Well, hello there. Ravien is here with some semi-new fanfiction for your viewing pleasure. This story is a remix of my original Chaos Reigns story that I felt wasn't...refined enough, if I had to put my thoughts into words. I've spent quite a bit of time during my two-week spring break thinking about the story and how it could be improved.
Really delving down into it, I've noticed that several scenes were simply remnants of a somewhat rushed thought process as the story was being typed, and I didn't put a true, honest effort into seriously fleshing them out. Also, I started finding several grammar mistakes that sometimes even detracted from the meaning of what I meant to portray.
Now then, my mistakes may not be as bad as I'm thinking they are, but as a writer(and a bit of a perfectionist), I want to continually improve on what I display to other people out there within the enormous electronic tool we call the Internet. So, I'm going to give my first fanfiction story the attention and dedication it truly deserves from me. Hope you enjoy.
Warnings:
Strong OC: My original character will be somewhat powerful. If you've read my previous draft of this story, you'll know why, but if not, then I'll just say that he faces extenuating circumstances as his life goes on. But, he won't be too powerful...just about on par with most of the main DW cast.
OOC Characters: I've played Dynasty Warriors for years, but actually making a story on it still isn't very easy for me. I apologize in advance for any discrepancies in the major characters' personalities or style.
Canon/OC Pairing: I'll go ahead and say this now, but if you've read my summary, then you'll already know what's up. Diao Chan will be paired with my OC. If you're not cool or neutral with that idea, turn away now.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about this story other than my OC's. *sigh* Although, if I did own DW, then I'd be damn happy...
Text Key:
"speech"
'thought'
"enraged or spiritually empowered speech"
*sound effect*
*loud sound effect*
(author comments)
-{[scene heading and info]}-
flashbacks & emphasized wording
narration
(Let's get it on...)
It was the spring of the year 184 AD, within the land of ancient China.
During the ruling of the Later Han period, signs of impending rebellion were everywhere. Corruption within the government, run by the Imperial Court, had thrown the land into chaos and caused the common people to suffer greatly. In this time of uncertainty, these people found themselves yearning for change.
A former Han official, named Zhang Jiao, started and became the leader of a religious sect known as the "Way of Peace", who fanned the flames of rebellion and formed an army to oppose the Han. This uprising would later come to be known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the threat of which looming like a dark cloud over the land. Sensing its potential devastation, the Imperial Court raised a call for troops across the land.
Among those who answered was a man who fought on behalf of the people. His name was Liu Bei, and he was a descendent of Han royalty.
"Though we may have been born separately, we will die together as one."
With this oath, taken in the peach garden with his two sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei joined the battle against the Yellow Turbans. For within his heart, there was no greater cause than to ease the plight of the people.
However, unbeknownst to the three, their first major encounter with these rebels would prove to be more significant than any of them would have ever thought...
-{[Lou Sang Village; outskirts]}-
(play "March of Destruction" from Dynasty Warriors 7)
A contingent of the Han Imperial army was marching towards the main camp in order to prepare for the battle against the Yellow Turbans. The soldiers' spirits were high, as they knew that the majority of the Yellow Turban army was made up of simple bandits and common peasants.
They would be no match for a true army.
"Hey! Come back!" the soldiers heard, the voice apparently addressed towards them. Turning with annoyance at their glorious march being interrupted, they saw two simple-looking peasants rushing towards them, terrified looks on their faces. The two stopped and knelt before them, panting heavily as they had apparently been running for quite some time.
"You have to help us! The-the Yellow Turbans have come! Please, you have to save our village!" one pleaded with them, his face nearly touching the ground as he silently prayed to every god he knew that the purple-clad soldiers would assist them. His partner simply nodded in confirmation, hoping just as fervently as his friend that the soldiers would help.
Unfortunately, all of their heartfelt prayers would go unanswered, at least by these men.
The Imperial soldiers were appalled. These feeble and worthless peasants dared to think that they could simply whisk them away from their previous business on a whim? That their pride would allow them to fall for some utterly pitiful begging and near-crying? Even if there was an attack, it was most likely just some common bandits rather than actual Yellow Turbans, and these fools merely wished to waste their valuable time and manpower.
With these thoughts in mind, the lead soldier kicked the one who spoke to the ground. "Know your place!" he yelled with disdain for the trash beneath his boot. "We have no time to spend on worthless plebs!" the soldier continued as he and the other troops ran off towards their destination, leaving the two commoners to their peril.
Felling an ominous shift on the wind, the two turned only to see...two of the attackers rushing towards them, blades drawn and poised to strike!
"Help! HELP!" one cried as they could only shield their faces and wait with bated breath for their impending doom...
-{[within the besieged village]}-
(play "Escape From Hell" from Dynasty Warriors 7)
Fire.
