War

Chapter 01 : The First Three Lions

Kong Sao's hands ran over his laid back brown hair. His fingers smoothed through the hair easily. His hands touched the feathered pen as he began to write. His handwriting was italic to the right, cursive and looped. His hand moved delicately as he ran over the paper in his beautiful traditional chinese characters. As he moved his arm, he knocked into a ink pot, spilling a few drops of expensive ink. His green eyes moved around the room slowly as he looked for something to wipe his spilled ink with. He grabbed a handkerchief and rubbed into the marks slowly.

It was the dawn of 197 AD, the lands were divided into many sections, yet that had not kept down the hopes of the generals of Han. Han? How typical. Second after second, minute after minute. What would become of the chaotic land? There was nothing but tragedies, assassinations and uprisings in this country. He laughed at the sound of war, he mocked the sound of peace. What had he wanted? Not a land of chaos, dying and suffering but not a land of peace, justice and virtue either. What was it to him anyways. These wars were fought by generals such as Zhu Jun, Cao Cao and Sun Cé. Kong Sao's father was a Han general, Kong Rong, but he was unable to look after himself as well as his own people. His mother was dead, the flu took her, and his older brother was brutally killed. With him, he has held such weapons such as a spear or a sword, but he had never used it to fight, just to inspect or compliment.

He sighed, effortlessly standing up. His younger sister looked up to him, but he felt no little more than ashamed. If only he could do something. He disliked his father's friends Taishi Ci and Tao Qian, matter-of-factly, he disliked any one who was a threat to his father's safety. He turned his head as he looked at the night sky, glistened with the cream rock in the center of the darkness. He turned to his desk, four candles glowed up upon it. He moved his hands around, lettering out beautiful characters which were slightly side-shifted.

"If only," Sao groaned. "My body is too weak to aid my father. But this land needs a true leader. One who can quell rebellions."

He thought deeper into his own head. He had never thought suggesting it. He closed his eyes, he knew he needed his profound sleep. He lie slouched on the table. Shaking his head, he woke himself up and sat up. He had to focus his thoughts on his work. His father would... well... he did once get stripped down and whipped for arriving at an assembling ten minutes late in public. He ran away for two weeks, and upon returning, was given a hundred slashes in the public eye. And he was only twelve when it he'd happened. He shook his mined off of the cruelty and suffering. Soon there was going to be no suffering. No deaths. He knew it wouldn't happen. He was mad. His father had fooled him into believing so. He had multiple thoughts and desires that he could never succeed. He gasped.

He crawled off his chair, abandoning his work. His father did love him, he just wanted to disciple his son. Make sure that Sao was intelligent, strong and a capable leader, something he knew he wasn't going to like. Something he knew he wasn't going to contribute too and something he was going to surrender. He wanted something, less brutal than war, less helpful than peace. Peace made him feel like everyone was too close. Heroes of the past had stuck their heads into war, had their family killed off, killed the murderers, befriended the murderers' family and gained peace, marrying the murderer's daughter or son. It was pathetic. War made everyone too cruel. Heroes had had peace, entertained in war and slew, slaughtered and slacked at the people, innocent and not, and then it would continue for fifty to eighty years. Still pathetic.

What he had wanted was not deciphered. A land without war or peace was a land with suffering and brawls. And that wasn't role-modeling either. What he wanted was code-breaking. These thoughts were the ones that exhausted him. He crawled onto the bed, reaching up and laying down on his back. He rested on his back-head, looking up at the ceiling in disgrace. He slowly blurred his vision into a dark espionage. He watched his dream. There were two women. The one in red and the one in blue. What did that mean? Dreams were also threatening. He blocked the sight out of his head and finally, fell in peace.

-..-..-

The night sky glided with the stars, dotted randomly around the room. His hands were over the map pinning pins into the table, knocking them out again with his fist, again with his fingers twisting the pins around. His hands waved recklessly as it slammed against the table. His eyes looked over to the double bed. The pillow had cuts and scars all over it. He had gotten into tempers and attacked it when he was angry, once attacking his father. Unfortunately, his father, although being a grand and famed general, was strict. This boy was Yu Han.

Yu Jin's sword waved in the corridor. He stood up off his chair as he walked towards the balcony. Yu Jin raised his sword at the bed and then crawled over to the desk. He hid under it, crawling into the shaded areas. Yu Han turned around. His father was gone. He wanted to talk to him about his work and home and ectetera but he cooled down. He moved back to the chair, fiddling with a feathered pen, parted from the desk. He watched the wall ahead of him. Before he did anything, a blue turban arose below his nose. A horrid face haunted him as he gasped.

