Jen Shu

Venerable Jen Shu was the Conqueror of Nations, Emperor of Jenia, Wang of the Golden Batari, Light of Civilization, Builder of Three Cities, Son of Heaven, Dragon of Dragons, Father of Jenia, and Scourge of the Sunset Lands.

Born of a human mother and a half-giant deity, he was destined to conquer all of Eastrun and place all of its tribes and people under his subjugation.

The Way of Order: A Faith of Eastrun

In his Eleventh Book, Bao Dan reflects on the life and legacy of Jen Shu, recognizing him as a figure who grappled with the eternal struggle between Chaos and Law. His emperor's conquests and his quest for order amidst chaos exemplify the dichotomy between these two forces that shape human existence. Despite his immense achievements in unifying and organizing through conquest, Bao Dan believed that Jen Shu's ultimate aspiration was to let Law prevail over Chaos.

Bao Dan outlined principles derived from Jen Shu's life, advocating for a disciplined adherence to Law as a means to combat the inherent Chaos of existence. These principles emphasized detachment from personal desires, steadfastness in the face of challenges, and a commitment to order and justice. Bao Dan's writings urge others to emulate this dedication in their own lives, transcending mere conquest to embrace a higher purpose of societal and personal order.

Thus, Bao Dan's philosophical treatise on the Way of Order serves not only as a reflection on Jen Shu's life but also as a guiding ethos for those who sought to navigate the complexities of existence with integrity and purpose. Those that follow the Way of Order properly will be translated into a spiritual being and taken to a new world.

As a religion, the Way of Order is generally observed by the Manwin, or civilized Eastruners, of the three Empires. It claims to benefit all people and races and finds the rivalry that the Church of Westrun holds for it odd. The Way of Order fully accepts that even believers from the Church and the pagan faiths could be translated, though agrees it must be harder so long as they cling to their unusual beliefs.

Jen Shu, Divine Emperor of Eastrun

Jen Shu, known as the Conqueror, was a legendary figure of indomitable spirit and strategic brilliance in the annals of his chronicler and general, Bao Dan. Rising from humble origins, he forged an unyielding brotherhood among his Daizu companions, bound by loyalty and a creed of honor. He led them through relentless campaigns across the Sea of Grass, conquering tribes and cities, and facing formidable foes.

A master of warfare and diplomacy, Jen Shu offered parley to those who would accept his terms of peace, displaying both mercy and ruthless determination in equal measure. His victories spanned decades, marking him as a leader of unparalleled courage and resilience. Despite his martial prowess, Jen Shu's quest for an heir remained unfulfilled, siring only daughters despite his efforts with multiple wives and concubines.

Throughout his life, Jen Shu exemplified the ideals of honor, duty, and unity among his people. His legacy, etched in the tales of the Nine Companions and the conquests of the Golden Tribe, immortalizes him as a towering figure whose name resonates through the ages, a symbol of both conquest and the quest for enduring legacy.

The Princes of Erenes IX: Jondul Halfgiant

Jondul, was the son of Beleseri the Giantess and of Mykrojurs, the Prince of Erenes. He was considered wise among his kin and many though he was small among his people, they thought they saw in him the Yotinir of old. Thus they sought Jondul to be their chieftain. He was strong and greatly respected of their kind, but Jondul was much like his father and he sought a bride in his sire's way.

For the day came when he looked down into a great valley and espied a maiden, Hana, living among the tents of her father's people. So stricken was he with her beauty that he stole among the lodges at night and carried her off to his mountain home.

Now Hana was not surprised for she was a dreamer. It was said that when she was between sleeping and waking she saw things that were to be and they could not be gainsaid. From her youth she had dreamed of being taken afar off and it had come to pass.  

Then, though she was stolen from the lodges of her people, she came to love Jondul her captor; and her love was returned by him and so he would deny her nothing. Then Hana lived with Jondul Halfgiant for the space of ten years and had a son by him. Often times she shared her dreams with Jondul, her husband, and he became more wise for hearing them. 

But as the years passed, Hana seemed to miss the tents of her father, and the love she bore him consumed her with its sadness. Many times Jondul caught her staring into the great valley with tears in her eyes.

