Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Seven of Spades 说:
Hehe, she is on the list as well
Bold O'Ginn - Wolf of the Plain - Chapter XXXVI posted
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Sergeant at Arms
Hehe, she is on the list as well
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Nah, Bold is sneaky enough to avoid being catched by Olaf and his men
Even if some of Olaf's men catch him, he will always have a purse or two for them
Even if some of Olaf's men catch him, he will always have a purse or two for them
Thane_of_Dhirim
Squire
Bruce Almighty 说:Nah, Bold is sneaky enough to avoid being catched by Olaf and his men
Even if some of Olaf's men catch him, he will always have a purse or two for them
And what if they took the money and tell him anyway?
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Thane_of_Dhirim 说:Bruce Almighty 说:Nah, Bold is sneaky enough to avoid being catched by Olaf and his men
Even if some of Olaf's men catch him, he will always have a purse or two for them
And what if they took the money and tell him anyway?
They die... slowly and painfully
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Chapter XXIX - Battle at Wercheg peninsula
City of Wercheg, first town built by Nords before the New Age, has fallen. Naldera and his Vaegirs stormed it without a mercy. It's walls are destroyed. Vaegir soldiers went into the city, killing both citizens and city's defenderes. Yaroglek and Naldera wanted to scare Nords, by burning Wercheg to the ground. But Bold was the one who convinced Naldera and Yaroglek not to do so.
If they rebuild Wercheg, by adding stone walls alongside wooden ones, fortress will be hard to take. Wercheg is also on a good position. A man cannot conquer it without navy to storm the southern walls.
With fall of Wercheg, Nords are finally defeated in the war, but their kingdom stilll lasts. There are rumors that King Ragnar has sailed far away across the ocean, to Nordland. In his absence, Jarl Raemald is defending the Kingdom, with army of ten thousands at most.
--
There was a camp outside the walls outside the walls of Alburq castle. Two thousands men rested there after tiring siege of Wercheg three days ago. Above the camp, wind carried the banner of the white wolf on a blue field, a banner of O'Ginn clan.
Bold was resting in his tent. He was lying on a small bed that was in the tent. Next to his bed was the table with a food and drink on it. There were few candles to light the tent, but many are already burnt. There was not much light in the tent.
Injury on Bold's leg he recieved during siege of Wercheg is cleaned. Bandage that is wrapped around the leg is coloured by fresh red blood. Bleeding has stopped just recently. Bold is lucky not to bleed to the death.
He was thinking about Thera, about what Dirigun told him. He wanted to go now to Hrus castle and see her. He wanted to hug her, to kiss her. But he couldn't. Not now. Not yet. When he becomes a Khan, Thera will be his wife. She will give a birth to many sons that will rule after Bold's reign ends. Dreams, dreams... about uniting all the tribes.. I'm still a lord in the Kingdom and I cannot tell that I'm among the strongest.
Drapes of the tent thurst away and an eldery woman gets in accompanied by two guards. Bold didn't bothered to stand up, but only to raise his head. ''Speak.''
''My lord. This woman says she has a message for you.'', one of the guards said. Those two guards were good soldiers, Bold's personal guard. Bold spotted bardiche on their back and smiled, remembering his and Desmondes' bet.
He stood up and approached woman, who was holding a letter in her hand. ''Give me the letter.'', Bold ordered.
As he unsealed the letter and opened it, Bold started to read it quietly. ''Lord Bold O'Ginn, your visit last time made me very happy. I would really like to see you one more time. I'm currently in Curaw. Lady Tamar is also here and she will surely be happy to see Desmondes one more time.
Lady Bryn.
Bold raised his eyebrows when he read the message. Just in the time he was thinking about Thera he recieved a letter from Lady Bryn.
''Leave.'', Bold ordered to his guards.
Elderly woman, probably Bryn's nurse turned and watched how guards leave the tent. Then she looked at Bold who filled a cup of salty tea. ''My lord, what is your answer? Are you going to visit her ladyship?''
Bold sipped the salty tea once and looked at the nurse. He pursed his lips thinking about his answer. ''I will.'', he said in the end.
Nurse smiled and bowed ''Lady Bryn will be happy with your answer, my lord.'', turned and left the tent.
When nurse got out, Bold sat on a chair, and thought about his next move. He was really unsure what to do. He wants to return to the steppe, but Yaroglek isn't allowing him to do so because of the ''threat of the Nords'' which didn't existed.
''My lord.'', someone said. Bold recognized Kushi's voice. He turned and stood up ''Hey Kushi, where were you all the time? We haven't talked since we were at Curaw ten days ago.'' What? Did he called me a lord?
Kushi pursed his lips and nodded ''Well, that is true, my lord...''
''Stop.'', Bold ordered ''Kushi, why are you calling me a lord?''
Kushi looked at Bold confusingly ''Because you are my lord...''
''No!'', Bold ordered ''When I became Boyar, at start you were still calling me by my name. Tell me real reason.''
Kushi sighed and sat on the chair. He started talking while looking at the floor ''Your father was a great man, my lord. You've became much like him in the last few days. I've always respected you, my lord. But now...'',
''But now what?'', Bold asked. He was angry. Somehow, Bold considered Kushi a man of higher status, even he didn't knew that. He respected Kushi far more than himself. ''I understand.'', Bold then said when Kushi opened his mouth to answer.
''Well, I wanted to ask you this all the time. What have you been doing in the night when we were at Curaw with those two ladies? You suddenly dissapeared.'', Bold then said and filled a cup of black brandy for Kushi.
Kushi took cup with his both hands and sipped it two times before he answered ''I went out when I realised what are you and Desmondes going to do. Lord Yesugei did that once, but only once before he married your mother, my lord.''
''Oh...'', Bold said quietly ''I didn't knew...''
Kushi smiled ''Have I told you that you are same as Yesugei?''
Bold nodded his head slowly ''Anyway, how is training going? I've had not much time to spend training with those new recruits.''
''Well...'', Kushi started ''... they have shown a potential like none before. Their use of bardiche is incredible. I must admit that I really didn't knew that Vaegirs used Bardiche this well. They are deadly soldiers, my lord. And they will surely be useful in the future battles.''
''They will be.'', Bold simply said ''Thanks to you.''
Kushi raised his eyebrows, surprised. ''Thank you, my lord.''
Bold smiled, although he didn't liked how Kushi called him my lord all the time. A guard suddenly ran in the tent. Bold and Kushi confusingly looked at him. ''What is happening? Why have you ran in the tent like that?'', Bold asked.
Guard was panting ''My lord. A scout has reported that Boyar Mleza is battling Nords just few miles away. Ten thousand Nords led by Jarl Raemald have attacked Mleza's small army of five hundreds.'', guard explained.
Bold nodded and looked at Kushi, who just bowed his head. Bold almost ran outside the tent how fast he walked. ''Kushi, we are going to battle. Guards! Spread the orders! We will ride against Nords once more.''
--
Mleza was knocked off his horse by an arrow that hit his shoulder. Somehow, boyar manged to stand up and look around himself. His soldiers, getting killed where ever he turns, by those Nord bastards. His sight was blurry. He ripped out the arrow off his shoulder, releasing rills of blood. Pain was unbereable, but he managed to stay conscious. Raemald is considered as best commander in the Kingdom, even better than Ragnar himself. Many lords in Calradia are afraid of him. He battled only two times in this war, which started in january of 1257th. And both times, he won, once against boyar Meriga and once against boyar Crahask. Now, soldiers of the Kingdom of Nords are mainly under his command. He has personal seven thousand soldiers. One lord accompanied him in the battle against Mleza. That was jarl Turya.
Mleza tried to run away. He managed to turn around before one Nord hit him with dull end of axe and see a horsemen galloping downhill. He recognized a banner of white wolf on a blue field...
