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All of these accounts are true, even when allegorical ,
"All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental."
~New Axo anthropology~
A brief summary of w45 Post-War Time evolutions,
(followed by a brief look at some adventures of Axo folk , and lost tales/ info, from both before and after the world-war era)
The Axo culture that remained autonomous within the Omeon Empire had eventually offered a rich culture of the Arts, and ancient traditions that led people in a healthy mystical relationship with nature in all its aspects and captured the hearts of vast swathes of the empire , for the old ways were yet preserved in Axo culture, and people who missed their ancient ways in their becoming subjects of the empire, found were drawn to the 'Axo spirituality' or ritual traditions & distinct Warrior-way training's that converted the people into Axo culturalists within the Omen empire.
Axo culture passively became the culture of the empire within 12 years of the Wars End , and after the natural disasters that purged and reshaped the world.
Some politics of the duo culture allowed Axobongo and the Noble Omeon Royals to use the Axo warriors to defeat the malevolent and cruel lords who dishonored the empire, but could not be deposed in any legal way by members of the Omen royal courts. The side effect of these 'Liberation Battles' the Axo won against the Royal families in the oppressed sections of the Omen Empire , is that it created a fusion of Omen/Axo Lands , and populations in adoration of their Axo liberators , and Axobongo became widely considered the 3rd emperor of the world, and 3rd seat in High Court along with Mitche and Pampoomio was reserved for him, And it was said the three high Lords enjoyed each others company, and never found reason to argue.
Those fusion lands became fabled as 'reclaimed' ancient Axo realms , and the Empire realized masses of immigrants to all autonomous Axolands ,and converts to Axoism within the empires borders meant only one logical course remained, the High Kings and world Lords unanimously decided to make it official, and declare the Ax0meon Empire was the final passage of fruition to the virtuous meaning of the world conquest . And they developed a society that merged the rustic beauty of the earthy pagan Axo with the elegance and scientific culture of the Empire elite , the Age of the Axomeon Empire began.
Axomeon architecture combined the best of the advanced structure and light tech of the empire with the swirling weaving patterns of trad. Axo magical designs that all would insist did generate prosperity.
World knowledge synthesized easily within Axo framework, there remained nowhere in the world where rebel fanatic cults offered contrast to the love of knowledge and ritual respect for the deep ancestral relationships to nature and its magical mystery . The people became content and happy , an age of prosperity seemed to weed out much of chronic human greed. The land was exploited wisely and care was taken to ensure the bounty spread and harmed not the nature that gave it,
Axobongo was said to have made 7 voyages at sea after this new empire realized itself. The very first was meant to guide him to the new lands Axopeople and Mazulite people had established near the end of the great w45 wars, and yet it stranded him on w50 on your universal map , now called Odaland , ( w45 became known as Axom) , for his ship wrecked there and in the most oddest of coincidence , it was right on the shores of a patch of land where Vordan, the Green Knight of the Axo , had discovered years before and guided displaced Axopeople when the north was overridden .
By now , he was lord of a Banana republic of Banana Barons whos main deity was the big Banana of the Axo cult , a generation had passed since Vordan first landed there, and returned to Axom to fight by Axobongos side in the final wars of the southwest, and then returned here to aid the people in a futile struggle where Odaians, the amazonic Dystopians, and Hermitians were massive and squeezing the life out of the tough remaining smaller tribes , and the world was at unrest with war.
So Axobongo stayed for a time at the behest of his good friend , and nearly assembled a viable rebellion, linking together several tribes, yet faced kings of untrusting weak spines who shied away from the union they saw forming well, had treacherous lords and no faith in the role they could have played had the mighty union succeeded, but three important tribes that opted out , caused two other tribes to lose faith in the final option, and they all perished.
( let it be noted that Axobongo stayed for a few spans, but followed his destiny to the lands in the mist where his people awaited him, and yet some of his notable speeches in the forum of world gathering inspired a challenge that lad to just such a union of tribes under one banner to face the final empire wars, but by this time it was too late, it was long after his Omegan project fell shortly after he left for the misted lands, and by now the Dystopians had joined into the Odaians , the Hermitians were vanquished)
Here is a story from those times in Odaland , Authenticated Axolore, for these were Bananan descendants of Axoian colonizers, who's texts were discovered in the latter half of the previous to last century in a cave on the cliffs of the Odaian northwest, the people were said to be called Baxona , and where, incidentally the stress relieving herb B'naxo is cultivated by the indigenous people of that region and is sacred to them.
But this account has nothing to do with nice herbs, in fact, there was alot of stress at the time:
~-------------------------Shipwreck sagas and The Tower Tale-------------------------------~
---------by the Bards Ploppy son of Ploppy , and Tholis Bunt, The Mucker of Corralis---------------
Mezinger was thin yet wiry & Brakk was Large and strong with a long red braided beard.
Mezinger and Brakk sat at their station up in the high guard tower playing the stone game on the little grooved wooden board Brakk had made the previous summer.
