Chapter 2
The Followers of Otso
Voitto
“The gods have forsaken me! The gods have forsaken me! The gods—"
“Voitto!”
Darkness. Then his eyes began to adjust and focus; the ceiling. A candle. Then his wife’s concerned face. It took Voitto a few seconds to recognize his bedroom. He propped himself up against the headrest, breathed in deeply, and said, “Lempi, what—uh, why are you awake?”
“Why am I awake?” said Lempi, got up from the bed and started to pace around the room. “I will tell you as soon as you tell me why you think the gods have forsaken you.”
Voitto sighed and closed his eyes. For the third night in a row, Lempi had awakened him because he had been talking or yelling in his sleep. Ever since the feast in the sacred grove, Voitto had been plagued by nightmares of gigantic, grotesque creatures chasing, catching and mauling him.
“It is those nightmares again, is it not?” said Lempi and Voitto simply nodded. “I told you the gods have nothing to do with them. They—”
“They are signs, Lempi! The gods have always sent our people signs through dreams!”
“Yes, they are signs—signs of your deteriorating health! For days you have been pondering over maps, wandering through the forest until after sunset, skipping meals, barely sleeping.” She sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulder. “Word from Mohkku will arrive soon enough, my love. We must be patient. Yes, if anything, the gods are testing your patience.”
Voitto hoped she was right. Mohkku had insisted on leaving the village the day after the feast, so that he could prepare the warriors in Oulu and Kainuu and scout out the first potential target for Voitto’s conquest. But six days had passed now and there was still no word from him. Voitto grabbed the map he had been keeping next to the bed and began to study it, as he did so often these days.
There were the chiefs of Savo, Karelia, Sortavala and Häme; paranoid, stubborn and envious, they were always at each other’s throats, though none of them had yet managed to completely defeat the others. According to Mohkku, chief Ahma of Sortavala was the most competent and—if left alone for too long—most dangerous among them, while chief Mielus of Häme posed the least threat to Pohjanmaa. Mohkku had estimated that all of them could field a similar number of warriors under ideal conditions, but with last summer’s poor harvest and the constant raiding between the tribes, someone was bound to be off worse than the others.
And then there was High Chief Ihala II of Suomi, far and wide known and feared as an outstanding commander and fighter. He wore the fur of a bear he had allegedly slain all by himself, a feat which had earned him the position of leader in the warrior’s lodge of the Followers of Otso. The Followers were a group of likeminded warriors who revered Otso, the great bear and king of the forest, above all other gods and spirits. As far as Voitto knew, they spent most of their time hunting and dueling, but he was sure that many of them would come to their leader’s aid if any of his villages were to be attacked. Combined with his incredible fighting prowess, having the Followers at his fingertips gave Ihala a clear edge over all the other chiefs, but—to their great relief—he had never shown any real interest in expanding his tribe’s territory.
“You are doing it again—losing yourself in maps and ignoring me.” said Lempi, took the map from Voitto and gave him a kiss. “Believe me, it will be all right.”
“My own people do not believe in me, Lempi.”
“Have you already forgotten all the cheers and war cries following your speech in the sacred grove?”
“Stop it!” said Voitto and got up. “You are either lying to yourself or to me. Maybe both. Yes, people got swept up in the excitement after my speech. But now? Have you not noticed their bleak faces? Have you ever tried to imagine what their lifes are like? The thoughts that are going through their minds? While I am planing to play war, these people are left wondering if their families will live to see the next summer!”
“Voitto, the gods—”
“Do not bring the gods into this argument, Lempi! You only ever invoke their names when it is convenient for you.” Voitto loved his wife with all his heart, but her skeptical and pragmatic of the gods had always been the greatest rift between them and the cause of many heated arguments. Lempi did not respond for a while, but then she also got up again, grabbed her husband by the shoulders and looked him deep into the eyes.
“You are right,” she said, “my love for the gods is not as endless as yours. But I do love
you. And our
children. And I know this family can do better, Voitto. This family
deserves better. We are meant to rule over a kingdom, not a handful of villages.”
“We? Or you?”
