"Meet our new Naval General?" Sun Ce grinned to himself as spoke, whilst questioning himself as he did so.
Dom looked to see what he meant, and saw the young General Ling Tong talking with Su Fei near one of the ships, pointing out some issues on it's side, whilst some men were hammering pieces of wood on to a Mengchong to temporarily reinforce it. The two Trireme were also docked nearby, with the Enyo having some minor repairs done to it by some of it's crew. The Calypso beside it seemed in a better condition, with a couple of Hoplite tied to ropes being lowered to clean the sides of it.
"You recruited Ling Tong?" Dom asked Sun Ce in surprise, knowing that he was one of those that Gan Ning had recommended as a key recruitment option, even though the two of them had a turbulent past.
"Well, his father was a very important person to me." Sun Ce began, about to explain his reasonings and take all of the credit.
"Gan Ning saved his life." Xun You commented, stopping Sun Ce from taking any more credit. "He feels he owes his life to him and he is loyal to Sun Ce from their past together. Sun Quan is aware and is happy for him to join us as he is quite junior at the moment and not an irreplaceable member of the forces."
"But he led the Vanguard?" Dom replied with a raised eyebrow, rating Ling Tong higher than Sun Quan did. He wouldn't have been comfortable giving the most important part of the battle to someone that was replaceable.
"He did, and Gan Ning has explained how good he will become, but for now he is only nineteen so it's a great opportunity for us." Xun You explained, whilst Sun Ce looked pleased with himself. Dom was very pleased, and knew that Subutai would be excited beside him at the thought of all of these new Warriors and Heroes joining his military.
"Shang Yang is going to be so jealous." Dom heard Subutai mumble to himself with a smile. The Military branch was once again growing, whilst the Civilian branch was still under staffed. Dom thought through the options that he could try and recruit and none of them were part of the Civilian Branch. Zhang Zhao and Lu Su, as well as others such as Zhuge Jin.
"He will be." Dom agreed, as Subutai and Sun Ce turned to him, both with grins. Part of him worried about his Generals and their personalities, but he felt more relieved when he looked at Xun You who was just shaking his head at them.
"Come, let's get ready for the feast." Xun You stated, "I have some things to brief you on, I would have recommended not taking everyone as it will be rather busy, but I think we need to show our strength."
"Why do we need to show our strength?" Dom asked, surprised by his words, "They have seen us fight."
"You will see." Xun You replied, before heading off towards Ling Tong and Su Fei that were in deep conversation still. Dom could also see their Gan Ning approaching them with his mask on, and decided to stay out of that conversation.
"Has your family arrived?" Dom asked Sun Ce as he approached his command tent, where his other officers were currently relaxing.
"They have!" He replied excitedly. "They all arrived this morning, Xiao Qiao is with them all currently as her own children have also arrived, for her it hasn't been long since she arrived in Riverside but she still missed them dearly."
"Wait!" Subutai stopped them as they were about to enter the tent, Dom and Sun Ce stopped suddenly and looked at him, a wide look in his eyes. "Does that mean there wasn't another Da Qiao or Xiao Qiao here?"
"They weren't here, and neither was Elder Qiao." Sun Ce replied seriously, "I have discussed this with my brother and Zhou Yu. It does solve one issue though and make our lives a tad easier. Also, Elder Qiao's staff that wished to come will arrive here in the morning with most of his household belongings and guards, so that is more that are heading home with us."
"I think this gives me more questions than answers." Dom stated, with Sun Ce and Subutai agreeing as they entered the tent. However, he was happy that things seemed to be working out and that soon Riverside and it's surrounding towns would have more youths in them. It made the realism a step higher and he felt the cities would feel more diverse with the younger generation around.
.....
After speaking with his commanders and relaxing for a while, Dom got ready in a smart outfit that had been prepared for him before departure. Meritamen had been thorough and the Enyo had several compartments full of items that they may need. He had decided to take Tomyris, Tomoe, Subutai, Xun You, Sun Ce, Liao Hua and Zhao Yun with him for the evening. He had left behind Huang Zhong to protect the camp, and Gan Ning and Su Fei who were working tirelessly on the ships still. He would have brought them, but Huang Zhong was an enemy for most of the battle, as was Su Fei, whilst Gan Ning was still masked, he decided to stay behind and not risk any more exposure. Gan Ning had already spoken with those he had trusted and wanted to, and had decided to leave the rest as to not mess with his younger versions life any further. Ling Tong and Cheng Zi who had both declared they would be joining Dom were also attending, but as part of Sun Quan's forces for now, until they joined him officially the following day.
They approached the camp where the feast would take place, with an enhanced guard of the Batavi Guard and around twenty Forbidden Guard Swordsmen, without their Sabre Tooth Tigers. Everyone was dressed in smarter clothes than usual, but all of them held a sword on their waist. Tomoe had laughed saying she may get a chance to duel with someone, but Subutai had strictly told her not to. Whilst Zhao Yun felt uncomfortable as he was technically an enemy days earlier, even though he hadn't taken any lives as he had been defeated swiftly and embarrassingly.
Dom was interested to see the large number of guards that protected the building today, with a wider range of colours and armours. Sun Ce had explained that these were from different Generals and family members that had come to the camp for this farewell banquet. Dom was surprised to see a group of female warriors who were standing in full armour amongst the other guards, Tomoe and Tomyris smiled at them, who all returned a look of surprise at seeing the female Generals they had heard off.
