Dynasty Warriors - Rise of the Wang Empire
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Death's Head - I do not own Dynasty Warriors. It's owned by the people who created them. Not me. Just to reiterate, I do NOT own Dynasty Warriors. Only the original characters in this story. they come from the warped, twisted and demented regions of my mind. Geez, that sounds bad doesn't it?
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Inside the palace of the Wu empire :
Sun Quan walked along one of the hallways, head bowed in thought. A lot was riding on the outcome of the upcoming campaign. His father, Sun Jian, had appointed him as the new ruler of the Wu empire. Sun Ce had agreed with his father in the appointment, no doubt enjoying the fact that he no longer had to cringe with the threat of being made leader of the Wu. Sun Shang Xiang, knowing how Sun Ce felt, had suggested to their father, that both of them should be appointed leaders. Suffice to say, both Sun Ce and Sun Quan both hated the idea, and Sun Quan grudgingly accepted the position.
As he walked, he heard a woman'svoice, cursing. Intrigued he followed the sound, until he came to the room of one of the Qiao sisters, Da. He straightened his form, and then knocked on the door. A few more curses, then the door was whirled open.
"WHAT?!?!"
Sun Quan blinked a few times, then spoke.
"Uhh, Lady Da Qiao, is everything alright? You seem a little... stressed."
Da Qiao, the older sister of Xiao, paled as she realised who it was who stood before her. She bowed her head.
"I'm so sorry Lord Sun Quan. I never meant to yell, I was thinking about something else at the time. Please forgive me."
Sun Quan nodded, a friendly smile on his face.
"No harm done. Although, judging from your current state, I'd hazard a guess, my brother has done something which upset you, yes?"
Da Qiao looked at Sun Quan.
"In a matter of speaking, yes. The little toad spied on me when I was bathing. If that wasn't bad enough, he had hidden all of my clothes, so I had nothing to waer when I dried myself down. Fortunately, one of your sister's handmaiden's were nearby, and brought me a change of clothes. When I find your brother..."
Sun Quan chuckled.
"And he'll deserve whatever you wish to hurl at him. Might I suggest one of the new catapaults in the courtyard?"
Da smiled broadly.
"That'll do! Or I could just tie him to the back of my horse and go for a nice gallop around town, dragging him behind me."
Another voice spoke from behind them.
"Or you could do to him, what he did to you Lady Da, only instead of being inside the castle, as was your case, why not OUTSIDE the castle, for greater effect?"
Sun Quan and Da faced the speaker. Sun Quan spoke first.
"Taishi Ci! When did you return from the Yi Ling?"
Taishi Ci bowed to his lord.
"Just arrived my lord. Our outpost at Yi Ling will be well cared for in my absence."
Sun Quan nodded.
"Your second is a good officer?"
Taishi Ci stood straight.
"My lord, Shao Huan, is my most capable and trustworthy officer. He will not let Yi Ling fall, no matter how big an opposition he faces."
Sun Quan smiled and was about to respond, when multiple footsteps could be heard echoing along the corridor. The Wu supreme commander, one of his generals and maiden, faced the group hurrying towards them. Sun Quan noted the looks on their faces.
"Brother, what is the problem?"
Sun Ce skidded to a stop, and bowed to his brother.
"Brother, we have just returned from a small village, half a days ride from the capital. We need to conduct a war council."
Sun Quan's face bore a strong, determined look. He spoke again, this time, a steely edge in his voice.
"Conducting a war council, in peacetime, is a very serious matter. Tell me what information you have, and I shall judge if it merits the convening of a war council."
Zhou Yu stepped forward and bowed.
"My lord, the village was once home to some of the new soldiers in our ranks. It had been destroyed, the civillians all massacred. Massacred by something called the Wang Empire. Once word gets around about what has happened there..."
Huang Gai stiffened as Zhou Yu mentioned the Wang, however only Sun Quan noticed. He decided to speak with Huang Gai in private.
Taishi Ci stepped forward.
"What happaned?"
Lu Xun looked at him.