His seat fell back. It hit the floor hard as Yu Jin walked over and laughed. Everything went in slow motion until bang. Yu Jin's back perched, his knees bended uncomfortably, as he heard - Ahahaha - sprawling from his mouth. He groaned as he stabbed his sword forwards into the air, ducking and swiping the air again.

"Don't worry, it's me!" Yu Jin laughed as he pulled off the black mask with orange hair. His turban fell onto the floor as his long hair brushed out of it. He looked at his son in a laughing manner. "If you keep on worrying yourself like that, you won't be the warrior you've always wanted to be!"

"Father," Han replied in anguish.

"Don't say anything, I'll buy you a new sword," Yu Jin butted. "I'll be back in the morning with it, I'll check on your sister and go to the banquet to eat. Bye, my heroic, war-battling, sword swiping, ninja-knighting warrior. Your the best! Who's the best?"

"I'm the best," Han said in a slouch. "But Father..."

Yu Jin was gone - for real this time, out of the door and out of his head. He gave an angry groan as he wandered his eyes and drifted towards the blackened sky, and the milked sun. He heard hysteric laughter and couldn't help but smile. A smile that came to him when he had the thought of joining Yu Jin in battle and risk his life just to happle his father. But he forgot about it! Happle his father? Make him happy? Happling somebody just to get them a smile in exchange for his life. Tarnished!

He thought closely. The man his father worked for was a warlord of China. Cao Cao of Qiao. He was the one who took over the throne of the Han Dynasty. He brought his tyrannical powers into eliminating the tyrant Dong Zhuo in order to take his place. He forced the Emperor into creating grand titles for him. He smiled as he realised he and his father were stuck serving a villain until someone came along and killed him. He smiled, knowing the thought may turn into actions. Though, maybe not his own.

As he moved to his bed to lay his head down his sister wandered into the room and smiled. She opened her mouth and then blew the candles at the bedside, before rushing to Yu Han and hugging him. He crossed and headed out of the room, rushing down the stairs and away. Yu Han knew she thought exactly how she did, so he cruelly smiled at the thoughts in his head. Maybe, what the world needed was more Cao Cao's and that way nobody would be scared. He closed his eyes and drifted into a dream. He knew there would be others who objected Cao Cao. He knew that what was about to happen was the bloodiest battle history has ever seen. Between Cao Cao and his rivals, Lú Bu, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao.

-..-..-

The water swayed onto the side of his ship. White cruises splashed inside, splatting the deck with water. His sword was positioned under his arms as he rested his head on his wrist. He looked as he counted on into oblivion. Only sights that night was cradled water and cheap stars. As the ship rocked from side to side and the breeze cut lines into his hair, blowing it behind him with utmost power.

"If the winds are this strong," he whispered, turning into a speach as he spoke. "Then we are almost at Qinan. Then, let's go boys. Our journey to Luoyang is half way long."

His name was Rei Xuan. His mind was double the intelligence of a simplified strategist or tactician. He was witful. He proclaimed his directions through the stars. He foresaw the future by reading the stars, or so he claimed, as he looked forwards into the darkness. His hands fiddled with the handle of the sword. Three men clamped their feet down the stardboard side as he turned his head to see them.

The stars lit the sky as he watched forwards, but sooner or enough, a greater source lit from beneath them. He moved a few steps forwards, taking a few hasty breaths before he finally sat down, and quietened. His sword skat across the deck grounds, scraping the wood before lying completelty flat. He looked across the room and watched on. The source was fire, burned with wood together and lightening the sky. It was a fire lit by the people of Qinan. The ship slided across the river slowly, turning to the side of the fields.

A group of docks lied ahead of him. He cracked his fingers and looked on into the benigned sky. One day, his virtue would rule this land. The necks of each warlord who were criming the country would be strangled or sliced. The loyal generals under them would be hanged, the sons would be recruited, imprisoned or killed. He knew this land needed a touch of salt and he would be the one who would shiver the tip to let the River of Time flow.

He gave a disturbing smile as his boat hit dock and his men began to lower the anchors. His fist clenched as he looked over at the city, and readied his knuckles, so that he was able to cause severe damage to the jaws of Cao Cao's commander of the Bao Region, Xiahou Yuan, and he looked over as his hands were ready to drip rubies on the surfaced mat of layered grass.

-..-..-