The Imperial Seal — the sacred symbol of divine mandate — had been lost when the capital burned.

Sun Jian, the Tiger of Jiangdong, found it by chance among the ruins of Luoyang. Wrapped in a eunuch robes, the jade seal glowed with a light that spoke of dynasties risen and fallen.

But possession of the seal was a curse. When Yuan Shao heard Sun Jian had it, he demanded its surrender. When Sun Jian refused, the alliance of warlords shattered into pieces.

"The seal is mine by right of discovery," Sun Jian declared.

"And I say it belongs to the Emperor," Yuan Shao countered, his face like carved stone.

War was now inevitable. The Tiger rode south with his prize — but fate had other plans. Crossing the River Xiang, his army was ambushed. Sun Jian fell in bloody shallows, struck by poison arrows.

Within a decade, the seal would change hands four more times, each transfer marked by betrayal. The three kingdoms had not yet been born, but their path was being paved in corpses.