This chapter is basically the same thing that was in the preview thread, only completely rewritten and cleaned up (you guys on that thread could have told me that I accidentally included the Tuscarora in Thorkill’s listing of the tribes); I’ve decided on a format—a series of narratives spread throughout the history of the Haudenosaunee—and am about to begin work on the second chapter. Right now I’m not too concerned about jumping backwards and forwards in time—I figure that if I do it and then decide I don’t like the disjointed style, I can always change it in a “version 2.0”.
Seriously, though, I can’t stress this enough: critiquing, suggestions, and resources (mainly on European and North American cultures of the relevant time periods) would be extremely helpful. I still only have half an idea of what I’m doing here. At the very least tell me tell me if you think it’s any good; it’s very hard to keep enthusiasm for an idea going if I don’t think anyone’s reading.
Ayenwatha walked calmly into position, and stood in front of the assembled men, the assembled sachems—the first ever Great Council of the Haudenosaunee. It would have been simpler if they hadn’t of decided that, unfortunately, the unanimous consent rule would be unwise, but as it was the debate over how to set up the council was settled by Jingosaseh’s suggestion to split the difference; the council had a “Sword Arm” which had two sachems from each tribe, and a “Shield Arm” which had varying numbers of sachems based on the population of each tribe. Heh. Sword arm and shield arm; a Norse concept. He looked at Daganawidah for moral support, who nodded in encouragement, and spoke:
“My brothers, chances are you have already guessed the subject on which I have chosen to open this meeting with. After all did Daganawidah an myself not, in our efforts to recruit your nations into this greater nation, use not only the metaphor of the bundle of arrows to signify how strong we could be if we stood together, but also the Norse as an example of what happened when we stood apart?
“Of course we did. No one can deny that the Norse are powerful warriors whose access to ironmongery gives them superior weapons an armor, or that their fearsome skinwalkers hardly need such advantages, but in the natural course of events they would never have acquired territory in the Dawn Lands; their homeland is very far away, the journey here is long, and so their presence here has always been small, so even if they ever managed to conquer a town or two, that town’s allies’ retaliation would be swift and ultimately deadly. Does not the example of Old Vinland prove that?
“Fortuitously for the Norse, however, they did not have to conquer anything! In the day of my grandfather, when Norse traders came to visit Chief Agetshahnit of the Mohawk he took notice of the quality of their weapons and armor, and offered them land if they could bring him more such men to fight for him. And, as we all know, in the years since the Norse have been fighting for whomever offers them the most land or best trade agreements. Why do we let them get away with this?”
“The answer, alas, is quite simple. They just are so damned useful! There is of course their obvious value as warriors, but also they have brought us many useful things; wheat and other crops, goats and sheep, pigs and ponies, and cows most recently of all. Iron itself need not be made into only swords, but can also be used in plows, all of this greatly increasing the yield of our farms, and true writing allows us to keep better track of records.
“And now, you probably have also guessed, is the part where I ask you to vote to go to war. Maybe with the Great Peacemaker or myself named as general, which would be something of an irony.” Ayenwatha paused for laughter. “That’s not what I’m going to do, however.” He paused for exclamations of disbelief.
“Not at this juncture, at any rate; even the Great Peacemaker understands that war is sometimes necessary! And this war, while it would mean an unfortunate loss of young men, would be a war we would win. Our victory would by pyrrhic, however, as when we lose the Norse we lose the only people in the Dawnlands who know the secrets of forging iron and create an enemy of the most powerful traders in the region. While their numbers are still small, they are larger than ever before, and the Norse know our neighbors at least as well as we do, including their strengths and weaknesses—what’s to stop them from simply crossing Lake Ontario and conquering one of the lesser tribes on the northern shore? It would be an easier task than sending all these people home. And even if they fail in the endeavor and have to go home, all it takes is for another leader like old Agetshahnit for them to be back—and as soon as either of these things happen, we have a powerful rival with a grudge against us in the region.
“Now you ask yourselves: ‘Surely he would not bring this up just to tell us that we’re doomed?’ And you are right. I do have a solution to propose. One that is quite simple and elegant, as a matter of fact…”
On the road from Syracuse to Vanadsthorpe, two men rode ponies. The men wore the hoods of their greatcloaks up to protect them from the on-again-off-again drizzle, and not a sound could be heard but for the sound of shod hooves on split logs.
