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THE ZHONGSHI DAKAI

Geography and people:

|Geographical Location of CLIQUE:| At the moment the Zhongshi Dakai has no permanent base of operations or territory it controls. The armored forces of the Thor’s army remain in the territory right by the rivers at Delsai, prepared for the attack. They are currently supported by logistics from the forces of General Hyeun Tae-Kyeung.

|Cities:| None at the moment.

 Your Warlord:

|Name:|Thor Xiong-Va
|Title:| Marshal-General of the Zhongshi Dakai, The Lion of Seraat
|Age:| 42
|Ethnicity:| Mixed Jorguk/Bingal ancestry
|Personal Ideology: | Benevolent Civic Nationalism
|Influence in the faction: | 22%
|Personality|: Thor Xiong-Va is known by those who know him for his kindhearted demeanor and his humble attitude in life. Humorous perhaps to a fault, Thor easily endears himself to his men. Despite this, a strict moral compass dictated by honor and duty have come to define him. Unsurprisingly, the Marshal-General is fiercely loyal to both the men under his command and those who have earned his trust and friendship. In addition to being fiercely loyal, he projects his own sense of honor to both allies and enemies expecting both to act to the same code he does. A lack of ambition defines his behavior, most notably displaying itself in lack of goals; for Thor, his men's loyalty is enough. In the end this reveals itself as a double edged sword; Thor would sooner cast himself into the line of fire than sacrifice his men for his own gain. The loyalty of his troops is without question and the Marshal-General is loathe to prove that loyalty misplaced. Despite his pleasant demeanor, Thor looks the part of a grim soldier. A thousand yard stare always darkens his features only to be broken with a broad smile when faced with comrades and compatriots.
|His/Her Virtue: Masterful Combatant| Thor's history as a soldier and considerable experience in the field has formed him into a highly effective military mind. Military service beneath the Royalist forces before the civil war, deployments as a field officer in the Republican army during the beginning stages of the Civil War, and finally his time spent as a warlord in his own right for the Nationalist cause has done nothing but increase these natural in born skills. His tact and guile as a commander is forced by his desire to spare lives where he can and alternatives quickly pop to mind when the risk of losing his beloved soldiers comes to mind. 
|His/Her Virtue: Charisma of the Lion| The Lion of Seraat is without a doubt one of the most naturally charismatic people in all of Zengrav. His willingness to show kindness even to his enemies endears friend and foe alike to him while his charming behavior and friendly attitude makes sure they remain that way. Unlike others who foster high morale through roaring speeches or fiery rhetoric, Thor simply is Thor. His smile is infectious, his kindness contagious, and his demeanor an epidemic wherever he goes. Soldiers in the worst foxholes on the most grueling fronts can't help but be uplifted by his humorous antics and jovial attitude and many find themselves willing to throw themselves into hell for him, even despite his orders otherwise. 
|His/Her Sin: Overly Trusting| A sense of honor can be uplifting in many ways but Thor is consistently haunted by the dangers of trusting others too far. His personal code of ethics both demands and expects others to follow in his footsteps and frequently the Marshal-General finds himself faced with those who consistently fail to measure up. Enemy spies are released on their promise that they found nothing, captured nobles are sent home on the promise that they have no further intent to carry arms against his cause, and unwise advisers are believed to be truthful in all of their claims. With the assistance of others Thor can find fault in such actions but when alone, left to his own devices, his demeanor cannot help but direct him to practically blind optimism.

|History and Background:|

Thor Xiong-Va was born to an unknown mother in the city of Zur-Han. His mother leaving him at an early age for unknown reasons led to his life as an orphan. This period as a street rat in the gutters of Zur-Han forced Thor to be tough but never worked out of him a natural kindness. He was adopted at ten off the streets by a Jorguk day laborer and his wife, where he received the surname Thor and his second given name Xiong. Although a life as a laborer was contentful enough for Thor, he was tempted by the increase in status and wealth offered to a soldier and volunteered for the service at sixteen years old. 

