It is heavy, everything is so heavy. It has been time. I am old, no longer spry and lithe of foot. Even with the dust and the cracks I start what will probably be the last and greatest campaign of the Guard.
I am one of the first I see beginning to move, it seems to be mostly the banner holders which makes sense. I begin walking to the front of my rank, and stand next to our still frozen Shogun. I began waving our flag, emblazened with the seal of Shui Jing Zhu and watched as a few of the men began to move and groan with the practice of a wizened Elder.
"What... is Qin in danger?"
"My lord it's light in here, I though we were in the necropolis?"
"Dear emperor, I'm missing an arm, and I'm covered in paint!"
I continued waving the banner and listening to the awakening Guard, noticing most of their hands were empty of weapons. I heard my shogun speak from the right of me, his voice was as gravelly in the ceramic afterlife as it was in the fleshy during-life.
I feel the danger
The men are started to quiet down and remember that they were the best soldiers the Central Kingdom had to offer and began to quiet down.
Other ranks were already being spoken to by their Shoguns, deep voices booming out over each other, and Shogun Xhiag was shaking off dust and filling his stale lungs to speak to the whole rank
He was still as ready for battle as the day we we're frozen, his hands showed little chips from where someone had attempted to claw them open but his sword was still sheathed in his hand. His solid stone armor had not bowed his shoulders, nor had his helmet or boots been eroded. It was strange to watch him talk, the ceramic still moved as if cords of muscle were beneath his cheeks.
RANK OF SHUI JING ZHU!
The men replied, heartily like soldiers should, "HUA!" Most importantly they are replied as a single man
THE GUARD HAS BEEN AWOKEN TO DEFEAT OUR GREATEST FOE YET AGAIN, Other Shogun's were also screaming at their ranks, other banner bearers marking each army into the darkness. In the distance a horses neigh could be heard, WE HAVE SLEPT AND GROWN STIFF FOR TOO LONG, FIRES THAT BAKED US HAVE LONG SINCE STOPPED SMOKING, THE ASHES COLD, AND THE DYNASTY WE WERE BRED IN IS DEAD!
I thought for a second I saw a glint, a spark of enthusiasm in Xhiag's expression
BUT THE DEFILER HAS NOT DIED, HE HAS NOT COOLED IN HIS LUST, STILL BURNING FOR OUR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF THOSE WE PROTECT
I look around and notice something that has never occurred before, every rank has been awoken. No men remain pottery, each is grasping for a sharp spear, checking his earthen armor, calming horses that are both a statue and an engine of war.
What could warrant this?
The Tuul river is peaceful, the water skipping and dancing with the beach. A creaking can be heard but with each moment it becomes more quiet, more natural. It is the way of things, to become less and less noisy, and to flow with the water.
A scream not heard in ages, both of man and beast and even partially of machine, echoes for miles around. A massive horse, 25 meters tall and made of steel lowers its head to the bank of the river. It tries to drink, but instead finds it can only create waves.
A man takes the horses reigns back into his hands and prepared to saddle up.
Yes...It is the way of things, to become less and less noisy, and to flow with the water instead of thrashing against the current. And Lotus trees and It's snowing on Mount Fuji and a bunch of other bullshit.
The Khan mounts back up onto his cavalry, and sets off South. He has something to finish.
The tent was dark, lit with 2 dusty lanterns. Deep red walls, each with the seal of the emperor allowed privacy as the Shoguns planned what was quickly being whispered through the clay ranks as "The Final Guarding"
It will be here
"I believe the wall is too obvious, he has had long to prepare and is made of the toughest rocks that survived the hottest fires." Shogun Tsizu replied. He was a taller and leaner figure than Xhiag whose helm had been split on the left side and was no uneven.
The hardest man will be unbending, the Wall will give us angles of attack other fields will not, if-
Tsizu interrupted, "The Wall is crumbing. it is more dangerous to those on it than those ramming through it. An-"
The argument went back and forth between the two, Xhiag speaking of tactics and Tsizu speaking of tactics. The Dark Shogun and the Shrewd Shogun, each dominant in the clay army. Though the each bowed to another.
Quing Li picked up his heavy hand from the table. His perfectly black surface was still polished and the craftsmanship used in millenia passed still shown. His Ge and Ji showed no rust no deformity of metal, each being coated with luxurious chrome. As his hand rose the Opal skin slid and gave a perfect impression of a life each man at the table no longer possessed.
