Lu Bu's page

For once in his life, Lu Bu was impressed amazed by another individual. Before him, blocking his path on the road stood what appeared to be a man; cross armed, imposing and at the very least twenty feet tall. The… giant’s beautiful features were lost on the awed Lu Bu. ”What manner of creature are you? Be you giant, oni, or god?” He called out to the oversized man, pulling back on Red Hare’s reins so that she galloped away from the fearsome man. When Lu Bu was sure he was out of striking distance from the oversized man, he drew his shortbow and knocked an arrow, not entirely convinced that it would do anything other than annoy the man.

The figure simply looked down on Lu Bu and smirked. ”Such a puny being like you could not begin to understand my power… still, you are right to be afraid.” As Lu Bu opened his mouth to respond in protest, the figure raised an eyebrow. ”I am not so sure interrupting me is wise. You were right to question my existence as both oni and god. My name is Kami, and the lesser beings of my kind are known as Void Yai… I myself am am a Voidlord, a conqueror even amongst onikind.”

Seriously putting consideration into fleeing the encounter, Lu Bu waited to see that else would be said by this “Kami”. After a few seconds of silence, the young horseman spoke, not without a tone of awe and respect. ”I… I have heard of your kind m’lord. Fearsome warriors indeed, in charge of entire nations here in Tian Xia. What -if I may ask- do I owe the honor to meeting you here out on these crossroads, so far from civilization?” Indeed, they were several days out from the nearest town or hamlet. If Kami was indeed who he said he was… then Lu Bu would have to be very cautious in the upcoming few minutes if he wished to avoid complete and utter decimation.

The oni raised a hand and snapped. Almost immediately, Kami’s features begun to change; though his morphed features did not mar his beauty, Horns grew out of the figures head, curving outward and a third eye seemed to open on his forehead. When the transformation was complete, Kami gave Lu Bu a smug look. ”You seem surprised. That was a minor piece of my magic, nothing more. But I do wish to show you something. Step forward.”

With his arms hanging heavy, Lu Bu was paralyzed for a few seconds before guiding Red Hare towards Kami, despite the horse’s neighs of protest. When within reach of the oni’s massive arms, it suddenly snatched Lu Bu off of the horse and raised him in the air. Squeezing the air out of the man, Kami brought Lu Bu up to his eyes. ”I will show you visions of what has passed and what has yet to come. Perhaps then you will understand my purpose."

Lu Bu’s body was then racked with an unnatural pain as his vision went black. Moment’s from his past flashed in his mind while he squirmed in the oni’s hand. The night where he betrayed his birth mother, allowing Dong Zhuo to set fire to her compound and slaughter her men as the smell of fresh blood and smoke filled the air. The moment when he plunged a dagger into Dong Zhuo’s chest while he slept to secure his expedition to Shenmen… and that is when the pain Lu Bu felt turned into giddy ecstasy. The next vision was something that he had not yet experienced in life: that of him riding atop Red Hare into glorious battle, leading a battalion of men against the King’s enemies.

Shuddering in delight, Lu Bu found himself waking from these visions and staring right into the massive eyes of Kami. ”Do you see now what I want you to do? I want you to make this mortal realm more… interesting for me. I have done my share of conquest and have found that all have fallen before me. Instead, I seek a champion amongst men, one who has all the ruthless ambition of the oni, to do the same. Follow your king, and protect your allies from those who dare rise against you… but do so in a way which brings you great glory… and when the time comes, I shall visit you again. Do this or the world shall destroy you… do this or I shall destroy you.”

Before Lu Bu could respond, the oni snapped its fingers once again and suddenly disappeared. With the hand that was holding him gone, Lu Bu’s eyes opened in terror as he fell to the ground, slamming onto his back. He opened his eyes to find Red Hare standing over him, nudging at him as if to say stand up, you fool. Doing exactly that, mounted his horse once again, left in wonder by the encounter. Shaking his head and stretching his muscles, he began his trek again, making his way towards Shenmen and to his destiny.

Son of the minor warlord Ding Yuan, Lu Yuan was once the light of his mother's eye. As a skilled horseman, adept archer, and seemingly enterprising tactician, Lu Yuan excelled at a very early age and proved to surpass his fellow students of war in nearly every aspect. This would have been enough for most people, but Lu Yuan had grown up on his mother's stories of his father; a supposed member of King Yuan's family. Relishing the idea that he may in fact be royalty and yet also realizing that he was a bastard, Lu Yuan grew up with this dichotomy which confused the young boy. Quickly growing arrogant due to his bloodline he also seemed aloof to others, for no particular reason (not helped by the fact that as a bastard he couldn't share his familial legacy). Still, for a time he obeyed his mother's teachings and orders and never once went against her command.

That is until the general Dong Zhuo made him a tantalizing offer. Disown his mother and become his adoptive son and he would offer him riches and opportunities that Ding Yuan could never even begin to imagine for her son. Overcome with a sense of greed and frustration for his current lowly position, Lu Yuan gladly accepted the offer and cast off his familial name, taking up the name Lu Bu. The newly named warrior trained under the watchful eye of Dong Zhuo, quickly becoming a ruthless fighter, and an excellent commander, often helping Dong Zhuo draw up different military stratagems.

He did all this, while alienating himself from his birth mother, all but forgetting that she even existed. That is of course, until Dong Zhuo requested detailed blueprints of her compound so that he could stage a coup amongst those loyal to her, displacing her and setting up his own puppet leader. Selling out his mother in an instant, Lu Bu watched as his mother's men were slaughtered by the vastly superior forces of Dong Zhuo and could only smile at the thought that one day it would be him making such important decisions. The betrayal, however, did not go exactly as planned. Though the puppet leader was established, Ding Yuan's body was never found after the battle, and it was assumed by all parties that she survived and went into hiding.

Not to be deterred, Dong Zhuo rewarded the young Lu Bu with two separate gifts. The first was a promise to arrange something special for Lu Bu's future as a military leader: an expedition to Shenmen and a charter to settle the land authorized by the King himself. The second, was perhaps even more exciting to the young man: Dong Zhup's prized warhorse Red Hare; a specimen so fine that a price quite literally could not be placed on her head. With these two gifts as an inheritance his mother could never offer him, Lu Bu once again pledged allegiance to the general as well as made a promise to uphold the King's rule in these lands. After all, Lu Bu always knew he was never meant to be a King, that would be far too grand a title for him... on the other hand, commanding a regiment of soldiers and rushing the battlefield was more his speed.

And evens so, the betrayal of Lu Bu was not yet over as treachery rarely is. As time passed, Dong Zhuo's promise of an expedition to Shenmen was never realized. Growing agitated at waiting for his opportunity, Lu Bu did some investigating and found that Dong Zhuo had fallen out of favor with the King and was therefore unable to secure the charter for his adopted son. Furious at the perceived slight, Lu Bu allowed his rage to sit until an unexpected, but very welcome surprise came in Liu Bei, the spymaster of the King.

Explaining who he was, Liu Bei took note at Lu Bu's frustration at his adoptive father and offered him yet another offer: assassinate Dong Zhuo in the name of the King, and he could promise the charter for Shenmen within a day after the death. Taking no chance for Dong Zhuo to here of these plans, Lu Bu acted that night, murdering Dong Zhiuo within his sleep. True to his word, Liu Bei arrived with an official pardon for the murder, as well as the charter to head out the Shenmen.

Now with everything he could want, Lu Bu set off with Red Hare, seeking to make his name known to all of Tian Xia... and all of Golarion for that matter.