Sachihiro

The main village of the Norse Tribe is on the top of a steep escarpment in a plateau with very little cover for invaders or raiders to use when approaching. Depending on your definition of a successful raid the village has never been successfully raided and for that alone it’s the most important settlement with which the Norse boasts, our tribal home. It's big, Sachihiro inters. The flat top on which the village is built stretches out for 9 or so miles in a long twisting rectangular shape giving a lot of space to the tribesmen.

The village even has a name, Hill Town, as it has stood longer than the last few generations of chieftains. The top can't have been a natural occurrence it’s so flat.

‘’How did the hilltop become so straight da?’’ Sachi asks.

Damage shakes his head with a pout of his lips, ‘’no one remembers the story of how it formed. Maybe it has always been like this ey?’’

‘’Maybe... But, it’s so straight.’’ Sachi compares the flattop land stretching out in the distance with the flat of his blade he holds up before his eyes.

‘’Maybe it was like this before Barbarians came to the Tundra,’’ Divina says absentmindedly.

To most barbarian, its defense is all that makes it important but to some its greatest mystery and boon being the water spring that bubbles up in the middle of the village every Spring season. The spring is now decorated and built into a fountain for the villagers to drink world. A well is currently being dug apparently to try to have access to the water all year round.

‘’Come on, lets find a good place to set camp.’’ Damage says seeing the curious excitement growing in his son as they get amongst the tents built at the foot of the sloping escarpment.

We camp at the base of the hill amongst many familiar yet unknown faces. Other villages have already arrived and claimed the ideal spots with half their entire village populations it seems by the amount of people running around. Sachi moves amongst the people anonymous amongst strangers that look like him. So many Barbarian in one place with no fighting taking place.

I can’t believe I’m really at an All-Meet, Sachi exclaims to himself as he watches warriors in various attires wielding a variety of weapons moving about the place.

Events like these are a great opportunity for people to make a name for themselves and find appropriate mating partners. All these people could know my name.

To be named in a Barbarian tribe is a lifelong achievement that only great deeds or the best of the best achieve. Following the sounds of fighting Sachi grins excited having discovers a fighting ring built between the other three villages at the base of Hill Town.

His friend find him watching the fights eating lavender-leaf cafes he bought with dwarven coin.

The first part of the All-Meet is mostly posturing and telling old stories so Teá, Ava and I take the time to explore the town as dusk turns to night. Hill Town has a population of about 20 000 tribesmen. Everyone that lives here is only too proud to boast about the place.

It's apparently the second oldest permanent settlement known among all the Barbarian tribes and the reason there are only 6 other Norse villages unlike dozens like in other tribes. Hill Town could absorb another village and there would still be some space on top of the hill left actually.

The houses here are better built than in my village and there are four longhouses that I've already noticed in our walk and each rival our single ‘shabby’ village longhouse.

"Why is your brother so strange? Is he to be a Seer?" Teá asks suddenly, frowning and wrinkling her cute little nose. I'm not sure how to answer this and I'm a terrible liar.

"No." I shrug.

"A saw all the Seers go off by themselves, your brother was amongst them. If he won't be a seer he better tell them now before they show him their secrets and it's too late for him to back out." Ava adds, looking around with big curious eyes.

Ava is originally from the Viking tribe so I'm not sure how different everything is to what she is used to. I've personally been here before, passing through for a raid but I’ve never been inside the settlement. There are so many buildings so close to each other it makes it hard to watch my back.

‘’There are corners everywhere, and are all these people’s houses?’’ I ask confused by the congestion, why would you build your house right next to someone else’s? Why would two different buildings share the same wall, is it to save pace?

‘’Come on, let's go find ourselves a fight,’’ Ava says leading our ahead. ‘’OUI!’’ She whistles making profound gestures as a group of six swaggers forward. ‘’You all girls with balls or are there any fighters amongst you?’’

We throw ourselves at each other, Ava hitting hard taking one out with a cracking fist. I dodge throwing one over me smashing him into the dirt, I get grabbed from behind and clobbered from the front, these guys hit harder than Ava. Using the guy behind me to balance I double kick the guy in the chest but fail to break the hold around me so I take us down together.

A hit to the head has my ears ringing, another extinguishes my consciousness.

‘’We got trashed,’’ Tea points out. Ava has a black eye and a bloody nose, Teá a few bruises and a loose tooth but mostly they groped her until they were shooed away by the laughing spectators. I understand the desire, she’s quite attractive but still my anger is simmering at the pit of my stomach. I need a distraction.

"Those girls were a good enough warm-up, let's go to the Great Hall and not miss the rest of the meet," I say to discourage Ava. I can tell she’s looking for another fight already.

The great hall is a longhouse of stone that was built into the hill such that it looks like a normal longhouse from the outside but as you walk in you follow twisting stairs that lead down revealing a vast auditorium.

