Dynasties of Heaven(IC, APPLY FIRST!)(PG-13)

[Endem]

Yao Zhin, Spring, Near The Border

For humiliation and for all that you put me through only to mock me, to kill all from the Xia, to the very last. It was a mantra of sorts for Zhin and a reminder to what was his mission, right now he wasn't able to do it, the 1000 man strong force he gathered over the time would still not be enough to directly attack the Xia, but he was already acting out his vengeance on a small scale though. Right now he and a handful of his men were preparing to storm the house of a local imperial official, although a minor one, the man was guarded by around 10 people, one of their men would need to take on about 5 people, it might have been overkill, but, Zhin wanted to create an aura that he was powerful, tue village he was in right now was called Jiangxiang, nearly directly on the border. After about 5 minutes for everyone to prepare mentally, the signal was given, the attack commenced, Zhin rushed with his soldiers to attack the 5 people outside the house, his soldiers were armed with all sorts of weapons ranging from bronze axes to bronze spear while they were all equipped with a single spear. Zhin managed to get into a one on one duel with one of the guards while the other guards were getting either killed or locked in combat. Zhin's bronze spear sword's blade went for the head of his opponent, the guard managed to block the hit with his spear and Zhin's blade was now stuck in the wood of the handle of the spear, but Zhin did not so easily give up, he retreated his blade and took a swing to the side, this time the blade hit just before his opponent could block it, red blood started to pour as, unknowingly to anybody at the time, Zhin just pierced the man's stomach and even if the guard could keep on fighting through the pain which was probably immense, the guard would still die in a few days along and agonizing death, but the guard could not fight anymore, he dropped on his knees dropping his spear and holding his wound while screaming, Zhin decided to have at the man and finished him off with a single strike to the head. But the path was now an easy one, as all the guards on the exterior laid dead or dying, his men were nearly not scrapped, thanks to the element of surprise. Zhin and his soldiers stormed the house door after door before coming upon a one that was blocked by something, something they seemed unable to move so Zhin ordered: "takes anything you want or think is valuable and set fire when leaving, we will smoke them out or they will die in the fire!" His men started robbing whatever they could and after a bit, most of them left setting the house ablaze, Zhin and his men waited before the entrance to see if anybody was coming out "Please don't kill me" she said when she saw the attackers, Zhin replied only with "Is there anyone more in the house?" She replied "I don't know" with one nod of the head the woman was dragged away and soon killed somewhere not far away. They waited there for a bit more and the house eventually was hollowed out by the fire, no one could survive it, Zhin then ordered "Back to the camp, what you found is yours now" and so they marched to the North, to their camp which was for all practical reasons on the border.

[Kowani]

Yang. An unknowable man who (it was said) knew everybody and everything. They called him many things. The Master of Whispers. The Merchant of Heaven. The Ghost Spider. But right now, none of that mattered. Right now, he was merely another customer in the back room of a tea shop (that he owned, of course.) It was good to know everyone. Not so good to have everyone know you. It was another normal day for Yang, as a small set of scribes and administrators went down the itinerary for the day. Buy up a competitor attempting to muscle in on the bronze trade, bribe a port official into looking the other way, get his niece a birthday present (was she 12 already?), and curry favor with the Emperor.
“Sir” began one of the aides, “our sources within the court inform us that both the Chief Advisor as well as the Emperor’s consort have recently been executed for not performing up to his Majesty’s desires.” Well now. This is an interesting development. I don’t suppose we know anything about the potential successors? I don’t imagine so. Let’s see what we can get on anyone who’s even on the radar.

Now, about this raid on the border…let us see if we can broker a deal with them. Send out an envoy.

