In the 2nd year of the reign of the first Emperor, there was formed a confederation of eight tribes who refused to swear fealty to the Broad-Dale King who had just been allotted by Imperial command an S-Rank territory which they were living on at the time. The names of the tribes were Clear-River, High-Mountain, Cherished-Birch, Cherished-Horse, Hundred-Fathom-Cliff, Calm-Frith, Tall-Oak and King-River. The first two listed were the largest and offered up a total of ten thousand warriors, but each of the other six were smaller and only offered up six thousand. The Emperor gave eight thousand of his own warriors to the Broad-Dale King to combine with his army of six thousand, for a total of fourteen thousand warriors, six-tenths on chariots, the rest on foot.
The two armies fought in the western foothills of the Broad-Dale Kingdom, but there were no settlements in that area at the time to precisely name the location. Half of the barbarian confederation was wiped out in the half-day battle, and the other half fled further to the west, where most of the tribes' main households stood. The King's army pursued them. Two weeks later, they met them at a fort constructed hastily at the top of a hill, and engaged them in battle. The barbarian king of Clear-River, who was the leader of the confederation, came out of the fort and challenged the Broad-Dale King to single combat. He had a habit of carrying a sword in one hand and a bow in the other, and not putting one away until he decided whether he felt more like fighting with the sword or shooting the bow. When the Broad-Dale King approached and saw this, he remarked: "Look at you--how am I supposed to know whether I will be sparred or shot at?" The barbarian king replied: "Since I am a gentleman, I will let you have the first move, then ye will know." The Broad-Dale King took out his bow and started shooting from horseback. But the barbarian king avoided most of the arrows, and those he could not avoid he cut in two with his sword. His arrows exhausted, the Broad-Dale King leapt down from his horse, unsheathed his bronze blade and charged at the barbarian king. But just as he did so, the latter stabbed his sword into the ground and loaded an arrow from his quiver. He fired numerous arrows onto the Broad-Dale King and because his aim was top of the line, repelled him back to the front rank of his army.
The barbarian King screamed at him thus: "How dare ye flee in the face of me, coward!" Incensed, the Broad-Dale King was about to fly back at him, but before he could do so another warrior grabbed his shoulder and held him fast. It was Hundred-Dragon, Knight and Scion of the Deity who held the office of general, and whom the Emperor had dispatched to aid the Broad-Dale King on his punitive expedition, for he was famous as a warrior with few matches among men, beasts and even, so they say, gods. He said to the King: "Your arrows are spent, sir, and your breath is faltering--fall back with no shame, let me fight in your place!" And Hundred-Dragon rushed into the open field to face off against the barbarian king. He drew his sword, swaggered and engaged, and with three swings only the barbarian king lay slain on the ground. Thereupon the two armies fought man-to-man and much blood was spilled on both sides, but the enemies were finally overpowered. The fort was taken and laid to waste, and that was the end of the rebellion.
The army of the Broad-Dale King then pushed deeper into the territories of the eight barbarian tribes, plundering their settlements and stealing their livestock. The leaders of the tribes were all arrested and made to kneel before the King. Naturally their lives were spared, but they were made to swear oaths of loyalty both to the King and the Emperor, then to pledge yearly tribute of eight thousand silver pieces, three thousand gold and one hundred fifty bolts of silk. The eight tribes were also made to offer a princess to the Broad-Dale King, another to the Emperor, another to Hundred-Dragon, and still others to other martial lords as befit their merits.
After the eight tribes were routed, they fled from the heart of the new realm to the peripheral regions of the northwest, passing through ten provinces on the way. There the Realm gives way to a wild steppe country where several tribes lived that shared with them a common ancestor. While those tribes were by no means united, they were at the time lorded over by a hegemon called Flaming-Eagle. When Flaming-Eagle saw the sorry state his relatives were in and heard the stories of their humiliation and ruin at the hands of the new Dynasty of Towering-Justice, he mobilized every man of fighting age under his governance and made a massive incursions into the Realm. The invasion was met by the defending armies of every province it passed through, but since those armies were relatively new and their soldiers inexperienced, they were largely defeated or put to rout. The invaders did not ransack the land or burn the towns, but whenever an engagement occurred and a warrior demanded to fight a duel with Flaming-Eagle, he would refuse and say: "I will fight no one but the highest officer there is in your country." And indeed, at every battle, he would not even unsheathe his sword, nor let a single arrow fly, but was surrounded at all times by expert fighters and so came to no harm. While in ... province, his army was confronted by Hundred-Dragon but the latter, perhaps due to the unfavorable weather, was bested. He escaped. When he returned to the Capital, he informed the Emperor of the barbarian hegemon's boastful demand. Towering-Justice said: "If he managed to best you, the greatest warrior I have, then he has every right to fight me." And he mounted his chariot of steel decorated with golden vignettes, pulled by four white steeds, and took charge of an army of ten thousand.