Bold was on the head of his soldiers. They created a line, two hundreds in breadth, and ten in lenght. Bold strummed two long tons, which is an order to fire arrows. Those closest to him were the first one who did so. Then, as the other horsemen saw them, they did the same. Bold planned that his soldiers should be a horse archer, every one of them, but since Vaegirs are not good in horse archery. Two hundreds of Thaichuits joined him when he was in Tulbuk. They proved to be good horse archers. Not only Thaichuits were his horse archers, but there were also some other people from the steppe, such as tribesmen of Nai'Man tribe. There was six hundreds of them, and with Thaichuts, Bold had eight hundred horse archers in total.
First arrow volley managed to take down a small number of Nords, two hundreds at most. Nordic round shield is great defense against arrows, especially a renowned Huscarl shield. Bold wanted to create a shields a size of Huscarl shield, but a little lighter. Shields used by Huscarls are pretty hard, so they won't be very useful on horseback, because one soldier in Bold's army had a lot of equimpent. His horse archers had a bow, two quivers with thirty arrows in each, a chainmail, 2kg of dry meat, 2kg of cheese, one bottle of milk. Nevertheless, knights in Bold's army had the same equipment except they had a plate or a scale armor, which was really hard, and bardiches. Adding a Huscarl shields to their equipment will not be only too much for Bold's soldiers, but for their cavalry as well. Because of that, Bold wants to create a new type of shield. To be as hard as Huscarl one, the same size, but much lighter.
Bold's knights lowered their lances and aimed Nordic shields. They thought that the force of the lance on the galloping horse would be enough, but Bold knew that it won't work. Ten thousand Nords were just a few hundreds yards away from them. Their archers already fired an volley of arrows. Three thousand arrows is enough to kill all of Bold's men.
Bold strummed one long ton, and his army split up in two. This was an order to hit the enemy's flank. One thousand warriors rode at east, led by Kushi, and one thousand to west, led by Bold.
Those five hundreds of Mleza's army were brutally killed by Nords. Their severed hands, legs and heads were scaterred all around battlefield. Raemald's men were truly merciless bastards. Actually, all Nords are usually known as merciless warriors. They will severe bodies of their enemies for their god Throrius, God of Thunder.
Those pagans will die, Bold thought The Great Father will punish them.
The Great Father was a deity of the peoples of steppe. According to ancient scriptures, he created this world and a man, and a woman as well. Name of that man was Bakyaar, father of all peoples. A first woman Great Father created was Akanya, wife of Bakyaar and Mother of All.
They were someting known as a 'perfect human'. The Great Father told them ''You're bound together as a man and wife. Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill this land and rule it.''
But when Bakyaar commited a 'First Sin', humans were perfect no more. They became what they are now, a treacherous, greedy and evil animals. At least, most of them are that sort.
An army led by Bold divided in two, and successfully managed to demage the flank of the Nord army. Bold swung his sword, slicing throats of many of his opponents. Every slash absorbed a bit of his strenght. It is hard to aim Nord's throat which had no protection while riding on a galloping horse. It took both accuracy and strenght. Still, even after losing their best soldiers at flank, Nords didn't gave up. They seemed even stronger. Bold spotted a dozens which increased to nearly hundreds of his horsemen dead on the ground.
An arrow hit his horse. Poor animal fell on ground, with Bold on it. Weight of the horse pressed Bold's legs. He yelled in pain. While lying on ground, he raised his head to see how is battle going. Scattered, Nords are no match for cavalry, but this tactics is good enough to beat the whole Vaegir army.
If Vaegirs lose Bold in this battle, they will lose a will for battle, at least most of them, who considered Bold as most capable warlord in tundra.
Weight of horse was unimaginable. Poor animal was still alive, but it couldn't move. Arrow has managed to stuck deep in horse's flesh. Bold tried to pull his horse off his body, but he couldn't. He was slowly losing his strenght. His vision became blurry. Head started to hurt.
Bold shook his head several times, but it hurted even more. I cannot die! Not now! Not before I kill Ogadai and Sanjar!
But then, Bold realised that his end is near. He spat blood out of his mouth. It was nearly black.. Sun was bright.. Bold could only see a dark figures and shadows fighting each other. He could not recognize who was his soldier, and who was the enemy..
Then, he suddenly spotted a figure approaching him. He recognized the sword in it's hand. Then, suddenly, all the weight dissapeared. All in the second.
Bold raised his head slowly as his vision was returning to it's normal state. He spotted a man standing over him, offering him a hand. Bold rubbed his eyes and recognized Desmondes. He hesitated for a moment and then took his hand. After he stood up, he spotted a lot more dead Nordic bodies than the bodies of his men. Desmondes smiled ''I led them in battle when you fell, Bold.'', he said and stabbed one Nord right in the neck. Blood sprayed his face, but Desmondes didn't reacted on that. Bold then turned his head and spotted his horse, dead.
''No...'', he whispered, but it sounded more loud than the sound of a battle. He approached his horse and kneeled over it. ''You were my steed since I started my journey.'', Bold spoke, tears already appearing in his eyes, but he wiped them and refused to cry ''I called you Red, because of your coat.''
Then, Bold raised his hand and spotted a man standing few hundreds paces away from him with an bow in his hand. A Nord, Jarl Raemald, a man who killed his horse. Bold rapidly took a bow and an arrow and aimed, and fired. Raemald was too far away. Arrow killed a man ten paces away from him. Bold fired another volley of arrows killing a bunch of Nords, while Desmondes protected him from the Nords. Then, Bold took another arrow from a quiver on his back. He looked at it, it was the last arrow. He strained a tendon to his ear, aiming Raemald's head. The Void... ''Let the Flame burns all your emotions, lock them in the Void.'', Yesugei's words. He said that it's easy to create it, but to Bold it was something hardest. But this time, for the first time in battle, he created the Void.
Bold released the tendon. Arrow flew through the sky, until it hit it's target. Raemald's collarbone, although the real target was his head, it is good enough that it managed to hit his collarbone. That is good enough., Bold thought and smiled. Raemald will learn the lesson of his life. ''Mount your horse, Desmondes!'', Bold ordered ''I'll find one myself. Until then, lead my men to victory.''
Desmondes nodded his head ''Yes, I'll do that.''
When Bold mounted his horse, he led his army into another victory, this time against five times bigger enemy. Two thousand horsemen defeated over ten thousands Nords. This battle will be remembered, as well as it's victor.
City of Wercheg, first town built by Nords before the New Age, has fallen. Naldera and his Vaegirs stormed it without a mercy. It's walls are destroyed. Vaegir soldiers went into the city, killing both citizens and city's defenderes. Yaroglek and Naldera wanted to scare Nords, by burning Wercheg to the ground. But Bold was the one who convinced Naldera and Yaroglek not to do so.
If they rebuild Wercheg, by adding stone walls alongside wooden ones, fortress will be hard to take. Wercheg is also on a good position. A man cannot conquer it without navy to storm the southern walls.
With fall of Wercheg, Nords are finally defeated in the war, but their kingdom stilll lasts. There are rumors that King Ragnar has sailed far away across the ocean, to Nordland. In his absence, Jarl Raemald is defending the Kingdom, with army of ten thousands at most.
--
There was a camp outside the walls outside the walls of Alburq castle. Two thousands men rested there after tiring siege of Wercheg three days ago. Above the camp, wind carried the banner of the white wolf on a blue field, a banner of O'Ginn clan.
Bold was resting in his tent. He was lying on a small bed that was in the tent. Next to his bed was the table with a food and drink on it. There were few candles to light the tent, but many are already burnt. There was not much light in the tent.
Injury on Bold's leg he recieved during siege of Wercheg is cleaned. Bandage that is wrapped around the leg is coloured by fresh red blood. Bleeding has stopped just recently. Bold is lucky not to bleed to the death.
He was thinking about Thera, about what Dirigun told him. He wanted to go now to Hrus castle and see her. He wanted to hug her, to kiss her. But he couldn't. Not now. Not yet. When he becomes a Khan, Thera will be his wife. She will give a birth to many sons that will rule after Bold's reign ends. Dreams, dreams... about uniting all the tribes.. I'm still a lord in the Kingdom and I cannot tell that I'm among the strongest.
Drapes of the tent thurst away and an eldery woman gets in accompanied by two guards. Bold didn't bothered to stand up, but only to raise his head. ''Speak.''
