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Thread: [AAR] M2TW: Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale

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    Default [AAR] M2TW: Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale



    Author: SSJPabs
    Original Thread: [Teutonic AAR] Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale (Updated January 19!)

    Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale - Part 1

    Beneath the endless sky of the Baltic....
    Under the hammer of the Northern Crusades....
    A feeble faction stirs!



    Prologue - Father and Son

    "Consider the sea my son," Grand Duke Mindaugas said. "Through that consideration you will find the paths the gods desire you to walk and that God desires me to walk."



    Though the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was landlocked, it had become the Grand Duke's habit to begin each day by staring out the window and imagining himself back on the coast where'd he been raised as a boy before the great struggle began. It was an open secret that he missed the coast, and would have preferred himself on the shores of the Baltic. It was a tribute to his strength and his power that the knowledge had not led to any uprisings in years.

    Behind him, his only son and heir Vaišvilkas stood clad in his armor. He was obviously impatient and his stance radiated indifference, though he was not insolent with it and Mindaugas let it go. It was to be expected, Mindaugus told himself. His son was of an age where he should have begun to rule and only his tremendous respect for his father's accomplishments kept him at his father's side and loyal. Vaišvilkas' impatience might cost him one day, and both men had heard the whispers that however great the kingdom Mindaugas left behind, honor would be lacking in the bequest.



    Still he waited gazing out over the city through the window, not really seeing the capital.

    At last his son could stand no more.

    "Father," he said, "I would stand and contemplate with you all day, but the times are urgent. The Teutonic Order gather's its levies and for all of the Hochmeister's own pretensions at honor, even a child could see that armies will be marching across our fields soon. The fields that are our life's blood more than the sea could ever be."

    Mindaugus said nothing.

    "Father!" his son hissed. Then stopped and took hold of his emotions again. "You are known as Chivalrous, and the sea is anything but. It knows no constancy, no honor--it is the fields of Lithuania where we will stand proud and strong and fight to live... or die!"

    The last had been delivered in a ringing tone mingled with an almost religious passion. A passion Mindaugas was familiar with from the priests that had spoken with him, urged him to be baptized during his rise to power.

    Mindaugas turned at last. His son was a proud Pagan and perhaps it was for the best. Perhaps the times really did require the fire of the ancient gods. Gods he himself no longer served, but that his people fought for.

    "Is all prepared?"

    "Yes father," Vaišvilkas said in some relief. "Our men from Siauliai and Kaunus will meet me in the woods to the west of Kaunus and join under my banner. All light troops. The priests have gone before us."



    "Good. Make haste to Palanga. Lord Edivydas may be able to hold now, but I'd not give coin for his chances if the Hochmeister brings up the men of the order. If you can reach him before the blow falls, make sure you take all the mounted soldiers. I want your army able to run those armored beasts into the ground."

    "Father... it will be as you say of course, but why not go yourself? The men respect you for your prowess in battle, how you tamed the wild lords to your hands even though they follow the Pantheon and you believe in the One God. Surely if the situation is as dire as you believe you should lead our forces!"

    "An old man?" Mindaugus laughed.

    "You are not old father," Vaišvilkas said firmly. "You can best me."

    "I must believe you, else why would I be leaving on campaign myself."

    "Father if the sea is so important let me go east and battle the men of the steppes and maybe of the Republic. Take the reins with a firm hand and you can defeat the Hochmeister!"

    "Your faith in me does you credit, but I cannot and you know why."

    "Duke Vykintas."

    Mindaugus shook his head. "Too dangerous to allow him to go his own way, and too powerful to remove. I tamed his rebellious nature before though it made him dark and will do so again if needs be. But he must be under my eye."



    "Very well father," Vaišvilkas sighed. "I will go and meet the unfamiliar sea and give it an offering of the blood of the Teutonic Knights."

    His son bowed and turned to go, one of the few who could honorably turn his back on the Grand Duke.

    "Thank you for going to the sea despite your love of the plain," Mindaugas said. "But know this before you leave, the difference between the sea and the plain, one that our people would do well to emulate..."

    "And what is that father?"

    "....if you fail to take account of the sea, you do so at peril."


    Notes
    --Number of images in Part I, 51
    --Next update scheduled for 24 Feb
    --Settings Hard/Hard



    Chapter 1 -- Allies and Rivals

    The Sea, Vaišvilkas thought. What is the sea compared to the fields. Our vast domains prove our might though that might comes at a price--everyone wants to pull you do when you reach the summit...



    The meeting with Tautvilas of Siauliai had gone well. The prince had taken charge of the levies from Kaunus under their captain and managed to unite with the Siaulians in the forests to the west of Kaunus. After confering with Tautvilas and sending his scouts to ascertain the enemy positions, Vaišvilkas sent a small scouting unit ahead of his army to confer with Lord Edivydas and issue him new orders.
    Lord Edivydas, beloved of Dievas, whose arm is strengthed by the thunder of Perkūnas and who rides the Ašvieniai in glory, I, Prince Vaišvilkas of House Mindaugas send you greetings.

    My own father the Grand Duke and chosen king of Lithuanians has commissioned me to the west. Together with Lord Tautvilas who advises me we will unite to drive the slaves of the One God from the soil of Lithuania with the force of Giltine.

    All honor and glory will be earned and all prowess respected.

    In aid of that, I bid you to gather men and strike north unto the stronghold of Windau. Leave few behind for Lord Tautvilas shall succor the lands you depart and I myself will meet you at Windau. Don't waste another moment, and attack as you see fit. If you prove victorious before my arrival I shall hope to congratulate you as the Gods deem fit.
    Vaišvilkas had ruminated on the letter since. Ordering the fractious nobles of Lithuania, many of whom had rebelled when Mindaugas had personally professed the One God required elaborate ritual and preparation. It had required deliberation to both flatter Edivydas and command him, while alerting him to the coming reinforcements without questioning his prowess or skills regardless of whether they deserved it. It was one of the things his father had taught him--they ruled Lithuania. Their pride was as dust beside the power of the throne. The pride of the house was to govern well and if that called for displacement of that pride... then so be it. Being Grand Duke meant being ready to sacrifice.

    As Vaišvilkas rode north and away from Tautvilas, he couldn't help but wonder how his father faired...



    "So Lord Vykintas says he will rush to our aid does he?" Mindaugas said quietly. Concern mixed with anger swam below the surface of his thoughts--that Vykintas would dither while battle was offing and against a peasant village at that!--but he tamped it down and knew that he had no choice but to agree. "Let it be as he says," he told the young messenger Vykintas had sent. "But warn your master that I will not wait and that if he hunts glory he must hunt it at my side or not at all."



    As Mindaugas arrayed his troops around the village he knew part of his anger was fed by fear. The news had come with the turning of the season: The King of the Poles had made alliance with the Order. The followers of the One God, giving the lie to their priests notions of brotherhood and peace, had joined together and even now were plotting to overrun his lands. He did not know if his son could stem the tide, but he knew he had to secure his eastern flank before he could take things in hand himself and Vaišvilkas could buy him enough time. But first, the village.



    The village itself was well placed. At the top of a high hill with twisting paths to it's summit, it was made for defense. However this village was small enough to be without ramparts more complex than simple earth, and Mindaugas order his missile cavalry forward along with the rest of his horsemen to soften up the defenders.



    He watched from a safe distance as the enemy--rebel boyars from Novgorod and Muscovy it seemed--took a position on the hilltop to rain javelins down on his own men. His own cavalry closed with the enemy boyars and both sides exchanged point blank salvos of death. Suddenly, there was a convulsion in the battle and cries went up, despairing from the rebels and glad from his own men. The news came flashing back soon enough; the rebel leader was dead and his horsemen butchered.



    Seeing their noble protectors dead or dying, the peasants and woodsmen rushed to the slope to try and stop the Lithuanian's advance. Mindaugas had expected this and his own foot soldiers were now in a position to meet the charge allowing the horsemen to stay clear...



    ....and pierce the flanks of the peasant assault with their javelins.



    But if the rest of his horsemen dealt death enough, it was Mindaugas himself that broke the enemy. Charging them with his household guard, catching the from behind and by surprise and hewing many down with swords that came away redder each time, glistening wetly despite the gray light of the day.



    It was over quickly, the enemy vanquished to a man. Mindaugas removed his helmet, pleased with his prowess from his age and saw his breath steam from his face in the softly falling snow. Already it began to pile up, blanketing the corpses in a mantel of soft white, a tomb more gentle than earth and stone.

    "Look at the armor," he said toeing the corpse of the enemy leader, one Sergei. "More plates than mail--I'd lay my sword that the order or the Poles are supplying these rebels. They are the only ones who can afford such expensive armor."

    He sighed. He'd hoped to make alliance with the Polish. Nothing he could do about it now.

    "Vykintas could not come in time," he mused to himself as he studied the village. "I should be more surprised than I am."

    He expected a carefully worded letter from the man tonight. It would be full of Vykintas' protests of impossible conditions or enemy ambush, a plausible excuse that Mindaugas would again have no choice but to accept from the powerful noble.

    In the end, he had managed to avoid fighting with Vykintas and leaving the Duke in the village, Mindaugas had continued to campaign through the winter. He busied himself flushing out the rebels and bandits in the woods and leaving behind fortifications and small outposts that would report to him rapidly if they spotted an enemy. Several times he came back to resupply and check up on Vykintas to make sure things were progressing enough on his plan to build a line of fortresses in the east.

    Through it all he kept abreast of the movements of both the Golden Horde to the southeast and the Republic to the northeast. Yet for all his caution he was surprised in the end.



    It came as he had taken a second village, another of the hilltop settlements. He was deep in studying how best to fortify the place against another attack as he himself had just mounted when a commotion caused him to look outside his tent. A messenger was making his way up the hill to the town square.

    "My Duke! Your Grace!" he said snatching off his heavy winter hat, "Messengers have come to the camp, dressed in rich robes."

    "To the camp?" Mindaugas wondered. "Now who would that be..."

    "The Republic my lord--and the Golden Horde!"

    "The Nomads?! We must go at once then," Mindaugas said. "Tell me boy, what do they want?"

    "Trade my lord, and alliance."



    Later, after the diplomats had departed, Mindaugas mused that things might not be as bad as he'd feared after all. And even if they were, at least he wasn't alone in this fight... The nomads had not wanted an alliance, and he had respected the wish rather than lose their good will, but his dream of uniting the peoples who opposed the Catholics in defense of their own old ways still lived.

    End Chapter 1


    Chapter 2 -- Conquests and Commiserations

    Vaišvilkas frowned as he studied the letter by the light of a brazier in his command tent, one of the few the army had.



    It had come with some soldiers escorting it, Edivydas had won a great victory. After scanning the greeting lightly, Vaišvilkas got to the meat of the thing.
    Heeding the orders of Your Grace's letter, I gathered as much of the garrison from Palanga as I could and still leave enough men behind to man the gates. We marched north even before the snows melted, gambling on being able to lay the siege before the melt turned everything into mud for weeks on end.

    That gamble failed, your highness. But it was not as terrible as I had feared. The failure to reach Ventspils--or Windau as the Order calls it--was because of the catapults. Even broken into pieces and hauled by wagons they slowed down the men even on runners and once the mud had set in we were stopped cold. But we moved as soon as ever we could once the ground became dry enough to move on, and so it was revealed to us that we had caught the garrison of the Order by surprise. Only a few men were in residence and after ruminating on it for a time, I felt the gods guiding me to seize the initiative and the fortress without waiting for your Highness.
    The catapults were set up, and the gates had proved no obstacle to their stones. I ordered the peasants forward as soon as the gatehouse had shattered. I know Your Grace may differ with me on this, but we need a few peasants in every army, to absorb arrows and knightly charges, to stall the enemy advance long enough for the real soldiers to attack. In any case, the poorly armed men in rough farmers' coats rushed forward on the attack.
    With the gates shattered, the peasants stormed into the keep engaging the lightly armored mounted men. These were the squires to the Teutonic Knights themselves and more use on the plains than in the tight confines of the walls. The peasant charge tied them up enough for the men from Samogita, Duke Vykintas' welcome contribution to the war effort in the east, to take them unsuspecting and butcher them.
    With the riders dead, my forces pushed on to the square where a single unit of Order Spearmen and some Prussia archers, traitors to the gods, stood fast against us. For a little while. I had chosen to send the tartar lancers, those men of the steppe who had fled the coming of the Golden Horde, around to the enemy flank and their uncontested charge devastated the enemy. The battle was over almost before it began.
    I can only describe this as a credible win. There were some losses but over a hundred of them peasants and so easily replaced. I immediately set about garrisoning the castle and dispatched some of my own men to the southwest to meet up with Your Grace and give to you the good news along with reinforcements. There is no need to reinforce my position here and you are free to continue with your campaign My Lord.
    Vaišvilkas sighed as he put down the letter. He couldn't call Edivydas down for it, not with a victory but it made him nervous whenever any of the nobles acted on their won. It was too like the times when they'd rebelled against his father and nothing but conquest by the Order would come from another.

    Suddenly a man rushed into his tent and flung himself to his knees before him. He was dirty and clothed in well worn leather. A scout then, one of the forward scouts.

    "What's toward man?"

    "The Order my lord! A small force to the west, their flag proclaims them of Riga!"




    Vaišvilkas eased his sword in its sheath as he watched his army form up for battle. He commanded nearly 400 men, easily twice that of the Order. But these were no men led by a captain, Conrad von der Pfalz, the Komtur of Riga, led them, with a unit of Halbrudder in his train. Moreover they were heavy troops, Order Spearmen with a unit of Old Prussians armed with bows. His own troops were light, nothing to match that but he had no choice. He would have to depend on the mobility of Drujikan Horse.

    It was time. He fastened his helm and drew his sword.



    "Men of Lithuania!" he shouted waving his blade. The archers in the front line, backed by the spearmen waited patiently, the horses of his missile cavalry stamped impatiently but their riders kept them in line.

    "We stand on the fields of our home! The men of the Order will emerge from the trees--as soon as you see clear to them, begin to fire. I will be by your side and with courage we will triumph!"

    As his horsed archers rode around the flanks to engaged the enemy as they advanced, Vaišvilkas hardly dared hope. As the horsemen of the order left the trees, they were scattered, their cohension broken by the dense woods, and it would take them time to charge. The first volley took the horsemen hard, he saw several down already and his spearmen slowly advanced under cover of the arrow fire. But von der Pfalz was no where to be seen. The Halbrudder were falling to the bow, but their general still had not appeared.



    Then suddenly the Halbrudder readied themselves and began to ride toward him, armor gleaming and shields high warding off the arrows. A few stuck in the barding of their mounts as they thundered at his archers. The spearmen struck then, rising from where they were and the Halbrudder ran into a wall of death that staggered them.

    "At the spearmen!" Vaišvilkas shouted to the archers. Now too close to hurt the knights, it was time to attack the advancing ground troops.

    Meanwhile the Halbrudder were about to break away and regroup. Then Vaišvilkas saw his chance. Calling the charge, he hurled his men into the Halbrudder from the side. Several of them were slain in the initial charge and the rest were overwhelmed in moments. Vaišvilkas himself was stunned at how quickly his men overcame them and put them to flight.




    Suddenly one his horsed archers rode up to him in a flurry of grass and foam.

    "My prince! My prince! The enemy general has fallen!"

    Vaišvilkas' head whipped around.

    "How?!"

    "He tried to engage us in the trees my lord!" the man said. "He became separated from the rest of his men and we fell on them in the confusion. We have moved to attack the order from the rear now, Your Grace."

    "Excellent!" Vaišvilkas shouted, ebullient. As he looked out across the battlefield he could see his men emerged from the trees, their arrows taking the men of the order in the back. Dozens were dead all ready and with his spearmen charging the men of the Order broke and ran.



    But running did not save them as his light cavalry ran them down from behind, butchering them mercilessly.



    It had cost them, but the force of the order was utterly destroyed, and one of its Komturs lay dead under the endless sky.

    ----------

    It took them two days to clear the battlefield of the slain. During this time he met with his captains to plan their next move. In this time he missed Lord Tautvilas. Without the more experienced lord, he always had to work more to gain the confidence of his commanders. But he'd sent the man south to Palanga to reinforce the castle and there was no help for it now.

    The captains themselves were of two minds. Many wanted to strength the border with the Order along the line of Riga. A few wished to return to Windau to resupply. Vaišvilkas had a different plan and he'd been trying to bring them around to it with only limited success. They'd resisted every step of the way and he nearly despaired.

    Salvation came in the form of another letter, this one from the southwest, from Tautvilas. It was short, not at all like the flowery missives that Edivydas had sent or that Vykintas was famous for.

    In fact, it was only one line--but that was enough, especially when read aloud to his men.
    I have sacked Konigsberg.
    Vaišvilkas smiled and he never noticed when his captains stepped back, wary of the promise of death in it. But wary or not, there were no more arguments. Wtih the news of success, Vaišvilkas had no trouble convincing them to adopt his plan. The next day they struck camp and with their southern flank secure, or so they believed, they marched northeast toward Riga, and a chance to drive the Teutonic Order out of the North.

    End Chapter 2


    Chapter 3 -- Season's End

    Will it be enough, Tautvilas thought, can we buy ourselves more time?



    Though led only by a captain, the forces of the Teutonic Order advancing north along the Curonian Spit were no fools. On one side the Baltic, on the other, the Lagoon and Tautvilas had no choice but to go up against the from the front. Tautvilas was nothing special as a commander, but he could recognize a favorable position when he saw it.

    Facing off against him were 3 companies of Burgher pikes, braces of Prussia traitors and fanatical priests, and one unit of Halbrudder, from where his opposite could be seen frantically waving his sword.



    His own troops were light, militia, archers a few spearmen at most with a few units of missile cavalry. But they followed him bravely as he called an advance on the fierce Teutonic raiders and he could ask for no more than that. He took up a position on the extreme left of his men as they advanced under a brilliant setting son. The battle would of necessity be a swift one, and decisive even if not in his favor.



    As his men began the advance, he saw the Teutonic Knights waste little time in beginning their own approach and he let himself slowly swing a little wide of his men, opening up a small gap. With the majority of the enemy ground forces pikemen, and thus slow, he would have more time to react to any changes and he needed to take advantage of his bodyguard.

    He noticed both units of priests on the extreme right, with their weapon crosses, and robes. Easily slain but they would fill their own troops with a battle-madness and their foes with dread. He had never fought them but he was reliably informed that as they fought they quoted passages from their sacred book.

    It was when the distance closed that Tautvilas swung into action. As he ordered his archers to concentrate fire on the company of pikemen on the Teutonic left flank, he charged the priests. They'd gotten out from the protection of the pikes and he intended to make sure they didn't live to regret it long.



    As his men leveled long spears, he saw Dimarus realize what was happening and urge his own heavy cavalry forward to try and blunt the charge. Yet as the white robes swelled before his eyes he knew it wouldn't be enough and they destroyed the holy men even as the Halbrudder attacked. In the instants before all was confusion, he ordered one of his missile units to aim at the horses and a flurry of arrows struck the Halbrudder on the side. Their shield side, unfortunately, but it couldn't be helped.

    Then it was a chaos of screaming horses and men. A sword flashed and he jerked to the side as it slid by his helm. He struck out in turn, a vicious swipe of his own blade into the side of one of the Halbrudder, crushing the mail the other wore. As he tugged his blade free, blood spattered on his surcoat but he was already looking around for another foe as the first fell.

    The Halbrudder broke away, under shouts of "follow captain Dimarus!" and he was able to turn his attention to the main battle. By now both lines had met and peasants and militia were facing down the pikemen of the order as brave as any. But more importantly, the line of battle was beyond him.

    Hoping the Halbrudder would stay disorganized a while longer, Tautvilas rallied his men and they lowered their spears again. They galloped over the plain now, the tips of their spears set afire by the setting sun, and fell on the flanks of the engaged pikemen like a thunderbolt of Perkūnas.



    As the last of the pikemen fled or were slain, the Halbrudder stood alone watching the advance. But Dimarus, seeing all was lost, did not retreat and instead chose the path of glory and charged.



    But it was then at last, that his spearmen could earn their keep and they rose with a shout, fresh and unfought, to show their spears to the charging horsemen of the order.



