Chapter 26
1300: Deeper into the lands of the Kanien'keha:ka
The steady rhythm of feet hammering onto firm ground seemed to amplify Gunnar's fears. As the mass of men moved deeper into the lands of their rivals, Kanien'keha:ka scouts had poked and prodded the columns for weeks, inflicting small casualties in an attempt to slow down the army. They would strike at night, emerging from the shadows of fire pits to slit the throats of the unwary, like a monstrous figure from one of the tall tales the women tell their children, or a fisherman's story of what he found lurking off the cape. But the quick raids had been little more than a nuisance to the army at large. Especially now that the on the other side of the great clearing was a Kanien'keha:ka army of a similar size. Icy fear gripped his heart, his body shaking in the armor. His army continued forward. Their trot picked up speed. Gunnar gripped his spear. The mohawks pulled out bows and raised them to point at the heavens. Ivar looked up and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Toonuppas* formation! Now!" He and every man in front of him raised their rectangular shield in a ripple of wood. Gunnar and his party raised theirs as well and closed any gaps, forming a tough carapace above them. The army bunched up, each row of men forty men wide. The Kanien'keha:ka released their nocked arrows. The sky darkened, white ash arrow shafts becoming a dark storm cloud of death, raining down upon the combined Wampanoag/Mahican army. Gunnar felt the thudding of iron and stone heads slamming into and bouncing off his shield.
The arrow volley not yet finished, the Wampanoag army began moving forward, picking up speed with each step. The front closed ranks, forming a more narrow front, shields raised as a wall while those behind the first row placed the shield overhead. Each rank of men behind them tries to overlap shields like shingles, offering protection for the whole group. The Kanien'keha:ka army tried to take up defensive positions as the Wampanoag speedily approached. While running across he field, cramped up against the rest of his party, Gunnar did his best not to stumble. He had to make a small hop over the body of a man who failed to raise his shield in time, arrow buried up to the shaft in the throat. Gunnar heard his heart beating in his ears.
"Do not hesitate," Ivar shouted. "If you are in range, you strike hard and fast. You won't get a second chance or any warnings with these savages!" That did nothing to calm Gunnar's nerves.
Like an ocean of men, a sea of fury and steel, the Wampanoag crashed against the Kanien'keha:ka rocks. Rocks are a monument to the passage of time, standing for centuries, outlasting the life around it. Long lasting and durable, they are often seen resisting the currents of mighty rivers, opposing the expanse of the ocean. But even rocks break. Under the pressure of the Wampanoag, the front line faltered, and the Wampanoag plunged in, splitting the army. As the Wampanoag wedges in between the ranks, their own ranks began to widen to further split. This pushed Gunnar to the edge as they got deeper. He saw the his allies engaging in brutal hand to hand combat, using shields to push back and spears to puncture tanned skins of the Mohawk. This was the first time Gunnar had seen a Kanien'keha:ka in full battle regalia. The average warrior was wearing leather body armor over a deer skin tunic, wide bands of iron hanging off the chest as opposed to Norse chain mail or the occasional full metal plate. The arms had hide shoulder pauldrons while the wrists were protected by leather bracers. The majority of men had a lether cap with an iron nose guard. In many hands was an iron bladed tomahawk. Gunnar pushed on, thankful for not having to stab a man yet. Then he heard the sudden panicked yells from his comrades. Looking to his left, he saw the Kanien'keha:ka rallying after the split and units from the right were wheeling around to put pressure on the Wampanoag flank. Distracted by the sight of the enemy charging, a rival warrior swung his tomahawk in a downward arc, the iron splitting the top of Gunnar's shield before digging deep into the wooden heart. Heart pumping, he pulled his shield away, hoping it would wrench the ax from the opponent. Instead, the ax head was easily torn out. Gunnar glanced down at the tomahawk, head glistening crimson, before his eyes roved to the sickening smirk of the Kanien'keha:ka warrior. Nervously looking to both sides, Gunnar realized that, though he had allies near him, he was alone, and this was his fight. And he was pretty sure he was not ready for it.
