Shìbīng Name: nine hundred – seven ten – three or 973 Jiǔ bǎi qī shí sān or Soldier Shìbīng Race: reskinned Warforged Terracotta Soldier Gender Identity: N/A (statue), formerly maleClass: Fighter (Banneret)Background: SoldierAlignment: LN (lawful neutral)Appearance: Shìbīng is a terracotta statue of a male human soldier, but one that has been masterfully crafted. He is only one of more than 8000 terracotta soldiers that were placed in the hidden tomb of Huánghé‘s first emperor, a personal army meant to serve the great lord in the afterlife. What is truly impressive, considering the vast numbers of the statues, is that not two of them are alike, each one modeled after real warriors who had distinguished themselves in the „wars of unification“ and were handpicked by the emperor himself to serve as his eternal guardians and retainers. The Seeker: Yes? Shìbīng is on a journey to (re)discover his own mortality.
How long had he been fighting? It was hard to tell. Smoke and swarms of arrows covered the sun and his attention was demanded by the clang of metal and the cries of the men next to him. Cries of bravery and aggression, cries of pain and despair, cries of war. He knew these cries as well as he knew the face of his own parents and siblings, but still he had not grown used to them. For many of his fellow soldiers war was not only familiar, but a friend. It was the master who sustained them and their families, the only chance they had of becoming something other than mere farmers bound to hunger and poverty as firmly as they were bound to the earth.
But he was not like that. He liked the smell of earth and the feel of dried mud on his hands. He was grateful for the rice his family’s paddy fields provided them with and certain that the gods would not forget them when the harvest was bad. He dreamt of a gentle wife and a dozen of half-naked children running wildly around him. Such had been the life of his father and all his ancestors before him and he didn’t consider himself too good for the simple pleasures of a humble household.
This, however, was not the time for dreaming about the hearth and the blessings of peace. Not while the fate of Huánghé was at stake. Everything depended upon this single day. The rebel lord Xu Liang and his allies, who longed for a divided land full of petty kings, had gathered an army that rivaled that of the emperor in both numbers and skill. Were they to triumph, the gods alone knew how many centuries would have to pass before Huánghé got another chance at unification and peace.
And it did seem that the rebels had the upper hand in this conflict. Xu Liang, at the head of his elite force, had broken through the lines of the imperial army and threatened the emperor himself. And between the two, the force of order and the force of chaos, stood a single company of ordinary soldiers. And he was one among the many. Not necessarily more skilled and certainly not braver than they were. But he was determined to protect his master no matter the cost.
Many of his fellow soldiers charged forward, hoping that courage and heroism would carry the day, but it did not. Some tried to cut off the enemy lord from his followers by driving a wedge between himself and his main body of soldiers, but failed. A few threw down their swords, spears and bows and turned their backs to the enemy, but were quickly cut down. And what did he do? He kept on fighting. Tirelessly, with great determination, his sword‘s edge now blunted and his shield battered, buying as much time as possible.
It was a simple strategy, the plan a peasant-turned-soldier might come up with, but it seemed to work. Others gathered around him, following his example, serving as an example themselves. And then more and more, until the enemy halted and Xu Liang‘s momentum was broken, allowing the imperial army to regroup and retaliate. And win the battle.
*****
A full week after the greatest and last battle of the war and mere hours before Xu Liang‘s execution, he was summoned to appear before the first emperor of a now united Huánghé. Not having expected such a high honor, he quickly donned his unpolished armor and picked up his no longer serviceable shield and hurried to the imperial tent. He kept his eyes to the earth that he knew and avoided the stern gazes of princes and generals, high officials and court eunuchs, who no doubt wondered why the Lord for Countless Years would show interest in a nameless foot soldier.
As the emperor left his tent, followed by his closest advisors and his imperial guard, the soldier performed the traditional fist-and-palm greeting, bowing deeply before the lord of lords. The emperor glanced at him and halted.
"As your Holy Highness commanded, this is…"
The eunuch about to announce the soldier to the master of Huánghé stopped immediately as the emperor raised his hand.
"They say you were responsible for stopping Xu Liang‘s advance. Is it true?"
The soldier responded, not daring to raise his gaze from the hem of the emperor’s yellow dragon robe.
"This one and the men who fought beside him are honored and grateful to have served your Imperial Majesty."
The emperor nodded as if he had expected no other answer.
"Those that defeated the rebel lords have been made generals and governors. You have acted as my shield. What would you ask of us as payment for your service?"
A reward? The soldier desired nothing but to return to the house of his parents, work the fields, find a suitable wife, sire sons… But he could not ignore an imperial „request“. Neither could he offend him by appearing ungrateful.
"A new shield so that I can continue to defend the Son of Heaven from his enemies."
"So be it."
The emperor clapped once and immediately two servants came forth, carrying the most magnificent shield the soldier could have imagined. It resembled the classical Qi Bing Pang Pai, the shield that cavalrymen carried, round and strapped to the arm, though it was much larger than a normal cavalry shield and made of bronze instead of wood and leather. Its surface was sculpted in such a way as to depict the head of an angry dragon, its eyes ablaze with heavenly fire.
The soldier bowed even more deeply and
Sentinel Shield accepted this gift , which was fit for a prince, with gratitude.