    Dimarus tried to break away and rally his men for another charge, but the spearmen were relentless, charging after his men until they finally broke. Still most died in place rather than run until Dimarus stood alone--and it was he who finally fled.



    The victory was total, the slaughter mighty, and offering to the gods and desperate plea for aid.



    While he didn't know it at the time, Tautvilas' deeds that day at the battle of Curonia, would lead the royal family to accept him into their ranks as a valued commander and champion of justice.



    Yet perhaps it was the other deed he did when he recieved word after the battle of Konigsberg's defenses. Dimarus had emptied the city to attack him, and it lay open now a prize. Yet he knew that if there were Teutontic Knights nearby they would use it as a trap. Pen him inside. And so he took a his mounted men only, racing south and entering the city gates. Their he raised the flag of Lithuania and razed the building of the city to the ground. He spared the populace, but left only the walls and a road standing as he galloped north again, urgently this time, alarmed at the papers he had seized from the city and what they proclaimed for his lands.



    For even this great victory was not enough--though only the barest of reports ever reached the Lithuanians of what happened.



    Komtur of the Order, Gottfied von Heidelberg, took revenge for the battle of Curonia and the town of Hrodna paid the price.



    He'd hidden in the forests, sneaking east with his artillery. Now they pounded the walls of the Lithuanian town, shattering wood and showering earth on the defenders.



    As they waited near the square, the firey bursts from the mangonels of the order slew many brave men.



    Yet in their Germanic lust for battle, they also burned some of their own, so desperate were they to slay their noble pagan foes. While Gottfied himself and all the Halbrudder paid the ultimate price for the battle, it was not enough.



    Trapped between the vicious relentless spears of the Order, the men of Lithuania succumbed to the bloody cross of the westerners.



    The defeat was total. An orgy of death.

    And then the hammer fell on the Lithuanians...




    Settlements occupied, even if held only briefly, towns besieged across the land. Their forces spread thin, and despite the victories the ranks of the Teutonic Knights seemed endless, their forces everywhere, strong and conquering. Overrunning the wide fields.

    It was left to the brave generals of Lithuania, to Tautvilas and Prince Vaišvilkas, to Grand Duke Mindaugas himself, to beat back the enemy, regain the initiative and make the order pay the ultimate price. Their men believed in them, and knew they would achieve their goal--but these mighty men themselves harbored seeds of doubt. The men of the Order were numerous and mighty. Could the last stronghold of the Old Gods hold out?

    Perhaps only the Gods could save them now...

    End Chapter 3

    End Part I





    Chapter 4 -- From Above and Below, Defiance

    It is as simple as can possibly be. Grand Duke Mindaugas wrote in his journal the night before the battle. In many ways I find it a relief that life has resolved into the simplest of choices--I must save Minsk or die.



    When the men of the steppes had first invaded in the past, they had largely spared Minsk. It had broken from weakened Kiev, and declared itself a free city. After the Golden Horde had begun to slowly conquered the splintered Kievan Rus' vassal states, Minsk had been terrified and appealed to Mindaugas for protection, submitting peacefully to his rule. It was Minsk that had so strongly resisted Vykintas' rebellions. It was a town that owed much to him, and he owed much to it. Threatened by the Order, were Minsk to fall his legitimacy would be in question. Consequently, were he to save it, his prestige would be increased to the same degree.

    "Tell me captain Alexander," he said turning to the young officer-by-courtesy in his tent, "what do you know of our opposite?"

    Alexander had been chosen to lead the local levies and he was clearly nervous in the presence of his Grand Duke.

    "Not a great deal Your Grace," he answered. "Manfred von Essen is no mighty strategist, nor barely a Komtur. He leads archers, and spearmen, knetchen and peasants. But he is brave. This I've discovered during his siege..."



    Watching von Essen rally his men, encourage their taunts and swagger across the field of battle, Mindaugas found surprisingly little regret in his heart for the coming slaughter.

    Still the battle began well for all the sky was heavy with clouds and snow flurries were drifting down. Alexander was advancing from the northwest, he from the north and Essen had split his forces in response. Even Mindaugas more a politician and warrior than a strategist knew it was foolhardy. Essen must have counted on the hardened troops of the Order to hold enough from him to destroy one force and turn on the other.

    Suddenly, with a wild shout he saw a group of horsemen galloping forward on his right.

    The Tartar lancers!



    "No you fools!" Mindaugas shouted, but it was too late. The Tartars, eager for battle and throwing caution to the wind slammed into the order spearmen, crushing many but not enough. The spearmen turned on the surviving lancers and began to cut them down in a melee punctuated by the screams of horses and soon the Tartars fled.

    Even as he tried to hold his army back, more militia cavalry broke away and raced to battle. Mindaugas had no choice but to rush his entire army forward--he could try to hold them back and lose control, or try and ride the waves and maintain a modicum of control



    As his cavalry began to attack the enemy archers, Mindaugas surged forward to help, his strong bodyguard surrounding him. The knetchen threw themselves forward then, eager to close with him and he and his men clashed with the Order's squires, their light armor no proof against his steel, their swords blunted by his chain mail. They wreaked a frightful toll on the light horsemen of the order but two of his men still fell as he broke away to catch a unit of peasants that had been moving on his missile troops.

    Even as he broke that unit a cry from his men made him turn. von Essen was thundering toward him with the full might of men dedicated to the Order.

    "Form the line!" Mindaugas shouted. "We'll not let them say Lithuanian courage is lacking!" But for all his words he could feel the weariness in his bones and a growing feeling of dread and yet he gave the order.

    "Charge!" he shouted, and blew a blast on the great horn at his side.



    The clash of the charging men of the order and the Lithuanian king was legendary. The sound it made was too much for human ears. Mindaugas own ears went numb, sound muted almost non-existent. But the battle was frighteningly real as the men in white drove for his banner.

    And yet it was too much, he could see his men falling here and there. He himself was hard pressed and it was only when one of his opponents slipped in the saddle and Mindaugas drove his blade into a Catholic throat that he was able to finally break away.



    But to his surprise, the cavalry militia had reformed and with Captain Alexander himself at their head they charged into von Essen's bodyguard.



    Taking time to survey the battle he felt a little ill. Many of his men were dead, and many of the order as well. A few horsemen were attacking the traitorous Old Prussian archers while more troops surrounded the Order Spearmen.

    But even as he looked, he saw Captain Alexander holding back von Essen almost alone, most of his cavalry slain. But von Essen's own were sadly depleted, a bare handful surviving. Even as he rushed to join the fighting again a unit of spear wielding townsmen attacked von Essen from the rear...



    ...and the Teutonic General fell at last.




    With Manfed von Essen's death, most of his troops fled but many were slain by arrows despite Mindaugas attempts to stop the slaughter.



    "Let them go," he ordered Alexander. Both of them were bloodied and tired but alive, which was worth far more. "They'll come no more this season and they have a long way to go to return to their castles in the north. Minsk is secure."

    "Yes my lord but surely we should gain some from this battle...?"

    "Yes," Mindaugas agreed. "Was not the Danish Ambassador in the town during the siege?"

    "Yes lord, we kept him well fed despite the hardships."

    "Good, go to him. I would wish to speak with him regarding matters of state. In light of our strength against the Order he may be more amenable. These Danes, they fear all the Germanics is it not so?"

    As Alexander left to begin the overtures Mindaugas was already planning his next move, but from time to time he looked west and wondered how his son faired....



    "Stop worrying Juvage!" Prince Vaišvilkas had said, punctuating his words with a hearty slap on the back. "You'll head south, win your victory and be back in time to help me. I have complete faith in you."

    It may have been thus, but Juvage had heard the whispers. Why send a
    mere captain south when mighty lords and nephews of the Grand Duke like Edivydas and Tautvilas sat idle in their castles by the sea? The prince himself had known it as he'd sent scant forces south, two of the famed Drujikan horse archers and a unit of Estonian Rebels. All of them, all, from Voruta the castle where Mindaugas declared himself and the first to flock to his banner. The Vorutans had paid the price in the civil wars when Vykintas had led the others against Mindaugas and lost--the town was gone, it's citizens fled and it's castle a gutted ruin. Juvage and the others realized that they had no choice but to cling ever more tightly to House Mindaugas now.

    Still he felt relief as he scouted out the enemy force. A unit of Knetchen and the feared Order Spearmen but no more. All it would take for a wood-walled town like Siauliai. Combined with the messages he had managed to sneak into the city and it seemed a good enough plan.



    "Forward!" Juvage ordered waving his sword.

    From the winds on either side of the Order's force, the horse archers advanced. He took up a position with the eastern wing, near the center where he could keep an eye on all the movements of his army. It was a small engagement but one that he had to win for the sake of the town. They advanced in the crisp cold air under a brilliant sky.



    Linas, the garrison commander for Siauliai knew it too. As soon as the captain of the Order lifted the siege to deal with Juvage's men the captain had emptied the city and sent it's forces hastening to aid Juvage. For Juvage's part he had counted on them as only a minor help: they appeared at the edge of the battlefield, many miles from the fighting. Still they were approaching from behind Captain Wenzel's forces.



    As the wings of horsemen swept around them, the Order Spearmen stood waiting, stalwart as the Knetchen slowly advanced. And then the arrows from the horsemen struck into them, slaying only a few but forcing the others into a defensive crouch. Even as the Knetchen ran through them to advance on the Lithuanian spearmen, some of the horsemen fell to stray arrows.



    Juvage could hardly believe his eyes. The captain of the Order must have great contempt for his pagan foes, as the Knetchen charged headlong into the spearmen. Perhaps many wished for a good showing to be promoted into the ranks of the Christ Knights. The charge slew a few of his spearmen--but was stopped in it tracks. And then the spearmen rose out of their defensive crouch and began to attack.



    Juvage order his men forward, closing to point blank range of the Order Spearmen as they rushed to save the headstrong commander. This close the arrows of their composite bows tore through the mail linking the plates of the spearmen and many went down. As his men loosed their swords, the spearmen charged the Order's men, and trapped them between two forces.



    In the end, the men of the Teutonic Order were annihilated and a very few escaped to tell the tale. Juvage order captain Linas to take care of the fallen Lithuanians with honor. The Teutonic knights were headed into a mass grave, dug by their own captive comrades and throw in after being stripped of their armaments.



    After the battle, as the news went out, messages of congratulation came from both the Prince and the Grand Duke in the East, where the Duke himself was also celebrating a victory. Congratulation and an offer of adoption into the Ducal family. Juvage did not have to think very long. For a simple man from lost Voruta, the option was clear and he intended to stay loyal.



    Sometimes, even Vaišvilkas tired of winter. He could never admit it of course, it was unbecoming of a Lithuanian prince, but he felt the cold in his armor all the same.

    The army had been besieging Riga itself for weeks. At least hear by the sea it was slightly more bearable than in the lands of Great Novgorod, lands he had visited some years back, but even so... Today had begun like all the others days of the siege.

    He'd woken before dawn broken the ice in the water and tried to heat it to something approaching bearable. Then he'd eaten a breakfast slightly less ample than that of the week before and made the rounds of the camp talking with his men.

    He was truly concerned about the state of his army.



    Only one company of spears, and townsmen at that. He had the men of Samogita to help, but it still worried him. He resolved to get more men from Siauliai as soon as Juvage could send them. He didn't need mighty warriors, but men who knew which end to hold the spear. Still he was pleased in the number of his archers both afoot and mounted. Though he knew if it came to battle he would have to do most of the fighting before they would.

    Against him the mighty Maximillian, OrdenMarschall of the Teutonic Knights, one of the most powerful warriors in the Baltic, and the man responsible for the northern half of the Order's lands. This was why he sat in Riga, facing Vaišvilkas, a man he barely considered in his class. He was outnumbered, he knew that, facing masses of spearmen and well-trained pikemen from the town. More than that, a unit of Christ Knights as well, and priests to inspire their brethern to fanatical overtones. The only thing worse would be the Ritterbrudder, the Knights proper, but they were far away to the south and west.

    He'd resigned himself to another boring day of siege and had just come back to his tent when a man rushed in and threw himself on the ground. He was panting and his clothes were dirty and torn. Vaišvilkas was shocked to see blood on his clothes... and when he got to his knees he saw why, and arrow lodged in the side of his leather jerkin.



    "My Lord!" he said holding his side where the arrow was lodged. "The Teutonic Order attacks--now!

    End Chapter 4

    Chapter 5 -- A Princely Legend

    All around him the camp boiled to life: archers strung their bows and made sure their arrows, spearmen tested their spears, the axemen hefted their axes.




    Through it all ran an undercurrent of frenetic excitement. Eagerness to be off and fighting combined with trepidation. The men knew that despite their status as besiegers it was too soon, the enemy were still well-provisioned and more numerous. Yet everywhere Vaišvilkas looked they were moving quickly and with practiced efficiency, over-laying the emotions underneath.



    He had barely lined up up his men when the enemy boiled from the gates led by the Christ Knights. A milling disordered mass punctuated with spears like solitary trees, but quickly growing to become thickets as more and more pikes cleared the gateway and displayed their implements of death.

    "Cumans to the flank!" Vaišvilkas bellowed standing in his stirrups for just a moment. To his own men he signaled and while the Cumans race to the right, his own bodyguard rushed left. Behind him the front line, spearmen and Samogitan Axes, thundered forward as a storm of arrows struck the oncoming armies of the Teutonic Order.

    Vaišvilkas wanted to cheer as he saw a dozen of the Christ Knights go down in the initial volley. Even more, as they slowed their head long charge so the spearmen hit them when they were standing still. More went down but it was no time at all before the Order Spearmen swarmed around their flanks clashing with the Samogitian Axemen, and through it all the Ordern Marschall rode, tall and terrible in his fury. With the initial fury of the Lithuanian's blunted, the Prince saw him make for the Cumans, gamely firing arrows into the side of the pikes.



    "Prepare to charge!" Vaišvilkas shouted.

    His own men were in the extreme left, to his right were both of his units of Tartar Lancers, each under strength. At first he thought they were going to be enough, and then the Burgher Pikes turned. Vaišvilkas tried to halt the charge, tried to slow the horsemen, but while his own bodyguard followed him, the Tartar Lancers impaled themselves on the pikes. A dozen went down almost immediately.



    Even as he broke away he saw a group of pikes turn from slaughtering the Tartars to move on his own forces and he had to fall back. Surveying the battle he saw horror. Most of the Samogitians were dead and the spearmen swept away. The few that remains were being swarmed by the Order Spearman while the Orden Marschall raced to flank them and destroy them before turning on the archers. The archers, they were his only hope. Huge volleys continued to leap from their bows, a flame, causing panic where they lit a man on fire.

    Galloping back to the commander of the archers, Vaišvilkas ordered him to aim at the Orden Marschall.



    It was on the first volley that the Prince saw the Teutonic Knight jerk in his saddle as arrows pierced his armor. Maximillian swayed now, struggling to stay up right, but a moment later his massive form crashed to the ground in a pool of blood and for a moment, the men of the Order froze in stunned horror.

    "Form a line!" he ordered the archers. "The pikes have to advance slowly or break formation."

    "Yes your grace!" the commander replied.

    "Make sure the Cumans and other horse strike them in the rear when they are engaged in approaching you... and make sure you stay clear!"

    "My lord, what will you do...?" the commander of the archers asked.

    "What I must," Vaišvilkas said grimly.

    It was in that moment that he charged.

    He judged the space enough, space enough between the pikes and the Order Spearmen to catch them in the flanks and break them. His lancers were strong, powerful, a dozen, two, spearmen were slain in the initial charge. Many fled, but a few stayed firm, forcing his men to fight their way through them. His warhorse had just caved in the helmet of one of the spearmen when there were a convulsion to his left.

    Vaišvilkas whipped around to determine what was going on and his mouth went dry. The pikes had arrived. There were so many! Some had continued to march against the archers, while others had come for him. The cumans to his right where engaged in combat with the archers.

    He tried to rally his bodyguard but many were down already, skewered by a thing line of steel.

    "Turn! Turn!" he shouted. "Breakaway!"

    And suddenly his horse jerked. It fell to the ground on top of him, crushing his leg sending pain shooting through his body. Pain so vicious it left him dizzy, the world awash in tiny colored stars. He gasped in pain as he struggled to right himself, struggled to breathe. He had to rally his men!

    He looked up.

    It was a Burgher, a young man, barely more than a boy. His face was terrified but he still held his pike... and with a panicked shout, clearly panicked, thrust it forward. Strangely he felt no pain. Only numb emptiness.

    Vaišvilkas struggled to stand, to move, to think.... he had to... had to...



    "The prince! The prince is down!" Skirgaila, the archer caption shouted in horror. He had seen the pikes bearing down on him, managed to get off a volley into the pikemen, but it had not been in time and more were surrounding him. The Cumans had broken away, routing the archers but were nearly broken themselves.

    Desperately he clung to the order the Prince had given him.



    Organizing the archers was quickly done, throughout the battle they'd held together and dealt out death. Even now as the Cumans rallied to charged the rear of the pikes and many were running, they stood firm and shot.

    "Don't let them any of them survive!" he heard the captain of the order shout. "We have slain their mighty prince! Show him the men of the Order are equally mighty!"

    They rallied near the gate under the protection of the walls.



    "Fire everything at them!" Skirgaila snarled. Don't let any of them reach us! Don't let them even passed the gate!"

    The gateway became their final resting place then, nearly two hundred shafts in each volley struck again and again until the last of them were dead or dropped their weapons and given in.



    "Find the prince," Skirgaila ordered. "Recover his body that he may be sent to the gods with honor. Send the prisoners with him as well, they will carry him to the afterlife with their blood."

    He'd send a detachment south with the body, they'd bring the wood from Riga for the pyre, the site of his fall and his victory. The principle Order city of the north was theirs, but at such cost.

    He has a young son, barely born, the Captain thought. The prince never saw him.

    Rage filled him.

    "Sack the city," he ordered. "Make the Rigans incapable of even thinking rebellion against us."



    "...and send messengers to Prince Tautvilas. He leads us under the Grand Duke now."

    End Chapter 5


    --Chapter 6: The Rites of Mourning--


    As Juvage slowly marched south through the wet Spring lands, he could still hear the laments sung at the Prince's funeral.



    The prayers sung for his safe passage in the after life, the cries warning the spirits that a mighty warrior would arrive. Juvage tried to remember the Prince as he'd been in life, a strong aspiring commander, pious, and always ready to attack, if a little dour and prone to harsh measures. Despite the death, or maybe because of it, the Grand Duke himself had sworn revenge and pledged war unto the end of the Teutonic Order. Word had come on the heels of the funeral, before the ashes from the sacrificial pyre for the noble animals slaughtered to guard the Prince, and the prisoners taken by his army slaughtered to show his might, was cold. The Teutonic Order was already marching more men into their lands. The Prince had dealt them a heavy blow with the conquest of Riga and they were desperate to regain the initiative.

    The morning after the final day of remembrance, the Grand Duke who had come from the west with the Duke of Samogita had held a conference. Of them all only the newly proclaimed Prince Tautvilas was absent--he continued the war in the west and none dared call him down for it. At the council of war, the Duke had set for his plan.



    "The Danes have seen our strength," Mindaugas declared. "They have pledged to be our allies and the Northmen have sworn war on the Empire. With the Emperor occupied by the Danes, he cannot afford to bolster the order with money and men, now is our chance to wipe out the last Teutonic strong hold in the north--Dunaburg."

    "But what of the south?" Vykintas said, eager to criticize the Grand Duke as always. "Even now armies march toward Kaunas, shall we give it up as we did Hrodna?"

    "Dunaburg is the last Teutonic shield in the north," the Grand Duke replied with clear agitation. "Claim that, and we not only make their settlements easy pickings for our allies the Norse and the Republic, but we gain a powerful fortress to safeguard against treachery from the Orthodox."

    "Do you fear betrayal Your Grace?" Edivydas asked. While Vykintas had led the rebellion against Mindaugas, Edivydas had been the one to suggest it, and he always thought in terms of subterfuge. Though all knew he would never challenge Mindaugas as long as the Grand Duke retained his power.

    "Not from the Republic," the Duke replied quietly fixing them both with a cold stare at both his former rebellious nobles. Juvage held his breath, he knew he had been honored only because the late Prince had desired it, and the last thing he wanted to do was step between the nobles and the Grand Duke. For a moment no one moved.

