Khelians from the steppes part 2

"You are free now," Liana said, her voice filled with warmth and compassion.

As the captives rose to their feet, their expressions remained stoic and devoid of emotion. They rubbed their sore wrists, but there were no tears of relief or gratitude streaming down their faces. One of the women spoke up, her voice quivering with fear and resignation. "Thank you for freeing us, but there is no point. All our brothers, husbands, and fathers were killed by the Khelian riders. Our men were too weak to resist the Khelians, so we belong to them now as we cannot fend for ourselves."

Gwon, always quick with a snide remark, muttered "Bunch of bummers," only to be smacked hard at the back of the head by Pema. Liana scolded him sternly, her voice commanding attention. "The women of the steppes are the property of the men, for only men are allowed to ride the kevahs."

The women looked downcast, their faces etched with defeat. "So what will you do now?" Liana asked, her voice filled with genuine concern.

"We will wait for the Khelians to return. I am sorry, but your help was in vain," one of the women replied, her voice resigned to their fate. "And I would run if I were you. All the Khelian tribes have started to move south, all because Arslan is occupied elsewhere."

"Arslan?" Liana inquired, her curiosity piqued.

"The god," the woman said. "The Lord of the yellow skies and guardian of all who live in the steppes. Fighting among tribes was common, but never to this extent. Now many tribal leaders believe they can get away with almost anything, especially the Khelians, whom Arslan has always despised."

Gwon lifted one of the corpses and examined their armor and clothing. "Who are these Khelians?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"The Khelians were once a proud and powerful people, living in the heartland of the Scethian steppes," Liana explained. "But their betrayal during the Night Screamer attack had tarnished their reputation. While the other Scethian tribes had answered Alp Arslan's call to unite and fight off the demons, the Khelians had stayed behind, even raiding their fellow Scethians' pastures."

Their treacherous act had not gone unnoticed, and Arslan was furious. He gave them an ultimatum: either move their people far north on the other side of the Georian Sea or be destroyed. The Khelians chose to move, but the harsh living conditions in the frozen lakes of the north made them resentful and hateful towards the god Arslan.

However, their answer and the meaning of life soon came when they heard that the Pesheg tribes were raiding the Bosporus cities. The Khelians offered their aid to the city of Bithyna in exchange for gold, and they accepted. The Khelians drove the Peshegs away, but when it came to payment, the Bithyna city leader refused to pay.

Enraged by the betrayal, the Khelians sacked the city of Bithyna. From that moment on, they became known as great mercenaries that could be hired to fend off other nomadic incursions. But their prices were steep, and many preferred to pay the nomads to leave them alone rather than pay the higher wage of the Khelian mercenaries.

Despite their newfound reputation, the Khelians could not escape the weight of their past actions. They were still shunned by many Scethian tribes, and the bitterness and resentment they harbored towards Arslan and his people continued to fester"

"So the Khelians are now free to do as they wish?" Gwon asked

"They have started attacking other tribes, stealing their livestock and women. As for them, might makes right as Arslan is not here to punish them."

"So you will just go back to the Khelians?" Liana asked.

"We belong to them now....."

~~

The women left, heading forward to the same distance where the khelians had fled. Liana, Pema, and Gwon just looked as they tried to persuade them, but were unable. They truly believed they were the property of the khelians now.

Liana shook her head in frustration. "We cannot just leave them like this," she said, her voice determined.

"We have done all we can," Pema replied. "We cannot force them to come with us."

They left and continued their way.

"But....!" Liana said who still couldn't understand

"This is nature itself. Strong devour the weak and the weak need to cower to the strong," Gwon said.

~~

The trio continued onward, but the women didn't have a long walk until they ran into khelians. The khelians had made a large encampment on the steppe and as they saw the women approach, they were stunned but also happy. They knew they were their property and all of them were rushing out to pick their spoil of the victory.

"What do you think you're doing," a skinny-looking Khelian warrior said, holding onto the Khelian leader's head in one hand who was supposed to bring them to them in the first place, "We do things here equally. Guys....you know the rules. We all fight and gain loot equally, but as we see here, we also get punished equally."

The warriors who had failed to deliver the women were severely punished and their bodies were placed under a plank on which top the skinny leader walked atop. He looked at the women who shivered in fear.

"We are not savages. Do not be afraid. None of my men will rape you or touch you. You have my word. We do things in our tribe differently and by that we are equal," the skinny Khelian said with a surprisingly normal tone."

The women looked relieved.

"And since we are equal. We also will kill you," he said.

The khelians immediately started to slaughter the women with the leader of the bunch saying, "Why are they always yelling? They wish freedom and independence and most importantly equality. But now when they have it, they start yelling "No, no, no....." ."

Soon almost all the women were dead and then the leader realized, "Oh, now I have no idea what happened to my warriors who returned empty-handed...."