The Battle of Svetlogorsk

 

“Send word to the Prince at once, he must know of what has happened in Svetlogorsk!” Zacharius ordered one of the bystanders upon hearing the news brought to Fleatown with great haste. “By all means send word, Gromovnik, but the Prince will do nothing! Yes, very true” The citizens of Novigrad wasted no time in notifying the stranger to their town of how things function within the realm. They have seen villages be burned to the ground, hundreds displaced and broken people fleeing to Novigrad or cities in the west of Slavia. Not since the days of the kings have these lands known the comfort of safety. This simple but harsh truth left a bad taste in the mouth of Zacharius, his job was to always be the wall between the Sons of Perun and the darkness. He had sworn an oath to Perun that he would do so, and yet as years go by it is increasingly difficult to do so. “If the Prince shall not defend Svetlogorsk or avenge it, then I will. Who of you will follow me?” The young Gromovnik spoke assuredly, bravely raising his mace into the sky for everyone to see. As he spoke the words, very quickly he realized that the people he was asking to give their lives, could scarcely wield a sword. However, many in the crowd chose to stand with the young warrior. Perhaps wishing to avenge the loses they have suffered in similar raids, or perhaps Zacharius had struck a nerve. Whatever the reason was, the provisions were to be gathered.

Some food and warm clothing were needed, bows and arrows, as well as helms, some hounds to sniff out the enemy and a carriage to carry all of the essentials. Each of these requirements were met by the citizens of Novigrad and Fleatown. Some gave from their winter stores, some dug up the remains of their fallen to take the weapons. Hunters came to join the party and the many mothers who lived in these parts brought food and clothing. The village of Svetlogorsk and it’s pillaging had for a moment at least shown the beating heart of this nation of men. They did not by any measure have much to give, but what they had was to be given. Justice had to be appeased, but far more importantly hope had been rekindled for a moment as each man, woman and child gave their all to prepare those willing for their trip. Noticeably absent from the preparations was Zacharius, and many started to wonder if the young warrior had abandoned them. In truth he was afraid, his brow was filled with cold sweat and his heart pumped forcefully beneath his chainmail armor. But the shrine where he was praying gave him some comfort. He convened with his god, the father of men, Perun and he asked for his blessing. Once the blessings were asked for, and the sacrifice of wine and meat was given Zacharius put on his spiked helmet and a thick leather cuirass before proceeding to join the others.

Before long the men had gathered, the women and children bid them farewell and the party of a couple dozen men made their way north to Svetlogorsk, the village beneath the mountains of glory as the Valahians called them. The party slept with hunters as sentries and quite quickly the sentries noticed that their number had grown since they had left Novigrad the day prior. Once sentry quickly ran to inform their Gromovnik and he found the young warrior talking to a familiar face sitting beside the fire. Rogoz; the man who had brought the White Lady into Fleatown had stowed away with them and was now speaking with displeased Zacharius. “You are not fit to join us, your arms are far too weak to hold a sword or nock a bow, what use can we have of you?” Asked the young warrior hesitant to show his anger. “My strength does not come from my arms but from my mind…yes…my um.. Mind, although it is clouded and has been somewhat in recent months….I promise i can be of use to you all” Rogoz spoke with a far clearer demeanor, his eyes were calmer. All of this both calmed and disturbed the men of the party which were by now gathered around the fire, looking to see how their leader would act. Zacharius sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity before standing up; “Fine, we shall see what you can offer us when the fighting begins”

“As for the rest of you, since you have woken i would like to tell you how we will engage our enemy.’ Zacharius turned to the men who encircled him with inquisitive looks. “Drechians are not strong creatures because they are individually powerful, rather because they are careful and come in great numbers. In order to defeat this foe we will need to be cunning and ready, steal your hearts men because the fight will be tough. We shall not however engage the enemy head on, this will only serve them. I propose the following: Two men will go into Svetlogorsk first with the carriage and our provisions, most importantly you will take the dogs with you. Drechians are frightened of hounds and this will be our surprise.” Zacharius spoke calmly going from man to man, his heart was nervous but if you were to look at him now you would not see fear, rather a warrior inspiring his men. “Who will be the bait then?” asked one of the hunters somewhat uneasy with the proposed plan so far. “You my good sir, as I am informed that you know how to deal with hounds, you will be accompanied by Rogoz, our dear stowaway.” These words were greeted with laughter from most of the men gathered, the old wanderer Rogoz nodded his head in agreement and the hunter did the same. Once you come into the village the Drechians will try to attack you, if they come close you will release the hounds and flee outside of the village. Here, in hiding we will be waiting, the hunters will let loose their arrows, the warriors their spears and we will then form a shield wall. If all goes to plan…the drechians will flee from the field and be chased down by our hounds. Then we will find their lair and charge them as our forefathers did, by this point they will be afraid of us. There is only one issue we must resolve before we go further on our trip…” Zacharius paused and looked around. “What is it? Tell us boy!`` The men eagerly threw question after question at the young warrior. “ I need to know, are you with me?” The Gromovnik thundered with his voice and a thunderous response came from his men: “We are!!!” With some screaming one single word, a name they have not called out to in so long “PERUN!”