    "These are contingencies only, my lords," the Grand Duke said and the tension began to ebb in the tent. "It is well that we stay in a strong position and capturing Dunaburg will finish the order in the north. Edivydas will return to the west, but this time we take to the sea: you will gather your forces to bolster Prince Tautvilas, and when that front is secure you will sail across the sea."

    "The sea your grace?" Edivydas was startled.

    "You will bring Visby under our rule. While I fear no betrayals from the Republic the Danes are the greater threat. Were they to seize all of the northern settlements on the peninsula, they would become a powerful force, perhaps enough to threaten us here. No. Take Visby now, and try and take Kalmar as well. A foothold is all require, but go now."

    Edivydas had bowed out of the tent.

    "And me your Grace?" Juvage asked.

    "South," the Grand Duke had said. "Guard the fields of Lithuania from the Order and the Poles. Save Kaunas as I could not save Hrodna." As Juvage left, he heard the Grand Duke ordering Vykintas to remain by his side...

    All this is what went through his mind as his forces marched south through the spring mud, troubling him. He was so disturbed that he was glad of the chance of battle so as to focus his thoughts somewhere besides the fate of the prince and the fractious nobles.



    Weather had saved him, Juvage knew. The Spring mud had stopped the heavy cavalry and infantry of the Teutonic Order in its tracks. The lighter Lithuanian were still able to move, if at a crawl and this proved the difference. It was the only reason they'd managed to reach Kaunas in time.



    What Juvage had not counted on was that his foe was the new OrdenMarschall, Dietrich.

    A force gathered in haste, Juvage saw. Though Dietrich was fierce, the only men of note were a group of Order Spearmen, and the Dismounted Ridderbruder, the true Knights of the Order. The mud and the spring must have forced them to leave the rest of the army behind.



    "Now is our chance, men of Lithuania!" he shouted as his men lined up for battle. "The mighty Gods have given us a gift, the second-in-command of the Teutonic Order, as a sacrifice to honor the late Prince!"

    A cheer went up and Juvage wasted no time in ordering his men forward. For the first time he welcomed the battle-rage that filled him, and as he kicked his horse into a gallop and the enemy swelled in his vision, all around him his men lowered their lances in a deadly charge.



    ...a charge that smashed into the Ritterbrudder. Even those mighty men fell before the might of the Lithuanian spears, and the Knetchen that rushed to save them were over-come with the fury of the Lithuanians. With a howl and cries to their God, Juvage saw the priests of the Order rush forward to join the fray and he laughed as he raised his sword to hack them down in an orgy of gore.



    Behind him, he knew, Dietrich was trying to turn the tide. Charging hard at his footmen and trying to stop his archers. Juvage hoped his own spearmen would stand strong against the charge and he ordered his men to break away and fall upon Dietrich's men from the rear while around them arrows fell both from his archers and the missile cavalry.



    But it was not enough. Dietrich hacked down the spearmen and turned on his milita, the swords of the fanatical order bodyguards cutting down the light horse as they fled in panic and Juvage's face hardened.

    "Surround the Order Spearmen!" he ordered. "I will deal with the Marschall!"

    With that he gathered his men one more time, and this time Dietrich was ready for him as both forces charged. As the men fell around him on both sides like grain before a reaper, he suddenly saw Dietrich's horse stumble and fall. Whether arrow or stone, the Marschall's mount gave way and while the man rolled free it was already too late and Juvage was upon him.



    It was over almost too quickly this time. Juvage's sword came down, and the helmeted head of the OrdenMarschall came up, spraying him with carnage. As he stood looking down as the fallen commander, he never saw the order bodyguards flee. It was only when he came to himself that he saw his militia surrounding the men of the Order and he knew this battle was over.



    The last of the Spearmen stood strong, as all their kind did, despite the arrows of the Lithuanians and the spears, they fought as more and more were slain, making the Lithuanians pay a price for their deaths, in the end, only 1 man threw down his spear and surrendered.



    "Let him go," Juvage said.

    "My lord...?" Captain Manvydas asked clearly confused.

    "Let him return to the Order." He rode over to the last man, who stood still and straight though Juvage could see the fear in his eyes. "Listen to me," he said very softly. "Give your Hochmeister this message: The Prince Vaišvilkas is slain, but in death his spirit watches over this land and aids our armies."

    "God is more powerful than any human spirit!" the man returned, defiance masking his fear.

    "Then let the Hochmeister prove it to me on the point of his blade," Juvage spat. "Get him out of my sight."



    As Juvage and his men slowly marched for Kaunus to resupply and tend their wounded, he pondered the state of the affairs anew. Their power was great, and their lands had expanded since the campaigns had begun only a few years before. But they were surrounded, hemmed in by followers of the One God, even the Tartars proclaimed the One God though they held differences with both the Republic and the Catholics, differences Juvage didn't pretend to understand.

    The Battle of Kaunus Field was not the greatest of battles, or the most meaningful, but it had saved the people of the town, and upon hearing of Juvage's declaration to the Order, they themselves out of love for their lost prince, raised a monument. A serpent, mighty among the symbols of the Gods, in a gesture of protection and thanks.



    Perhaps one day, one day soon, Lithuania would have to face the choice of following her Pagan truths, or abandoning them for survival. Juvage feared that day was ever closer no matter what victories...

    ...but on this day, on this day the Gods had shown that they still held power, and that Lithuania despite everything, still had a destiny.

    End Chapter 6

    --Chapter 7: Children of the Plains--

    The Grand Duke is a powerful man, but he is growing old and when passes on to the realm of the Gods, the other nobles will devour those who stood by him, those who owe him and his everything.... like me.



    "Well come Skirgaila," Juvage nodded as the captain entered his tent. He took a moment to study him, dark of hair and eye, with a mustache in the southern style and a tuft of beard under his chin. "You have no doubt heard that our good allies of Lord Novgorod the Great have both declared war on the hated Order and entered into an alliance with the Danes."

    "My lord," Skirgaila said with a slight bow. "You are correct Lord Juvage, the news has run like fire through the camps. Many of our men are heaping praise on the men of the Republic--though I suspect that has more to do with the shipments of Bread Wine* that came with the news."

    "You are likely right. Now look Skirgaila, it has come to my attention that a small force of from the Order is moving near to Kaunas. I would like you to take some men and teach them that we are not done with winning great victories over them."

    "My Lord!" Skirgaila cried taken aback. "It is no job for a captain my lord, you honor me too much."

    "Skirgaila you saw our lord the Prince fall. Yet you honored him to the Gods by winning the battle. Still you are right, this is no place for a captain--and that is why you are no longer a captain... son of My House."

    It was odd, Juvage reflected as Skirgaila responded with profuse thanks, this business of adoption. Now Skirgaila legally was his son though only a few years younger than he. Such things were strange to him but that is how they were done here and now. But he had no choice, he had to begin building a power base of people loyal to him for the day when the Grand Duke passed on and Vykintas and his ilk came to power. Things would have been simpler had the Prince lived, but he was alone now.

    "Go Lord Skirgaila, and achieve success to honor the Gods for thise benefit, and to honor me."



    Juvage knew it was an easy task but for one thing.... the new Marshall of the Teutonic Knights was the one as their doorstep. And this was the perfect way to cement Skirgaila's loyalty. Allow him to gain a victory that would lift the spirits of all Lithuania.



    A simple thing, spear men on a bridge.



    But meaningful.



    Far to the north and the east, Grand Duke Mindaugas was slowly gathering men and cleaning up the land of the Order's forces for his assault on the mighty fortress of Dunaburg.



    Many small bands of men from the Order had been pillaging the North East, trying to hurt his lands in revenge for the fall of Riga.



    As he campaigned hard throughout the summer, news came to Mindaugas, news that a man under Lord Juvage's command had recaptured Hrodna from the order.



    But through it all he and his men were drawing closer and closer to Dunaburg. Winning the small fights, disposing of the war bands of the Knights, forcing them to fall back into this, their castle. It took all winter, and even into the summer to pen them in their last stronghold in the east.



    As he drew close to the enemy castle, word came of another man raised to the nobility by Juvage for distinguishing himself in battle. A part of Mindaugas rejoiced that this man he had championed enjoyed success in war and was growing strong, but another, the part that had kept him alive and secured him victory in the civil war, cautioned against Juvage's power. Still for now, all was well though he would have to keep his eye on the young lord lest he run away with himself to his detriment, and that of Lithuania. Still when he read the reports of the battle that the young man had distinguished himself in he could not in conscience fault his young lord's choice... still.... he sent word even as he at last laid siege to the mighty fortress of Dunaburg, for this Skirgaila to be sent to him.



    We ambushed the men of the order not far from Panevezys, they had been using the forests as cover but we struck them with all our strength.



    While they had spearmen, our Bajorija performed well, slaughtering the so-called Holy Men of the Order.




    Our own infantry kept the Teutons busy while our horsemen slew the rest, artillery, priests, enemy cavalry.




    ...and surrounded, the men of the Order died in droves.



    But while Juvage's agents were meetings success on the battle fields of the south, a new enemy struck, or rather, an old enemy struck again--an enemy that all Lithuanians feared.



    It had come slowly at first, a scout here or there. But now Mongol forces were beginning to come from the lands of Kievan Rus' and the first battle had commenced. Juvage had been recently there to strengthen the protection of the town but he had been called away and it fell to his Captain Zadvydas to lead the defense. Juvage only heard of it later when he arrived after the battle.



    The Mongol Lord Chindu had thundered forward, and even from the town the pride in his lineage, the power of the Mongol horde, resonated in every line of him and his bodyguard.



    Chindu had charged right up the slope and into the village, rushing to battle the peasants and townsmen who had grabbed all the weapons in the village to defend their homes. Zadvydas had remained near the square to watch and coordinate the defense and so it came to pass that a smaller figure lead them, a slighter figure, at first Zadvydas had thought it was the young son of the mayor....



    But it was when she slew Chindu of Rus and he saw her long black hair fly free that he recognized it as the Mayor's Daughter.


    But they had won, beaten the mighty Horde, though this was only the beginning. Still, the word had gone out to the Lithuanian's that the Golden Horde were once again on the move and their goal was to cover the lands of Lithuania with their banner.

    It was only after Zadvydas finished the telling, that he asked for her, the mayor's daughter, Dainius.

    Juvage's breath caught at the sight of her. An oval face, with light colored eyes and hair as dark as the night. But brave, willing to defend her home no matter the cost....

    "My Lord Juvage," she said in a low melodic voice.



    ....And some how Juvage just knew it was time to stop being alone

    End Chapter 7

    *Bread Wine is the original name of Vodka

    --Chapter 7: Children of the Plains--

    The Grand Duke is a powerful man, but he is growing old and when passes on to the realm of the Gods, the other nobles will devour those who stood by him, those who owe him and his everything.... like me.



    "Well come Skirgaila," Juvage nodded as the captain entered his tent. He took a moment to study him, dark of hair and eye, with a mustache in the southern style and a tuft of beard under his chin. "You have no doubt heard that our good allies of Lord Novgorod the Great have both declared war on the hated Order and entered into an alliance with the Danes."

    "My lord," Skirgaila said with a slight bow. "You are correct Lord Juvage, the news has run like fire through the camps. Many of our men are heaping praise on the men of the Republic--though I suspect that has more to do with the shipments of Bread Wine* that came with the news."

    "You are likely right. Now look Skirgaila, it has come to my attention that a small force of from the Order is moving near to Kaunas. I would like you to take some men and teach them that we are not done with winning great victories over them."

    "My Lord!" Skirgaila cried taken aback. "It is no job for a captain my lord, you honor me too much."

    "Skirgaila you saw our lord the Prince fall. Yet you honored him to the Gods by winning the battle. Still you are right, this is no place for a captain--and that is why you are no longer a captain... son of My House."

    It was odd, Juvage reflected as Skirgaila responded with profuse thanks, this business of adoption. Now Skirgaila legally was his son though only a few years younger than he. Such things were strange to him but that is how they were done here and now. But he had no choice, he had to begin building a power base of people loyal to him for the day when the Grand Duke passed on and Vykintas and his ilk came to power. Things would have been simpler had the Prince lived, but he was alone now.

    "Go Lord Skirgaila, and achieve success to honor the Gods for thise benefit, and to honor me."



    Juvage knew it was an easy task but for one thing.... the new Marshall of the Teutonic Knights was the one as their doorstep. And this was the perfect way to cement Skirgaila's loyalty. Allow him to gain a victory that would lift the spirits of all Lithuania.



    A simple thing, spear men on a bridge.



    But meaningful.



    Far to the north and the east, Grand Duke Mindaugas was slowly gathering men and cleaning up the land of the Order's forces for his assault on the mighty fortress of Dunaburg.



    Many small bands of men from the Order had been pillaging the North East, trying to hurt his lands in revenge for the fall of Riga.



    As he campaigned hard throughout the summer, news came to Mindaugas, news that a man under Lord Juvage's command had recaptured Hrodna from the order.



    But through it all he and his men were drawing closer and closer to Dunaburg. Winning the small fights, disposing of the war bands of the Knights, forcing them to fall back into this, their castle. It took all winter, and even into the summer to pen them in their last stronghold in the east.



    As he drew close to the enemy castle, word came of another man raised to the nobility by Juvage for distinguishing himself in battle. A part of Mindaugas rejoiced that this man he had championed enjoyed success in war and was growing strong, but another, the part that had kept him alive and secured him victory in the civil war, cautioned against Juvage's power. Still for now, all was well though he would have to keep his eye on the young lord lest he run away with himself to his detriment, and that of Lithuania. Still when he read the reports of the battle that the young man had distinguished himself in he could not in conscience fault his young lord's choice... still.... he sent word even as he at last laid siege to the mighty fortress of Dunaburg, for this Skirgaila to be sent to him.



    We ambushed the men of the order not far from Panevezys, they had been using the forests as cover but we struck them with all our strength.



    While they had spearmen, our Bajorija performed well, slaughtering the so-called Holy Men of the Order.




    Our own infantry kept the Teutons busy while our horsemen slew the rest, artillery, priests, enemy cavalry.




    ...and surrounded, the men of the Order died in droves.



    But while Juvage's agents were meetings success on the battle fields of the south, a new enemy struck, or rather, an old enemy struck again--an enemy that all Lithuanians feared.



    It had come slowly at first, a scout here or there. But now Mongol forces were beginning to come from the lands of Kievan Rus' and the first battle had commenced. Juvage had been recently there to strengthen the protection of the town but he had been called away and it fell to his Captain Zadvydas to lead the defense. Juvage only heard of it later when he arrived after the battle.



    The Mongol Lord Chindu had thundered forward, and even from the town the pride in his lineage, the power of the Mongol horde, resonated in every line of him and his bodyguard.



    Chindu had charged right up the slope and into the village, rushing to battle the peasants and townsmen who had grabbed all the weapons in the village to defend their homes. Zadvydas had remained near the square to watch and coordinate the defense and so it came to pass that a smaller figure lead them, a slighter figure, at first Zadvydas had thought it was the young son of the mayor....



    But it was when she slew Chindu of Rus and he saw her long black hair fly free that he recognized it as the Mayor's Daughter.


    But they had won, beaten the mighty Horde, though this was only the beginning. Still, the word had gone out to the Lithuanian's that the Golden Horde were once again on the move and their goal was to cover the lands of Lithuania with their banner.

    It was only after Zadvydas finished the telling, that he asked for her, the mayor's daughter, Dainius.

    Juvage's breath caught at the sight of her. An oval face, with light colored eyes and hair as dark as the night. But brave, willing to defend her home no matter the cost....

    "My Lord Juvage," she said in a low melodic voice.



    ....And some how Juvage just knew it was time to stop being alone

    End Chapter 7

    *Bread Wine is the original name of Vodka


    --Chapter 8: An Equal--

    The Dauvaga River was peaceful as it wound it's way around Dunaburg.




    The castle was beautiful in summer, Grand Duke Mindaugas mused, and he was already investing it with men and labor to make it as mighty a fortress as any yet seen in this part of the world, and the linchpin of the defence of the Eastern Marches. When he had fought his way through the Teutonic Knights to the castle, he had never suspected that the actual siege would be over so quickly. Indeed, he fully expected that his army would still be camped in the fields he could see from the window. Though even now snow was beginning to fall presaging an early winter.



    Just a few months before in the heart of summer, a plea for alliance had come from the Holy Roman Empire. For a moment Mindaugas was stunned. The Empire supported the Knights. But it took him only a moment to agree. If their patron was removed, the Knights would be even weaker and more apt to fall, certainly their fall would be more difficult than the Siege of Dunaburg had proved....



    Mindaugas had been caught unaware. As the siege began he rode out to inspect the perimeter and the troops that would be stationed there, leaving young Skirgaila to the actual siege. The man had proved himself to be an able administrator though his generalship was nothing extraordinary--though Mindaugas himself was no more than a middling commander. He had received word that the Teutonic Knights were sallying out to meet Skirgaila only when he was at the farthest point in his circuit. For now at least, the young lord would have to deal with things himself.



    Skirgaila's forces were the definition of light troops, with arches and militia only strengthened by some missile cavalry. The Teutons however had their usual steel plate and steel-hearted spearman, and many of the Sword Brethren, Livonian traitors to the cause. Mindaugas expected Skirgaila to make a stand but when he read the reports later, the young man surprised him.



    As the Teutonic Order poured forth from the gates, Skirgail did indeed order his archers to fire, and his horsemen to attack from the flanks, but he kept his militia back forcing the spearmen to close with them once the few Knetchen were dead.



    The scene was actually one of the most hilarious. The spearsmen and swordsmen of the Order spread out trying to attack the widely spaced troops, leaving the swordsmen easy prey for Skirgaila's bodyguard. Once only the spear men remained, Skirgaila used one of his militia units to pin one of the Spear units while he charged them from the flanks. The other spear units were kept busy chasing futilely after the Lithuanian cavalry all across the fields near the castle.



    In the end, it was a massacre, one that saw the hapless men of the Order desperately trying to chase down the Lithuanians.



    Mindaugas was there, and Edivydas and Vykintas. Both of his other nobles had been impressed, duly impressed with the progress. Neither of them had believed Dunaburg would fall this easily and Mindaugas was able to extract a small reward from them for the state coffers.



    But it was while fortifying Dunaburg that the news reached Mindaugas, wonderful news. Far across the land, the new Prince Tautvilas was testing his mettle and he besieged the Teutonic town of Konigsberg, he last major towns the order possessed. He enjoyed reading the letter describing the battle from his new Heir...



    My lord, and master, my Grand Duke, may the Gods bless you and this land that I have been made responsible for.

    I report to you now the conduct of the Siege of Konigsburg. It came to pass that we waited out the Teutons throughout the summer building our siege equipment. When my attack came that winter, it was wind swift and spared none.




    For once your Grace, we had the advantage as the matchless ranks of the men of the Land stood watching.



    We watched as the followers of the God, seized the wall and the gatehouse and then we poured through in a mighty way as the Thunder of Perkunas overrunning the defenders.



    I myself led the way, slaughtering many who dared resist the Rights of the People of the Land and the Servants of Dievas.



    Though many died on the walls, they died heroically, and surely are welcomed into the afterlife in these days with great praise at the blood of their fallen foes, enemies of the Gods.



    Mindaugas careful stored the letter away in his desk at Dunaburg and reflected on his course of action. Lithuania was now a strong Kingdom, and the hated Teutons had been scoured from the north of the land. They were at war with the Horse-Lords fo the south, but thus far they had sent only scouting parties giving the Lithuanian's time to prepare a defense. He knew that his greatest need was for money. Riga was a rich prize and Konigsburg as well but he had forbidden any sack of the city. He prized Lithuania's reputation as far more civilized and merciful than the rest of the Catholic Christians. Part of the reason he had no trouble fighting them though he himself followed their God was that they shamed the words of the Holy Book through their actions of mindless violence.

    Still... money. That money would have to come from the sea and he began to draft an order to that effect mobilizing troops for an expedition to Visby when he two guards entered his tent bearing two different messages.



    So, Mindaugas thought, it becomes clear.

