Viktor Kreikil
Viktor Kriekil
The farthest tribe in the east, the Kava, were considered soft by the eleven other tribes. Soft because they let the slovenly Grundle walk through their lands without taking their women. Soft because they only resisted bountry wars, never initiated them. Soft because they ate those grubby roots in the ground in the winter when their livestock ran low rather than starving. Viktor resented this image from the day he was born. They were not soft just because they were not cruel. At the gathering of the tribes every five years, the greatest warriors from each tribe would compete in tests of skill and strenth. Kava never won, although they rarely lost. Viktor changed that when he grew to be a man. He vowed to elevate the name of Kava above all others, they would be known as the great tribe they were. So when he came of age, fifteen years old, he entered the ranks and laid to shame the best warriors of 11 tribes. His skill on the horse unmatched. His ferocity in battle, untamable. His tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds, unbreakable.
The war of madness began the same year that Viktor was named “head of the horse”, the highest rank among the Kava warriors. At twenty years old, he was the youngest head in remembered history. The old and younger warriors alike admired his skills and were proud to have him lead them into battle. There was much grumbling when the elders told of the alliance with Konn and Uusam to drive back the Shin, for the Konn had always been the enemies of all Mung. But the word of the elders was law and they obeyed. The shin were devoured by twelve tribes of Mung, for the first time in centuries riding behind the walls of Konn. It was strange indeed. Stranger still was the sound of the battle horns blowing after the enemy had been routed. When the Wisk and Evra tribes came at Kava with drawn sword, that was not strange, Viktor knew what to do about that!
Still, when the elders sounded retreat, Viktor obeyed. It took every ounce of loyalty and trust in his elders to obey because every fiber of his body screamed FIGHT! Kava was betrayed by all eleven tribes, they took Konn and drove out the Kava and the Uusam. But they got their reward when the Shin returned to smash them to the ground. And so the Kava warriors were relatively unscathed while the other tribes were crushed.
The Kava way was not to fight, not to rule, but enough was enough. In the year after the great betrayal, the elders spoke of crushing all the Mung for their treachery, and enforcing Kava law amongst the 12 tribes. Even so, one against a beaten eleven was poor odds. They would need help from outside. Thus, when this Captain Yu arrived from Uusam and spoke with the elders, Viktor suspected they had found the allies they needed. The price? Viktor was sent to join the Uusam mission to kill the mad emperor, it’s what he does best, so no price at all.
