das
Regeneration In Process
As said, I am not very sure about how famous it was.
Arkhangelsk was more of a city, though not a very large one, not a fur outpost. I already said that I don't know how it was perceived in the greater world, but I doubt that it is all that important.
Today, not very important - though I might be wrong, the late 19th century revival of its significance is over, though timber exports are still handled through it largely. However, BEFORE the conquest of Crimea and Ingria, it was the most important trade center in Russia as far as maritime trade was concerned. After the Time of Troubles, there was no other direct trade with England and Netherlands left at all, but even before it Arkhangelsk effectively succeeded Novgorod as Russia's primary trade center (in part, admittedly, due to the physical destruction of Novgorod - but by then it was, nonetheless, in decline). The fact that Peter had to essentially strangle the trade of Arkhangelsk to get the trade of St. Petersburg up does mean something.
Murmansk was only built in 1915, though.
Regardless, what I mean is that if Arkhangelsk could, under certain conditions, thrive, then Bistonia - in a much warmer region and a port of two seas - is likely to be a very significant trade center.
There is something very wrong about a war resulting in peaceful unification of all sides involved and a neutral.
Just to spite you, I don't.
Because in Russian, his name is written differently.
IC:
"Bahris, Bahris..." - muttered gladad Rehtus - "He is mad."
The Chary elders nodded, agreeing.
"The Yatery are all mad."
They agreed again.
"They defeated the Tehry, and inherited their bad traits."
They agreed again. Chary elders were not known for their disobedience. Not ever since Rehtus rose to power.
"They also seek hegemony over the sely. Only this time, through trickery unworthy of any Harkans - yes, even the Yatery! And so far, it is working. But it will stop now."
Elders stood quietly.
"I ask you to rally the warriors. And the pupils. Send messangers to all... No. We know not how many of them are in the league with the Yatery. With Bahris." - Rehtus twitched with disdain - "We must surprise them, and defeat them on the battlefield - and then, from a position of strenght, we will propose an alliance to the others.
We set out tommorow."
Little did Rehtus know that a messanger was already riding to the Yatera hanakad. The aging warrior begun trusting his people in his old age, but it was too late...
---
Years passed since Bahris became the vodad of the Yatery. Rumors spread, brought by merchants that travelled all over the okad. Countries begun appearing all over the world, as powerful chieftains subjugated the weaker tribes and built empires - and, unlike what was the case before, a chosen few of those tribal empires consolidated. Strong tribes got stronger by subjugating, or even destroying the weak tribes. To consolidate their power, those surviving tribal empires adopted rule by succession - rulers treated their empires, their people, as simple property to be passed on. The people protested... but the rulers assembled armies of warriors that were loyal to them and them alone, warriors that kept the people down. Elders were ignored - at best. But without elders, ruling over tribes became nearly impossible... this doomed many of the surviving empires, but some survived even that. They created buerocratic systems, of appointed "sub-rulers". They centralized power around themselves, and they encouraged the growth of cities, for people in cities are easier to rule over. And so, empires lasted. And expanded, at the expense of more and more tribes... Forced people into armies, and conquered, and conquered...
Most people dismissed those rumors as foolish; the lity do mention certain glady, rulers, trying to use their strenght in such a way... but gods always struck them down, somehow. But... According to the rumors, nobody seemed to strike down those empires. And some of those empires were said to be not too far away...
And Bahris remembered his dreams. A hellish huge city, from which HIS empire extended. He was to build such an empire. And to fight other empires. The vodad was disturbed. For he remembered another dream that came to him again and again...
---
Again, the dream came. Bahris' right hand was still intact, but he himself was an old man. He stood, before a handful of warriors.
And he knew - he needed to rally them.
"They will have no mercy on us! Best to die in battle then live in shame! Did we lose our spirit, Yatery? Are we no longer warriors?"
And gradually, his comrades begun to group around him again.
"Perhaps we are doomed. But in that case, let us at least die gloriously, so that we will have nothing to be ashamed off! One more charge - and either the enemy breaks, either we die!"
"BAHRIS!!!" - shouted the warriors, as they charged into the countless black-clad metal hordes sent forth by Perad...
---
"Bahris!" - shouted somebody. Bahris opened his eyes and saw a small boy. Yes, Airus remembered what he told him. He needed to be awakened early.
Bahris thanked the boy and after morning exercises went to inspect his warriors. No, now they were something more.
They were an army.
They were drilled and trained, they had mock combat and real combat experience, they had a strict order of command... When Bahris begun his reforms, many protested, but he forced it through, persuading everybody that there are growing threats around them.
That was what he did afterwards as well, in his diplomatic campaign...
---
Bahris knew not how to interpret those dreams. But gradually, he understood what the gods - by now, he was confident that it was the gods - were trying to tell him. Either he will build an empire, either another empire will subjugate his people...
Our own evil, or someone else's evil. Is it not better to die in combat then live in shame of destroying the good old times?
Or maybe... maybe I can make our evil a lesser one? If all rests on me... and my right hand, Airus. If I manage to save Airus from being bitten off, like in that dream, and cast down into mediocrity, then perhaps I will already improve things. Perhaps... perhaps our empire will not be as evil as the other ones, if I really try.
Such were the thoughts of Bahris, and so he begun to do all this. He begun training an army, he married the Tajry gladad's daughter, he negotiated and negotiated... gradually, a league of southwestern sely emerged, under his hegemony. To formalize it, he intended to arrange for a "promotion" - the elders and the glady reluctantly agreed to declare him the wergladad, the supreme ruler. The new league, the new EMPIRE was to be called Werkasely - "Great Realms".
Not all soutjwestern sely submitted, though. With a heavy heart, Bahris heard out the messanger that was sent by his Chara sympathizers. They warned him that Rehtus was an enemy. He wanted to strike suddenly at him.
Bahris had to pre-empt that...
---
"They intend to strike first." - Bahris said to his troops - "But we will preempt them. We will defeat them before they are even ready to set out. Treachery must be punished."
The warriors nodded, in obedience. Disciplinne was hard to instill, but some semblance of it at least has now appeared.
Yatery, Tajry, Nitry... 3,000 warriors. Against them, some 800 Chara warriors, a thousand or so others, all resting in their hanakad. But eventually, the Chary begun coming out of the safety of their hanakad. Warriors built into a semblance of a formation. They set out, marching westwards, in the direciton of the Yatera hanakad...
...and then they were intercepted. Yatery and their allies charged from all feasable directions, shouting, throwing javelins and readying swords, axes, maces, spears... It was a massacre. Rehtus died early on, pierced by a javelin. Others tried to resist or fled. None of them survived. Traitors raised a white banner over the hanakad. Only 23 Yatery died; some 15 other allies. The Chary have been subdued.
Bahris sighed. He hated doing this, fighting fellow Harkans in such ways... But it was needed. Goals justified the means.
Now, he planned to ride for the Tajra hanakad. The Tajry were a respected tribe; there was no better place for a capital, where he would be declared the wergladad. After all that, he will bring out his enemies in the open. They will be compelled to act. And having dealt with them...
...he could strenghthen the empire further, so that one day, it can confront Perad effectively.
His thoughts were interrupted by a hurried messanger that dismounted and ran towards him.
"Greetingsovodadbahris..."
"Calm down, and repeat slowly."
"Greetings, vodad Bahris," - said the nervous messanger, after a while - "There are bad news from Swordlord Airus, in the Yatera hanakad."
Bahris slowly nodded. A realization struck him. Ofcourse, ofcourse!
"The people are up in arms." - finished the messanger.
To be continued.