[Endem]

Myong Yong-Su, Spring, In The Capital

A foreigner, and an advisor, someone who you could trust, someone who's only goal is to help his majesty, well, that's how Yong-Su tried to create himself as, but truly he just liked stirring in people's minds, he did not feel wring if his latest action just got someone executed, demoted or imprisoned, you could say he was emotionless, but that's not true, the better word is desensitized way back on the court if the king of Gojoseon, all of the courtsmen there were amateurs compared to the court of the Xia, yet his latest plan worked perfectly, he had his two cents in the execution of the Chief Advisor, and the Concubine, why, why of course to take place of the Chief Advisor, he was now near the Emperor advising of course "My Lord, Son of Heaven" he said with a deep bow "our official in the village of Jiangxiang was killed by the rebel Yao Zhin, if I may advise we should send a retaliatory force unless your Majesty wants to deal with the rebel in another way" he said

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"The Son of Heaven, or the Fool of Hell?" - King of Canton and Yunnan Xi Wong, on the Emperor of China, 1600BCE

King Xi Wong, Spring, Canton

"Yao Zhin. The Rebel King. He pits himself against the Emperor of China. Advisor, do you know why I want to know more about him?"

"No, my liege."

"Because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Send an emissary. We shall soon hang that Emperor."

"It shall be done."

Within the next few days, an emissary from Yunnan arrived at Zhin's camp, requesting an audience with him.

[Endem]

Yao Zhin

Two people! Two emissaries coming at once, this was something Zhin was unprepared for, both were found a good hour walk from his camp when Zhin's men confronted then one by one, they were put on black robes before their eyes and were walked through the longest road possible to Zhin's camp, of course they changed their course many times along the way, so that both of them would be confused as to where they are, the location of the camp was not to be revealed at all costs, both of the emissaries now stood before Zhin who was sitting on how his seat "What you two have to say" he asked

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

Yao Zhin

Two people! Two emissaries coming at once, this was something Zhin was unprepared for, both were found a good hour walk from his camp when Zhin's men confronted then one by one, they were put on black robes before their eyes and were walked through the longest road possible to Zhin's camp, of course they changed their course many times along the way, so that both of them would be confused as to where they are, the location of the camp was not to be revealed at all costs, both of the emissaries now stood before Zhin who was sitting on how his seat "What you two have to say" he asked

"I am a representative of the King of Yunnan and I wish to speak to you in private."

[Endem]

Yao Zhin

Two people! Two emissaries coming at once, this was something Zhin was unprepared for, both were found a good hour walk from his camp when Zhin's men confronted then one by one, they were put on black robes before their eyes and were walked through the longest road possible to Zhin's camp, of course they changed their course many times along the way, so that both of them would be confused as to where they are, the location of the camp was not to be revealed at all costs, both of the emissaries now stood before Zhin who was sitting on how his seat "What you two have to say" he asked

"I am a representative of the King of Yunnan and I wish to speak to you in private."

Zhin sighed "Liao, Qin, come with us" he then said to the second emissary, "You will be addressed in a moment" he then took a knife from Qin with him and went with the representative into a small room near his seat, Liao and Qin positioning themselves before the entrance "so, what do you have to say" said Zhin taking a seat

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"I am a representative of the King of Yunnan and I wish to speak to you in private."

Zhin sighed "Liao, Qin, come with us" he then said to the second emissary, "You will be addressed in a moment" he then took a knife from Qin with him and went with the representative into a small room near his seat, Liao and Qin positioning themselves before the entrance "so, what do you have to say" said Zhin taking a seat

"We wish to send aid towards you, along with an alliance against the Xia."

[Endem]

Zhin sighed "Liao, Qin, come with us" he then said to the second emissary, "You will be addressed in a moment" he then took a knife from Qin with him and went with the representative into a small room near his seat, Liao and Qin positioning themselves before the entrance "so, what do you have to say" said Zhin taking a seat

"We wish to send aid towards you, along with an alliance against the Xia."

"Hah! That's just what I was looking for, but, what is this aid you are talking about"

[Danceria]

Langye Prison, South Shangdong

---

Haiwen wasn't certain of many things, but he was certain of one thing. Last night must have been wild.
Time for a quick inventory...still had his clothes, head pounding but still attached for now. His troupe...vanished along with his memory. Currently in a jail cell and hoping the lord of...Lang-something is feeling particularly generous. Wallowing in fear wasn't going to cure his hangover, but hopefully shifting his posture might.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"We wish to send aid towards you, along with an alliance against the Xia."

