Riding and Marching: A tale of two Empires

Recently, I have been rewriting my Alexandrian timeline, and have decided to post a short prologue now, to motivate me to continue writing this.
So tell me what you think!

**********


Prologue – Escape!

In the city of Luoyang, a group of young men crept silently along a back alley. This in itself was not uncommon, as the nighttime streets of Luoyang were frequented by many kinds of dishonourable people, but what this group did next marked them out from the rest.
Creeping up behind a guard, one man swiftly looped a cord around the guard’s neck, silencing him before he could utter a warning. Another man sliced his throat and dragged him back into the shadows.
Later that night, at the change of the watches, the eldest of the group, dressed in the guard’s armour, took up his place by a small gate in the city wall. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of feet approaching him, and was instantly alert, but relaxed when he saw who it was: his five compatriots, leading six horses and carrying arms for six men.
Silently, they slipped out of the gate. The dead soldier’s body would not be found, and would develop into a story to scare young children with. They rode away from the Imperial city and were many li away by dawn.
 
Top