''My lord. This woman says she has a message for you.'', one of the guards said. Those two guards were good soldiers, Bold's personal guard. Bold spotted bardiche on their back and smiled, remembering his and Desmondes' bet.
He stood up and approached woman, who was holding a letter in her hand. ''Give me the letter.'', Bold ordered.
As he unsealed the letter and opened it, Bold started to read it quietly. ''Lord Bold O'Ginn, your visit last time made me very happy. I would really like to see you one more time. I'm currently in Curaw. Lady Tamar is also here and she will surely be happy to see Desmondes one more time.
Lady Bryn.
Bold raised his eyebrows when he read the message. Just in the time he was thinking about Thera he recieved a letter from Lady Bryn.
''Leave.'', Bold ordered to his guards.
Elderly woman, probably Bryn's nurse turned and watched how guards leave the tent. Then she looked at Bold who filled a cup of salty tea. ''My lord, what is your answer? Are you going to visit her ladyship?''
Bold sipped the salty tea once and looked at the nurse. He pursed his lips thinking about his answer. ''I will.'', he said in the end.
Nurse smiled and bowed ''Lady Bryn will be happy with your answer, my lord.'', turned and left the tent.
When nurse got out, Bold sat on a chair, and thought about his next move. He was really unsure what to do. He wants to return to the steppe, but Yaroglek isn't allowing him to do so because of the ''threat of the Nords'' which didn't existed.
''My lord.'', someone said. Bold recognized Kushi's voice. He turned and stood up ''Hey Kushi, where were you all the time? We haven't talked since we were at Curaw ten days ago.'' What? Did he called me a lord?
Kushi pursed his lips and nodded ''Well, that is true, my lord...''
''Stop.'', Bold ordered ''Kushi, why are you calling me a lord?''
Kushi looked at Bold confusingly ''Because you are my lord...''
''No!'', Bold ordered ''When I became Boyar, at start you were still calling me by my name. Tell me real reason.''
Kushi sighed and sat on the chair. He started talking while looking at the floor ''Your father was a great man, my lord. You've became much like him in the last few days. I've always respected you, my lord. But now...'',
''But now what?'', Bold asked. He was angry. Somehow, Bold considered Kushi a man of higher status, even he didn't knew that. He respected Kushi far more than himself. ''I understand.'', Bold then said when Kushi opened his mouth to answer.
''Well, I wanted to ask you this all the time. What have you been doing in the night when we were at Curaw with those two ladies? You suddenly dissapeared.'', Bold then said and filled a cup of black brandy for Kushi.
Kushi took cup with his both hands and sipped it two times before he answered ''I went out when I realised what are you and Desmondes going to do. Lord Yesugei did that once, but only once before he married your mother, my lord.''
''Oh...'', Bold said quietly ''I didn't knew...''
Kushi smiled ''Have I told you that you are same as Yesugei?''
Bold nodded his head slowly ''Anyway, how is training going? I've had not much time to spend training with those new recruits.''
''Well...'', Kushi started ''... they have shown a potential like none before. Their use of bardiche is incredible. I must admit that I really didn't knew that Vaegirs used Bardiche this well. They are deadly soldiers, my lord. And they will surely be useful in the future battles.''
''They will be.'', Bold simply said ''Thanks to you.''
Kushi raised his eyebrows, surprised. ''Thank you, my lord.''
Bold smiled, although he didn't liked how Kushi called him my lord all the time. A guard suddenly ran in the tent. Bold and Kushi confusingly looked at him. ''What is happening? Why have you ran in the tent like that?'', Bold asked.
Guard was panting ''My lord. A scout has reported that Boyar Mleza is battling Nords just few miles away. Ten thousand Nords led by Jarl Raemald have attacked Mleza's small army of five hundreds.'', guard explained.
Bold nodded and looked at Kushi, who just bowed his head. Bold almost ran outside the tent how fast he walked. ''Kushi, we are going to battle. Guards! Spread the orders! We will ride against Nords once more.''
--
Mleza was knocked off his horse by an arrow that hit his shoulder. Somehow, boyar manged to stand up and look around himself. His soldiers, getting killed where ever he turns, by those Nord bastards. His sight was blurry. He ripped out the arrow off his shoulder, releasing rills of blood. Pain was unbereable, but he managed to stay conscious. Raemald is considered as best commander in the Kingdom, even better than Ragnar himself. Many lords in Calradia are afraid of him. He battled only two times in this war, which started in january of 1257th. And both times, he won, once against boyar Meriga and once against boyar Crahask. Now, soldiers of the Kingdom of Nords are mainly under his command. He has personal seven thousand soldiers. One lord accompanied him in the battle against Mleza. That was jarl Turya.
Mleza tried to run away. He managed to turn around before one Nord hit him with dull end of axe and see a horsemen galloping downhill. He recognized a banner of white wolf on a blue field...
Bold was on the head of his soldiers. They created a line, two hundreds in breadth, and ten in lenght. Bold strummed two long tons, which is an order to fire arrows. Those closest to him were the first one who did so. Then, as the other horsemen saw them, they did the same. Bold planned that his soldiers should be a horse archer, every one of them, but since Vaegirs are not good in horse archery. Two hundreds of Thaichuits joined him when he was in Tulbuk. They proved to be good horse archers. Not only Thaichuits were his horse archers, but there were also some other people from the steppe, such as tribesmen of Nai'Man tribe. There was six hundreds of them, and with Thaichuts, Bold had eight hundred horse archers in total.
First arrow volley managed to take down a small number of Nords, two hundreds at most. Nordic round shield is great defense against arrows, especially a renowned Huscarl shield. Bold wanted to create a shields a size of Huscarl shield, but a little lighter. Shields used by Huscarls are pretty hard, so they won't be very useful on horseback, because one soldier in Bold's army had a lot of equimpent. His horse archers had a bow, two quivers with thirty arrows in each, a chainmail, 2kg of dry meat, 2kg of cheese, one bottle of milk. Nevertheless, knights in Bold's army had the same equipment except they had a plate or a scale armor, which was really hard, and bardiches. Adding a Huscarl shields to their equipment will not be only too much for Bold's soldiers, but for their cavalry as well. Because of that, Bold wants to create a new type of shield. To be as hard as Huscarl one, the same size, but much lighter.
Bold's knights lowered their lances and aimed Nordic shields. They thought that the force of the lance on the galloping horse would be enough, but Bold knew that it won't work. Ten thousand Nords were just a few hundreds yards away from them. Their archers already fired an volley of arrows. Three thousand arrows is enough to kill all of Bold's men.
Bold strummed one long ton, and his army split up in two. This was an order to hit the enemy's flank. One thousand warriors rode at east, led by Kushi, and one thousand to west, led by Bold.
Those five hundreds of Mleza's army were brutally killed by Nords. Their severed hands, legs and heads were scaterred all around battlefield. Raemald's men were truly merciless bastards. Actually, all Nords are usually known as merciless warriors. They will severe bodies of their enemies for their god Throrius, God of Thunder.
Those pagans will die, Bold thought The Great Father will punish them.
The Great Father was a deity of the peoples of steppe. According to ancient scriptures, he created this world and a man, and a woman as well. Name of that man was Bakyaar, father of all peoples. A first woman Great Father created was Akanya, wife of Bakyaar and Mother of All.
They were someting known as a 'perfect human'. The Great Father told them ''You're bound together as a man and wife. Be fruitful and increase in number. Fill this land and rule it.''
But when Bakyaar commited a 'First Sin', humans were perfect no more. They became what they are now, a treacherous, greedy and evil animals. At least, most of them are that sort.
An army led by Bold divided in two, and successfully managed to demage the flank of the Nord army. Bold swung his sword, slicing throats of many of his opponents. Every slash absorbed a bit of his strenght. It is hard to aim Nord's throat which had no protection while riding on a galloping horse. It took both accuracy and strenght. Still, even after losing their best soldiers at flank, Nords didn't gave up. They seemed even stronger. Bold spotted a dozens which increased to nearly hundreds of his horsemen dead on the ground.