"Hah! That's just what I was looking for, but, what is this aid you are talking about"

"We intend to provide your soldiers with food, supplies and any other needs that you may have."

[Sapientia Et Bellum]

黃河

The moon casts its dim light across the calm river as frogs and insects sing songs in the name of health and rest. The fish begin to calm as the boats come back to shore. An old man, wrinkled and bearded, sits cross legged behind a blazing fire that crackles and pops into the night sky. The man's eyes are sealed shut and his mind is at ease. The world around him ceases to exist as he lets go of all earthly things and allows his mind to ascend into the heavens. It is here that he becomes a part of nature, another instrument in the symphony of life. The man sees an image flash across his mind of young children running joyously throughout the streets of a small village. The children are utterly at peace with the world and their innocence is as infectious as a mothers love towards her own child. The elderly man relishes in the scene that is being acted out within his own mind when suddenly he hears the loud banging of drums that deafen man like pounding thunder. The man's mind is pulled from its state of calm as the wind picks up around him and vanquishes the fire that had kept him warm. The image of men on horseback, with instruments of death drawn, rushing into the once peaceful village flashes across his mind. All would disappear with a single clap of the war drums and the visage of the color red. The man would slowly open his eyes, now surrounded in the pitch black. The frogs and insects had finished their songs and the river appeared to be as still as the ground beneath him. The man would rise from his position with a sigh before heading towards a small isolated hut that sat a few hundred feet away from the river. The hut was made of basic materials, nothing more than mud and sticks, and was furnished with a grass bed and a few lanterns. The man lit one of the lanterns and sat down on the side of the bed. He thought back to the images that had graced and tormented his mind a few moments before. The world had the capacity for peace but its capacity for violence was far greater. The man had pondered for years what the cause of the planets capacity for violence was and he had finally settled on the idea that power is what causes violence. As long a people are able to exert power and authority on others, their will always be violence and nothing more. The man blew the lantern out and laid upon his bed, slowly falling asleep.

[Aeyariss]

ZHOU ZHANG

Meanwhile, somewhere in distant valley along the Yellow River...

ZHOU ZHANG might what one consider a simpleton in his village, as he, like most of his fellow commoner who worked the land, can't neither read nor write...but then again so does like many in the village. But a fool and gullible such he is, he was well liked since he was well mannered, and a very honest and hardworking farmer.

The village he lived in is rather small, it has about 50 families spread out throughout a valley that runs along the Yellow River, and was at least hundreds of leagues far from the nearest cities, and thus pretty much isolated from the outside world; news travel slowly then, and it usually took weeks after meaningful event had taken place in the outside world to arrived, and that is only when the merchants arrived to transport the produce to be sold to the town markets .

There, everyone knew one another. Zhang's father was friend with the village head, but unfortunately he died early when Zhang's was a kid when bandits ambushed the caravan headed out to the town. Zhang's father died fighting off the bandit, and earned a place as a fallen hero who helped saved others. For that, a grateful village helped to look after the little toddler. But that was many years ago. Now at age seventeen he is pretty much considered one of the most sought after bachelor in the village. Many parents wanted him to wed their daughters, but Zhang says no because he was secretly in love with the Headmen daughters Xi Ci.

One day, a storm rages on, the valley was flooded. Crops and animal was destroyed, and some of the villagers were killed. The villagers gathered, the head elder sought the village shaman for advise, and after performing a rituals with bones and a sacrifice for the ancestors the shaman reveals that a demon is the cause of all the catastrophe. Scared, half the village wanted to flee, and the half the village want to offer sacrifice to the demon. And so they did a sacrifice ritual; oxen and chicken were killed and their bloods spilled, but the storm and flood did not passes. More and more destruction ensues. Finally some of the villager suggested they sacrificed something stronger; a human offering.

