Two hundred and fifty-seven years after the founding of the Li clan’s mandate, the once-glorious Tang Empire has stumbled into the winter solstice of the first year of Qianfu. Only three months remain before Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao raise their rebel banners, and a mere thirty-three years stand between this moment and the dynasty’s ultimate collapse. While the nobles of Chang’an still indulge in the fading glow of past prosperity, the small but aggressive kingdom of Nanzhao launches yet another invasion into Xichuan from the empire’s southwestern frontier. The Tang army suffers a crushing defeat at the Dadu River, its routed forces fleeing toward Qiongzhou as Nanzhao troops advance directly on Chengdu. Amidst the carnage beyond the riverbanks, on a battlefield resembling an asura’s domain, a young Tang soldier opens his eyes. Pushing aside the corpses piled upon him, he gazes upon a dying sun illuminating a world in ruin. Though the great edifice of the Tang has not yet fully collapsed, the realm is already broken. The story begins here, in this harsh winter, amidst the devastation of the Nanzhao War.
Origin
