Angels Fall First
Air crowded by the souls of the lifeless forms that lay in gruesome peace on oriental soil. A pathetic sight for one to behold of his homeland, such a shame that a scenic nation had to be remembered as such during this turbulent time. Ferocious the battle had been for the warrior as he cried out in a thunderous roar, must he bid farewell to the land in it's current status? The blue sky that beheld what could only be described as an illuminating palace for the Gods was now stained fierce red, in mourning for the lives lost and the scent of death ascending and piercing it's blissful appearance. Alas, such was the deceitful decree of China, the land that exposed eloquent literature that captured the hearts of many, the infamous warriors, Gods and Goddesses, and it's brilliant mythology, all these qualities only for foreign eyes to seek and hear out in agonizing lust for wanting to become a part of it. When in fact the country had been going through a most brutal civil war in it's nations history, only the lives that did indeed belong could witness the true ugly forms of the land beneath it's enhanced prominence.
The warrior sat down panting irregularly with his scarlet stained spear extending towards the heavens. Behold the sound of contentment as he raised his rugged face towards the direction of brusque resonance of horse hooves approaching nearer and nearer. The robust warrior ascended himself to an illustrious stance as proof of his well being and pride. Young warriors followed closely behind the leading horse rider, a younger gentleman with a calm face. Alongside was a man whom could at first be mistaken a god instead of human, both notorious males made an obedience to the ground man and eager to have him speak out and reassure them that he was indeed in fine condition, though the same could not be said for over half of his legion of men who suffered a hacking fate.
"I must both congratulate and apologize to you younger brother...for it was due to a sudden miscalculation and my lack of strength and stealth that I could not make it in time for your aid...now over half of your men lay lifeless due to my unproven worth.."
The calm face leader had showed depressed eyes as he knelt down nearly in tears. The warrior whom had been riding along side him knelt down as well. He comforted his older brother and reminded him of his courageous attributes endangering his safety by rushing to his youngest brother's aid. The man had a beard inclining downwards on his abdomen form, he towered over the other two men and had the persona of a creature not from our world. The ground man was rugged and had a brazen appearance, morever it was his behavior and manners that would precede his reputation. The third male whom was the eldest out of the notorious trio had a soothing complexion and a frail frame compared to the others. He was hopeful in appearance but no where near as fierce looking as his two younger brothers.
After the reunion of the sworn siblings had commenced and been done with each grabbed his horse trailing back to the kingdom of Shu. Liu Bei, the elder brother had been the pride and dream of the kingdom's hopeful souls. A virtuous man indeed how he was no where near greedy or thirsting for power as such of Dong Zhuo and other tyrants. Moreover, it is for the sake of the people that Liu Bei raises his sword and values to protect and honor the order of the Han. Guan Yu, the second brother always known for his courages aptitude had remained ever so loyal to his elder brother and his ideals. A wise man indeed and ever so terrifying in battle with his horse Red Hare whom once belonged to the almighty Lu Bu, the mightiest warrior of the land, now belonging to the warrior god the master and his Hare both exceed the battlefield without having to use even half of his strength and yet, left standing victorious in every battle. Zhang Fei may as well be known for his rough manners and poor drinking habits, however, it isn't those sort of qualities that proves a man his worth, rather that is the unintentional expemplary Zhang Fei set in the land of Shu. A warrior who could kill just one man in such a terrifying manner thus sending his enemies scattering for rectitude winning the battlefield is indeed something to brag upon. The three sworn brothers of the Shu Kingdom, well known for their high attributes.
