Chapter 18 Forced Peace
On a planet the Rorda people call home and at a valley adjacent to the Nor Mountain Range, two tribes' armies - the Soljas and the Vorjas - are similar in equipment and battle methods, fight with their lives on the line for control over the mountains.
The resources to be gained after victory are abundant and they will usher the rise of one of their tribes as the lord tribe of the surrounding lands.
Even if they had more or less the same number of soldiers, with none of the two holding any other advantage, they still decided to fight over them. The risks were high but the returns more so. None of the two wanted to miss this opportunity to take the resources for themselves.
And in the eventuality of not being able to win them for themselves, they would have at least prevented their enemies from keeping them secure, not with the numbers they would be left with in the end.
With that mindset, both the tribes had been fighting for eight days now. They had lots of skirmishes occur in these days, stealthy attacks to take their enemy by surprise or clever tactics to mislead and confuse the enemy's soldiers.
Many of their own have died already but the tribes' leaders were still unwilling to be the first to step down and leave the resources for the other, their soldiers stubborn as well.
After a recent battle involving almost their half forces, the leaders signaled the retreat to their respective camps. While the injured were being treated by their doctors and the dead counted for, the leaders were in their own tents, looking at the battlefield map in a bid to find an advantage or battle strategy capable of tipping the balance to their favor.
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Soljas Tribe Camp, a little while later after the end of the battle.
The entire camp was busy with activity. Soldiers could be seen moving all over the place going everywhere. Some wanted their wounds looked at while others were helping their comrades to get them to the infirmary. Others were bringing their blades to be sharpened, and others went to restock their ammunitions for their rifles.
Everyone was on the move, their boiling blood from the battle still pumping in their veins. They were all yet to calm down, their nerves tighten, and their senses heightened. But even then, not even one of them took notice of a stranger slipping through the camp. The sentries at the periphery didn't spot him and all the other soldiers he passed on his way didn't see him.
No one witnessed him entering their leaders' tent. Only Solarja - the Soljas Tribe's leader - felt him when he parted the tent's opening. But even then, he was too late to react. By the time Solarja turned to face the one who so rudely entered his tent, the lights around him were gone. Only darkness remained as he was knocked out.
On the stranger's way out while carrying the Soljas Tribe's leader in his arm, he remained unnoticed, just as when he had entered.
A few moments later, a similar incident happened at the Vorjas Tribe Camp, where Voralja, the Vorjas Tribe's leader, was taken in the same way.
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In their deep unconsciousness, both leaders were startled when a shadow materialized right in front of them, waking them up immediately.
Opening their eyes, their vision was still blurry as they struggled to regain focus. Looking left and right their vision eventually cleared enough to register the unfamiliar landscape; a rocky surface with rocks and trees around them.
They were confused, the last thing they remembered was being in their camps surrounded by thousands of soldiers and in their tents looking over the battlefield map.
In their lingering confusion, they spotted each other practically at the same time and were momentarily shocked. Their mortal enemy was right in front of them, just at the time they found themselves in an unfamiliar place. They both had the same line of thought and their conclusion the same.
"You damn Voralja, of course this would be your doing!" Solarja said.
"What are you blabbering about you Solarja fool. This is clearly your doing, daring to abduct me so!" counter accused Voralja.
"WHAT?! YOU HAVE THE GALL TO SAY I KIDNAPPED YOU?!" shouted Solarja in outrage.
"OF COURSE I DO, BECAUSE IT'S THE TRUTH!" shouted Voralja back.
Already standing at their feet and believing the other responsible for their abduction, they charged at each other and started fighting with their bare hands. They were maniacally hurling fists at each other when at some point they noticed a figure approaching them from their side.
Battle-hardened leaders as they were, they knew to stop fighting and keep distance when someone unknown just walked straight towards them.
The unknown figure turned out to be some being different from them, who only had two arms instead of four which shocked them to the bone. This was their first time seeing another humanoid race other their own. As if that wasn't enough, they caught a glimpse of what lay behind the figure.
It was the valley where they had their respective camps. They could tell it was very far from them and of lower altitude as well, which meant they were somewhere very far and higher.
'Nor Mountain Range!' they both incredibly thought.
Looking at the whole picture now, with the unknown stranger and their enemy in front of them, it was more probable that the one who abducted them to be the stranger rather than their enemy. They both knew each other's power and skills and it would have been impossible to infiltrate their camp and carry them out unnoticed.