The two men began to circle one another. Gunnar raised his shield in a defensive motion as he readied his spear. He lunged forward with the intent to kill, but missed, his nerves being racked with anxiety. The spear head hit the ground, plunging into the dirt. The Kanien'keha:ka swung down and chopped the head off, leaving him with a broken shaft. Now fearful, he backed away now weaponless. He was forced to resorting to purely defensive movements, hiding behind the shield as the warrior continued to hack at it, deep gashes forming jagged edges. Gunnar leapt back and rolled. As the battle still raged on, he picked up a second shield, formerly the property of another Wampanoag soldier, before his current one disintegrated. He held them both up, like a boxer raising his hands. As the enemy came closer for another swing, he looked at the wicked edges the previous cuts had left, he had a thought as the ax head became lodged in the new shield. He slipped his arm out of the straps and with all the strength he could muster, he picked up the shield and rammed the jagged point into the Kanien'keha:ka's throat. The man from the rival tribal confederacy gurgled as blood leaked out, his eyes going wide. Gunnar grunted and pushed deeper before pulling the wooden splinter out. His heart hammering in his ears, he took a shaky step back with an uncomfortable realization.
I Just killed a man. I just killed my first man.
He struggled not to vomit, struggled not to shout, struggled to stay on his legs. Just standing there made him vunerable. A mohawk ran at him with the intention of cutting him down and scalping him, only for Ivar to grab the soldier by the neck.
"Boy! Wake up! You're gonna die out here if you don't move!" Ivar swiftly shoved the Mohawk down while raising his knee to the man's face before dropping him to the ground like a sack of fruit. He ran to Gunnar's side and shook him, only for Gunnar to stumble.
"Boy!" He watched Gunnar shakily point to the dead body. Ivar quickly understood. Looking around, he saw where the rear guard would be and began pushing Gunnar that way, trying to avoid as many enemy combatants as possible. Ivar dropped Gunnar when two enemies cornered him. They began growling and snarling, having no intention of letting them live. Ivar allowed Gunnar to slip to the ground as he pulled a magnificent two handed ax from his back, expertly waiting for the others to make the first move. Ivar swung in a wide arc, his power allowing the weapon to outright cleave the first one's head right off with a single stroke, the arc sending the ax head almost to the ground before being whipped in a circle and brought down upon the other's shoulder, biting deep into the flesh. With but a tug of the arm, the ax was freed from the corpse and Ivar tried to pick Gunnar back up, only to find he could do it himself, though he still needed aid to walk steady. He lead him to the rear group, leaving him in relative safety, where he sat out the rest of the battle. As the day became evening, the broken and battered Kanien'keha:ka reluctantly slunk away, though they had certainly given the Wampanoag army a serious black eye. Gunnar hardly noticed. His mind kept focusing on the the blood soaked shield.
The steady rhythm of feet hammering onto firm ground seemed to amplify Gunnar's fears. As the mass of men moved deeper into the lands of their rivals, Kanien'keha:ka scouts had poked and prodded the columns for weeks, inflicting small casualties in an attempt to slow down the army. They would strike at night, emerging from the shadows of fire pits to slit the throats of the unwary, like a monstrous figure from one of the tall tales the women tell their children, or a fisherman's story of what he found lurking off the cape. But the quick raids had been little more than a nuisance to the army at large. Especially now that the on the other side of the great clearing was a Kanien'keha:ka army of a similar size. Icy fear gripped his heart, his body shaking in the armor. His army continued forward. Their trot picked up speed. Gunnar gripped his spear. The mohawks pulled out bows and raised them to point at the heavens. Ivar looked up and shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Toonuppas* formation! Now!" He and every man in front of him raised their rectangular shield in a ripple of wood. Gunnar and his party raised theirs as well and closed any gaps, forming a tough carapace above them. The army bunched up, each row of men forty men wide. The Kanien'keha:ka released their nocked arrows. The sky darkened, white ash arrow shafts becoming a dark storm cloud of death, raining down upon the combined Wampanoag/Mahican army. Gunnar felt the thudding of iron and stone heads slamming into and bouncing off his shield.
The arrow volley not yet finished, the Wampanoag army began moving forward, picking up speed with each step. The front closed ranks, forming a more narrow front, shields raised as a wall while those behind the first row placed the shield overhead. Each rank of men behind them tries to overlap shields like shingles, offering protection for the whole group. The Kanien'keha:ka army tried to take up defensive positions as the Wampanoag speedily approached. While running across he field, cramped up against the rest of his party, Gunnar did his best not to stumble. He had to make a small hop over the body of a man who failed to raise his shield in time, arrow buried up to the shaft in the throat. Gunnar heard his heart beating in his ears.
"Do not hesitate," Ivar shouted. "If you are in range, you strike hard and fast. You won't get a second chance or any warnings with these savages!" That did nothing to calm Gunnar's nerves.