"What does my wife desire?" Jondul asked one day.

"I fear I must die apart from my people," Hana said. "For even now I have seen my fathers death by grief and I know that my death will follow quickly."

Then Jondul grieved and said, "Perhaps it is not yet as you have dreamed. You must return to the tent of your father and take to him this son you have born, so he will know that his line has not perished."

So Hana took her son and departed Jondul and returned to the lodges of her father's people. And Jondul was filled with grief for it was there that she died. And her dream was not gainsaid, for she died apart from those who became her people.

The son of Hana was raised among those who dwell in Eastrun. He became a mighty warlord and hero of his age.

 

The Fourth Book of Bao Dan: The Dawning of Jen Shu

Before the coming of the Way of Order, the People continued on the Wide Land as they had before the Sea of Grass had risen. Instead of following the Margon, though, they rode the horse and they took the horse to war. They strove continually against each other and for the supremacy of the Tribes which they made. For the Tribes took it in turns to lord over one another. They waxed and they waned with the might of their Warlords, but no Tribe's glory lasted longer than the life of their Warlords. One after another, mighty men of old rose up from the Sea of Grass and eventually diminished upon it. So many have risen and fallen, that no history knows their names.

It was into this Way of the Horse that Jen Shu was born in the year of the Ch' i lin. His father was said to be a Huang Spirit of Ti'en. This Spirit is presumed to have carried off Hana, the mother of Jen Shu, from the Gergs of her people and to the peaks of the Pillars of Heaven. For she was missing for the space of ten years. Now the father of Hana was a minor Warlord who lived the Way of the Horse. They traveled with the herds, near and on the rivers that flow past the Pillars and many other tribes avoided them for the sake of the Buso and the savage Kala and the cruel Oni that lived there.

In the Year of the Dragon, Hana returned to the Ordaru of her people, with a child in hand. She stopped by the Lake of the Clouds which is on the plain above the Wide Land and there surveyed all that she could see of Eastrun. This, she promised to Jen Shu, would be an inheritance to him. As far as his eye could see, and as far as his feet could carry him, would belong to him. Then, descending to the Gergs of her father's people she was welcomed home with her child, and died. So the Uncle of Jen Shu buried her near the Lake of the Clouds and put a Stela in that place to mark it and the young Jen Shu climbed it often before he became a man to visit the grave of his mother.

When he came of age, Jen Shu left the Ordaru and joined his Uncles Bataro and there he learned the Way of the Horse. He learned to hunt and to war from horseback. He learned with the horn bow and the lance and the sword. He excelled in it and brought pride to his tribe until his Uncle passed, slain by an Oni. Then his cousin was acclaimed to be Warlord of the tribe and Jen Shu served him as he had the Uncle until his cousin's death. Then his nephew was acclaimed to be Warlord of the tribe and Jen Shu served him as well, though there were none so able as Jen Shu in the Way of the Horse.

In all, Jen Shu served other men for the space of twenty-five years and the acclaim of his tribe was eventually that he should be Warlord of the tribe. It was fitting for he was the most accomplished and the survivor of many battles. He had outlived even younger men and it appeared to many that he was but a week past his youth in his visage.

Jen Shu brought the Ordaru and Bataro of the tribe to the Lake of the Clouds and there he had them survey all that his mother had shown him, from the foot of the Pillars to the distant bamboo forests of Chiro. "This will be my inheritance," he said. "I mean to take all that we see according to the Way of the Horse. This and all that is beyond, even to the Shores of the Great Eastern Sea. I will slay all who resist me, but those who assist me will find wealth and many rewards."

Then the night came and all the tribe slept in their Gergs on the shores of the lake and by morning, many had slipped away, thinking Jen Shu mad. To those who remained, however, Jen Shu offered membership in the Golden Tribe. The Bataro he abluted in the waters of the Lake of the Clouds, but the Ordaru he had swear and oath with one hand raised to Heaven and other upon the Stela of his mother. So from that day forth, all who entered the Golden Tribe did the same and were counted worthy of sharing his spoils and his fame.