He met Flaming-Eagle at the western edge of the Central Meadows and had these words to say to him: "If I am not mistaken, you have requested a duel with the highest officer in this Realm. As the highest officer in this Realm, I have decided to grant you this." And Flaming-Eagle rode forth on his dark bay which trampled the swaying grasses as tall as a man's knee. He said: "I heard a new dynasty was recently set up in these parts, and then here come the remnants of eight tribes of my relatives who had been destroyed by powers associated with this new dynasty. What seethed in my heart was the desire to take revenge, but before I let slip my pillagers to ravish your country, plunder its riches, put its fields to the torch and its people to the sword, I stopped myself and wondered what sort of man the king of this new realm was. But where I come from there is a saying: 'The width of a river is measured by the toss of a stone, but the character of a man is measured at the tip of a sword.' Since you were gallant enough to accept my invitation to duel, I think you will be pleased to learn my character, and the character of my people, so as to foretell whether the relationship between our two realms in this age and in ages to come will be a brotherly or an inimical one." Towering-Justice responded: "If I could learn so much from just one battle, I would fight it gladly even if I ended up losing my life." And Flaming-Eagle: "Well you should rest assured that if you do battle with me, your life will be in danger at every moment. These days they say a lot of noble fellows like to dress up in colorful armor and have a few jousts to while away the time or just to release some steam, but I hardly call that a battle, for any battle where a great lord or general is not killed is not worth participating in, which is why ever since invading your country I have not so much as unsheathed my blade, nor flexed my bow." To which Towering-Justice: "You have been waiting a long time to face off with a true hero. I will not let you down." And he produced his sword called Loyalty. Flaming-Eagle had heard tell of this sword and its origins, so he said: "I will say a prayer for you that that sword come to no harm. What would become of a lord who lost the Loyalty pledged to him by his retainers?" Towering-Justice replied: "There is no need. For I know it is indestructible." And at last they fought, the one with Loyalty and the other with his giant bronze blade called Bravery that appeared too heavy for any ordinary man to even lift. But both warriors were so perfectly matched that even past the seventieth round neither showed any sign of fatigue. By that time their chariots had been ridden to the point where their wheels fell off and the horses died of exhaustion, and they were left to fight on the meadow carved up by a web of wheel tracks. Then the sky became black as evil clouds swirled overhead. Flaming-Eagle shouted at his opponent: "Look above you! That a sign Heaven wants us to wrap things up." But they did not stop fighting. In the one hundred and twentieth round Towering-Justice made a swing at Flaming-Eagle, but when the latter caught it with his sword, so forceful was the impact that both swords shattered into several dozen pieces strewn about the field. But they did not stop fighting, they went on using their bare fists for another fifty rounds until they had beaten each other unconscious. Each lord was brought back to his respective camp, and when they came to they decided to call it a draw.
Both men were so impressed by each other's martial powers that immediately after the battle they became sworn brothers. They had the shards of the broken swords collected, but since both were made with an equally pristine quality it was impossible to tell which shard had originally belonged to which sword. So they summoned a master smith and had him create two new blades by melting all of the shards together. The two new blades were given the same names as before, Loyalty and Bravery, but since they were now part of a set, they gave the set the name Brotherhood. Each lord then swore a pledge to respect the borders of the other and that anyone under their charge caught instigating conflict or conducting raids into the other's land would be severely punished. After that they had a great feast with their respective armies and retinues, and they spent the next week or so feasting, hunting, sporting and making sacrifices to the spirits. This actually became an annual festival held in honor of the friendship of the two peoples, but it was eventually discontinued a few decades after the death of Towering-Justice. In the meantime Towering-Justice went on many journeys to visit his sworn brother in his home district, and whenever either got embroiled in a conflict with another kingdom the other would come to his aid. Towering-Justice eventually married one of Flaming-Eagle's sisters, who became First Consort.