Prelude to War (Intro) [Closed]

[Guan Yu]

The air was cold at dusk, it had always been this way in Jing. The problem was the temperature itself, but the moisture in the air amplifying it ten fold. A breeze came in from the east, hitting Guan Yu's face, he shut his eyes and zoned out. It felt like he had rode out of the confines of his home days ago, even though it had been only hours. He was getting old, all of his past hobbies tired him out like never before. His Red Hare maintained a reasonable pace, it too had too grown old with the God Of War. The ride was generally quiet, with the occasional deep panting. There wasn't much action around the hills between the Outpost and the city. On your trip you could usually look forward to encounters with soldiers, peasants or other caravans.

There was a company of five generals accompanying Guan Yu as sort of an escort. They weren't generals that were greatly popular but hoped to make a name for themselves one day. The trip had remained silent for the most part, that is until on of the generals thought it wise to ask engage Guan Yu in conversation. "Dear General, why so many clothes on such a short trip?" The other generals slowly glanced at each other in disbelief, mouthing some words behind the two men in the front. Guan Yu stroked his beard with his left hand, leaving his right hand on the rein. "Don't trouble yourself with problems of superiors, for we don't trouble ourselves with you." The young general lowered his head in disappointment and casually let his horse fall back into formation with the rest of the officers.

Yu knew the answer to his question, he knew the answer very well. The one thing he did not know is how trustworthy this escort group was, and how learning that their commander was becoming a brittle sack of shit might affect the morale of other officers, especially if that was to start spreading around Jing. Coming into realization of his mortality was especially hard for Guan Yu. The once prominent work horse of his sworn brother, most of his accomplishments were in his youth, and now he knew seldom glory was ahead for him. "To hell if they think that is going to stop me from trying!" He was building a legacy to be written about in many annals in the future, he needed to prove to everyone that he wasn't the mediocre general that they thought he was, but in fact he was something great.

His horse came to a halt, and soon the large wooden gate crept open, revealing the entrance to the thick wooden walls of the Outpost. A soldier exited a small structure on the inside of the walls to the right of Guan Yu. The officers escorting Guan shifted positions and surrounded the God of War, whilst the man approached on foot. "Greeting General Guan Yu!" It was no surprise to him that the man knew who he was right off, many have heard of his crimson steed and majestic beard before. The man bowed deeply and stood back upright just as quickly, continuing what he had begun; "I was told to point you to the observation tower in the Northeast corner of the base. There you will find Commander Xin Fu and the tactical adviser."

"I grow thirsty soldier, tell me, where is it that I can get a drink?" Guan Yu said, finally lowering his left hand to grip the other side of the rein. "Uhhh.." The soldier scratched the back of his head, that's when suddenly one of the generals accompanying Guan Yu forcefully proclaimed "Can't you see our Lord General Guan Yu is thirsty? Go be a dear and fetch him some wine." Reluctant, the young general lowered his arm and pointed to the West, "The closest winery is in the village over there." Guan Yu smirked and turned his horse to the soldier on foot; "Well then you'd better hurry, i'm sure your commander would be embarrassed to hear you have no wine for Guan Yu, conqueror of Jing!" He gave off a smug smirk and turned his horse away from the soldier. "You're dismissed." The soldier made haste towards the stable and before Yu was twenty paces into the outpost he was flying out of the gates.

Yu didn't when his generals had inquiries about things that don't regard him, he let them have their freedom. He didn't like however, questions that put the loyalty and morale of his men at risk. He shrugged as he thought about it a while longer and then whipped at the reins a little bit and his old friend picked up pace.

The outpost wasn't much different from a regular outpost, it had a barracks, a supply cache you know the usual. The one unique thing about this base was the observation tower, something implemented to allow Shu to monitor the movements of Wu across the Jingjiang. Some news had come about movements across the river, the movements were reported to the city and Guan Yu needed to assess the situation himself. If there was one thing he learned in him many years it was to not trust unproven officials with tasks of war. So here he was, on the footsteps leading up into the tower, hoping that the news that awaited him wasn't troubling, wishful thinking at this point.

