And here it finally is. Sorry for the wait, we are resuming a normal updating schedule again.
[X] Harry Like Hunters
[X] Wind Simultaneous to Hail
Raid
The enemy camp is peculiar to you. It lies on a small, riverside hill, consisting of a number of huts, built of mud and sticks. The pseudo-tents seem to be built in a vague circle around a central fireplace, and one of the huts is larger than the others, otherwise showing no particular differentiation between them. A small pier is built of sticks arrayed into something resembling a broad plank, resting on long, thick poles of wood, speared into the riverbed below. Several rafts are tied to the poles, by way of thick rope, likely made to resist the currents and erosive force of the water. Some place down the river, you see a mysterious wooden structure standing in the water.
The drums beat, and the black-headed men of the Land of the Gods have taken to half-running; they are led by fearsome Lugalkam with his long spear in hand. You run in a looser formation in front of them, obscuring them totally, turning what would seem like an organized attack from the front into a disarrayed mob of stone-slingers, spear-throwers and hunters; an illusion, but a convincing one. You, yourself lead the hunters, first among them all in a loose formation, bearing a javelin in your throwing hand, and several more in your other.
As the first, confused heads begin to show themselves outside their huts, they quickly call alarm, in some strange tongue, that sounds neither like that of the black-headed people from the Land of the Gods, or your own. They wield fishing spears, bidents and tridents; instruments of hunting like your own, rather than the dedicated instruments of murder, wielded by the people from the Land of the Gods. They take a formation, not unlike that of your current allies, forming a block consisting of rows and rows of spears, although lacking in the rectangular shields that seems to allow the Godlanders to become like a moving wall.
For a few moments, there is, nothing but for the occasional shout thrown your way, or in return. There is nothing, but raving and hollering, seeking to intimidate the enemy, to break their morale and make them flee, to make them chaff to be cut down, rather than an opposing force. Time has slowed down, and were you not in control of yourself, the demon sealed in the mask might overtake you and make you scream and rage at them, You can see their faces from here, how pupils dilate, and beads of sweat form on foreheads, how knuckles turn white, gripping spears meant for fishing.
The Hunters of the Kin to Air
Excellent Morale
Panoply of spears, slings and stones, completely unarmoured. Protected by demon-masks.
Lead by Fire Defeats-Many, armed with several javelins and a fine tusk-tipped long spear. Protected by the blessings of a demon-mask.
Thirty warriors.
The Black-Headed People of the Land of the Gods
Excellent Morale
Panoply of copper spears, wicker shields, some armour, and near-universal helmets.
Lead by Lugalkam, armoured with splint, bearing a wicker shield, and wielding a copper spear and iron sword. Of divine ancestry.
Forty warriors.
The Fishing Folk
Stressed Morale
Panoply of spears, tridents and bidents, completely unarmoured.
Their leader is unknown to you, but wears a gold-hemmed cape, and wields a bident. You suspect him to be blessed of whatever lives in the river.
Eighty warriors.
Then you throw the first of your three javelins, striking a man through his eye, hollering as he falls, and the rest of the hunters let loose a hailstorm of sharp, blunt and deadly objects; seeking the death of the enemy. The fishing folk break into a light jog towards you, their back rows throwing some of your thrown ammunition at you, seeking to pin you while the front rows connect with you, to decimate your unarmoured ranks. You have hunted great beasts before, however, and quickly disperse to fall behind the Godlanders, before letting loose a second volley of deadly rain upon them, harrying them as you part into two groups, running away from each other, and circling the enemy.
The men of the Land of the Gods, however prove their worth in the melee, as they wield their wicker shields, much like one would any other weapon; disarming and bashing enemies with them. Here, Lugalkam slays a man through the eye with his spear, letting it simply remain lodged within the corpse; there he gets his shield under another's arm, before severing his other arm from the body with his blade. The weapon shines brightly, a deadly glow that blinds all who stare at it, and cuts through bone and flesh with great ease, as it shows its divine nature.
The women that lived in the village, seem to have retreated completely, either huddling inside the houses, or taking rafts to flee with children, or some even joining the battle from afar, pelting you with a hail of objects. While their contribution is slight, their participation troubles you, for you know well that it is a breach of the sacred wisdom of the ancestors of the ancestors to lay hand on a woman with violent intent, lest one risk to be devoured by a wolf and have one's soul spat out at the feet of the Lonely Ancestor.
