Our next stop, Sodomir, was an alliance of tribes that led simple lives. They farmed their land, fished in their rivers and bred their horses. They were known all over Helena for their marvelous stallions.
There were no large settlements in Sodomir, only villages. They worshiped a goddess called Milyana, whom they believed delegates the fate of all people. Every spring they’d throw marvelous feasts and games in her honor. When something good happened to someone, it was fate. When something bad happened to someone, it was fate. This philosophy of theirs made them somewhat passive. Their sense of personal responsibility was lacking as well. Why bother to strive for anything, if all was already set?
Their population was low, two hundred thousand people. They were taller than an average Vetulonian, with dark features, and most of them had very dark brown eyes. They were ruled by a chieftain elected by a democratic vote. Everyone, men, women and even children had a say on who was to become the next chief. They had a simple explanation of why one would allow for a child to have a say in these matters: “If it can talk, it can vote.”
The chieftain’s rule ended with his death or until he was challenged by a contender. The latter happened rarely.
They didn’t have much contact with the rest of the realms in Helena, except for Megalopolis. Sodomir fed their northern neighbors and provided cavalry for their army. In return, Megalopolis protected Sodomir’s sovereignty.
On the seventh day we docked at one of their shore villages. There was no welcoming party, although their chief knew when and where we'd arrive. Even the locals merely gave us a glance or two and went about their businesses. For them, we were odd strangers whose ancestors once ruled over theirs and that was all there was to it.
But it felt good to be once again in a strange land, despite the rather cold welcoming. The six of us headed towards the chief’s house. It was located not far from the docks. While we walked, the children waved to us and laughed at us, which made me blush!
The houses of Sodomir were simple huts made of wood with thatch roofing. The chief’s house (Tiberius asked a local for directions) was no different than that of his subjects. Tiberius knocked on the door. We waited for some time before a tall man with dark eyes and dark brown hair answered. He was clean shaved and his nose was crooked. His hair was long and in braids. He wore black pants and a fur tunic. To me he appeared almost barbaric.
“Vetulonians, I presume?” he asked with a thick accent.
“We are,” Tiberius answered and bowed his head. We did the same.
“I am chief Rabromir, son of Milostar. Well, come in, it’s a cold day!”
We entered the hut. It was warm inside, but also suffocating. It was as if being in a dark tent. The hut had only one large space in which the chief and his family cooked and slept. We sat down around a large table. As soon as we did a beautiful woman started putting plates with soup in front of us. She had wild brown eyes with a spark of stubbornness in them. Long black hair. She wore a simple dress that suited her. I found her attractive.
“How was the sail?” the chief asked.
“Good enough. Foggy. I am Tiberius Decimus, Lord of Vetulonia. This is our Vicelord, Julia Janus. And the young ones are our personal entourage.”
The chief than introduced us to his wife and all his children. There were five of them, two girls and three boys. They stood there with awkwardness until he sent them away. Then we ate, and Tiberius and he talked about weather and horse breeds. Now fed and being in a warm dark space, I became drowsy. For a moment I closed my eyes. Then my head tilted.
“Would you like to take a nap?” someone asked me and put their hand on my shoulder. Everyone looked at me and I blushed. It was the king’s wife’s hand. She had a warm, motherly smile on her face.
“Yes, take a nap! There are the beds! Don’t be ashamed, you’ve had a long journey! Go on then! Go!” chief almost yelled. I couldn’t tell if he was mocking me or not.
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“Yes,” his wife joined him, “we’ll lower our voices!”
“No, no, thank you, I’m fine… Thank you,” I answered, but still they persisted. We went back and forth for so long I started to sweat. It was quite embarrassing. Finally they relented and the chief and Tiberius started talking business.
“So, Tiberius… What brings you to my home?”
“Trouble, what else?!” Tiberius joked and the chief laughed.
“Ha ha ha! What kind of trouble? We Sodomirs know no trouble. We work our fields, we fish in our rivers, have families and trade with our Megalopolis brothers. We know of no trouble.”
“Not yet, but the clouds are gathering in the south and a great storm is inevitable.
“This great storm you speak of is no concern of ours. It won’t reach my lands.”