There are benches going up the sides almost all the way to the very high ceiling. The longhouse has so much space because it is partially underground. I've never been in here before and the candles are the first thing I notice. Hundreds of them along the walks like flickering stars with wax tears of centuries melting down the wall. Sweet-smelling wax falls off them into collecting dishes that protrude from the walls.

There are three aisles between the benches and I notice the floor is a type of polished stone that almost looks reflective. I bend and place my hand on the floor, cool to the touch and smooth as a piece of polished marble.

There are decorative patterns on the walls that look like tribal glyphs we use to depict our stories on our bodies as tattoos. It's a beautiful place, rumoured to be commissioned by Bor the Great from his foreign companions a decade before they all left for the Ascension Gate of Sahaqiel. If the stories are true then I am standing in one of the few monuments of our people. The main platform is further down resulting in the hall being shaped like a great shallow bowl with seats ascending on its sides so everyone can see the centre stage.

I follow the glyphs on one of the four pillars on each side of the hall, odd that there are no windows in the hall. I could have sworn I saw windows on the outside.

The noise takes my attention back to the proceedings and we find unassuming seats in the back to watch from.

"The only reason the other tribes haven't raided us yet this season is because all the Seers agree that we will have a fight worthy of the Ages with the Sandersonians in a few years. They are all making weapons and blooding their youth against beasts first but they will come for us, now more than ever."

An old warrior with snow-white hair says. I'm not clear from his tone whether he is complaining about the situation or just making a statement.

"People, let us first decide what to do with the ore before we speak of the wars to come." Chief Stomm the Bloodletter says from his raised table with all the men and women that quality as tribal elders and village heads beside and around him.

"How much do we have?" Another woman asks.

"We’ve mined 80 tons all in total."

"Spirits beyond!"

"Praise be Gaia."

‘’That is a lot right?’’ Ava whispers at me without any sublty.

Many curses and exclamations ring out in the hall. I curse under my breath as well. 80 tons of celestial ore? ‘’That's enough to fashion a long sword for every warrior in the tribe twice over!’’ Spirits beyond, we are rich!

"And that's only what we could recover. There are deposits that fell into the Dawn Forest, the Viking tribal territory and some rumoured to have fallen among the Savages. But by far we have the largest deposits."

"We need to contact the Dwarves immediately before any other tribe thinks too. We have our own smiths yes but not at the skill level of the Dwarves, and a dwarven axe is always a superior weapon to a Barbarian axe."

"Aye."

"Aye."

"We all agree, but we don't want to put all our eggs in one nest and we need to negotiate for more than just weapons."

"Aye. The dwarves are a safe bet. They are few in number and cannot outfight us out in the open so there is little chance of them trying to steal our treasure from us." One of the elders adds.

"But in the reverse, once we give them some ore to forge there is nothing stopping them from keeping it to themselves as we all know their tunnels are an impregnable maze." A very well endowed woman adds from the audience.

"Everyone knows the Dwarves hate us. We've been raiding them on and off for generations, and those short walking hairballs keep a grudge going with nothing but spite and a sour mood." The old man with the white hair says as he spits on the side and steps on his spittle. The irreverence he has for the place annoys me but no one says anything to chastise him.

"If we could part with some of that ore we could start making ‘reparations’..." Another elder adds.

‘’Huh, are you a Barbarian or a dwarf lover? The stars will turn dark before I pay someone I defeated in a fight,’’ a man in a bench at the back protests loudly.

‘’Do you know anyone else that can bring to bear the full potential of this material friend? How often has our weapon broken in a fight, how long does your blade keep its edge? Dwavern weapons are superior and we need to make superior weapons with this material, anything less would be an insult to the gods of fortune.’’

‘’If we treaty with the dwarves there can be no more raiding into their territory,’’ and elder warns with a grave tone.

"Raiding dwarves doesn't yield anything of value anyways, and they don't fight for the joy of it so it's not as much fun killing them,’’ the man leers. ‘’The stupid creatures value dying of old age more than dying in a proper fight."

"Fuck the dwarves; I want a chance to forge with some celestial steel!" The largest man I have ever seen says as he stands. "Been smiting since' was a wee lad. Know ma craft." A number of affirmative grunts and nods add to the point.

"Of course, there will be ore leftover for our own smiths to work on. There is more than enough surplus but only smiths that make superior quality work consistently will be given the material to work with. Some is already being cached throughout our territory for future generations." Chief Stomm quickly adds.

‘’Anyone opposed to speaking with the dwarves?’’

Some grumbling.

‘’State your reasons loud and clear are keep your bloody mouths shut this hall!’’

Everyone shuts up.

"We will have a delegation go to the Dawn Mountain with 5 tons of celestial ore. A ton to be traded to them for making our weapons, another ton for reparations as a sign of friendship. If what we know of them is true they won't let pass an opportunity to work on such rare metal.’’

"We will also negotiate to get them to teach some of our young their ways of metal-smithing. We can add another half-ton to the deal if we must but no more. A ton of can make a lot of axes, especially if only the heads are made from celestial steel."