An arrow hit his horse. Poor animal fell on ground, with Bold on it. Weight of the horse pressed Bold's legs. He yelled in pain. While lying on ground, he raised his head to see how is battle going. Scattered, Nords are no match for cavalry, but this tactics is good enough to beat the whole Vaegir army.
If Vaegirs lose Bold in this battle, they will lose a will for battle, at least most of them, who considered Bold as most capable warlord in tundra.
Weight of horse was unimaginable. Poor animal was still alive, but it couldn't move. Arrow has managed to stuck deep in horse's flesh. Bold tried to pull his horse off his body, but he couldn't. He was slowly losing his strenght. His vision became blurry. Head started to hurt.
Bold shook his head several times, but it hurted even more. I cannot die! Not now! Not before I kill Ogadai and Sanjar!
But then, Bold realised that his end is near. He spat blood out of his mouth. It was nearly black.. Sun was bright.. Bold could only see a dark figures and shadows fighting each other. He could not recognize who was his soldier, and who was the enemy..
Then, he suddenly spotted a figure approaching him. He recognized the sword in it's hand. Then, suddenly, all the weight dissapeared. All in the second.
Bold raised his head slowly as his vision was returning to it's normal state. He spotted a man standing over him, offering him a hand. Bold rubbed his eyes and recognized Desmondes. He hesitated for a moment and then took his hand. After he stood up, he spotted a lot more dead Nordic bodies than the bodies of his men. Desmondes smiled ''I led them in battle when you fell, Bold.'', he said and stabbed one Nord right in the neck. Blood sprayed his face, but Desmondes didn't reacted on that. Bold then turned his head and spotted his horse, dead.
''No...'', he whispered, but it sounded more loud than the sound of a battle. He approached his horse and kneeled over it. ''You were my steed since I started my journey.'', Bold spoke, tears already appearing in his eyes, but he wiped them and refused to cry ''I called you Red, because of your coat.''
Then, Bold raised his hand and spotted a man standing few hundreds paces away from him with an bow in his hand. A Nord, Jarl Raemald, a man who killed his horse. Bold rapidly took a bow and an arrow and aimed, and fired. Raemald was too far away. Arrow killed a man ten paces away from him. Bold fired another volley of arrows killing a bunch of Nords, while Desmondes protected him from the Nords. Then, Bold took another arrow from a quiver on his back. He looked at it, it was the last arrow. He strained a tendon to his ear, aiming Raemald's head. The Void... ''Let the Flame burns all your emotions, lock them in the Void.'', Yesugei's words. He said that it's easy to create it, but to Bold it was something hardest. But this time, for the first time in battle, he created the Void.
Bold released the tendon. Arrow flew through the sky, until it hit it's target. Raemald's collarbone, although the real target was his head, it is good enough that it managed to hit his collarbone. That is good enough., Bold thought and smiled. Raemald will learn the lesson of his life. ''Mount your horse, Desmondes!'', Bold ordered ''I'll find one myself. Until then, lead my men to victory.''
Desmondes nodded his head ''Yes, I'll do that.''
When Bold mounted his horse, he led his army into another victory, this time against five times bigger enemy. Two thousand horsemen defeated over ten thousands Nords. This battle will be remembered, as well as it's victor.
Thane_of_Dhirim
Squire
Great victory . I am sure that Reamald will remember this day .
. I am sure that Reamald will remember this day .
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Thane_of_Dhirim 说:Great victory
Oh yeah, he will remember Bold as well (who may be his future son-in-law
)
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
He doesn't.. Bold isn't dating a Nordic woman yet.. He'll do it when he becomes a khan of free state..
Yeah, meanwhile let him cheat her with Vaegir women.
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
I wanted to write it but I forgot.. Bold did that because he thought he will never find Thera again, he wanted to forget her...
hahahahahahahahahahahaha, please take no offense, it wasn’t with a really bad meaning.
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Seven of Spades 说:
Yeah sure
No problem at all.. I see you wrote next chapter of your aar.. I'll read it immediately..
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Chapter XXX - A world of peace
Beneath the Red mountain, air was cold. Winter is coming. There were many sheeps on the plain beneath the mountains, with young shepherds keeping them. Cold ground was covered with fallen leaves, which crumbled to the touch. Sky was dark. For the past few days, it was only raining. A strong winds were blowing. Some strong enough to carry away recklessly posted tents. A horseman was on the small hill.
He spotted an party of horsemen approaching them. He spotted a banner as well. Horseman strained his eyes, but still couldn't recognize the banner of approaching party. It must be an emissary Khan of Wolves sent to the Tulga. Horseman wasn’t sure though, but he decided to remain at his position until he recognizes the banner.
As the air cleared, horseman siged when he recognized the banner. He turned his horse and galloped towards the habitat, a hundreds tents at one place. Habitat of Wolves.
He galloped in habitat. Many looked at horseman confusingly, but he ignored them. Khan's tent was more than a half a mile away in this habitat. As he came to the Khan's tent, the biggest one in the habitat, he jumped off the horse and and ran towards the tent. Khan meanwhile got out and horseman stopped and kneeled ''My... my lord...'', horseman started, but he was panting too much to talk.
''Breath normally and then talk, soldier.'', Ogadai ordered.
Horseman dared to look at Khan's eyes ''My lord Khan, they are coming.''
Ogadai raised an eyebrow and asked ''Who is coming, soldier?''
Horseman swallowed the lump and said ‘’Emisary you sent to the Tulga, my lord Khan. They are spotted on horizon.'' Warning horns could be heard as guards reported that stranger is coming to their habitat.
‘’Very good.’’, Ogadai said and smiled. He returned into his tent to dress his usual clothes. As Ogadai got out, he spotted not only his ambassador, but also Cahal Bilguun, once a merchant from Tulga, now a general in Sanjar's army.
''My lord Khan.'', ambassador said and kneeled. Cahal did so too.
''What are the news from Tulga?'', Ogadai asked his ambassador. He pretended he didn't saw Cahal yet, although he gave him few looks.
''My lord Khan, Sanjar Khan has accepted an offering of alliance, in return that you help him in reclaiming lands that were once under control of Khergit Khanate, such as town of Tulbuk and big city of Ichamur.''
Ogadai frowned ''He didn't realised anything about my wishes and proposals?'', Khan asked, already angry.
''But my lord..'', ambassador tried to find an excuse but Ogadai interrupted him ''Khan of Khergits wishes to expand his territories in north. What does he have to offer?''
''My lord Khan.'', Cahal spoke for the first time since he arrived in habitat, which resulted with Ogadai giving him mean look. There is a custom in steppe that a ambassador or a soldier should not speak without permission, which means that Khan must be the first one to say something or ask. ''Sanjar Khan knew you would say this, my lord Khan. How generous our liege is, he is offering you a town of Dustruil, and not only that, but castle of Asugan and all surrounding lands, my lord Khan.''
Ogadai raised his eyebrows ''Sanjar indeed is generous. Then my land would cover twice more territory. Territory of Asugan is a land of Kiri'Kartails, or I am wrong?''
''It is right, my lord Khan.'', Cahal said.
Ogadai smiled ''Good then. Cahal, come with me in my tent. I offer you guest-rights.''
Cahal bowed his head, although he was still kneeling ''And I gladly accept, my lord Khan.''
Once two of them got in the tent, Ogadai ordered his housemaids to bring them two cups of black brandy and to serve the lunch.
Two sat on pillows, which was the custom of tribesmen. People of the steppe were rarely sitting on chairs. They did mostly on pillows, to which next was a small table for food and drink. A man leaned to the elbow, as a men from other kingdoms would sit on chairs. In particular part of Sarranid desert, customs were the same as in steppe.
''Any news about the war with Vaegirs?'', Ogadai asked as two sat on pillows. Cahal didn't answered until he took a sip of black brandy housemaid brought to him. ''Sungetche pass fell to Vaegirs.''
Ogadai nodded his head ''I already knew that, and I know that you've lost Tulbuk and Ichamur as well.''
Cahal blushed. He didn't liked when someone talked about loss of his country ''It is true.''
