A/N: You've probably killed gazillions of soldiers in Dynasty Warriors, unlike me, coz I suk at it…But anyway, it got me thinking, it's the wise officers, the devoted warriors, the valiant generals, the ambitious commanders who are glorified today in Luo Guangzhou's heavily touted book. And yet, this time period was one of the bloodiest in Chinese history in terms of losses of men in battle. They're the ones who bled and died by the thousands to preserve their leaders' names for posterity, for us. This is a tribute to those unknown soldiers. It's nothing else but the 100 pure grit and soul of the hard-fighting peasant-soldiers of the time. Hope y'all like it.

Warning: Unfortunately, this will not be true to the Three Kingdoms storyline (It's practically impossible for me anyways. I'm new to Dynasty Warriors and am looking this stuff up as I go. I've never read the book...cries) as events will happen much quicker and will be different from history as I have a bias towards Wu, but how this ends…Well, just wait and see. Also, I will include mostly only the DW characters, as that's the game I'm familiar with. Aside from that, there will be extreme violence and gore, plus the obscene vocabulary that usually develops in any army. There might be sexual scenes later on, I'm not sure yet, but things are bound to happen when you go pillage a city…I'll bump it up to R then…

Disclaimer: I don't own Dynasty Warriors. Koei does…Duh!

Theirs Not to Make Reply

Prologue:Many Meetings Pt. 1

"MEAT! MEAT! Meat for sale!"

The cry rang once more in the ears of the young man, alternating with the sound of blade banging against board as he carved another piece of the advertised product. He let out a sigh as he stood straight once more and handed it out to an impatient customer. "Here you go, ma'am," he groaned dully.

The storeowner heard this and chided him; "Greet them with a smile, you numbskull! How many times have I told you that?"

The twelve year old looked at him for a moment and then just went back to his chopping board. But before the man fully forgot his irate question, the kid replied, "Since we moved here from Xia Pi and left mom…Thirty-seven."

The man was too busy looking for more customers to give him more than an irritated glare. Jiang Lei sighed. His father was always looking for more customers. It was like every person was a piece of gold to his dad and he was so busy with making some bling that he didn't have time for anything else…not even his son. He then realized he had no more meat on hand. He had to get some more. "Hey, dad!"

But he didn't hear…"Hey, sir. Would you be interested…" and off he went into that enthralling sales talk of his that sent him into his own little world along with the other person in tow…most of the time. But this man, who seemed quite dignified and was wearing and gold-bordered green shirt, setting him out to be a nobleman. A few more moments and Jiang Lei recognized him as the owner of that stall at the end of the market called "Straw-Mart".

Well…his dad wasn't gonna swindle that man out of anything, that was for sure. This, well, he never could remember his name, nobleman was supposedly saving up some big bucks for well, no one else really knew. There were lots of rumours and he picked up most of them from talking to costumers but nothing definitive.

Jiang Lei's chain of thought was cut off when his father called, "Well, what is it son? Sir Liu Bei here wants some meat. Just get a few slices of bacon. Says he don't want to spend much…Saving up for something. Says he's getting armour…"

"Um…it was about that, dad. I've got to get meat from the storage well. We're out," and with that he turned away and walked off to the storage a little ways behind the stall. As he walked slowly, his mind wandered. So this…Liu Bei…was buying armour. Finally, he had the last link in the chain of gossip.

In these times, there was only one reason why a man would buy armour: the Yellow Turbans. The rebellion had been on and off for nine years now, since the third Guang He but fully got underway only five years back, and thus causing a change of reign year names to the first Zhong Ping then, although the change from 'Radiant Harmony' to 'Central Stability' didn't exactly describe the actual events.

But all that was history now. What mattered was that after nine years of fighting, the Han still haven't put down those turban-wearing fanatics, or at least, that's what some said they were wearing. From those 'Wanted!' signs the Han put up, they seemed more like scarves to the kid. But who cared about his opinion anyway, unless it matched those of thousands of other people.

That opinion was that this rebellion better be put down soon or we might as well help the Yellow dudes kick out the weak Emperor and see if that Way of Peace deal they have was much better. And so the Emperor had declared that the Regent Marshall He Jin was amassing a grand army to crush the rebellion once and for all. Now if he could only gather troops fast enough, for the Great Teacher, Zhang Jiao, had heard of this as well and was amassing his own army south of the Ji Province, and was much closer to readiness.

Only a pair of stalling operations in Xi Liang and Jizhou itself was slowing him down. While those battles resolved themselves, the vast land between the two provinces was in an uproar, people choosing which side to support…Which was Liu Bei's?