The shaman read the bones again, and pointed to Xi Ci. The Shaman says the prettiest and fairest of the maiden must be sacrificed or everything else will be destroyed. Shocked, the village head protested and a scuffle ensued. A mob broke out, and ended up with a faction seizing the village head and his daughter.

Zhou Zhang however had had enough.

"I will kill that demon!" Everyone turned to him. Silenced in disbelief only to have him repeat. "I said, I will kill the demon." The shaman took a look at Zhang, studied his face, she threw the bones into the fire again and read them.

"Ah. It might just be possible." The shaman said. "Let him try, he will either succeed or die trying."

[Danceria]

Langye Prison, South Shangdong

---

"On your feet!" came the guard's demand, and the young prisoner was yanked to his feet before being thrown prostrated before the governor. "This is the miscreant, Milord."
Haiwen, as per his profession, wasn't a bad looking individual. Clean shaven and his hair about the base of his neck, lithe and lean as a knife. It was a shame that such careful physical cultivation currently had a few bottles of alcohol swishing about in it.

"A count of assailing the bartender's daughter, and public indecency." the latter charge, Hai Wen would realize, was why he had prisoner's garb than the flamboyant garb that he and his troupe came in. "Your...Illustrious Governor." Hai Wen beseeched the long haired dignitary. "There must-there must be some form of misunderstanding. M-my troupe can vouch for me-"

The hilt of a sword to a ringing head was an injury indeed, as the guard snarled. "You will speak when spoken to in the presence of Governor Song Jin, prisoner." he spat.

[Endem]

"Hah! That's just what I was looking for, but, what is this aid you are talking about"

"We intend to provide your soldiers with food, supplies and any other needs that you may have."

"We have food and supplies in abundance already, the most valuable thing to me right now are additional soldiers"

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"We intend to provide your soldiers with food, supplies and any other needs that you may have."

"We have food and supplies in abundance already, the most valuable thing to me right now are additional soldiers"

"Then we shall provide you with such."

[Endem]

"We have food and supplies in abundance already, the most valuable thing to me right now are additional soldiers"

"Then we shall provide you with such."

" Then I believe we have nothing more to discuss, my soldiers will lead you out of the camp, Death to the Xia" Zhin then left the room and went to the second emissary, "So, why have you traveled here"

[Guuj Xaat Kil]

Tongrao Xuegang
Tongrao, by the Huai River

"The rebel Yao Zhin has ransacked various villages my lord," an advisor told him whilst he shifted around on his throne, gods above, he preferred being on the field rather than sitting on a chair for hours on end, "He is a threat and he must be stopped." The man finished. The warlord thought about the current event some more, and found a distinct opportunity lying within it. Let the man bring the Xia down into fire and flame, his realm would be the one sheltering the peasantry, and from these peasants he could wring out more productivity for an ever growing kingdom.

He looked back at the advisor, "Tell my men to raise the army," he ordered the man, "All 3,000 of them, as soon as possible. We have villages to protect". The advisor caught the meaning of that last sentence and simply nodded once, then he left his presence. "Ah, once more I ride off to war," he muttered to himself as he rose from his throne, "Much better than sitting on this damnable chair.".

---

Exactly nine days passed since that declaration, by then he had assembled around 1,500 men, and already had crossed the border into Xia territory on the eighth day. On the ninth day of searching for the rebel, they had encountered a village and coerced into accepting "protection". The King noted its position on a hill near a few forests, and decided to put out some bait for the renegade. Trimming his facial and head hair, he dressed himself in the garb of an imperial official. To add more sweetness to the bait, he had 800 of his troops deliberately oppress the citizens of the settlement, the rest were to hide away in the forests to be used in a later date. And now the bait, he made his presence as obvious as possible in order to attract the man.

[The World Capitalist Confederation]

"Then we shall provide you with such."