The watchtower overlooked the southeastern hills and guarded the keep on the Cragmirghast road to Bananaland.
The breeze that whistled past the posts of their crudely constructed canopy of thatched banana leaves blew a lock of Mezingers long hair into his opened mouth, to which he let it rest there for a moment.
" mm, " said he , '' i can still taste this morns mutton tail soup "
"No doubt" said Brakk " Since you tend to wear more of your food than you eat"
" move your stone" said Mezinger, who was 5 games behind at this point.
After a bit, Brakk said,
"Y'know, that was the last of the mutton, supplies are low and we are down to turnips and wheat grass.. whoever wins this stone tourney should get to go to town for the market buys. "
Mezinger scowled "Aye well , if our gold allotment doesn't arrive soon, we may both have to leave our post and try our hand at gambling with the townsfolk to win something to buy some food with."
" Well, we need some news of the world anyhow, its been awhile since a messenger has come around,, i wonder if The Melding has taken place yet?" said Brakk.
They had heard rumors that many High Lords and Chieftains from around the world were riding from afar and meeting in a forum house they built in the highland crevasse of Mount Omega .
They were said to be talking of coming together and linking swords to face the emerging empires encroaching upon them.
The black clad Mibs , and the warriors of Ares , and the Nordic empirical vikings of the east , were all holding talks there on Mount Omega along with the Banana bunch .
Mezinger and Brakk recalled when the great Chiefs Axobongo and eFCee hunt-red , who was called the Moose , came riding through the Cragmirghast Canyon and stayed at this very Keep , and took council here with their Lord of these lands , Baron Jumbo .
Brakk had eavesdropped on the Chieftains , and learned that trouble was stirring with the Dystopans. And their Lord Jumbo would be going on a long journey, on some sort of a quest.
And he heard Axobongo speak of his investigations that had him certain there was no time to waste, that it was time to face facts and act. It all sounded a bit grim to Brakk, who had come to know the language of the wind and bird signs as he sat placidly alone for many hours of the day high atop the watchtower surveying the expanse of the hilly green and distant valleys , rippling treetops , and the surrounding craggy slopes of the canyon pass the Keep guarded.
He was a soldier, but this area had known peace for so long, all this talk of great wars and people of the eastern rim , sounded like romantic battle fables of the Bards, soldiers in the millions and dense clouds of flying arrows, cavalries in the hundreds of thousands, Eastern vikings and southern giants..Men in black cloaks and armor .. Brakk had known battle, he grew with it from early youth, but he could never imagine the scale of the empire wars , there was nothing he could compare it to.
His duties kept him separated most of the time from the Keeps small population, except for the kitchen staff, and spending long hours with Mezinger as their shifts crossed . Mezinger was the night watchman of the tower , Brakk was the day shift.
And Mezinger wanted to be a Bard. But in the service of lord Jumbo he was not free to travel and learn the lore of the land, for he was stationed here for 2 years as a disciplinary act imposed on him by the officer of the guard ,
whose 6 teeth Mezinger removed in a drunken brawl, for him, with a blunt object.
A half year before, Mezinger was in the big town of Skullduggery Pleasant , also known as Skullp among the vulgar peasantry , and he came back filled with news and beaming as sallow moonlight with stories to tell.
They spoke of Axobongos armor, as they played their stone game, as it was of a foreign make,. But more marvelous was that of Vordans, a swirly green that glistened as if embedded with green light.
"ahh" Mezinger said " You did not know those two are nobles of the Axoian clans? The heritage of the Bananalands? , But its said they came from over the water. lord Vordan decades before, and chief Axobongo only recently."
"i think you did mention it once or twice,," said Brakk dryly , although he could not remember the details.
.Mezinger continued,
" Indeed, Vordan had led old world Axonians here generations ago , ancestral connections to this world so its said, from a land far over the wet ocean . Axobongo was said to have shipwrecked here, and discovered the Gods had delivered him to Vordans shores of Bananaland . Twas a strange twisted fate beheld that day Axobongo sat frying Bananas on the beach beside his shambles of a ship , and the Green Knight came strolling out of the forested bush to greet him.
He had asked his old Chief if he might stay and advise their Banana lords, for the future was looking grim.
They made him a Banana Baron and Chief Bard and he has served our people faithfully since then, although its said he longs for the other shores beyond. "
"Aye, there has been a fire put back in the hearts of all our Lords and Nobles since he's ben seen riding the lands to and fro..." added Brakk, whose brow then went into a quizzical shape ,, a sort of furrow , and he asked ;
" Didn't Axobongo and Lord Marty have some giant brawl once?"
Mezinger winked "Ah, twas nuthin' , to be sure , our pompous lord Martinius was often red faced and jealous of the Axo High Chief. its said he lost his temper at Axobongo and slapped him with a bundle of flowers , which he was known to collect in the mornings for his flower arranging hobby,, and met Axobongos right fist that day, knocking Marty out cold with a single blow..
i have learned some of a Bardic canto of The Shipwreck Sagas i'll recount for you, if you dont mind.."