    The Holy Roman Empire and in particular, Brandenburg was looking for allies against his own ally the Danes. Mindaugas thought long and hard. In the end he had no choice but to ally with the Empire. It would weaken the Knights, and it allowed his other ally the Republic to take the Reval and Narva without interference from Lithuania. Also if the expedition to Visby succeeded, Mindaugas planed on capturing the Scandinavian costal towns, Kalmar, Upssala, Hasselhom, and it would be better if he could do that without being encumbered by any protests from allies.



    But if was the final message that chilled his blood. The Poles, menaced by the Order for so long had decided that Lithuania was now a greater threat and launched a war against them.

    It was in this climate, this atmosphere, that later that night he agree to what a shadowy figure from his own spy corps had proposed:



    Inviting the assassins to Lithuania.

    In the end, the Land was powerful but poor and now beset from the south. He needed money, but aside from the expedition to Visby he could not afford to do anything else but defend the south and to a lesser extend the east. Lithuania had secured one border only to find another even weaker.

    We are victims of our own success, Mindaugas thought. But I will show them all, the Empire, the Knights, the Horse-Lords, the Republic and the Vikings. I will show them all the strength of this land and its people!

    End Chapter 8

    End Part II

    Last edited by La♔De♔Da♔Brigadier Graham; January 15, 2010 at 05:52 PM.
    Curious Curialist curing the Curia of all things Curial.

  2. #2

    Default [AAR] M2TW: Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale - Part 2



    Author: SSJPabs
    Original Thread: [Teutonic AAR] Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale (Updated January 19!)

    Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale - Part 2



    --Chapter 9: A Fateful Balance--

    I must reach Konigsburg in time--I'll not let another Prince of the realm fall to the swords of the Teutonic raiders! Juvage swore to himself.



    With the Declaration of War by Poland, all the Baltic now knew that Lithuania had grown strong enough to be a threat--if nothing else the capture of Konigsburg assured that. But while Vykintas was sent over the sea, a strong force had besieged Kongisburg to try and regain it for the Teutonic Order.



    But not far to the east, Juvage marched to the aid of the new Prince of Lithuania. When the news of the siege of Konigsburg came, he had gathered the forces he could and left Kaunas heading south and west to come up to Konigsburg and block the path to ensure no more forces were being sent from Marienburg to the siege. In this he did not make it, for the Teutonic Knights struck at him in the fields to the east of that castle.



    His troops were all light or missle, though he traveled with Butvydas, Tautvilas's eldest boy at his side he was at a disadvantage. They had exchanged seconds and Juvage had begun to suspect that factions were forming, Vykintas and Edivydas against himself and Tautvilas with the other nobles forced to choose. It was an act of faith for Tautvilas for if Butvydas died, it was likely Juvage himself would be the Heir upon the Grand Duke's death.



    Now however, he took up positions on a hill as the Teutonic Knights advanced on him.



    They were led by the Dismounted Ritterbrudder, full Teutonic Knights sworn to the Order and with a core of iron. They were surrounded by swords and spears, but only few archers and cavalry. They did however have a catapult with them.



    While he struck at the Sword Brethern with his charge, Butvydas attacked the Ritterbrudder themselves, on the far left flank of the Knights. The archers had been ordered to target the Christ knights while his missile troops struck at the spearmen and Halbrudder from behind as they advanced.



    To his surprise a shout went up and he saw the Ritterbrudder overborne though they had taken a frightful toll on Butvydas's forces. Then again, a ripple through the Teutonic line as the captain of the knights lay dead with a javelin through his belly and the line staggered in confusion--now was the time!



    Juvage waved his sword and all the horsemen charged the knights, breaking them into pieces. When it was over, Butvydas stood before him covered in blood, but they clasped hands and met over the bodies of the slain. Juvage was amazed as he saw that though Butvydas was all-over blood, he had suffered no wound though his entire bodyguard was slain. Only he remained.*



    In the distance Juvage could see his horsemen chasing down the last remnants of the Order but while Butvydas was ebullient over the victory, all he saw this day was the slain.



    It had been a hard fight, and with nearly half his command perishing. Juvage had no choice, he had to fall back to Hrodna to regroup and rearm, Prince Tautvilas would have to fend for himself this day. As they retreated back to Hrodna looking at the horrible sight of Butvydas convinced Juvage that he would simply have to send the young man to the east. There was no way in his present reckless state that he could take him into the battles against the Order, not when their heavy troops battled his light troops.



    In Konigsburg, Tautvilas and read the report of his second, Saugardes of Riga and said aloud the news.

    "Juvage cannot come in time."

    Saugardes nodded, "What shall we do, my Prince?"



    Saugardes was one of the three nobles that Juvage had created in his brief tenure since his own elevation. These were strong and resolute young men, and Saugardes was possessed of a strong military mind, one that Tautvilas was sure he could shape properly with enough time. His own son was in the south of the Grand Duchy, and Tautvilas often wondered about his progress. Now however, he and Saugardes met to plan the assault that would surely come in the morning.



    While not led by a general, the Teutonic Order's army was composed of over five hundreds, heavy with Christ Knights, Halbrudder Halberdiers, Order Spearmen, Sword Brethern and Livonian Auxiliaries. Against this force Tautvilas could count on spearmen, peasants, Sudovians, a unit of bowmen and a pair of Samogitian Axemen. If it came to a full on battle in the open field, he would be massacred, but the walls gave him a chance and they had no catapults or mangonels.

    "Do? We fight," Tautvilas replied.

    That evening Tautvilas met with Saugardes to discuss a battle plan.



    In the end they decided on both a static defense at the gate house, and a dynamic defense on the plain outside the town. To their fortune, the Teutonic captain had elected to assault the recessed gateway, one that would enable his towers to fire on the flanks and rear of the Teutonic Knights as they advanced on the gate. Tautvilas stationed his unit of arches on one side of the gate with his peasants on the other. The rest of his troops were arrayed in depth around the gate with himself and Saugardes behind them in the lane.



    As the Teutonic Knights moved forward with ladder, ram and tower, he and Saugardes both kicked their mounts into action, thundering through the gateway that he'd ordered closed behind him and to either side, Tautvilas to his left, Saugardes to his right. The only reason this strategy worked is because of the blizzard that had begun to rage that morning. That was why the Knights had struck--had they stayed out there in the blizzard, they most likely would have frozen to death or been buried by snow.



    Tautvilas saw Saugardes charge right into the ladder carrying Halbrudder from the flank, killing many. An instant later he judged the distance right and wheeled his own bodyguard to his right.



    "Charge!" he shouted pointing his blade at the foes holding the tower, foes that were as yet unaware of him bearing down on them.

    The first the Halbrudder at the tower knew of them was when the Lithuanian knights spears leveled thundered out of the swirling snows and crashed into their flanks. Many were dead in the opening moments and from the corner of his eye, Tautvilas saw Saugardes move against the ram, charging them before breaking away and rushing back to the city as per the plan. However more spearmen moved to block his way and he was forced away from the town and farther from the walls. Knowing if the Teutonics gave chase now it was hopeless for him, he urged his troop to greater speed until they turned back to the assault on the tower while his next target loomed large against him, they'd hung back, but they were there, reading for the sack of the city--the Livonian and Prussian archers.



    They grew large in his vision as his men lowered their lances and charged again...



    Meanwhile at the gate house under a rain of arrows so thick as to compete with the falling snow, the ram was brought against the gates.



    Half the Teutonic army had already fallen to the charges and the arrows when the gate was forced open and the weakened spearmen rushed in to battle. Still as spearmen their specialty was killing cavalry and they were at a disadvantage as they were swarmed by axe-wielding Sudovians and Samogitians.



    Behind the Sword Brethern surged forward, anxious to close with the Lithuanians but they had forgotten about Tautvilas. After dealing with the archers he had ridden back to the gate and now just as they began to move he crashed into the Sword Brethern at full tilt, running over dozens of them in his wrath.



    At the same time being attacked from both sides and weakened by the arrows the Teutonic forces broke and the Lithuanains poured from the gates to slaughter them to the man.



    At the end of it, Tautvilas found that over five hundred Teutonic soldiers had fallen that day, with many of the Halbrudder and spearmen. By contrast, less than 90 of his men were dead. A great victory.





    As more news spread of the battles agains the Order, tales of small skirmishes won by the Lithuanian's over the long Baltic summer against the Mongols began to filter into the West.



    It appeared that the last of Juvage's elevations, Gediminas, was busy proving himself and and that Butvydas was beginning to learn caution in the east.



    Grand Duke Mindaugas sent message entrusting the defense of the West to Tautvilas and Juvage while he continued east to help shape the next generation of Lithuanians and to deal with the Golden Horde.



    That summer also, Vykintas sent word of his own: The siege of Visby had begun.



    So far from his power base, he had no choice but to be loyal and he was intelligent enough to realize it for himself.



    But what had gone before was nothing compared to what came with the next winter. Another army of the Teutonic knights, approached Konigsburg barely a month after the snows melted. Juvage would need to come this time because the city's garrison had been depleted by the last battle and by the troop reductions that Lithuania had undertaken desperate to replenish it's cash strapped coffers.

    But the news this time was like a fire... this was the time that paid for all. If the Order won this battle, Konigsburg would fall and there would be few armies in the west to stop them for a season. If Juvage and Tautvilas won here and had anything left at all, they could besiege the castle at Marienburg, the capital of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights....

    As Juvage hurried to the battle, the he swore to himself that this time there would be nothing left of the Teutonic Knights.

    End Chapter 9

    --Chapter 10: The Twilight Struggle--

    Juvage couldn't help himself, he kept glancing anxiously to the north and the west.




    Tautvilas had sworn he would sally out of Konigsburg with his forces, and they would come from that direction to assist him.



    He hoped he wouldn't need that assistance but the forces of the Teutonic Order were a force to be reckoned though no spearmen or Ritterbrudder were present. The Halbrudder were fierce and hardy and asked no quarter and the Sword Brethren were proud and hated all pagans for the destruction of the Livonian Order. Force once he felt confident but still....

    One day there must be more than this, he thought to himself as he made sure his blade was loose in its sheath. There must be more than a disparate battle to survive, battles where a loss would not be a catastrophe. When can we ever grow strong enough to move beyond the fear of the battle? But he knew that was wrong of him. He could never lose the fear of battle, but he wished his country could be strong enough to survive one that was lost. Still....

    Scouts had told him that the Order's forces were failing at the last. Their sole village in the north had been taken by the Republic scant weeks before and the Poles were too occupied with the Horse Lords to do more than murmur angrily in the south.

    If we win here, he thought, I can strike at Marienburg at last, and then the Hochmeister must come out and fight us. I have won before, though it has cost us dear.
    As he waited he arranged his troops making sure they were in the proper positions: archers in a line, before them the Estonian spearmen, to the flanks the Dismounted Tartar Lancers with the Sudovians and Samogitians in reserve. The mounted Tartar Lancers were already furious at the delay, dark eyes snapping, horses restless.

    Suddenly a rider galloped back to him, one of the Dzukijan horse.



    "Now my Lord!" the man shouted, his hat falling to the snows as he wildly waved. "The Order advances!"



    "Let us be victorious again...." he whispered. Standing in his stirrups he waved his sword and shouted. "Men of Lithuania! Strike hard and we shall overwhelm them, falter and we will be the worsted! To battle!"

    A pithy speech, but with the enemy already advancing he could do none other.



    "Give the signal!" he turned to his archers, and flaming arrows shot into the air, visible even in the day. The signal for Tautvilas to hurry the advance for battle had been joined.



    His cavalry went into action first, the Tartar Lancers charged right at the Livonian Auxiliaries, hungry to slay the Pavisemen. He could not have held them back had he wanted to and trying to slay them would allow his own troops to close the gap and buy time for Tautvilas to join them. Behind him, his men stopped on a slight rise and began to rain arrows on the Teutonic Order while behind that army his horsed archers shot arrows at the Christ Knights.

    "Aim at the Knights! Aim at the Knights!" Juvage snarled at his bowmen. That had been the central lesson of Lithuanian success against the Order, ill their heavy cavalry and it was a matter of tiring out their ground troops. Allow the heavy horse to close and it would be the Lithuanians who were massacred. As he watched the shafts rain down on the Christ Knights he hoped Tautvilas would arrive.



    Tautvilas was a mighty man if a touch greedy, and a mighty battle lord. Juvage smiled as he saw the other's army crest the rise. It was small, consisting of a pair of Baltic Archers and a pair of peasants but Tautvilas wasted no time and the peasant charged forward....



    Right into the path of the Christ Knights.

    Juvage shuddered at the carnage but amazingly the charge of the Knights was blunted and they staggered to a halt slaughtering the peasants as nearly 200 arrows hit them from close range and high ground as all the archers units directed their fire at them.



    Meanwhile Juvage saw the Tartar lancers falling against the Livonians but they had well and truly kept them occupied. Suddenly Tautvilas was reining up beside him, sawing back on his reins so savagely his mounted danced and frothed.

    "Join me in a strike at the Sword Brethren my Lord!"



    Jucage needed no urging and together he and Tautvilas bore down on the swordsmen with all the fury they could bring to bear. Almost instantly and entire company of the Sword Brethren was obliterated in their charge and the others staggered falling back to regroup under the losses inflicted by the Lithuanian lords.

    "Look see!" Tautvilas shouted gesturing with his blade. The Christ Knights falter but the Halbrudder at coming up!"

    "We shall strike them--" Juvage began.

    "No!" Tautvilas said. "The Sudovians and Samogitians move to intercept. I will strike the Halbrudder, you finish the Prussians and return to aid me."

    "At once, your grace!" Juvage agreed gathering his men about him.



    But even as he rode away he looked back to see that Tautvilas been intercepted by the second company of Christ Knights. They were engaged in a furious melee when a company of Estonians charged into them, spears flashing with a shout.



    He could see though, the Halbrudder pushing hard against the Sudovians and Samogitians. Still, Tautvilas was a masterful man and the Prince of the Realm, he had no choice but to obey.



    The charge against the Prussians already falling back was well done. He over bore an entire company and wheeled around to set upon the other, dealing out death as swiftly as he could. This far from the main battle he knew the Order would not be looking for him and his return would be a hammer blow. After the Prussians were dealt with, he saw that Tautvilas was still entangled with the surviving Christ Knights and despite the older man's knowledge he knew what he had to do.

    Gathering his knights about him, they began to trot at first then coming closer and closer, pick up speed and as the backs of the Halbrudder swelled in his vision....



    Juvage lowered his lance and with a fierce war cry all his men smashed squarely into the Halbrudder from behind like the Thunder of the God.



    That evening as he and Tautvilas shared a meal in celebration of the victory, he tried to determine losses. The battle had been so fierce and so hasty that the count was incomplete. The most he could say was that their losses had been light, and the Order had lost all it's men. When they had tried to ransom them back the Order had refused and now over a 100 fresh corpses decorated the pyre of the slain Lithuanians an offering to the Gods.

    He was deep in discussion with Tautvilas that night but on the morrow, he gathered all the men he could, all those at full strength and set out for Marienburg as the snows began to melt around him.



    There were no generals left for the order. None. Only the Hochmeister when Juvage reached it that spring. Other forces were about but small and led by captains. If they banded together he would have a major battle on his hands but they had not yet. He would rush to complete the siege engines before they did but in the end it did not matter....



    ....for the very next day, outnumbered and trapped, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights sallied forth to do battle.

    "Just one more time..." he prayed. "Once more."



    His forces were more numerous and he had high hopes for this battle.



    But the way the Hochmeister and his forces thundered out of the gate made fear rise in his heart. They came on so confident, so fierce that he wondered if they knew something he did not.

    As the enemy advanced they spread out in some order, spearmen on their right flank, Ritterbrudder on their left. He himself aimed at the Ritterbruder and ordered the spearmen to intercept the Grand Master as he charged.



    The charge was bungled. His men never had time to lower their lances and were forced to engage with swords. The force of their charge broke the formation of the foot Knights, but they held strong and he was forced to lay about him with his blade.



    On the other half of the field, the Tartar spearmen ate the charge of the Grand Master full on, their spears splintering against him as if made of twigs.



    Meanwhile the rest of the spearmen and Sudovians crashed against the Order Spearmen to keep the from the archers in a desperate contest. For all their numbers the Lithuanian soldiers were just too light and they were pushed back despite the fury of the Samogitians.



    As Juvage broke free he saw a horrible sight, though many of his guard were dead, the Grand Master had broken free and tore through his archers as if they were leaves in a storm. With the sun glinting off their mail and spears it almost looked like a living battle aura or the breath of the God surrounded them as they hewed down the hapless bowmen.

    And so Juvage knew what he had to do. Gather himself, he and his knights rode upon the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order in a charge of bodyguards and captains. Horses smashed on to horses, lances and spears shattered and it came to swords. Swords at last, and even as Juvage drove his blade into the throat of one of the Teutonic guardsmen, a dark figure loomed in his vision.

    Tall and terrible, Gunther was clad in the black armor. The wings of his helm hallowing his head shattered the sunlight so sharply it seemed to sparkle at the edges of the dark metal. Juvage felt like he was in slow motion as his own sword came up. The contact with the Grand Master's blade was a tiny click in his ears, but the impact shoot his arm and it was all he could do to hold his blade and swing again.

    Side by side they hewed at each other, desperately seeking an opening but there was nothing, nothing at all. Their blades clashed again, a parry, and then his horse was crushing him against the Grand Master and he felt the other man's armor against his side as they struggled.

    But he would not be the one this day.

    For the Grand Master broke away. Alone he rode behind the Lithuanian army. Alone he wheeled his steed and surveyed the carnage, the death of his entire guard, his spearmen fled, his Dismounted brothers slain to the man. He beheld the wreck of his duty and his dream and with a cry of anguish that tore at Juvage's heart, charged at him.



    He waved his guard away. He would meet this challenge alone. But he would not be the one this day.

    Even as the Grand Master bore down on him in a final effort, the last few archers strung their bows and an arrow struck through the barding of Gunther's horse. There was a scream, like a woman, and the horse collapsed, hurling the Grand Master forward with momentum, smashing his head into the ground. Even at the distance Juvage heard the sickening crunch of bone: the vicious horned helmet had broken Gunther's neck.



    It was over. The Grand Master had fallen. The surviving spear men began throwing down their arms and removing their helmets. Four fell to their knees in prayer. Two pleaded for mercy, and one openly wept.



    As he surveyed the now quiet, stunned battle field, Juvage saw that most of his men were alive.



    But while he would regret it later in the quiet that followed his victory Marienburg was sacked to provide funds for the Lithuanian treasury, desperate for money and the riches were such that they remained there all summer, counting it and sending it back to Vilnius.



    The news stunned the world.

    The Empire paused in its war with the Danes, the Horse Lords halted their raids for a season and the Republic sent even more gifts.

    Christendom itself was shaken, as rumors that the Pope had died of the shock reached Lithuania in the winter.

    Juvage himself stood in the central chamber at Marienburg, the one with the Christian Cross that had hosted the most sacred rituals of the Order. Almost wonderingly he pulled the cross down from the wall and studied it, the face of the body on it, the placard in a language he could not read. And then he threw it on the bonfire kindled in the hall at his order. The world was renewed, remade to his eyes and he had received plaudits from the other generals, from Tautvilas, from Mindaugas, from Edivydas and even Vykintas outside Visby.

    As he stepped out onto the balcony at Marienburg leaving the cross to burn alone, at the last Juvage openly wept. He wept in relief and praise to Dievas Over the Sky, for the survival of Lithuania and for the hope of future... and in memory of his dead lord, Prince Vaišvilkas who had given him so much, and paid the ultimate price.

    He could almost see the Prince smiling on the winds that tugged at his hair and he for just an instance he thought he heard the dead Prince's voice.

    "Juvage, you have done well!"

    And for the first time in a long time, Juvage smiled.

    For the Teutonic Order was destroyed...

    ...but Lithuania still had a destiny.

    End Chapter 10

    End Part 3






    --Chapter 11: Ensuring a Respite--

    Gediminas felt his mouth twist in disgust as he studied the distant village of Bialystok.



    The news had run like fire or more than fire. The Teutonic Order was no more, and rumor claimed Juvage of Voruta had spit the Grand Master in twain and leveled the castle. Gediminas knew that was foolishness--he had been raised a lord by Juvage and knew that the man was far too intelligent to have demolished a very useful fortress.

