Emperor Ling's death, and the secession wars that followed, are what scholars today call the "Three Kingdoms Period" of China. However, something seems to have happened. An alternate timeline, a lost fragment of history, whatever the case, resulted in not just the Lü Bu you see before you, but to all of China. Demons, dragons, and all manner of evil creatures crawled up from the underworld to swallow the continent of China before the Han dynasty could even fall. Even within the courts, the corruption of official positions could not be wholly blamed on the incompetence of Emperor Ling. Certain events played out, including the assassination of He Jin and the annihilation of the eunuchs of the palace, but it seems the key players had been altered. For one, this Lü Bu was a woman.
Surviving a childhood of persecution in what would come to be known as part of Mongolia, Lü Bu grew up with the song of battle in her heart. She wanted nothing more than to be a soldier, to fight on the front lines against not just rebellions of man, but the armies of spirits and even great dragons that the Imperial Army was said to do battle with. She trained daily, and while other girls practiced their ceremonies and hoped to be chosen as a consort, Lü Bu challenged warriors daily to honorable duels. Eventually, when she won against a lieutenant of her province's militia, she got the recognition she desperately wanted. Her skill with polearms was evident, and even the male-dominated courts could see that she would be a force for any army.
She eventually signed on with Ding Yuan, the Inspector of Bing Province, who saw not just her talent for battle, but the unwavering spirit within. Ding Yuan, a woman herself, had also worked her way up from nothing, and it was virtually blatant favoritism when she awarded Lü Bu came with her as she was promoted to Cavalry Commandant of the Henei Commandery garrison. There, the two women were viewed with suspicion, followed by awe, as the soldiers understood just how foolish their notions had been. Ding Yuan was a brilliant woman, and remained unmarried, seeming to have won the failing emperor's ear by convincing him that his reputation couldn't get any worse. Lü Bu, for her sake, also remained unmarried, but simply beat the notion of her being a weak and dumb woman out of the jarheads any chance she got. It was a common gripe that Lü Bu never got reprimanded for starting fights.
After He Jin's assassination, and the late arrival of Lü Bu and Ding Yuan to the capital of Luoyang, Dong Zhuo came to Lü Bu with a proposition. Lü Bu would become his adopted daughter, so long as she betrayed Ding Yuan. The slap to his face, his men would whisper, could be heard as an echo throughout the camp. Lü Bu left with that as her answer and rejoined Ding, who was attempting to reunite the central government, but failing. A feud of succession between the empresses was the cause of this war, and Ding was seen as "just another woman clambering for power." Lü Bu was dealing with issues of fighting between the forces when she heard news of her friend, and commander's, assassination. The remainder of Ding Yuan's forces either defected, or were forced to flee, with Lü Bu leading them in a daring escape from the control of Dong Zhou.
She turned to Yuan Shao, who was already forming a coalition to stand against Dong Zhuo and his tyranny. Those men who came with her vouched for her status as Ding's successor, but it was unnecessary. Yuan Shao knew of this woman, and knew exactly what she wanted from them. He sent his appointed Minister over the Masses, Wang Yun, to inform Lü Bu of the plot to rid themselves of Dong Zhuo, and what she could do to help. They proved that Dong Zhuo was the one that had ordered Ding assassinated, which was all that Lü Bu needed. The next day, the palace was stained red with the guards of Dong Zhuo, but he escaped, leaving Lü Bu fuming, and with enough anger to destroy the palace. She didn't, though. She had long since known of her mutual hatred of horses - after all, her closest friend was a Cavalry Commandant - but horses were not the only animal one could ride.
Without notice, she disappeared for a month, climbing the mountains of Tibet until she found what she was looking for: a massive white wolf, a sacred beast of ice and snow. White Fang submitted to her might before the sun had set, and the two of them rode down to rejoin Yuan Shao. Unfortunately, he was busy dealing with the fact that his relative, Yuan Shu, declared herself Empress of all of China. Lü Bu gathered what remained of Ding's forces, who had long since fallen under her banner, and led a manhunt for Dong Zhuo. What they found was that he had attempted to gain the power of an ancient black dragon, and that the dragon had killed him for it. Without thinking, Lü Bu, atop Bai Yi, charged the thing that denied her revenge. When her Guan Dao pierced the heart of the dragon, the weapon changed, becoming Hotengageki, a polearm that could pierce even the Heavens themselves. All she had to do was trade an eye, and gain a few scars on the left side of her face from dragon's breath. An excellent trade.
Lü Bu looked out on a fractured kingdom, her own forces meager, as several different miniature empires shatter the home she swore to protect. It's as if something was orchestrating this from beyond, and for a time, she and her men tried to hold their old garrison at the Henei Commandery against increasingly terrifying foes. If she could get into contact with Yuan Shao again, she believed they could muster their forces, but every time a route opens, it's as if some grand strategist knew, and closed it with another problem. Zhang Yang was trying to take the Garrison for himself, a bribe from Dong Zhuo's thriving coalition of warlords, and she finally believed herself outmatched. Unable to hold the garrison, they fled to Chenliu, where Lü Bu was resolved to make her final stand, until she met another hand willing to help her. Zhang Miao, the Administrator of Chenliu, almost immediately saw Lü Bu as a friend and younger sister, so he offered what aid he could.
The grand strategist, Cao Cao, was an ally of Zhang Miao's, and had appointed to him to that position herself. Now, Cao Cao, Zhang Miao, and Lü Bu look to campaign to reunite the warring factions under one Imperial ruler, to depose the false Empress, and to find a way to solve the problem of ever-increasing attacks from demons, evil spirits, and even reports of the risen dead. Liu Bei may be their chance at such a unity, but there is one problem: the Empress has allegedly proven her power with magic, something only those of divine blood could use. Lü Bu and her allies know that could only mean trouble, especially with the acts of an unseen hand manipulating things, but there is only one thing she can do, and it's what she does best: keep going forward.