I spent all my non education time playing with the other youths in the fields out side the yurts. We played games that, on reflection, mimicked the skills that we would need in life. We used the tall grasses and the gullies to sneak up on our fellows. Two or more teams where you had to find and catch the members of the other teams. Later we practiced at spear throwing and archery, as the were seasonal competitions. The rite of majority in my people was simple, you had to approach without spooking one of the wild horses in the plains and coax it calmly and get on its back—if that was not hard enough, you also had to stay there. The real trick was to pick the correct horse. You find out afterwards that you lose points with the people if you pick the most wild and furious stallion. You want to beable to mount your horse with as little damage to you or the horse.
After you pass that test, you get to learn the other things, the stuff that involves saddles and stirrups. Throwing spears and firing bows from horseback and sneaking into places and stuff like at; as I said just like when we were colts. There were competitions, this time from horseback and this time the prize was being goo enough that we could head to the Murukan Redoubt and sign up with the Legion in Lookshy. After passing into adulthood, I was still a few years before I was good enough to show my stuff before the recruiters at the Redoubt. I was so pleased, working with the Seventh Legion meant that after ten years of service I would be able to take my wages and set up a great household and attract a mate. My family was very proud of me, as not all are chosen to represent.
I packed what I would need for the journey to Lookshy, the recruiting was just a formality, our people are prized as scouts for their army and we only send the best to the Redoubt. I was part way through showing off for the recruiters when a lone horse came up. The horse was saddled, but the rider was not immediately apparent. I went over to investigate. The reins were braded just like my clan does it and the form of a figure could be discerned. It was not a late arrival, but my cousin and she was wounded from an arrow wound in her leg. She was too young to ride this horse, so I knew there was something terribly wrong. She was unresponsive, I later found out that she died. The message that she was announcing was clear, the arrow was Realm issue, Thorns had attacked my people.
I pushed my horse to its limits to reach my people, who I had just left the day before. My family had been butchered and the herds had bee pillaged. There was nothing left my family. I rent my hair and cut my skin in grief and rode to the nearest neighbouring clan, to seek aid and retribution. All thoughts of serving with Lookshy passed, though, I spent many of my next years working closely with them in the war against Thorns.
Despite all my intentions, throwing myself into the thick of the battles and volunteering for the dangerous scouting missions I fought the length of the war. I was a scout, part of the cavalry and at one point when things were at there worst I even snuck behind their lines to wreck havoc on their baggage train. It was a very dark time, but I did not die; it was dying that I was looking most to do, but I failed. That was what they told me I was trying to do.
I was offered a position in Lookshy's forces when the war was over, but I did not see the point—no future with my people, no wars to lose myself in and no hope for an easy out. So I joined up as a caravan guard with the Guild and took the most dangerous routes. The work was steady, in addition to guard work there was work that had to be done with the caravan. The route passed through the far East and up into the North. There was a lot of space between the towns and there were many dangers. Between the bandits, the wild animals and the rest, I was never without work. The truth was I was just avoiding getting along with my life. Between caravans I spent my time drinking in the worst places in Nexus and getting in fights until I had lost all my money.
The next caravan that I took turned out to be the one I would stay with until the end. The caravan master was a veteran, like myself, of the War with Thorns. I learned from him that Thorns was put up to the fight by the Realm as a proxy to try to conquer the River Provinces and Lookshy. I spent many long nights with him drinking and reliving those days. The route was called the North Central Trunk. It started in Nexus and headed along the North Shore of the river by boats topping in Port Calin and heading north through the interior to Cherak. There we would resupply and head north almost to the Haslanti league before turning back and heading half way to Sijan and back to Cherak before heading back to Port Calin along the River of Tears.
My end, when it came, was where I felt it started, with Thorns. Cherak is a satrapy of the Realm, but seems to get so little trade from them that the guild is able to make a fair business, especially in the hinterlands. We were resupplying there to head into the north and there was some time, so I went out to see the sights and ran into a few dozen veterans from the war, but from Thorns and the Realm.
It was more likely going to happen eventually on this route, but I had thought that I had made my peace with the events of the war, but the men that I saw there were a different sort from the ones that had actually fought; these men were not the ones that had bled, but the ones that had stayed back and when the worst had happened, for their side, they fled to the Realm. They were the boastful sort and they bragged that they were there from the start. The ones before me bragged that they were with the ones that started it all by attacking the Marukan Horselords and taking their herds so that they could use them during the war. It was too much and I saw that these men needed to pay for what they had done. My compatriots were all for the fight so I gave it a good start. The first few moments I gave better than I took but it was then I realized that my companions did really want this fight and had backed out right away.
They tossed me out into the back after I gave out the fight, the men of Thorns took to giving me more and they beat me to death in the back alley amongst the filth. My consciousness floated above my broken body briefly before everything went grey. A voice came to me and asked if my anger was over and my venom spent? I was still angry I realized, the deaths of my people, my family, my brothers and sisters still weighed heavy on my soul a lesser weight than the anger at the men that killed me. I did not want to kill mere men, I wanted vengeance on the entirety of the city… and I wanted revenge upon the Realm that pushed Thorns into attacking us. I wanted them all to pay!
I woke and the Shadow came to me. He said at he had plans for the Realm and for everyone that knew about the attack on the Horse Lords and the people of the world. He said he had a plan that would ruin the Realm and make it fall upon itself. It had a plan at would destroy all their satrapies like Thorns and draw the Realm in where it could be crushed and ground into dust. He revealed to me how it was going to happen and I agreed to help him do it. I will be forever his servant if he does this.
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