    Still he was envious, or more than envious. Orders would be coming soon, any day now he knew, for a new Council of Dukes at Vilnius and as a vassal of Juvage who was in turn tied to Prince Tautvilas he would have to attend--and he had to have a victory to his credit.



    While the Polish force opposing him was not terribly imposing they were in a strong defensive position with artillery and archers backed up by Halberdiers. The only heavy infantry he had were the Samogitians and the unreliable Sudovians... but he did have a very interesting weapon the newly created Dievas Guard rushed from Vilinius itself and thrown into his army. They were fanatical, carried war forks and maces and were eager to conquer the Catholic Poles.



    As the battle began he directed his men up the long switch back trail that lead to the village square. He knew his troops would be half tired by the time they got there but he had no choice and this level of concentration of Poles near the border could not be tolerated--so it was time to move the border.



    Almost immediately the Dievas Guard thundered forward at the head of his army.



    He let them, because he could see the artillery being set up both on the high hill near the square and in the primary level of the village and they needed to be taken out for him to have any chance to taking the village.



    The Dievas' Guard wasted no time, smashing headlong into the Polish missile troops both with javelins and crossbows and began to law about them with their maces as the archers and catapult crew rushed forward.

    Gediminas order his own bodyguard and his Bajorija to hurry to the scene and they struck the wavering flanks of the Polish detachment, scattering them like quail as the last of the horsemen fled and he watched the Bajorija strike with their axes slaughtering the routing poles. In the next moments he ordered the Guard up the slope to strike at the last artillery piece--what matter if they died, they were happy to do so for the glory of the Sky God.



    But down the hill came the Polish Nobles with a war cry and shouts of "For God!" brandishing their short spears. Against them the Sudovians raged up the hill the wild men of the tribe, fierce pagans against the holy fury of the Poles. The clash was mighty but the Pagan Sudovians proved the stronger and the lesser Polish gentry were pushed back of the hill with heavy loss.

    Gediminas watched anxiously as he hurried his spearmen and crossbows to the battle. The balance of keeping them fresh was warring with his desire to have the men in the fight as the Sudovians actually reached the top of the hill: and then came disaster.

    "For Koszalin! Koszalin! Wenceslaus the mighty!" sounded around him and over the hill and right into the teeth of the Sudovians came the Polish general himself, lances lowered the deadly points shattering the air. They shattered the Sudovians too and Gediminas gasped as he saw them run right over the tribesmen, slaughtered to the man.



    But by now his men were there and the Samogitians charged up the slope engaging the Polish commander. As the battle raged, he ordered a group of Tartar lancers to flank the commander and they performed beautifully, striking the horses hard and by surprise.



    The surprise was so total that Wenceslaus himself fell in the onslaught of the Volga-Tartars with the rest of his bodyguard selling themselves dear.



    At last the Lithuanian army reached the square. Three companies of Halberd-wielding militia stood proud and desperate in the square. With his harder hitting ground troops exhausted, Gediminas lined his archers along the edge of the square and commanded them to fire.



    Bolt after bolt struck halberdiers, slaughtering so many even Gediminas was sicked a bit at the carnage. Dozens of bodies lay pieced by powerful broadhead crossbow bolts until the only Polish soldier remaining was a single crossbowman.

    "Yield!" Gediminas shouted at the man.

    The response was another arrow that barely missed his head.

    Enraged Gediminas charged at the last Pole and personal slew him with his sword, striking so hard he hewed the head from the body.



    For all the battle, it his losses had been surprisingly light. Many of the Sudovians it turned out had been wounded and would recover. But the Polish force was broken and slaughtered to the man.

    It was in the aftermath of the Polish defeat and as he was busy turning the village into a castle strong-point that the messenger summoning him to the Ducal Council at Vilnius arrived...

    End Chapter 11


    --Chapter 12: Planning A Legacy--

    Juvage studied the faces around the table, so different from the council that had met the last time.



    "So Vykintas took Visby without a fight did he, Lord Saugardas?" Mindaugas mused as he sipped a cup of wine.

    The younger lord still looking tired from the long journey from Visby to Vilinius nodded.

    "Your Grace, he remained to help organize the town and prepare to push on into Scandinavia. Our scouts have spotted larger concentrations of Danes there however and Lord Vykintas chose to remain to make sure that nothing untoward happened.

    Or so he most vehemetly protests, Juvage thought. What startled him most was that he himself felt very much at easy, far more comfortable about the table now then had been in the past. With his conquests of major ports in the west Lithuania now had a strong presence in the sea and was able to charge customs duties on the ports. Consequently he had been able to obtain greater wealth for himself than in the past. He was actually starting to feel more like a lord.



    "And you Skirgaila, how goes the the south?"

    Skirgaila himself he proved himself to be no great tactical leader, though he was tough and doughty enough in battle and quite loyal. If anything was off putting about it him it was his religious fervor that gave a dour cast to his features.



    "Quiet at the moment, your Grace, since Lord Gediminas conquered Bialystok. The Poles are gathering forces near their Citadel of Jazdow. They are heavy with artillery and Gediminas fears he might not be able to fortify Bialystok in time. It is Lord Gediminas' opinion that we may have to force a decision int the field before we think about laying siege to Jazdow."

    "A pity," Mindaugas said. "Jazdow is the keystone of their eastern lands. Sieze that place and Plock would not long hold out."

    "And Thorn my lord?" Edivydas interjected calmly.



    After the fall of the Teutonic Order Edivydas had changed. He had become much more loyal than before, and with his new title as "Defender of the Rising Sun" and his responsibility for the Eastern Marches, any dangerous dreams had long been tamed.

    "Lord Juvage?" the Grand Duke prompted.

    "Of course your Grace," Juvage replied inclining his head to both Edivydas and the Grand Duke. Strange to think that of the other nobles present only Edivydas was more senior than he. It truly was a new generation.

    "The Poles lay siege to Thorn and though the Prince and I are laboring mightily, we are at the moment spread somewhat thing."

    "A Fortress on our southern and western border would be an extreme problem, Juvage," Mindaugas cautioned.

    "That is so my lord. The Prince and I have agreed on a proposal that I submit to you now. I have with me several documents explaining it further but the heart of the matter is this: We build our forces, and allow the Poles to take Thorn. However as soon as they do we strike south from Marienburg and catch their troops before they can repair the walls or retrain any soldiers."

    "It sounds like a decent plan," Edivydas shrugged.

    "As long as the Poles do not reinforce. Our spies are many but the forests of the west are thick and vast. An army could hide their and we be unaware," the Grand Duke replied.

    "Your Grace, it is your decision," Juvage said with another lowering of his head.

    "Hmm.... Lord Edivydas you have offered opinions on the west, but how are your charges in the east?"



    "The Horse lords grow bolder by the day," Edivydas admitted. "Butvydas and I have battled them in a handful of fights always small groups, but if we try and finish them off they merge into a large army. I fear they may be massing troops against us."

    "Then why would you leave the defenses?" Saugardes demanded.

    "Lord Saugardes," Mindaugas cautioned. "It is a strong question but you must show respect."

    "Of course your grace," Saugardes said.



    Here Edivydas actually grinned. "Butvydas of Kreva. has proven himself to be a masterful man. He is ever on the offensive and his battle-rage is legendary enough that the men think the Gods come upon him in a fight, yet he is also showing good leadership and his troops seem to love him."

    "Justly proud," Juvage murmured and Edivydas nodded.

    "It may be that he will be as mighty a General as the Prince or yourself, Juvage," Mindaugas smiled. "That would be a fine thing for Lithuania.

    "But I have one more question for you. Tell us of the siege of Danzig."



    "A simple enough thing my lord," Juvage answered. "We destroyed the gates easily enough."



    "The stratagem I employed was to keep our ladders and towers at one end of the wall while the ram advanced to the gate. They did not have enough troops to stop everything and our most dangerous troops were at the towers so the gate was broken through un-apposed.

    "While the Sudovians and Samogitians slew the men on the walls from all sides, the spearmen advanced into the square of the city."



    "Sambor the Polish General fought hard but he was slain by arrows and his guard with him."



    "The slaughter was total."

    "Well...." Mindaugas said. "I have heard your reports the last few days and again your summary now. While I was I could approve of the Thorn proposal the movements of the Horse Lords concern me, and so I believe that the west should defend for now and our chief effort--"

    "My lords! My lords!" a guard hurried up to Mindaugas, trembling with excitement.

    "Peace man," Edivydas said. "What is it?"

    "A messgener from the Republic!"

    "Aleksandr Mstislavich, your graces, from His Majesty Lord Novgorod the Great," the diplomat said with a bow. He had removed his traveling coat Juvage saw but still had a faint smell of horse on him. He bowed again and thrust a paper to the Grand Duke.

    Mindaugas broke the seal and his eyes widened momentarily.

    "We ask, my lord, that your people honor the alliance and continue to harass the Mongols. However there is no need to send aid, no need to add your armies to our own. We appreciate your mighty help, but we would not wish to drain your substance."



    More likely they don't want us expanding into Mongol lands, Juvage thought and he noted that Saugardes has the same thought. But did Mindaugas?

    "My lord," Mindaugas said with a smile. "We shall draft a reply and you may be one your way in the morning. I am sure you will get a favorable response. But for now, please sir, take your ease in our home city and avail yourself of our hospitality, you will want for nothing. Saurgades show him to the door my lord and return."

    "Your Grace," Saurgades said with a bow getting up.

    "My lords," he said when they were private once more. "This news changes much. Edivydas."

    "Your grace."

    "Return to the east and with Butvydas, harass the Mongols as best you can and see if you can't take a city or two from them to the south. Leave the east to the Republic.

    "Skirgaila, you will support Gediminas. Take as many soldiers as you can muster and prepare a field army to move against the Poles near Jazdow."

    "Juvage! Your proposal is accepted. Begin to muster all the troops you can. More will come from Windau and Palanga. Conquer Thorn, and Plock if you can. Then meet Skirgaila and Gediminas near Jazdow--it may be that a decision will be made on the fields between you.

    "Saurgades, begin scouting into Scandinavia. But do not challenge the Danes. If they approach, back away. We have too much on our plate here without the others thinking we seek to expand in all directions, even if we do. And see about investigating Abo. I hear it has repulsed one Republican assault and one Norwegian assault already. It may be ready to come over to us.

    "My lords, Mindaugas said rising, and they all had to as well. "Lithuania has beaten the Order, but to rest on our past successes would be folly. Defend the line in the east, sieze if you can but fight conservatively. In the west, we must seize Jazdow from the Poles to be safe against them. And let us hope the Mongols keep the Republic too busy from becoming worried about our rising power--you have done well for Lithuania so far, and have shown yourself powerful lords, and mighty under the Gods and the God, but for now we are only beginning.

    "Now go, carry out our orders and bring glory to Lithuania!"

    So may it prove! Juvage thought as the meeting broke up.

    His blade would be wind-swift he vowed, and the blood of his enemies would rain down on the land as an offering.

    End Chapter 12


    --Chapter 13: A Life Truly Lived--

    As he rode with Skirgaila back to the west, Juvage abruptly realized that the son of Vaišvilkas, Casimir, would soon be coming of age.




    It had taken time in his own mind to disentangle the myriad of Kinshp lines that were the Royal House Hold. Vykintas was the only major lord not to be in the line, but as he was old there was not much he could do about it now. Of them all, the Prince had only his natural child Butvydas, of fighting age, all the rest including himself, were adoptions and promotions.



    On the ride back from the conference of war, he and the other lords had discussed the Grand Duke's orders and disposition and made some modifications. Now he and Skirgaila went west, while Gediminas remained in the south with Saugardas assisting and Edivydas and Butvydas concentrated on the west. Tautvilas continued to focus on coastal infrastructure. One thing in the nobles' conferences had been clear to Juvage: they all knew the Grand Duke was getting old, and that his mind was starting to dull a little. Many of them privately doubted his decisions, Lithuania had been at war with many of its neighbors so long that conflict seemed a way of life. Still no one could deny the importance of Thorn.



    Many small Polish units had begun to appear around the fortress as Juvage built his siege equipment. Yet by the time he and Skirgaila were ready, they were still too far to be of use.



    For the first time he could remember, they had the clear upper hand. While the enemy did have javelins and halberdiers, Juvage and Skirgaila had the Dismounted Bajorija, heavily armored and axe wielding, prime infantry, archers and Sudovians and Samogitians for fodder and striking power. His only concern was his lack of spearmen.



    Still he put those doubts aside as the assault began. Along the west wall, a siege tower manned by his most experienced and battle-wise Samogitians rolled forward. Against the south gate he sent the ram and the two ladders. Close behind in case the Polish Retainers tried a sortie were the dismounted Tartar lancers as he and Skirgaila followed more cautiously with the rest of his army.



    The blue sky under which the battle had begun had begun to turn a flaming orange shot through with dusky pink as the gate finally went down.

    "Surprisingly little resistance," Skirgail observed.

    "So it would see, they must be attempting to hold us in the second circle until their reinforcements reach the courtyard to trap us. Go liase with the Dievas Guard, I want them in there to cut off any retreat."

    "It will be as you," Skirgaila nodded and rode off. It wasn't long before Captain Edivydas and his fork-wielding guardsmen were riding up.

    "Lord Juvage!" the captain saluted as he came up. He was all flushed cheeks and excitement, young but then so many Lithuanian captains were. Juvage noted that despite the attack he hands were steady. Good.

    "Captain! Get in there and cut off any retreat to the castle square. Don't engage spearmen, but make sure the archers never make it through that second gate."



    The results were gratifying. Edivydas' guard fell upon the Polish archers from the flank as they rushed to the second gate. Spearing a dozen with their war forks, they drew their maces and as they raised them to strike they caught the setting sun, flaring a brilliant orange red, like hammers of fire as they slaughtered the enemy.



    Meanwhile in the shadow of the walls, his Sudovians had errected both ladders and were swarming up them eager to open the gates to the square.

    "They're performing well, lord Juvage," Skirgaila replied.

    "Indeed, they seem to have more stamina than I recall. Skirgaila, station archers on the walls we do control. I want you to keep watch for any reinforcements. I won't be caught unaware," Juvage ordered.

    As Skirgaila went to do so, he himself advanced cautiously toward the gate and watched more Sudovians flood through. As he saw the tense faces of the men he realized he was beginning to think of them in the abstract as numbers. Easier certainly, but they were more than mere fodder now that he he had the Bajorija, weren't they?



    A shout made him whirl. The Polish reinforcements had arrived and were trying to force the gate. To stop them: the Bajorija. Against the spearmen, the heavy knights cut through their leather armor with brutal efficiency though he saw more than one fall thanks to the javelins of the Polish nobles. For a few tense moments it seemed the reinforcements might push through but a volley of arrows from his archers thudded into them cutting down several of the Retainers including the captain.

    "Captain Ratibor is down!" he heard the Poles shout.

    A moment later they broke, panicking and milling about in no order as his troops waded into the panicked mass and slaughtered them.



    Seeing things at the gate were well in hand, he rode closer to the square where the Retainers and the dismounted nobles were holding on like grim death against his Sudovians and Tartar lancers. Still he had more than enough Bajorija now and a unit of them came up to flank the spearmen pushing them back from the Retainers and allowing his own Tartars to battle them cleanly. The only threat came from a group of crossbows on the edge of the battlefield...well it was time to fix that.



    Juvage and his bodyguard swept into them unawares, sending them flying. It was all over after that, resistance ebbed and the Poles began to throw down their weapons.



    When the square had been won, he had ridden back out to receive the report from Skirgaila. All was in hand here, the archers out in the flat lands beyond the castle to destroy the last Polish unit, the halberdiers at a distance.

    The aftermath of the battle was grim but not especially daunting, all the Poles had died and about 160 of his own men, mostly the Sudovians, had also died. The Bajorija had performed well and his Dievas Guard was still strong--and Thorn was his.



    It was as he was ordering his men after the battle that a messenger came from Tautvilas. Saugardas had received a messenger from the Poles. A diplomat straight from the Polish King. Tautvilas had taken it upon himself to accept the offer and sent messengers to his western commanders to abide by the cease fire.



    Skirgaila obeyed but Juvage was worried. It was in direct contradiction of the Grand Duke's orders. But viewed objectively it was the right thing to do. The Empire was growing more powerful pressing the Danes, and the Poles likely wished to focus their efforts against them. For Lithuania, most of their settlements were still simple towns or castles, very few fortresses and their forces were still so light... they needed time to build and expand into the wild lands of the north and the peninsula while warring with the Mongols. But the Grand Duke... Juvage sighed there was no choice.



    In the distant east, reports came from Edivydas as it became apparent that the main effort would be made against the Mongols. With the Republic attacking from the north, they would need to commence their attack to tear off a chunk for themselves and regain the southern Pagan lands--and the dream of Lithuanians.... reclaiming Kiev and raising a mighty pagan temple there. But first...



    Edivydas had dealt with a small scouting party.



    It was simply done though Edivydas was no warrior.



    He relied on Tautvilas' son Butvydas for that.



    With reinforcements consisting of mounted archers Butvydas was confident against the small scouting force. A young man, but already thought of as a great general the equal of Juvage or Tautvilas. In the east he had learned cunning and tact against the swift Mongol armies and now felt himself the equal to defeating them.



    With the enemy ensconced on a high hill, Butvydas had used his horsemen to charge them. Light horsemen were not the best in a charge but they were what he had and he took care to pull them back quickly to minimize casualties.



    In the end, he broke the Mongols with just his horsemen and taking only minimal losses considering the amount of arrows they had shot at him. To be honest, Butvydas felt a bit bored.



    Even when the news of the alliance of Poland and Denmark to battle the Empire came, even when that news almost assured that Denmark and Lithuania would go to war in Scandinavia, Butyvdas didn't care much. He preferred to be out on the steppes and in battle.... and then something happened did make him care. The news came with the spring thaw.



    The Grand Duke of Lithuania was dead! Mindaugas, passed in his sleep in the fortress of Liga! The crown of Lithuania now passed to Grand Duke Tautvilas, a noble formerly in rebellion but loyal to the country now and that meant Butvydas.... was the Heir.

    As Butvydas studied the message in his command tent on the border between his lands--his lands now--and the Mongols, he resolved that it was time he began to lead Lithuania into her destiny. Not for the Grand Duke, but for him and his legacy.

    "They will all remember my name!" he vowed.

    End Chapter 13


    --Chapter 14: The Learned Scions--

    Ahead of Butvydas, Heir to the Dukedom of Lithuania, the wooden walls of the Mongol town of Turov were stained dark with last night's rain.




    "A few Dismounted Bajorija would go well," Butvydas murmured to himself as he studied the fortifications. His army predominantly archers and militia, had marched south through the tail end of winter. With his lighter forces he had been able to move more quickly though he still wished he had some more reliable heavies than the Sudovians. The followers of Perkunas would serve well with their war-scythes, but their wild nature and warrior code forbade them from wearing any armor and he'd have to take the walls before he could send them in to the battle.



    He carefully eyed the men at the towers, they seemed anxious not too nervous and well they should because of the greater numbers they had this day but no harm in stirring them up a little more.

    "My fellow Lithuanians! As you know the Grand Duke Mindaugas is dead and my father rules in his place at Vilnius. Know that the old Duke was a mighty man, and under his leadership my father and his contemporaries destroyed the Teutonic Knights and humbled the Poles. Know that my father's hand is no less mighty--but his might is turned against the Horse-Lords.

    "With his death the Mongol Tartars think they rule the steppe, that they own the Sky--men of Lithuania, we shall disabuse them!"

    "Ram forward!" he ordered and with his sword gestured the siege towers to rumble forth as well.

    As the ram and towers crawled forward, Butvydas rode closer to the walls encouraging his troops and drawing fire from the Mongols at the wooden ramparts. To his surprise it looked like all his equipment was going to make it to the wall.



    The ladders reached the wall first, and Estonian Rebels poured up over them and onto the walkway behind the wall.



    "My lord Prince! The gates!" one of his men shouted.

    As the ram was about to be set against the gates, Mongol spear militia poured out attacking the men who were pushing the ram viciously.

    "Archers! Move up and target those spear men! Butvydas snapped. Still he knew his men at the ram would take frightful causalities--the ram itself was blocking many of the arrows that rained down on the melee at the gateway. Whoever the Mongol captain was he was making the best of a bad situation.



