Forewarnings

"BANG!" Sun Ce stormed into his countryside house and started knocking over tables and furniture in a fit of rage. Da Qiao could only stand with their young daughter in fear over Ce's tantrum. Ce then proceeded into their cellar and grabbed all the wine he could carry. When he stayed down there for an hour, Da started to get worried and cautiously descended the stairs, "Ce," she called, "Are you alright?" A bottle slamming against the wall beside her answered her. She jumped and ran back up the stairs and Ce chased after her.

"How-how DARE you interrupt me you… you filthy… WH-WHORE!" Ce yelled at her mumbling lazily from the alcohol. He backed her and her daughter into a corner and their daughter started to cry,

"Ce… what has gotten into you? I've never seen you like this!" she shouted as loud as she could but it didn't faze Ce. He lifted a wine jug above his head and Da braced her daughter in her arms in fear of the blow but Ce broke it on the ground instead. He stormed off with a loud grunt of frustration back down the cellar.

"Mommy," said Da's daughter teary-eyed, "What's wrong with daddy?"

"Well, his daddy died today and he is very sad but he is too afraid to show it." Da replied.

"When will he get better?" She asked again.

"I don't know honey," Da said, "But I think I know of some people that can help." And she kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"Good," said the little lady Sun, "Because I don't like daddy like this."

"Sir," Huang Gai heard another pesky private trying to wake him up yet again, "There is someone here to see you."

"Tell them to scram!" Gai grumbled and threw a blanket over him in frustration.

"Sir it's urgent!" said the private as he tried to throw the blanket off of his head.

"I don't care!" started Gai, "You tell whoever it is-"

"I don't mean to disturb you general Huang." It was Zhou Yu. Gai then perked up and jumped out of bed and bowed,

"Please forgive me my lord." He said, embarrassed. Zhou Yu waved his hand,

"There is no need Master Huang." His tone of voice assured Gai that whatever he wanted certainly was urgent. "Our Lord Sun Ce needs your help," he began, "he is on a path to self-destruction as we speak. Nobody can talk any sense into him, we believe that you are the only one he will listen too." Gai rubbed his balding head and sighed,

"Alright I'll go and see him," he agreed, "just give me a second to freshen up will ya?"

"With haste please Master Huang." Said Zhou Yu as he bowed and dismissed himself from Gai's room.

Gai splashed water in his face to wake himself up and looked at himself in the mirror. His mind then caught hold of the situation he was in: his lord had just passed and his son had just watched him die. Gai grabbed a towel and dried himself off and headed over to Ce's quarters.

"It's my fault!" screamed an enraged Sun Ce, "I could have helped him!" he sunk onto his knees and buried his face in his hands. He then vomited in an empty wine mug; he had consumed a very unhealthy amount of alcohol in his ordeal.

"Please Ce," begged Sun Quan, "We need you here in the world. Wu needs you here!" All of the Sun family and their close friends gathered around trying to talk as much sense they could into the depressed Little Conqueror, but nothing seemed to work.

Then, the door swung madly open and through it walked in Huang Gai. He had a look on his face like he was going to war and about to conquer a land: it was a serious look, one that did not fit the other faces in the room at all.

Gai walked over to Ce and glared at him like he was an unruly grunt in his army, "Get up son," He ordered sternly, "Pull yourself together." Sun Ce just looked at him angrily,

"Why should I?" he asked through his teeth. Gai brought his face down to Ce's level,

"You wanna know why you should?" Ce locked eyes with him, "I'll show you why." Gai then grabbed him by his collar and threw him across the room sending him crashing into the assorted wine mugs strewn about the room making everyone in the room flinch. Gai grabbed him yet again and started walking out the door when Da Qiao stood in his way,

"Don't hurt him!" she yelled, Gai just gave her a wink and nudged her aside lightly. He stormed out of the door and threw Ce onto a nearby horse,

"Get on there!" he ordered, "I can't believe I got up this early for this bullshit." He mounted the horse as well with Ce slouched over the front of it and he took off for the mountains.

Ce tried to get an awareness of where he was; the alcohol had really left him inebriated beyond anything he had been through before. He remembered Gai coming in and basically beating him to bits and now he was on a horse and the cold air was pelting his face. He finally was able to see and he looked up and saw Huang Gai's stern face locked on the road ahead.

They eventually slowed to a stop and Gai motioned for Ce to dismount the horse and he sat Ce by the edge of the cliff,

"Sit," Gai ordered with the same monotone, stern voice he had used before.

"What are we-"

"Shh," Gai interrupted, "Wait." The two sat there staring into utter blackness for thirty silent minutes when Gai cleared his throat. Ce looked back and Gai pointed to the blackness. Ce stood up, but not without trying to find his balance, and squinted his eyes to try to get a better look at the sky.

Then, Ce witnessed one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen: an orange sun started peeking its way over the horizon and slowly illuminated the land and sky with every inch it made its way over the horizon.