Now a census was taken in that Year of the Monkey and when the Golden Tribe descended from Pillars they numbered only 22 warriors and 20 horses in the Bataro and 9 women and children in the Ordaru. As yet they had no heads which would become the banner of his tribe.

The Fifth Book of Bao Dan: The Campaign of the Monkey

When Jen Shu descended with his retinue from the Pillars of Heaven and unto the Wide Land, he began his Campaign of the Monkey. The first battle that the Golden Tribe waged was against the Oni named Hako One-Eye. Jen Shu slew him and tarred his head and hung it by the hair from his horse so that all would see and hear the silent testimony of him who was killed. The tribe added 10 horses to its Bataro and 20 women to its Ordaru in this way.

From that day onward, from the first of his battles to the last, Jen Shu offered the parley that was his signature. To those who accepted the silent testimony of the tarred head of Hako the Oni, and surrendered unconditionally, Jen Shu offered peace. The men and their favorite horses would have the right to be abluted in the waters of the Lake of the Clouds and become Bataro. The rest of the horses would be added to those of the tribe. To the women of his rivals, he offered the right to place their left hand on his mother's Stela and so join his Ordaru. They then would be given as spoils to the mightiest and most capable of his war group. To the rival Warlords he offered only a swift death and the honor to have their heads carried from the horses of his tribe as Hako the Oni had been. In this manner, they would live forever and their names would be remembered.

But if they rejected his overture of surrender, Jen Shu offered neither quarter nor mercy. He would prosecute his enemies until they were dead. He would pile the bodies of the men and burn them as an offering to the Huang Spirits. The horses he would keep and the women such as could not eventually prove themselves he would sell for profit. The Warlords though, would be torn asunder and scattered to the winds. They were not Oni that they should be remembered as foes, so neither they nor their tribes would be remembered by any still alive.

By the end of the Year of the Monkey, in Jen Shu's Campaign he had eliminated three tribes from the Sea of Grass. And, true to his word, there are none alive who remember their names or the names of their Warlord. But, at the start of the Year of the Cock when Jen Shu's Golden Tribe took Census, they had 97 warriors and 300 horses in their Bataro and 50 women in the Ordaru. And the Golden Tribe carried the heads of

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik the Wise of the Red Stone People

Two years later, when the Year of the Mouse had come, Jen Shu's Golden Tribe took Census, they had eliminated nine tribes from the Sea of Grass whose names no one remembers. They had 240 warriors and 580 horses in their Bataro. They had 200 women in the Ordaru. And the Golden Tribe carried the heads of

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik the Wise of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse.

Five years after that, in the Year of the Bajang the Golden Tribe took Census. They had eliminated twelve tribes from the Sea of Grass and there are none alive who know their names. They had 500 warriors and 1350 horses in their Bataro. They had 350 women in the Ordaru. And the Golden Tribe carried the heads of

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik the Wise of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse

Chun Mul of the Red Tribe, slayer of a Gaki

In the Year of the Hsing, word came to Jen Shu that children of the Golden Tribe who had gone that Spring to be abluted in the Lake of the Clouds and to lay their left hand upon the Stela of his mother; and who had been joined by such men who were pledged Andari, along with the women of rival tribes which had stolen away in the night; were taken and cruely slain at the foot of the Pillars of Heaven. This was done by Grothak the Gaki. He learned further, that a pile was made of their bones and over which pile was placed a banner of the Golden Tribe.

So Jen Shu rode with his Bataro and his Ordaru and coming to the Pillars by the first snow, set their Gergs on the shore of the Lake of the Clouds. There he left his Golden Tribe and taking nine companions set out to find the Oni named Grothmak and his band. So the Campaign of the Monkey of Jen Shu was ended and the Campaign of the Five Gaki Warlords was begun.

The Sixth Book of Bao Dan: The Five Gaki Warlords

In the Winter of the Year of the Hsing, when the snow was first falling at the foot of the Pillars, Jen Shu left the Golden Tribe in their Gergs and set out with Nine Companions. An Gaki named Grothmak had slain the Andari of the tribe and made a mockery of its banner. So the anger of Jen Shu was kindled and bright, and his Companions could not keep him from the Pillars, though they sorely tried, fearing he would be slain.

