AN: If you like what you are reading, you can help by giving my novel Rating.
As Grud's voice rang across the field of battle, men stopped in their tracks, and the fighting died down.
'Good. Looks like Ba'Rak does not have everyone's loyalty to the point that they will fight me to the death.' Grud thought to himself as he was thinking of a way to extract his men and himself from the situation.
But before Grud could make any further moves, there was a commotion at the outskirts of the gathered Thunder Strider forces. Groups of men started breaking off and running, and from the markings and attire of each group, Grud surmised that they were groupings of individual tribes making a run for it.
And as the message that the chieftain of the Thunder Striders had fallen in battle spread across the battlefield, it took a few seconds before the message sank in for everyone, and when it did, chaos broke out.
Besides the majority of the protectorate tribes breaking away to most likely return to their own tribe, a good portion of them started breaking out in combat with other protectorate tribes. This greatly confused Grud and the alliance forces about why a free-for-all was breaking out, at least until Grud looked closer at his immediate surroundings, which consisted mainly of direct Thunder Strider Tribe members.
Thunder Strider Tribe commanders who were better armored led groups of men in battle against other Thunder Strider commanders and those under their command. It then dawned on Grud that an internal faction war was taking place to see who got to rule over what was left of the Thunder Strider Tribe. And the fact that the protectorate tribes were fighting each other likely meant that the various Thunder Strider commanders had contingency plans in place with various protectorate tribes in the case of Ba'Rak's fall from power.
But despite direct focus being taken off of his forces, Grud knew that he had to get him and his men out of this clusterfuck. With a quick look around to see the condition of the battlefield, Gerd quickly executed a rough plan.
He looked to where his riders were, no less than fifty meters away, fighting their way towards his position, and raised his spear towards them, "Join up with the riders, we are getting out of here!" Grud shouted to his men and led the wedged formation, killing anyone in his way.
This time, with each small group looking out for themselves, it was a lot easier for Grud and the alliance forces to cut their way through the sea of battle. But that did not mean it was easy. Unlike the groups that were battling to see who was left to rule what was left of the Thunder Striders, Grud and the alliance were trying to get out of the battle as unscathed as possible, and they were also carrying their wounded with them, stuffed in wagons and Grud's personal carriage, this slowed things down especially because they had to not only cut a path to the riders, they also had to move the bodies out of the way so the wagons and carrage do not snag on any dead bodies.
When Grud and the alliance forces finally met, the alliance forces formed a moving wall around the riders and pushed some of them off their horses to hitch them to the wagons and carriage. At first, the riders who were pushed off were confused and quickly enraged at being dismounted, ready to throw punches—at least until they saw what their mounts were being used for.
With the wagons and carriage being pulled by some actual horsepower, the now combined column of alliance forces was moving a lot faster towards the outer edge of the encirclement.
As they were making their way out, Grud noticed that all the enemy Thunder Strider commanders and smaller tribe chieftains were keeping a close eye on his moving column and trying to fight their way away from him. But with how cramped the battlefield was, not everyone had the chance to get out of Grud's way in time and were crushed.
Eventually, Grud broke out of the battle, his thick, layered cloak and disposable tied on wooden armor making him look like a porcupine with the pointy ends in the wrong direction, and closely behind him, the alliance forces were fighting their way out of the gap Grud had made. From there, the riders were unleashed to clear a path through the loose pockets of combat happening on the outskirts of the main battle, and the rest of the men on foot fast marched around the main battle and toward the direction of Alliance territory.
***
Grud and the Alliance marched, and they did not stop marching for half a day to get enough distance from the infighting Thunder Strider forces. All the while, riders had been scouting the surroundings and especially their rear in case any of the splinter Thunder Strider forces decided to take a shot at them.
Thankfully, it seemed like the Thunder Striders and their protectorate tribes were too busy with their succession war to bother with them. It was only then that the whole Alliance force could attend to their wounded and rest their sore bodies.
As for Grud, usually, he would have had a raging boner after the adrenaline of battle had left his system, but during the half day's travel, he had time to take stock of his people and count the casualties. While deaths are expected when going into battle, Grud was in no mood to sate his sexual appetite when he discovered the losses his tribe had incurred.
A third of all the fighting men he brought fell in battle, and among those deaths were ten of his sons, all of whom are survived by their wives and children.
Even if Grud had over a hundred children, it was still heart-wrenching to lose even one of his children, each child he had played with as a boy and watched with pride as they grew into men. Even though he knew that death was a possible outcome of the war, he could not stop them from following him into battle. If he did, could they really call themselves men if they could not make that decision for themselves? They all understood the risks and still stepped forward as proud men of the Rock Claw Tribe, and Grud had to just deal with it.
As Grud sat in sullen silence some distance away from the rest of the resting men to mourn the loss of his boys, Mita materialized beside him and hugged his arm while leaning her head on his shoulder.
Through their bond, Grud could feel Mita's grief. She, too, had raised those boys and nursed each and every one of them. The only thing Grud could think to do to comfort Mita and himself was to pick her up and pull her into a hug while Mita sniffled against his chest and Grud shed silent tears of his own.
They stayed like that for the next few hours until Grud felt the vibrations of someone walking toward them. Taking Grud's silent cue, Mita turned incorporeal and went into Grud's body as one of the men came to fetch Grud. It was time to go home.
***
Weeks later, the Alliance forces arrived at the gates of the Rock Claw Chiefdom and entered the gates to the cheers of the people.
The rest of the fighting men from the rest of the alliance chose to tag along to Grud's tribe for the celebration feast, mainly because the Rock Claw Tribe was the biggest around and Grud could afford it.
Fortunately, the tribe was ready with the celebration preparations because fast riders were sent ahead to announce their arrival. So while the men from the other tribes were shown to temporary accommodations and facilities to freshen up for the celebration, the men from the Rock Claw tribe went home to their families, and so did Grud.
When the horizon glowed like embers, slowly swallowed by the velvet of night, everyone was gathered for the celebration. But despite the purpose of the gathering, the mood was somber.
While everyone was still, Grud stepped forward on a raised platform to address the crowd gathered.
"Warriors of the tribe… Brothers from beyond our walls.
Tonight, before we celebrate the lives of the fallen, we come together to give them their final rites and guide them so they may join our ancestors.
May the spirits guide them home.
May the earth accept their bones.
May their names never fade."
Grud then held a torch and threw it onto an unlit pyre that contained the few bodies they managed to recover, as well as those who died along the way home. Along with those bodies, families and friends placed mementos in place of those who did not make it back from the battlefield.
As the pyre caught fire, Grud came down from the stage and started a ritualistic dance around the pyre to guide the souls to the ancestors. As Grud danced, the shamans from the Rock Claw and the visiting tribes came forward to join the dance. As they danced, the beats of drums and the chanting of shamans rose with the smoke from the fire until the ritual was complete.
By then, the fire was raging, and the night had gotten darker. Grud stepped back up on the stage. "Now that the fallen are with the ancestors, let us celebrate their glory and valor in this victory!" Grud shouted, and the crowd responded with cheers.
The festivities began.