The essence of normality wafted in the wind, dismissing the threat that lingered as if ready to pounce. Why should that matter to Ling, when there were ladies about to flirt with? Of course most in his age category were off being match-made; resulting, their was nothing for him to do. As he walked about, he day-dreamed of his perfect girl, and perhaps another prank to play on Lok Sheng, the only boy in his village who hadn't already learned his tricks, and who was gullible enough to fall for the same trick twice in a row. Which seemed weird to Ling, because the guy's name meant "Joy"(Lok) and "Victory"(Sheng).

Dum, dum, dum, dum...

Ling jumped as the drums echoed through the lands, startled out of his thoughts. Hurrying, he started running to see what the commotion was about, nearly falling over a tree root as he raced off. Finally he reached to source of the disturbance of peace. Two soldiers garbed in the Imperial uniforms sat on top of grey horses, leading them was none other than the emperor's assistant, Chi Fu, who rode a brown steed, who's face matched the expression of his rider. Chi Fu cleared his throat before addressing the listeners.

"Citizens! I bring a proclamation from the Imperial City! The Huns have invaded China."

His beginning was short and simple, yet powerful enough to send gasps through the crowd, some women clutched on to their children, as if fearing the Huns would magically appear in thin air before them. The assistant continued, his serious tone ringing against the sudden hush that befell the citizen's, all intent on the man's words.

"By order of the Emperor, one man from every family must serve in the Imperial Army."

Ling felt a hand on his shoulder; he turned slightly to find his mother behind him, tears slowly springing to her eyes. Struggling to cheer her up, Ling gave her a weak smile, trying to convince her not to worry for him, but he failed. His mother turned away from him, her hand retreating from his shoulder as she tried to restrain her tears. His father's life had been taken by the Imperial Army in battle. He was the only man left in the family, and the only person his mother had.

Chi Fu started calling out names, and the men received their conscription notices. Finally the moment he had dreaded came.

"The Jun family!"

Ling did his best to look like a dignified and promising soldier-to-be as he walked forward to get the scroll that may mean his doom. As he took it he heard his mother stifle a sob, which increased the fear that swelled up inside him, though he did well to hide it. He backed away, letting a few other men get the conscription notice. Finally, Chi Fu gave the last order before racing off to the next village.

"Report tomorrow at the Moo-Shung Camp!"

That night, after they had ate, Ling's mother led him off to the wardrobe that contained his father's armor, if he was going to get to the camp in time he had to start as soon as possible, he had no horse to ride on, but luckily he was close enough that if he walked through most of the night and awoke in the early morning to travel the rest of the way, he'd be there on time. As he donned his uniform, her heard his mother recede to a position beside the door; as he redid his bun and placed the helmet on his head, he sensed the air of sorrow that hovered about his mother. Turning to face her, he saw the tears that were now trailing down her cheeks as she stared down at the floor.

As he approached she dragged her gaze to him. Running over she embraced him, her words wavering as she spoke.

"Be careful, my son."

Ling nodded, at a lost for words. It seemed like ages before his mother realized that she couldn't keep him like this forever, lest he be late, and regretfully she released him and opened the door, stepping out after her son. As Ling retreated from the comforts of his home, he gave the house a last look of longing. His mother was still in the same spot, yet as his eyes met hers from the distance, her hands shot up to cover her face and fell to her knees, sobbing. Taking a deep breath, Ling ventured on towards the camp, not daring to look back again. Soon his lanky silhouette vanished from the confines of his home town.