Thor swiftly rose in the ranks as a non-commissioned officer due to a mix of dependable qualities that officers and enlisted alike found amiable. He was tough on those who needed to be kicked into action and kind to those who simply needed a helping hand. His early life and poor upbringing did little to engender friendship among the upper echelons of command. At the rank of Master Sergeant Thor took part in the defensive war against Zengrav’s Northern neighbors. Identifying and attempting to avert a disastrous defeat in the attempted glory hounding by a Noble commanding officer, Thor was reprimanded and forced into the action anyways. After the resulting defeat was pinned on Thor he was swiftly court martialed and dishonorably discharged for his failure. 

Thor would later go on to work as a janitor in the University of Nonsu, working in the only capacity a dishonored soldier could. During this time Thor would be become fast friends with a number of the staff and student body for his friendly and outgoing demeanor. Over the years Thor would develop a friendship with a young student-turned-professor by the name of Hyeun Tae-Kyeung. The two would become friends over a shared interest in military affairs and the lives of the Zengravian people.

When the Republican revolution occurred Thor would be one of the first volunteers for the Republican Army. He was granted a commission in the Republican Army commanding forces consisting of veteran volunteers he had served with in his time in the Royal Army and fresh recruits volunteering out of national pride. Promoted to the rank of Colonel, Thor would lead his forces to the front to engage against the Royalist forces he had once served. Over the several years of conflict Thor would become consistently disillusioned with the Republican cause after perceived selfishness, greed, and ineptitudes led to the same failures Thor saw in the Royalists. It would be these very issues that would lead Thor straight into the Nationalist Cause with the White Shirt Uprising when he would be swayed to the side of the Nationalists by his old friend and confidant, now Lieutenant-Colonel Hyeun Tae-Kyeung. 

|Armed Forces:|

The Vanguard Grenadiers form the elite core of the Zhongshi Dakai’s armed forces. They are battle hardened and fiercely loyal soldiers, riding into battle astride armoured transports and on the backs of tanks and other machines of war. While few in numbers they can turn the tide of a battle through sheer skill and determination. Armed with a mix of automatic and semiautomatic weapons, they are masters of  mounted and mechanized combat. Mounted in their metal steeds they are deployed alongside infantry formations of other warlords or to supplement the speed and power of the armored forces used by the Zhongshi Dakai.

The Zhongshi Companion Cavalry crew are the skilled crewmen of the Zhongshi Dakai’s war machines. Having spent many sleepless days piloting vehicles for multiple factions before joining the nationalist forces, each one has been tested by the brutality of armored warfare and  has come out the otherside as skilled and highly effective veteran tankers. Each companion crew can pilot a veritable host of armored vehicles deployed by the Zhongshi Dakai ranging from tanks of all sizes and weight to mechs and armored artillery. 

Dakai Pathfinders take great pride in their ability to survey and infiltrate enemy positions without being spotted. As well as being accomplished infiltrators and saboteurs the Pathfinders have shown considerable tenacity and bravery defending positions with the support of the light vehicles they deploy from. Pathfinders are generally equipped with scoped or iron-sighted rifles that can engage at long to medium ranges and semi-automatic side arms but have little to no armor or support weaponry to make for easy swift maneuvers. Typically they are deployed ahead of the main forces to scout positions and earmark fortifications for destruction. 

The Iron Lotus Brigade is the elite motorized shock infantry shod in the obsolete Iron Infantry armor offered by the Lavanian logistics forces. They are fearsome troops, heavily armored and well equipped for their role as high-risk assault infantry. They made a name for themselves during the Battle of Seraat even before they had been equipped with Lavanian armor and have continued to serve with distinction in the Zhongshi line of battle. It is from this unit that the bodyguards of Zhongshi officers are selected and the Iron Companions, Thor’s own elite bodyguard battalion, is pulled directly from the most elite of this prestigious unit.

|Their finest hour:|

Thor breathed heavily as his ears rang sharply over the din of battle. Clods of soil covered the ground and marked his face with smudges and smears. It had been hours of this and now even Thor’s stamina was being out to the test but he refused to give up anyways. The clang of his rifle’s bolt hammering back and forth was the only thing he could hear till the ring finally began to leave his ears.