''I've also heard that you've suffered a loss of many good warriors because of a man called Al'Gauti. What I heard is that he recently became Yaroglek's vassal.''
Cahal took another sip and began ''All you've heard about Al'Gauti is true, my lord Khan. His tactics on battlefield is superior comparing to ours. He leads horsemen like no one I've seen before. Although his tactics is a bit odd, he easily crushes our forces without a lot of casualties. I've received news that he just recently defeated an army of ten thousands with only two thousands.''
At that moment, Ogadai was taking a sip, and when he heard about Al'Gauti's victory over Nords, he spat all brandy he sipped. ''What? Who is that man Cahal?''
Cahal sighed ''You won't like the answer, my lord Khan. He is a man whom I met nearly two years ago in Tulga, when he just reached the age of twenty. He was living with a mother and two brothers. A year later, he returned to Tulga only to find his family murdered.''
Ogadai widene his eyes ''It is impossible...''
''Yes, my lord Khan, it indeed is possible. From a puny beggar, he rised to the rank of Vaegir boyar. He is the last in the line O'Ginn. That is him, my lord Khan. That is Bold O'Ginn.''
______
A thousand and three hundreds have survived the battle of Wercheg peninsula. News have quickly spread. As the army traveled towards Curaw, several hundreds have joined the army. Lezalit’s method of traning was quite useful, but not as much as Kushi’s. The old warrior is teaching young recruits how to properly wield their swords and bows. Over a time, Vaegirs are becoming better and better at horse archery, but still, they’re not as near good as steppe peoples. That’s why Bold has Taichuits in his army.
Bold has read the letter lady Bryn sent him dozens of times. And everytme he does, a picture of Thera appears in his head. He tried to forget her, but he couldn’t.
He was still in his tent in the center of camp. Sun has set few hours ago. Moon was high on the sky. It was midnight. Journey will be continued at dawn.
Bold slowly walked out of tent. Two Vaegir knights were guarding the entrance to the tent all the time. And those two knights were among best soldiers.
Bold slowly walked to the small hill. A big tree was there. He sat on the ground and leaned on it, remembering his life when he was a Wolf. A picture of Eluin, his former fiancee, appeared in his mind. A day before he was supposed to marry her, she was raped by Iluch and his brothers. This resulted with their death and banishment of Bold and his family from the tribe.
Bold heard steps behind him, stood up rapidly with sword in his hands and pointed it to the neck of the man.
Desmondes smiled ''Your hearing is good, my friend.''
Bold sighed ''I thought you were another assassin.''
Desmondes took a sip from a cup of wine he was holding in his hand ''I used to be assassin once.''
Bold allowed himself to smile ''So called 'Uncrowned king of Swadia' was an assassin in the past, huh?''
''Well, I can't call myself an assassin.'', Desmondes tried to find an excuse ''But lords and rulers have been tasking me with those kind of quests. It is this hand...'', Desmondes said and raised his right hand in front of Bold's face ''That ended a life of Percival the Torturer, the Duke of Bretaghnia.''
''Percival the who?'', Bold asked in confusion. He didn't knew much about the world that lied outside Calradia.
Desmondes widened his eyes ''You don't know who was Percival the Torturer?''
Bold shook his head in confusion.
''Well, he then wasn't that famous as I thought so.'', Desmondes said and two warriors smiled. ''As I said, he was a ruler of Duchy of Bretaghnia. When Duke Williem of Normandia claimed the title of King of all Bretaghnia, he tasked me with a quest of assassinating the Percival. When I assassinated the tyrant, Williem conquered Bretaghnia with the help of rebel lords and became first king of Bretaghnia.''
When Bold heard about unification of Bretaghnia, a picture of unified Calradia appeared in his mind. A picture of peace and harmony. A picture of people loving each other. A picture of prosper, not destruction. That would be a Calradian empire worthy to remember.
''Desmondes...'', Bold began ''I'll ask you something.''
Desmondes looked at Bold with worry. He knew this look of Bold. This was the look when he decided something, a something he is going to fulfill for sure.
''Anything you say, I'll do.''
Bold smiled ''It is good to have you in my army, my friend. I want to ask you will you accompany me in the journey of uniting Calradia?''
''Uniting Calradia?'', Desmondes asked in confusion. ''Is that possible.''
Bold smiled even louder ''Nothing is impossible, my friend. I wish to unite Calradia to an empire worthy to remember. I wish to make it an empire of peace. Will you accompany me?''
Desmondes smiled and nodded his head ''To the end of the world, I'll follow you.''
''Then let's go to the end of the world my friend, and make the world treble under pillars of peace.''
______
Author's note:
Sorry guys, for htere isn't' any battles in this chapter.. As I said many times, narrative is hard to write, and battles aren't most important thing.
But in a few future chapters, there will be only battles and of course, more of conquering, and not to forget a making of own faction.
Cheers,
Bruce Almighty
Beneath the Red mountain, air was cold. Winter is coming. There were many sheeps on the plain beneath the mountains, with young shepherds keeping them. Cold ground was covered with fallen leaves, which crumbled to the touch. Sky was dark. For the past few days, it was only raining. A strong winds were blowing. Some strong enough to carry away recklessly posted tents. A horseman was on the small hill.
He spotted an party of horsemen approaching them. He spotted a banner as well. Horseman strained his eyes, but still couldn't recognize the banner of approaching party. It must be an emissary Khan of Wolves sent to the Tulga. Horseman wasn’t sure though, but he decided to remain at his position until he recognizes the banner.
As the air cleared, horseman siged when he recognized the banner. He turned his horse and galloped towards the habitat, a hundreds tents at one place. Habitat of Wolves.
He galloped in habitat. Many looked at horseman confusingly, but he ignored them. Khan's tent was more than a half a mile away in this habitat. As he came to the Khan's tent, the biggest one in the habitat, he jumped off the horse and and ran towards the tent. Khan meanwhile got out and horseman stopped and kneeled ''My... my lord...'', horseman started, but he was panting too much to talk.
''Breath normally and then talk, soldier.'', Ogadai ordered.
Horseman dared to look at Khan's eyes ''My lord Khan, they are coming.''
Ogadai raised an eyebrow and asked ''Who is coming, soldier?''
Horseman swallowed the lump and said ‘’Emisary you sent to the Tulga, my lord Khan. They are spotted on horizon.'' Warning horns could be heard as guards reported that stranger is coming to their habitat.
‘’Very good.’’, Ogadai said and smiled. He returned into his tent to dress his usual clothes. As Ogadai got out, he spotted not only his ambassador, but also Cahal Bilguun, once a merchant from Tulga, now a general in Sanjar's army.
''My lord Khan.'', ambassador said and kneeled. Cahal did so too.
''What are the news from Tulga?'', Ogadai asked his ambassador. He pretended he didn't saw Cahal yet, although he gave him few looks.
''My lord Khan, Sanjar Khan has accepted an offering of alliance, in return that you help him in reclaiming lands that were once under control of Khergit Khanate, such as town of Tulbuk and big city of Ichamur.''
Ogadai frowned ''He didn't realised anything about my wishes and proposals?'', Khan asked, already angry.
''But my lord..'', ambassador tried to find an excuse but Ogadai interrupted him ''Khan of Khergits wishes to expand his territories in north. What does he have to offer?''
''My lord Khan.'', Cahal spoke for the first time since he arrived in habitat, which resulted with Ogadai giving him mean look. There is a custom in steppe that a ambassador or a soldier should not speak without permission, which means that Khan must be the first one to say something or ask. ''Sanjar Khan knew you would say this, my lord Khan. How generous our liege is, he is offering you a town of Dustruil, and not only that, but castle of Asugan and all surrounding lands, my lord Khan.''
Ogadai raised his eyebrows ''Sanjar indeed is generous. Then my land would cover twice more territory. Territory of Asugan is a land of Kiri'Kartails, or I am wrong?''
''It is right, my lord Khan.'', Cahal said.
Ogadai smiled ''Good then. Cahal, come with me in my tent. I offer you guest-rights.''