"The village was destroyed. No one survived."
Xiao Qiao, her eyes red from crying, spoke.
"Women and children... all killed..."
Da Qiao hurried to her sisters side, and put her arm around Xiao's shoulders.
"Xiao..."
Zhou Yu spoke once again, urgency in his voice.
"My lord, if you had seen what we have, convening a war council would be most prudent."
Sun Quan nodded, and then noticed the look on Huang Gai's face. He looked at his brother.
"Brother, you and your companions need to go and prepare yourselves. Meet back in the throne room, before evening call. I will make my decision then."
Sun Ce nodded, bowed and turned on his heel, walking away. Zhou Yu, Xiao Qiao, Da Qiao and Lu Xun following. Huang Gai was about to leave, when Sun Quan spoke to him.
"Huang Gai, walk with me."
The seasoned veteran nodded and fell into step with his lord, just behind him. Both of them headed towards one fo the many terraces of the palace. Sun Quan leaned on the railing.
"Huang Gai, what is your opinion about what happened?"
Huang Gai spoke in a calm tone.
"It was a massacre, someone who does not fear Wu. The bodies were all hung out in the sun, as if some sort of dark ritual had taken place."
Sun Quan sighed.
"Tell me, do you think it could've been the Westerners?"
Huang Gai thought for a second, and then shook his head.
"No my lord. I do not think the Nanman are involved. As it stands, we still know very little of them, their culture or even their beliefs. No, this has the look, the feel, of something else."
Sun Quan faced Huang Gai, a serious look on his face.
"But you know who is doing this, don't you? Whose force it is?"
Huang Gai froze.
"My lord..."
Sun Quan raised his hand to stop Huang Gai.
"Huang Gai, according to what my father told me, you were a wandering warrior, before your service to the Wu. That before your time with us, you fought alongside many others, in the mountain campaigns. What was the name of the enemy back then?"
Huang Gai frowned.
"The Wang Empire."
Sun Quan nodded.
"Tell me then, the village. Could that have been the target of a Wang incursion?"
Huang Gai sighed.
"I do not know fully my lord. From what I remember, the Wang were wiped out, I personally slew their greatest general, Lord Kian, in combat. With his death, the sorcerors with him fell, as did the rest of his army. The rest of the Wang forces were easily routed and destroyed. Cao Cao's father, personally killed the Wang overlord, Lord Shuan Wang, in the throne room of the Wang palace."
Sun Quan nodded, taking in the information.
"I see. Anything else you wish to tell me?"
Huang Gai paused.
"Yes. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fought there as well. So did Huang Zhong. I was with them, and together, the four of us led the pursuit force after the Wang remnants, into the land to the north of of our borders, past the mountainous regions. There, it was cold, colder than you could possibly believe. After we destroyed them, we returned and saw the Wang palace fall to the ground, flames tearing it apart."
Sun Quan walked over to the older warrior.
"Judging from what you know of the tactics of the Wang forces, apply that to what you saw at the village. Tell me, were the same tactics used?"
Huang Gai nodded.
"Of that I am certain my lord. And if somehow, some of the Wang survived, they've been plotting revenge for quite some time."
Sun Quan nodded.
"Huang Gai, go and rest. We'll meet later. I have a lot to think about."
Huang Gai bowed to his lord and left the terrace. Sun Quan stood there, brow knitted in thought.
**If this IS the same Wang empire that Huang Gai and the others fought all those years ago, we are in for a world of hurt.**
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Death's Head - First things first, I apologise about the format of this upload. My PC crashed and I lost ALMOST everything. Fortunately, my stories and everything else I care about was backed up and stored on my secondary hard drive. Unfortunately, it was my primary hard drive which crashed, and I had to reinstall everything. Bad news gets worse, in that I did not have a copy of Microsoft Office, so this update, and subsequent ones, will be in this format (Having to use Wordpad, and I really don't like using it. Oh well.).
I hope you all enjoyed this update, and I'm open to any suggestions as to what you, the reader (and reviewer) would like to see. Let me know and R&R please.
