Strife and Love in the Three Kingdoms

----This story contains violence, sex, harsh language. It is based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms/Dynasty Warriors series, it has many of the characters from those games as well as characters that I created and added in.----


Strife and Romance in the Three Kingdoms

Introduction and Authors Notes

Authors Notes and Prologue:
This story is set to the same theme as Dynasty Warriors but more based on the original turn based strategy series that gave birth to that series Romance of the Three Kingdoms. This story will be AU and will include characters that I have created in my own imagination as well as many of the well known heroes of the era as well as the lesser known and unsung heroes of the turbulent times in ancient China. The story centers around a young man named Dentshi whom is the lost son of Cao Cao. He knows who his father is but his father does not know he was even born. The young man and his friends set about trying to find their own places and destinies in these chaotic times. I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I will enjoy writing it. I would have submitted this to a Romance of the Three Kingdoms section but alas it does not exist so please bear with me.

Introduction:

The young man took in his surroundings. After months of wandering the land he and his band of friends had arrived at the neutral city of Xia Pi. It was true that they were all too close to the loathsome Yellow Turbans but Xia Pi was a larger city and would give him and his friends anonymity while they planned their next move. It seemed ages ago he had left his home behind to start his journey.

He was a son of Cao Cao although from what his mother had told him, Cao Cao did not know this, and he did not carry Cao Cao’s family name.

Indeed, he had no family name at all he merely went by Dentshi.
His mother had met Cao Cao one night in Luo Yang and had a tryst with the renowned general. Shortly after she learned she was with child she had fled to the neutral city of Wu Wei in Liang province. There she had given birth to her child and done her best to raise him away from the strife of the land.

Upon reaching his fifteenth birthday Dentshi had decided that he would follow his ambition and try and free the land of the strife. He had four of his best friends including the love of his life Han Shiang come with him. He knew that the five of them together could accomplish anything.

Their first goal was to find a lord worthy of serving. The man who represented the Han was of course at this time He Jin so they traveled to Luo Yang to speak with him and were not even granted an audience. They did not like the idea of going to the Yellow Turbans so they had made plans to travel to a neutral city that would be large enough for them to avoid drawing too much attention to themselves.

Thus they had decided on Xia Pi.

They had only arrived the day before but already Dentshi was in love with the city. It had a bustling rice trade and the people were very kind to him and his friends. Xu Chang his closest friend was something of a scholar in training. He thrived in the political environment and spent much time gathering all the information he could from the bustling city streets.

Kan Huang was the restless one of the group and spent much time with craftsmen learning all he could about building the soundest structures possible. Chen Geng was always fascinated with horses and weaponry and spent much of his time with local blacksmiths. He had in fact managed to get taken in as an apprentice by the most talented smith in town.

Han Shiang was an anomaly perhaps that was why he was so drawn to her and loved her. She had her own talents though she used them only when the need arose. She could sweet talk anyone out of anything. She had intellect and a wit that was sharper than any blade Dentshi had ever seen. She could be cold as ice or as sweet and innocent as the child she looked like. She was 15 but had retained her childlike features. She like the rest of the group had either never met their fathers, their fathers had been killed in the war or they had been orphaned entirely in the case of Chang.

Dentshi had spent his time using his charisma and natural drive to round up many of the street urchins and other young people down on their luck to form a bit of a militia. Most of the time they just stuck around the city gates keeping an eye out for unsavory sorts that might cause trouble; for they all loved their city and wanted to see it remain free of the influence of the Yellow Turbans who had them surrounded on all sides.

Why Zhang Jiao had not tried to take control of Xia Pi was beyond his ability to understand. For anyone Xia Pi would be a great asset and provide excellent sources of income and other supplies to any army. He tried not to fret about it so much but something was nagging in the back of his mind.

He couldn’t put his finger on it but it troubled him so deeply that he began to have nightmares. The whole situation was beginning to scare him. Each day word trickled in of devastating defeats for the Han army and the power of the Yellow Turbans growing. His fears were soon to be proved well founded.

For this young man was about to have two encounters that would change
his life forever.

One day while he sat at the city gates puffing on a tobacco stick he saw a strange old man wandering around outside the gates. Thinking that the man might be lost or otherwise troubled he had approached him. The old man’s expression brightened when he saw the young lad approaching him. He smiled revealing shockingly white teeth for his age. As he grew closer Dentshi could already sense there was more to this man the met the eye. From a distance he had appeared to be little more than the broken frame of an old man but upon approaching him he could tell the man was still in remarkably good shape.

“Good day my friend” Dentshi spoke as he got closer “Is there anything I can do to provide you with assistance? Perhaps you need help finding lodgings or other services in Xia Pi?” The old man gave a short laugh before he spoke “No, no young one. The only thing I’m seeking in Xia Pi I have already found, or rather it found me.” He looked up and turned to face him more. The old man’s eyes were a striking blue color and his gray hair was long and shone like silk. “You see I am Zuo Ci and I have been seeking you Dentshi, son of Cao Cao.” The man grinned again and gave another laugh, this one a bit creepier. “You see young one you have a role to play in the coming days, just as your father does. Your destiny is not as clear right now but soon my friend all will make sense to you.” Dentshi looked at the man. He was taken aback by the mention of his father, no one knew about that. “Old timer I think you’ve been in the sun too long. Perhaps I can show you to a place you might refresh yourself.” This whole thing was getting too weird for him.

Zuo Ci laughed again “No need for that young one. Just keep in mind what I have said. You have a role to play and play it you will. I have no doubt you will do well in the coming chaos.” Then what was by far the strangest thing he had ever seen happened; Zuo Ci turned into a raven and flew away. Dentshi watched in shock as the raven dipped below the horizon and was out of his line of sight.

He stood there for a long time just staring at the setting sun when he felt someone wrap a cloak around him. He caught the scent of Shiang’s perfume and relaxed instantly. “Hey. You awake?” she asked in the sweet voice that she reserved only for him. “Yeah I was just thinking that’s all” he said. He decided not to mention this whole encounter for right now but he did decide to keep the old man’s words in mind.
He wanted to pass it off as a dream, or perhaps just the mindless babble of a crazed old man. But there was something in the man’s eyes and the way he talked that made him know the man was totally sane and knew what he was speaking of. The man’s words remained a mystery for several more days.

Not long after there would arrive the second encounter that would change not only his life but that of his friends forever.