Cahal bowed his head, although he was still kneeling ''And I gladly accept, my lord Khan.''
Once two of them got in the tent, Ogadai ordered his housemaids to bring them two cups of black brandy and to serve the lunch.
Two sat on pillows, which was the custom of tribesmen. People of the steppe were rarely sitting on chairs. They did mostly on pillows, to which next was a small table for food and drink. A man leaned to the elbow, as a men from other kingdoms would sit on chairs. In particular part of Sarranid desert, customs were the same as in steppe.
''Any news about the war with Vaegirs?'', Ogadai asked as two sat on pillows. Cahal didn't answered until he took a sip of black brandy housemaid brought to him. ''Sungetche pass fell to Vaegirs.''
Ogadai nodded his head ''I already knew that, and I know that you've lost Tulbuk and Ichamur as well.''
Cahal blushed. He didn't liked when someone talked about loss of his country ''It is true.''
''I've also heard that you've suffered a loss of many good warriors because of a man called Al'Gauti. What I heard is that he recently became Yaroglek's vassal.''
Cahal took another sip and began ''All you've heard about Al'Gauti is true, my lord Khan. His tactics on battlefield is superior comparing to ours. He leads horsemen like no one I've seen before. Although his tactics is a bit odd, he easily crushes our forces without a lot of casualties. I've received news that he just recently defeated an army of ten thousands with only two thousands.''
At that moment, Ogadai was taking a sip, and when he heard about Al'Gauti's victory over Nords, he spat all brandy he sipped. ''What? Who is that man Cahal?''
Cahal sighed ''You won't like the answer, my lord Khan. He is a man whom I met nearly two years ago in Tulga, when he just reached the age of twenty. He was living with a mother and two brothers. A year later, he returned to Tulga only to find his family murdered.''
Ogadai widene his eyes ''It is impossible...''
''Yes, my lord Khan, it indeed is possible. From a puny beggar, he rised to the rank of Vaegir boyar. He is the last in the line O'Ginn. That is him, my lord Khan. That is Bold O'Ginn.''
______
A thousand and three hundreds have survived the battle of Wercheg peninsula. News have quickly spread. As the army traveled towards Curaw, several hundreds have joined the army. Lezalit’s method of traning was quite useful, but not as much as Kushi’s. The old warrior is teaching young recruits how to properly wield their swords and bows. Over a time, Vaegirs are becoming better and better at horse archery, but still, they’re not as near good as steppe peoples. That’s why Bold has Taichuits in his army.
Bold has read the letter lady Bryn sent him dozens of times. And everytme he does, a picture of Thera appears in his head. He tried to forget her, but he couldn’t.
He was still in his tent in the center of camp. Sun has set few hours ago. Moon was high on the sky. It was midnight. Journey will be continued at dawn.
Bold slowly walked out of tent. Two Vaegir knights were guarding the entrance to the tent all the time. And those two knights were among best soldiers.
Bold slowly walked to the small hill. A big tree was there. He sat on the ground and leaned on it, remembering his life when he was a Wolf. A picture of Eluin, his former fiancee, appeared in his mind. A day before he was supposed to marry her, she was raped by Iluch and his brothers. This resulted with their death and banishment of Bold and his family from the tribe.
Bold heard steps behind him, stood up rapidly with sword in his hands and pointed it to the neck of the man.
Desmondes smiled ''Your hearing is good, my friend.''
Bold sighed ''I thought you were another assassin.''
Desmondes took a sip from a cup of wine he was holding in his hand ''I used to be assassin once.''
Bold allowed himself to smile ''So called 'Uncrowned king of Swadia' was an assassin in the past, huh?''
''Well, I can't call myself an assassin.'', Desmondes tried to find an excuse ''But lords and rulers have been tasking me with those kind of quests. It is this hand...'', Desmondes said and raised his right hand in front of Bold's face ''That ended a life of Percival the Torturer, the Duke of Bretaghnia.''
''Percival the who?'', Bold asked in confusion. He didn't knew much about the world that lied outside Calradia.
Desmondes widened his eyes ''You don't know who was Percival the Torturer?''
Bold shook his head in confusion.
''Well, he then wasn't that famous as I thought so.'', Desmondes said and two warriors smiled. ''As I said, he was a ruler of Duchy of Bretaghnia. When Duke Williem of Normandia claimed the title of King of all Bretaghnia, he tasked me with a quest of assassinating the Percival. When I assassinated the tyrant, Williem conquered Bretaghnia with the help of rebel lords and became first king of Bretaghnia.''
When Bold heard about unification of Bretaghnia, a picture of unified Calradia appeared in his mind. A picture of peace and harmony. A picture of people loving each other. A picture of prosper, not destruction. That would be a Calradian empire worthy to remember.
''Desmondes...'', Bold began ''I'll ask you something.''
Desmondes looked at Bold with worry. He knew this look of Bold. This was the look when he decided something, a something he is going to fulfill for sure.
''Anything you say, I'll do.''
Bold smiled ''It is good to have you in my army, my friend. I want to ask you will you accompany me in the journey of uniting Calradia?''
''Uniting Calradia?'', Desmondes asked in confusion. ''Is that possible.''
Bold smiled even louder ''Nothing is impossible, my friend. I wish to unite Calradia to an empire worthy to remember. I wish to make it an empire of peace. Will you accompany me?''
Desmondes smiled and nodded his head ''To the end of the world, I'll follow you.''
''Then let's go to the end of the world my friend, and make the world treble under pillars of peace.''
______
Author's note:
Sorry guys, for htere isn't' any battles in this chapter.. As I said many times, narrative is hard to write, and battles aren't most important thing.
But in a few future chapters, there will be only battles and of course, more of conquering, and not to forget a making of own faction.
Cheers,
Bruce Almighty
Thane_of_Dhirim
Squire
Excellent chapter, mate! I really like how you used your skill to describe other things than battle.
I really like how you used your skill to describe other things than battle.
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Thank you guys. Battles aren't always the most interesting and important part of the stories. Adding some intrigue can improve story a lot..
Anyway, thank you a lot
Anyway, thank you a lot
Bruce Almighty
Sergeant at Arms
Chapter XXXI - To move against Nords
''For such a short time, he has became one of most powerful lords in kingdom. I know it is good for the kingdom. His leadership and tactic are unmatched, but this must be stopped before he realizes the power he has and turn against us!'', Boyar Nelag spoke to Mleza and Druli.
Three boyars were in the palace of Curaw, a big room. Stretching from the entrance to the palace to the throne at the opposite end was a red carpet embroidered with golden tassels at the ends. At the right side of the entrance was a dining table, with various types of food, from healthy vegetables to the lavishly meat. Every one of three boyars had a silver goblet in their hands.
Housemaid came to the table to fill their half-empty goblets of wine. When she went away, Nelag continued ''Bold O'Ginn must be stopped, at all costs!''
At that moment, gates of the palace opened and let through Boyar Bold O'Ginn and his two renowned captains, one Kushi, known as the furious warrior and Bold’s right-hand man, but the other was Desmondes, who was known as the ‘Uncrowned King of Swadia’. That title was given to him by soldiers of Swadian Sixth Legion.
Nelag widened his eyes when he realized who is in the palace, but he kept blank expression on his face.
Mleza spread his arms and smiled widely. Every boyar except Bold knew this was a fake smile ''Bold O'Ginn! What an honor to have you here in Curaw.''
Bold ignored the greeting and continued walking until he came to three Boyars, then he bowed his head ''Good to see you, fellow lords. I hope news have reached you about my victory on Wercheg peninsula.''
Three boyars carefully looked at each other, probably not knowing what to say. ''Well...'', Mleza began ''... it certainly is a blessing for our kingdom.''
Bold nodded his head slowly and smiled. He knew these lords are not capable leaders. If they gained renown, that’s mostly because of tournaments and feasts, and maybe a small battles.
''Jarl Raemald is known as a best commander in the Kingdom of Nords. With those ten thousands and a proper tactics of course, he could have defeated our main army.'', Bold answered, allowing himself to smile while speaking ''Thanks to the Great Father, who blessed me on battlefield, I have won that battle even outnumbered five to one.''
