The Great Wall of China
Taiga Clarke, Group 3: Fiction, Kellett School
ong ago in the heart of the of the dragon city, the centre of the universe, stood the Imperial Palace
where over 5000 years ago the order to start the Great Wall was made.
Yuen Chao lay in his cot as it groaned and threatened to snap yet again and stared at the distant,
bright, shining moon. Something did not seem right. He thought he could hear the faint and desperate
shouts of men, but could not be sure. Things like this were always happening to him; he was always
unlucky at the wrong moment.
He had no idea what was going on, though it was just over twenty miles away. Beacons lit up and alarmed
shouts of confusion echoed around the treacherous, sheer, cliffs of the gargantuan mountains which seemed to
grow bigger by the second.
Swords clashed.
Blood rained.
War.
The dragon city awoke. Bells clanged, people drew weapons, and then stared at the oncoming mounted
intruders; invisible in the vivid, intimidating cool air of the night.
They never had a chance.
Genghis Khan watched below amusingly and laughed menacingly at the ruins of the empire as it blazed
with fire. His face was a beaming light; his rage inhuman.
“
China will surrender”
500
years later ….
Guan Chi forced his tired eyes open and quickly dragged his weakened body like a stricken baby.
Immediately a whip lashed out and he groaned empting the contents of his stomach. He sat down heavily and
started hauling the bricks which he guessed were equivalent to the weight of his shrivelled, emaciated body. He
put them down with care, half weary of the hawk eyed guard watching him; although he knew that the
completion of the Wall was coming, a dream that had claimed thousands of lives and was almost achieved. He
was also aware that even when the Great Wall was finished, guarding it all day would be even harder without
sleep, for the endless tiring days and freezing nights that would be demanded of him.
The first night of guard duty his mind wandered off for a moment and before he knew it, he was already
dreaming of his loving family who had been cruelly taken away from to work on the endless wall. He had no
idea how big the Great Wall was, he never new why it was called “great” only painful memories came to him
when he thought of the dark, hazardous, cold unforgiving Wall. The Wall was like a devil, huge, massive and
waiting for the slightest mistake.
A mistake that would only be rewarded by certain death.
Before he even knew it, he was serving double guard duty for falling asleep and was now in charge of
cleaning the endless supply of lethal weapons arranged so carefully in the underground chamber that only the
generals were allowed to touch. The room itself had an eerie silence to it, a ghostly presence and reminder for
the lives the weapons had taken. Minutes seemed like days, he would never fit in to the cruel life on the Wall
and could only hope that the Mongolians would finally stop attacking and the Emperor would agree to their
enormous constant demands. His head felt like a blur, the weather wouldn't stop its vicious assault and
destroyed victims inside then out. Each counting day people perished working, only to be dragged to the edge
where they were thrown off to the wild, mindless, animals of what he called home, China.
Over 50 miles away, the battle hardened Mongolian leader Al Tan Khan’s face boiled with fury, his anger
was like a devil, for his offer had been declined and trading posts had been shut down. Long ago he was not the
bloodthirsty man but a kind, caring leader but death had taken its toll, leaving him with only a hardened heart
with no room for others. His heart was no better than a shrivelled, evil piece of forgery held on by desperation
and revenge. The only word he could utter under his breath in the shining light of his ruined tent was “Revenge”
That night, scythes were polished, swords forged, horses fed ready for the long journey and the battle at the
Coubei pass where their fate was to be decided.
It was a warm night at the Coubei pass, a fine dark quiet night, a deadly one. Suddenly out of nowhere
Guan Chi saw a number of torches illuminate the valley and horses galloped towards the Wall; they were under
attack and he had no time to waste. Arrows flew in all directions picking off a few unfortunate workers and
soldiers. Without any warning a massive sword was thrust in to his miniature hands by a soldier who screamed
ferociously his voice like the thunder, echoing menacingly off the nearby mountains
“
You will fight to the death”
L