"oh go on then, i know your dying to..." Brakk said , rolling his eyes to the side , but secretly grateful for the diversion.
Watching Mezinger summon his Bardic stories was always a strange sight, he would roll his eyes upward into his head 5 or 6 times and bob back and forth for several heartbeats,, and he seemingly hummed a mu-mu-mu-mu mu mu mo mo mo,, set of utterances quietly ... then suddenly stop cold, frozen and in a sort of trance, his eyes open wide but seeing into some other world , and his voice pitched in a bold and enunciated tone;
"... And so, Axobongo found himself separated from his fleet of ships.... mu-mu-mu-mu-mo-mo-mo..
...and landed on these shores. .....Discovered Vordan had earlier founded a tribe here. a tribe whose wealth came from the Banana trade.
This world was different then where he had come from, so many inept and inexperienced Dukes and Barons , too many powerful children of feeble minds but massive armies, it was such a wealthy and richly giving land, it gave many the illusion that they were great leaders , when evidence showed time and again they had little clue about forging loyalty and growing power through wisdom and honor and honest battle.
Most of the kings and dukees he met were dull witted and overly proud , those who cared more for their crown than their people. Opiated with wealth and slow to govern. Even the duke he was honor bound to serve displayed these inglorious qualities. More than once , Martinius was angry at Axobongo for his honesty and strong approach, Axobongo lamented that marty had little faculty to even half understand the complexities of Ruling and leadership. That he would be chastised by this inferior duke for hurting his feelings while working so hard for the well being and growth of the banana people, had troubled him. Although Axobongo respected Martinius as a person, he could not respect him as a leader.
Patience flared one day and martinius slapped Axobongos face with a roll of pansies wrapped in leather. To which Axobongo replied with a swift uppercut that sent martinius out the threshold of the door and down the stone stairway to the council forum.
When he was roused to consciousness an hour later, he claimed he had tripped, to save his pride, but inwardly was furious with this friend of Vordan for his impudence.
" i dont answer to you , Axobongo, i am a Duke and you are a Baron" he exclaimed when next they met.
"And i dont bow to you, marty, for you are a lesser duke in a small pond, and i am the high Chief of a mighty and ancient people"
then added " Look, i am honor bound to serve the Banana people, and not betray you , thus i have worked to my utmost , even though i see you as undeserving of the precious crown you flaunt. You seldom do more for your people than occasionally rolling out of bed to say, "i agree" or "i disagree" ,, when you neglect 50 fold the true duties of leadership your people deserve,, it is no wonder the Bards composed a song of your lack"
This argument was put down by the wise Vordan, whose soft words calmed the flustered pride bruised Marty , and before long, Axobongo was riding the long roads trying to secure alliances for the Banana people.
Where he would face again , as he would say, fine little tribes whose leaders diplomacy skills were haughty and dimwitted .
But there were solutions for the Bananas , unless they continued on their present course.
Axobongo knew that only if they adhered to his methods, and found some luck, there was no hope, not if Axobongo were not with them, or if duke martinius opposed his strategy and hard work.
This is the popular song sung in taverns and pubs of Bananaland ,
Martinius the minimal Duke,
once had a tribe upon a fluke,
in emptiness he floats unseen,
a consciousness in the crack between
a butterfly on a Banana skin seam
All Hail, Martinius the Minimal !
unpresent in the thick of it all
unbaker of unleavened bread,
A Banana somewhere shakes its
big Banana head
to be wise, but not smart, or smart but not wise
to wear a crown with unopened eyes
sweet at heart, and blissfully blank
must be like gas leaking from a tank
Martinius was not amused, Though it was customary for all leaders to fall victim to the scathing wit of the drunken minstrels of the common folk, it wound him up into a steaming lather of fuming indignation . Whilst walking alone he happened upon Axobongo in the charred remains of the old pub leaning in repose against the last barrel of fine Dark Stout which he had pulled from the burnt rubble , smiling and drinking from his horn . He invited Martinius to share a cup or 3 and the two men sat together talking.
Axobongo said, " You are a man i respect for a good heart and a positive spirit, and i regret any insults i have caused you.
no matter how much i stress there is far too much more a Duke must do for his people than i see you do, i know
your heart and respect for others is in the right place, and i respect you as a person for that. and i like the pretty flowers you arrange..
Let me show you how to move to higher levels , and raise your people to something greater.
Martinius had much to contemplate.. but contemplation was said to challenge the Duke and cause him a pain between the ears. Marty returned to his Palace playground and was often seen spending long hours swinging on the swing set built for the fat little noble children for recreation , in a similitude of deep thought, but never scratching the surface of basic understanding , so vital for basic thought..
