The Rage of the Wounded Wolf

[Selibas]

Selibas awoke to a splash of vinegar inlaced water being splashed upon the wound of his chest. He had no idea what was happening, he slowly recollected the events before he awoke from something he didn't understand. H returned to his tribe, got support on uniting Sacae, then came for the Aurumiafs. Then there was a battle that he acted foolishly in and that was it. He didn't recognize the person splashing the painful liquid into his chest, so he guessed he was captured. At least he wasn't dead.

[Selibas]

Selibas thought he would be treated better, but that didn't happen. His hands were tied, and he was taken out of the tent and walked through the tents of the Aurumiaf by a few large warriors. As he walked through he tried to keep his head high, but the men pushed it down. Selibas heard cheers from the families and a few small items were thrown at him. Selibas continued to raise his head, and continued to be pushed down. He and the warriors reached a tent in the very center of the camp. One man said, "Listen cub, you speak only when Euluk speaks to you."

Selibas entered the camp and saw a Large man with a few extra pounds on him stretching his arm while holding his sword straight in front of him. He turned and said, "Ah, good Felicia has finished with him. Well it is good to see you're awake Sumis Wolf. I think you will find your new life with my crows... horribe to be honest. You came here asking us to join you with even though you knew it impossible. You wasted my time, and there is nothing a War Crow needs, more than our time. You insult me, and I will insult your very existance. Lamifan, you are in charge of his life as of now."

A guy Selibas' age said, "Yes father." Then led the men out of the tent. He roughly handled Selibas toward the western outskirts of the camp. He swept Selibas' legs out from under him as he got tired of pushing his head down. Eventually they got to a group of horses tied to the same hitching post. These were simple horses, used to transport things and teach young children how to ride.

Selibas remembered sneaking through the Sumis Camp to learn how to ride all by himself. He had spent three days on his own because he fell off and had to find the horse and ride it back. The horse had become attacthed to the small boy and wouldn't allow other children to ride it. The disgusted tribesmen simply set the horse free, and didn't adress that Selibas rode it often. It wasn't very fast but Selibas had loved having something to do while other boys fathers had taught them the blade.

When Selibas came back to reality, he saw that the horse wore a saddle. He saw an oppurtunity to show Lamifan he was unafraid of him. He said, "Back in the Sumis tribe we ride without a saddle. It shows how good of horsemen we are. The man swung his fist at him, but Selibas ducked him. He saw the mans green hair swing with his movement and remembered the first time he had ducked a blow of Farus'. Lamifan angrily tied the ropes on his hands to the saddle of the horse. Selibas didn't understand but he didn't have time to figure it out. Lamifan slapped the horses haunches and the animal lunched forward dragging Selibas behind it.

[Selibas]

Selibas limped back to the tent once he was tied again. He didn't see what tieing him to the horse accomplished for them, but it accomplished making him see them as a bad group of people. If only they saw Sacae the way he saw it. They wouldn't treat him the same if he was of there tribe. If only they realised there was one tribe and one tribe alone. Selibas got kicked in the leg that hurt most when he raised his head. He was walked back to the tent he had woken up in. He was pushed down inside. Lamiaf said, "You'll want to sleep quick. You'll need your 'strength' tommorow."

[Selibas]

Selibas was woken early the next morning. He was led to a large section of the tribe where the Aurumiaf were doing something very familiar to what he had seen in his tribe. He was going to have to move bails of hay to the horses. He saw that the majority of the tribe was carrying bails from a stack of smaller bails, so when his hands were untied he began to walk over to it. However Lamifan swiped his legs out from under him and said, "Oh. No, no, no, you're supposed to be stronger than us other Sacaens right? The big ones were packed specifically for you." All the people their age laughed along with Lamifan as Selibas limped over to the bigger bails. A few of the older more humble Sacaens shook their heads.