Jen Shu turned to them and named them faithless. "Stay if you will, only trouble me not with the blackness of your tongues which matches the blackness of your hearts." Then he left his horse and taking only his sword and bow climbed to the upper reaches of the Pillars.

And his Companions followed.

For three days they climbed the steep routes and crossed the wide chasms, until they came at last to a vast garden of fire in the midst of the snows. There in clouds of steam sat a manor carved from the face of a mountain and its appearance was terrible to behold for it appeared to them that the rock drew breath. Within the manor sat Grothmak on his throne of emeralds and bone, and he was not alone. For he numbered scores in his band and four Gaki besides, though none were as powerful as he.

The least of Grothmak's servants was Arog the Clawhand and the Gaki sent him outside the manor with two score minions to meet with Jen Shu and to accept the parley. For though he was not accustomed to fear men, Grothmak marveled that one might climb to his redoubt, and command others to follow such a treacherous path.

Now the Gaki has a voice like thunder and the tops of trees will shake for their speaking. So it was that the snows fell from peaks as Arog the Clawhand spoke, saying, "Grothmak the Great and Mighty is honored by your climb, but to save yourself you need only return to the plains. A long Winter is set upon us and perhaps by the Spring, my master will have forgotten you."

Jen Shu did not answer the parley and stood gazing as though he could not hear the Gaki speak, even though the voice of him speaking echoed across the mountain tops. And the Companions of Jen Shu held their ground, for they had received a command of him already that they should do nothing until they had heard his signal.

So Arog stepped nearer and spoke again, but his two-score servants did not follow for they thought Jen Shu witless. Arog said, "Only death awaits you in this place. Return to your home and know life a bit longer."

But still Jen Shu did not speak.

So the Gaki grew wroth and stepped ever nearer, "Are your ears stopped with ice, or is your head filled with rock?"

But Jen Shu looked down and kicked at the snow and would not answer.

Then, full of wrath, Arog left his retinue behind. His eyes flashed and his teeth were barred as he ran at Jen Shu, intending to tear him in twain. When he came within striking distance, Jen Shu rolled to one side and lay flat and gave the signal, while his Companions, whose arrows were nocked, unloaded their bows at the furious Gaki. Thrice each man fired, and with many arrows the Gaki was slain.

Then with great shouts of triumph, the Companions, loosed a hail of arrows upon the retinue remaining, which broke their line and caused them to flee. Only one lived to tell the tale to its master and it was also pierced by arrows.

Now Grothmak was of vile disposition and he laughed to hear the death of his servant Arog who had broken the parley in anger. More than fury though, his curiousity was stoked for the impunity that Jen Shu showed. So he sent Ko the Horned who had a head like a bull and whose wounds could not bleed and who could speak all languages, one as easy as the other.

So Ko appeared before Jen Shu and his Companions and spoke, "Your arrows will not avail you, man. For I do not bleed and therefore cannot suffer death as others do. "

But, as he had with Arog, Jen Shu remained silent. Instead he twirled a rope as if to whip Ko the Horned as a common beast of burden.

Ko laughed to see the impunity of the man and drew closer, meaning to catch the whip as it traveled through the air. And so he did, but the Companions were ready with a second rope which they cast about the Gaki's neck and then, running together, jumped down from the garden of fire so that their combined weight took Ko the Horned from his feet and cast him over the side of mountain where he fell to his death, though he bled not as other creatures do.

Then Marhen Gozu Gaki came for Jen Shu and it was a creature of great height and strength, and had many arms, and a weapon in each arm. But the Companions were ready and rolled great bounders upon him from heights still higher than the garden of fire.

So next came Wunk Blue-Skin and four score of Grothmak's minions against Jen Shu and the battle was joined until the sun set and then rose upon a new day. All through the night Jen Shu and his Companions fought, until the last of the minions were slain and Wunk Blue-Skin lay dying and only Jen Shu remained for the Nine lay wounded or dying about him. Though Jen Shu bled sorely.