The all-consuming, burning glow of the towering flames was all he could see as he staggered through the ravaged village.
Pain.
The sensation enveloped the entirety of his being as he ran in short, agonizing bursts as best as his young body could carry him, a harsh head wound and bloody right arm in tow.
Death.
It was all around him. Although the other happenings within the village and its surrounds were shielded from view by the fires, he could hear the dying screams of the innocent villagers echoing across the landscape; whether their deaths were from the flames or the attackers would remain unknown to him.
Escape.
It was all he could possibly think of that would help him at this point. It was all he could do. Despite the fact that he took to fighting like a fish to water and was moderately proficient in the art, he was far too young and inexperienced to battle against an entire mob of enemies that were out for blood, at least, while alone and with zero chance for support anytime soon.
The thought of battle was moot point anyways, as his potentially debilitating arm and head injuries would render him nearly useless in a fight.
The boy here was only nine years of age, with astonishing cerulean-blue eyes and a normally vibrant silver head of hair that was currently matted down by blood. Despite this, the mane still framed his handsome face rather well, the hair stretching to just below his chin.
He was wearing a simple outfit, being that it consisted of a black v-cut shirt that went down to his waist, where it was intersected by a crimson-red sash that rested just above his identically-colored pants and boots.
The major significant aspect of his clothing was that there was a silver dragon emblazoned on the back of the shirt, its body coiled together so that it would only be on the shirt's back. However, his clothing at this point was tattered and ripped in various places with specks of blood, dirt, and grime shining through the openings.
The boy's face and body, unlike others his age, was relatively lean and thin with very little baby fat left on his still-developing figure, a testament to the training his family had appointed him to after he relayed his desire to one day join a military force.
His face was marred with tears at the dreadful thought of what had forced him to flee his home all alone...
'Mom...Dad...Sis...' he thought with an all-encompassing melancholy as he recalled the fates of his family members who were with him at this time.
Never would he see them again...He could only hope that his uncle hadn't returned from his hunting too soon and that he'd found help, however much use it would be at this point.
Freedom.
The word sprang into his mind as he idly noticed that he had somehow managed to escape the doomed and burning village into the world beyond.
However, what in the world would he do now? He was now orphaned and homeless, with no where in mind to go at this point. 'Well, I guess I'll try and find Uncle...I hope he's okay.' the boy thought as he began what looked to be a long and arduous trek.
Danger.
That was the instinctive feeling which suddenly surged forth from within as he saw various bandits coming out of the woodwork around him.
As to be expected, each of them had a weapon in hand, and they were severely unkempt with varying degrees of blood, sweat, and dirt on their bodies. Seeing that he was caught in an ambush, the boy froze as if spontaneously encased in ice, an overwhelming pit of fear settling in his gut and becoming visible in his expression.
"Well, well, well...what do we have here?" one of the bandits spoke with an unsettling smirk on his face. His reviling gaze increased in intensity as the child finally found the strength to back away, only to discover himself surrounded by the attackers.
"Hehe...looks like a little kid survived the purge, huh? Well, we can't have that, can we boys? For the glory of our Great Teacher!" the lead bandit declared, a resounding chorus of approval meeting it as he and the others began to advance forth at an agonizingly slow pace.
At this notion, the child could only look on with sheer terror as death impeded upon him in the form of these raving bandits. 'A-Am I really...gonna die here?' the boy thought, tears returning to his eyes as it appeared that the thought would indeed come to pass.
"Aw, what's wrong, kid? You scared? You gonna cry for mommy and daddy to come save you?" one of the bandits mockingly inquired, the group practically on top of the boy by now. The boy seemed to have no visible outward response to this, tears still flowing from his eyes.
The enemies, taking this lack of response as the boy submerging himself in sadness and fear, merely scoffed and laughed at his misfortune. However, if the bandits paid more attention to him, they would have noticed that he was no longer trembling in fear.
The demise of the boy's parents and younger sister...
The undeserved destruction of his home...
A forced lone exodus from the annihilated village...
Such a traumatic experience would be enough to potentially shatter one's mind and drown it in insanity and despair, especially for a nine year old little boy.
However, for this boy, the effect was different.
What happened within the boy's psyche was not normal. Whether it was out of self-preservation, desperation, a short burst of insanity, or some wild combination of the three, something snapped somewhere within his mind...and utterly consumed his rational thought with pure, unbridled rage, his body shaking at dangerous levels and a repressed growl beginning to emanate from his throat.
...these bandits would not be laughing for long.
Suddenly reaching into his upper clothing, the boy withdrew a previously hidden dagger...and unleashed his fury.
(play "The Most Dangerous Way" from Dynasty Warriors 6)
"RAAAHHHHHH!" he practically roared, catching the bandits off-guard at the sudden attack as he assaulted the nearest enemy, cleaving his neck wide open before any of them could react.