But for Vordan, the choice would be easy... He would give up his Dukely crown and and follow his old Chief to war with a gusto of moxian pride, for they had fought side by side in the old days, and he knew what the ancient secrets of the Axo could provide for our faltering people... "
,,,
Brakk made his move in the stone game , "aha! " he exclaimed,, " its your turn,, heheh , lets see you get out of that.."
his smile faded in blankness as he looked up and saw Mezinger still in his trance..
" mu-mu-muu,, Meyari !,, "
"Hmm? ,, Meyari ? " Brakk had not heard this name before.. Mezinger continued..
"Meyari , young and beautiful and really builtiful , haunting dark eyes and long dark hair of the exotic strain, its said she captured Axobongos heart and he was ready for the end of war, ..
He had fought most of his life, won his wars, and fought some more,, now he was gaining a following among the wise ones of this world, but it was a world he was not bound to settle in. He was on the verge of unifying great forces and effect a strong rebellion against the oppressive empires terrorizing the land. He gave much of his wisdom and tools to these good people of the Banana tribe and others . It would be up to them to seize his offerings or ignore them, but the time had come for them to go at it on their own.
Before leaving the land, several good Chieftains of various clans bid him to stay a little longer, to help set up a new tribe , a tribe with a fighting chance, for it was now evident to many that Martinius was not leading his people to victory, and some were in tribes that were bound for extinction.
Axobongo agreed to this humbling request. FC A'Huntred,The Moose and the worthiest of Banana Thanes, also saw the value of creating an entity able to challenge the enemies , this would be their legacy.
Vordan was often on long journeys, seeing to wandering AxoTribe people he had once guided to these lands, His deeper responsibilities meant he was away overland, and also oversea. and with Martinus as the tribe head,, the little tribe of Bananas were facing grim outcomes if they didn't find a way to overcome their dukes lack of rulership.
Knowing he would see his old friend Vordan on another shore , he plotted with the captains of the seamen the way to the new lands of the Axo. Seaman Stains was the hardiest captain and wisest, he agreed to guide the Axo high Chief to his people.
In all, 17 Longships would set sail one day, thousands of fit warriors, and two famous lovers were bound for a new reality.
But first, Axobongo would ready a new force , led by mighty chieftains. A tribe bound for glory.
the Banana and Ba people of Ba , would need to learn to fight together, and not alone . several tribes wanted to merge with Bananas, but want that all the people vote for a new high king from the Royal Chieftains. So Axobongo agreed to help them come together, for the good of everybody, ''there is safety in numbers.'' he would say, ''providing those numbers counted'-..
He would set the groundwork for a great tribe, prophecies said a grand Warlord would emerge and rule wisely these collection of fine lords and noble Chieftains of the many clans , Omegaens to the worlds end . "
A bit of drool plunked out of Mezingers now frozen stare as he sat there in silence for a moment.
"Are you done yet?" inquired Brakk, " its your move, matey,,"
"what?,, oh yes, of course, " Mezinger replied refocusing his attention " how'd i do ?"
" Better this time" said Brakk, " i was all captivated and all that,, now make your move with the stones, i can smell your purse approaching my pocket where it belongs.."
" Thanks" said Mezinger " its not like i get alot of Bardic practice stuck up here on this tower day after day "
For hours they had focused their attention on stories and the little game, sitting on the floor looking down , they had neglected to see the retinue of archers assembling at the nearest ridge to the Tower Keep, nor the cavalry charging in
from the long road headed to their Pass. nor the battalion of foot soldiers a furlong behind them.
Delaying his move with the stones, Mezinger stood to piss from the tower , and was sent twisting back as an arrow went thump into his shoulder.
"shit!" exclaimed Brakk "what the hell..?!?"
Mezinger stumbled back and fell , as a hail of arrows came streaming towards the tower.
He poked his head over the grey block of their little wall and saw the cavalry approaching at full gallop. and the hail of arrows continued, the canopy caught flame as some were loaded arrows, and the alarm bell remained out of reach as he huddled over the bleeding Mezinger .
"Bloody hell.." He saw in dismay, the enemy archers had crawled their way through craggy mountain rock to gain a vantage point that the Keeps own archers were want to use via a small path that led them to that ridge on the right flank of an approaching army.
its position meant skilled longbowmen could rain down their deadly sticks into the yard of the castle Keep itself.
And now the enemy held it.
" we have to go down!" Brakk yelled out, he could see down into the yard some few of their men emerging from barracks and scrambling on their armor , tho no alarm bell had yet rung.
Mezinger scowled , and stood reaching for the alarm bell , and managed some 8 or10 loud rings from it before another arrow hit him in the jawbone and lodged there.
Brakk raised his Bow for action and took aim, but the flaming canopy twisted in the breeze and partially fell upon him , and he frantically brushed his body clear of burning ash.
" we are going down!! , Brakk called out, "can you walk? " Mezinger grunted and gurgled out something incomprehensible, and spat blood from his wounded mouth.