Zhuge Liang, the most brilliant strategist of his time made obeisance towards his lord as he rode up to the entrance. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu both always by their lord's side returned the salutes to the wise Liang. Within the ceremonial room took place a discussion of a newly constructed plan. Zhang Fei had lost nearly his whole legion of men due to a sudden change of strategy on the enemies behalf. Though still he made it out and won the battlefield by an inkling and thus he receive felicitacious welcomes from all of Shu. Zhuge Liang was a bit perplexed at how the strategist of Wei, Sima Yi had been so ingenuous and yet within the last minute came up with a plan that back fired his own. Originally the idea was for Zhang Fei to create a night attack that would be initiated when the moon rises. Guan Yu was to promote a distubance and lead the enemies main general his way so that Zhang Fei may sneak into the camp and take out the rest of the main officers. Unfortunatley it was due to a sudden defect, an information leak from a soldier or possibly a spy sent by the Wei Kingdom that caused their near downfall had not Zhang Fei pushed himself to the limit and gave it his all. The only problem that upsurged now was that the loss of men left the Shu Kingdom in despair and limited in strategic options. Many other armies joined Wei, few who do stand up to Cao Cao fearlessley are well hidden or have been captured and executed by the King of Chaos.
Zhuge Liang had already took command summoning Zuo Ci while Liu Bei was absent in retrieving Zhang Fei. Zuo Ci a master in imparting fateful knowledge to those who staunchly seek him out. While mentioning the soon to be arriving Zuo Ci, many were indeed stunned on how it was possibly done. Zuo Ci was a man worthy of his reputation being a master in sorcery, however, it was this reputation that causes him to be a valuable find and no man could just ever request his presence anywhere, apparently that is unless the man is Zhuge Liang. The strategist had always exceeded his astounding reputation and never ceases to amaze Liu Bei. Abruptly, a guard on duty announced the arrival of master Zuo Ci, it was to Liu Bei's great fortune that the sorcerer arrived within the same day he was requested to make an appearance. As the man had entered everyone made formal obeisance towards the elder wizard and showed much respect. The ingenious man could already tell what he was needed for and thus rushed through the formalities, refusing the greeting wine.
"I have heard of the name Liu Bei. Villagers from all around speak of you as a savior and the pride of the land, you overcame much hardships to get to where you are and even it is said that you have only the best of men serving under you. You can understand that it was a bit of a shock to me when the brilliant Zhuge Liang had requested my appearance and aid you through this terrible ordeal in which you have been enforced upon. I will tell you now that the only hope for you to overcome the number of deaths your army has suffered is to obviously recruit all the able men you can allow yourself to find that share the same values as you. You wish to rid this land of tyranny and bloodshed, you wish to restore the Han and in doing so you serve not only as lord above those below you, but alongside them as well. A most impressive display of rightousness that I could not refuse to lend my service to you. The only way to ensure yourself to become stronger and make up for your armies lost is to of course recruit any followers or persons who may follow your cause. I know of three officers who share these same attributes, though none of them are as highly praised such as you, yet they could provide strength within your army..."
Zhuge Liang was not appeased with the officers mentioned; he brought up Ma Chao the Splendid in to the conversation.
"Master Zuo Ci, your words though helpful and may be used to our advantage within time, are not satisfactory for our current state. We were planning to recruit the warrior Ma Chao. You have heard of him? My only doubt is that he may not succumb easily to us, I was hoping you could impart any knowledge you may know about him. Any persons we may know of to help us gain this advantage?" said Zhuge Liang.
Zuo Ci stroked his snowy whiskers dangling from his sharp sculpted facial frame. The man had such an elegant stature and his appearance caused the surroundings to stern up.
"Lord Ma Chao is unpredictable and I fear that if you rush now, you may not gain his aid. Instead the only way is to develop patience my friend. In order to gain Ma Chao you must gain his trust, and this is something to be proven time consuming. In order to do so you would need to first recruit the three officers I have mentioned, then you may recruit Ma Chao afterwards for you will need those three officers before pursuing Ma Chao."
Zhuge Liang only slightly puzzled maintained a high and proud profile and asked Zuo Ci to elaborate.