The attack had been ferocious and Thor’s fellow nationalists had collapsed beneath the Royalist Northern Army. Now he was on the front line, holding up and trying to keep his men fighting.  For hours Thor and his men would hold the line they knew that they could not retreat because even if they died they would serve as diversion so that others in the city would be able to leave. This had always been the Marshal-General’s goal to protect his people at any cost and now more then ever he was determined he fought harder, harder then even he thought he would be able to and after a sea  of royal forces and nationalist defenders lay dead in front of him and his men Thor would spot a break in the onslaught a way out, an escape root. 

Mustering all his strength and all the air left in his haggard lungs Thor called for the retreat. Him and his men ran backwards through the break in the chaos and headed down an ally. There a fence had been blown down by artillery and a clear opening had been made leading into the catacombs under the city. Here in this land of the dead and forgotten they would have a brief break from the fighting and the chaos the silence was strange to Thor's ears after so much noise up above and he finally had time to notice the blood dripping into his eye from a shallow wound on his forehead.

After a few minutes of waiting Thor's second in command, Yuan Yuhan, approached Thor asking him if they were going to wait for the royalist forces to roll over and then sneak out of the city under cover of dark. Thor stood up from the ground and told his men he would not blame any of them for wanting to leave and they were free to do so but he was staying none of his men left and they began plans for an insurgency 

Nearly three weeks had passed since Thor had brought the remnants of his forces into the catacombs of Saraat. Every single day had been a clash for survival with more and more casualties mounting. Thor refused to give in and continued to dig deeper and fall back farther into the catacombs while leaving all manner of traps pitfalls for the pursuing royalist forces to fall into. By now, however, the Royalists had cornered him and his troops in the deepest reaches of the many tunnels and chambers beneath the city with no more avenues of retreat left for them. Their insurgency was done and there was nothing left to do but hold the line or die trying.

The barricades holding at the entrances into the inner sanctum had by now become shattered wrecks from gunfire and handgrenades tossed down the chamber and the few troopers that held there fired back with what little ammo they had. The Royalists hadn’t stopped their assault over the last few hours despite horrendous casualties and it had become completely clear that the Noble commanders had full intent to drag their prizes out from the tunnels as trophies. 

Thor grumbled to himself as he played with the final round of his weapon before pushing it into the magazine. A quiet moment passed as Thor considered the repercussions of being taking alive by the Royalists and a shiver ran itself down his spine. He slammed the magazine into its housing and racked the slide before turning to the doorway, preparing. His men were numerous in this deep hall as he had drawn in all his forces for a final defense. Hundreds were prepared to fight and die as the last ditch effort of the Nationalist cause. A small smile fueled by a hope for his comrade Hyeun’s escape crossed Thor’s face before he finally prepared for the last assault. The gunfire had stopped and in the lull the expectation of high explosives entering the room filled Thor’s guts with worry. He had hoped to escape with all his troops, to see if they could survive and fight another day, but knew this was too much.

Gunfire filled the chambers with noise and the whole of his forces braced for the final fight. Voices and shouts could be heard coming from the hallway and they were swiftly drowned out by gunfire and the clang of heavy metal boots. Prepared to die, Thor stepped forward and waited at the gateway with his pistol raised and pointed down the hall. Out of the darkness came the glint of steel followed by a skull shaped mask and the flash of electric torches. Thor lowered his weapon, suddenly realizing exactly who these troops were.

“Primus, there are White Shirts down here!”

Thor stared on, jaw barely holding its place with an overwhelming desire to drop, as a platoon of iron infantry of Lavania marched inside. The officer, a lieutenant by the marks on his arm, stomped in and saluted the General in the traditional Lavanian fashion.