" Then I believe we have nothing more to discuss, my soldiers will lead you out of the camp, Death to the Xia" Zhin then left the room and went to the second emissary, "So, why have you traveled here"

The emissary nodded, ready to make his way back to Yunnan.

King Xi Wong, Spring, Canton

The King had his most trusted advisor at his side, continuing his plots.

"Excellent. He has accepted. Anyone else that would be good to ally with against the Xia?"

The advisor scuffled through his notes, thinking of anyone that might be helpful.

"None so far. I shall gain more information soon."

"Wait."

"Yes, my liege?"

"Begin early mobilisation. In secret."

"Of course."

The advisor scurried off, as Xi Wong continued writing his book.

"...I would much rather be a fox at the bottom of a hill than a fool at the top of one." - Xi Wong

[Ralnis]

Drunken Lao,
Imperial Outpost, Xia Dynasty Lands

The sun set on a random Imperial outpost. The screams of men been cut down in a quick and short order. Flames lit up the darkening sky and it carried a chorus of whooping bloodscreams of thousands of bandits who surrounded a razed Imperial outpost. They all wore scavenged or mismatch hide and bronze armor with the same quality of weaponry and shields, a few bows hang as well. They were all watching a large man with two, bronze axes cutting down Imperial soldiers one-by-one without a smile on his face.

"It's that it?" The burly man said as he crashed his axes into the last soldier, cutting him down in a brutal fashion only to sake the bloodlust of the bandit.

He looked at the fire from the outpost and sighed," this fight was pitiful and I'm still sober." He points to one of the bandits,"you! Go fetch me the smart boy and the map!"

The bandit quickly ran through the mob, trying to hurry up out of fear and came back with a short scholar whos holding a scrunched up paper map. He was pushed by the goon bandit to the large man. He frigidly opened the map and saw the arrows and the words of the province they were in. A smile crept on his face as he gave a hearty laugh.

"So we've finally made it Wang Province? Good! I have been waiting for this. A place for us to settle down with all the wine, women, and weapons we can get. Then we will take other neighboring provinces and forge an empire awashed with the riches that we've plundered. Everyone will be a rich man as we take over not just this feeble dynasty, but the whole world!"

The bandit horde cheered and called for Lao in honor of the drunken barbarian they follow. They will wash over Wang Province like the infestation banditry is, one that will not go away till the entire empire burns.

[Kowani]

"Then we shall provide you with such."

" Then I believe we have nothing more to discuss, my soldiers will lead you out of the camp, Death to the Xia" Zhin then left the room and went to the second emissary, "So, why have you traveled here"

This emissary was a quick-talker, a man whose tongue was only outpaced by his brain. He was often sent out to warlords such as these, regional leaders with a few thousand poorly trained troops. He knew what he was doing. “I represent a man who has taken interest in you. Have you heard of him? They call him the Master of Whispers. Doesn’t matter. He knows of you. That man who just left? Betray you in a heartbeat, his master would. Once you two defeat the Xia, he’d turn on you. You’d be a threat, see? No matter. You’re smart, you see it.”

In the Capital, Yang’s Home
Yang sat, pouring over a list of charts and maps, looking at the arrows of armies and the profiles of the generals that his men had compiled. Some of them were thorough pieces of information, others, like this “Drunken Lao” were barely existent. “The flames of war engulf my country, yet I fear that this is a war with no winners, only losers.” “No losers accept me, at any rate. Let us buy up all the copper mines in the area. Those who refuse to sell can be…persuaded.”

[Endem]

" Then I believe we have nothing more to discuss, my soldiers will lead you out of the camp, Death to the Xia" Zhin then left the room and went to the second emissary, "So, why have you traveled here"

This emissary was a quick-talker, a man whose tongue was only outpaced by his brain. He was often sent out to warlords such as these, regional leaders with a few thousand poorly trained troops. He knew what he was doing. “I represent a man who has taken an interest in you. Have you heard of him? They call him the Master of Whispers. Doesn’t matter. He knows of you. That man who just left? Betray you in a heartbeat, his master would. Once you two defeat the Xia, he’d turn on you. You’d be a threat, see? No matter. You’re smart, you see it.”

