Warlords: Three Kingdoms

When in the history of the land it comes necessary to document certain occurrences that, if gone unnoticed, would be a failure on the part of the historian, it is placed upon me to be sure that all is recognized. My name is Cai Yong, and I am the Imperial Historian for the Han Empire, or at least, what is left of the Empire that once stretched from the Silk Road to the Grand Ocean in the East. This is the story of the land from the founding of the Han to the present day, so that no one may forget what has been written down for the ages.

When the First Han Emperor took control of the land from the tyrant general Xiang Yu, much was thought of the peasant turned Son of Heaven. His first order of business was to divide the new empire between his loyal lords to several feudal states, with the states serving the Empire and its Emperor. After the fall of Gaozu and the rise of Wen, the centralization process faltered as the brethren of the Emperor Wen, who took control of the several feudal states started to cast their own coins and collect their own taxes.

After the death of Wen, the Emperor Ping took the Dragon’s Throne. Immediately, he began to come to odds against his cousin, the Prince Liu Pi, who was in control of the state of Wu. Before his rise as Emperor Ping had once been known as Crown Prince Qi, and he had killed Liu Pi’s son, Liu Xian, after an alleged offense by Liu Xian. Noting the great strength of Wu and the other states, Emperor Ping’s main advisor Chao Cuo advised that the power of the states be cut. As such, Ping trumped up charges against the Princes so as to limit the increases of their powers.

However, the power of the Princes were too great at this point for the Emperor to handle. Altogether twelve Princes rebelled against the Han Emperor, although for political reasons they only named Chao Cuo as their reason for raising their armies. Emperor Ping also had an ally in the fallen Emperor Wen, who had left instructions for Ping should this event ever occur. Heeding the advice, he called upon Zhou Renfa to lead the Han Armies against the rebelling Princes.

The fight was fierce and it looked as though the entire war was in a stalemate. However, Emperor Ping panicked first and, heeding the advice of certain sycophants within his Empire, executed Chao Cuo in an attempt to placate the rebelling Princes. However all this proved to them was that the Emperor can be molded into doing whatever they pleased. Instead of placating them, they attacked even more fiercely, until once again it was only the leadership skill of Zhou Renfa that kept the Han Empire from being vanquished under the sword that it had swung to forge a Dynasty.

This continued for many years until finally an agreement was made between the Han Emperor and the rebelling Princes. The Empire would crumble, the five remaining princes declaring themselves Emperor, in the best interest of the people, or so the rulers said. Emperor Ping kept control of the Han territory, out of Luo Yang, but new Emperors rose in Chu, Qi, Qin, and Wei: Emperor Zhuang in Chu out of Chang Sha, Emperor He of Qi out of Han Zhong, Emperor Huai of Qin out of Cheng Du, and Emperor Jia of Wei out of Ye.

The Empires have only become fragments of their former selves, each holding only one or two pieces of territory. And this was the way the land lived under for many years. However, my old bones tell me that the winds of the land are shifting… that chaos is soon to appear once more. What could this mean, I wonder? Will someone be able to lift one of these “Empires” above the rest? Or will they all fall and a new Grand Empire takes their place? And if so, how will the new Grand Empire be able to establish itself where even the mighty Emperor Gaozu could not. Only time will tell…

I only hope that I shall still be alive to see it…

Signed,

Cai Yong
Grand Historian of the Han Empire

Exactly thirty years have passed since the "Age of the Warring Races" era. As expected many things have changed in this ever evolving realm of Wu Gong. The days of Zoda and his conquest to destroy humanity is over. The days of great kingdoms like the Kilual, Peacekeeper and Deng Yu are kingdoms that have existed and died in the past but will remain significant in our history. After the disappearance of so many great forces during those period, new forces emerged while others revived marking the birth of a new saga.