Bold knew mentioning the religion of the steppe peoples will probably upset Vaegir boyars. But their faces remained blank, but Bold was sure that they were boiling inside. Vaegirs had many deities, which they called ‘The Old Gods’. There was Orknar the Creator, a god who created the world. Then there was his wife, Nermina the Just, a goddess of justice. Next was the Aeris, the god of War. Also, there were many others, but Bold didn’t bothered to think about them. The only true religion was the religion of the steppe. Belief in the Great Father will lead humans into Paradise, where they go after their deaths. But only the worthy are rewarded by going to Paradise. The unworthy who commited many sins are accused to burn in the eternal fires of Oblivion, a place of death and scourge.
Housemaid offered a wine to Bold, but he refused. From time to time, Bold drank wine lesser and lesser. He decided to keep tradition of the steppe people at his court. And many respected that, although most of them were Vaegirs or Swadians. Number of his soldiers has increased since he won a battle at Wercheg peninsula. During his travel to Curaw, a small army of three thousand men joined his cause. And most of them were war veterans and experienced men. Soldiers were Vaegirs and steppe nomads. When Bold asked their leader, captain Athalan why they joined him, Athelan answered ‘’Bold O’Ginn. While we were in the Great Steppe, rumors have spread about Wolf of the Plain walking this world again. Those rumors spoke of Bold O’Ginn who is going to unite the Calradia by conquering it in war. Peoples of Calradia will kneel before Wolf of the Plain.’’
Bold once heard about this man Athelan, when he was still an outlaw in Khanate. Athelan was a leader of small army of deserters. He is said to rob the rich and give the gold to the poor, but still, he keeps some gold for himself.
Bold knew that gold is important to maintain the country and the army, but he wasn’t interested in gold. What was Bold interested in is the apsolute power over the enemy. You cannot defeat armies with gold, but with proper tactics and good leadership. Today, leaders of the armies mostly command behind the lines, but a good leader is the one who fights alongside his men, who bleeds and dies with them. That’s a true leader, and a man like that is rare to find. Bold was that kind of a man.
‘’Any news from the King?’’, Bold suddenly asked, all three lords twitched when he said. Bold was quiet for some time. He absently looked in the wall while three lords talked. This was probably reason why they twitched.
‘’News have reached me few hours ago, lord Bold.’’, lord Druli started. He was a middle-aged man. And a good swordsman, as Bold heard from one of his soldiers who was previously a sergeant at Druli’s army.
‘’King is gathering army for the siege of Sargoth.’’, Druli finished and smiled when mentioned the siege. His family was in service of Vaegirs for generations. And it was his family that led Vaegirs in many victories against Nords. ‘’By conquering Sargoth, we will land a fatal blow to Nords, if we didn’t by now.’’
‘’Sargoth…’’, Bold said and looked at Druli ‘’If I am right, it is the richest naval town after Praven.’’
Druli nodded his head ‘’Linen is pretty cheap there, so you can sell it in high price at Tihr. Good profit can be made out of that. That’s how I gained most of my riches. Of course, I can’t send Vaegir caravans to trade. My small company of Rhodok traders does the job.’’
Bold smiled to this. Greedy fool. If one could carefully look Druli at the eye, he could see sparks while he talks about money. After all, Druli was one of richest men in the kingdom.
''Wages for the army kingdom provides are high.'', lord Mleza then said ''If we put all the armies lord of the kingdom have together, the total number is at least seventy thousands men.''
Mleza then smiled when he mentioned ''After all, I've provided a kingdom with nine thousands.'' Even possessing an army of nine thousands didn't made Mleza one of most powerful lords. He is lord of just one village, and that decreases an opinion of others.
Seventy thousands, Bold thought absently. With that army, he could be able to conquer whole Calradia, if not to expand his kingdom to the other continets, such as Geroia and Pendor.
''The only kingdom which has stronger army is Kingdom of Swadia.'', Nelag then said and took a sip from his goblet. ''They have at least one hundred thousands men. We are next by the strenght of the army. After us, there are Rhodoks and Sarranids, which both count about fifty thousands. Khergits count about forty thousands, of course, if Sanjar unites them all, but with other tribes, mostly with twenty thousand Wolves, there could have over eighty thousands. Nords are last. In this war, they lost over fifty thousands men, with only about five thousands remaining soldiers.''
''And Ragnar has left to Nordland to ask for the aid.'', Mleza finished. ''Although I believe they will refuse him. Even if he brings his ancestors, I doubt they will be able to defeat us.''
''With our leadership, even Swadians wouldn't be able to defeat us.'', Druli said. With our leadership? Perhaps the only commander with skill in this room is Bold, and maybe Mleza, but Nelag and Druli, although tough soldiers, they have no skill in leadership. Bold hid a smile. This fool really thinks so.
For some time, four boyars remained quiet, some of them lustfully looking at the young maids, especially Nelag. Rumors have spread that he has a bastard son, which is very likely.
Silence is disturbed when the doors of the palace opened and let through a soldier - judging by the youth of his face probably in twenties – with a sword in sheath at his waist. On his chest was a head of a bear. He was Yaroglek’s soldier. Or a messanger, since he held a leather in his left hand.
When he came to four lords, he bowed his head, saying ‘’My lords…’’, and waited for one of lords to talk to him first.
‘’You are?’’, Nelag asked, although he knew this was the King’s messanger.
Messanger cleared his throat and started ‘’My lords, I am the messanger of King Yaroglek. From Reyvadin, I rode all the way to Curaw to bring you this letter by the order of the King.’’, messanger finished and gave leather to the nearest lord, which was Bold.
Bold took the letter from the messanger and broke the red seal. When he took the piece of parchament from envelope, he started reading letter quietly, only moving his lips but not even letting a quietest voice.
Lords of the Kingdom, hereby I order you to assemble your armies at the fields of Ismirala castle in three days at most. Nords are weakened. Garrison at Sargoth counts no more than two thousands and proves to be an easy target for our conquests. By conquering their capital, Nords will surrender their remaining lands to us and will end this war.
Yaroglek Damodred, King of Vaegirs, rightful emperor of Calradia.
Bold frowned, this rightful emperor is every king in Calradia. But is Yaroglek really this stupid? Assembling a whole army of kingdom to conquer a city with weak garrison, when he can send one lord to conquer it by himself. Doing this way, Yaroglek leaves the eastern kingdom free to be conquered by Sanjar. Even so, Sanjar is a weak ruler. Anarchy rules in the steppe, at least in the lands controlled by Khergits. It is miracle Ogadai hasn't overthrown Sanjar from the throne of the steppe., Bold thought. And he didn't wanted Ogadai to be the one who will finally overthrow rule of Khergits after twelve centuries.
''What does it say?'', Druli asked impatiently.
Bold sighed and exlained them the orders. Half an hour later, he was moving his army towards Ismirala
''For such a short time, he has became one of most powerful lords in kingdom. I know it is good for the kingdom. His leadership and tactic are unmatched, but this must be stopped before he realizes the power he has and turn against us!'', Boyar Nelag spoke to Mleza and Druli.
Three boyars were in the palace of Curaw, a big room. Stretching from the entrance to the palace to the throne at the opposite end was a red carpet embroidered with golden tassels at the ends. At the right side of the entrance was a dining table, with various types of food, from healthy vegetables to the lavishly meat. Every one of three boyars had a silver goblet in their hands.
Housemaid came to the table to fill their half-empty goblets of wine. When she went away, Nelag continued ''Bold O'Ginn must be stopped, at all costs!''
At that moment, gates of the palace opened and let through Boyar Bold O'Ginn and his two renowned captains, one Kushi, known as the furious warrior and Bold’s right-hand man, but the other was Desmondes, who was known as the ‘Uncrowned King of Swadia’. That title was given to him by soldiers of Swadian Sixth Legion.
Nelag widened his eyes when he realized who is in the palace, but he kept blank expression on his face.
Mleza spread his arms and smiled widely. Every boyar except Bold knew this was a fake smile ''Bold O'Ginn! What an honor to have you here in Curaw.''
