired of playing in the dark and are ready to move into the open. You have information, now use it.'

The lamp flickered and died and the rooms temperature immediately increased. Chojo stood up and lit the lamp before looking around. Pleased at being alone she waited till her heart slowed before calling for the guards.

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- 'What is the meaning of this?'

The guards did not reply, merely continued to stand as statues, blocking the door. Kashin took a step back before several members of the imperial guard grabbed her, pulling her arms back behind her back, kicked her feet from underneath her and forced her head into the ground. More people showed up and one of the guards forced her head up. Chojo stood in front of her, flanked by several other eunuchs, a look of triumph on their faces.

- 'Imperial Commander in Chief Kashin. You have been found guilty of plotting treason against the Emperor and his court, you're punishment will be carried out immediately.'

The guard holding her head up yanked her head down and pulled, exposing her neck. Her struggles earning her nothing in the iron grips of her captors she stopped when she heard the faint rasp of steel leaving a wooden scabbard.

- 'Damn you all! I'll see you all in hell before this years out!'

She managed to throw a curse before the sword came down and her head hit the paving stones, the body following only after the guards let go of it.

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Everywhere in the Capital similar scenes were played out, only the Empress was left unhurt, though her servants were marched out of her palace and replaced with new faces, ones possessing ears catching every hint of dissent and tongues quick to report them.

It is in the Imperial Barracks that problems arose. When the resting guardsmen were confronted by some of their own demanding they hand over their weapons fighting broke out. Reinforcements were called in and the fighting spread to other sectors of the Capital. In the confusion several men broke out and made their way to through Luoyang and to Kashins army camping outside its walls.

Bloodied and battered they had some problems in getting through to the armies commander, but sentries were sent to inform the person and were quickly back at the camps limits ordering the guardsmen through. Before long they were in the presence Enshou, who was not amused at all at having her beauty maintenance time interrupted and greeted the guardsmen in nothing but a towel, fully intent on returning to her activities afterwards.

- 'Well man, what does that peasant Kashin want that is so urgent it requires me to interrupt my bath?'

She paused, sniffed the air and took a closer look at the man.

- 'Your bath as well it seems.'

She added as an afterthought. Whether the guard had any questions regarding the person that was in charge of the field army he did not voice them.

- 'Kashin is dead, the eunuchs attacked us.'

- 'Figures. I'm not…'

Enshou paused and sat upright, seeming to pay attention for the first time.

- 'Give me the details.'

She ordered, her confirmations as to why Kashin had needed two thousand men in the vicinity of the capital confirmed.

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- 'Is everyone gathered?'

- 'Apart from the sentries, everyone.'

Enshou nodded as she allowed her retainers to fit on the last elements of her armour.

- 'Than let us try to save the situation.'

She muttered as she left the tent. Nearly two thousand men stood in the camps parade ground, the air thick with muttered conversations as they wondered amongst themselves to the reason, gossip and rumours spreading fast. The noise slowly died out as Enshou entered the platform as nearly two thousand men turned their attention to their officer.

- 'Soldiers! Madness has entered the Capital!'

There was no noise now, many were the vices of Enshou but amongst her few virtues was the ability to catch a crowd's attention. The noble began pacing on the platform as she gave the speech she had prepared.

- 'Imperial Commander in Chief Kashin, who led us to victory over the Yellow Turbans has been thanked by being murdered!'

Though she hated praising others the words had the desired effect as an angry murmur rose from the ranks. Raising both hands for silence Enshou continued.

- 'The Eunochs, having murdered the Commander, than turned on the emperor!'

There was no angry murmur now, but a roar as the men reacted to the sacrilege. Though Enshou did not know what the Eunuchs were doing she did know that most of the countries population thought the Emperor was something divine, and there would be only anger at the thought of anyone moving against him.

- 'These castrated madmen have murdered a hero and turned the emperor into a prisoner! Now they have declared all of us criminals!'

There was a roar, heard in every home within Luoyang. Enshou raised her hands, silencing the soldiers as she continued.

- 'What shall we do? Do we allow ourselves to be turned into traitors, while madmen ravage the capital?'

Another roar as the soldiers shouted their disapproval, Enshous' own voice rose into a roar as she shouted the alternative.

- 'Or do we march to the capital and drive those maniacs into the river Yi?'

There was no way to over shout the roar of approval that followed those words and discipline was hard to reintroduce, as two thousand soldiers were more than willing to do just that.

For the first time nearly two centuries an army marched on the Capital.