“You’ve been quiet,” Deganiwidah observed.
“I do well and truly hate having to deal with that man,” Ayenwatha said, his eyes not leaving the road in front of him.
“I have no idea whom you could possibly mean,” Deganawidah commented dryly; his friend snorted. “Seriously, though, you composed yourself quite admirably.”
“I nearly choked on bile every time Tododaho spoke.”
“One wouldn’t have known it from looking at you.”
“Oh, really?”
The Great Peacemaker grinned. “One who wasn’t me, at any rate.”
Ayenwatha snorted. “Heh.”
Daganawidah looked sympathetically at his friend. “It truly is admirable that you can stand to deal with him, you know. It is easy for someone whose life is not in danger and who has never lost a loved one to preach about peace, but for a man who has lost so much as you to stay to his conviction in peace takes much rarer strength. Indeed, that is a strength I hope very few ever have to find out if they have! Men say that I am touched by Haghwediyu, but you are the one who is truly, I think.”
“Yeah, well, even if I strangled him, it wouldn’t bring my daughters back. All it would accomplish would be to create a whole lot more grieving fathers and mothers. The cycle of violence ends now, or it will likely never end.” Ayenwatha paused, considering his words. “Well, no, I take that back. It will end when the Vikings own everything. I suppose that’s a slightly better outcome, but still, I prefer our way.”
A deep voice boomed from over the town wall: “Thorkill Bjornsson! We are Deganawidah and Ayenwatha! Come out and greet us to your village!”
Thorkill jogged over to the gate and mouthed the words “How many?” to the sentry, who held up two fingers; Thorkill nodded, and the gates began to open. Two large Skraeling men stood without, holding the tethers to their mounts. He noticed that their cloaks were of Viking cut, while his own manner of dress was more akin to what was traditional in this corner of the world, ironically.
“Deganawidah and Ayenwatha. Your exploits are legendary in your own time. I welcome you to my village,” Thorkill greated.
“Deganawidah and I are honored to accept your invitation,” one, apparently Ayenwatha, said. They entered the village and a guard led their horses away.
“How goes your quest?” Thorkill probed politely. In his head, he began once again to go over the strategic situation. Numbers-wise, things were bad. Location-wise, things were even worse; Viking holdings in this land were scattered piece-and-parcel throughout.
“It goes well,” Deganawidah said. “Tadodaho has joined with us.”
Thorkill’s heart sank. Tododaho had been the last holdout, the last potential ally of the Norse in these lands, and now that he was with the Haudenosaunee…They are here to deliver a declaration of war.Well, no, maybe not; maybe they were just here to evict the Vikings. He’d better see which they wanted; any time he could glean for his preparations would be invaluable. “I congratulate you on the completion of your quest.”
“I thank you, but your congratulations are in error, for my quest is not complete. There is but one more people in this land whom I must convince to join with us, but I have hopes to resolve the situation soon.” Daganawidah said.
Another tribe? Thorkill’s mind raced: they already had the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca. Who else was there? He asked.
Deganawidah smiled. “New Vinland.”
Thorkill’s eyes widened. “You want us to join the Haudenosaunee?”
“And why not? If we expelled you, we’d lose much of your iron and trade; it would be unfortunate to see it go to our enemies.” Ayenwatha said.
“So it’s better to have the Norse on the inside pissing out than on the outside pissing in, is what you’re saying,” Thorkill said dryly.
“Yes,” Deganawidah said bluntly. “Taking the offer would be…somewhat beneficial, shall we say?…for you as well.” He glanced around meaningfully. “This is a nice village.”
“That it is, and well-defended,” Thorkill agreed neutrally. “Anyone who tried to take it would suffer dearly for it.”
“Both sides would suffer dearly for it. Which is yet another reason that you should join with us,” Daganawidah said.
Ayenwatha pulled a scroll out of his satchel. “You do not need to decide right away, but you should at least read the Great Law of Peace. New Vinland would be a full member.” He handed Thorkill the scroll.
Thorkill scanned the document; it was written in Norse, which was convenient of them. It was a surprisingly good deal. Until he got to how sachem were chosen. “You think I’ll get people to agree to this?”