“You seem very certain of this.”
“I can raise an army of twenty thousand cavalry with the snap of my fingers. We also have our Megalopolis brothers in the North, ready to protect us from any kind of threat. Sodomir is their main food supply, you know?”
“We left Megalopolis seven days ago and what we saw wasn’t encouraging. The League has the numbers, has the resources and it has the will to start a war that may very well be the end of us all. All the realms have been asleep for the last twenty years, dozing, while the League became a giant. A giant ready to swallow us all. Are you aware Megalopolis has formed an alliance with Porosia?”
The chief frowned and although it was hard to tell due to dark room, it seemed he blushed. Megalopolis’s relationship with Sodomir seemed to be a one-sided deal.
“That I did not know,” he finally admitted. “But it doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it does!” Tiberius lost his temper, something that I presumed didn’t happen often. His hard deep voice almost echoed in the dark hut. He continued:
“Porosia will be invaded, earliest at spring. With that, Megalopolis will declare war on the League and the League’s first stop will be your people. You think they will ignore you and your twenty thousand riders and go straight north?”
“No, but Megalopolis won’t wait for the League to come to them! They will deploy their armies, head south and with our aid take the League’s capital. That will trigger another civil war on their wretched lands.”
“I’ve seen the League’s army. I’ve read the reports from my ambassador in Abydos. And I’ve talked to their chancellor and the commander of their armies.”
Tiberius leaned towards the chief and almost whispered:
“The League will annihilate them on the battlefield, along with you. I’m not doubting your courage, nor your fine cavalry, the finest of all Helena, nor your people! But I’ve seen, along with my entourage, how Megalopolis conducts its affairs. They will not win a single battle, quite the contrary, it will only take one battle to end their corrupt republic. You cannot tie the fate of your people, the fate of your family, your children, to those hedonists. I wish I was wrong about this, but I am not. Think of your little ones. Please, chief, I urge you to take action.”
“What action do you speak of?”
“Cut your alliance with Megalopolis and join us instead. With our joint strength we will keep the League’s ambition at bay. Alliance of Vetulonia, the Elves, Alena, the Dwarves, and Sodomir.”
“Alena is weak, my Vetulonian friend. The Elves care about nothing but themselves. And Dwarvenands and Vetulonia are far away. Megalopolis is the only friend my people can count upon. They haven’t failed us when the Orcs invaded our lands, they won’t fail us now. How come Megalopolis hasn’t joined your grand alliance?”
“They’re short-sighted, like yourself,” Julia spoke bluntly. She then turned to his wife, who until now stood there in silence, but with open ears – and said:
“If you do not join us, it will be the end of your people.”
“Stop talking to my wife,” the chief now raised his voice. “I’m the leader of my people, not my wife!”
“My apologies, chief,” Julia bowed her head with respect. “I’m merely concerned with the threat of our enemy.”
“Your enemy. Your enemy! Not mine. VICE-lord,” he barked the last word in anger. I found his insult so absurd, I almost burst laughing.
“Besides,” he continued, “If it's written that our people should burn, it's written. We will leave our fate in the hands of our goddess, our watchful protector. I heard you Vetulonians speak of the great flow and how one should not swim against it. Well, our fate and our ways are our flow. We will not swim against it… I thank you for your concerns, but I feel we have no more business to talk about.”
“Apparently not. We’ll be on our way. Thank you for your time, chief,” Tiberius sighed with frustration and then turned to the chief’s wife:
“When Sodomir falls, tell your people to go west and seek refuge within Dwarvenlands and Vetulonia. We will take care of them.” The defiant spark of her eyes was now gone and she seemed afraid.
“THAT WILL BE ALL, VETULONIANS!” the chief almost growled. We stood up and left his hut.
While we were walking towards the ships, I spoke to Tiberius:
“Is it wise to not press him further? We could stay a few days more. Perhaps we could change his mind?”
“Nothing will change that man’s mind, Antonius. We’d be losing our time and that is a luxury we cannot afford,” Julia answered and Tiberius nodded. Back at the docks Tiberius ordered the confused troops to board the ship. We sailed away in the afternoon.