He was there but he was too lost in thought to even look at what he was reaching into. But he never got to that part. Before his hand could get into the first of the meat racks that should be in there, his fingers ran up against a rock…a humongous rock…

"Uh…um…Oi, DAD! We've got a problem here! A big problem…literally!" he cried out as he stepped back from the boulder. What was that doing there?

His father came running out, followed by Liu Bei. All the older Jiang could say was, "Holy…I'll get help!" and then ran off, starting quite a commotion in the marketplace.

After a few awkward moments of silence, Lei asked the older man, "Um…so what are you buying the armour for?"

"I'm going to war…I'm not just buying armour, young man. I'm trying to muster a force of volunteers to assist the Regent Marshall," Bei replied solemnly. Lei considered this. Could this be away to finally be free of his money-grabbing dad. He never gave him enough of what they earned. True, he was 12…But all he got was food…and just enough of it to live. His curiosity was now at an all-time high. If he could be part of this…

"That would mean decent pay, right? I mean, if I would be part of that…"

"Part of this? Young man, war is a business for well-trained soldiers. You have not seen it up close. Do you really wish to be part of this bleeding business? It will not be pleasant…and that is an understatement, mind you…" Liu Bei replied, amused at the notion.

"Yah, but ain't it true an army marches on its stomach?" he pointed out as he spun the knife his fingers still held deftly. He resumed, "Armies need servants, page boys, assistants…maybe shield bearers and musicians…And all are young kids. How 'bout it?"

"I'm about to start recruitment soon. You'll hear when it does. Then, come and I'll decide…" Liu Bei replied reluctantly

"What's there to decide? Make me your first hiree!" Lei enthused.

Liu Bei answered slowly, "Well, um…Oh, look, that man's actually managed to move the rock. Jolly good show, don't you think?" and finally manage to change the subject. Lei turned to see the man, who was receiving many, many praises from his dad. Then, his greedy father did something unexpected, after the man, and a hecl of a lot of man he was, being very tall, refused his gift of meat. He declared free meat for everyone…which suked…He'd be doing a LOT of chopping then…

As he started on the first customer, who was Liu Bei, when he got back to the stall, he asked, "Well?"

"I'll think about it, okay?" Liu Bei insisted.

"Why not no-" Lei started but suddenly, a crate flew right between them. He turned and saw the same huge man faced with another huge man he knew of more, the drunkard Zhang Fei, and the drunk was yelling something incoherent.

He groaned as he, Bei, his dad and everyone else, started trying to find cover, "This does not look good!"

"Ting, not another one?" cried the man exasperatedly as he glared at his ten year old daughter. He sighed as he cleaned the cut on her upper right arm and started wrapping it with a white cloth. "So who did you get into a fight with this time?" groaned the man, waiting impatiently for an explanation from the young girl.

The little brunette with a ponytail huffed angrily as she stood up, putting a lot of effort into making her face not twist into a grimace as her bruised leg unsteadily took her weight, "It was the spiky-haired pirate kid who's into tattoos. He said girls like me don't belong on a ship, much less a pirate ship and I replied that you always said, that the sea is our true home and anybody who says different is gonna get his ass kicked. He said back it up…and so I did."

"You mean you tried to! That kid was four years older than you, and much bigger. I don't want you getting hurt, Ting-Ting…please…Not when we are so close…" her father replied, first, furiously, and then pleadingly.

The girl put her hands on her hips, hiding a wince as pain shot through her right arm from sudden motion, "I did hurt him, dad! He's sporting three slashes right now. I'm gonna be a pirate just like you, papa, and I'll do my best with my twin swords to prove anyone who says different wrong."

Her dad sighed. The young woman had grown up believing his mates stories of nautical glory. Piracy was so twisted in her mind that it was a noble endeavour to her instead of the crime it should be. Her mom had died of pirates. If only he could tell her, but that would break all her little hopes and dreams. How to convince her that piracy was not good? Well, he had to give it a shot sometime, "Ting, I've always wanted to tell you this…I never wanted to be a pirate. I used to be a fisherman and was just pressed into service when I was captured along with you when you were a baby. Piracy is not a good thing to do. For years and years, I've been trying to leave, but I've never managed to gather enough money to survive…Until now…"

Ting's face turned gloomy, "We're getting a big pay-off, dad. Yes, I know. 'Meet on the banks of the Chang Jiang…' was what they said. But why do you want to leave piracy so bad. All those glorious victories and your best friends. Won't you miss them?"