Selibas did quite well near the beginning, until the time when Lamifan's giant friend came and hit Selibas' bad leg with a cane, and said, "Move faster." Selibas was almost done and it was almost time for lunch, when a large amount of large bails were placed on top of the giant stack. Selibas kept going all through lunch and was once again near fininshing by sunset, when the friend with the cane came back. After he hit Selibas, the smaller boy dropped the hay and turned and grabbed the cane. He had enough anger he broke the cane like a twig. Selibas had to repress his rage so he wouldn't go feral.

Selibas was on his way back to his tent when he heard Euluk say, "Lamifan! Wolf! Come here." Selibas turned and saw Euluk. Standing next to him was Dale.

[Selibas]

Selibas smiled but quickly hid it so he wouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing how miserable he was the days before. He waited so that he could walk behind Lamifan so that he could show his "humility". He walked over and heard Dale trying to bargain horses for his freedom. Euluk said, "Well boy, it appears you are more looked to as a chief then I thought. Your cousin came to find your body, because his tribe wanted to give you a proper burial. He was willing to bargain giant amounts of resources for you. And now," he turned to Dale, "I think it has gone up. I'll take ten horses and fifteen bows, I don't want arrows, you're Sumis tips don' penetrate well."

Dale nodded but said, "Very well, but I'd like a few seconds alone with Selibas." Euluk nodded and led Lamifan aside for a few seconds. Dale said, "I knew you were alive, I told the tribe they wouldn't be serving me for long." Selibas smiled and said, "I appreciate their concern." He thought for a second, "though I won't allow us to be without the things you're offering for me." Dale nodded and mounted his horse, "I'm still bringing it, we need a chief." He raised his hand to Euluk and Lamifan, and rode away.

[Selibas]

Selibas was awoken the next morning very kindly. He heard an elderly man say, "Sumis, Etrurians came unanounced, Chief Euluk mentioned that there was another chief here, they want to meet you. I've brought your old clothes and even your large blade. Where them, but don't mention, the battle or your work here, or we'll kill you. You are here to establish trade to get a boy in your girl a wife. I'll be waiting outside." Selibas stood and begun to put on hs armor, now broken, a plate behind the main chest plate being obsilete. and the right shoulper plate unable to attatch. He put his Jacket on over it, then strappe his Blade onto his left hip. He looked down at it before leaving, then exited the tent.

He thought as he was led to Euluks tent, "Hannon had the Sol Katti, I need my sword. I can't quite use any of the legendary weapons, I'm not fast enough to be worthy of a Sacaen sword. I am not a Lycian, I won't be using whatever that sword was, and any sword from any other country. No, I'm nothing of a legend. I'll name my swords, this one... Epeeciel." As they entered he saw the senior warrior stood, as Euluk and Lamifan sat with the higher officers of Etruria. The highest up man rose and said, "Hello, I am Colonel Regebone, it's good to meet you, Sir..."

Selibas looked at the man and said, "I am no Knight, my name is Selibas Sacae." Sacaens take the name of their tribes most often.

[Selibas]

Selibas took a seat next to Euluk. The Etrurian nodded, "Good to meet you man, well boy." The Etrurian grinned, seeing his rank in a foreign army making him the better of a Chief. Selibas, didn't laugh. The man continued to make conversation, "So tell me Selibas, what business do you have with a tribe other than your own?"

Selibas looked at Euluk, who was clearly offende by Selibas saying his Tribe was Sacae even though the Etrurian didn't pick up on it, as he said, "I'm here to trade. To decide what to trade, and to pick, for a wife for one of my tribesmen." The Etrurian laughed, "Oh so you trade for your women here in Sacae, eh, ever heard of the term savage?"

Euluk was about to speak, but Selibas cut him off, "Well we may trade yes. Horses, bows, swords, but, what do Etrurians trade I wonder? Political ties, gold, which by the way, lies right into the meaning of prostitution." The man set down his fork to completely listen to the little savage. "So when I'm a lord and I want confirmation that my neighbor won't betray me for my estate, I sell my daughter, as appose to using my honor and forming a pact or some of the same? I believe one of us has the wrong definition of savage. And I'm a hard boy to convince he's wrong." One of the other Etrurians stood gripping his sword. Selibas simply smiled at him.

