Tyranny of Steel

After several hours of riding in the wagon, Berengar, Kahwihta, and the Austrian Marines arrived at their destination. The Austrian King poked his head out from under the canvas and examined The Mohawk village, which was relatively sizable. Various longhouses were spread throughout the town and surrounded by a primitive wooden palisade that acted as a defense against hostile tribes.

If Berengar had to guess, this village was entirely capable of sustaining hundreds of people. This was reasonably impressive when considering the severe technological limitations that the native peoples of North America had when compared to their old-world counterparts. Nothing exemplified this stark contrast greater than when the Mohawk people laid eyes upon the Austrian wagon.

They were in as great a shock as Kahwihta was when she first witnessed the foreign beasts that powered the device. This simple supply wagon was beyond the limited understanding of transportation for a people who lacked beasts of burden and the wheel. 

The village guards gazed upon the pale skin riders at the front of the wagon with trepidation in their eyes as they did not know how to react to this strange occurrence. However, when Berengar stepped out of the back of the wagon with Kahwihta in hand, they immediately relaxed and greeted their Chieftain's daughter in their native tongue.

"Kahwihta, it is good to see you return; your brother said that you stubbornly refused to return to the village when news of the Anishnabe was set to attack the pale skins' fortress. It is good to see that you have come to your senses and returned before the attack has occurred!"

The Chieftain's daughter gazed upon her brethren with a pitiful expression; they had not witnessed the incredible feats these golden-haired gods had achieved. Thus they were unaware that the Austrians repelled the Algonquin without a single casualty.  However, it was not her place to inform these sentries that hundreds of their enemies lie dead. Instead, she merely demanded access to the village. 

"I must speak with my father about something important regarding the future of our tribe. Swiftly open the gates!"

The two men looked at each other with awkward expressions before sighing heavily; after doing so, they pushed the gates open, allowing the Austrian Marines and the Chieftain's daughter entry to the village. Kahwihta and Berengar hopped back into the wagon as they continued up towards the Chief's Longhouse, which his daughter provided directions towards. 

When they finally arrived, Kahwihta jumped out of the vehicle with a bitter expression on her face. She and her brother had parted on relatively unfriendly terms, and she was afraid of how he and her father would react, knowing that she had lain with the one-eyed god.

However, she was determined to bring lasting peace between their two peoples after witnessing the destructive power that the Austrians wielded. Thus she halted Berengar before entering the longhouse alone. She struggled to speak in the little German she had come to understand over these past few weeks as she effectively used the words.<br/><script>ChapterMid();</script>

"Wait here..."

In response to this, Berengar smiled and nodded his head; he was confident that she needed to discuss much with her father. Upon seeing his agreement, the girl smiled before entering the longhouse, where her father and brother were gathered with several of the veteran warriors of her tribe around a table that had a map sprawled out across its surface. 

This map represented the Algonquin village responsible for the attack on the Austrian fortress; believing the Alongquin would be weakened after a great victory against the foreigners, the Mohawk were now preparing to attack their enemy and claim their village's resources as their own. 

Truthfully Shosheowa had little faith in the Austrian's ability to hold their position. Though the fortifications seemed impressive at first glance, he had no idea how effective they indeed were, nor did he know how advanced the Austrian weapons were.

By the sheer volume of numbers, he believed the mighty Algonquin warriors would quickly overrun the Austrians. Yet, right before he could finalize his plan for attack, his sister, who he thought to be dead, appeared before him and their father. 

When the aging chieftain witnessed his daughter's safe return, a broad smile appeared on his face as he walked over to her and hugged the girl fiercely. As he did so, he immediately inquired about what events had transpired to lead her home. 

"My sweet Kahwihta tell me, how have you survived the Anishnabe's attack? We were certain that they would have driven out those pale-skinned foreigners by now!"

The Chieftain's daughter struggled to voice her thoughts; after all, had she not been there to witness their might, she never would have believed what the Austrians had managed to achieve. After a while, she eventually blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Father! These foreigners are no mere mortals! They are, in fact, gods! I act as a witness to their ability to control thunder and fire alike! I have seen them command beasts of the land with absolute authority!

The Anishnabe attacked that day in the hundreds, and yet, with the forces of nature at their charge, these golden-haired gods repelled their enemies with ease, killing hundreds in the process and suffering no casualties! 

Take a look outside your longhouse, and see the methods we have used to travel here! We must not make the mistake of our rivals! If we show the slightest sense of hostility to these deities from across the Great Sea, they will wipe us out as quickly as a man would swat a fly!"