Best friends? Glorious victories? How many lies had his soon-to-be former pirate mates put into her tender mind? To be aggressive and ill-informed…if his little Xiang Ting did not lose that characteristic soon, something bad was gonna happen to her, unless he took her away from danger. Precisely the plan he was about to put into action…

They were now walking along the shoreline of the Chang Jiang and he could see the boats in the river. Most were plain; although there was a majestic little boat adorned with a few tigers, rowed by a large, muscular, dark-skinned man, that stood out from the rest. If only the pirates weren't busy dividing up loot, then that boat wouldn't have been there for long.

For there the pirates were, on the coast, openly sharing out the plunder. The head of the pirates greeted and smiled at his young daughter, who made a face and stuck out her tongue. She then hurried off to talk to another of the rowdy sailors who were discussing what to buy with their gold. The chief chuckled, "Been fightin' again, eh? She's quite the fiery type, and yet so young. She would have become a great fighter. Tell me, my good man, why you are so sure that leaving us will be the best for you?"

"Not for me, sir. For her…Look at her! She has a bandage wrapped across half her upper arm, and that's not the first time I've had to do it. Plus, she has an aching leg. She gets into fights way too easily. I don't want her mixing it up with rowdy young boys, especially when those young boys turn into rowdy young men," he snarled. His mind had always been horrified at the thought of…well, he'd rather not think about it.

The pirate chief was about to give his reluctant assent, when a man cried out something about the red boat they'd seen earlier. The older Xiang turned, to see the boat…only it was heading straight for them!

It had neared the shallows and there was a man who now stood at it's fore, sword in hand. Any pirate worth his blade would recognize the figure in question without a second thought, recognized it and feared it.

"L-lord H-hu Yu. I-it's Sun Jian, the T-tiger of J-jiang Dong!" stuttered out a man who had come behind the older Xiang and the pirate chief Hu Yu, with the younger Xiang trailing him. Yes, the figure in question was undoubtedly, the Grand Administrator of Chang Sha himself, Sun Wentai, the pirate-hunter extraordinaire.

Chief Hu Yu growled, "I can see that, you dolt. When you're done stating the obvious, maybe you're gonna go and do something that's bloody useful! He's only one man. He could be bluffing…"

But then the man jumped into the shallows, followed by the large dark-skinned rower and he waved his hand to both the left and right in an unmistakable gesture of calling for troops to move in. Where could those troops be hidden? But it did not matter. Some of the pirates had already started to run.

"Then again, he might not be…Let us withdraw!" declared Hu Yu as he saw Sun Jian and his companion about to charge. Suddenly, behind them in the water, landed two more men…er, not exactly men, as one was but a boy of about fourteen, twirling a pair of the weirdest weapons they had ever seen. The other was of the wrong gender completely, and as she landed, the older Xiang couldn't help but stare at the picture of dignified and noble beauty in front of him, thrust into battle. She was somewhere in the early thirties, her brown hair elaborately arrange and ending in a long braid behind her back and she charged forward in her tight silken clothes, with a sword in hand.

Suddenly, he felt a tugging on his sleeve and he looked down to see his little Ting, staring at him worriedly, "Why is everybody else running? We can beat them, can't we, dad?"

"I don't know, Ting. We must withdraw as well. The others believe it is the best course of action…" he tried to say, but the young girl had now drawn her twin sabers from their sheaths that hung crossed over one another on her back. She ran forward, without a care that she'd never fought anyone before older than fifteen, right at Sun Jian himself. The thirty-four year old halted, surprised at the audacity of the youngster, who was desperately being chased by who seemed to be her father.

Xiang Ting leaped into the air and both of her sabers clanged against the Tiger's sword. She bounced off and landed, her feet causing a splash in the water. She spun her sabers swiftly and swung them in front of her, the right one going for the waist and the left, for the head. But she never managed to bring them across.

She stumbled back, trying to recover her balance after being pulled by her ponytail. Her father was suddenly in front of her. And as he stood in front of her, he heard once more, his father's unsteady, pleading voice, "Please, T-ting, go! Now! Please…" and he only spared one last look at his daughter before charging the great general. Where those tears in his eyes? She never learned if they were, for moments later, the tip of Sun Jian's sword went through to his back, and after it was pulled out, he collapsed into the river, lifeless. The river washed the tears away as it mingled with his blood.

Xiang Ting screamed. Then she ran…but not away. She ran forward once more, she had but one thought: To put a blade through Sun Jian's heart. Her father had wished for her to have a new life. That wish had died, drowned by the screams in her head for revenge as the cruel Chang Jiang drowned the rest of the life from her papa. But once again, she never reached it, but this time, the force sent her forward, and not back.