******************************************************
Death's Head - I do not own Dynasty Warriors. It's owned by the people who created them. Not me. Just to reiterate, I do NOT own Dynasty Warriors. Only the original characters in this story. they come from the warped, twisted and demented regions of my mind. Geez, that sounds bad doesn't it?
******************************************************
Inside the palace of the Wu empire :
Sun Quan walked along one of the hallways, head bowed in thought. A lot was riding on the outcome of the upcoming campaign. His father, Sun Jian, had appointed him as the new ruler of the Wu empire. Sun Ce had agreed with his father in the appointment, no doubt enjoying the fact that he no longer had to cringe with the threat of being made leader of the Wu. Sun Shang Xiang, knowing how Sun Ce felt, had suggested to their father, that both of them should be appointed leaders. Suffice to say, both Sun Ce and Sun Quan both hated the idea, and Sun Quan grudgingly accepted the position.
As he walked, he heard a woman'svoice, cursing. Intrigued he followed the sound, until he came to the room of one of the Qiao sisters, Da. He straightened his form, and then knocked on the door. A few more curses, then the door was whirled open.
"WHAT?!?!"
Sun Quan blinked a few times, then spoke.
"Uhh, Lady Da Qiao, is everything alright? You seem a little... stressed."
Da Qiao, the older sister of Xiao, paled as she realised who it was who stood before her. She bowed her head.
"I'm so sorry Lord Sun Quan. I never meant to yell, I was thinking about something else at the time. Please forgive me."
Sun Quan nodded, a friendly smile on his face.
"No harm done. Although, judging from your current state, I'd hazard a guess, my brother has done something which upset you, yes?"
Da Qiao looked at Sun Quan.
"In a matter of speaking, yes. The little toad spied on me when I was bathing. If that wasn't bad enough, he had hidden all of my clothes, so I had nothing to waer when I dried myself down. Fortunately, one of your sister's handmaiden's were nearby, and brought me a change of clothes. When I find your brother..."
Sun Quan chuckled.
"And he'll deserve whatever you wish to hurl at him. Might I suggest one of the new catapaults in the courtyard?"
Da smiled broadly.
"That'll do! Or I could just tie him to the back of my horse and go for a nice gallop around town, dragging him behind me."
Another voice spoke from behind them.
"Or you could do to him, what he did to you Lady Da, only instead of being inside the castle, as was your case, why not OUTSIDE the castle, for greater effect?"
Sun Quan and Da faced the speaker. Sun Quan spoke first.
"Taishi Ci! When did you return from the Yi Ling?"
Taishi Ci bowed to his lord.
"Just arrived my lord. Our outpost at Yi Ling will be well cared for in my absence."
Sun Quan nodded.
"Your second is a good officer?"
Taishi Ci stood straight.
"My lord, Shao Huan, is my most capable and trustworthy officer. He will not let Yi Ling fall, no matter how big an opposition he faces."
Sun Quan smiled and was about to respond, when multiple footsteps could be heard echoing along the corridor. The Wu supreme commander, one of his generals and maiden, faced the group hurrying towards them. Sun Quan noted the looks on their faces.
"Brother, what is the problem?"
Sun Ce skidded to a stop, and bowed to his brother.
"Brother, we have just returned from a small village, half a days ride from the capital. We need to conduct a war council."
Sun Quan's face bore a strong, determined look. He spoke again, this time, a steely edge in his voice.
"Conducting a war council, in peacetime, is a very serious matter. Tell me what information you have, and I shall judge if it merits the convening of a war council."
Zhou Yu stepped forward and bowed.
"My lord, the village was once home to some of the new soldiers in our ranks. It had been destroyed, the civillians all massacred. Massacred by something called the Wang Empire. Once word gets around about what has happened there..."
Huang Gai stiffened as Zhou Yu mentioned the Wang, however only Sun Quan noticed. He decided to speak with Huang Gai in private.
Taishi Ci stepped forward.
"What happaned?"
Lu Xun looked at him.
"The village was destroyed. No one survived."