"May the Heaven bless and keep the Lord of Ten Thousand Years!"
The emperor looked at the soldier and a thought crossed his mind.
"Will you fight for us? Will you keep us safe?"
"It will be an honor, your Imperial Majesty!"
"Until death claims us?"
"It will be an honor, your Imperial Majesty!"
"Even after death? For all eternity?"
"It will be an honor, your Imperial Majesty!"
The emperor nodded, obviously pleased, and walked away, followed by his many escorts. But after only taking a few steps, he halted once more.
"Remember your oath to us, for we shall not forget."
"Jiǔ bǎi qī shí sān!"
Nine hundred and seventy-three.
The soldier stirred for the first time since… for the first time ever? He wasn’t sleeping, because he could not sleep. He wasn’t dreaming, because he could not dream. He merely was. He could not remember who he was, but he knew
what he was. A soldier of his Imperial Majesty, the soldier with the number nine hundred and seventy-three.
He left the ranks, distancing himself from his fellow soldiers and followed the sound of the voice. It was a voice full of power and authority. A voice that did not repeat itself. A voice he was destined to obey for all time.
Darkness surrounded him, a darkness that was deeper than a moonless night, but he was not afraid. His chest was devoid of a human heart and completely empty of the emotions that make a man a man, so he just kept on going, his only desire being to fulfill his duty.
Before long he reached a gold-lacquered throne lit by four braziers resembling mythological animals and burning with magical flames that needed no fuel to keep the darkness away. The imperial throne was only a relatively short distance from where he had been stationed, no more one thousand feet, but the soldier wouldn’t have minded if he had had to walk all the way to the moon to do his lord‘s bidding.
"May the Heaven bless and keep the Lord of Ten Thousand Years!"
Placing his right palm over his left fist, the soldier bowed as deeply as his terracotta body would allow him without breaking in two.
The figure seated upon the throne, wearing robes of bright yellow that were decorated with dragons, did not respond. He had the visage of a respectable elderly man, his face full of dignity, power and wisdom. But if anyone dared to look into his eyes, they would realize that there was something that marred the perfection of his immortal existence - listlessness.
The soldier waited patiently for his lord to address him, neither bothered by what would have been an uncomfortable position for a human, nor anxious to get on with his duties. This was his only duty and just like his master he was no longer a slave to time. In fact time had absolutely no meaning for anyone inside the resting place of Huánghé’s first emperor, the tomb that had been covered by a mountain to keep it safe from grave robbers.
"You are awake, soldier Shìbīng , but what use is it to us?" The voice seemed as powerful as it had been in life, but if one listened carefully they would detect a hollowness in it.
"How can your presence give meaning to our existence? Who would have thought that eternity could be so dreary?"
"I am at his Imperial Majesty‘s command and shall do as I am told."
"Fine, fine. We shall give you a chance. Tell us of our glory."
The soldier was no poet, but he had often heard others speak of the first emperor‘s reign with unfeigned admiration. He was the one who had unified the land, the father of Huánghé and guardian of peace and prosperity. Some even likened him to the Jade Emperor, the ruler of Heaven and of the entire celestial bureaucracy, or believed that he had assumed this position upon his death and ascension.
So the soldier started recounting the many triumphs of the first emperor upon the field of battle, the magnificent palaces he had built and the great cities he had founded, his accomplishments in science, art and religion, along with anything else he could think of.
"What you speak of, others before you have mentioned as well. But what does it matter? It is the past and as such a mere shadow of the present. My enemies' bones have long turned to dust, their names forgotten, and earth now covers the palaces I have built and the cities I have founded. Where is the glory in that?"
The soldier went on, telling his high master about the changes he had brought to the lives of the ordinary people, his former family and the people of the village he had been born in as a man of flesh and blood, but the emperor interrupted him.
"What glory can be found in a peasant family or a single village? We have been wrong to seek wisdom in the emptiness of a statue made from earth. Return to your place, Shìbīng. We no longer have need of a no-man‘s service."
"The answers your Imperial Majesty seeks do not lie within these dark halls" , the soldier responded, eager to serve his master one final time.
"The only thing that can attest to the Son of Heaven‘s glory is his immortal legacy in the world of living beings. I was once one of these living beings, your Imperial Majesty. I believe I can learn to be one once again and bear witness to the great deeds of the past that have shaped the present and will also shape the future. If your Holy Highness permits me to walk the living world a second time, I shall return with proof that the memory of the Lord of Ten Thousand Years has never escaped the minds of the people."
A light shone in the emperor’s eyes as hope was born inside his heart. With his hand upon his bearded chin he considered long and finally spoke.
"So be it. You have our permission. Head out into the world, find your own mortality and bring us proof of our everlasting glory. Remember your duty to us, for we shall not forget. Now go."
The soldier bowed deeply before the first emperor and left. An immortal in search of mortality. A servant looking for his master’s glory that could defy the ages. A noble quest. Possibly a fool‘s quest.
His quest.
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He/Him - I have taken the Oath of Sangus
”The elf told me to!” - Pnoah, tinker gnome
Jan 23rd, 2022, 11:15 AM
I liked both of those concepts. But less competition, at least?
