three kingdoms · ancient china · historical · warlords · political intrigue · military strategy · han dynasty · epic · chinese history · chaos
First light cracks the horizon. Beyond the tent, the sound of splintering hooves and the white-armored cavalry of Gongsun Zan's Loyalists array themselves like driven snow. You rub sleep from your eyes and rise, the chill of iron armor seeping into your skin. The tent flap lifts, and an old soldier wordlessly hands you half a ration of dried grain. "Lad," he murmurs, his gaze fixed somewhere beyond you, toward distant columns of smoke. "Today, we'll likely see blood." He pauses, then turns his weathered face to you. "What's your name, new one?"