"It's… it's so… beautiful." Said a bewildered Ce, "Why did you bring me here?"

Gai grinned and stood next to Ce admiring the sunrise as well, "Your father had discovered this spot a long time ago," Gai said, "When he found it, he would bring everyone up here to look at it at least once, including your mother and I.

"When you were born, he brought you up here every time he could, of course most of the time you were asleep." He and Ce both started laughing,

"Why don't I remember?" asked Ce, "And why didn't he do it more often?"

"Well," started Gai, "That's when he started in politics and military business and he lost the time for it. He would still ride up here every now and then, as did I, but eventually he began to forget about it. But this spot has always been in your father's heart, as were you Ce.

"He loved you with all of his heart, he loved all of his family with all of his heart. He raised you well, didn't he?" Ce bowed his head, "So why would you waste his efforts with this?" Gai pointed at Ce's hand and Ce had noticed that he was grasping a wine mug the entire time. "You are better than that Ce, everyone knows that you are better. You can lead this land to greatness and carry on the legacy of the Sun family." He placed his hand on Ce's shoulder,

"So honor your father by doing him proud," he said, "Show him what a great example you are to your siblings, lead this land to lengths undreamed of by anyone." Ce looked down at the partially filled wine mug in his hand and clenched it in anger. He then looked out towards the horizon, took a step back and hurled the mug as hard as he could out towards the sun and it glinted all the way down from the sunlight. Gai smiled and said,

"Now we're going to have some explaining to do to the farmer below this mountain as to why a wine glass descending from the heavens and impaled one of his cattle." The two started laughing over this as they started their journey back down the mountain.

Cao Cao had given strict orders when he left Guan Du castle: "Hold the Front Lines." This was much easier said than done seeing as how Yuan Shao's forces outnumbered Cao Cao's roughly five to one. Xiahou Dun did his best to follow his cousin's orders but could only focus on one channel. The front lines were cut in two by an enormous plateau and made the two armies split their forces in half to compensate. This made it extremely tough to stay in contact with each other and help one another out if they needed it. The only help came in the form of a newly recruited Zhang Liao who proved to be an expert cavalry general but him and his troops were growing tired of the repeated running back and forth between the two strongholds on the front.

Xiahou Dun and his men fended off hordes of enemy troops as they came in wave after wave. His base had been set on fire several times while he was positioned there and every time his forces still held strong, but the enemy kept coming. He was sure that the Eastern front had fallen because there was no way that this was only half of Yuan Shao's army, but Dun's strategist had stated that if the other front had fallen then they would be surrounded by now.

Xiahou Dun then received news that Yan Liang and Wen Chou were commanding Yuan Shao's front lines and that Guan Yu rode out to face them head on. What an idiot! thought Dun, he can't take on two of Yuan Shao's best officers by himself. I hope he gets killed for his stupidity.

As the battle pressed on, the endless wave of troops started to dissipate and soon enough, they had been routed altogether. "What's going on?" Dun asked a base watchman,

"It seems Master Guan Yu has slain both Yan Liang and Wen Chou sir!" he replied,

"Impossible," said Dun astonished, "Are you sure?"

"Sir, he has ridden back with both of their heads." Dun tried to comprehend this but instead decided to journey out from the base to see what really had happened. It was true; the front lines were finally secured after Guan Yu killed the two generals. Dun then realized how cut off he was from the rest of the battle during his defense of the front; there was so much that went on around the very front lines. A force had snuck around to the West and established a foothold to attack Guan Du castle. Their commanding officer for the time being was Cao Cao's brat son Cao Pi while Cao Cao was away waiting for the perfect time to attack from afar. Cao Pi had ordered all troops away from the front to retreat back to Guan Du castle to stop the siege that was put upon it. Dun thought that he was able to help so he rushed his forces back to the castle. He helped destroy the siege weapons attacking it and set up defenses around the castle and waited for yet another onslaught of enemy soldiers.

His forces made him proud yet again as they fended off the enemy despite their fatigue. One officer that Dun struggled with was a man named Zhang He who attacked ferociously and swiftly. His forces had clashed head on with Dun's and the two fought it out only being able to see each other by the dim light of the moon. Dun then forced the enemy officer into submission after many of the other allied generals had outnumbered and surrounded his troops. The two opposing generals stood in the middle of a circle formed by Cao Cao's troops and Dun was being cheered on by them and was encouraged to slay the officer. He held his blade above his head and the troops erupted into cheers and war cries but were silenced when Cao Pi who had been discreetly watching from the sidelines stepped in and stopped Dun.

"Come now Dun," he said, "Lord Cao Cao wouldn't approve of wasting such a talented officer."