As Brakk lifted him under his shoulder, an arrow landed in his back, not too deep to kill him, but enough that it sent him stumbling forward, Mezinger had 2 more arrows land in his chest , and his feet stepped him backwards where he tumbled in an agonizing backflip over the small stone wall around the turret , and fell the long distance down , flipping round two or three times before ripping and cracking his spine on the edge of the Keeps outer wall , and bouncing like a rag doll outward and falling long downward several stories more to land heavily before the gate as the enemy riders arrived. sprawled there in his blood and guts popped free from his midsection and shattered skull .
Brakk managed to tear the arrow from his back , and make his descent down the spiraling tower.
He held his sword in hand and would emerge at the half lowered gate and wide open portcullis that never got the alarm to drop in time. enemy cavalry had charged into the castle yard , and the small garrison of men were being slaughtered in droves.
Their own archers on the ramparts were frantically trying to shoot moving targets on both sides of the wall, and failing to dent much of the invaders force.
Brakk was in the middle of a melee. he fought hard as footmen began piling in , felling 10 men in a near berserkers fury,
These were Winkee men , thralls to the dystopian empire. who worked for a surly rogue lord of no honor.
They were falling bloodied and torn from Brakks tireless swings and thrusts of his longsword. He picked up an axe from a dead Winkee mercenary , and unleashed all his death dance , destroying the lives of another 20 men.
There was smoke and fire burning everywhere, the smell of blood and vomit, excrement and piss mixed sickly with it and gave the air the loom of doom.
He knew no survivors would be given quarter from this lot. and determined to mount a free horse and ride hard to warn the town of an approaching army. near the gate , he spotted a black steed and ran for it, his knees threatening to buckle below him. He tripped over a body, and hit the ground.. and upon looking over his shoulder, saw that he was noticed by two enemy cavalry men, who snapped to charge him.
He rose and ran for all his worth , but their approach was rapid. he felt as if he could feel the hot breath of the steed on the back of his neck, and chose an impossible move,, he turned and body slammed himself just over the top joints of the charging horses front legs.
He was a big man, his full weight into it, it actually managed to crack the front leg of the beast, and cause it to topple forward, crushing its rider underneath as they tumbled over Brakk in such a way that the creatures bulk flew over Brakk and barely grazed him, while simultaneously flinging him to one side, he felt as he was hit by a tree nonetheless.
He was able to stand , and his sword was soon in his grasp as the other rider held for a moment, astonished at what he had just seen.
Brakk charged to the riders side and leapt a he swung forth his blade, the mace in the riders right arm,, and right arm itself both flung out, separated from their master, who fell from his mount with a long stream of red blood spouting out the opposite direction..
enemy men were all around him, they had witnessed this marvel, and hesitated to charge.
He mounted that brown and bloodied steed and turned for the gate.
An arrow struck his thigh , but he felt it not, so focused was he on his bolt towards and out the fractured gate before him.
As he charged out the burning cesspool of death and smoke into the fresh air of day and open sky, his heart sank, it looked as if thousands of armored men stood between him and the green lush world beyond. No where to turn,, he would have to bold straight through the middle of them and hope for the best.
He kicked his steed into action and leapt it over 10 men coming up the slope to the gate. there was a small patch of open ground before him, and he headed there. One axman came running to his left, and managed a falling stroke that seemed to rip through Braks shin , a terrible crack was heard and for an instant, Brakk wondered if his foot remained attached to his leg, he dared not look, nor could he, for his head was locked in its goal of leading his body to safety, his eyes were fixed in a desperate peripheral scan of the swimming chaos before him.
He rode forward, men were closing ranks about him , and he tried to turn his mount to the right,,
it was lanced .
Then lanced again , a horses scream can be a horrific sound, it filled his ears as the shadows surrounded his spinning view , shadows and blurs of helmeted man shapes and shining glints reflecting from their raised weapons. The spinning turns of his mount slowed and it seemed not to move ,,
for it was no longer standing,,
Brakk was stabbed and chopped. and crumpled and pulled from his dying beast . Horse death bellows piercing the clatter of feet and metal in a macabre requiem morbidly previewed by the soul it was made for.
He was not murdered outright, through all the abuse his body suffered.
He lay writhing in the dirt and trampled grass as they gazed upon him.
He noted the sweet smell of that grass, and it seemed like the most beautiful smell he had ever smelt .
~ -------------- ~ ------------- ~
Guinness and Hellfire history notes,, Muldy joins ,, and brings wisdom of irrigating techniques , and knowledge of advanced weaponry from the Raki empire..
later, Guinness and Axobong and muldie are riding to inspect irrigation work in a remote area, attacked by Johhny2farts of the meliscious worm tribe,
muldy pulled off an excellent victory for the Axo and he and the chief became fast friends.