“Just what are you implying? I swear to the gods—no, do not shake your head, I really mean it—I swear to the gods that all I ever did and will do has been, and will be, for the good of this family. Do you believe me? Look at me and tell me you believe me!”
She began to cry and Voitto knew he had gone to far. He embraced her and said, “I believe you.” And he truly did.
“Good,” said Lempi, trying to regain her composure. “Now, get back to bed. The moon is still high, and you need the sleep.”
The morning came, and with it the realization that last night’s argument had been caused by stress and a lack of sleep. Voitto apologized to his wife, assuring her that he would never doubt her commitment to their family and their people again. Then he made his way into the great hall, on the off-chance that a messenger from Mohkku was already waiting there.
The hall was empty aside from a few guards, a handful of servants and—much to Voitto’s surprise—Erkki and Loviisa. They were sitting in front of the big bear skull that had been hanging on the wall ever since the ritual last year; according to Pyry, the bear’s soul had refused to return to the forest after the ritual and was going to haunt the village, unless Voitto were to honor the dead animal by decorating the great hall with its skull.
“You two are up early. What are you doing?”
“Praying,” said Erkki and Loviisa nodded. They both sat cross-legged and with their eyes closed.
“Praying?” said Voitto, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “Really?”
There was a moment of silence. Then Erkki opened one eye, and when he saw that his father was still there, he sighed and said, “All right, let’s take a break, Loviisa.” They opened their eyes and turned to face Voitto. “Father, do you remember that bear carving you gave me on the night of the feast?” said Erkki. “The one that disappeared.”
“Of course,” said Voitto. He remembered all too well how upset Erkki had been that night. “What of it? Did you find it?”
“No,” said Erkki, but he did not sound disappointed. He was smiling, in fact. “But I have realized something. The way it simply disappeared like that—I believe it was a sign from the gods!”
Voitto smiled and shook his head.
Like father, like son, he thought. “Not everything is a sign from the gods, Erkki.”
“But it really was, father! I believe the gods were telling me that I’m not ready for such a gift, that I must earn it by worshipping the great bear itself, Otso!”
“And do you also believe it was a sign from the gods, Loviisa? Is that why you are praying, as well?”
Loviisa looked at her brother, who nodded encouragingly, and said, “Um, yes, I think so. Because of my dreams. I’ve been dreaming about bears. Oh, and Tommo doesn’t talk to me anymore. So I was a bit bored, also.”
“Tommo does not talk to you anymore?”
“He doesn’t talk to me, either,” said Erkki dismissively, closed his eyes and turned towards the bear skull again. “He also hasn’t been to Pyry’s lessons for some time. Anyway, can you leave us alone for a bit, so we can concentrate? I’m sure this will help in your conquest as well, father. Otso is on our side!”
Voitto left the hall and wondered how he could have missed Tommo’s change of behavior. His children had admittedly not been on his mind much these last couple of days.
“Tommo, are you awake?” Voitto peeked into the room that his three children shared.
There was no response. Tommo was laying in his bed, back towards the door and face buried in his blanket. Voitto was about to close the door and leave, when he heard a faint, muffled
“What?” from across the room.
“Is there anything you would like to talk about, Tommo?”
“No. Why do you ask?”
“Erkki and Loviisa have told me that you have stopped talking to them. Is there a reason for this?”
“No.”
“Then why do you not talk to them anymore?”
“I don’t know.”
“They told me you have not been attending Pyry’s lessons recently. Is that true?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Tommo, it is important for a ruler to know a lot about the gods. You have to—”
“What if I don’t want to be a ruler?” Tommo had turned around now. His eyes were glistening with tears.
Voitto was taken aback and felt a sudden sense of shame as he realized that he had always hoped for this moment to happen. He had always thought Erkki would make the better ruler, but many of his councilors stuck to the old ways of favoring the first born son, and Voitto had never found it in himself to talk to Tommo about this issue directly. And yet he truly believed that it was only to Tommo’s benefit to renounce his claim as heir.
He has inherited my kindness, Voitto thought
, but he lacks his mother’s ambition. Or his brother’s devotion to the gods. A ruler must have some kind of drive or conviction, lest he be surpassed by those of his neighbors or in his own ranks who do.