“General. We are here to relieve you; Seraat belongs to the righteous Nationalist cause once more, by order of the Primus Populare.”

|Their darkest hour:|

Thor looked on at the Royalist scout with a glare creasing his features. His sweat pooled on his forehead and had poured across his face, nearly blinding him in concert with the bright sun. His troops stood in a vague column behind him, having been in marching formation when the scout had been caught. Now those closest to him sneered and glared no doubt thinking thoughts of cruelty. Thor was not that kind of man though. He looked on questioning what to do. For the last few weeks his troops had been fleeing through the northern desert just east of Delsai in an attempt to escape the slaughter in the west. Thor had learned from his correspondence with Hyeun Tae-Kyeung that the Nationalist forces were to regroup in Saraat and had been specifically told to keep the destination a secret. Now he was faced with a conundrum. 

The scout had found them after Thor’s forces had finally shaken the Royalist pursuers and the threat of being discovered by their forces at large was constantly hanging over his head. If they found out the direction in which his troops had gone any competent commander could determine their direction, even if such men were found few and far between in the Nationalist ranks. His troops had initially planned a summary execution for the man, driven by the frustrations of being constantly pursued and the heat of the desert, but a more sound of mind officer had decided to take the scout to Thor himself. Now Thor looked down doing his best to look imperious and stern, though in his heart he only knew uncertainty.

“Please, Noble Sir-”

Thor held up a hand with the cigarette still burning between his index and middle finger. He stared the man dead in the eyes to size him up. Man. More like boy. He could barely see the hint of whiskers on his face and in a long desert campaign like this there was no way he had had time to shave. There was fear in the eyes of the boy-soldier that the Royalists had drummed up to hunt him down. From that fear Thor felt a great deal of pain churning in his heart as he realized what he likely needed to do.

“I am not a Noble.”

“I’m sorry sir- General. I didn’t know. Forgive me.” The boy gulped, a bead of sweat sliding down his forehead. “Please, let me live. Spare me. I do not wish to die here. Let me return home.”

The men around the General aired their grievances in the way only dehydrated and stressed soldiers could with jeers and loud condemnations. Their tanks had been running hot and many times they had stalled, having to waste precious time cooling the engines. The indignity of sharing using their own unneeded liquids to cool the engines, a decision made by the General himself, had spared them from using their desperately needed water rations but all of the men felt the sting of their poor fate. As Thor raised his hand they proved their loyalty, silencing themselves once more as they waited for his pronouncement. 

“I will spare you.” The one sigh of relief and the groans of displeasure from the men filled the air for that moment. “But you must swear to speak nothing of what you found. Return to your home, if you can. You must swear this to me, as soldiers and free men, and I shall let you go.”

The boy swore, of course, and was promptly set free with his canteen refilled. Thor desperately hoped in his heart of hearts that the boy would simply return to his home in some far off county to live out the rest of his days in peace. Unfortunately, a heavy weight in his stomach told him that the secret location of the Saraat base of the Nationalists would not remain secret for long.

|Other Important People inside the Clique:|

Brigadier General Yuan Yuhan
Yuan served in the royal military at the same time as Thor where the two of them met while in training at the age of sixteen. Even at that time Yuan was a high spirited and entertaining man and always had to be the center of attention. He gained a notoriety as a joker in his unit through raising moral by being the biggest ham he could be it was hardly surprising that Yuan and Thor would become lifelong friends. After training the pair would go on to serve in the same platoon in the Royal Army. Overtime he began to admire and respect Thor, discovering that he always had his brothers in arms well-being at heart. During Thor's court martial Yuan would come to Thor's defense and try to clear his name by proving the incompetence of the noble that had been in control of the battle. Unfortunately nothing he could say or do could prove Thor's innocence. 