Regebone touched the mans arm calmly and pulled him back into his seat. He said, "You're a brave little one, aren't you?" Selibas nodded. The man said, "I wish your Sacaen women were as good with their mouths as you, in a different way of course. How many horses would I have to trade to get a woman tonight?" The man seemed to forget, Selibas was one man, not the tribe he was staying with and was currently outnumbered.

Selibas raised his eyebrows. He asked, "How would your priests feel about you sleeping with a 'savage'?" Euluk stood up slamming his fists on the crude table saying, "That's enough, Lamifan escort Selibas back to his tent." Lamifan and Selibas stood, and left.

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Regebone stood and said, "Well, my men and I will stay in the tents you set aside for us, I'll speak to you only when that inscolent boy is gone." He left, his officers falling in behind him. Euluk turned to his wife, wonderng what Seliba was trying to accomplish, when he remembered the man clearly lumping the different tribes together he saw what it was.

When Regebone got back to his tent he summoned a new conscript. When the young man got there, he was clearly nervous. Regebone said, "The young Green Haired Sacaen has insulted your Religion and your Country. Are you going to let him do that?" The young soldier said, "Umm, no sir." Regebone nodded, "Good, he weilds a large sword, very large, and he headed for the southern part of the camp." The soldier nodded and left.

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Lamifan took Selibas' blade and said, "You know, you shouldn't of talked to the man like that." Selibas sat down taking his armor off and handing it to him. He looked up and said, "What would you have me do? He insulted Sacae." Lamifan said, "He only spoke ill to you." Selibas shook his head, "Wrong, not only does it not mean anything which tribe, but he specifically said Sacaens." Lamifan started to leave then said, "Maybe when you're free, we couldspeak about how you say we're the same tribe."

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Lamifan was swinging Epeeciel at a training dummy, trying to see if he was as strong as Selibas. When all of a sudden, he had a lance sticking through his chest. He fell to the ground, dieing, as he heard lightly armored feet running away.

[Selibas]

Selibas was awoken to loud shouts, he stood, hearing Etrurian accents rise to the level of anger that the Sacaens seemed to be. He seemed to wake at just the right time, because the old Sacaen from the night before came in and handed him his old slim Ostian Sword and cut his bonds. Selibas walked out, not sure what was going on. He saw Euluk fighting Regebone, sadly, it seemed pretty one sided. Selibas rememberd Valcrist explaining that lances bbeat sword. Then all of a sudden, Euluk drastically picked up his speed and there seemed to be three of him. All of a sudden Regebone's head hit the ground.

The old man whispered, "An Etrurian killed his son last night, we found a lance head a few feet away." The Etrurians formed a wall with their shields and moved forward extending their lances. Euluk ran forward his fury throwing caution to the wind, he was skewered through his heart with a well timed blow.. The Sacaens were confused on how to handle this, Selibas could see they knew they couldn't overtake the twenty or so Etrurians with numbers alone. However Selibas saw a solution, that would be difficult, but was a solution. He ran forward yelling, "Do as I do!" he sidestepped a lance and cut the head of it off as it lunged forward. The other Sacaens came in doing the same.

Once the Etrurians had lost their lances, they were through, The Sacaens gathered and pulled on the shields until the formation was broken. Then the archers and nomads went to work, and there was not a single Etrurian left standing. When the work of swordsmen was done, Selibas had left to find his weapons and armor. He returned Epeeciel to it's sheath and walked back to the battle ground. In the armour, he felt more intimidating to the Sacaen's a sortof safety. Then one of them said, " So who's to be chief?"

Everyone turned to Selibas, as if he was the only one worthy. Selibas said, "You are willing to become a Sacaen? Not an Aurumiaf? Are you willing to be this way?" A few Sacaens akwardly showed they didn't want to with their expressions, but one slightly older man, a blood brother of Euluk said, "I understand the boys stance on things now, Sacae is stronger as one. This was a scouting party, we cannot fight a full Etrurian force." Selibas nodded, "Those with me, we ride in two hours."

End Thread

OoC: The Etrurians will be back, in greater numbers.