"Aye."

"Aye."

The rest of the people gathered agree and I find myself nodding as well. I've personally never seen a dwarf but I've heard good things about their craft. I suddenly think of Om, if he isn't set in his way of the warrior he could definitely become a Barbarian-dwarven smith.

I know he apprenticed with our village smith for a season as most boys do to learn the basics of metal and how to take care of weapons. Unlike the rest of us who leave the forge as soon as we can, he stayed the entire year.

‘’We can’t be trusting no dwarves with all our ore, what happens to the rest of it chief?’’

"We will be sending a delegation to the south past Sandersoria to the far Highlands. Divina tells us the Fae covert celestial steel as most metal is anathema to them. It will be a project of many months but it is an opportunity to make allies outside the tribes. The ore is of more use this way being forged into weapons instead of buried in our hoards." Chief Stomm says as he nods to ma who nods back.

Who are my parents? I mean I know she was considered different at the village but does the entire tribe know a side of ma I don't? Da's story just reminds me how little I know about their origins and life stories. I mean I always thought my grand-da Billiard the Terrible dead, only to find out yesterday that he walked into the Titan Mountains and may still be alive, who goes there anyway?

"We also hope to find the lost people of Orientia," Ma adds as she stands, her seat is close to the front. As the grumblings start Da, Uncle Brian and Aunt Helen stand with her. Then Om stands, though I hadn't noticed him sitting amongst them. I'm compelled to stand with my family though I'm not sure what's going on and who these lost people are. But I stay seated 'cause I'm at the back and no one will see me anyways. Besides, I don't wanna embarrass Ava and Teá.

The old man with the white hair snorts. "The spawn of Billiard still making trouble. I will say what the rest are thinking. The lost people are lost or a fable nothing more.’’

‘’They are no fable warrior, the memories of us Seers are long. The Orientals were our neighbours to the south for many years before their lands were swallowed by the soft-skinned Sandersorians.’’

‘’Either way, they were defeated by the Sandies, I don’t see what we’d want from them."

"The shinobi were not defeated, but withdrew because of treachery. They could either have avenge themselves and forsake all honour, or withdrew because of an ancient agreement between beings greater and older than humanity.

"I won't get into details because I am oath-bound to silence until the time is right but though they cannot participate, there is a great deal we could learn from the Orientals. They have not been idle." Ma says in a crisp clear voice that brooks no argument.

"Pray tell, where can they be found, what can they do for us we can’t do for ourselves?" Another woman asks.

"It may take some time but I can find them. I will need at least 4 tons of ore. A ton for them the rest for us. We will need to be a small party with some of our youth to be trained in their ways. If all goes well we will donate another half ton to them to solidify an alliance."

The silence is pregnant as she looks around from eye to eye. The nervous pride in my chest palpable as I unconsciously puff up like a peacock. That's my ma staring down the entire assembly.

Someone snorts breaking the silence by lodging an a handaxe on the bench, ‘’you speak of alliances. I been fighting since I could clench a fist and killing since I was a lad of 16 summers and all my little ones been raise the same. We’re fighters through and through and we do not want these alliances taking our fun away, let them build us weapons and stay out of our way.’’

‘’Aye,’’

‘’No one steals a fight from me.’’

"We have the largest deposits of celestial ore ever to be seen in the history of the worlds. You are all fools if you think we can keep it to ourselves. The Seers foresaw calamity and blessings, I believe the ore to be the calamity that will see the Barbarians wiped from the face of Gaia by the other races in their greed. Or we could pre-empt them and by selling the ore to them for long term benefits, the training of our young their crafts and magics.’’

Ma sits, with the rest of the family doing so as well. The implications of her statement have my mind spinning. Why didn't I think of it? The other races will be all over us! Loud arguing breaks out after a moment of silence, as all of a sudden the all-meet takes on a different atmosphere.

‘‘I hate to say it but the span of Billiard is right, never before have we had something the rest of the world wants. If we play things right we could ask for many benefits for the future of our people.’’

‘’A war with the Sandersorian is inevitable, they’ve been expanding northward for decades now. It would be nice to face them with some new equipment, then all the land will know of our people.’’

As I look around I see the enthusiasm and eager anticipation on many faces at the talk of war. Spirit beyond, Barbarians are crazy!

"Come on." Ava pulls my sleeve and leads us up the stairs out of the Great Hall with a smile on her face.

Once outside she looks up and laughs. "Isn't it great Sachi? A fight to define an age. We will die gloriously and face the ancestors with pride." I know how different life will be from now on but I grin in spite of my worries. A righteous fight. There is nothing wrong with killing those that come to take what is yours.

We walk back in as the noise dies down.

"Well..." the chieftain says in his deep rolling voice. "We seem to have been thinking too small. Any more wisdom you would like to leave us with before the final decisions are made?"

"Yes, chief Stomm," ma says as she stands again.

"One last thing. We will have to find an entrance to the Underworld."

Pandemonium ensues!