Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 29: Among the snow(1)

The snow was as cold as ever , white and pure, yet so cold and deadly.He paused for a moment, scooping up a handful of the snow and molding it into a ball .

With a flick of his wrist, he sent the snowball sailing through the air, its trajectory halted only by the solid stone wall of the fortress that loomed before him. North's Bane, as they called it, was a bastion against what came after civilization, savagery and barbarity.

Maesinius regarded the towering walls with awe. Three long years had passed since he first set foot within these icy confines, yet the sense of awe had never truly faded. His gaze moved up , where the flickering flames of the torches danced in the frigid breeze. For a fleeting moment, he entertained the idea of scaling the walls and warming himself, but ultimately he dismissed the notion and continued on his walk.

Three years had etched their mark on Maesinius since his reluctant arrival at North's Bane. A mere boy of fifteen summers then, he had cursed his father's name for casting him into this frozen hell . Yet, in hindsight, he pondered the true intent behind all this, just like the reason of the exile. Was it to purge him of the spoiled behaviour he had ?Or was it to teach him the way of war? Nonetheless, he learned both.

The bitter cold of the northern climate had proven to be the most merciless of tutors, stripping away the entitlement that had clung to him like a second skin. No longer did his manhood remain untested, for the rugged landscape and rugged people of the north demanded resilience and fortitude in equal measure, and he now had it.

In those early days, the harshness of his new surroundings felt like a punishment, his body rebelling against the biting chill with each passing day. His fingers and toes had grown numb from the relentless cold, while his throat burned with each breath. But time and the cold had tempered his flesh and hardened his resolve.

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Gradually, the northern lords, initially wary of harboring a pampered youth, even if that child was the heir to the empire , had come to accept him as one of their own. They shared ale beneath the same roof and fought battles together.For the northerners, that meant they were brothers, and Maesinius certainly liked that.

North's Bane certainly was a daunting name; just like the fort sandwhiched between two mountains, if an army was to pass from the cold desert out of civilization, they had to pass through the fort. For centuries, this fortress had stood as the last bastion against the cold of the desolate wastelands beyond civilization's reach.If an army wanted to enter the north, they had to first break down that stone . Not that it never happened—just not by force .

Instead, the empire had long employed a strategy of diplomacy and assimilation when dealing with the tribes of the north. Many a time, these rugged warriors were granted safe passage through the gates of North's Bane, their weapons surrendered, and their allegiance sworn to the empire. In return, they were granted fertile lands to till and cultivate, transforming them from nomadic raiders into settled farmers and loyal subjects.

The northerners found new purpose and prosperity in the empire's domains, while the empire gained a steady influx of strong, able-bodied soldiers to bolster its ranks in times of need.Hell, sometimes among the tribes the empire even accepted giants! a colossal beast five times the size of a normal person yet with half of their brain, they wore no armor as no blachsmit was able to built a cover that they could war. Even more scarier though was their steed....

Whispers of colossal beasts, towering over the landscape with fur as thick as a winter's coat and a nose even longer than the biggest tree, that functioned as human harm and could shout terrible roars in the sky , circulated among the people like wildfire. Yet, one truth remained undiscovered: the last sighting of such a mythical creature had occurred nearly a century ago,dead.

And for Maesinius, the thought of such beasts being consigned to the annals of history brought a sense of relief, for he knew that the realm was better off without their presence. It has been decades since the last giant wa seen, and some talks circulated among the lords that they went extinct for good. He always wanted to meet one.

The tribes that ventured into the empire were often the more adaptable ones, willing to bend rather than break under the weight of imperial authority. They were pragmatic, recognizing the benefits of integration and cooperation with their southern neighbors. However, there existed a breed of tribesmen whose pride ran as deep as the roots of the northern pines, who would sooner face death than kneel before what they called "horse fuckers.".

To the eyes of these indomitable warriors, anyone south of the North's Bane was deemed a southerner, regardless of their actual origins. These tribesmen were a breed apart—fierce, resilient, and possessed of a rugged strength that belied their often harsh surroundings. Maesinius had borne witness to their ferocity on three occasions, when bands numbering in the thousands attempted to circumvent the fortress, seeking to pillage the lands beyond its formidable walls. Each time, they were met with unyielding resistance, repelled by the northern lords who led by example, clad in the storied armor of their forebears and wielding axes as mighty as the mountains themselves.

Unlike their adversaries, the northerners lacked access to the abundant resources found in the southern lands. Iron, that precious metal so essential to forging weapons of war, was a rarity in the frozen wastes of the north. Yet within the walls of North's Bane, the defenders wielded the finest weapons and armor the empire could provide, their blades honed to a razor's edge with imperial craftsmanship.

Maesinius vividly recalled the baptism of blood that marked his rite of passage into manhood—the moment when he faced down one of these northern warriors upon the wall. With a sword in hand and his heart pounding in his chest, he braced himself as the barbarian charged towards him. His first blow glanced harmlessly off the iron-clad foe, and Maesinius responded in kind . In a flash of steel, he struck back, his blade finding its mark on the savage neck .

In the aftermath of the battle, as he emerged from the fray, his face streaked with the blood of his foes, the northern lords regarded him with newfound respect.They made him sit, poured him ale, and patted his back.They had never done that to him , and bestowed on the young lord a title earned through steel and sweat, not blood; by the standards of the north, he had proven himself a man.

Despite the myriad tales spun by southerners about the harshness and hostility of the north, one undeniable truth persisted: They were one.

Unlike the southern lords, who were often likened to serpents with their subtle schemes and hidden agendas, the northerners embodied the spirit of the wolf—fierce, loyal, and bound together by the unbreakable bonds of brotherhood.

In the north, strength lay not in the acquisition of land or wealth but in the solidarity of the pack. These hardy folk lived in close-knit communities, where survival depended not on the size of one's territory but on the strength of the ties that bound them together. They were no strangers to hardship, for their lands were barren and unforgiving, yet they knew that in times of need, their brothers would stand by their side, ready to defend and support one another.If they were to fight like the southerners they would go extict either by famine or by the savages. In winter the lone wold dies while the pack survives .

Unlike the southerners, who often sought to expand their domains at the expense of their neighbors, the northerners harbored no such ambitions. Land was plentiful, yet cultivation was a struggle against the elements, and few saw the wisdom in claiming more territory that would remain untamed and uninhabited.

To Maesinius, a son of the south thrust into the heart of the northern wilderness, this sense of unity was both foreign and familiar. At first, he had been regarded with suspicion and mistrust as an outsider trespassing on sacred ground. Yet over time, he had proven himself worthy of their trust and respect, earning his place among them through deeds of valor and acts of solidarity.

He had become one with the north, and the north had become a part of him.And behind him, thousands of others got his back. Snow passed through his blood, and his blood passed through the snow , they were one.