Talking to Samuel, part 2.
The champions of the seven nations met the Akul Giants amongst the remains of the annihilated army. Russian ministers had forced farmers to send their herds and flocks to the battleground, to halt the giants’ migration North West. In the Communist era the old proverb resurfaced, that a struggling farmer can feed his family, but a prosperous farmer feeds giants instead.
The effectiveness of the Tassamec Chests was quickly proven, with the champions managing what a thousand men could not: cutting one of the Akul through, and down. Among these heroes was the youngest prince of Romania, who had been raised to be brave but to have no ambitions of his own; a Tartar, who had been offered his own nation; a young Imam from Turkey; the daughter of the King of Persia, the only person he was certain loved him; and a Bulgarian officer, rendered incapable of fathering children as a pledge of loyalty.
At first, with the elation of success, the champions pressed on, chasing down the giants and engaging them – each time victorious. They were not prepared though, for the speed of the thirty-foot creatures, bounding across the country in zigzags and spirals to avoid their hunters. When wearing the Tassamec Armour they lost themselves in the power they were now capable of. The world is a different place when your senses all expand to hear each raindrop as it falls, to smell the scents released as it strikes and rehydrates the dust, to be able to count each drop in a storm. The world is much smaller, if once you had to ride for days and now you can run for minutes to cover the same distance. And then there are the Akul: huge, vicious man-eaters that tower above you – and all the stories that you heard you thought were lies, but here they are, charging you, screaming, knowing they’re in a fight to the death, and it’s the most exhilarating moment you’ve ever known – so much so that it expands to eclipse the rest of your life.
Not every battle was won. Despite the protection of the armour, a thirty-foot giant could still push the warrior into the ground, or throw them a great distance, so they were dazed inside, yet intact. Advised of their lack of tactics, the champions began to push the Akul back towards the southern Urals, maintaining a steady line of attack, but then the giants – shrewd within their brutal minds – realised a flaw in the Tassamec Armour’s design. They held the Ukrainian knight so firmly that he couldn’t move. He burnt them with the crystals in his gauntlets, but they changed their grip and held him tighter. And then they held him under the Kama River.
The six survivors took the loss strangely. Within their lives as champions, it was as though they were the only people in the world. From believing they were demi-gods, they were suddenly vulnerable, and their fear was as distorted as their excess of pride. When the new champion from Ukraine arrived to take on the Tassamec Armour – as agreed by all the nations beneath Guyrovic’s tower – the six others refused to accept him, leading next day to his murder and the deaths of all witnesses. The seventh Tassamec Chest was hidden, and the six survivors resumed their campaign against the Akul.
Archaeology has never unearthed the remains of any of the fallen Akul, but it has discovered the site of a battle with only one army, south of Novgorod. It is thought that the bodies of the giants were taken to Moscow as proof of victory, or burnt to prevent their existence passing from rumour into historical fact rather than legend. It is possible that the wizard, Guyrovic, took at least one of the giants as part of his price.
The effectiveness of the Tassamec Chests was quickly proven, with the champions managing what a thousand men could not: cutting one of the Akul through, and down. Among these heroes was the youngest prince of Romania, who had been raised to be brave but to have no ambitions of his own; a Tartar, who had been offered his own nation; a young Imam from Turkey; the daughter of the King of Persia, the only person he was certain loved him; and a Bulgarian officer, rendered incapable of fathering children as a pledge of loyalty.
At first, with the elation of success, the champions pressed on, chasing down the giants and engaging them – each time victorious. They were not prepared though, for the speed of the thirty-foot creatures, bounding across the country in zigzags and spirals to avoid their hunters. When wearing the Tassamec Armour they lost themselves in the power they were now capable of. The world is a different place when your senses all expand to hear each raindrop as it falls, to smell the scents released as it strikes and rehydrates the dust, to be able to count each drop in a storm. The world is much smaller, if once you had to ride for days and now you can run for minutes to cover the same distance. And then there are the Akul: huge, vicious man-eaters that tower above you – and all the stories that you heard you thought were lies, but here they are, charging you, screaming, knowing they’re in a fight to the death, and it’s the most exhilarating moment you’ve ever known – so much so that it expands to eclipse the rest of your life.
Not every battle was won. Despite the protection of the armour, a thirty-foot giant could still push the warrior into the ground, or throw them a great distance, so they were dazed inside, yet intact. Advised of their lack of tactics, the champions began to push the Akul back towards the southern Urals, maintaining a steady line of attack, but then the giants – shrewd within their brutal minds – realised a flaw in the Tassamec Armour’s design. They held the Ukrainian knight so firmly that he couldn’t move. He burnt them with the crystals in his gauntlets, but they changed their grip and held him tighter. And then they held him under the Kama River.
The six survivors took the loss strangely. Within their lives as champions, it was as though they were the only people in the world. From believing they were demi-gods, they were suddenly vulnerable, and their fear was as distorted as their excess of pride. When the new champion from Ukraine arrived to take on the Tassamec Armour – as agreed by all the nations beneath Guyrovic’s tower – the six others refused to accept him, leading next day to his murder and the deaths of all witnesses. The seventh Tassamec Chest was hidden, and the six survivors resumed their campaign against the Akul.
Archaeology has never unearthed the remains of any of the fallen Akul, but it has discovered the site of a battle with only one army, south of Novgorod. It is thought that the bodies of the giants were taken to Moscow as proof of victory, or burnt to prevent their existence passing from rumour into historical fact rather than legend. It is possible that the wizard, Guyrovic, took at least one of the giants as part of his price.
posted by The son of Edward Fold at 3:31 am
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