"How would you know what Cao Cao would approve of?" Dun shot back,

"Well," began Pi, "The fact that I am his son might be a good reason, huh?" And Pi extended his hand to the young officer who grabbed it and was lifted to his feet. The man made a very graceful bow to the young lord,

"Thank you my lord," he said with a peculiar tone of voice, "You recognize beauty in its truest form and for that I will gladly serve you. "

"Yes Zhang He," said Pi, "Follow me into my quarters. We have much to discuss." Dun watched the two leave with a snarl on his face. Zhang Liao decided to break the silence,

"Sir," he said, "We should continue our assault."

"Yes," replied Dun, "Ready the men! Prepare to march!"

THUMP! Zhao Yun hit the ground hard,

"Ha ha!" laughed Zhang Fei, "I'll admit Little Dragon, you sure have gotten better! You almost took my arm off with that last one!" The two had been sparring and practicing more than ever, all of Liu Bei's forces had. They all knew that war was imminent and trained with all their might during their stay in Jing province.

Zhao Yun was exhausted from his fight,

"Say Fei," he said, "Let's give it a break for a while, huh?"

"Yeah alright," the general replied, "I think I might of pulled something a while back anyway."

Upon dinnertime, Yun began scarfing his food down faster than he ever did since he joined Liu Bei. His stomach always seemed to protest against food every time he thought of Diao Chan, but now was different. He didn't think of Chan that entire day which was very helpful as it stopped him from starving to death.

Once he had finished, he started on another serving but got halfway through it and the corner of his eye caught the crane medallion around his neck and it started all over again. Every bit he took caused his heart rate to increase and brought him to the verge of vomiting.

"Zhao Yun," said Liu Bei, "Is something wrong?"

"No my lord," he said, "My stomach just seems to disagree with something I ate."

"Oh, then please," said Liu Bei, "You may excuse yourself if you must."

"Thank you my lord." Yun said as he bowed and headed off towards the outhouse.

He cursed himself for letting the ordeal take control over him and for even having the medallion in the first place. He already went through a small state of depression and self-loathing after he realized he had forgotten to return it at Xia Pi.

"Are you alright, Master Zhao Yun?" Yun jumped upon hearing the words and snapped around to see Liu Bei's new strategist, Zhuge Liang.

"Oh, just a bit of a stomach ache Master Zhuge," he said, "Nothing to worry about." Yun liked Zhuge Liang; he felt that he was a man that could be trusted. Although, the strategist could easily tell when a man was lying and one knew this by the unique look on his face when he became skeptical of one's words, he was giving Yun that very look now.

"Something tells me this isn't the first time you've had these… 'stomach aches,'" he said, "Am I right, Master Zhao?" Yun scratched his neck and Liang knew that this was a sign of apprehension. He decided that there was nothing he could hide from the man so he took a deep breath and said,

"Sir, with all due respect, I would really like to refrain from talking about it now." Liang bowed his head,

"Of course Zhao Yun," he said, "You may discuss this whenever you wish. I will leave you in peace." They bowed to each other and Liang turned to exit but stopped and looked over his shoulder,

"But you must consider," he said, "That these problems may be solved as easily as discussing them with someone, but I respect your privacy and I realize that this is not the time." Yun bowed,

"Thank you, Lord Zhuge." He said and watched the strategist walk back to the mess hall.

"Over come by guilt from a failure to complete a task are we?" Yun jumped again from the unexpected voice of Zuo Ci from behind him and he cursed,

"Can't I ever get a moment alone around here without you popping up wherever I go?" he whispered with a harsh tone but Zuo Ci seemed to not be bothered by it at all,

"Your jewelry speaks to me," he said pointing at the medallion, "It says that you have not completed the task you were assigned with it." Yun glared at him catching the drastic sarcasm in his statement,

"The obvious is very clear to you Master Black Horn," he said with an abundance of sarcasm in his voice as well, "What does my jewelry suggest I do?" Zuo Ci laughed and walked past him and spoke without turning around,

"It says that you must try to complete the task again."

"And how does it suggest I do that?" Yun asked, "I will most likely never see her again, especially when she is under Cao Cao's 'care.'" Zuo Ci chuckled some more,

"With determination and a striving goal to complete something," he began and turned around to face Yun, "Any task is possible." Yun clutched the medallion into his chest and his heart jumped at being able to see her again. He never mentioned it to anyone and he denied thoughts about it, but he often wondered if she thought about him at all while she was under the service of Cao Cao. He decided to change the subject,

"Why have you come here?" he asked. Zuo Ci began admiring some of the artwork hanging on the walls of the hallway they were in.

"Your loyalty and endurance will be tested soon," he said, "You will be faced with a difficult task that will prove your loyalty to Liu Bei in an upcoming battle."

"That's why you came," Yun asked, "To warn me of this?"

"You might say that," Ci said, "But who is to say that I can't just visit a friend every once in a while, hmm?" A jovial smile crept over Ci's face and Yun desperately tried to keep a stern face but succumbed to the urge to laugh along with the old prophet and the two men's laughs echoed down the hall for minutes on end.