Deganawidah smiled. “Your people have been living alongside ours for two generations and change; I think it’ll be easier than you think.”
Seriously, though, I can’t stress this enough: critiquing, suggestions, and resources (mainly on European and North American cultures of the relevant time periods) would be extremely helpful. I still only have half an idea of what I’m doing here. At the very least tell me tell me if you think it’s any good; it’s very hard to keep enthusiasm for an idea going if I don’t think anyone’s reading.
1.1: In the Beginning…
Ayenwatha walked calmly into position, and stood in front of the assembled men, the assembled sachems—the first ever Great Council of the Haudenosaunee. It would have been simpler if they hadn’t of decided that, unfortunately, the unanimous consent rule would be unwise, but as it was the debate over how to set up the council was settled by Jingosaseh’s suggestion to split the difference; the council had a “Sword Arm” which had two sachems from each tribe, and a “Shield Arm” which had varying numbers of sachems based on the population of each tribe. Heh. Sword arm and shield arm; a Norse concept. He looked at Daganawidah for moral support, who nodded in encouragement, and spoke:
“My brothers, chances are you have already guessed the subject on which I have chosen to open this meeting with. After all did Daganawidah an myself not, in our efforts to recruit your nations into this greater nation, use not only the metaphor of the bundle of arrows to signify how strong we could be if we stood together, but also the Norse as an example of what happened when we stood apart?
“Of course we did. No one can deny that the Norse are powerful warriors whose access to ironmongery gives them superior weapons an armor, or that their fearsome skinwalkers hardly need such advantages, but in the natural course of events they would never have acquired territory in the Dawn Lands; their homeland is very far away, the journey here is long, and so their presence here has always been small, so even if they ever managed to conquer a town or two, that town’s allies’ retaliation would be swift and ultimately deadly. Does not the example of Old Vinland prove that?
“Fortuitously for the Norse, however, they did not have to conquer anything! In the day of my grandfather, when Norse traders came to visit Chief Agetshahnit of the Mohawk he took notice of the quality of their weapons and armor, and offered them land if they could bring him more such men to fight for him. And, as we all know, in the years since the Norse have been fighting for whomever offers them the most land or best trade agreements. Why do we let them get away with this?”
“The answer, alas, is quite simple. They just are so damned useful! There is of course their obvious value as warriors, but also they have brought us many useful things; wheat and other crops, goats and sheep, pigs and ponies, and cows most recently of all. Iron itself need not be made into only swords, but can also be used in plows, all of this greatly increasing the yield of our farms, and true writing allows us to keep better track of records.
“And now, you probably have also guessed, is the part where I ask you to vote to go to war. Maybe with the Great Peacemaker or myself named as general, which would be something of an irony.” Ayenwatha paused for laughter. “That’s not what I’m going to do, however.” He paused for exclamations of disbelief.
“Not at this juncture, at any rate; even the Great Peacemaker understands that war is sometimes necessary! And this war, while it would mean an unfortunate loss of young men, would be a war we would win. Our victory would by pyrrhic, however, as when we lose the Norse we lose the only people in the Dawnlands who know the secrets of forging iron and create an enemy of the most powerful traders in the region. While their numbers are still small, they are larger than ever before, and the Norse know our neighbors at least as well as we do, including their strengths and weaknesses—what’s to stop them from simply crossing Lake Ontario and conquering one of the lesser tribes on the northern shore? It would be an easier task than sending all these people home. And even if they fail in the endeavor and have to go home, all it takes is for another leader like old Agetshahnit for them to be back—and as soon as either of these things happen, we have a powerful rival with a grudge against us in the region.
“Now you ask yourselves: ‘Surely he would not bring this up just to tell us that we’re doomed?’ And you are right. I do have a solution to propose. One that is quite simple and elegant, as a matter of fact…”
# # # # #
On the road from Syracuse to Vanadsthorpe, two men rode ponies. The men wore the hoods of their greatcloaks up to protect them from the on-again-off-again drizzle, and not a sound could be heard but for the sound of shod hooves on split logs.
“You’ve been quiet,” Deganiwidah observed.
“I do well and truly hate having to deal with that man,” Ayenwatha said, his eyes not leaving the road in front of him.