Bold ignored the greeting and continued walking until he came to three Boyars, then he bowed his head ''Good to see you, fellow lords. I hope news have reached you about my victory on Wercheg peninsula.''
Three boyars carefully looked at each other, probably not knowing what to say. ''Well...'', Mleza began ''... it certainly is a blessing for our kingdom.''
Bold nodded his head slowly and smiled. He knew these lords are not capable leaders. If they gained renown, that’s mostly because of tournaments and feasts, and maybe a small battles.
''Jarl Raemald is known as a best commander in the Kingdom of Nords. With those ten thousands and a proper tactics of course, he could have defeated our main army.'', Bold answered, allowing himself to smile while speaking ''Thanks to the Great Father, who blessed me on battlefield, I have won that battle even outnumbered five to one.''
Bold knew mentioning the religion of the steppe peoples will probably upset Vaegir boyars. But their faces remained blank, but Bold was sure that they were boiling inside. Vaegirs had many deities, which they called ‘The Old Gods’. There was Orknar the Creator, a god who created the world. Then there was his wife, Nermina the Just, a goddess of justice. Next was the Aeris, the god of War. Also, there were many others, but Bold didn’t bothered to think about them. The only true religion was the religion of the steppe. Belief in the Great Father will lead humans into Paradise, where they go after their deaths. But only the worthy are rewarded by going to Paradise. The unworthy who commited many sins are accused to burn in the eternal fires of Oblivion, a place of death and scourge.
Housemaid offered a wine to Bold, but he refused. From time to time, Bold drank wine lesser and lesser. He decided to keep tradition of the steppe people at his court. And many respected that, although most of them were Vaegirs or Swadians. Number of his soldiers has increased since he won a battle at Wercheg peninsula. During his travel to Curaw, a small army of three thousand men joined his cause. And most of them were war veterans and experienced men. Soldiers were Vaegirs and steppe nomads. When Bold asked their leader, captain Athalan why they joined him, Athelan answered ‘’Bold O’Ginn. While we were in the Great Steppe, rumors have spread about Wolf of the Plain walking this world again. Those rumors spoke of Bold O’Ginn who is going to unite the Calradia by conquering it in war. Peoples of Calradia will kneel before Wolf of the Plain.’’
Bold once heard about this man Athelan, when he was still an outlaw in Khanate. Athelan was a leader of small army of deserters. He is said to rob the rich and give the gold to the poor, but still, he keeps some gold for himself.
Bold knew that gold is important to maintain the country and the army, but he wasn’t interested in gold. What was Bold interested in is the apsolute power over the enemy. You cannot defeat armies with gold, but with proper tactics and good leadership. Today, leaders of the armies mostly command behind the lines, but a good leader is the one who fights alongside his men, who bleeds and dies with them. That’s a true leader, and a man like that is rare to find. Bold was that kind of a man.
‘’Any news from the King?’’, Bold suddenly asked, all three lords twitched when he said. Bold was quiet for some time. He absently looked in the wall while three lords talked. This was probably reason why they twitched.
‘’News have reached me few hours ago, lord Bold.’’, lord Druli started. He was a middle-aged man. And a good swordsman, as Bold heard from one of his soldiers who was previously a sergeant at Druli’s army.
‘’King is gathering army for the siege of Sargoth.’’, Druli finished and smiled when mentioned the siege. His family was in service of Vaegirs for generations. And it was his family that led Vaegirs in many victories against Nords. ‘’By conquering Sargoth, we will land a fatal blow to Nords, if we didn’t by now.’’
‘’Sargoth…’’, Bold said and looked at Druli ‘’If I am right, it is the richest naval town after Praven.’’
Druli nodded his head ‘’Linen is pretty cheap there, so you can sell it in high price at Tihr. Good profit can be made out of that. That’s how I gained most of my riches. Of course, I can’t send Vaegir caravans to trade. My small company of Rhodok traders does the job.’’
Bold smiled to this. Greedy fool. If one could carefully look Druli at the eye, he could see sparks while he talks about money. After all, Druli was one of richest men in the kingdom.
''Wages for the army kingdom provides are high.'', lord Mleza then said ''If we put all the armies lord of the kingdom have together, the total number is at least seventy thousands men.''
Mleza then smiled when he mentioned ''After all, I've provided a kingdom with nine thousands.'' Even possessing an army of nine thousands didn't made Mleza one of most powerful lords. He is lord of just one village, and that decreases an opinion of others.
Seventy thousands, Bold thought absently. With that army, he could be able to conquer whole Calradia, if not to expand his kingdom to the other continets, such as Geroia and Pendor.
''The only kingdom which has stronger army is Kingdom of Swadia.'', Nelag then said and took a sip from his goblet. ''They have at least one hundred thousands men. We are next by the strenght of the army. After us, there are Rhodoks and Sarranids, which both count about fifty thousands. Khergits count about forty thousands, of course, if Sanjar unites them all, but with other tribes, mostly with twenty thousand Wolves, there could have over eighty thousands. Nords are last. In this war, they lost over fifty thousands men, with only about five thousands remaining soldiers.''
''And Ragnar has left to Nordland to ask for the aid.'', Mleza finished. ''Although I believe they will refuse him. Even if he brings his ancestors, I doubt they will be able to defeat us.''
''With our leadership, even Swadians wouldn't be able to defeat us.'', Druli said. With our leadership? Perhaps the only commander with skill in this room is Bold, and maybe Mleza, but Nelag and Druli, although tough soldiers, they have no skill in leadership. Bold hid a smile. This fool really thinks so.
For some time, four boyars remained quiet, some of them lustfully looking at the young maids, especially Nelag. Rumors have spread that he has a bastard son, which is very likely.
Silence is disturbed when the doors of the palace opened and let through a soldier - judging by the youth of his face probably in twenties – with a sword in sheath at his waist. On his chest was a head of a bear. He was Yaroglek’s soldier. Or a messanger, since he held a leather in his left hand.
When he came to four lords, he bowed his head, saying ‘’My lords…’’, and waited for one of lords to talk to him first.
‘’You are?’’, Nelag asked, although he knew this was the King’s messanger.
Messanger cleared his throat and started ‘’My lords, I am the messanger of King Yaroglek. From Reyvadin, I rode all the way to Curaw to bring you this letter by the order of the King.’’, messanger finished and gave leather to the nearest lord, which was Bold.
Bold took the letter from the messanger and broke the red seal. When he took the piece of parchament from envelope, he started reading letter quietly, only moving his lips but not even letting a quietest voice.
Lords of the Kingdom, hereby I order you to assemble your armies at the fields of Ismirala castle in three days at most. Nords are weakened. Garrison at Sargoth counts no more than two thousands and proves to be an easy target for our conquests. By conquering their capital, Nords will surrender their remaining lands to us and will end this war.
Yaroglek Damodred, King of Vaegirs, rightful emperor of Calradia.
Bold frowned, this rightful emperor is every king in Calradia. But is Yaroglek really this stupid? Assembling a whole army of kingdom to conquer a city with weak garrison, when he can send one lord to conquer it by himself. Doing this way, Yaroglek leaves the eastern kingdom free to be conquered by Sanjar. Even so, Sanjar is a weak ruler. Anarchy rules in the steppe, at least in the lands controlled by Khergits. It is miracle Ogadai hasn't overthrown Sanjar from the throne of the steppe., Bold thought. And he didn't wanted Ogadai to be the one who will finally overthrow rule of Khergits after twelve centuries.
''What does it say?'', Druli asked impatiently.
Bold sighed and exlained them the orders. Half an hour later, he was moving his army towards Ismirala
And I was wondering when you would continue your story... Too bad Thane's story didn't seem alive right now.
You have any friends in the Vaegir Kingdom? Before were Meriga and Gastya, but now three more enemies add to your list. I did not doubt that Bold could win against the five but a little help would be appreciated too.
You have any friends in the Vaegir Kingdom? Before were Meriga and Gastya, but now three more enemies add to your list. I did not doubt that Bold could win against the five but a little help would be appreciated too.
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