"Lord Lazarus and his Generals have arrived!" An announcer shouted from the entrance as the doors were opened to allow Dom to enter. The room was similar to the last feast, however the tables had been extended to allow more people to sit. He was also surprised to see that some of those that had sat last time, were now stood behind other Commanders who were more senior than them.
There were a lot of new faces that he hadn't seen before and Dom felt like Sun Quan had ordered a large portion of his senior people to join them from across their lands for this celebration feast, both to celebrate his brothers survival and the revenge they had taken for their father. There was some gentle music playing in the background, whilst those that were sat all stopped their conversations.
Dom looked and could see that a large portion of the seats near top of the table had been left empty again for his commanders and that Xiao Qiao was sat beside Zhou Yu near Sun Quan. She smiled at seeing her fellow Generals arrive, having been separated on a mini holiday whilst the battles had taken place. Dom felt that she had done a lot behind the scenes in pulling things together, especially in recruitment and he looked forward to speaking with her in a more private setting.
"Welcome to our close allies!" Sun Quan announced as he stood up, "Friends from afar who have not only brought back my brother, but have helped us secure an overwhelming victory that will allow us to not only protect our lands but to expand them! Come take a seat beside me in the seat of honour."
Dom headed to the seat beside Sun Quan, where as Sun Ce and Subutai sat beside him, with the other officers sitting down the table with Liao Hua and Zhao Yun sat at the bottom of their section beside some of Sun Quan's officers. Dom was glad to see that it was Cheng Pu and Dong Xi who were sat on there side of the table nearest to them.
On the other side of Sun Quan was Zhou Yu and Xiao Qiao, before there was also a few more empty seats that were followed by others Dom recognised such as Zhang Zhao and Lu Su. There was also many unrecognisable faces and Dom was sure that he would get the chance to speak with some of them throughout the evening.
"Before we continue, my brother will be leaving soon as will our close allies." Sun Quan stated with a saddened tone as Dom sat beside him, "We have asked for as many to come before he leaves, so I hope you get to see them all tonight brother."
"Thank you." Sun Ce said from beside Dom with a true smile, "I am looking forward to seeing our friends and family whilst we celebrate our Victory!"
"Before we begin the feast, I have some entertainment for you all." Sun Quan smiled, especially when he looked towards Dom. He clapped his hands loudly, and the music began to change pace slightly, whilst four women suddenly appeared wearing flowing dresses as they began an elegant dance in the middle of the floor. Their movements were synchronised as their white and pink flowered dressed flowed as they span and performed moves with the fans in their hands.
As they danced fluidly, a fifth dancer appeared who wore red instead of the white and pink. She also had a fan and placed herself in the middle of the group, who matched her speed and pace. The dance was elegant and Dom watched it with interested eyes as all of the five dancers were exceptional beauties, especially the one in the red dress.
Suddenly, the pace of the dance increased, and the dancers all changed their movements to be more erratic. They clapped their fans shut, before twisting them and splitting them in to two fans, as they moved from side to side in line with the music. Dom couldn't take his eyes of the dancers, who he felt could be deadly if they wanted to be. His Generals beside him also watched on intently, especially Tomoe who was intrigued that these delicate looking dancers could seem so deadly.
"Impressive isn't she." Sun Ce whispered to Dom as he watched. The dancer in red closed her two fans and somehow connected them to make a small pole, which she then span around her head and continued to dance with the others.
"Who is she?" Dom asked, as the music reached a crescendo as the five dancers continue to spin and move, before crashing to the floor in a dramatic ending. Dom clapped his hands as the rest of those in the room also showed gratitude to the dancers. Dom was surprised that a lot of the older Generals and Officials in the room looked on in pride.
"Someone very important to me and my brother." Sun Ce replied honestly as Sun Quan stood up, a prideful smile on his face.
"Thank you Sun Shangxiang for your performance, please come and join us at the table!" Sun Quan beamed in pride, as the woman in the red dress smiled in response, passing her pole to one of the other dancers who all bowed and left the room. She walked around the table and took a seat beside Xiao Qiao, whilst two men who looked very similar to Sun Ce and Sun Quan joined her, having come from a side room. Sun Quan then turned to the rest of the room, "Enjoy the food and entertainment that is to be provided, tonight we celebrate the start of our future!"
Sun Ce looked at his brother proudly, a different character to the one he had left many years ago. Zhou Yu seemed to lean forwards across the table and share the same look that Sun Ce had. Dom who was sat between them understood, he would feel the same way if Andrew or Kai had grown and matured in to a leader.
As Sun Quan spoke, many servants appeared, bringing trays of food in to the room and placing them in the tables for the Officers and Generals to share. There was a large variety of food and Dom could see his officers begin eating straight away. The music had also began again and some other dancers now appeared and began dancing in the middle of the room. Some small conversations also broke out and Dom felt that the atmosphere in the room was positive.
"These are our brothers Sun Kuang and Sun Lang, whilst the exceptional dancer is our sister Sun Shangxiang." Sun Ce explained, whilst the two brothers nodded their heads in welcoming, Dom's eyes were caught on Sun Shangxiang.
"Before we continue, there is something we should discuss first." Sun Quan explained to Dom in a quiet voice, that only he, Sun Ce, Subutai and Zhou Yu could hear as the two brothers and sister began to speak with those around them. "I wanted to propose it before the battle, to keep you and my brother close, but my advisors were against it. That was until our overwhelming victory showed that my thoughts were correct."
"What do you want to propose?" Dom asked, a slight worry in the back of his mind. Sun Quan had mentioned becoming sworn brothers, but Dom's intuition told him that it was going to be something bigger.
"A marriage alliance." Sun Quan stated with a smile.