Finally, Grothmak the Andari Slayer roared forth from his manor seeking vengeance and found Jen Shu with his back turned, cradling the head of one slain companion. Then Grothmak leapt upon him, meaning to tear him arm from arm and leg from leg.

But Jen Shu had made a man of snow to wear his clothes, so that when the Gaki warlord attacked, he rose wearing the clothes of his enemy and smote the neck of Grothmak with his sword and severed it in a single blow.

The Jen Shu gathered the heads of his enemies and burned their bodies and buried them at the feet of his fallen Companions who are entombed on the Pillars to this day. But of his Nine Companions three yet lived and these accompanied him back down the mountains. So the Campaign of the Five Gaki Warlords was ended at the Campaign of the Tiger begun.

The Seventh Book of Bao Dan: The Campaign of the Tiger

In the Winter of the Year of Hsing, Jen Shu and his Hu Rang, slew Grothmak and his band and four other Gaki Warlords. So from the foot of the Pillars of Heaven to the Long River and all across the Wide Land, all who heard of Jen Shu and the Golden Tribe trembled.

When the Census was taken in the Spring of the Tiger, the Golden Tribe had eliminated 14 tribes from the Sea of Grass and there were none who remembered who they had been. They had 1100 warriors and 3000 horses in their Bataro. They had 650 women in the Ordaru. And the Golden Tribe carried the heads of

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse

Chun Mul of the Red Tribe, slayer of a Gaki

Arog the Claw Hand

Ko the Horned

Marhen Gozu Gaki

Wunk Blue-Skin

Grothmak the Andari Slayer.

In the Fall of the Year of the Carp, the Golden Tribe took Census as they entered the valley of Miyabe and found that they had eliminated 15 tribes from the Sea of Grass of which number not even one is recalled. They had 6200 warriors and 10,000 horses in the Bataro. They had 4500 women in the Ordaru. And the Golden Tribe carried the tarred heads of

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse

Chun Mul of the Red Tribe, slayer of a Gaki

Arog the Claw Hand

Ko the Horned

Marhen Gozu Gaki

Wunk Blue-Skin

Grothmak the Andari Slayer

Jin Huk of the White Tribe

Sungyu the Noble of the Great Grass People

And the Golden Tribe stayed in the Valley of Miyabe and many of the old and infirmed learned as such would be taught after the manner of the Great Grass People. For that people were among those who had begun to scratch in the dirt with hoes and plows. There in the Valley of Miyabe, Jen Shu divided the Golden Tribe into tens and hundreds and thousands and made Generals over each of the thousands. Each of the generals carried the tarred head of an enemy as a banner and a silent witness of the parley which Jen Shu offered to all that he met.

By the Year of the Bear, the Generals of Jen Shu were encamped around the Valleys of Chiro and had lain seige to an alliance of tribes who have been forgotten, along with the names of their Warlords. The seige lasted for until the Year of the Swan and all those that held out there were put to the sword. The men were piled and burned. The Warlords taken and scattered to the winds. The women which could not prove their usefulness were sold, but the horse were added to the Bataro of the Golden Tribe.

By this time, many of those who had ridden with Jen Shu from the first could not stay astride the horse, and many of them had since had children who had been abluted in the Lake of the Clouds and become part of the Bataro, but which could not stay astride the horse. Such as these were given the choice of remaining in Chiro to farm the land there as had others in the Valley of Miyabe. They were not counted among the Bataro in the Census of that year.

The Golden Tribe had eliminated 23 tribes from the Sea of Grass and none remember their names. The Bataro numbered 15,300 men and 22,700 horse. The Ordaru had 8,800 women not including the children and aged which remained behind with their youngest adult sons in the Valley of Miyabe and Chiro. And the Golden Tribe carried the tarred heads of

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse

Chun Mul of the Red Tribe, slayer of a Gaki

Arog the Claw Hand

Ko the Horned

Marhen Gozu Gaki

Wunk Blue-Skin

Grothmak the Andari Slayer

Jin Huk of the White Tribe

Sungyu the Noble of the Great Grass People

Shun the Horseman of the Valley 

Yuudai the Wealthy of the Bamboo People

Taiki the Tall and his son Taikishi of the Yellow River

Aikio of the Shining People

There, at the Valley of Chiro, Jen Shu rested from his labors. For he had served other men for 25 years and been Warlord for 50 of his own. Yet he did not appear to have aged beyond his twentieth year. There were 14 generals beneath him in the Bataro and each was as wealthy as the other. Jen Shu took pains to renew his promises to those beneath him as he had sworn first on the Pillars of Heaven on the shores of the Lake of the Clouds.