Like an ocean of men, a sea of fury and steel, the Wampanoag crashed against the Kanien'keha:ka rocks. Rocks are a monument to the passage of time, standing for centuries, outlasting the life around it. Long lasting and durable, they are often seen resisting the currents of mighty rivers, opposing the expanse of the ocean. But even rocks break. Under the pressure of the Wampanoag, the front line faltered, and the Wampanoag plunged in, splitting the army. As the Wampanoag wedges in between the ranks, their own ranks began to widen to further split. This pushed Gunnar to the edge as they got deeper. He saw the his allies engaging in brutal hand to hand combat, using shields to push back and spears to puncture tanned skins of the Mohawk. This was the first time Gunnar had seen a Kanien'keha:ka in full battle regalia. The average warrior was wearing leather body armor over a deer skin tunic, wide bands of iron hanging off the chest as opposed to Norse chain mail or the occasional full metal plate. The arms had hide shoulder pauldrons while the wrists were protected by leather bracers. The majority of men had a lether cap with an iron nose guard. In many hands was an iron bladed tomahawk. Gunnar pushed on, thankful for not having to stab a man yet. Then he heard the sudden panicked yells from his comrades. Looking to his left, he saw the Kanien'keha:ka rallying after the split and units from the right were wheeling around to put pressure on the Wampanoag flank. Distracted by the sight of the enemy charging, a rival warrior swung his tomahawk in a downward arc, the iron splitting the top of Gunnar's shield before digging deep into the wooden heart. Heart pumping, he pulled his shield away, hoping it would wrench the ax from the opponent. Instead, the ax head was easily torn out. Gunnar glanced down at the tomahawk, head glistening crimson, before his eyes roved to the sickening smirk of the Kanien'keha:ka warrior. Nervously looking to both sides, Gunnar realized that, though he had allies near him, he was alone, and this was his fight. And he was pretty sure he was not ready for it.
The two men began to circle one another. Gunnar raised his shield in a defensive motion as he readied his spear. He lunged forward with the intent to kill, but missed, his nerves being racked with anxiety. The spear head hit the ground, plunging into the dirt. The Kanien'keha:ka swung down and chopped the head off, leaving him with a broken shaft. Now fearful, he backed away now weaponless. He was forced to resorting to purely defensive movements, hiding behind the shield as the warrior continued to hack at it, deep gashes forming jagged edges. Gunnar leapt back and rolled. As the battle still raged on, he picked up a second shield, formerly the property of another Wampanoag soldier, before his current one disintegrated. He held them both up, like a boxer raising his hands. As the enemy came closer for another swing, he looked at the wicked edges the previous cuts had left, he had a thought as the ax head became lodged in the new shield. He slipped his arm out of the straps and with all the strength he could muster, he picked up the shield and rammed the jagged point into the Kanien'keha:ka's throat. The man from the rival tribal confederacy gurgled as blood leaked out, his eyes going wide. Gunnar grunted and pushed deeper before pulling the wooden splinter out. His heart hammering in his ears, he took a shaky step back with an uncomfortable realization.
I Just killed a man. I just killed my first man.
He struggled not to vomit, struggled not to shout, struggled to stay on his legs. Just standing there made him vunerable. A mohawk ran at him with the intention of cutting him down and scalping him, only for Ivar to grab the soldier by the neck.
"Boy! Wake up! You're gonna die out here if you don't move!" Ivar swiftly shoved the Mohawk down while raising his knee to the man's face before dropping him to the ground like a sack of fruit. He ran to Gunnar's side and shook him, only for Gunnar to stumble.
"Boy!" He watched Gunnar shakily point to the dead body. Ivar quickly understood. Looking around, he saw where the rear guard would be and began pushing Gunnar that way, trying to avoid as many enemy combatants as possible. Ivar dropped Gunnar when two enemies cornered him. They began growling and snarling, having no intention of letting them live. Ivar allowed Gunnar to slip to the ground as he pulled a magnificent two handed ax from his back, expertly waiting for the others to make the first move. Ivar swung in a wide arc, his power allowing the weapon to outright cleave the first one's head right off with a single stroke, the arc sending the ax head almost to the ground before being whipped in a circle and brought down upon the other's shoulder, biting deep into the flesh. With but a tug of the arm, the ax was freed from the corpse and Ivar tried to pick Gunnar back up, only to find he could do it himself, though he still needed aid to walk steady. He lead him to the rear group, leaving him in relative safety, where he sat out the rest of the battle. As the day became evening, the broken and battered Kanien'keha:ka reluctantly slunk away, though they had certainly given the Wampanoag army a serious black eye. Gunnar hardly noticed. His mind kept focusing on the the blood soaked shield.
which also means that as iron/steel becomes more common we'll see a pretty much inevitable move to something more like the classic plate armour - but probably not going all the way as you'd have to carry it yourself and fight in it without a horse to sit on.