Yuan had a wife and newborn son at home and could not leave the military lest he risk him and his family becoming destitute so he would begrudgingly stay in his military position. The Royalists would not forget Yuans defense of Thor though and when the republicans rose to power and the Royalists became aware that the disgraced Thor had risen to a position of command within the rebel forces, they began to suspect Yuan of collaborating. Soon after Yuan, and his family were placed under arrest transported to a political prison in an unknown area. Here Yuan would suffer days of torture in an effort to get him to admit to his collusion with his old friend.

 As the days passed and the torture continued the royalist would play their last card, threatening to kill Yuans wife and son if he did not confess. Unable to withstand much more of the torture and unwilling to be the reason behind the death of his wife and son Yuan would admit to colluding with his friend and the Republicans despite his innocence. After admitting to this crime that he did not commit the jailer would tell Yuan that his suffering had come to an end and that the morning of the next day he would be executed for treason and colluding with the enemy. As long as his family was safe Yuan felt he could die without regret and so when the morning came he was ready for his execution.

Unbeknownst to the Royalists or Yuan Thor had been keeping tabs on his old friend, intent on recruiting his old comrade to join him in service to the Republican. The Republican intelligence network identified the prison that Yuan would be held at and for nearly a week Thor rallied a small force of crack veteran troops to storm the prison. On the morning of Yuans execution Thor made his move and charged into the prison killing most of the guards and freeing Yuan and a considerable number of political prisoners. Yuan immediately began searching the prison for his wife and son. 

He would find his son already dead and his wife barely clinging to life they had been beaten, starved, and malnourished for days. Finally succumbing to the injuries she suffered at the prison, Yuans wife would die two days after the rescue. Her death would break Yuan and for weeks after the fact he took solace in the bottom of any bottle he could find. It would take many conversations with Thor before Yuan could find a new reason to live. His personal duty would be to make sure that this kind of situation could never occur again; he was determined that no one should have to go through such horrors, especially not an innocent man. With renewed vigor and purpose Yuan would go on to serve alongside Thor and, with his newfound lease on life, return to raising the spirits of his fellow soldiers.

Teng Xun was born the youngest of three children to a wealthy noble and for as long as she could remember she had been a rebellious child. Growing up with two older brothers she preferred to play the soldier than the noble women and developed a fiery personality from their frequent rows. As she got older and was required more to act the part of the noble women she found only a small amount of satisfaction in the game of politics and often likened it to dealing with angry children. Since her childhood Xun had felt a kinship with the common people as had her father; he taught her and her brothers to not mistreat those underneath them because they were an integral part of a noble’s success.

When her eldest brother joined the royal army she was envious. Xun would much rather be dealing with bullets and bayonets than the hypocrites and bloated self-righteous old men of the court. Soon after her oldest brother leaving her other brother would leave for the military as well leaving only her and her father to deal with the politics of the court. One dreary day while dealing with the everyday monotony of politics two men of the royal military would come to her and her father's manor to tell them the grave news. Xun couldn't believe what she was hearing; her eldest brother was dead, having fallen in combat. He died a warrior's death, at least that's what they told her but none of those honeyed words meant anything to her. She had heard the way those in power talk about soldiers behind closed doors, like they are toys to be used up and than thrown away. In reality those sent to combat rarely die for a good cause more often than not they die for no reason cold and alone in a ditch in some far away land hundreds of miles from their families and there is no honor in that.

This event would change her forever. Xun would never forgive the royal army for taking her brother even though she knew the military wasn't to blame and she would always harbor an irrational resentment of the royal military. Luckily Xun’s other brother, being the only living male heir to her father's title, would be allowed to return home to help her and their father. When the Republicans began their uprising Xun saw it as an opportunity to get back at the Royalists that she so despised and told her father she was leaving to join the Republicans. Her father was not happy with this decree and lectured her saying she would put all their lives in danger just for some grudge she had made long ago. Even knowing what she was putting on the line she did not waver and simply told him if he refused her proposal she would just leave in the night while everyone was asleep, knowing there was no dissuading his daughter he came up with a solution. Xun would have her royal title removed she would be exiled and disowned but in this way her family would not be implicated in her treason. Her father told her that this was not personal and she would always be his daughter but that they would not be able to help her.

