Born a Monster

198 Servant of the Axe, 98 – Dauria Genesis

Chapter Type: Background

In the beginning, there were no First Men, but there were folk and peoples and spirits, who lived disharmoniously. And while some greeted the First Men openly, others offered only violence. And the matron Hun did speak unto her fellow First Men:

“This is stupid. It is getting us nowhere. Every race we conquer only alienates them further. You dipshits are going to conquer us into extinction.”

But the First Men, drunk upon their power would not listen to her. So, she took her family into her house, and flew it clear unto the other side of the world. And it is there that her daughter spoke to the spirits, and told them the way of harmony.

And so too, did they teach the Felixin fox-people, the Koroborukto rock-folk, and even the elusive Ael-van who are precursors to the elves. And though they bared steel and weapons of power when they had to, this was never their first action.

Because she would not let her sons and daughters marry each other, the Hun bloodline continued mingling with those of the First Men, and Hun herself employed high alchemy to stay alive for three generations.

And once the First Beast War was ended, did she and her daughter entreat the First Men to yield unto them some of the Legendary Weapons, should they be endangered. Thus did the Spear, the Cape, the Scroll, the Box, and the Beads come into possession of the Hun lineage.

Seeing the wisdom of the Empress, the lung dragons finally accepted their position of advisors to the royal court, and agreed that henceforth they would only eat those among men who were legally condemned to death. And lo, in the manner of the Lung, they have been true to their word from that day unto this day.

Alas, not so the husband of the Empress, whose name has been removed from the rosters of nobility, and his names, “Robert”, “Richard”, and “Bob”, used only to curse the unclean and the casteless. For in his jealousy, he did poison her high alchemy and declare himself First Emperor in clear violation of her stated desire that her daughter Hun Sheng, should take the throne after her.

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But the Celestial Emperor said unto Hun Sheng, “Why tolerate this injustice of greed? Rather, let my fu dogs carry you to the distant mountain where are enshrined the Holy Weapons, and let ritual be performed, that they be summoned. For this much and more, do I owe your mother.”

And though she was loath to raise her hand against her father, Hun Sheng consulted with the Lung and did agree to this daring plan. And such were the numbers of the fu dogs in that day that a dozen of her brothers and sisters did escape with her, forming the thirteen required to perform the summoning ritual.

And this thing did they do, and their summons was answered.

Bao-Feng Hong, who was to end his life as Ming Hong, male consort to what was to become the house of Ming, was summoned to become the Spear Hero. His was a common opinion, for before the summons he had been a lake fisher. But wise were his words and actions and deeds, and although not the most noble of the heroes, he is known as the greatest. And in his honor, the farmer caste is forever just under that of the royal bloodlines.

Jien Wei, summoned to the Cape, who took to cape and bow to become the first Night Death, that casteless breed of assassins who today still seek and punish treason and corruption. She revived the magics of the black powder, and such stage tricks as look like magic.

Alas, the Scroll fell into the hands of the doltish Ketsu Ren, who preached unto his dying day of the supremacy of men, and never fully complied with the commands issued by women. Yet despite this grievous flaw, he did assist the Empress in rallying her loyal subjects against the usurper, and thus is entitled to his place in history.

The Box did choose matron Tsu-Tsu Yi, the first time a Weapon of Holy Legend did choose an elderly woman. But before her summons, she had been the loyal wife of a merchant, and run his caravans when he had died. And due to her financial prowess, she won rights for coin handling almost exclusively for the merchant class.

Hero Lee Chun, also called the Mongolian, was selected to be the Beads Hero. In addition to codifying the faith of the Celestial Emperor, and integrating the ancestors and nature spirits into the divine hierarchy, his ability to speak with horses enabled him to lead cavalry units through routes considered impassable, and surprise the Usurper.

And Hun Sheng was much at a loss, for these five arrived as newborn babes, ignorant of their weapons and most of them of warfare, and as the Usurper forced province after province to submit to his might, they were still quelling minor menaces and were not suited to slow his implacable advance.

Indeed, the misled hero Wing On-kon was only defeated when all five of the Holy Heroes banded together to fight him as a single force, and this was the first time that they had joined together using the party system.

But even as the sun began to dim, not wanting to shine on the horror that was befalling the empire, finally the heroes began to gain Champion status, and finally their deeds became of note. Though they could not stem the tide of the armies, they were able to skirmish first with small units, and then with large.

And though they were not always successful, many times removing themselves from battle with one or another having severe wounds, they did shine a light that outshone the sun... a light called hope.

Where the Usurper won, the generals and officers would hide indoors, for fear of the arrows of Jien Wei. Should their patrols be light, sometimes they would vanish under the hooves of Lee Chun, or slaughtered by Ming Hong.

While shortages of food and medicine were common in lands held by the Usurper, the caravans of Tsu-Tsu Yi ensured that these were available in the lands held by the Empress.

Ketsu Ren did negotiate with all the civilized races, winning first their neutrality and then their overt allegiance for the Empress. And at the Valley of Weeping, he did conjure a sunlight so bright and hot that both sides had to step away from the battlefield, and agreed to a three day truce to bury the dead with proper honors.

And though the Valley of Weeping was eventually won by the Usurper, this is also where he began to lose. For where there is both hope and oppression, there will be strife.

It began in a village called Azure Crossing, where the peasants refused to pay their tax collector, and locked him inside the first building he set to the torch, executing or scattering his guards. And yet, when the troops arrived, fewer than one in ten of the citizens were in that village.

As though at random, similar revolts, of increasing scale and severity, began to wrack the lands of the usurper.

Unable to devote his troops to any one front, he began losing engagement after engagement, slowly at first, and yet faster as the Hand of Destiny revealed itself in all its glory.

And though he entreated his daughter with offers of peace, always she inquired as to what her mother had to say on that subject.

Yet on the misled troops, if not upon their officers, the Empress bestowed mercy, even entrusting them with holding of forts and keeping the peace behind her lines. And though their lives were still made harsh by war, the common folk cried out for their Empress, throwing open city gates before her, and sometimes subjugating soldiers before they could oppose her on the field of battle.

And so, after three years of war, the Holy Heroes now worthy of their titles at the fore, the forces of the Empress drove straight for the Capitol. And although he detonated the Empress’ house rather than let it fall into the hands of his daughter, the Usurper and his supporters were as unable to resist her as an ant that is caught in the winds of a typhoon.

Once all had submitted to her will, order was restored. Each of the twelve who had supported her, or their surviving family, were made one of the twelve great families of nobility that rule today. As each hero desired, they were married into these families, or went off in search of further wrongs to set right, or were sent home.

The Celestial Emperor, now secure in his power and godhood, did bless the Hun line, that its women should have powers to assist them in ruling wisely and justly. So too, did the spirits of the land bless their nobles.

And though this was not the last threat faced by the Empress and her lineage, the greatest threat had passed, and the empire endures to this day.