    But it wouldn't be enough as his siege towers began to discharge the Sudovians on the walls. They weren't particularly strong but against archers they did the job well enough and soon many of the enemy were fleeing from the walls... leaving his men to man the gatehouse.

    "The Gates are down!" Butvydas shouted. "Lithuanians! Forward!"



    This time the Followers of Perkunas led the way with a storm of howls and war cries as they rushed into the gate even as the last of the Mongol wall garrison began to break.



    Butvydas followed the rest of his men into the town to see some more heavily armored Mongol spearmen meet the men of Perkunas head on. They hefted their shields but the war scythes of his own men slashed through the wood and leather as if it were ripe wheat--and through men the same.



    Battle well in hand, Butvydas turned his attention to the panicked archers and ran them down with his own bodyguard.



    Not a single man who followed Perkunas had fallen, and most of his casualties had been the company with the ram. A satisfactory assault.



    After the follow of Turov, he was surprised to see a High Priest arrive. The man, introduced as Stanislaw, was there to organize the pagan minority in the province against the Muslim majority who were already causing some unrest. Butvydas wished the Temples that had cost so much to build and taken so much time to erect would turn out more pious priests but it couldn't be helped.

    He left Stanislaw behind as he gathered as many men as could safely be taken from Turov and began to march westwards to Pinsk. If Pinsk fell all the Mongol towns of consequence west of Kiev would be theirs and they could begin to think about taking the old city. Butvydas hoped that he would be the one to take Kiev for Lithuania but first he had to secure the area around it, the north west Dnieper Basin.



    As he rode out oblivious to the cold, he couldn't help but smile at the news the priest however ineffectual had brought: Four Republican armies descending on the Mongolians. They were nearly level with Homyel as of his word and he knew they would keep the Horse-Lords busy.

    All this kept him smiling all the way to Pinsk...



    Far away from the eastern front where Butvydas battled the Tartars and the Republic moved south in suffocating numbers, Juvage stood on the deck of his flagship the Holk Jotvingis. She was built strong and sturdy, initially built by the Nords for the Hansa but purchased a season ago in one of Mindaugas last efforts at gaining Lithuanian more sea power. Now refitted she led a trio of smaller cogs behind her as the sailed through the Baltic to dock at Visby where Duke Vykintas was busy solidifying Lithuanian power.

    With the Polish Peace Treaty signed and sealed by Mindaugas and affirmed by Tautvilas, it had been decided that it was time for Lithuania to become involved in Scandinavia. There were some pagans there and right now it was uniquely suited to conquest: The Norse held the north to Upsalla, the Danes held the south... but Kalmar itself was still held be rebels and a few provinces inland.

    He though his army, heavy with Bajorija and Vykintas had sword to provide companies of Samogitians. He would conquer Kalmar, move inland to establish a fortress and weight for the Empire to weaken the Danes. Sketchy rumors had already surfaced that there had been a mighty battle fought and the great Citadel of Hamburg had changed hands. If that were so, the Danes would not only be unable to contest the Lithuanians, but perhaps be grateful for a buffer against the Norse who were gearing up for more expansion. Already more armies were being musters on the mainland to reinforce his army here.

    He was honored Tautvilas had named Juvage his Scandinavian commander. Tautvilas had hinted there might be a Dukeship itself for him after this and while he cared little for titles personally, his family would no doubt appreciate the luxury and having a name....



    "What is it my prince?" A nervous soldier asked Butvydas.

    "Look, the hawk. A sign of our victory, flying on the last of the sunlight," he answered. Shading his eyes he tried to make out something more about the bird but could not. Turning away he tugged his gauntlets into place and examined his forces.




    Archer heavy, but with spears and the Followers of Perkunas.



    He decided to waste no more time, but ordered the assault as soon as his men were ready. This Jochi of the Jurkin would be no match for him.



    Still the arrows came fast and thick as his siege equipment rumbled forward in the darkening sky and rain began to fall. Jochi would go down fighting it seemed.



    But he just had too many men, as his ladders and ram reached the gates of Pinsk at nearly the same moment.



    While his men were doing well, he wasted no time in ordering his archers forward. There was a line of Mongol spears stretched out along the rampart perfect for his archers and he ordered his men to target it and fire at will giving cover to his spears.



    In no time at all the walls were overrun and his spear men, backed by his horsed archers were approaching the central square where Jochi waited. Some commanders--and here he thought of Juvage--would have tried to talk Jochi into surrendering or defecting but with the Mongols there could only be one outcome: death.



    To his credit, Jochi rode forward to engage the spearmen but suffered many arrows at extremely close range from the Lithuanian horse archers. At the same time many of the men of Perkunas attacked the Mongol General as he was engaged with the Tartar Lancers who were angrily shouting words in their own tongue, of which Butvydas knew only the word "Revenge!"



    It as over quickly though most of his Sudovians and half the men of Perkunas were slain. But Pinsk was his and Butvydas ordered the city plundered and sacked to appease his Dismounted Tartar Lancers.

    News of the Sack of Pinsk made the capital of Lithuania ring for days. The new Grand Duke Tautvilas was not yet in residence but the city celebrated all the same. First the Teutonic Knights, then the treaty with the Poles, now they were hammering the Mongols. A generation of Victory.



    A young man, barely a man with a light beard watched the festivities from one of the great stone houses in the town. He had a reputation for firmness but also as a man who enjoyed a celebration and he longed to go down there and mingle with the common folk, but he did not.

    "My lord, you will be leaving soon?" and old and familiar voice asked behind him. There was a slight quaver but it was a function of age not weakness.

    "Yes," Casimir answered turning to his tutor Giedrius. The man had been a stranger at first, but after his mother died when he was younger, Giedrius had been like a father to him. "I am called to battle at last! Isn't it wonderful?"

    "Only if you triumph my lord," Giedrius cautioned. "And that is likely as not in the hands of the Gods."

    "Likely as not," Casimir agreed amiably. Sometimes Giedrius was entirely to pious for his tastes and he himself was known as a rather pious young man.

    "Where do you go my lord?"

    "That is the debate is it not? Prince Butvydas has made it known to his father that he would like to begin gathering forces to conquer Kiev and the Grand Duke has reacted positively. He himself will go south with more men to reinforce his son and guard his back while he strikes at the old city."

    "And you?"

    "North it seems. The Grand Duke has given me a task, conquer the city of Abo in the north. I will be traveling to Riga to gather the Chosen of Giltine before taking ship at Windau."

    "Have a care my lord, the Death God's followers often care little for those around them be they friend or foe."

    "This is known to me Giedrius," Casimir replied taking a cup of wine from the table. "My bodyguard will be kept close. Will you be coming with me?"

    "It may yet be, Lord Casimir."

    You must always conduct yourself with the utmost decorum my son, his mother had cautioned when she had been alive. You were the son of the great Prince, and you can never forget it!

    ....and Casimir son of Vaišvilkas never did, but sometimes he very much wished to.

    End Chapter 14


    --Chapter 15: The Next Board--

    Of course things were more complicated than that in the real world.



    In his mind, Casimir envisioned riding at the head of the army with Lord Juvage at his side to provide advice. The reality was something else again. While King Tautvilas fully intended Casimir to take part in the campaigns, he was not about to send a man newly come of age alone to the north. King Tautvilas and Juvage were brothers by decree and law but not blood, and certainly not related to Casimir. Casimir was the only surviving male of the official royal, bloodline. Where he might have expected to become King in some lands, in Lithuania the crown passed to Tautvilas as the eldest son, regardless of blood. It bothered Casimir sometimes but as Juvage had pointed out when he'd asked him about it years ago, it forced everyone to earn their way resulting in better kings--at least in theory.

    Theory. In practice Juvage had been sent with Skirgaila to the southwest while a re-organization began to implement the new plans for expansion. It meant he sat in a fort south of Marienburg in the snow. At peace with the Poles, it had meant patrolling the same stretch of border week after week. The soft underbelly of the realm was vulnerable, especially with the mighty citadel of the Poles unconquered. For now the Lithuanians could only hope to expand elsewhere and prepare for the day the peace would end.

    To that end, more money was needed even Casimir understood the most vital needs of the state were men and money. Juvage had been sent across the sea to Gotland and the coastal towns resisting the Danes and Norwegians. Desperate for some excitement--Skirgaila spent a lot of time with the local women and wine in the name of allowing Casimir to "practice his leadership"--Casimir eagerly broke the seal on Juvage's latest letter.



    After resupplying at Visby, we made landfall not far from the town of Kalmar and began to exercise our rule over the outlying regions with some success. From local informents I gathered that the petty thane of Kalmar, one Gustav, a cavalry man, had already beat back two attempts by the Danes to force the issue of soveriegnty.



    Gustav's forces were well balanced but his resources were limited and he was forced to draft peasants when we arrived. I knew that the Bajorijia would easily overwhelm him once we reached the walls--it was getting inside that would prove the problem.



    I had constructed a great deal of siege equipment including towers for the Bajorijia. It would do no good to send them up the ladders and I wanted them fresh when they reached the walls.



    As we began the assualt, Gustav's archers resisted us ferociously setting their arrows alight. Our only ram caught fire to my surprise. It was a minor set back only as I'd been counting on the towers but it was not a good omen to begin with.



    To my surprise, Gustav made an error in judgment or he let his men get away from him. The peasants rushed out the door intend on savaging the crew with the ram--needless to say they did not last long.



    The Samogitians as always demanded to go up the ladders to be the first to meet the enemy on the walls.




    The defenders fought hard, but we were assaulting the wall all along the line, and I'd made sure the assault came in places where our units could support each other.



    After winning the walls the Bajorijia led the assault deeper into Kalmar.




    In the end, Gustav took refuge in the square and we had to rush him... I led the charge but don't tell your mother. She always worries about me for all that she's known me since your father spoke so well of me.



    It was over quickly, and we'd gained our first territory in Gotland. Because I had already been seizing the land while we laid siege to Kalmar itself, I was able to reorganize my forces and headed north with a detachment while the rest secured Kalmar....

    He was interrupted then, Skirgaila entered and tossed a sealed letter to him.



    "I don't think you'll be staying here much longer. I rather envy you," he said without real rancor. He leaned against the tent pole an idly played with his riding gloves as he eyed Casimir. Skirgaila had gotten used to the easier life of patrol and he was quite content not to be in near constant battle.

    Casimir opened this letter with slightly shaking fingers breaking the seal and quickly scanned the contents.

    "I'll order your bodyguard to move out," Skirgaila grinned at him. "Enjoy yourself up there, but when you get back from smacking around some noisy rebels, you'll be in the real war."

    "But the Poles..."

    "If not them then the Republic or the Danes. I hear the Prince of Novgorod is getting a little nervous at the pace of our expansion and the Danes won't take kindly to our claims in Gotland however much Juvage gets the country behind him."

    "I understand," Casimir said with a stiff nodd of his head. "But action is action."

    "Don't get your back up," Skirgaila said sounding aggrieved. "If you learned nothing from me learn this: peace never lasts. Not now, not here."



    That was how Casimir found himself some months later staring out at the Gulf of Riga. It was beautiful day of course, though it wouldn't last much longer as they had spent most of the summer gathering enough troops to take Abo and make it stick. Gentle waves were lapping at the shoreline and he essayed a smile.

    "I hear you're going alone," a warm voice purred in his ear. He smiled.

    "I am, the news came with the latest courier." He half turned as a young woman with very dark hair slid up behind him he slid an arm around her waist. It was semi-scandalous for them to be that way but he didn't care. "Go ahead Tove, I know you want to say it."

    "I told you," she smiled. "I was right again."

    "You did," he agreed amiably. "You are." He felt her hand on his arm flex for a moment. She liked to twitch him and was always a little put out if she didn't.



    He thought back to his arrival in Riga. He'd gathered troops from the country-side on his way north while more soldiers had come from Windau, the fief Tautvilas owned before he ascended to the crown. To his surprise the soldiers had been lead by his daughter Tove. As Tautvilaus daughter, she was styled a princess, but she was no blood of Mindaugas and he was certainly glad of it.



    As Riga fell under the personal jurisdiction of her family, she'd come along not only to lead the soldiers but to administer the region for some time before returning home. In this way she would cycle through her father's holdings making sure everyone remembered who was in charge--and who was the new king. He'd been a bit unsure of himself when he'd been introduced to her, but he quickly discovered that she was far more interested in practical matters than simpering behind her hand and had a spirit of fierceness that fascinated him and he'd found himself spending more and more time with Tove, whether it be to discuss provisioning the troops, or inspecting the farms and villages around Riga itself.

    He'd been afraid to admit to himself but he had fallen in love with her.

    "Do you know what other news the courier brought?"

    "You obviously do, so why don't you tell me."

    "Your friend Lord Juvage has had incredible success in Gotland and Svealand.... but it's gotten us in trouble."

    "The Danes."



    "None other," Tove agreed.

    "How did it happen Tove, and why am I still to head to Abo?"

    "Are you complaining Casimir?" she sounded amused. She was very cool headed, one of the things that he found beguiling about her.

    "Tove..."

    "Right. Sorry," she said. She spoke in a more normal tone now, sounding actually contrite. "It's very simple, Juvage has set up the beginnings of a fortress at Skara to guard against the Norwegians. They were forcibly removed from Albion and their new King needs some successes or he will be in trouble. By the way, it seems Juvage was stunning in his conquest of Skara...."



    "....he charged the enemy lines almost alone and slaughtered hundreds of them. As a result?"



    "A delegation from the Hansa, they wish to located the league headquarters in Visby."

    "Tove, that's wonderful! The money--" He said turning to face her. He grabbed her upper arms.

    "Yes, I know," she said smiling at him. "They sent a huge regard-gift for allowing them to base themselves with us and that means..."

    "We can afford to--but I am to leave."

    "Before you go. It has to be now."

    "But Tove--"

    "No. I won't allow it," she said staring at him in that intense way of hers. "If I must lose you, let it be as a widow and not a maid."



    The preparations had been made, and everything went perfectly though he knew he'd angered many people by having it so quickly. But Tove was right. If they had to part let it be as husband and wife.

    Due to their alliance with the Republic, regular correspondence could be sent to Abo and he began to wait for her letters as they came with the supply ships.



    My Dearest love,

    I hope this letter finds you well. I read your last, and I was somewhat distressed to find that little news makes it up to to you. Let me remedy that as well I can:


    To begin, news of the Hansa siding with us stunned the norther world. The King of England raised tarrifs, the Flemish lords apparently got into some sort of fight with him about it which actually forced more trade our way. It was said that the Catholic Pope tore his robes and burned one of his hats, which amused the council greatly when the messenger recounted it! Though I don't quite understand the details.

    More seriously, while the Emperor is our ally and we are safe from Crusade for the moment, the news has caused the Danes and Norwegians to turn their attention to us. Though not at war, we believe they are attempting to sabotage the League.




    In response to norse aggression, your friend Juvage has laid siege to the castle of Hassleholm in southern Gotland. I have not a mind for complex military matters but I can follow his plan well enough, if he wins there he will be able to secure Gotland against the Danes and for us.

    In the south, I hear that lord Edivydas has laid siege to Zhytomyr to provide cover for my father and brother. They are heading south to the old heartland with the aid of the Republic. Kiev! Think of it my dearest, Kiev in our hands! The thought fills my mind with delight....




    It must be lonely to be up north when so much else is occuring but I know you will soon triumph. Out nation is growing so strong! Though I must say I was moved to learn about the conditions you are enduring now. There is little I can do to ease the burden for you save to remind you that I await your return. I know when next we meet you will be crowned with victory.

    Until then I remain, your wife,
    Tove

    As Casimir finished reading the letter from his new wife, a wife he had only seen a few days after marrying, he went outside his tent to survey the camp. It was well ordered as Juvage taught him. Something his father had always done, believing organization and discipline was the key to victory even more than courage though of course his father had shown his mettle in the battle that brought Riga under their banner.



    Above him the northern lights were sparkling like the Gods' own fires and he smiled at the omen. They were anticipating a good show. Well he'd give it to them but not tomorrow or even the day after. He hoped he'd be able to finish here soon, not just to return to Tove for a while but also to take part in the expansion. Lithuania was a strong state, large and powerful a country on the rise and following the true heart and soul she had always possessed with a strong arm. He could see that in the armored men surrounding him, a strong army, one of the largest ones the county had put into the field but not the only one.Still, something inside him wondered: they were surrounded by the Christians, the reaction to the Hanseatic League had shown that. One day, would Lithuanian to be one of them? Was that the way to true strength? Casimir shook his head to banish the thoughts but they continud to worm away at him completing his circuit of the camp when he went back to his tent....

    End Chapter 15
    Last edited by Nazgűl Killer; February 22, 2010 at 03:01 PM.
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    Default Re: [AAR] M2TW: Song of Victory: A Lithuanian's Tale - Part 2


    --Chapter 16: The Scions--

    The day broke hazy, but that was burning away in the morning light as Grand Duke of Lithuania and his son Butvydas crossed the Irpin River.




    They had been almost the last to cross the river by their own order. On the other side lay the mighty force of arms they'd gathered for the momentous task that the Lithuanians had dreamed of for a lifetime, the conquest of Kiev.



    Spear militia, Tartar Lancers, Dismounted Bajorija, crossbowmen from Latvia. All were present this day on the banks on the river forming a route along which they rode, resplendent in their mail armor. The sun burned through the last of the haze now, catching the tips of their spears and turning them to points of flame.



    All was silent as they passed, and then the cheers went up behind them. Butvydas looked back for a moment and saw their troops raising their weapons jubilantly. The display of confidence in his father and himself made him smile viciously giving view to the anger inside of him. Whatever his father hoped, he knew only one outcome could come of this meeting but Lithuania could afford to be magnanimous.



    Both men and their retinues slowly rode through the cheering ranks of the army but they would largely be left behind today. Their destination was a tent farther out on the rolling plain. It was a pretty thing, red and white that his father had ordered pitched the following day. It was small, not something that would allow more than half a score men and that barely, but there was no intent to.



    About fifty feet from the tent, his father reigned up and raised his hand. Butvydas, his father and the rest of their bodyguards dismounted. Butvydas handed the reigns of his mount to one of the soldiers.

    "Captain, I want you to keep a close eye out. We have agreed to this but let vigilance be your watchword. And keep your sword at the ready."

    "It will be as you say Prince," the man replied. Butvydas nodded and turned to go but the soldier spoke again. "Your father and Duke Mindaugas, under them Lithuania is stronger and safer than ever. We won't let that go easily."

    "Good, but remember--if Lithuania is strong and safe now, that will be a candle besides a bonfire when it is my turn."

    With a bark of a laughter Butvydas felt his face settling into its accustomed grim lines as he hurried to catch up to his father. Beyond the tent he could see the cloud of dust raised by the men they were to meet.



    "Look father," he said. "The Khan approaches"

    His father paused and shaded his eyes for a moment. Butvydas felt a little troubled, his father was growng old no doubt and while he anticipated his rule he didn't want his father to die either. The war with the Horde had aged him before his time and he hated them for it.

    "He is not alone father, be wary," Butvydas cautioned.

    "Neither am I," Tautvilas said calmly.

    Butvydas felt a wave of anger cresting over him at this change but beat it back ferociously. He'd been much more hot-headed while younger but had learned to keep his anger in check with anger at giving in to anger. It was draining, but it was the only way.



    Behind the Khan and the other with him both his body-guards and his archers stopped and waiting well out of bowshot of the tenth. Butvydas calculated that if they attacked their own horsemen would be able to arrive before more than a double volley of arrows was launched. He watched them slowly walk towards them dressed in lamellar armor though instead of the pointed Mongol hat he wore a turban.

    Has he converted to Islam then? Butvydas wondered. Many of the horde were doing just that he had heard.

    "Hail, Khan Ghazatai," Tautvilas called when the Khan arrived at the tent. "Who is your aid?"

    "Greetings, Grand Duke of Lithuania," Ghazatai responded. "I see you have brought your son as we agreed."

    Butvydas nodded carefully.

    "This is my youngest son, Khushan. Young but capable as you may yet see."

    "I would hope it does not come to that," Tautvilas said diplomatically.

    "Men often hope," Ghazatai said with a shrug. "Shall we begin?"