In the Capital, Yang’s Home
Yang sat, pouring over a list of charts and maps, looking at the arrows of armies and the profiles of the generals that his men had compiled. Some of them were thorough pieces of information, others, like this “Drunken Lao” were barely existent. “The flames of war engulf my country, yet I fear that this is a war with no winners, only losers.” “No losers accept me, at any rate. Let us buy up all the copper mines in the area. Those who refuse to sell can be…persuaded.”

"Yeah, I understand you come from a warlord who has some rivalry with the King of Yunnan, I understand what is politics anyway, you have probably came to tell me something else, so, speak"

[Kowani]

This emissary was a quick-talker, a man whose tongue was only outpaced by his brain. He was often sent out to warlords such as these, regional leaders with a few thousand poorly trained troops. He knew what he was doing. “I represent a man who has taken an interest in you. Have you heard of him? They call him the Master of Whispers. Doesn’t matter. He knows of you. That man who just left? Betray you in a heartbeat, his master would. Once you two defeat the Xia, he’d turn on you. You’d be a threat, see? No matter. You’re smart, you see it.”

In the Capital, Yang’s Home
Yang sat, pouring over a list of charts and maps, looking at the arrows of armies and the profiles of the generals that his men had compiled. Some of them were thorough pieces of information, others, like this “Drunken Lao” were barely existent. “The flames of war engulf my country, yet I fear that this is a war with no winners, only losers.” “No losers accept me, at any rate. Let us buy up all the copper mines in the area. Those who refuse to sell can be…persuaded.”

"Yeah, I understand you come from a warlord who has some rivalry with the King of Yunnan, I understand what is politics anyway, you have probably came to tell me something else, so, speak"

The emissary smirked. This wasn’t unusual. Some men had no brains off the battlefield. “Master of Whispers is no warlord. He is better then that. But you don’t care, so won’t talk about that. Let’s talk about business. You have army. Good size, good commander. Supplies are always an issue, but for the Master of Whispers, that’s easy. I tell him, you see carts of bronze in days. No matter. We have things more valuable than bronze. We keep the Xia eyes off you, easy. We wait until you are ready, see?”

[Endem]

"Yeah, I understand you come from a warlord who has some rivalry with the King of Yunnan, I understand what is politics anyway, you have probably came to tell me something else, so, speak"

The emissary smirked. This wasn’t unusual. Some men had no brains off the battlefield. “Master of Whispers is no warlord. He is better then that. But you don’t care, so won’t talk about that. Let’s talk about business. You have army. Good size, good commander. Supplies are always an issue, but for the Master of Whispers, that’s easy. I tell him, you see carts of bronze in days. No matter. We have things more valuable than bronze. We keep the Xia eyes off you, easy. We wait until you are ready, see?”

"Well, as far as supplies go, we have some farmers in the region who support us, and we have enough weapons right now to supply additional 50 soldiers on our own, but, we could always use some bronze, what is the price, there is obviously a price"

[Kowani]

The emissary smirked. This wasn’t unusual. Some men had no brains off the battlefield. “Master of Whispers is no warlord. He is better then that. But you don’t care, so won’t talk about that. Let’s talk about business. You have army. Good size, good commander. Supplies are always an issue, but for the Master of Whispers, that’s easy. I tell him, you see carts of bronze in days. No matter. We have things more valuable than bronze. We keep the Xia eyes off you, easy. We wait until you are ready, see?”

"Well, as far as supplies go, we have some farmers in the region who support us, and we have enough weapons right now to supply additional 50 soldiers on our own, but, we could always use some bronze, what is the price, there is obviously a price"

“Farmers to feed an army? Plan on being besieged? No matter. Your campaign, your rules. But let’s talk price. Simple price, really. When you set this country aflame, don’t burn the spiderwebs.”