If anyone were able to peer through his visage shadowed by his hair and look at the boy's eyes at this point, they would see that they had astonishingly bled away from their normal brilliant blue...into a bloody crimson color...
The bandits were shocked beyond all belief that this little child had spontaneously exploded with anger and actually killed the leader of their group seemingly out of the blue...however, their shock quickly turned to anger as they came to realize the ramifications of what had just happened.
"Why you little...! How dare you take out our boss, you little punk!" one of them yelled after the event of the leader's death caught up with him. Attempting to deck the young boy and knock him to the ground, he was surprised to see the boy swiftly duck under the oncoming blow and horrified when the boy rose back up...
...and cut the man's offending hand clean off!
"AAAHHH!" the bandit yelled, holding the stump as his chopped hand fell to the ground with a meaty *thud*. Looking around in a frenzy, he saw that his cohorts were simply staring at him and the already-dead comrade, seemingly frozen in shock and surprise at the fact that a mere boy was doing all this to them.
"Rrrghh...What the hell are you guys just standing there for?! TAKE THIS BASTARD OUT!" the man ordered, enraged that he and his partner were dealt such damage by someone nearly twenty years their junior.
Snapping out of his trance, one bandit went to stab the kid clear through his skull, but the child's newly found foresight allowed him to dodge the sloppy attack by shifting his head to the right, if only just barely avoiding further injury, and he proceeded to grab the still-extended weapon with a surprisingly powerful grip and subsequently yank the weapon from the man's hand, despite the blood that now trailed from the appendage due to him grabbing the blade.
Turning to look at the one who had just tried to kill him, the boy shifted his gaze upwards at the taller individual, the action parting his blood-matted hair and finally allowing his crimson-red eyes to be seen by the bandits, who unconsciously took a step or two back after witnessing his pupil shrink into a blackened slit...much like an animal's...
To further this trend, the boy's face twisted into an animalistic snarl, his growling increasing in intensity as he flipped the sword around in his hand so that he was now grasping the hilt. He apparently disregarded the blood flowing from both his previous injuries and newly-formed hand wound as he gripped the blade and swung it with all his might...
...decisively shearing the man's head clean from his shoulders!
The bandits could only watch with more than a little apprehension and fear as the man's disembodied head fell to the dirt, his beheaded body following a few seconds afterwards.
'W-Wha...What in hell's name is this kid...?!' the rogue with one hand thought as the boy returned his attention to him and his remaining allies, the child's enraged state not lessening one bit by the kills he had committed.
"M-Mon...Monster..." a different one whispered, shivering in fear at this...thing they had unleashed somehow.
The 'boy' turned to him, apparently having somehow heard what he had said.
"Monster...?" he asked almost to himself, the first time the men had heard him speak since this unbelievable transformation began. His echoing voice sounded damn near demonic within the rogues' minds.
The bandits were sure ones to talk though...They burned down his home, massacred the innocent villagers, murdered his family, and then had the nerve to call him a monster when he decides to fight back? In self-defense, no less?!
They had brought this upon themselves...the reaper had come for them, in the form of this young boy...
"Ha...hahahahaha...!" the boy began to laugh all of a sudden, as if he had just been told some hilarious joke. But, these men could hear the dark undertone hidden beneath his mirth...
...a tone that promised severe pain...
"So, I'm a monster now, am I? Hehe...you have no idea...but, if it's a monster you want..." the rage-consumed child spoke, raising his sword and dagger in offensive positions as a malicious smirk began to play across his face, one that scared the hell out of the enemies before him.
In their pea-sized rationalities, the bandits knew that they shouldn't even be wary of a kid barely half their size, let alone practically paralyzed with sheer terror, but this kid was definitely not normal...
...not that they didn't figure out such already, but this boy was about to make the matter impeccably clear...
"...THEN I'LL GIVE YOU ONE!" the boy bellowed, murderous intent flooding his voice as he charged at the unprepared rogues.
In the wake of the devastated Lou Sang Village, none would hear the agonized, terrified bandits' screams echo across the landscape…none but three individuals, who would never believe what was happening until they came upon the scene's aftermath...
...a discovery that would forever change their lives and possibly the course of history itself...
Notes
Well, there you have it. My first chapter of the new and improved Chaos Reigns: RNH. The next one will be up soon, and the chapters should begin to get pretty long afterwards.
Hope you like this remixed story; I decided to give it a darker tone than I went with before. Looking at some of the events that I had my OC go through, I felt that the plotline deserved a bit of darkness during its advancement.
Please give me your thoughts and comments in reviews and PM's, please! I truly appreciate any constructive input you have to offer.
Until next time, this is KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya later!