"The reasons for recruiting these men, though it is true they hold rather small armies of their own, the three of them and their armies combined will give you ten times the many men you had lost today. Zhuge Liang, I am sure you are aware that Cao Cao is an obstinate man who never let goes a grudge once bear upon him. Rumors fly around that he plans to attack Ma Chao's military base in Anding. Ma Chao is thoroughly aware of this and is preparing himself, however, I feel that his military does not have the strength nor the number of men to withstand Cao Cao's invasion. However, Lord Liu Bei if you combined your current military numbers with the three forces and aid Ma Chao, Cao Cao's plan is ensured to backfire and enforce him to retreat and you shall ultimately gain Ma Chao's trust. This way he will defect from Liu Zhang and ally himself with Shu that is why you must acquire the use of these three generals before approaching the splendid man. The three officers are sworn brothers from the Jing province and are dedicated to each others cause. If you are able to convince the elder, you shall easily gain the trust of his two younger brothers, and by doing this you will need to make a personal appearance with this military figure. His name is Zhang Guo, the landlord of the western lands, and he is your key to this success, but I fear he is leaning toward his final days and thus should you decide to complete this deed you must make haste. Three armies along with three officers shall be yours...but a caution to this plan."
Zuo Ci sedate himself to a sitting stance and gazed towards his audience. He spoke with his voice being much more stern than before.
"Lord Liu Bei, I must warn you to heed my words and think throughly with your adviser before making your decision, for by gaining these officers to increase your army could possibly also provide trouble for you."
All were stunned and a bit perplexed at Zuo Ci's words. The plan had seemed ideal but none standing around could figure as to why it would put Shu in possible risk of danger once they have allied with these officers. Liu Bei had a discontent expression fall upon him when he heard what the master had just stated, so he replied;
"Sir you speak of much sense and I thank you, however, I fail to see the logic viewpoint of how we may be at risk of danger. Wouldn't we be stronger and thus annihilate our enemies faster this way?" Liu Bei asked.
The old sorcerer gave a nodding look that indicated he agreed until he spoke once more.
"Your army shall be stronger but by doing this deed you may be put at risk of gaining new enemies..."
Liu Bei looked shocked and anxious to know as to why, he asked with nervous anxiety and added a yearnful tone questioning for the answer as to why, to him it did not make sense. Then Zuo Ci spoke, this time he directed his words directly towards Zhuge Liang and spoke out of character;
"Have you studied much poetry young strategist?"
Zhuge Liang paused silently, pensive for only a moment and answered. "I have studied only selective types. Much of the literature provided in books prove to be distasteful and rather inadequate." All looked over to Zhuge Liang with questionable looks concerning with the old master's question. Instead of easing their curiosity Zhuge Liang stood still and did not explain for he wasn't quite sure himself what the old master was trying to do.
Zuo Ci responded by nodding slightly, he then recited a riddle that only added more confusion to the atmosphere.
"Angels fly and demons die;
When in doubt whom shall I rely?
The dragon is incomplete and the tiger is fighting,
But all shall cease when Phoenix Rising."
Liu Bei and his brothers found themselves in a complexed disposition, eyes turned towards Zhuge Liang but he remained still and focused towards nothingness. Everyone raised questions and some were even appalled and thought the master Zuo Ci was mocking Liu Bei's precious time with pathetic literature that concerned nothing of their current matters. All was eventually calmed by Zuo Ci who claimed that he only recited the poems so that he may test Zhuge Liangs skills and test his worth as a strategist worthy of his title. Zuo Ci had only remained silent for a few moments and stood before taking his leave he left these words for Liu Bei to bide by.
"I wish you luck on your journey Liu Bei, please take into very careful thought of what I had said. The plan shall go well should you decide to go through with it...it is only natural that some events starting off well may have certain downfalls throughout time. Nonetheless, Shu will remain standing at the pinnacle of the three kingdoms should you go along with this plan, but be for-warned there will be much bloodshed. Do not be afraid gather your courage and rebuild your strength."
With those words he bowed low towards the nervous lord and as he turned to take his leave, but before he fully departed he recited another poem as if he had picked it randomly from the sky. The audience heard him clear but disregarded it as it was irrelevant towards their matters.
"Twas this the face that launch'd a thousand ships
The ships eyeing the shores of Asia Minor. And burnt the topless towers of an empire. Sweet Maiden, make me immortal with a kiss."
Zhuge Liang widened his eyes briefly and raised his head towards the leaving master. "So...that is what you meant. I now know your hidden message...very well. I shall take up on your challenge."