A journey to the past. Act. I

The sun stood high in the pale blue field that was dotted with only a few wisps of silky white. An enormous scarlet chariot, pulled by two large armoured aurochs, thunder's over the road from Magnolia to wards the border of Fiore and Minstrel. Normally two carts could easily part each other but this chariot was as broad as the entire road. The large scythes on the wheels were folded, other wise it would be nearly twice as wide and thrice as deadly. A giant man dressed in reddish bronze armour, as thick as two thumbs, over his shoulders hung a heavy cloak of crimson trimmed with fur stood upon the chariot. His face was copper-coloured and framed by red hairs.

Gangting was on his way to a city of myth, the grand city of Duoshang, a city sacked demons eons ago according to myth and legend. All historians of Earthland agree, it's a fabled tale with possible some truths. Gangting knows better, he was the founder of that city those many eons ago and he had abandoned it. Thoughts that had never been his intent. He had been instructed by Tudigong, the God of Land and Soil, to unite the mountain tribes of Darudan and found the city of Duoshang. The city was build within a mountain valley and had four sets of walls. The outer wall ran along the mountains and contained the farmlands. The second wall ran within the outer walls and protected the thousands of houses and workshops. The inner wall protected the urban villa's of the nobility, the former tribal chieftains. Within the inner walls was the royal palace of Gangting himself, it was a grand walled citadel. The palace had numerous barracks, stables, kitchens, servant quarters, granaries and gardens. There were three main buildings, the palace of gifts where Gangting would receive his taxes from his citizens and the tribute of his conquered cities and states. This was the first of the large buildings when one would walk from the crimson gate. The second hall was larger and known as the palace of kings. Grand feast were held here and foreign monarchs received. The largest of the great palaces was the Place of Tudigong, which stood high upon a rocky hill. Here was the temple of the great God of earth and soil himself. The place was shaped as a large dome and within its midst stood a giant throne, made from many coloured marble plates. The statue of Tudigong himself was the largest statue in existence at the time. The skin was made of flawless white marble, it's cloths made of silver and gold set with priceless gems. His hair and beard were made from silver wire, his eyes were made of ivory and emeralds. It was a splendid sight to behold, it was truly the pride of the city.

Gangting was not born a prince but rather was born a warrior. His village was one of the many mountain tribe villages and like most other villages, plagued by demon spawn. Gangting, or rather Qiang as he had not yet taken the name Gangting, decided to seek a power or weapon to ride the demons from the face of the earth. The demon attacks had occurred more often than not and grew severer in damage. Qiang deemed it necessary for survival to find this means to destroy the demonic plague but the villagers were terrified by the idea that their champion would be away from their hearths and homes. Many paid tribute to him and begged him to stay, the chieftain offered him his own position as a ruler if he would stay. Nothing swayed Qiang of his self imposed quest, he was determined to save them but for that, he to leave them behind. Qiang had trained the warriors and the peasantry to fend for themselves for when he was away, and that had to make due. Qiang set out on his journey, equipped with a bronze sword, axe and bronze lamellar armour with a helmet. He carried a large satchel with cloths, blankets and cooking equipment. The villagers provided him with enough food for weeks and gave him a small fortune in coins, a scares item in mountains.

The first part of his journey was pestered by demons who hindered him on his path. No day passed by on which he didn't fight a demon until he reached the first city on his journey. The city of Badluga was a walled city on the river Lugu. It was the trading hub for these parts of the mountains, the walls gave protection and the river could be used to travel large commodities to the city or other cities.

Never before had I seen so many people at once, the bazaar was crowded with hundreds of people and market stalls. The air was rich with the fragrance of spices and herbs from far away places. Merchants offered splendid crafted silk cloth bundles for sale and others offered as splendidly coloured birds, in copper cages. Some of those birds could even speak words and sentences, I had been told that there was no magic at play. The main market was near the docks were grain, rice, wood and livestock were traded. The city was full of life and colour.

It was in this place that Qiang started asking the merchants from faraway places, such people from beyond the Red Waste, from the other side of the Halulon mountains and those that came over the Green Sea and the Silent Ocean, for information. He asked had asked dozens of people, tribesmen, from Dun, boatmen of Chulu and blue bearded merchant princes from Pontes. He learned from a Chulu boatman that there was a very powerful warlord in the Southern coastal regions of the Rohdorian empire. Locra, the boatmen, told Qiang that this warlord, a former general of the Rohdor, was famed for his prowess in battle and that he personally has slain demons and even a dragon. He had been a skilful commander, who commanded from the rear in battle but when he turned into a fearsome warrior who commanded his legions from the vanguard when he separated from the empire. Locra said that if Qiang could prove his worth to the warlord, then may haps he could some things.