8.1 Unfinished

With the conclusion of the battle, the Resistance gathered their dead and tended to their injured warriors. There were not many survivors, but it was not something that they could complain about. By some miracle, they were able to prevent the advancement of the Nori to Belomas, and they were able to defeat them. Those who did not have serious injuries were sent to gather the decapitated corpses of those, in which, they would later set up a monument in their honor.

The sacrifices of such great men could never be forgotten, and it would be this battle that Yarik would be immortalized as the “Defender of the Fatherland”. If it were not for those men, the campaign to the West would have been nothing, but a mere pipe dream of my father’s. A camp was established quickly with the help of this unexpected ally; it was thanks to her, our men were able to be treated on time.

On the other hand, the Younger Stanillo could not help to feel uncertain about this Ugric. The women did not prove to be hostile against us, but there was a feeling of uncertainty in the air. The eagerness of this ‘friendly’ chieftain to help the Resistance, in any way, she could was something that could not be not thought of as sincere. In his position, Stanillo was forced to accept her aid. At any time, she could eliminate them without much trouble. It was clear to him, this woman had ulterior motives.

Apparently, some of the Ugrics were capable of speaking our language. The language was not spoken as congruent; however, they spoke good enough, for anybody of Rus descent to understand what they were trying to say. This unique phenomena is likely due to the tribes absorbing the prior inhabitants of the west; however, not every tribe allowed such a cohesion of cultures to take place. In fact, most tribes wiped out the majority of the inhabitants in the West.

Some were lucky to have fled towards the East; others towards the North and South. This migration was a primary factor to the collapse of the Kingdom, in which multiple factions arose to grab a piece of territory. The preservation of the Kingdom became irrelevant for many, and this led to the invading tribes of Ugrics to establish themselves in the West. I cannot imagine the horror or despair that those people, who failed to escape the West felt at the hands of the tribes that were not as merciful. In the words of Thoukudies, ‘the strong do what they have to do, and the weak accept what they have to accept.’

As these interactions took place, a conversation between the Sejuku Chieftain, Leuca, and the Supreme Commander of the Resistance, Stanillo, was about to take place. At first, Stanillo was hesitant to grant this meeting to Leuca; however, it would not be a good idea to deny a meeting to a potential ally. In general, this Chieftain is their key to surviving a counterattack against the Nori, if they are able to rebuild their army for another battle. As it stands, this Ugric is their best opportunity to establish themselves safely within this region of the West.

A tent was quickly put up, and luxuries beyond the imagination of man were placed within the tent. It appears that the Sejuku Chieftain had a taste for the finer things in life, and she made sure to display that. Along with her magnanimity. She quickly had her servants bring the finest feast for the occasion, and had her servants clean the filth from Stanillo. Afterwards, Leuca had chairs of the finest quality brought into the tent.

The servants escorted Stanillo towards the chair and they presented him a seat, in which he would be seated. They offered to pour him some wine and feed him; however, Stanillo declined these gestures. Soon after, Leuca joined him. This was a bit of a surprise considering that she was accompanied by all sorts of attendants, especially her translators. The two leaders greeted one another in their languages, and so far there was no animosity or hostility present in her demeanor.

“For a man who was on the brink of death,” Leuca said, “you appear to be in great spirits, Stanillo.”

“You too,” Stanillo paused, “can speak our language?”

“Of course,” Leuca smiled, “as a chieftain, I have to be capable of representing my people, that includes learning how to conduct myself amongst other peoples.”

“Amazing,” Stanillo muttered, “I did not think you people conducted relationships with others abroad.”

“We do,” Leuca stated, “however, not everybody is willing to talk with us, like the Nori. For decades, they have denied us safe passage to your people, and so we have been forced to navigate the waters to meet with other peoples. My people specialize in trade, and there is nobody in this region that compares to us in this endeavour. I have been unable to establish relations with your people in the Far East, but those relations may never be possible.”

“May not possible? How come?” said Stanillo.

“The history between our people is not great,” Leuca said, “In fact, a majority of those people rightfully dislike us for our actions towards your people.”

“I thought so,” Stanillo said, “However, it appears you have managed to build great relations with those at Iberia.”

“You noticed? I guess, these luxuries of ours do make it apparent,” said Leuca.

“Those furs and minerals are not quite common in the West,” Stanillo stated, “It’s impressive to see that you possess them.”

“This is only the beginning,” Leuca claimed, “as I believe that my people have a much greater ceiling than our neighbors, including yourselves”

“To be honest, I did not think the other tribes would be much different from the Nori,” Stanillo replied, “You people have developed quite well, but I cannot help to notice the different clothing of your people. Have you begun to conquer your own people?”

“You have a keen eye,” Leuca muttered, “The truth is, I have been laying my sights on increasing our presence within Ugrica.”