    "Of course," Tautvilas answered. Butvydas eyed the youth behind the Khan and to his surprised found Khushan eyeing him. He was well built but a youth. If he chanced to be Khan one day he might be formidable and if so it would likely fall to Butvydas to respond.

    In side the tent was largely empty but for a table with a map of the region on it. It was demarcted in pale gold for the Horde, and the darkblue with red borders showing the Lithuanian lands.

    "Would you care for--" Tautvilas began.

    "Grand Duke," Ghazatai broke in to the pleasantry. "It has been discussed. State your request."

    "Very well," Tautvilas shrugged. "We are across the Irpin. We are laying siege to L'vov and Zyhtomyr. You cannot reinforce them in time. The Republic bears down on you from the north. You must surrender and become our vassal or be reduced to the Crimea."

    "As I said, Duke, it has been discussed among us. The answer has been decided already and it cannot be."

    "Why force bloodshed?" Tautvilas demanded. Butvydas could tell he was becoming angry, angry at the thought of war which puzzeled him. Anger was well and good, but warfare was a part of life, was life. War to strengthen the arm, to guard the heartland. Anything else was to be death.

    "Because life under the Lithuanian yoke will not be life. To be no better than the Tartars of the Volga? To be your servants? It cannot be."

    "But we would forgo taking direct dominion, you would govern yourselves, but you would fight for us."

    "It would kill us to be slaves," Ghazatai answered. "This is the eternal answer, under the sky."

    "Then why this meeting?" Butvydas snarled. "Why waste our time?"

    "There is always time to talk, my son," Tautvilas began.

    "No father! Enough!" Butvydas snarled. "He is nothing, not anymore. All his pride and nobility is a waste of time. I can do what should have been done and spare more bloodshead." He took a step toward the Khan and then Khushan drew his sword stepping in front of his father. They faced off, sons of great men, and then Butvydas drew his own blade.

    "Hold my son!" Tautvilas snarled. The snap in his voice brought him up.

    "Father he has used this to stall for time, to insult the honor and mercy of Lithuania! He never intended to parley."

    "No my son, if there must be battle then let it come. But this would not be war. This would be murder."

    "They deserve nothing else but murder for what they did, what their people have done! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't strike him down father!"

    Ghazatai said nothing but he watched Tautvilas.



    "Because They were mighty once," Tautvilas said. "Invincible. Of a kind we should not dare raise our hands against. For that, for what they did, we will not kill them in this tent, in a place where we have declared the peace of the Gods. We will beat them in war."

    "Prince Butvdas, you see yourself, honor is a powerful thing and the things you wish to do in its service may rebound against you." Ghazatai said calmly. "Put up Khushan, there will be no bloodshed. Here." Reluctantly Khushan sheathed his sword. "Khushan wait outside," Ghazatai ordered.

    "Go with him," Tautvilas added. "But stand by the door and do no violence."

    Butvydas exited the tent with the Mongol boy who eyed him.

    "It won't be so easy with me," he warned the boy.

    "We will surely find out soon," Khushan replied.

    He moved a few paces back and out of the earshot of the tent so only Butvydas heard what passed between his father and the Khan next.

    "Grand Duke, I ask only one thing. That I die under the Sky God."

    "You wear a turban. Do you not profess Allah?"

    "Only to rule, Grand Duke," Ghazatai replied. "My soul belongs to the sky. So you see, half my people already damn me."

    "Then it will be as you wish."

    Ghazatai laughed hollowly he knew the outcome as well as anyone.



    "Father, why is Khushan commanding?" Butvydas wondered.

    "He chose to stay I believe," Tautvilas replied. "His father is a noble ruler but the spirit of the Horde lives on in his son now. It would be much the same were out places switched."

    "Let me kill Khushan father. You may slay the Khan but let me educate that boy before he dies."

    v.

    "My son," Tautvilas said, "So let it be--but do not lose yourself in hatred, emotion clouds judgment, and it is judgment that has led Lithuania to this pass. Remember that."

    Butvydas was left behind as Tautvilas rode closer to the walls of the city and to the cheers of the army.



    They had assembled a mighty force for this and now all was in readiness at last. His father rode to the head of the army, just out of bowshot from the walls.

    "This city, birth place of the Slavs!" Tautvilas shouted. "It belongs to us, not to the Republic, not to the Horde--and today we take it back!"

    More cheers.

    "FORWARD!!"



    As the towers, ladders and rams crawled forward, Khushan showed his mettle. His archers manned the walls and a wall of fire arrows hurled towards the Lithuanians even as they shouted in exhileration.



    Butvydas watched carefully as the Bajorija climbed the ladders the first, and not the oil on the walls or the defenders could dislodge them. There were too many points of contact with the wall and not enough defenders, not when priority had to be give to the towers.



    A man fell, and then another, two more and then the Lithuanians were on the wall, their heavy mail, heater shields and axes carving a bloody swathe through the Mongolian infantry. They were quick and fierce, but close combat in a tight place could only favor the more heavily armed Lithuanians, it was thier fight against the Order reversed and then a great shout went up--the ram had reached the gate and there was no one to stop them.



    For on the walls the towers had finally arrived in position and Samogitians and more Bajorija forced the Mongolians back in heavy fighting.



    ...And then the gate shattered. The spearmen manning the ram poured into the city gates and swarmed onto the walls from behind the defenders, trapping them in a pincer and Butvydas could hear the cries of panick.

    "Father!" he shouted.

    "Now!" Tautvilas said with a wave of his hand and Butvydas drew his blade.

    "Horsemen, forward!" he shouted as he galloped to the gate.



    A few more soldiers were attempting to make a stand in the lane leading to the town square but his bodyguard ran them down, and Butvydas himself led them, his sword plunging deep into the breast of one man, while his horse kicked in the brains of another. He laughed, the blood was flowing and he was laying waste to his enemies and it was good.

    He drove the enemy back farther and father until at last they reached the square and there sitting quietly on his body was the boy.



    "There!" Butvydas shouted. "At them men! Finish this!"

    And what do you think of me now, Khushan? He thought as he fought his way deeper into the press of men and horses as the Tartar lancers rushed in among them with cries of vengeance for those who had driven them from their homes generations before.



    "Khushan!" he snarled. "Try me, boy!"

    The Mongolian general turned, he saw it clearly, even it the midst of the Tartar lancers and froze for a moment then spurred at him his blade raised. Butvydas gave a war cry and did the same his only though to shatter the other and when their swords met he felt the collision all the way into his shoulder, despite his slight build the youth was strong. But not strong enough as Butvydas shoved his blade aside and plunged his own into the Mongol scion's belly.



    "I have had enough of you!" he shouted in the face of Khushan as the other jerked. Through the force of his anger he held the life in the other's body for a few moments more, long enough to see Khushan's lips go blue, and a few drops of blood escape his lips and then there was nothing as the other collapsed into death and crumpled to the ground.

    "So much for their future," Butvydas spat.



    It was over at last. But one man survived.

    Cover in blood, Khan Ghazatai had fought well but in the end he was alone, in the square the only man standing. Butvydas would have spoken but his father held up a hand and instead pointed at the Khan.

    "I wait your promise, since I survive, let me die like a true Khan."

    "I will do it father," Butvydas began but Tautvilas shook his head.

    "It falls to me, my son. One day you will understand."



    He had been true to his word: he had done it all himself striking blow after blow, and in the end the carpet had been thrown from the battlements. Afterward his rather retired to his tent to be alone with a cup of wine and contemplate fate and honor.

    The fool.

    "Sack the city," Butvydas ordered. "The Khan is dead and it no longer matters."



    ...and so at last, Kiev came under the Lithuanian banner on that day of death and pillage.

    End Part 16

    End Part 4






    --Chapter 17: A Conference of Chiefs--

    "What word from the dispatches, Lord Juvage?" his second asked coming into the tent.



    "The best, Captain Traidenis!" Juvage laughed. "My son Jogaila has come of age at last.

    "A day to be celebrated then."

    "Not yet," Juvage answered, "Tomorrow. Tomorrow when we crush the Danes and take this castle for our own will be the celebration."

    "And then...?"

    "Then you sit down and wait, Traidenis," he answered.

    "Lord Juvage?"

    "It was in the other dispatch, I am summoned to a concord at Vilnius. You heard the news of conquest of Kiev? You must have, it was all over the camp. The Grand Duke is sending his son west to assist Saurgadas and Edivydas in taking Zhytomyr and L'vov while he orders things along the Dnieper. If all goes well we will arrive at the same time."

    "My lord, the object--"

    "To plan strategy of course," Juvage said lifting a brow. "Look Traidenis, I know you don't want to be in charge but I left orders for my son to sail here and take over. The boy seemed a bit lazy when I left so getting out in a new land and facing the foe will be good for him. That said, once we take the castle the only fortress the Danes have left will be Narva and the Danes are nothing without their castles."

    "May it be as you say, Lord Juvage," Traidenis replied and Juvage fought back a grimace at the neutral tone.

    "Now, do you wish to discuss something Captain?"

    "I only came to report that all is in readiness for the 'morrow, my lord."

    "Then go get some rest and I will see you in the hour before the dawn."

    After Traidenis bowed and left Juvage contemplated the wine in his cup, swiling it around a bit. The maturity of his son had indeed pleased him, but he could never forget he shouldered two birds, not only Jogaila, but also Casimir the son of the Prince and last sapling of the family who had raised him up from nothing.



    He had a lot of men now, though more axemen than he'd hoped and the Danish Lord Thorgeir had his castle and towers. The arrows would take a toll on his Samogitians but if he kept the Bajorijia back....

    v.

    Placing the Spear Militia on the ram, and the Samogitians on the ladder, he eyed the fortifications as the Danish flags sprouted up from towers almost like magic as they were manned.

    "Advance! Soldier forward!" he shouted.



    Ahead of him, Traidenis ran right behind Samogitians as they rushed for the wall with their ladders. Though the spearmen were closer to the castle, it was clear they would soon pass them and reach the walls before the Lithuanian battering rams reached the gates.

    As the Samogitians swarmed up the ladders, boiling oil and arrows rained down on the battering rams and he saw some of the spear militia begin to waver.

    "Come back you Cowards!!" Juvage shouted after blowing his great battle horn. Catching sight of him, they visibly pulled themselves together and dashed back to the ram.



    To Juvage's astonishment as the gates were shattered at last, the Norse Swordsmen on the walls fell back conceding the fortifactions to the Samogitians and fled back to the square. The flags atop the towers vanished. He couldn't believe his luck but he had to take advantage of it.



    "Lithuanians! Forward march!" Juvage shouted kicking his mount into a gallop. All around him the men of Samogitia and his bodyguard surged forward, racing for the open gate and hoping the gatehouse would stand empty so they would avoid the oil.

    Casting a glance back, Juvage felt his heart swell. To be a man of Lithuania leading men in conquest--he was proud of himself, but his men even more so, though he quickly out paced them. Leading from the front, they would be pulled along after him, willing to go where their lord led and he dashed under the shadows of the gateway warch to see a group of Norse Swordsmen trying to flee.



    "Catch them!" Juvage ordered and raised his blade behind him.

    His horsemen thundered forward and struck the Norse from behind, hewing them down as they fled back to the square in confusion and barely cohesive. They made no attempt to stop him only kept running--but none of them made it to the square. His own guard however, was still standing.

    "Onward! Press the foe!"



    But he was not rash, not as he had been when younger. He slowed to a walk to let the Samogitians catch up and together they crashed into the square to battle Thorgeir and his Housecarls.


    Breaking upon the Danes like a storm, his world narrowed to the press of bodies, the hammering of metal on metal, and screams of the dying. Sweat ran down his face despite the frozen air as his sword reaped the bodies in front of him and his axemen attacked the Danish General.



    He was not looking when Thorgeir fell, instead making sure that no hidden forces would join the battle. By the time he turned he saw the Danish General in a heap on the ground and the last of his bodyguard selling their lives as best they could.

    In no time at all the square belonged to the Lithuanians.



    "Well done men," he shouted as the rest of the army cheered. Many spearmen and Samogitians lay dead, perhaps more than Danes, but the last castle on the peninsula was theirs.

    Juvage should have celebrating along with them but his mind was already on the meeting, and how well his son would rule here....
    __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Tove kept her eyes on the ground ahead of her as she rode into Vilnius. A city now, almost 20,000 strong, so different than the rustic town she so dimly remembered. Victory on the field had brought wealth and with it trade, artisans, merchants and opportunity and the city matched Riga for grandeur, even after the departure of hundreds of men with Gediminas.



    She'd passed him as she'd drawn closer to the city. His army was heavy with horse and foot archers and he'd been heading east. His job Tove gathered was to discourage any betrayals by the Republic along the border and encourage them to assault the rich Danish cities in the north.

    Her father the Grand Duke, and her brother Butvydas were already here, Butvydas was already assembling an army and eager to be away as soon as their meeting was over. He had begged off seeing her before hand, pleading pressing military matters but Tove was not fooled. He considered her first and foremost as Casimir's wife. Her refusal to siphon off more than the legal allotment of taxes at Riga for her brother's army was proof enough of that.

    But her husband would not be shorted for her brother's sake. She would not allow it.

    She. Would. Not.



    In winter, snows often blanketed the town, but in the summer the air became warm and much more comfortable, enough that it brought back memories of playing not here, but at their castle at Windau along the beach as a girl. Since her arrival she'd had time to freshen up and rest and now the next day the summons had come and putting a hood on despite the heat, she began the walk from her apartments to the tower....


    instinctual warriness. She experienced a quick sense of relief that he didn’t pick up on the submissive movement.

    “I will do as I must do, Princess. Lord Casimir was a strong advocate of raising me up and I am loyal to that family. Their interests are what I strive for once the well-being of my own is seen to.”

    Behind her, was the arbor, alongside the sunward side of the tower and along the lower wall, a leafy green refuge that she could not take. Juvage
    looked at her waiting her answer. She was conscious of the trees behind her, planted Casimir's mother on the day she wed Mindaugas. In this moment a stray though entered her head: she would add to the arbor one day when she ruled her as the Grand Duchess with her husband, and this thought gave her strength.

    "Then watch me."

    Inside on the table stretched a map of Lithuania and around it, Tautvilas and Butvydas were speaking quietly when Tove and Juvage entered. Tautvilas looked warmly on his daughter but Butvydas only nodded and they both gave short bows to Juvage.

    "Of need, this meeting must be curt," Tautvilas said. "Later there may be time for celebration or there may not, but for now..."

    "Hold, Casimir would be at this conference," Juvage began and Tove held herself from a look at him that would have ruined everything. Instead she replied as calmly as she could to her father.

    "My lord sent me a letter authorizing me to represent him. The siege of Abo continues and will for at least 6 more months. He is well supplied but Danish ships have increased and he judges it better to subdue Abo than return. Of this there can be of necessity no discussion."

    "My lord, allow me--"

    "It is well, Lord Juvage," Tautvilas said mildly but the way he very carefully did not look at Tove made it clear it was not well.

    "Enough of this," Butvydas said in that tight voice he so often used fighting anger. Another reason Tove though, simply another. "If it is done it is done."

    "My lords, daughter, I quite agree," Tautvilas said. "Butvydas begin."



    "As you can see on the map, our domains our vast. Abo my sister has already reported on in her own inimitable fashion," with a smile at Tove but she did nothing put place her finger tips on the table very carefully not toughing the map.

    "Our castles at Windau and Palanga and along the coast are also secure. Dunaburg is likewise manned well. In the south we have taken all the Horde's lands from Kiev to the Polish border. Gediminas as you know has taken an army into the field that has many horsed archers, spearmen and foot archers. He will defend the east against any incursions by the Horde or the Republic."

    "They were our allies when I was last in Vilnius," Juvage said.

    "And remain so," Tautvilas answered. "But they have abandoned the war with the Horde after our conquest of Kiev though we left room for them, and are rather close."

    "Do you fear betrayal, father?"

    "No, not yet. Not while they war with the Danes in the north. The Danes have large armies there at last report which is no doubt why their sea power has increased. Juvage?"

    "I took Hasselholm on the coast, the only Danish fortress is at Narva. Their forces on the peninsula are weak, indeed the Norwegians are more threatening at the moment though they are largely quiet except for small scouting parties. Assuming we can block the crossings from Roskilde we can take the regions at our leisure. My son is en route now to take up the banner."

    "I am sure he will do well," Tautvilas said. "As for the south and the west, that is our concern."



    "The Poles have been at peace with us for some time but they are no longer observing the border. The Danes have begun to encroach onto Imperial lands and the Emperor no longer keeps them busy."

    "They are coming for us then?" Tove asked.

    "So it would seem, sister," Butvydas said curtly. "But why concern yourself? It will be long before they threaten Riga and Windau."

    "My concern is for the country as well, my brother," she said after hissing a breath in frustration.

    "It did not seem so when I asked for an extra levy--"

    "Silence!" Tautvilas said rapping the table with the palm of his hand. "To cut to the heart of the matter: the Poles must be our next target. Their Citadel at Jazdow is the only fortress they have. Recently in Vilnius we completed a siege works and Trebuchets can now be produced. With these Butvydas will conquer Jazdow."

    "We add another to the list of our foes?" Juvage said surprised. Butvydas must have convinced his father, it was not something Tautvilas would countenance without persuasion.

    "What would you have us do? Yield up to them? Let them ride our lands at will?" Butvydas snarled.

    "He only means that we would be warring with the Danes and the Horde as well. We would be surrounded by enemies--and can you trust the Republic?"

    "I have thought long on this," Tautvilas interrupted. "It must be done. Drive the Poles back, capture Jazdow, and they will be shattered. They will be unable to produce heavy troops or their heavy knights."

    "They will have the Hussars, father" Tove countered.

    "And the Hussars will avail them nothing against the Tartar Lancers," Butvydas said. "Skirgaila is quickly forming another light mobile force to battle the Poles similar to that of Gediminas. Saurgadas is at Thorn and will hold it fast. While they keep them busy, I will conquer Jazdow and then the Polish armies will burn away like dry grass."

    "It sounds so simple when you say it that way," Tove said dryly.

    "That is not all! Not all!" Tautvilas said. He was clearly frustrated. "Your instructions daughter are to continue to support the siege of Abo. When that siege is completed, Casimir will take the army he spare from guarding the city and sail to Reval to take it."



    "That is a fortified city!" Juvage said.

    "And you will join him there," the Grand Duke ordered. "With more Trebuchets. We will take Reval. Then we will give it up."

    "What?" Butvydas roared. "That was not--"

    "No. We will give it to the Republic in exchange for another land,
    Kuressaare, which was called Arensburg by the Order. Reval cannot be held but Kuressaare can be, we will supply it from Riga and Windau."

    "It can be done father," Tove nodded. Butvydas looked furious.

    "Good, once that is done we will redouble our efforts on the Peninsula and hope that will compel the Danes for peace. Or the Horde. We must have peace with one of them if we are to battle the Poles."

    "Much depends on how well Gediminas and Skirgaila hold the borders but much also depends on you Tove. You must prepare Arensburg for our control without alarming the Republic. They will see that our trade of Reval is better for them and us I hope."

    Strangely enough a girlish giggle floated up out of the courtyard outside the tower.



    "Maybe you should send Elena," Tove said blandly. "It seems my younger sister seems to be getting up to trouble around here--and I've only been here a day. She's supposed to be a reliable negotiator, isn't she?"

    Butvydas looked like he was holding back a laugh but her father just sighed. "Perkunas save me from more daughters."

    This time her brother laughed outloud.

    Tove ground her teeth.

    "Now attend, the plan is decided but your parts are more complex and we must decide the disposition of the armies...."
    __________________________________________________________________________________________________________

    The meeting had begun in the morning and stretched into the afternoon. When it was over, after much more argument and wrangling, Tove and Juvage exited the tower but Tove moved closer to the arbor's entrance and Juvage followed her there.

    "You support this plan?" he asked.

    "I do," Tove smiled.

    "Your father's daughter."

    "No!" she said. "Well, yes. I suppose. But more, my husband's wife. Butvydas is hot headed and powerful but Jazdow is strong. He may take it but I believe he may die in the attempt."

    "You don't sound aggrieved, Princess."

    "When the Gods send messages grief does little to change them," she replied though for all her brave words the dreams always left her weeping.

    "You talk to the gods now, then?" Juvage said.

