Reincarnated to the Past 21: Arnsya 1 (Patreon)

Reincarnated to the Past
Chapter 21: Arnsya 1

-VB-

In the meantime that I waited with the rest of the Higher River Kettin tribe and the chieftains who arrived early, I got my fourth power. As I’ve planned, I needed a power that got me a boost in … anything really. 

So I practiced. I practiced.

And I practiced.

What did I practice? 

I practiced something I rarely practiced: swordsmanship. 

A man’s skill with a sword was laughed at in modernity. 

A man’s skill with a sword in antiquity?  It was the basis of their reputation, and sometimes, what broke that reputation. 

So I practiced. And practiced. And then I got it. 

[Superior Swordsmanship].

-VB-

After two weeks of various Kettin chiefs trickling slowly into Higher River Kettin village, all of the Kettin tribe leaders gathered for the meeting.

In that same time period, the Higher River Kettin tribe set out to build an opulent (to Kettin standard) manor specifically for the purpose of the chieftains’ meeting. I decided to help out, and lifted entire logs into place for people to hammer down and whatnot. 

Unfortunately, my show of strength turned out to be a misfortune. For all who saw me or heard of my “feat,” they began to shower me with marriage proposals and whatnot. 

After I verbally shot down the last chieftain who had the gall to insult my wife, that stopped.

It may have something to do with my iron axe, borrowed from the Higher River Kettins, that broke a log into two with but four strikes the day after the last chief’s “clandestine” meeting with me.

I digressed. For those two weeks, I helped with the construction of the biggest building in … probably the entire region. I could even call it a primitive palace. And when its construction had finished, the chieftains gathered and sat down for a talk.

Many fur cushions were laid down on top of the many red, white, and brown quilts that covered the entire floor of the biggest chamber of this palace. No one sat at the center of it, and everyone of importance had a seat at the edge of the room. Those like me who were followers of other chiefs stood behind our sitting chieftains. 

The chief of the Higher River Kettin stood up and walked to the center. 

“I, Urram the Chief of the Higher River Kettin, welcome my fellow arns to the third gathering of the Kettin chieftains, the Third Arnsya! We’ve gathered today to listen to the going-ons of our tribes, to hear the complaints of injustice, and to resolve what can be resolved with words rather than weapons and blood of our fellow Kettin!”

Wow, this sounded closer to some kind of late medieval shit than Ancient Greek. 

“Though some of you may not have heard, the Scythians had come and fought with one of our own no more than two seasons ago!”

Murmurs broke out.

“And the Lower River Kettins, without aid from all others, defeated the Scythians, outnumbered!”

Murmurs grew louder.

The Higher River Kettin chief turned to Ghigari and stepped away from the center, allowing my chief to stand up and walk there. Once he was there, he spent a few moments meeting the eyes of the other chieftains.

“The confederation of our kin,” he began. “Was meant to exist as support for each other.” He spread his arms out. “It brought the diaspora of our kins to talk with one another instead of pointing arrows and spears.” He let his arms drop. “And yet, it all turned out to be a big talk. When the Scythians came, we sent word out to our kin. Before the day of the battle, none came. When the day of the battle arrived, none came. After the battle had been won, none came.”

He paused. 

“The Greater Kettin Confederation exists as a means of lending help to each other so that we may never have to suffer at the hands of the Scythians, the Thracians, and all other would-be looters, rapists, and conquerors.”

He slammed his feet into the ground, and for effect, I did the same as discreetly as possible. The ground trembled just a bit.

“WHERE WERE OUR KIN WHEN WE SWORE UPON OUR BLOOD TO HELP EACH OTHER?!” Ghigari roared out, and the wooden palace shook with his voice without my help. Impressive.

Many chieftains looked away in shame. Some even began to sweat. 

“So I stand before you to demand repayment from you all.” 

My eyes watched out for the minute details of other chieftains’ reactions.

I saw it far before others. 

The bulkiest of the chieftains, a man wearing a wolf headdress, stood up and marched to the center. He stopped on his side of the center circle while Ghigari slowly turned around to face a man twice as bulky as him and half as tall.

He was a giant.

“I refuse.”

With those words, tension in the room spiked.

“You’ve grown in size like some young child, chief of the Mahk’s,” Ghigari gritted out. “Are you, the chief of an outsider clan, saying that you are breaking the oath you took?”

The first sentence was a little bit worrying.

“Hardly,” the fully black bearded and moustached man snorted. “I have doubts as to how significant this Scythian attack must have been.” He gestured to the rest of the chieftains. “We all know that the Lower River Kettins are not the biggest of the Kettin tribes. That would be us, the Mahk’s!”

Murmurs of agreements broke out.

“I heard that the Lower Rivers fended off the attack without even a hundred casualties! That sounds more like a skirmish than a real battle, doesn’t it?”

Ghigari glared at Mahk’s chieftain. “You bismearch my honor and the honor of my tribe with your words. Are you prepared to face the consequences of throwing mud at us like this?”

The Mahk’s chieftain laughed. “You and what champion?! I am the strongest of the Kettin! Everyone knows this!”

I snorted. The Mahk’s chieftain was the last chieftain to arrive, and had been ushered straight to this meeting. It was unlikely that he heard anything about me.

“My son-in-law will be the champion,” Ghigari snapped.

I took this chance as the cue to enter the circle.

The Mahk’s chieftain snapped towards me. When our eyes met, I knew instantly that this man was another “blessed.” 

He grinned. He felt a kinship with me, but it was one aimed at with exposed teeth and eyes burning to challenge himself.

“I accept! We fight tomorrow! If I win, then the Lower River Kettins will not receive anything. If I lose, then I will submit!”

The man probably thought he wouldn’t lose, not to someone who was a head shorter than him.

I nodded. Ghigari, seeing my nod, accepted. “Very well, then we shall see each other tomorrow.”

And the other chieftains murmured away like old grannies spreading rumors like there was no tomorrow.

-VB-

Current list of powers:

Perfect Memory Recall [Rank 1]

Minor Body Perfection [Rank 2]

Superior Swordsmanship [Rank 1]