Ten years he rested from his labors and the people of the plains knew peace from the Pillars to Bamboo Forests of Chiro and from the South Sea to the Ice Rift in the North. Then word came to Jen Shu that the margons were seen South of the Rift, and such as had not been seen since the days of old. So Jen Shu went forth to hunt them and there he learned of the depredations of the Kala who sweep down from the Ice Plains and make raids.

The Eighth Book of Bao Dan: The Kala

So Jen Shu called out his Hu Rang companions and led the nine of them against the Kala for three years, three months and three days. Many of those left behind, even some of his generals, presumed that Jen Shu was dead. But, at last he returned from the North with many dead Kala and a truce forged between his Golden Tribe and the Korobokuru of the Snows North of the Rift. 

In this manner, the Golden Tribe learned to forge metal using Kohl stones for heat and also the secret of turning soft iron into hardened steel. For the art of steel had been lost for many years. And armed with this knowledge there were none who could withstand the Golden Tribe. Not even the men of the Great Wang Tihora which hid behind walls of stone and sent great volleys from them to cover their infantry. The soldiers of Tihora had also tamed the margons and set upon them gergs of wood from which arrows could be fired and the sound of them was like thunder. 

Even so, the generals of Jen Shu had continued conquest in his absence. So that his name and the Bataro of the Golden Tribe were more greatly feared than ever.

In the Summer of the last year of the Ox, the Golden Tribe had eliminated 31 tribes from the Sea of Grass and none remember their names. The Bataro numbered 26,000 men and 28,000 horse. The Ordaru had 19,200 women. From then on the Golden Tribe carried the tarred heads of:

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse

Chun Mul of the Red Tribe, slayer of a Gaki

Arog the Claw Hand

Ko the Horned

Marhen Gozu Gaki

Wunk Blue-Skin

Grothmak the Andari Slayer

Jin Huk of the White Tribe

Sungyu the Noble of the Great Grass People

Shun the Horseman of the Valley 

Yuudai the Wealthy of the Bamboo People

Taiki the Tall and his son Taikishi of the Yellow River

Monad of the Bush People

Hagga the Kala of the Caves

Shurga the Kala of the Earth

So Jen Shu left the valleys of plenty and journeyed farther to the East where the great walls of Tihora stood and his armies were said to be as strong as the gods.

The Ninth Book of Bao Dan: The Dragon Campaign

When Jen Shu came to the shores of the Sea he had defeated all the vassals of the Great Wang Tihora, and all of his sons, the so-called Dragons of Dawn. For eight years he made war. Before him lay the City of Stones and its imposing walls. Upon its ramparts were the soldiers of his enemy and they were in great fear.

For it was Spring in the year of the Carp, the Golden Tribe had eliminated 65 tribes from the Sea of Grass, burned six cities, and none remember their names. His Bataro numbered 85,000 men and 100,000 horse. His Ordaru had women without counting. The Golden Tribe carried the tarred heads of:

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse

Chun Mul of the Red Tribe, slayer of a Gaki

Arog the Claw Hand

Ko the Horned

Marhen Gozu Gaki

Wunk Blue-Skin

Grothmak the Andari Slayer

Jin Huk of the White Tribe

Sungyu the Noble of the Great Grass People

Shun the Horseman of the Valley 

Yuudai the Wealthy of the Bamboo People

Taiki the Tall and his son Taikishi of the Yellow River

Monad of the Bush People

Hagga the Kala of the Caves

Shurga the Kala of the Earth

Tihon the son of Tihora who once ruled the City of Wa

Phung the son of Tihora who once ruled the City of Toho

Kurazu the son of Tihora who once ruled the City of Nokane

Then stood Tihora upon his high walls before a sea of men and of horses. And his advisors spoke to him in his dotage and said, "Here is Jen Shu of the Golden Tribe and he seeks your surrender."

