-Ascension;

[Lu Xiang]

My Lands

Quest: My Land
Mod: No
Difficulty: Hard
Description: Rumors are flying around that your not worthy of ruling, eviscerate these rumors and find the source that leaked them.

(I understand the lack of relevance for this quest to the objectives of it. But then again I invented the quest system to explore a bit and think outside the box. They are merely guidelines that are traditionally meant to be broken. Imagination is rewarded, is it not? Anyways... *clears storytelling throat*)

Lu Xiang smiled, rolling his finger across his lip. The time was quickly approaching for his ascension. Being pushed down by the world around him, told he was nothing anymore but a hero of the past. He refused to obey such claims. Like the sea pumping against the rock and slowly eroding it.. the tides were quickly rising. Heed this call, or drown beneath the tsunami that was gathering in the depths of Xiang's shallow heart. Clenching his fist before opening his palm, a dead moth held inside.

"The world is so cold... I promise to make it even colder..."

The holy testament between life and death.. God could deny Lu Xiang nothing and if he did.. there was always the Devil. He wasn't a holy man, infact a rather unholy fiend. He wouldn't deny anything from granting him complete dominion. A thousand needles couldn't come close to his severe torturous mind. It was time to meet the monster the world had helped to create..

The blistered lands couldn't compare to Xiang's ambition; there was nothing or nobody great enough to satisfy him, however with a little - spring cleaning.. things could work. He laughed, finding himself at a slave market. He usually wouldn't pay but he was feeling generous and with a pocket-full of dead mans treasure it would the least he could do to get the cogs of war turning.

Slaves? Why not warriors? Why was a fearsome warrior wasting money with simple slaves. It would all make sense, eventually.. for a start they were alot cheaper, not as obedient but cheaper none the less. Willing servants to submit to him and a start to his forces. His cold voice constricted everyone around the room as he bartered with the slave runner, earning several good purchases. Healthy, strong slaves.

See Lu Xiang cared little for rumors, infact he promoted them. Let the world hate him, it only promoted more escalation for affairs with him. He didn't need honour, righteousness or money to prove his worthy. But something more grand. Something huge.. something... endless and cruel.

Something more grand? Stand back and obey your eyes in complete fear, amazement and glory. What could stand longer then a human? an army? a fortune?... an idea. a structure.

He called it Iron Crown Citadel. It wasn't much at the moment; a plot of dug ground on the outskirts of Xia Pi. In good distance of trade. But this lead onto the questioning of the name? Surely a golden crown would be far more glorious. Glory wasn't what Lu Xiang wanted, in the end it was never gold what put people in the ground, it wasn't the cold, bitter sharp blade of gold that eviscerated enemies. Iron Crown; reminding his enemies he wasn't interested in the riches of ruling. He was death - personified.

Though the structure nor idea was fortified yet, and with only a handful of slaves it would take a while. He still didn't have the funds to support this massive plan nor the work force. Though that would never stop him. The heroes had ivory towers, halls of honour and banquets.. but the villains? Left to rot and die.. how very traditional of the human race for them to neglect their impending doom.

"You will begin work immediately; forge a terrace worthy of your Majesty... or be buried beneath it."

He said with no remorse, crossing his arms and kicking open a chest of work tools. It would be the cruelest building created within history to date. A place where demons ruled, where you spine would double twist just in the site out of fear. Home... home sweet home.

[Lu Xiang]

The source for these rumours, what rumours? Lu Xiang was deaf to his enemies; not listening, forever watching. His eagle eyes were almost as sharp as his blade at your head. The blade that came natural crashing down, ripping through your nerves and into that pretty neck bone of yours. The knight in shining armour, but he wasn't here to rescue of look handsome. He threw in the gloves of humanity and duty a long time ago, now he relished in the dark arts. Anythign the darkness touched - would soon be his.. Nobody could stand in his way.

"I have given you the Iron Fist; what do you return to me?"

The construction had been going for several months now; with the arrival of the Black Strategist; Xiang Yu things only went quicker. As he brought prized gifts and slaves from Xia Pi - stolen from beneath Tao Qians eyes as he portrayed himself as a inspector before betraying the Han and ultimately the world. Casting his allegiance to Lu Xiang. The citadel grew stone by stone; huge bricks of granite and lime stone stacked upon eachother. A spectre to the east - the great necromancers tower was thrown up. A huge iron spire, coilied around with a stair case on the inside. Everything was going according to plan.. and the best thing nobody dared venture out this far to even witness such a thing being built. The land was in the barrens, several dozen miles east of Xia Pi itself.. laying away from roads but still in good distance to collect food and other resources.

"I have created a domain in which you can belong, exist and survive; what do you return onto me?"

Tighten the chains around these mands master.. The stewards of this land no longer deserve the right to rule, it is you. Dark Messiah.

They scretched, the men in the cages, barracks.. it was all the same. Under the cloak of itself he was preparing a secret army. A dark, deformed plague that would spread throughout the land. However he wasn't going to give away his master plan.. just yet. He prepared a army just for Hu Lao; he knew a battle would come in which he could trick the other leaders into his mind set and that he was actually on their side. A unit trained for brutallity; he had taught them everything about pain, torture.. death and war. They had been interrogated, beaten, whipped and worked to the bone before being fed and sent to sleep before the whole process was repeated the next day. An ultimate batch of warriors, yet he lacked the tools to advance them even further yet.

"Who is it that you bow to?"

He announced, from the balcony of the necromancer's tower. The building wasn't yet complete but still stable and accesable. Several hundred men below him; several hundred foot below roared one single name.. Lu Xiang. He laughed out loud; before raising his sword and pointing it to the sky. A demonic chant began "Argooah! Argooooah!". Lu Xiang smiled, before launching a head over the edge of the balcony.. a builder who was too weak to keep up with the busy work and denied his lord, his king.. his employer the work he owed for this paradise he had laid down...

The head smashed to the steps at the bottom near the entrance, before rolling in an obscure way down several steps before plundging into the foot of the captain of the forces who were at the bottom, in the courtyard. He screeched, a blood thristy roar as his mouth dripped with salivia and rage.

They were ready..

Back inside the tower, Lu Xiang relaxed; sinking himself into a small chair - almost comparable to his throne inside the keep itself. He sat a finger stretched to his eye lid.. the others rested gently on his cheek before laughing.. Ha..ha..ha...hahahaha. A small laugh erupted into a more viscious and uncontrollable laughing, blasting out the walls of the tower. The clanking of shield and sword from outside and the cries from the warriors. The pounding of the spears upon the floor, the pound of hammers upon the anvils.

[Hiei]

And Lu Xiang builds his Iron Crown Citadel, the dark knight using the walls of the great building to hold his many slaves and captives. And in these walls, he warps them into hardened soldiers through cruel means, and creates himself a formidable army to begin his conquest with.

Rewards:

• 50 Fame
  
• 5 Corruption
  
• 10 Unfairness
  
• 15 Feared
  
• 1000 Peasants in army turned to Iron Pawns.

Iron Pawns[/u]
Hardened in the walls of the Iron Crown Citadel, the discipline and obedience of these Iron Pawns are top-notch. Combat-wise, their only advantage would be their physical strength, as they lack the training to develop their skills in combat. Armed with simple weapons, like swords, spears and wooden shields, clad in armor the likes of leather and thin steel.
Strength: Discipline and physical prowess
Weakness: Lack of knowledge in arts of war
Comparable To: Volunteers