The Chieftain was flabbergasted by his daughter's hysterical comments, just what had she witnessed to praise these foreigners to such an extent. Meanwhile, her brother was practically snarling in disgust. The way Kahwihta spoke about these strangers was as if she genuinely worshipped them. Such behavior was ill-fitting for a proud chieftain's daughter like her.

Unlike his father, Shosheowa had witnessed how his sister behaved around the one-eyed man when they first made contact with the pale-skinned foreigners. From the moment she first laid eyes upon that man, there was a hint of infatuation in her gaze.

Now the girl had returned home after stubbornly staying behind, and how did she behave? By worshipping the ground that the one-eyed man walked upon. The veteran warrior could easily surmise that his sister had slept with the man, which brought out an expression of disgust as he verbally lashed out at her. 

"Tell me, my sister, after you gave yourself to these foreigner's leader, did he pass you around for his men to use as some village whore? Or did he whisper sweet nothings into your ears that caused you to believe such lies?"

Kahwihta was visibly enraged by this response; after all, she had pledged herself to the one-eyed man who was the Chief of the gods who had come to bless these lands with their visit, also the insinuation that she would allow herself to be used in such a manner was deeply hurtful to her fragile heart.  However, before she could scream at her brother, their father interrupted by chastising Shosheowa for his rude comments.

"You dare call your sister a whore? What evidence do you have of her misdeeds? I sent her to these foreigners to make peace, and she has accomplished this mission, even if she stood by their side during the brink of battle!"

Despite his father's harsh words, the veteran warrior did not concede defeat. Instead, he spat on the ground in contempt before presenting his evidence on the charges he laid against his sister.

"From the moment Kahwihta laid eyes on these pale-skinned foreigners, she was practically gushing with excitement. How she gazed upon their leader who has only one eye, I have only witnessed in young maidens desperately in love.

She calls these men from afar gods, but perhaps they are more akin to wicked spirits that have come to enchant our women and lead us to destruction! I do not doubt that she has slept with the man already, if not all of them together!"

Upon hearing the accusations laid against her, Kahwihta maintained utter silence; she was guilty of giving herself to Berengar. Still, she was not guilty of the other claims her brother had made. Despite this, she knew if she answered truthfully, she was liable to be branded a whore, and cast out from her home. Thus she remained silent, that is, until her father asked her directly.

"My sweet daughter, tell me these accusations aren't true? Did you give yourself over wholly to these foreigners, like a common slut!"

Immediately upon hearing this, the Chieftain's daughter began to protest.

"Of course not! I mean... not all of them! I will admit, after witnessing their destructive power, the one-eyed god offered me a chance to lie with him, and I considered it the highest honor to do so, but it was only with him!"

The Chieftain of the mohawk tribe felt his heart sink as he heard his daughter admit to it; he could hardly believe he had raised such a woman. He had always intended to use his two daughters to establish alliances with other tribes, and yet, what kind of man would want her as a wife now that she was used goods. This act had thoroughly enraged the aging chieftain, who began to lash out at his daughter.

"You filthy whore! I know that I have not raised such a woman; you are no daughter of mine! I have no choice but to banish you from the tribe for your actions! Go back to your false gods, and do not return; if I ever see you here in the lands of my ancestors, I will have you executed!"

Kahwihta immediately broke out into tears as she heard these words; before she could even convince her father to open up trade with the Austrians, she had been banished. While she fled the scene, her brother smirked before commenting on the situation.

"Good riddance..."

As for Kahwihta, she immediately fled into the arms of her lover who waited outside the longhouse. When Berengar saw her distressed state, he could guess what had occurred, especially after the Chieftain appeared outside his lodgings. The girl's father immediately proclaimed the decision he had made to the village.

"I hereby announce that I disown my daughter Kahwihta and banish her from the tribe! She has proclaimed these pale-skinned foreigners as her gods and rejected the ways of our ancestors. For that, she is exiled from this day forth!"

Though Berengar could not understand what the man had said, he could see the gazes of the local people shift from curious to hostile; he knew that diplomacy had failed for one reason and another and that it would be best to depart from the village before any further conflict could arise. Thus he called out to his marines on standby and gave them their orders.

"The objective has changed, I don't know what happened, but the village has turned hostile; we will return to our fortress and plan our next course of action!"

With that said, the unit immediately gathered into their wagon and set off from the Mohawk village. However, without realizing it, the Austrians had already spread their germs across the town, in doing so, ensuring a plague would descend upon the Mohawk people. Whether or not they would endure the pestilence had yet to be seen.