Yao Zhidong

You are a disgrace to the clan, the youngest of the children. Your inability to conform to standards and traditions led to your expulsion. Your name has been struck off the register for good. Years after this event, you settled in the forest, occasionally venturing out to a small village near the borders of the state. You have a small shelter where you sleep, eat and keep yourself entertained.

But whilst you were living at peace with yourself, the emperors of the two states - one of which you belong to - went to war. The warriors of the two warring powers were inexorably closing in on the borders.
And now the enemy has crept closer than anyone expected. As usual, you were gathering twigs to build a makeshift fireplace in your home. As you made your way down the gorge towards the river, you heard a faint sound. The familiar silence to which you had grown so accustomed was broken by the quiet, almost imperceptible clatter of hooves and whispers. Hiding behind the trees, you surveyed the spot from which the sounds were coming: light tents, horses standing in the distance, and people quietly chatting amongst themselves as they settled down by the fire. These were not the emperor’s servants from your country; their armour was different, you realised. You needed to leave immediately, but just then a man in heavy robes emerged from the tent. You sensed his status at once: a high-ranking official or a military commander, no doubt. He surveyed the clearing where the warriors were resting with a frown, and after apparently making up his mind, he returned to the tent.

You needed to get back to the hut urgently, you began to climb quietly up the slope; less than ten minutes had passed when a bird, pierced by an arrow,fell right beside you. One of the archers was already climbing up to retrieve his prey, and your eyes met. The warrior shouted to his comrades to warn them of the enemy.