“I have no idea whom you could possibly mean,” Deganawidah commented dryly; his friend snorted. “Seriously, though, you composed yourself quite admirably.”
“I nearly choked on bile every time Tododaho spoke.”
“One wouldn’t have known it from looking at you.”
“Oh, really?”
The Great Peacemaker grinned. “One who wasn’t me, at any rate.”
Ayenwatha snorted. “Heh.”
Daganawidah looked sympathetically at his friend. “It truly is admirable that you can stand to deal with him, you know. It is easy for someone whose life is not in danger and who has never lost a loved one to preach about peace, but for a man who has lost so much as you to stay to his conviction in peace takes much rarer strength. Indeed, that is a strength I hope very few ever have to find out if they have! Men say that I am touched by Haghwediyu, but you are the one who is truly, I think.”
“Yeah, well, even if I strangled him, it wouldn’t bring my daughters back. All it would accomplish would be to create a whole lot more grieving fathers and mothers. The cycle of violence ends now, or it will likely never end.” Ayenwatha paused, considering his words. “Well, no, I take that back. It will end when the Vikings own everything. I suppose that’s a slightly better outcome, but still, I prefer our way.”
# # # # #
A deep voice boomed from over the town wall: “Thorkill Bjornsson! We are Deganawidah and Ayenwatha! Come out and greet us to your village!”
Thorkill jogged over to the gate and mouthed the words “How many?” to the sentry, who held up two fingers; Thorkill nodded, and the gates began to open. Two large Skraeling men stood without, holding the tethers to their mounts. He noticed that their cloaks were of Viking cut, while his own manner of dress was more akin to what was traditional in this corner of the world, ironically.
“Deganawidah and Ayenwatha. Your exploits are legendary in your own time. I welcome you to my village,” Thorkill greated.
“Deganawidah and I are honored to accept your invitation,” one, apparently Ayenwatha, said. They entered the village and a guard led their horses away.
“How goes your quest?” Thorkill probed politely. In his head, he began once again to go over the strategic situation. Numbers-wise, things were bad. Location-wise, things were even worse; Viking holdings in this land were scattered piece-and-parcel throughout.
“It goes well,” Deganawidah said. “Tadodaho has joined with us.”
Thorkill’s heart sank. Tododaho had been the last holdout, the last potential ally of the Norse in these lands, and now that he was with the Haudenosaunee…They are here to deliver a declaration of war.Well, no, maybe not; maybe they were just here to evict the Vikings. He’d better see which they wanted; any time he could glean for his preparations would be invaluable. “I congratulate you on the completion of your quest.”
“I thank you, but your congratulations are in error, for my quest is not complete. There is but one more people in this land whom I must convince to join with us, but I have hopes to resolve the situation soon.” Daganawidah said.
Another tribe? Thorkill’s mind raced: they already had the Mohawk, the Oneida, the Onondaga, the Cayuga, and the Seneca. Who else was there? He asked.
Deganawidah smiled. “New Vinland.”
Thorkill’s eyes widened. “You want us to join the Haudenosaunee?”
“And why not? If we expelled you, we’d lose much of your iron and trade; it would be unfortunate to see it go to our enemies.” Ayenwatha said.
“So it’s better to have the Norse on the inside pissing out than on the outside pissing in, is what you’re saying,” Thorkill said dryly.
“Yes,” Deganawidah said bluntly. “Taking the offer would be…somewhat beneficial, shall we say?…for you as well.” He glanced around meaningfully. “This is a nice village.”
“That it is, and well-defended,” Thorkill agreed neutrally. “Anyone who tried to take it would suffer dearly for it.”
“Both sides would suffer dearly for it. Which is yet another reason that you should join with us,” Daganawidah said.
Ayenwatha pulled a scroll out of his satchel. “You do not need to decide right away, but you should at least read the Great Law of Peace. New Vinland would be a full member.” He handed Thorkill the scroll.
Thorkill scanned the document; it was written in Norse, which was convenient of them. It was a surprisingly good deal. Until he got to how sachem were chosen. “You think I’ll get people to agree to this?”
Deganawidah smiled. “Your people have been living alongside ours for two generations and change; I think it’ll be easier than you think.”
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