The Godlanders seem to have no such particular issues, however, eagerly cutting them down as much as they do their male counterparts. You can see that the fishing folk are beginning to break; they cannot maintain their formation against the shield-wall of the Godlanders, while also having to duck and weave against your constant pelting, whereas you can easily evade their own attempts to strike you at range, while simply returning whatever they throw at you, remaining at distance, rather than having to engage.
A scream of triumph, a roar of success. With a mighty heave, Lugalkam separates head from body, on some man in the middle of a shout, who must have been their leader, and you can see the already falling morale of the fishers break and shatter, like clay pottery dashed against the ground. Now comes the next part, the encircling, the looting, the taking; running at the speed which only hunters can, and bolstered by the demons that are with you, for they taste blood, and they have feasted, you encircle the place, cutting off exits and leading those who did not manage to flee into the center of the settlement. Those who managed to flee are pursued by younger hunters, either with the intent to capture, or to slay, for there is not much glory in the slaying of those who flee, but a hunt is a hunt.
Lugalkam goes to search within the buildings, and returns a few moments later, followed by a woman of descent reminiscent of his own, although her eyes are more slanted, and her clothing is of better quality, stained as it is. She wears a lavender gown, covering her left arm and hanging loosely down her body, but leaving her right arm, neck and shoulders free. Her hair is done up with elaborate jewelry, although it has been ruffled significantly. She wears bracelets around her wrists, and sandals on her feet, like the other people of the Land of the Gods. Realizing that this is the first woman from the Land of the Gods that you meet, you introduce yourself with a greeting that Lugalkam has taught you, internally amused greatly with yourself over her shocked look at your knowledge of their tongue.
You converse briefly, learning that she is named Ninthuta, and that she is a priestess of the archer Merthoch, who protects the Great Camp of Pepilun, who was once a Great Man of the city, but ascended to the starlit heavens when he rode against the Abyssal Seawater, with ten stars in his quiver. She is different from the women of the Kin to Air and used to speaking with power and authority, even different than the honoured grandmothers, who speak with authority and wisdom, but not with such expectation of obedience, as she. Even Lugalkam seems to defer to her, when she speaks. She explains to you, that a priestess like her is the property of Merthoch, and not a human being, and that it is tradition for a leader of soldiers, such as Lugalkam, to marry with an envoy of a god, such as her. That is the proper way in which all under heaven is secured, as long as earth is with the intentions of the gods.
You are not quite sure, if you understand this, but you aren't quite sure if you want to understand it either, although the Land of the Gods seems like a very impressive place, where the ancestors of their ancestors still move about and walk, undying. Regardless, the woman's smile at seeing the enemy encircled and huddled together in the centre, reminds you that it is the time for you to claim your bounty now, a bounty that you were promised and have more than shown yourself worthy of.
You Have Successfully Beaten the Fishing Folk, What Do You Claim?
This vote will influence the spoils of the battle, and may influence the Values and Myths. The vote will also influence relations with the Godlanders.
You have claim on at two choices. Subvotes do not count against this.
[ ] Life - There are many women, who would surely make good wives for the hunters who have none, and there are children still, who can become Kin to Air too, by partaking of your blood, as you partake of theirs.
[ ] Chains - The men may be taken with you, and set to work for you, making them servants and slaves. Lugalkam has explained to you, how a woman in the Land of the Gods, may become property, so could men and women not become the same to the Kin to Air?
[ ] Land - You will take this place, turning it into a place of the Kin to Air; huts, river, pier and rafts will all become yours, and you will own it as your own. You may use the huts, and all the things within them, for your own.
[ ] Riches - Some of the men and women bear shiny necklaces, gold-hemmed shirts and rings, and you have seen other objects of elegant materials, glitter and shimmer within the huts. You will take these, and make them the property of the Kin to Air, showing your victory.
[ ] Sacrifice - The wolf is the destroyer of all the works of man, but today, you have become wolves and harried and slain many men. Thus, you slay the defeated foe and lay them together, in an isolated place, and send them thusly to the Lonely Ancestor, as thanks for your great victory.
[ ] Write-In - You will do something not mentioned in the other votes, and write an option of your own.