Dawn broke shortly after the calls to the god creator were sounded and the party continued onward marching slowly. As was customary for this time of year in Slavia, falling snow was a constant companion, further slowing the march of the men, who had to trudge through and in more than one occasion push their carriage of supplies. The dogs which accompanied the men ran around shepherding them forward, guarding and scouting the way. Only a day's walk from Svetlogorsk the men took up their weapons when marching since experience told them the Drechians are most likely watching them by now. Though small in stature and weak in constitution these creatures knew how to use their strengths. Once a village had been raided they would put scouts on most roads leading to the plundered place. This was due to returning villagers who they wanted to slaughter, taking what they could. The Drechians lived very hard lives, hiding away from the world of men. Once in ages past they served as scouting parties and skirmishers to the great Valahian Empire. Even so, in those glory days they were considered second rate citizens of the empire. Whereas  the Sons of Perun lived as slaves in those dark times. Nevertheless the volunteer army of some thirty men marched on. Their scouts could not see any signs of enemies far and wide, most likely due to the heavy snow, which has been known to ward off Drechian raiding parties. The hounds and their masters did however, notice something following them, deep in the woods.  They could not see what, but a presence was felt and it exuded a chill that surpassed the heavy frost of winter. “It’s her..”  said Rogoz clutching his wolf fur he had taken to keep him warm. “Most likely, you will not be rid of her until you appease her”  Zacharius, who was walking next to the old stowaway,  said calmly, watching the road ahead. “How does one do that?” Rogoz hurriedly asked, rejoicing at the prospect of freeing him from what seemed like a curse. “There are several ways; you could go out into the forest and give her a sacrifice, something dear to your heart. You could lay on the ground beneath an oak tree and offer yourself to her, or you could show her that you are caring and will protect women and not use them as you tried with her” Zacharius spoke coldly, displeased by the men he walked beside. He was not fond of men who did not conduct themselves as such. According the teaching of Perun women were the equals of men, and trying to disturb that or rather disrespect that offended the Gromovnik. “Then I shall go offer myself to her, I have no ill wishes on any woman…I…I don't know what happened to me, it…seems i must repent. I will try to return to you all as soon as I can” Rogoz continued after a short pause, collecting his thoughts.

And so the party grew smaller by one man, still it marched on and when dusk started to settle and the falling snow relented in the distance they could see Svetlogorsk. In the blanket of snow which covered the surrounding area they could see several bodies, only barely covered. Some were being eaten by wolves, some rotting away. A bleak sight, one that was sadly a familiarity to the Sons of Perun who dwelt in Slavia. “We will go through with the battle tomorrow, at first light, and when the battle is done we shall bury the dead as our fathers did.” Zacharius told the men who gathered around him, their fury and dismay growing. The young warriors' words calmed them and so they set up camp in the nearby woods. The sentries were set up as the night before with the dogs joining their masters. Zacharius went from sentry to sentry, reciting great poems as he walked his hammer glowing dimly on his waist. The sight of this served to inspire the men and give them solace. 

Once daybreak came the carriage was reddied for its part in the battle plan. “Where is our stowaway ?” asked the hunter, ordered to go with the carriage. “Here he is!” Rogoz answered from the road behind them, waving his hand. Zacharius smiled as he noticed several claw marks on the man's face. He walked to him, before checking his face..”She is harsh, but still you are among the living, congratulations”. Content with all the plans and the men that he now had with him, Zacharius ordered everyone to their positions. The carriage strutted off to the village, going around bodies before stopping in the center, surrounded by burned homes and huts. Graveling, gnawing and screeching soon greeted the visitors to the remains of Svetlogorsk. Rogoz and the hunter quickly climbed up the carriage, the hunter preparing his bow and his much older companion unsheathing a sword. From the remains of the village then emerged several dozen drechians, barking some strange sounds that resembled words to the two men. Finally the beasts charged the carriage. Not giving them time to get too close the hunter and his companion ran from their enemy and out into the open field beyond. Following them, a rabble of drechians used slings to throw rocks, running as fast as they could. Their small stature making it difficult for them to go through the snow. Once they were clear of the village a hail of arrows and spears flew through the sky, hitting several of the beasts. Stopping them in their tracks, confusion set in for a short while, before they saw a man standing in front of the prey they were hunting just moments ago. The charge resumed once more, as wildly as it was before, only stopping when they noticed another hail of weapons flying their way and a shield wall of men forming in front of them. Drechians however, did not run from the fight and the sight of armed men excited them, so they charged, believing their number to be too great. When the two groups finally met, the sound of shields and swords crashing into one another was fierce. Zacharius looked to either side of his position, edging the men to hold, shouting “PERUN” at the top of his voice before smashing several foes with his mace. Finally he turned the hunter which had ridden the carriage into the village and nodded. The hunter broke from the shield wall and whistled as loud as his lungs would allow him. Alerting the several dogs hiding patiently in the carriage still located in the village. Hearing their master's call they charged out from the village, attacking the Drechians from behind. Seeing panic engulf their opponents Zacharius spoke several verses to his hammer, releasing a wind from the hammer, pushing the enemy line back. Each strike that came by the Gromovnik clapped loudly as it was thunder from the sky. The fight would last for some time, but at the end of the day the drechians lay defeated, none surviving. In the fighting several men were wounded and two had died, the shield wall had held and losses were minimal. A resounding victory which should have been celebrated, if it weren’t for the job at hand. Burying people who had died several days prior…and to the horror of the party, no women were found among the dead.

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