 With that she left her home and family behind and joined the Republican forces. While serving with the Republicans she would hear tell of some great military man who had also joined and was supposedly a man of the people she was excited to meet him. Unfortunately her work kept her from ever being able to interact with him and she would only hear of him through rumors. The remainder of her service with the Republicans was spent doing the same boring and tedious work she had done at the court only now with businessman instead of nobles. Soon word would come to Xun that the great military leader and man of the people Thor had split from the republicans and sided with the White Shirts. This infuriated Xun how could he if he was such a man of the people abandon them and side with someone as awful as Yesui Olya she had heard rumors of this women and was not enthused by her actions, so she put it on her self to find Thor and bring him back into the fold. With great haste she left the Republic camp she had been stationed at and headed towards Thor's last location.

Eventually she found his camp and stormed into it ignoring all warnings for her to stop she marched straight into the Marshall-Generals tent and began screaming and yelling at him with all manner of profanity and harsh words. After some time had passed and she had been detained by the guards at the camp Thor came to talk to her they had a long conversations about his reasons for joining as well as hers and while she could not convince him to leave the Nationalists she did convince him of her well intentions. Eventually she was let go but had found a better place to spend her time and efforts at Thor's side she could be a true force of change. Xun and Thor's relationship is a complicated one sometimes they talk to each other like two newlyweds trying to decide where to go on their honeymoon and other times they scream at each other like mortal enemies but she is always there for him even when they are fighting. Constantly she has to remind him that he isn't just a general and that he needs to act more like the Warlord that he is but she also wants to make sure he stays grounded and never forgets why they fight and for whom they fight for.

Hi Jing-Yi is an ill mannered man who spent the majority of his life living in the wilderness as bandit before being bought by the Republican forces to serve as the leader of a scouting regiment. Yi would describe himself as shadowy and mysterious others would describe him as a drunken fool who stumbles around pretending like people cant see him. Over the years he has come to enjoy alcohol and has even become a bit of a drunkard. Although he is a bit of a fool and doesn't do so well in polite company or society he is very good at what he does. Scouting and infiltration has always been something he was very good at he often used these skills to get his bandit group into places where great wealth could be amassed and over time would become an outlaw of some renown. Just as he was starting to grow bored of the life as a bandit him and his group were approached by the Republicans. They offered him a good amount of money if him and his men would join the Republic as a scout brigade. Yi agreed mainly to test his skills as a leader and a scout but also to make a name for himself. 

Everything was going his way when he was with the republic he had proven him and his men's prowess as scouts and raiders and were living the good life when they were given the order to help in the defense of the doomed city of Saraat. Yi expected for this mission to be an easy one, little did he know this would be one of the worst days of his life. Within only hours of the Royalist attack on the city his entire group of men were wiped out and he himself barely escaped. Injured and trying to find somewhere safe to hide he would wonder the city for hours only to see what seemed like an endless amount of royalists and death. Eventually he found an entrance to the catacombs under the city and after walking for some time collapsed close to the entrance.

When he awoke some time later he found his injury had been bandaged and he was being carried by men deeper into the catacombs. He began to shout and scream to be released and when he tried to move found he had been tied to the stretcher he was on. Eventually after what seemed like an eternity the terrified Yi would be placed on the ground and above him look at him with a grin on his face was Thor. After explaining who he was to Thor and those who remained in the city as resistance he was released but he knew there was no escaping the city and more importantly these Royalist bastards had taken his men, his confidence, and his pride he wanted vengeance. He would stay and serve the Lion of Saarat and even come to admire the man a great deal. After the Battle of Saarat, Yi would stay with the Marshall-General and serve as the leader of his pathfinders.
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