“My son, listen to me,” said Voitto, closed the door, sat down on Tommo’s bed and took his hand. “Listen closely: You do not have to be a ruler. There is no shame in stepping aside and letting someone else take this burden from you.”
He had meant the words in a supportive way, but when Voitto looked into his son’s teary eyes, he was not sure what he saw. Relief? Disappointment? Despair?
“Tommo, I—”
“Chief Voitto,” said one of the servants from outside the room and knocked on the door. “A messenger from Marshal Mohkku has arrived!”
Tommo turned back to the wall again, while Voitto gave him a kiss on the head and said, “We will talk later.” He hurried to the great hall, where the messenger and a young man and woman were already waiting for him.
“Every morning I have been hoping for your arrival,” said Voitto “Please tell me you bear good news.”
The messenger bowed and said, “I believe I do. Marshal Mohkku sends me to inform you that he was able to raise the number of warriors in Oulu and Kainuu that he had promised you before his departure, and that morale is high among your troops. Furthermore, after scouting out the neighboring villages, he has come to a confident decision on what the first target of your conquest should be. Mohkku did not tell me any specifics, lest the information falls into the wrong hands, but he urges you to join him in Kainuu as soon as possible.”
“That is indeed good news!”
“But that is not all,” continued the messenger. “Mohkku also asked me to inform you that many adventurers, warriors and villagers from other tribes, currently numbering close to one hundred in total, are gathering in Oulu and Kanuu to join your cause.
Among them were also—well, I believe it best to let them introduce themselves.” The messenger motioned to the young man and woman behind him.
“High Chief Voitto, it is an honor to meet you”, said the young man and stepped forward. “My name is Shyrpuzh, and this is my sister Chindyapa. We are both proud warriors of the Followers of Otso. I assume you have heard of our group?”
“I have. What brings you to Pohjanmaa?”
“A sense of glory and adventure,” said Shyrpuzh, smiling. “We want to fight for you, Chief Voitto—and not just us two. Word of your ambitious plans and your offering for your forefathers has reached our sacred halls and inspired many of our companions. As we speak, two dozen of our lodge’s best fighters have already gathered in Kainuu, waiting for your command.”
Voitto raised his eyebrows and looked at the messenger, who nodded and said, “It is true. Last I saw them they were discussing strategies with Marshal Mohkku. When they heard that I was traveling back to Pohjanmaa to deliver a message, they sent these two along to inform you of their support.”
“I am honored,” said Voitto, “but I had been under the impression that the Followers of Otso only answered to Chief Ihala.”
Before her brother could answer, Chindyapa stepped forward and said, “It is true that Ihala is our leader, but each one of us is a free warrior. Our code encourages us to seek honor and glory in any way, be it with a drawn bow in the forest or a drawn sword on the battlefield.”
Voitto considered for a moment and said, “You have heard about my plans, which means you understand that sooner or later I might even have to face Ihala himself. Which side will you choose, should it come to that?"
“As I said, Chief Voitto, we are free warriors,” said Chindyapa. “I suggest you deal with that situation when it arises, and instead take advantage of our support now, as long as you still have it.”
Voitto nodded. He appreciated the honesty and agreed with her sentiment; he would likely not be fighting Ihala for quite a while, anyway. “Again, I am honored to have you and your companions on my side,” he said and motioned to one of his servants. “I will see to it that you are well taken care of for the rest of the day, but I am afraid one night’s rest will have to suffice, as I will ride for Kainuu in the morning and hope that you will join me.”
After the servants and guards had ushered Shyrpuzh and Chindyapa to their room, Voitto sat down and buried his face in his hands, contemplating the morning’s events. If Mohkku had really managed to rally all the warriors in the three big villages and the surrounding settlements, then that meant 570 in Pohjanmaa, 360 in Oulu and 230 in Kainuu. And now Voitto had learned of an additional one hundred warriors on his side, two dozen of which were outstanding fighters from a famous warrior’s lodge. He almost did not dare to even think about it, but for the first time in days, it felt like the dark clouds in his heart and mind had given way to a faint feeling of hope.
Perhaps Erkki was right after all, Voitto thought.
Otso really is on our side.
