“Raiders from the South! Raiders from the South!” screamed the runner. The man looked like he had been through hell. Blood was streaming from all over his body. It was a miracle that he had managed to run all the way from the neighbouring village. Ambisagrus saw the entire scene unfold before him as he walked to the market to buy food for the day. The village chief came running out of his hut to meet the stranger. He was accompanied by several other village headmen. “Run for your lives!” screamed the runner,”Run away! Hide your wives and children! An unstoppable menace is out to destroy us all!”
A small crowd was beginning to gather near the runner. “What is the meaning of this?” demanded the village chief. Ambisagrus joined the crowd of people to find out what was going on.
"Sire, I am a Bama, a runner from the village of Ocelum. We were attacked by foreign forces yesterday. Attackers! Invaders! Plunderers! Call them whatever you want! They are coming, seeking to destroy you all! I only just escaped with my life. They burned down my entire village as well as Lemavi and countless others before that. They march northward, on their quest to conquer our lands.” A ringing silence swept through the crowd. Ambisagrus felt panic grip him. The villagers of Lemavi were some of the greatest warriors in the land. What force could defeat them?
“We shall stand and fight!”, roared a villager. He was echoed by many other men gathered there.
“These foreigners are armed to the teeth and have almost supernatural abilities!”, cried the runner, “Did you not hear me? They killed each and every villager, warrior and child in Lemavi. What makes you think you can stand up to them? They have over a thousand men. You cannot surely hope to fight them and win. You'll be slaughtered!”
He was met by shouts of disagreement.
“We'll teach those scum - ”
“We are the Celts! No one can take our lands - ”
“We are the children of The Dagda, no one can stop us!”
“SILENCE!” boomed the village chief.
The crowd, which now contained most of the village population immediately fell silent. Ambisagrus was joined by Drest and Bricius.
“What happened?” asked Bricius.
“Shh... listen.”
“What this man says is true. We are probably the most peaceful tribe in Hibernia. If the people of Lemavi couldn’t take them on, we cannot either.”, said the chief.
“Can you trust this man Sire? He could just be part of a clever plan to drive us all out of Aviliobris so that his tribe can take over - ”
“I thought I told you to keep quiet Judoc!” shouted the chief, “The people of Ocelum have always had peaceful relations with us. They have helped us in times of need and we have helped them plenty too. I have no reason to doubt this man.”
The runner looked around the crowd with pleading eyes, “What I say is true Master Judoc. I have lost my entire family and many dear friends to the hands of the raiders from the South. My village chief sent me here to warn you so that a similar fate may not befall you also.”
The man named Judoc started to say something, but stopped. The chief too took a good look at the crowd. “We need to evacuate immediately,” he said, “How long will it take for them to reach Aviliobris?”
“Half a day Sire. The size of their army will slow them down.”
“Pack lightly, we leave in an hour's time.” And with that, the chief dismissed the crowd and he himself went into deep discussion with the other village headmen.
YOU ARE READING
In Fire And Darkness
MaceraI've always been fascinated by the ancient Celts, their culture and their captivating folklore. So I wanted to create the fiercest, most deadly Celtic warrior of all; someone who wasn't just a fighter, but a thinker too. ...