Xiao Qiao, her eyes red from crying, spoke.
"Women and children... all killed..."
Da Qiao hurried to her sisters side, and put her arm around Xiao's shoulders.
"Xiao..."
Zhou Yu spoke once again, urgency in his voice.
"My lord, if you had seen what we have, convening a war council would be most prudent."
Sun Quan nodded, and then noticed the look on Huang Gai's face. He looked at his brother.
"Brother, you and your companions need to go and prepare yourselves. Meet back in the throne room, before evening call. I will make my decision then."
Sun Ce nodded, bowed and turned on his heel, walking away. Zhou Yu, Xiao Qiao, Da Qiao and Lu Xun following. Huang Gai was about to leave, when Sun Quan spoke to him.
"Huang Gai, walk with me."
The seasoned veteran nodded and fell into step with his lord, just behind him. Both of them headed towards one fo the many terraces of the palace. Sun Quan leaned on the railing.
"Huang Gai, what is your opinion about what happened?"
Huang Gai spoke in a calm tone.
"It was a massacre, someone who does not fear Wu. The bodies were all hung out in the sun, as if some sort of dark ritual had taken place."
Sun Quan sighed.
"Tell me, do you think it could've been the Westerners?"
Huang Gai thought for a second, and then shook his head.
"No my lord. I do not think the Nanman are involved. As it stands, we still know very little of them, their culture or even their beliefs. No, this has the look, the feel, of something else."
Sun Quan faced Huang Gai, a serious look on his face.
"But you know who is doing this, don't you? Whose force it is?"
Huang Gai froze.
"My lord..."
Sun Quan raised his hand to stop Huang Gai.
"Huang Gai, according to what my father told me, you were a wandering warrior, before your service to the Wu. That before your time with us, you fought alongside many others, in the mountain campaigns. What was the name of the enemy back then?"
Huang Gai frowned.
"The Wang Empire."
Sun Quan nodded.
"Tell me then, the village. Could that have been the target of a Wang incursion?"
Huang Gai sighed.
"I do not know fully my lord. From what I remember, the Wang were wiped out, I personally slew their greatest general, Lord Kian, in combat. With his death, the sorcerors with him fell, as did the rest of his army. The rest of the Wang forces were easily routed and destroyed. Cao Cao's father, personally killed the Wang overlord, Lord Shuan Wang, in the throne room of the Wang palace."
Sun Quan nodded, taking in the information.
"I see. Anything else you wish to tell me?"
Huang Gai paused.
"Yes. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei fought there as well. So did Huang Zhong. I was with them, and together, the four of us led the pursuit force after the Wang remnants, into the land to the north of of our borders, past the mountainous regions. There, it was cold, colder than you could possibly believe. After we destroyed them, we returned and saw the Wang palace fall to the ground, flames tearing it apart."
Sun Quan walked over to the older warrior.
"Judging from what you know of the tactics of the Wang forces, apply that to what you saw at the village. Tell me, were the same tactics used?"
Huang Gai nodded.
"Of that I am certain my lord. And if somehow, some of the Wang survived, they've been plotting revenge for quite some time."
Sun Quan nodded.
"Huang Gai, go and rest. We'll meet later. I have a lot to think about."
Huang Gai bowed to his lord and left the terrace. Sun Quan stood there, brow knitted in thought.
**If this IS the same Wang empire that Huang Gai and the others fought all those years ago, we are in for a world of hurt.**
******************************************************
Death's Head - First things first, I apologise about the format of this upload. My PC crashed and I lost ALMOST everything. Fortunately, my stories and everything else I care about was backed up and stored on my secondary hard drive. Unfortunately, it was my primary hard drive which crashed, and I had to reinstall everything. Bad news gets worse, in that I did not have a copy of Microsoft Office, so this update, and subsequent ones, will be in this format (Having to use Wordpad, and I really don't like using it. Oh well.).
I hope you all enjoyed this update, and I'm open to any suggestions as to what you, the reader (and reviewer) would like to see. Let me know and R&R please.