Her brain ground to a halt as the heavy object impacted. Her knees dropped down onto the submerged sand, and all was black.

"Next! Name?"

"Kong Long of Ru Nan, sir!"

"Age?"

"Sixteen, sir!'

"Any skills, trades, or useful experience with weaponry?"

"Not really, sir. But I was a construction worker, sir!" the teen replied and then sighed. He was still quite young. Without any previous weapons experience, would they let him join?

"You can help with camp set-up then. Hmm…what unit to assign you to? From Lord Yuan Shao's hometown, but his unit's fairly full…" wondered the recruiter out loud. Kong Long finally grinned, "You mean…I'm gonna be a soldier? Er…sir!"

The man smiled, "Since you were already talking like one even if you were not, I figured I'd let you in. But seriously, we need every single man we can muster. Unless you'll be a liability in any way, we won't turn you down."

"Okay then, sir…" answered Long, still quite excited. The man was still puzzling over the unit to choose, "Hmm…which weapon would you be good at…What kind of construction work did you do?"

"Um…surveying, carpentry…I was pretty fast with the hands and good with numbers. And they said I had good eyes…"

"Then he should be a crossbowman. Fast hands, keen eyes. The perfect crossbowman, wouldn't you say?" came a new voice. The recruiter turned and suddenly kneeled before him,"Lo-lord Cao Cao! What brings you here, sir?"

Kong Long followed his lead and so did everyone else down the line. Cao smiled, "Recruitment. I need more troops assigned to me. Start with him, and proceed down the line."

"But sir, we were told to spread them out ove-" the recruiter tried to say but two other men appeared, one a good sized man with black hair and a large keen blade and the other a bigger man with a powerful club and a sturdy bow. Cao then hinted, "These are my cousins, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan. They are going to be my officers and have said they will follow my orders AND punish those who do not. Is that understood?"

"Y-yes, sir." The recruiter replied and then Yuan stepped forward. He pulled Kong Long up and seemed very menacing but suddenly grinned, "Don't worry, kid. I'm only like that to scare folks. I'm a fair man, and being a crossbowman, you'll be under me. Which is good. I pity the infantry under my bro…but as I said, don't worry about that."

Kong Long nodded, "Yes, sir, Lord Xiahou Yuan, sir." Xiahou Yuan's grin got even bigger but Dun only snarled behind him.

Yuan replied, "So you've learned a bit of army talk? Good on ya, mate. But that sounded quite ridiculous, dontcha think?"

Kong Long just nodded. Xiahou Yuan added, "Well, I look forward to seeing you with a crossbow. You seem to be a good man. 'Till then, Kong Long."

Kong Long nodded once more and then stopped, 'How'd you know my name?"

"Keen eyes, remember? Mr. Recruiter here wrote it down in bold characters. Well, bye," answered Yuan who then ran off to catch up with Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun, both of whom were already leaving.

The recruiter waited and there was an awkward moment of silence. He then continued, "Kong Long of Ru Nan, you are now a soldier of Cao Cao's forces. Please report to his camp to the north of town and show this slip to the quartermasters. They will give you your crossbow and some light armour."

Kong Long bowed, "Thank you, sir! I will fight my best for the Emperor. He has the true Mandate of Heaven, not those rebels."

The recruiter sighed. Yet another life going to be wasted on this war…unless he survives it. Why can't the Han put this down? They should finish this now before the times get even more turbulent, especially since the current emperor is sick and may be about to die. He called after him as he turned to leave, "Good luck, kid…You'll need it!"

"Thank you, sir!" Long replied and the recruiter turned back to the line.

"Next! Name?"

The little girl strutted along happily, with a bow slung across her back crossed over a quiver of arrows and her crook striking the ground quite cheerily with each step she took. A small flock of sheep followed her along in the bracing winds of the northern steppes in the late afternoon. She had taken them out for the day and watched them graze and made sure no wolves came near them…The usual…

The nine year old loved taking the sheep to the fields while the rest of her family worked on the farm. She loved running around with the woolly animals and she even sang songs to them once in a while, like she was doing now:

"…It's where I sheared my first lamb,

Where I learned about Confucius

It's where I shot my first wolf and hacked it all to pieces.

I learned the path to heaven,

Is for the shepherds and noblemen.

Learned that happiness on earth,

Ain't just for folks of high birth.