~ ------------- ~ --------------- ~
~-------Lore of Early Axo Inceptions-----~
~-----by Og Blattwort of Featherplate Muffinhouse ----~~~Translated by Agzar the Glum
It was not long after Guinness and Helfire officially Joined under The Axo banner that Guinness introduced Axobongo to lord Muldie , who had his family and roots in this far north Axoland, but due to its impoverishment, followed a typical path by young men of fighting in the ranks of far away Kings carving empires throughout the known worlds. In this way Muldie grew into a famed warrior among his Raki Empirical Lords, became a veteran of many a war, spent long years on the rugged field but also the opulent life of conquest and wealth, he joined with old friends and a mighty lord and returned with them where they established in the mid-south, after mighty conquests in distant mysterious worlds , he returned alone to the north rim and his roots and long missed family.
The Raki empire had rapidly grown in W45 and dominated the mid-south and worlds heart , Apex and Omen and the Ones were on the rise and wars on this mighty scale were yet unknown in the northern rim where Axobongo began unifying minor Axo lords and training peasants and recruiting warriors to free his resourceful lands of foreign exploitation and waste, and the slow demise of such a rich & ancient Axoian culture.
The tribes and knights of the feudal north were now seeing the rise of Axo and the fall of their own castles. Axobongo taking out the larger Lord Oz, in defiance of the far grander Hunter tribes bid for expansion to the north, had the peoples of the northlands taking notice . Foreign lords bolstered their castles , and native Axofolk began composing popular songs praying to the old gods that Axobongos band would show up to their villages and clear out either the barbarians or the knights of despot kings , it was said the crops would boon in all the villages the Axomen liberated.
But work in development became part of the Chiefs duties, there was often a need to set down his sword and gather inventive minds to discover new technology in producing the practical needs of growing armies . He had to introduce new techniques to the farming communities, gather druid smiths and alchemists and house them in academies of study in the search for effective armor & weapon production . He was constantly on the search for knowledge as well as soldiery.
Muldie and Guinness had met in foreign lands fighting as professionals in mighty wars beyond the scale of Axobongos imaginings when at that time he was still a young traveller learning the art of war as a mercenary and learning of the world in the beds of exotic lovers and talks with historians , whom he sought out in every new place he found himself. Guinness had brought his wealth gained from distant campaigns and fortified his Axo rooted Stompians in their mountain strongholds, and there he oversaw the brewing of the ancient Axo elixer continued .
It was just after the ceremonies welcoming Guinnes and Helfire into the new court of Axo lords that Guinness requested of Axobongo to accept a Raki lord under Axo protection , Muldie , who was an Axo clansman , but was honor bound and promised to his Raki king , to accept him would be under the understanding that he would one day return to Raki service, and Axobongo had to consider this and inevitable conflict with the Raki eventually.
But he accepted, suspiciously at first, but the wise Muldie soon won the chiefs love with his graceful and light hearted manner, and deep knowledge on a variety of subjects that inevitably boosted the education and advancement of all the Axo people. Muldie had supervised irrigation development in remote areas, and brought his education under advanced empires into the fold and soon his lands were flourishing.
Following some victorious shared battle against the Black Knight and securing Guinness another castle, Axobongo and Guinness rode a half day to inspect the new irrigation project Muldie was overseeing near Wormland , still in their armor and with but a small escort of seven men, they joined Muldie near the site of a mountain split Muldie was building a duct in it, and where he had men making reenforced canals and digging feed ditches.
They met at Muldies tent, he was wearing spined leather light-armor of Raki make,it was tan with brown swirling patterns now fading from the elements and heavy use, that coupled with subtle green edging trim,, and Axobongo could see the camouflage quality in it which differed but wasnot unlike the tartan cloaks of many Axo clans . His hair was long and light brown, and he wore no beard as most northmen did, in contrast to the blond mutton chops Axobongo was cultivating, or the rich black trimmed mustache and chin-beard of Guinness. Yet his foreign look and refinement did not diminish the Axo heart in his core , these three conversed easily as old friends would.
And then there was noise, the duct work crashed behind the ridge and a dust cloud rose,,and the sound of mens screams and battle became audible,, from both the ridge and the dig site down below.
Melicious Worm men were sabotaging the effort , workers were slaughtered and they spotted the band of Wormer knights leaving the site of the duct and escaping into the mouth of a small canyon towards the right, Axobongo an Guinness gave chase with their 7 men and 10 of Muldies guard, while Muldie turned and charged at the digger and canal site battle, with his forty remaining guardsmen he'd rallied with a horn blast .
the 20 enemy knights slaughtering diggers wore the tunics of Johnny2farts , and broke when they saw the charge coming down the hill, Muldie knew they would be routed and chased down in short order,, but some intuition was striking him like a gong and the thought of those other men breaking to the canyon suddenly made him envision a trap. He halted his men, bidding 2 scouts to track the fleeing Wormers , then he doubled back with 30 men to ride uphill to the canyons edge , as he followed it, he realized his fears as he came upon Wormermen engaged in ambush of the Chief and Guinness down below .