"Three sons have I," spoke Tihora. "This siege will not last before my sons and vassals are come to avenge the city of stones and I, their father."

But his advisors spoke again saying, "Great Majesty, your vassals and sons have fallen before the Golden Tribe. For unto each of them this warlord did offer his parley -- the same parley which he has offered all tribes and all people from the ramparts to the sea."

"What is this parley," asked the elderly Tihora.

"To those who accept the silent testimony of his defeated enemy and surrender unconditionally, Jen Shu will offer peace. Their men and their favorite horses will have the right to be abluted in the waters of the Lake of the Clouds and become one with his Bataro. To the women, he offers the right to place their hand on his mother's Stela and so join his Ordaru. To their lords and kings, he offers only a swift death but promises their names will live forever. To those who oppose them, he promises only death and destruction -- and that none would remember their names."

"What choice did my sons make?" asked Tihora.

"They would not see their people destroyed, but neither would they dishonor you," spoke his advisors. "Your sons sued Jen Shu for the right of single combat -- to face him each alone and so spare their people."

"My sons did not dishonor me," said Tihora the aged, "and neither will I dishonor them."

So Tihora rode out from the walls of the city of stones and challenged Jen Shu as had his sons before him. Then turned Jen Shu to his Bataro and bade them to dismount and take the knee. "In all the wide land I have not found as much courage. Truly did the sons spring from this well."

Then Jen Shu cut down Tihora in single combat and placed his head with those of his sons. He celebrated the name of Tihora and promised to remember it always.

But a general of Tihora did not surrender. He led his cavalry out and commanded that arrows be fired from the walls. Then the ground shook with the might of them which bore down upon the Golden Tribe. But Jen Shu and his Bataro slaughtered all who opposed them. Those that fled they cut down, save those who left the shores by fishing vessels and canoes and set out for the open sea.

So Jen Shu spoke to them and cursed them saying, "You who have sought refuge in the waves shall not be safe at any landing. The sea you have chosen and the sea now saves you, but the dry land is closed to you and will be your death forever.

Then the walls of the city were thrown down and its stones were scattered. The people who did not oppose him were spared and joined according to the parley of Jen Shu. Thus ended the last campaign of Jen Shu and he was 20 years beyond 100 when he sat the throne and left the wide land to those generals beneath him.

The Tenth Book of Bao Dan: The Concubines

When Jen Shu rested from his conquests it was Fall in the year of the Carp. The Golden Tribe had eliminated 65 tribes from the Sea of Grass, burned six cities and threw down one of stone; and none remember their names. His Bataro numbered  90,000 men, 110,000 horse and margons which carried gerg of wood. His Ordaru had women without counting. The Golden Tribe carried the tarred heads of:

Hako the Oni

Hyun Shik of the Red Stone People

Kang Shin of the Spotted Horse

Chun Mul of the Red Tribe, slayer of a Gaki

Arog the Claw Hand

Ko the Horned

Marhen Gozu Gaki

Wunk Blue-Skin

Grothmak the Andari Slayer

Jin Huk of the White Tribe

Sungyu the Noble of the Great Grass People

Shun the Horseman of the Valley 

Yuudai the Wealthy of the Bamboo People

Taiki the Tall and his son Taikishi of the Yellow River

Monad of the Bush People

Then Jen Shu looked out over the Ordaru and choosing a bride for himself sought to make an heir. For three Summers the gergs of the Golden Tribe remained in the wide valley and still his wife was not with child. 

So Jen Shu looked out over the Ordaru and took also three concubines into his tent. Each of them was found to be with child, and delivered, in the year of the shrew, but still the wife of Jen Shu did not conceive. Three daughters had Jen Shu and he named them Miyabe and Chiro and Shu after each of the valleys which he had tamed. 

And having no son born to him, Jen Shu did not cease in his efforts to gain one, but his efforts were in vain. In eleven Summers he had eleven daughters who were born after Miyabe and Chiro and Shu. But to him, no son was given.