The man's word were as smoke, and his stare cut through the Xhiag and Tsizu in order. The Hard Shogun spoke
We will take the men to the wall. But not for the reasons you have provided, nor should such Generals oppose each other in this way
Each bowed to the Hard.
He held the structure straight while the herders below hastily replaced the rock. After the windmill was as repaired as it was going to be, The Khan stepped back and surveyed the work. It was not perfectly aligned but the blades spun and the wheels ground. He smiles to the farmers on the ground.
"You are welcome little ones. I could never refuse my children"
The nomads he has helped whisper to each other, too quiet for his metal ears to pick up. He bends down
"What are you saying little ones?"
One of them turns and motions him down. The Great Khan lowers himself upon one knee, and tries to interpret a language a millenia to advanced for his steel mind.
"You... Are... Not... Under... Know... Present... Help."
The small Mongolian, points motions him to walk back towards the village. And he points to a large, flat wooden board. The humans climb upon it and then the Steel Temujin carefully picks it up and carries them to the moving village.
The tents are thrown together and everything can be moved at a moments notice. The people are hurrying about and all stop and gather at what was an attempt at a square for the makeshift city. The nomads all took towards the silver man. Each is smiling, clapping, or celebrating. The Khan lowers the people from the board and when they are all departed of the wood, they begin to sing for the Khan.
It only lasts a few minutes, and it was hard for the steel giant to make out many of the lines, but that does not matter to Genghis. He smiles, and a few tears of mercury even form upon his misty and eternal eyes. Once the song is finished, a few of the small ones step out and once again motion for the Khan to walk to the East of the village.
The small men are excited and skip off in the direction, and the Khan actually briefly falls behind as he carefully steps between huts and waves to his people.
As he comes into a clearing he notices first the necklace, it is a giant wooden seal. The size of a man and a half and with his title "universal ruler" crudely carved into it in words he is intimate with. The next is what amazes him.
It is thicker than a man's arm, and must have taken many days to weave together. He notices the men that he chased to this spot are actually girls, with hair cut short. He also looks back to the village, only a half mile away and can see even from this distance that most of the horses tails and mane's have been cut short for his gift.
He picks up the long string and tests its strength, and can hardly get any stretch at all. He smiles at the small ones, ans speaks deliberately so they can understand.
"Thank you, It is time. I teach, you. To make, a true bow."
The air was unclear, and smells of campfires filled with leather and bad food. The banner holder of rank Shui Jing Zhu could not believe China was so stale now. you could not tell from a arrows distance if someone was terracotta or not. He walked behind Xhiag, mounted on his steed, and wondered of the people of China had already been imprisoned and if the Guard was too late in its waking.
He focused again on his orders. They were to split the army into 2 parts. The Shade, led by his Shogun Xhiag; and the Bright, led by Shogun Chi and Samurai Qi. The Bright would man the Wall, keeping duty and spreading themselves to ensure nothing can quickly breach the wall. If anything does attack, the Darkness, waiting at the wall in a central location and armed with most of the horses are to sprint to the breach and focus more of killing the enemy than defending the wall, even if it means following into the North Lands away from the Central Kingdom.
He has seen Chi and Qi before. The rank led by Chi has once marched beside his own, and each had once fought a boat of Japanese invaders together. Shogun Chi filled out his title perfectly, he was the Light. His armor was mirrored and polished to a gleam, and many of his leathers he'd had dipped in thin quicksilver to shine and still stay flexible throughout the centuries. He was a squarely built soldier, and filled out about in shoulder like Xhiag.
Qi was less personified. He was known as the lantern, though mostly because of his relationship with Chi's family. He had once been engaged to a sister of Chi. Now that each was a man of pottery they fought together for honor and a mutual respect of the other. The lantern's armor was yellow and light gray, and mostly fashioned of leather. His blade however was exquisite.
It was called the Filament, a sword so sharp it was said it could cut a man's ideas out of his head. The handle was immaculate and the guard on it silver. True revolution of the blade was in the edged backside of the blade, allowing unorthodox methods of battle and throwing off the opponents expectations.
[Out of characters,if people show interest I will continue this]