Dynasty High Prologue

Located in the vicinity of the majestic Jiangdong mountains is Chion Academy, a prestigious and truly unique school for the gifted. Founded half a century ago by a collective of wealthy industrialists Chion started out as a school for the children of the founders, quickly gaining notoriety as one of the most exclusive schools in the world. Such was the collective wealth of its patrons that each student was afforded their own personal villa, to do with as they saw fit. Some would fill their mini-manors with servants and fine cuisine, others with workout gear and personal trainers; however, there was not a single one of the children who did not find a way to flaunt their family's wealth and fame wherever they went.

All that changed twenty-five years ago when Cao Song, foster son of Cao Teng of Phoenix Industries, began to see flaws in the school's design. Having seen many of his classmates forced to drop out as their respective family businesses went under Cao Song knew that it was only a matter of time before the great Chion Academy would fall into bankruptcy and eventually disrepair. Upon his graduation Cao Song devised an alternative in the form of Wei dorm, and convinced both the school and the other families to open the school's strict admittance regulations to accept non-wealthy students of exceptional talent or potential; in doing so he was able to petition the government for public funding that more than made up for the cost of the new students. Even with the challenges of class-based prejudice and the few industrialists who revoked their support in defiance of this change the school was able to enter a new era of peace and stability, for a time.

It was not long before strife began to spread through Chion yet again however, as more and more of the wealthier students refused to attend and battles between the wealthy and middle-class became ever more violent. It was at this time that Sun Jian, a former star athlete forced to retire after a serious injury to his right leg, had decided to cast off his pride and apply to Chion as a new coach for the athletics department. Upon arriving at the school he discovered a series of black-robed individuals attempting to inflict serious injury upon two of the wealthier students; despite his still-healing leg Sun Jian practically leapt into the fray and used a combination of martial arts and the sports equipment he had brought with him to quickly subdue over a dozen of the raven-clad youths before they surrendered and accompanied him to the central office to await the local police. While explaining the situation to both the principal and on-duty nurse Sun Jian was appalled to discover that the group he had fought against were all middle-class students who had been constantly mocked and hazed by a group of wealthy students including the two would-be victims. When Sun Jian asked the principal of the time what his opinion was the principal openly admitted that evidence of the hazing was obvious, yet the faculty had refused to take any action against the children of their most influential supporters. Outraged, Sun Jian picked up both one of the wealthy students and one of their attackers and slammed them together, telling them in no uncertain terms that both sides needed to grow up and that the school itself needed to "grow a pair" and start taking responsibility for all their charges. When the wealthy student's friends, who had come to the office after hearing rumors about their rescue, threatened Sun Jian with repercussions from their parents Sun Jian merely laughed off their empty threats and told them that truly great people do not need to hide behind their parents.

When word of Sun Jian's actions reached Cao Song later that afternoon he found himself greatly impressed by Sun Jian's courage, not in defending the children, but in standing up to them. Using his company's private jet Cao Song left for Chion not even an hour later, arriving at the campus just as dusk approached and as calls were beginning to flood in ordering the principal to forbid Sun Jian's admittance to the faculty. Intrigued by Sun Jian's values Cao Song found himself mostly in agreement of the athlete's views of what makes a person great. Allowing Sun Jian to stay the night in the unused Cao manor the two discussed plans for the future of Chion for almost the entire night. The next day, amidst protests from dozens of influential parents, Cao Song recommended Sun Jian for the position of head coach and also proposed the creation of a second public dorm. Cao Song believed that by splitting up the middle-class students into two dorms they would create a friendly rivalry that would help relieve tensions between the two social classes. In spite of a much lower approval rating from the wealthier families the principal agreed to Cao Song's proposal after Sun Jian agreed to have his former teammates both fund and promote the school within the athletic community. The second dorm, named Wu upon its completion, proved the plan of the two men to be sound: even though the higher-class students avoided Wu like the plague out of protest the separation of middle-class students and the numerous competitions that arose between them not only diffused the rage of the middle-class students but also created a sense of jealousy and loneliness amidst the wealthy students, many of whom went so far as to join the dorms themselves. Before returning to his company Cao Song offered Sun Jian one last gift of sorts: upon his departure Cao Song named Sun Jian the head advisor for Wu dorm, ensuring that Sun Jian would always be there to protect the kids.

Time passed yet again, but this time the atmosphere around Chion was much more peaceful. Cao Song and Sun Jian remained friends for a time, but like all friends unintentionally grew more and more distant over time. Both men soon had children of their own, and in the all-consuming process of fatherhood the two lost contact entirely. It would be twenty-three years before the two met face-to-face once more to discuss matters involving Chion Academy, and in that time nearly all the aristocrats' children had either left the school or joined one of the two dorms. This left a new concern lingering over the school: rather than a battle between the wealthy and middle-class, they were closing in on the time when there would be fights breaking out between the two dorms instead. At that time the two men were stunned to hear the brilliant plan of a first-year student named Zhuge Liang, a gifted genius of a boy who had refused to enter either dorm and instead camped out in a small cabin on the mountain trail. The young man had foreseen the trouble that would eventually arise out of the stalemate between the two dorms and upon hearing of Cao Song's visit approached the businessman with a new system, one in which not only would they include a third dorm to shatter the rising tension but also create a dorm where students could stay until they found a dorm they fit in with best. With this the school found balance once again, while also initiating a more competitive version of Cao Song's own "2 Dorms" rivalry. This new system, later to be known as the "Three Kingdoms Strategy", was enacted soon thereafter to glorious effect: with the promise of great rewards for the dorms whose students performed most admirably, the three dorms found themselves in a constant state of checks and balances so that no one dorm could have ultimate power. As such the Shu Dorm was finally constructed alongside the unnamed "Grey Dorm", with Zhuge Liang finally taking his place within the campus as the founder and current class representative of Shu until such time as he found a proper successor who could keep the three dorms united.

There are still dangers within Chion's walls however: sabotage between rival dorms has been rising in the past few years, once-friendly competitions have become almost savage at times, and there have even been reports of all-out brawls erupting in the classrooms from time to time. The school has tried to redirect this aggression into more positive outlets, going so far as to become more and more like a military academy in years past. Its most infamous outlet, both educational and recreational, is the cross-dorm "Arena" in which the students are given electronic versions of various weapons and battle in a randomly-selected field. Despite all this an old danger has risen once again after nearly a quarter century: groups of disguised students are attacking Chion in a variety of ways, from slander and graffiti to arson and even assaults on the other students. Unlike the black-robed individuals of decades past these groups are unorganized and unique upon themselves, each with its own agenda and viewpoints. There are rumors however, rumors of a new group that has begun the slow and arduous process of assimilating all the others into a massive armada. This new organization, known only by the nickname "Yellow Turbans" thanks to their cloth-covered faces and yellow tunics, has both its key members and final goals well hidden; whatever their agenda may be it is feared that the faculty might not be able to prevent what is to come. It is in these troubled times, as students fight each other and trust is a commodity not easily earned, that a young man from the eastern mountains will find himself invited to the school. His name is Liu Bei, and he is about to discover just what kind of school he has enrolled himself in…