By dropping large stones and boulders, this group were cutting off Axobongos retreat , which pinned them in between falling rock attacks of another group further along the canyons ridge , and the fleeing soldiers Guinness and the chief were chasing were joined by others and had turned and began sending arrows , only with skillful use of shield did Guinness and the Chief Axo survive that first assault, along with nine others who had watched their fellows get skull crashed and broken half to bits under the stones , or riddled with arrows .
Axobongo and Guinness were now eleven men facing 35 within the canyon. And above, the ten boulder flingers which Muldie first met were quickly dispatched, he sent 20 men to go back down to the canyons mouth and make haste to try and join with the Chiefs band. Then continued up the path with his remaining 10 men to engage the other boulder flingers , who had broke their ariel assault as their brothers down below had sounded the horn to charge the Axomen bogged down on the sandy riverbed.
The Axo's formed shields into a half-box pattern with two spearmen in its center set to strike over the shoulders of the line. The enemy came crashing in on foot as their horsemen held back , The Axo's had perhaps three horses still lingering near, their other horses also felled by stone and arrow, or fled .
...So they had no choice, and met the charge with great spirit. Enemy Wormermen fell four at a time as they ran into the deadly Axo wall when the 16th Wormer man fell , six Axomen remained and they were backed into the canyon wall,, ten mounted knights of the enemy were forming to charge when two were toppled by a falling boulder the size of a fat teenaged debutant , ! hurray!!, Muldie has successfully wipedout the upper ridge ambushers and had now turned the stone arsenal on the very men who had those stones arrayed for murder.
The enemy men were disorientated, they lost another horseman,, then another and found themselves forced to move towards the the six Axomen, not to attack as much as to free themselves from being in range of the falling rocks. Guinness had thrown a spear into an approaching Worm knight cavelryman, and Axobongo managed do de-horse another with a spear jammed up his belly, even as another rider chopped through the skull of his Captain of the Greywatch guard , but was felled by one of Guinesses best knights, Angust Mir-vito , a wiry giant of a man who broke halfway through the enemies spine and torso with his mighty long necked axe.
Through the scrambling noise and chaos of battle, Axobongo heard a sound , it was a new tone for his ears and he knew not it was a Raki Swan-horn, on the ground before him a man from muldies guard was floundering with a sword pierced right through his thigh , he perceived an axman and rider raising their weapons to end this mans life, and no sooner had his brain acknowledged that , than blurs of movement from behind those enemies emerged and toppled them in their tracks, 20 riders in unbloodied tan tunics of Muldies men were miraculously pounding by them, toppling footmen and riders of the enemy and sending the four remaining Axomen , (Axobongo/Guinness/Angust/& Hamish Ung of Axobongos clan) scrambling against the canyon wall to avoid the hoofs,, the Muldie guardsman with the sword lodged in this thigh was not so fortunate, he was trampled under hooves of his own brothers , as they galloped by and into the remaining enemy knights,, and within minutes, all those enemy knights were sprawled bloody on the sandy riverbed of the canyon.
The Muldie Guardsman, both thigh pierced and trampled , did not die , tough and lucky, he ended up with a limp and a lame hand, half blind in one eye, and yet reached a ripe old age as a notable swordsman despite his challenged body.
They gathered horses and weapons and met Muldie at the canyons mouth, Axobongo was livid, and wanted to give chase to the other saboteurs , he wanted to ride the half day back to where his and Guinness left armies sacking their newest castle , but the calm logic of Muldie eased his Chief back to earth, Muldie said he and his leather clad light cavalry could make better speed, and he had a castle near enough to to gather his men and assault Johnny2Farts castle, suggesting the Chief and Guinness could gather their forces and meet him at the siege in two days time.
At that agreement , Muldie rode off , Axobongo said to Guinness '' this Raki friend of yours shows wisdom and worth, if he manages to pull this off, i will be well impressed, for this Johnny2farts is known to have much a larger force than muldie , and high walls at his castle, he will need all the men in riding distance we can muster.''
Three days later , Axobongo and Guinness were arriving at johnny2farts castle, They had rams, catapults, axmen and knights polished and ready to fight, their cavalry was massive, and their banners flew in the wind long over the heads of this impressive army.
,,, And all for naught, for beyond belief, Muldie had managed to take the castle alone, with a lesser force and much skill, he punched a hole, got men into the castle and dropped the gates, his men stormed in and Johnny2farts very soon ended up with his head nailed to the door of the front gate to welcome Axobongo & Guinness's arrival.
The young Chief was mightily impressed , Guinness found this amusing, for he never doubted his friends skill, Muldie was the brother of one of his mentors , and the empire wars they had all fought prepared them to easily face any 'poorly educated northern rim Lord'.
Muldie was enjoying some fine wine and dangling a leg over the armrest of Johnny2farts throne, a feast table had been spread out before him and ready to feed Axobongo and Guinness and their hungry generals and officers.