[Guan Yu]

Being the elder, Guan Yu made his dismount first, followed by three other officers. It was these three officers jobs to act as body guards for the aging general whilst the other two tended to his steed and blade. There was a soft thud as Guan Yu's feet hit the floor one after the other. He stretched his arms first, then back and turned to face his escort. "You three can wait here for the wine, I fear no man in this base." The officers reluctantly accepted and positioned themselves at the entrance of the tower. Yu turned back towards the tower and steadily made his was up its circular staircase, towards the top.

When he arrived at the top he was greeted by who he assumed was Xin Fu and his tactical adviser. One was a man, of relatively short stature, he was only the heavier side and had a short black beard coming in. The other was pale and sickly looking, with deep bags under his eyes, his prominent cheek bones were the one thing that stood out about him, that and his long fingers. They were like the twigs of a tree, lengthy and jagged, one would think for writing messages and the such. The fat one seemed to be Xin Fu, whilst the hideous one was his adviser.

They proclaimed their hellos and so did he, in return. Then the attention shifted to why they were all meeting here. Xin Fu spoke the first words; "Lord General Guan Yu, we call you here on reports of suspicious movement on the front lines of Wu." Yu walked over to the railing of the tower, looking over towards the Wu border. The tower he was in was very sleek and Yu took pride in having something so valuable at the front lines. "And what of these movements troubles you Xin Fu? Surely you haven't forgotten why we have Jing in the first place?"

Xin Fu stayed silent for a second, perhaps contemplating what to say. "Do not disappoint me Xin Fu, I too can get angry, like my brother as I'm sure you know." Stated the God Of War, his brother Zhang Fei had a tendency to beat his soldiers when he was angry, many have heard of this. It was just another way he convinced people to give him what he wanted. The mid aged commander gasped slightly, he seemed fairly young, perhaps he had not had the pleasure of Fei's company as of yet. The adviser broke the short silence; "There have been reports of rallies on land and scout ships going further across the river. They grow curious of what we plan to do next, m'lord." Guan Yu smirked, crossing his arms and staring ahead at the burning flames that outlined the Wu border.

"As do we, but I'm hoping that is not what you called me out here... now is it?" The last three words were as sharp as his beloved Blue Dragon, and they pierced deep into the minds of the two men. Xin Fu finally regained himself enough to comment on the situation at hand, "We believe they are rallying for war m'lord" Guan Yu slightly chuckled, his gaze focused on the supposed aggressors of Wu across the river. "You don't say you? Please inform me of something that is worthy of my presence being demanded in this base." Xin Fu's eyed widened, the cold night air did little to supplement the increase body heat that was causing his nervous sweating.

The adviser stepped to Guan Yu's side, placing one of his sickly hands upon the rail that walled in the top of the watch tower. "You see my lord" He spoke gently, "We have reason to believe that they may be plotting a counter attack soon, it would be wise to seek council with other generals about the next course of action."

Guan Yu disregarded the council, he was put in charge of Jing to act as the council, he ran the affairs here. As such he didn't know who he could meet with to discuss the suspicious movements of Wu, that is until something came to him, 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend' He thought to himself, then a second later repeated the words aloud. "Excuse me, m'lord?" The adviser said slowly when Yu had finished. "You heard me, quickly get your finest rider ready and send a messenger out to anyone of renown skill in the area, and be sure to send a letter to the closest Wei and Wu cities respectively."

The adviser turned and hurried down the steps, while Xin Fu made his way forward. "Why the need for so many, lord Guan?" Yu simply smirked and turned back heading towards the stairs "We're going to get to the bottom of this treachery, and someone doesn't show up representing Wu, then we know of their true intentions, and the direction of this treaty. Now where is that wine that I sent for?" The God of War descended down the steps of the tower, contemplating his next move.

-fin-