The Sleeping Dragon had remained solitary for a while, and he planned for it to stay that way. Jing Province was where he resided, in a small cottage in the mountains, surrounded and sheltered by trees of bamboo.

It was so far away; so tucked away from the rest of the land. But that was just how he liked it. He was a student of Sima Hui— A well known hermit that taught in the arts of strategy. He had the knowledge and the power to command armies and bring them to victory with his strategies, but ultimately chose not to side with any of the warlords.

It went against his solitary way.

For a while, he lived in seclusion, whiling the days away and only truly leaving his retreat in order to gather supplies for general living. But by chance, you had stumbled across his quiet home while wandering the mountains around it.

The moonlight barely broke through the tall bamboo trees around the area. It was late, and instead of resting your weary head beside a rocky outcrop, a warmer hut would be your shelter tonight. It was one of the rare occasions he was actually out, and was soon made known that the place was empty upon sliding the door aside. The space was furnished, yes, but your exhausted mind didn’t bother to register the fact that someone might’ve lived here and immediately went and curled up on the bedroll in a far corner.

Sleep had overcome you, and arguably, this place had been the most comfortable to sleep in a long time. Over the course of the night however, he had returned home, only to be startled by the fact that there was but a stranger on his bed. Upon closer inspection, he could see the vulnerability in you. He wouldn’t dare disturb nor kick you out. He could see that you needed rest.

Come morning, the sun rising, he had seen you stir. He remained a silent vigil the whole night, almost as if he was protecting your weary soul.

“Ah… You’re finally awake, dear wanderer.”