Atos Flameberg Shi was the first child of Xiao Leimray and the late Atos Soi. He was a great man of virtue and benevolence, a young noble who would have thousands of loyal followers who are willing to die for his cause. Not chosen by the seven deities, he still managed to rise in power and gathering his family inheritance, his family members and loyal followers he led them away from the fallen capital Atos and settled at the unmanaged island of Neo. His charm won him the city of Shokubutsu and within the same peaceful year the lord less city of Haseyo willingly accepted him with open arms as their protector. Spring ended when he took command of his new home and when winter greeted them, Atos Flameberg Shi was already a famous name known far and wide. His fame gathered him famous people to aid his cause and with the Wisdom Inova beside him, Atos Flameberg rose to prominence. The Hotate clan was awed by the virtue he has shown and in the new spring, the greatest noble clan in the realm became their vassal. The clan leader, Hotate Hyan was named Duke for his loyalty to the Atos family and with their combined strength, Wisdom Inova뭩 guidance, the loyalty of his heroes honored as 멠rimes?and the blessing of the people, the Dancing-Leaf Country was formed. As king, he changed his name to Atos Soi II, in remembrance and honor to his father.

In the year 369, there was a family dispute between the new king and his step-brother, the adopted son of Atos Soi and the younger brother of the two siblings. The sibling rivalry and dispute was too much to bear and the chosen one of Sa the Liquid Snake took things into his own hands. The Duke Atos Iceberg Shim was just about to murder the king when the Sword of A Thousand Fates would shine and warned the king about the threat. Failing in his murder plot the Duke gathered his supporters and executed a coup d믧tat resulting in his departure and the birth of a new kingdom known as the Shadowy-Leaf Country with the Capital Atos city as his new capital. Atos Iceberg Shim was a shrewd man and allying himself with the bitter enemies of Dancing-Leaf Country, his information and knowledge on the country placed Dancing-Leaf at risk of danger. In autumn of the same year Dancing-Leaf was attacked by the powerful forces of Dark-Cloud kingdom and led by the ferocious and power hungry Drakonis, Dancing-Leaf entered a chaotic period of war. Drakonis and his dragoons were powerful and with soldiers numbering twice the size of the defenders, they inflicted heavy damage to the country. The Primes fought and became heroes and many died as heroes as well. With the remaining Primes, the Hotate Clan and the loyal inhuman warriors joining together with the weaker Atos, they managed to strike a victory and ended the war. Drakonis was defeated and with his vassal the Black-Jade country unable to provide more supplies of gold and food, Drakonis returned home but remained as the biggest threat to the Dancing-Leaf Country. With Atos Iceberg Shim they held constant propagandas that were all against Atos Soi II and the country. Skirmishes were never ending as Drakonis continued to attack whenever possible. The Hotate clan led an evolution and turned the city of Yosaga into a fort-city, serving as the country뭩 frontline defense and defended the country ever since.

Allied with the reformed Northern-Lights Country or formerly known as the Beidungguo kingdom, Dancing-Leaf Country enjoyed the mutual benefit of trade. Through Northern-Lights Country they found two new allies, the young but brave Red-Earth Country and the sophisticated Blue-Earth Country. They enjoyed their alliance for a few good years until Blue-Earth Country showed signs of greed. They broke the alliance and attacked the blooming city of Haseyo. Dancing-Leaf Country defended and won the battle and soundly defeated, Blue-Earth Country apologized and paid for their loses in terms of gold and swear allegiance. However the relation between the two countries has deteriorated even worse when Blue-Earth invaded Dancing-Leaf Country when a chance is given. They were defiant in their pledge and were clever in using diplomacy to avoid further harm in their reputation and they are even better in giving excuses and reasons for their invasions. Despite the constant enemy attacks, Dancing-Leaf Country continued to grow, the king led the country with the help of his able royal family members, his great and famous Primes, the loyal and noble clans and his loyal subjects. They were loyal to their allies and their allies benefited from their assistance. When the Shadowy-Leaf Country attacked Red-Earth, the Red-Earth Country was weakened despite their grand victory. Atos Soi II donated gold and food to his ally showing his concern and support. And when Northern-Lights were attacked by the Sand Country, Dancing-Leaf reinforced them and helped repel the valiant Sand Country. Dancing-Leaf country became popular and the world sees them as an honorable and respectable nation.

Years passed and the country maintained their stability and reputation, but how far can this peace and successful era last? Will there be new, great chosen ones, great inhuman people who are worthy as heroes in the country or will chaos and strife and a dark-age spawn from Dancing-Leaf? And now the legend begins...