    "They speak to me as they would to any other," she said. "If I try to listen then I must do what I think is best with what I hear."

    "So you wish your family ill. Casimir should watch himself should he fall from your favor."



    “Your concern does you credit, Lord Juvage," she said quietly. "But it so happens you are wrong. Do you know why I wear black?

    "
    Turned as black as the earth no doubt, though what you mourn escapes me as your father is the Grand Duke."

    "No my lord--siera žemė.* Me. Us," she said meaning Casimir.

    Juvage's eyes widened and he betrayed and honest answer. "What are you playing at? The gods and now this?!"

    "Not my father. Not my brother. It will be direct line of Mindaugas that rules Lithuania, risen again from the ashes. Only then will the Truth be made known."

    "You are playing with something you don't understand, something none of us can understand," Juvage warned.

    Tove shrugged one shoulder delicately. "It will be us....
    ....That is my belief, at least for now."

    --End Interlude--

    *On the use of Siera žemė see here





    --Chapter 18: The Western Question--

    No plan lasts in the field...

    This was a saying Butvydas had heard many times, to ruminate on it's truths more than a moment in the current situation, well such actions wouldn't serve him well here. It had begun so well, this campaign but now things were fast approaching desperate. Steel would serve better.



    Diplomatic envoys had reached Vilnius after Juvage's departure but just before he was ready to leave. They bore useful news, but ominous.



    The Republic had declared an alliance with the Horde and as a consequence of having the same ally, they were at peace themselves now. Only the Danes fought them--indeed even the Empire had put aside its differences and embraced peace. That had last barely as a season as the Poles had soon begun to actively blockade Lithuanian, Danzig though demands for surrender had all been titled as to "Gdańsk." Still, that they would be defending themselves from the Poles was good propaganda and Butvydas had to admit they needed some now.

    It had begun well.



    Not far from Jazdow, a Polish army lead by Tobiasz Kazczyk had been slowly marching along the border. It would meet another Polish force and probably launch an attack on Thorn. Instead, Skirgaila had gathered Cumans, Tarars and archers and met them on the open field.



    A part of Butvydas gloried in the idea: The strong knighthood of Poland, their long lances and bright armor against the arrows, spears and speed of Lithuania.



    There had been ground troops, a few, but they were to be held in reserve. Skirgaila who had formed up his spearmen on a hill top surrounding the archers and foot Bajorija, had explained it vividly.



    As the Polish armied had advanced, militia and horsed archers had attacked on the enemy's left flank...



    While the Cumand struck from the fight. Many horses fell as the Polish army charged up the slope, lances lowered their armor bright even in the misty day Skirgaila had said.



    The clash of Polish lances and Lithuanian spearmen was brutal. Many on both sides had fallen in the initial charge--at least 3 companies of Polish Knights had been in the vanguard. As it became clear the charge would not break the Lithuanian lines, they retreated to reform.



    And then it was time for the Polish infantry to take the lead as the Bajorija swarmed out from the spearmen to protect them.



    Skirgaila had struck the infantry from behind then, trusting his horse-archers to slow the Polish cavalry while he put their infantry to rout.



    It was almost comical how the Polish lord died, fighting a hopeless battle against overwhelming odds with his loyal retainer who suddenly realized he was alone....



    In the end, a massive Polish cavalry army had been defeated. Taking a short while to resupply, Skirgaila had then taken a risk that Butvydas couldn't hope but approve, with an almost pure cavalry army he had laid siege to Plock!



    He had laid to siege to the town for only a few weeks when small Polish forces that had been mustering in the area to aid in the assault on Lithuania converged on them. There was only one however that was a threat, a large force led by Niebor of Lwow.



    The assassination of Neibor of Lwow had unexpected dividends. His army had fallen back west in confusion disposing of the largest part of the enemy forces. The small Polish companies combined to make a decent force, but the mistake had been that of the city's garrison--though it would make sense had they counted on Neibor's army to aid them. Skirgaila was smart enough to make it his to priority to kill the city's garrison first and the plan worked.



    Plock lay open and inviting for him to simply march in.



    The city was sacked. But with their northern flank secure, now was the time. Butvydas all this time had been moving south, slowed by the siege engines they were hauling, but knowing they were needed.



    At last, the siege of Jazdow. But just as the siege began more news reached them courtesy an Imperial diplomat, dire news.



    The Horde had invaded again, disregard the Republican alliance--and the Republic had sided with the Horde! Butvydas new that there was now no time to waste. If he could conquer Jazdow, perhaps Lithuania could establish some sort of border in the west--after all, the Poles would have no more castles. Their cavalry was fearsome but required the training only those settlements could provide. In the end it was no decision at all, once again Lithuania needed to win to survive.



    His own force was full of heavy infantry though he would have liked to have a few more spearmen.



    Based on the best evidence of their scouts, the enemy force in the citadel had been designed for field battles and was filled with heavy cavalry, including a unit of the famed Polish Guard. They were defiant of course, and cavalry were no laughing matter even an enclosed area. Still he would kill many Poles this day, and may they regret meeting that little-man-on-stick they loved.

    Taking a breath to calm himself, Butvydas, the Lithuanian Heir kicked his mount forward until he stood next to his little brother Svarnas who turned to look at him for a moment before turning back.



    The little ingrate had given him the evil eye! Just a for a moment but it was enough. As his army had been mustering on the plain south of Vilnius, his father had asked Butvydas to take another with him, his brother newly come of age. His brother was hard enough, but he seethed with resentment at being under his brother's command. The apple of their father's eye despite his shortcomings....

    Watch this little brother, Butvydas said to himself as he raised his sword.



    "Before us stands the Citadel of Jazdow! The home of the Polish military! This will be a victory you can tell your children about! Trebuchets.... fire at will!"



    It was slow at first, the gigantic weighted machines being laboriously set, but the stones they hurled were massive and even the great walls of Jazdow could not withstand them for eternity. When the out-wall went down, Butvydas shouted the charge and the entire army surged forward. The race across the immediate farmlands near the citadel was tense but soon it was over and the Lithuanian's had gained the first circle of the city with no casualties. Behind Butvydas the trebuchets were pushed into place...

    "My prince, where do we direct fire?" one of the crew asked.

    "Do you see that small tower? Fire where the enemy are standing, make us a hole sergeant!"



    Alerted when the first stones fell, never the less, over a dozen of the Polish Knights were slain by the artillery on the second wall. Butvydas carefully motioned his troops into place, men from Estonia. They were light spearmen and he intended to use them as fodder, though of course he took care not to share that with them.

    "Should we not mass the Bajorija my brother?" Svarnas asked, his tone insinuating Butvydas was mentally deficient.

    "No, we will tire the Poles before we send them in. I know you are a promising commander, Svarnus, but we must spend the expendable first."

    It was then a shout came from the crews. The middle wall had fallen to the trebuchets and the Estonian rebels surged forward. They had been cemented to the Lithuanians since the fall of the order and fought eagerly for their new masters who had given them vengeance. They were met by two companies of Polish Knights who swung their swords with admirable vigor.



    "Foot Lancers, one unit, advance!" Butvydas ordered after watching the melee for a few minutes and noting a red mist starting to raise around the battle. The unit of Tartar Lancers he'd ordered forward marched in just as the Estonians were beginning to waver.



    Breaking the Polish Knights, the Lithuanians rushed into the middle circle of the citadel to see the Polish lord ordering a retreat to the heart of the citadel. Taking over the second circle, Butvydas once again urged the trebuchets forward, pointing to a spot on the far wall. He would not being going in through the gate, that invited massacre. He would claim a section of wall and use his archers to supplement his ground troops. With the Bajorija barely engaged thus far it would work.



    The edging of the final wall fell at last, but to the surprise of the Lithuanians, Hussars poured from the breach. To the Hussars' surprise however, they were met by Tartar Lancers and butchered. Unable to contain himself Svarnas rushed forth to battle the Poles while Butvydas sent a nasty smile at his little brother's back.



    Finally, with the horsemen retreating, the Bajorija were sent in at last to battle the remaining Polish foot Knights. Some horsemen continued to harass them but for the most part the Poles retreated back to their central square. Butvydas had no choice but to acknowledge that Svarnas, though his bodyguard had suffered, was leading the men well as he drove back the Polish hordes.



    When one of the Polish Knights broke away from the rest, Svarnas gave a shout and spured his men forward in a charge Butvydas watched him impassively....



    ...and remained impassive he saw his brother slain. His only reaction was to caress his sword and he quietly vowed he would take revenge for his dead brother--but in a way that would make the Poles remember him for a thousand generations. Suddenly there was a massive commotion behind him while in front the enemy charged.



    The Polish commander was not a complete fool. The heaviest of the Polish cavalry, the Polish Guard, had moved to flank the Lithuanian's at the same time the troops in the square surged forward on the impetus of Svarnas's death. The Polish Guard however, had not reckoned on Butvydas's posititioning a unit of spearmen to guard his flank and once again, a dozen fell in the initial charge to the spears.

    The battle was close for a bit as the Lithuanians were pressed on both sides, but soon enough the Polish General was surrounded.



    He fell almost at the last again to the spearmen.



    Jazdow was theirs!



    In the aftermath of the battle, as Butvydas sat alone in the room that had recently belonged to the Polish general contemplating the destruction of Poland his revenge would wreak a letter arrived. His sister had married it seemed, a chivalrous and loyal man though with only basic combat skills.

    Butvydas tried to summon up more than a cold rage but could not. It was... strange. He hadn't been fond of his little brother, and he would take revenge, a brutal one, against the Poles for his death but... he knew he should been riding out to slaughter more of them. Right now. But he was compelled to consolidate his defences here. The loss of the alliance with the Republic was what really mattered. He knew that the drive would be east to defeat the Danes and Republic and the Horde. Only then would Lithuania be strong enough to turn on her Latin enemies and destroy them. That, Butvydas thought, would be glorious.

    For some reason, the triumph of Lithuania seemed a better revenge than a thousand dead Poles....

    ....and maybe that was what it meant to become a prince.

    End Chapter 18


    --Chapter 19: Rytinis--

    The news went out, shortly after the battle of Turov.



    The city was saved by a coalition of local troops and petty lords, but that was not the news. The news reached all the commanders. It reached Butvydas the Heir in the west consolidating the border along with Skirgaila and pondering a move south. It reached Juvage right before he took ship, and it even reached Casimir through a letter carried by emergency messenger. It reached Juvage's son Jogaila on the Scandinavian penninsula. It even reached the Grand Duke Tautvilas in Vilnius, alone in his tower, brooding over the loss of his young son. It did not reach Casimir's new brother-in-law, Daumantas, on the border and riding hard for Minsk.



    He had no need of a messenger to learn the news, he'd sent it. The Republic had attacked them at last.



    Daumantas was attached to Gedminias of Babruysk, a solid commander if he knew it. Elena had not known much about him, but then, Daumantas was becoming convinced Elena made it a point not to know much about anything that didn't relate to the gossip of her ladies. It was fine of course, he didn't want anything like the deal his new brother Casimir had, he could feel Princess Tove's eyes sweep over him with an icy perception that he found off-balancing.





    They faced a captain Zhiroslav, not a noble. But riders from Minsk had managed to get through to them. Daumantas had taken their reports before organizing the information to be summarized to the senior lord. While he might have been of a higher nobility through his wife, the Lithuanian forces relied on experience and merit to find leadership if at all possible.

    "The main threat, my lord, is the artillery," Daumantas had stressed. "They have trebuchets, catapults and a great bombard. We must sent keep the enemy's khazaks busy until our own cavalry can destroy them."

    Both he and Gediminas had spared a minute to curse. Due to their pagan status, none of the surrounding lands cared to give them gunpowder knowledge and thus they were beginning to fall behind the others, particularly the Republic and the Danes.



    As the battle began, Gediminas had sent most of his men to the top of a rise to form up and force the enemy forces to come to him. They had enough archers to make that a difficult proposition with no heavy cavalry. Meanwhile, Daumantas would take the rest of the mounted archers, circle around and hit the artillery.

    Now he waited, watching, straining for the right moment. He needed to wait until both sides were fully engaged so he could complete the mission. Here an arrow downed a khazak, but there one unit of enemy horsement charged the blockard of spearmen and went down but took a few of the Tartars with him.... then there!



    "Forward!" he shouted. "For Lithuania! For the Gods!"

    The plan worked, he and his men swept away the crewmen aboard the artillery like a divine wind.



    Getting his men turned around, Daumantas hurled himself on the enemy rear, an enemy already starting to falter in assault. In moments they were running, trying their best to flee through his ranks--but it was already too late for them.



    In the aftermath of the battle, Gediminas had ordered him to send the good news to Vilinius and awake more orders from the Grand Duke. Daumantas wondered what his father in law would do: the Duke was the most chivalrous of men, but Elena had been stunned when the news of her brother had come. The Duke had shut himself up in his tower from what he'd heard....



    "Juvage!" Casimir said excitedly as the older man entered his tent outside Arensburg. "Welcome my lord! You'll never guess what I heard--"

    "Ah, Casimir," Juvage said with a fond grin. "I have heard many things, some about you and Abo."

    The young man colored slightly. Juvage thought he'd been drinking a little.



    "It was nothing, nothing..."

    "Nonsense," Juvage said clapping the young man on the shoulder. "Laying siege to a city takes patience, manpower and careful management. You kept the army together and the city surrendered without a fight. Though your sword remains relatively clean, so does your army and that means we can fight here."

    "You brought them then Lord Juvage? The ballistae?"

    "I did, tomorrow we can begin the assult and bring this Republican city under our banner. It will be a great victory."

    "Now doubt my lord, will you think of it as a gift to celebrate your day?"



    "Ah, so that was what you heard? That my son is found a wife?"

    "And of Siauliai all the way on the penninsula," Casimir laughed. "Actually, it turned out my wife picked the ladies to send with your son. So you can blame her."

    "Haha, I do not, I do not," Juvage smiled. "I think Ona will do Jogaila much good."

    "How so my lord?"



    "Jogaila is a bit too comfortable sometimes," Juvage said eyeing a flagon on the table in the younger man's tent. "Though he does understand logistics he can be more focused on other things."



    Casimir nodded and tossed the it to him. "Aaah," he said after taking a long draught. "But listen: after the wedding, the next morning, do you know what she said to him? She asked him for Halmstad as a wedding gift!"

    "And of course, he got it for her."

    "I have not seen her but--"

    "I have, it's no surprise your son went out an conquered a city for her." When Casimir smiled like that, Juvage thought for amoment he looked like the late Prince. "But as it happens that is not the news I bring."

    "And what would that be?"

    "Prine Albin is dead!"

    "What? Tell me how did it happen?"



    "It was outside Liubomi, Lord Juvage. A local marcher lord, Zygimantas of Grunwald, had laid siege to it, trapping Albin within. Thanks to Prince Butvydas we'd overrun the lands so fast he had been trying to sneak back towards Cracow."



    "My wife Tove, wrote to me saying that the word in Riga was that once our men breached the gate, the Polish forces were put to flight and slaughtered as they fled to the square...."



    "... and as he fell in the battle, we sent the prince's body back to the Poles as a warning."

    "Hmm... that is certainly good. I don't doubt now that the Heir will push for Cracow if the Poles continue to resist. That would deprive them of their greatest city."

    "What do you think our task will be after we take Kuressaare?"

    With that question, the discussion of that occupied them deep into the evening and Juvage was pleased to discover tha Casimir for all his young was beginning to mature well. He'd be a worthy successor to his father.



    The next day dawn cold and a little misty. Still the armor of the Lithuanian's shone brightly, and Giltine's chosen in front of Casimir and Juvage focused hard on the city ahead of them. Both men watched the Ballistae fire bolts at the gate boredom and tension mixing as the damage grew. Soon it would burst and then the race would begin...



    "CHARGE! All forces advance double-quick!" Juvage shouted when the gate finally breached. Both Casimir and Juvage urged their horses to more speed and they raced ahead of the rest of the troops.

    "Horsemen, Casimir, spread out and find the artillery, stop them before they can catch us in the streets! Move!" Juvage ordered as soon as he was through the gatehouse.



    As the rest of the Lithuanian army thundered through after him, he saw Casimir raised a hand in acknowlege ment and gallop west along the outwall to begin a circuit of the city while his own men discovered a unit of artillery lurking in a side street. Already he could see the dust of the Republican forces advancing along the street right at him.



    "Archers! The walls!" He could see they were in some confusion but moving. He urged them on to more speed but he needn't have worried.



    The archers were on the walls now, lining up as best they could, and when they fired their arrows, they were as numerous as the blades of grass or the snow flakes that fell.



    Meanwhile, Casimir had made a half circuit of the city. When he turned a corner he saw a trebuchet crew frantically trying to load their artillery to take a shot at him. Urging his men to more speed he focused intently on hammering the crew into the ground.

    Don't think about it launching at you in the narrow street. Don't think about the flames, you'll get there in time probably, it probably won't happen...

    ...but what if it DOES?

    It didn't.



    In the narrow streets the battle raged. The enemy lord led his spearmen, woodsmen, horsemen and archers in a furious malee against the Lithuanian Bajorija and Tartars. Arrows from both sides fell thick as the snow and men fell as if reaped.



    There was a convlusion suddenly, and Juvage strained to see what was happening. A shout went up from both sides, one of joy and fear. The Republican General was done, his bodyguard fallinga round him and his men were surging forward!

    Still more of Novgorod's soldiers survived and they were retreating quickly, clearly upset but not panicking not yet, down the street. They'd form up around the square and force him to dig them out. The city would be littered with corpses from one end to the other... Juvage felt his face set into grim lines when a flash of blue appeared behind the yellow-clad enemy.

    Casimir.

    Riding hard, the young man threw his bodyguard against the retreating Republicans and sent them into total panic. Their retreat became a route as his men cut them down, trapping them in a pincer.



    When it was over and Guba Gubin's body as well as the rest were burning outside the city, courtesy of the hundred or so prinsoners they'd taken, Juvage was amazed at the light losses. An eleventh of his force was lost, but some 700 remained.

    "Now what, my lord Juvage?" Casimar asked. His face was flushed with excitement but he was calm and he'd done some good hard work today as well. Juvage was starting to trust the young man in battle.

    "My Lords!" a messenger said moving among the corpses. "A message from the Grand Duke!"

    "Ah, the response we've been waiting for," Juvage observed.

    "What does it say? Casimiar demanded excitedly.

    The message was short and applied equally to the Horde and the Republic, and Juvage read it aloud.

    "Press them."

    "But Juvage, the city is still restless we cannot press them just yet we must stay for a time--"

    "When the Grand Duke orders we must obey."

    "But my lord, how--"

    "I think you know."

    "Lord Juvage!" Casimir said saluting him with a fist over his heart. The young man's excitement had turned to pale determination and he nodded to carrying out the orders.

    Press them indeed, Juvage thought.



    As the corpses and burning rose behind them, most of the Lithuanian army moved out to the east heading for Pernau. They were laden with the spoils of Arrensburg, now Kuressaare and let only a skeleton force behind them. As they crossed to the mainland, a new messenger arrived via ship. Butvydas the heir had laid siege to Polish Cracow. The soldiers themselves were excited: The army was advancing in all directions, and their prospects could only get richer as they marched along the coast...





    Another battle with another Republican army. This one had gone a little harder than the last and his sword was notched in a few places. Daumantas looked at the warrior below him and casually trampled him with his horse's hooves.

    "That last one had a stiff neck eh, boy?" Gediminas laughed.

    "And more my lord," Daumantas returned with a smile. The iron collar around the Boyar Son's neck had necessitated a second blow but the Republican's neck was broken just the same.

    The word had come back of course, and he and Gediminas had obeyed, resupplying near Minsk and pushing east. Even now their outlying men were beginning to encircle the city of Vitebsk in accordance with the Grand Duke's order. Reports said Lithuanian armies were laying siege to the Horde village of Chernobyl, and that the Grand Duke himself was in the field.



    In the stillness that often reigned after a battle, Daumantas heard a rumbling from the west, heading this way. Above him, the sky was clear the snow cold, but to the west there was a dark smear. A thunderstorm in winter.

    Daumantas wondered if it was a portent for what was to come....
    Nazgul Killer's M2TW Guide
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    Good things come to those who wait... But better things come to those who never hesitate.

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