These are some more tales of the Aranwyth tribe who live north of Swenstown. The tribe consists of four clans Anlafi, Otarring, Hormondi and the Brown Horse.
IN THE SHADOW OF THE SIX SISTERS
THE HISTORY OF THE ARANWYTH
As related by Hagurd Windwalker
Lawspeaker to the King
Translated by Darren Graham
THE TALE OF ANLAF (1335) The Tragedy of Ottar
Anlaf decreed that three clans would be formed to face the Bison Riders and destroy them before their raids would destroy the Orlanthi crops and farms. Anlaf gathered his Weaponthanes and made plans for war.
But before Anlaf could gather his forces a small group of Bison Riders attacked the outlying steads where Ottar rived. Ottar's wife was taken and many of his people killed. Ottar gave chase with many of his Shadowcat brothers but was killed by the Bison Riders. The Shadowcars brought back his body after many days, and Anlaf wept. The Shadowcats wanted revenge and would attack the main body of Praxians on the morrow with or without their Orlanthi brothers. Anlaf pleaded with them that they must wait and gather more warriors.
Hormond and his brother Brognar the Humakti came to Anlaf, enraged by Ottar's death, and urged him to attack the next day, but again he asked them to wait and gather more men.
That evening, Ottar's mother came to Anlaf and told him of how their stead had been attacked by the Bison Riders, and of how Ottar had been almost killed defending his family, and how Ottar's wife had only been taken after all the Orlanthi warriors had been killed or mortally wounded. Ottar ht~nself had been so near death that he was unable to draw a full breath. His mother had but healed his terrible wounds and he was on his feet, gathering his broken weapons and Shadowcats, to chase after the Bison Riders and his wife. The Shadowcats had told her how he had discovered his wife dead, and then killed every Bison Rider he found across the plain. He had smeared their blood on his body to show them how he longed for death, for they had killed his only love. Eventually he died at the hand of their Khan, but they had paid a heavy price for this victory.
Anlaf cradled the weeping woman in his arms. He would attack in the morning.
The Battle of the Black Bog
Anlaf marched his warriors to the plain where Ottar had died and saw how Ottar had left a trail of blood across the plain. The warriors stopped at the place where Ottar had burnt the remains of his wife, Eveer. The Shadowcats howled and screamed their lamentations and many of the warriors wept. Thormonds brother Brognar fell to his knees and swore to Humakt that the Bison Khan would die at his hand.
Anlaf assembled his men and spoke of Ottar's great deeds and how he had fallen in battle like a true OrlanthL He spoke of how many more fine warriors would die on this day, and although they were outnumbered, they would use both courage and guile to win this battle and purge these raiders from their land.
Anlaf split his warriors into three groups. To the east of the plain was a a marsh, known to all as the Black Bog, surrounded on both sides by high ridges. Brognar's group would lead the Bison Riders into the Bog. On each ridge Anlaf and Thormond would have a band of men, ready to ambush the Bison Riders when they were caught in the trap.
As Yelm reached his zenith, Brognars skirmishers were attacked by the Bison Rider scouts. While the scouts rode off to fetch the main body, Brognar led his men towards the bog. As he looked back he could see a great host assembling behind him and beginning to charge.
Anlaf and Thormond hid deep in the undergrowth, waiting for the moment to strike. The Bison Riders charged into the bog and through Brognar's men. The ridges erupted in berserk screams as the trap was sprung and the Orlanthi charged at the flank of the Praxians.
The charge was stopped and a fierce battle began. A Shadowcat fought alongside every warrior. They leapt at riders and chewed the legs from the angry Bison.
Brognar had lost most of his men and screamed his baffle cry to rally those that were left. A charging Bison Rider came at him from behind and pirced his shield arm with his lance, lipping the arm from his shoulder. Brognar screamed and cut the rider in two with his sword. His men ran to him to heal him, but he refused to be stopped and cut down foe after foe to reach the centre of the battle, and the Bison Khan. Brognar's remaining warriors would not leave his side and fought alongside him, parrying and dying for him.
The battle had become a mass of bloody bodies hacking and stabbing until the muddy bog lay thick with blood and corpses. Anlaf and Thormond fought courageously on the flanks but were heavily outnumbered by the Bison Riders, and were slowly losing their position in the marsh.
Brognar had cut a swath of death for Humakt. All of his men had been killed and he stood bleeding in front of the Bison Khan. The two screamed as their swords clashed, the roar of powerful magic drowned out the sound of the screaming and dying. The fighting around Brognar stoppod as both sides watched to see who the victor would he. Brognar was knocked to the ground and the Khan charged at him. Brognar quickly brought up his blood caked sword and buried it in the Khan's chest, Brognar stood and lifted the body on his sword, throwing it into the air and cutting it into a thousand pieces, for Ottar.
A great howl came from the Bison Riders and they charged Brognar in a great mass of bodies. Anlaf and Thormond had seen the fight from a distance and pressed their advantage against the demoralised Bison Riders, to reach Brognar before it was too late. The Bison Riders died swiftly as they lost the will to fight and the baffle was soon over. The bog was littered with bloody heaps of the dead and dying, all slowly sinking into the mire, but no trace could be found of Brognar Deathstroke. The hill on which the bog is found has since been called Brognar's hill, in memory of the Humakti hero.'
THE TALE OF GUDRUN (1340) 'There was a woman named Gudrun Horsemistress, daughter of Boruk, whose guile and trickery in trading had earned her the name 'Twotongues' The name of her tribe has been forgotten but all remember how she tricked a horsebreeder into trading a magical stallion for a bag of worthless eggs. The Tribal Lawspeakers denounced her practfces and she was judged a criminal and ordered to pay wergild. Instead, she severed her clan's ties with the tribe and went north. On the way, the clan earned much silver by selling breeding rights to other clans before settling in the Forloss hills, where they used their silver to buy land from the Ottaring and Hormundi.'
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