“And so it has led you to conquer your fellow man,” Stanillo said, “It looks like you and I are each other’s natural enemy, for I have been tasked with the duty to prepare the retake of our ancestor’s lands.”

“I thought so,” Leuca said, “which is why I shall put an end to such ambitions, for I do not believe that the land conquered by people should fall back to the hands of an incompetent race.”

“Incompetent, perhaps,” Stanillo said, “however, cowardly we are not. At Belomas, there is a man of great stature. In single hand combat, he killed the chieftain of Nori with his bare hands. The name of that man is Illya of Muromets; the same man, who is responsible for wiping out the tribe of Ugrics of that same name.”

“I have heard of him,” Leuca smiled, “he is said to be a man of great spirits. Yet, his fame has failed to reach the standards of my own. In my possession, I control nearly the entire northern region of Ugrica. This upcoming spring, my people and I shall annex the remaining lands needed; however, I am in great need of the land of the Nori too. It is in my interest that they fall, but seeing as you managed to best them, I cannot lay stake to a territory that we did not earn with our own spears.”

“Very noble of you,” Stanillo chuckled, “however, I have no interest in discussing terms to the land that will rightfully be ours.”

“If you insist, friend,” Leuca replied, “however, perhaps the presence of one of yours may change your mind. Afterall, he is a man that deserves to be acknowledged for his sacrifices.”

Elsewhere, a fellow comrade of Belomas returns to the battlefield. The scenery was no different than the battlefield that he had stood upon hours ago. Hundreds of corpses were scattered throughout the battlefield, and each shared the same fate as the other. In their final moments, did they feel fear? Did they realize that they were going to die?

Somehow, he felt a great envy towards those deceased men. Each of these men went to battle knowing that they would die, and they did not try to escape such fate. On the other hand, he did everything to preserve his life; in which, he brought upon his family a great dishonor. Perhaps, if he had not hid himself amongst the dead, he would have been able to save his brother from those barbarians.

From behind, a servant of Leuca called to him. Apparently, the tribal chief was summoning him. This was something that he knew would occur, but he did not have the courage to show his face to his people. Polochko, the one summoned by Leuca, hesitated to attend; however, he quickly regained his composure and followed the servant of Leuca. At the chance, the Younger Illya is alive, he may be the only man capable of giving him an answer to his troubles.

“And just who could this person be,” Stanillo asked, “ ‘friend’ ”

“One of your men,” Leuca replied, “a man, who should be honored for the great service that he provided to your nation. This great man of yours that I speak so highly of is one of your men that survived that great battle, which led to the one that you just finished fighting.”

“Another life? Somebody had survived that battle; however, he did not take part in it. That somebody was the son of my leader. If it were not for his swift feet, the Nori would have slaughtered us all. What you speak upon is something completely different, this is a man that actually took part in this battle and survived it…! Who could this great man be?”

“He was not very talkative”, Leuca admits, “However, I was told that the man's name was Polochko.”

“Polochko,” Stanillo mumbled, “a man worthy of the highest honors. A man, who should be made aware that his sacrifices were not in vain! Bring he to me!”

Making his way to Leuca’s tent, the servants once more offered to clean his feet; however, he declined these gestures. Instead, Polochko asked for the servant’s black cloak. She abided by his request, and took it off her back to put onto his back. She was not asked to do this, but she also made sure the cloak was neatly fitted onto his body. Polochko was deeply embarrassed by these gestures, in which, he grabbed onto her hands to stop her. Thereafter, he released her hands; at last, heading to face what he knew sooner or later that he would have to face.

In the presence of the Younger Stanillo and Leuca, Polochko appeared in a ruggish appearance: sporting a black cloak, still wearing his battleworn attire, and covered in wounds that had not been attended because of his outright refusals to the Sejuku peoples. However, these were not the most disturbing details about his appearance. In fact, the Younger Stanillo could hardly believe his eyes on what had become of Polochko. Was this the same Polochko?

The boy’s eyes were completely different. His sclera’s white outer layer was completely black. Furthermore, the iris and pupil of his left eye was completely grey. On the other hand, the right eye iris was grey; the pupil was white. In addition to this, a red gem was implanted onto the fighter’s head by the Sejuku, for reasons that are currently unknown.

This change of appearance disturbed the Younger Stanillo greatly, not sure whether this man was one of his or not. The change of the man’s eyes were the result of awakening a great power from within, but the change of his lavish blonde hair to white was the result of enduring the great stress that battle had brought upon him. Polochko too noticed the Younger Stainillo’s raggedy appearance, but he was more surprised that the Younger Stanillo was alive with little to no injuries.

Finding himself with the opportunity, Polochko would ask the Younger Stanillo, whether or not the Younger Illya had survived the battle too. The Younger Stanillo informed him, that he did survive and it was thanks to him: he and the others are alive at this moment. Polochko was relieved to hear this, but Stanillo had some questions of his own to ask the young man…