I learned that everything changes,

On this mountain road…"

She stopped as she heard a commotion past a bend on the road that was blocked from her sight by a large up cropping of rock. It sounded like someone was being hurt. No, more like a bunch of someone's as many screams flooded past her ears. She pulled out her bow on instinct, just like every time she'd been in danger in the short life she had lived thus far. She ran slowly to hide behind the rock and was about to peek out when a gnarled, bloody body suddenly went past it…or at least half a body.

The legs of the man had been separated from him and he now lay. The girl was surprised and was about to scream in fear when she heard that more fighting was going behind her. She did not want to reveal herself. If they saw her and thought she was an enemy, there was no knowing what they would do. What chance did a nine-year-old girl with a bow have against a bunch of armed grown-ups?

She studied the mangled body of the man and saw the many bloody cuts that ran all over his torso. She pitied the poor thing but stopped when she saw the yellow scarf around his neck. She shivered. So this were the evil people her mom was talking about? Then he got what he'd deserved. Why would people want to be evil anyways if they knew this was what they deserved? They're stupid.

Suddenly, the wind blew stronger and something snapped. The head rolled right of the body and the little girl could not take it anymore. She screamed, stood up and started running away. But the shock of the rolling head had baffled her sense of direction and she ended up running into the middle of the fight instead of back to her sheep.

Well, she actually ran into the middle of the end result of the fight. A lone man stood there, his white, green and gold armour splattered with blood. She ran up straight to him and hugged him tight, scared by all the battered bodies of yellow scarf wearing people lying on the ground. She didn't care that she'd never seen the man before. She was scared and that was what mattered.

The man turned, his spear at the ready and levelled to his fore, thinking another opponent was attacking him. But all that was in front of him was air…until he looked down and saw a young screaming blonde with short hair run up to him in fear.

He lowered his weapon and asked, "What's wrong?"

There was a long period of silence before she answered, "I-I was scared…That's all." She blushed as she looked up and let go. She then continued, "S-sorry to bother you, sir. I'll be heading home then," and then she started off towards her sheep who were calmly waiting as if nothing at all had happened.

The man started after her, "Hey, little girl. Wait…I have been sidetracked by those Yellow Turban Rebels and am now lost. Would you know the way to the Jizhou Province?

"Uh…I dunno, but my mom might now. You wanna come home with me?" she asked innocently, her mom never having taught her how to deal with strangers.

"Well, I'm actually looking for a place to stay for the night. It's quite embarrassing, being a wandering warrior and yet managing to get lost when I finally passed once more again through my home county of Chang Shan," he blurted out. The girl nodded and slung her bow on her back once more, picking up her shepherd's crook.

"Well, just mind you don't hurt the sheep and don't go to fast as you're gonna be on a horse and I'm not. Oh…and my name's Zhi Chang!" she replied.

"Oh, I'll just lead my horse on and walk. I'm very pleased to meet you, Zhi Chang. I'm Zhao Yun. I'm from these lands but I haven't been here in a while. I'm on my way to Jizhou as I was hired by Lord Yuan Shao to help defeat the Yellow Turbans," the man replied and smiled.

"Turbans? They look like scarves to me…" Chang asked, confused and Zhao Yun just laughed. They walked along merrily, Zhao Yun trying to convince the little Chang that they were indeed turbans and not scarves. But Chang suddenly halted as they got to a flat plain…and the smouldering ashes of what used to be a bountiful farm.

Chang took one look at the scene and then fell to her knees and cried. Her family…her home…her dreams…lost in one fell swoop. She swooned and leaned against Zhao Yun. He asked, "Is...Is that your…?" but she nodded before he could finish.

He then continued, "Well…I dunno what to do with you then. I can't leave you here, Zhi Chang. Without a family…We'll stay in the ruins for tonight, and then we'll head to town in the morning and sell your sheep and see what we can do with the money for you. After that, I guess…I guess I'd have to take you with me. I'm really sorry, Chang."

She sobbed, "I-it's n-not your f-fault. And I-if I hadn't r-run into you, I-I'd be dead. W-who could h-have d-done this to us, t-though?" Suddenly, a scrap of cloth blew towards them, floating in the wind…

Chang grabbed the half-charred scarf out of the air. It was yellow…The Yellow Turbans…

A/N: Well, that's that…If you're not liking any of the OCs yet, well, you've still got 4 more chances…Yes, there's still four more OCs left and I'll introduce them next chapter. BTW, I happen to be looking for a beta-reader. If you wanna be mine, please say so in a review and either give me your e-mail address or if you don't want anybody else finding out, I will edit this story and put my e-mail address in it so you can send an e-mail to it and only I will know…OK? And don't worry, the chapters won't get any longer than this…It's just coz' of this ad an the long intro…And oh yeah, please read and review!