Then a feeling of dread came rushing at them from the stranger, causing them to feel a chill down their spines. Both felt uneasy at the same time, they focused their full attention and alertness on the stranger.
To their horror, they soon saw the stranger stomp the rocky ground with his foot, pulverizing a good chunk of it in the process.
The stranger though didn't stop there. He began pointing at the mountain, then doing a slashing movement in his palm and then alternatively pointing between them. Last he brought his only two palms together shaking them.
They were flabbergasted. They had no idea what this strange being wanted to tell them with his two arms' hand signs.
"Hey Voralja, I am not saying I didn't understand what he tries to tell us, but did you get anything?" Solarja asked literally to the only one around who could understand him, even if he was his mortal enemy.
"Of course I did. I am not like you who is a complete idiot!" said Voralja.
"...WHAT DID YOY CALL ME?!" obviously, Solarja was the most short-tempered of the two.
Solarja didn't waste any time as he furiously drew his two swords from his back and his rifle from his belt. Voralja drew his and they were ready to slash or shoot the other to the death.
Before they could charge though, the stranger moved between them - so fast they couldn't react in time - and pressed hard on their shoulders. They both felt as if a boulder was placed above them, crushing them with its weight as they were forced to kneel because of power.
Their minds went blank but only for a moment.
"What the hell just happened?!" Solarja asked in astonishment.
"This stranger overpowered us obviously. Can't you see, you big oaf?" Voralja answered back.
"Are you insulting me on purpose?!"
"Yes"
*SLAP* *SLAP*
Their weapons still held tightly, Solarja was about to lose it again, when they both were struck on the face, more precisely on their cheeks. The force was so great, their heads turned 90 degrees on the side; their faces numb were at least spared from the pain.
"..."
"W-What?"
"What the h....!" They were both unsure of what happened but Solarja' tone seem to still carry anger.
*SLAP* *SLAP*
And the force struck them again with the difference be that now they knew its origin. It was a slap by the stranger...
It was an unbelievable occurrence for them. Someone was slapping them like they were kids being scolded. The embarrassment they felt at that moment was enough for them to hope no one should see them in the state they were in.
But in the next moments, more often than not, that same embarrassment drove them past their limits, prompting them to retaliate with aggression. Solarja more often than Voralja.
*SLAP* *SLAP*
They continued on receiving slaps, until Solarja finally grew tired of showing resistance. They both stayed silent after the last slap, their faces now scarlet red and swollen.
After a while of being silent like that, they saw the stranger doing the same hand signs he did earlier. Now however, the two Rorda leaders paid more attention as their life was depending on it. After the hand signs ended, they turned towards each other with their eyes half closed from the swelling.
"Oi Voralja."
"Yes."
"I only understood until the palm slashing sign. What about you?"
"I understood the ones after that. What do the first ones mean?"
"The pointing of the mountain and then the slashing the palm in two halves, probably means splitting the mountain in half, but it doesn't make any sense. What about the others?"
"..." Voralja was speechless for a second.
"Well? Hurry up and tell me."
"Pointing between us and then his palms shaking together, most likely means we would do something together in corporation"
"..." Now it was Solarja's turn to be speechless.
By putting the two parts together it was clear the stranger wanted them to work together in peace and split the mountain resources in half, as splitting the mountain itself in half was impossible to do.
They were shocked and unwilling to comply. Why would a stranger meddle in their affairs was unknown to them. Why he wants them to work together was a complete mystery, and unthinkable to them. They would never work together or want to share resources.
The stranger though was really adamant in them working together in peace and wouldn't let them go until he is sure they put fighting behind them. For the sake of their lives, they needed to show the stranger that they understood. They didn't want to die by slapping.
"Oh, he is leaving!" Solarja happily said.
"Yes, he is!" Voralja agreed.
"Finally!"
"Not yet you fool! You want him to come back and slap us again?!" Solarja was about to lose the act when Voralja reminded him to wait a while longer.
When they finally saw the stranger leaving from their sight they slowly began to relax, the tension and anguish vanishing from their minds and bodies.
Just to be safe though, they kept the act for the rest of the day, afraid of the possibility the stranger was lurking around spying on them.
Their soldiers were confused when they saw their leaders with red and swollen faces and shocked when they heard they wouldn't be fighting for a whole day.
At least they were happy and rested for that one day as the fighting and bloodshed continued the day after.