Grinning he said '' i recommend the mutton,, its todays chefs special , said to be fortified with 8 essential ingredients ''
Now this part of the tale some scholars doubt , nonetheless it is within the narrative, but some scholars complain that other versions dont include this part, so it was likely added later,, while others argue, that this must be the older version, and this part later omitted.
Johnny2farts had in his dungeon a giant, said to be 10 feet tall and built like a mutated pair of conjoined oxen. and its said the feast & drink had Guinness bragging that a mans size on any scale is no issue to a highly skilled swordsman. Drinking and one thing leading to another, meant soon this giant (who was shackled and imprisoned by Johnny2farts himself , for the giant had a nasty psychotic nature ever since taking the concoction of a disreputable barbarian witch , a hemorrhoid potion that went terribly wrong when applied incorrectly) was brought forth to face Guinness in battle to fight for his freedom, and for the entertainment and wagers of the men.
Axobongo liked this not, putting his friend and top general in needless jeopardy like this was senseless, but he knew that once the wagers were made, and Guinness so readily in agreement, to exercise his authority and call off the gladiatorial match would not only dangerously anger the men, but its said the gods who covet the blood wagers of man would get their revenge if the sacred offerings of mortal combat wager were denied them once promised.
The two would fight naked of armor and clothing, except for the loin .
So a circle was made, and this behemoth made unchained and armed, the longsword he held looked small in his hand, he held a riding mace in the other.
Guinness held sword and shield. and tilted his head casually and relaxed as this giant stalked carefully closer to him.
The giant swung first, and second,, and third,, he swung his mace and choped with his sword,, the ground shook with each slam of his weapons into it as Guinness managed to sidestep and dodge every blow, using his shield at deflecting angles that never took a direct hit, but glanced the giants blade off its trajectory.
The giant man got a devastating death blow with his mace that finally hit square and crushed a deep dent in Guinness's shield, this brought Guinness down to knees on the ground, before he oriented his footing, another mace blow totally distorted his shield, tore it slightly, and made Guinness unsure if his forearm was bone broke or not. The shield fell from his grasp, bent broken and useless.
Guinness then dived between the stance of the sweating giant man and jumped up with a wild looking backswing over and behind his head, splitting a gaping wound in the left forearm of the giants mace hand, he dropped the mace immediately, but turned with the longsword flying at Guinness, who managed in a split second to press his own sword against his chest lengthwise and precisely counter the giants blade landing on his flesh, but the blow sent him flying back about 18 feet , he rolled into a crouched position, locked eyes with his foe, and struggled for breath while trying to appear unfazed.
The giant and Guinness ran towards one another, the giant swung low and guinness leapt far over the sword streaking by, and in midair, was able to pull down his sword and cut through the giants leg as he fell to ground. the Giant roared in pain, and awkwardly raised his weapon , but this exposed his armpit, which Guinness was able to stab in another leap strike, however it did not enter deep enough for a death blow.
First, the giant would stagger back and fall to one knee , before the magnificent death blow of Guinness would land gashing the giants neck to spill his head blood and pull out a bouquet of marbled meat , his head tilted a little too far, and he wobbled in place, then Guinness mercifully gave him another lick of the sword , splitting the forehead of the giant man right down to the nose, the bulky man fell to his back, his legs folded under him, and the blood flowed out of him as urine flows from an elephant.
The men cheered and Guinness stood triumphant and called for his bitter Ale to quench his thirst, and the men hoisted him overhead and brought him to the table, there they piled for him the best of the sacked wealth of the castle, and wrapped him in the kings cloaks, even Muldie goodheartedly placed Johhny2farts crown on the head of his friend, who was roaring in laughter and good humor , and raising a toast to the high chief and all the Axo people and their clans, Guinness had a manner that generated great cheer among his people, they would follow him to hell and back smiling and laughing all the way .
'These Norwestern Axo people were hardy folk,' Axobongo observed, in time he would realize three other notable warriors from this far northwestern rim, Hellfire , Tobynmoka, and Fatmanrunnin,, it would be years before he would meet Fatmanrunnin ,who would emerge as one of the last survivors of this world . And Helfire would also survive, as a Ranger he led Axo people to safer lands in other worlds, but not after many adventures and pulling off the prevention of two stupid wars that so easily could have ensued between Axo and two tribes, *NR* and notably, KTA~ the Temple Knights .
Helfire and Axobongo secretly saved the tribe more than once , yet for so long, the tribe new it not, for his castles were farthest from the heart of Axoland. And so this is why they carved a great statue of Helfire which you will see at the entrance to westlands from the pass of ArrghNop-over-the-Brine. Tobynmoka was also wandering these northwest lands, destined one day for Axo glory.
Axobongo found it a pity that Muldies castle lands were so far from the new heart of Axoland , but he felt confident he now had wise generals to stabilize Axo-westlands, and in the eastlands, he had Thor , and Thor was sturdy enough a lord to hold those lands until the Axo were ready for expansion.
This was the first adventure, but not the last, these three would know together.
~ ------------------ ~ ---------------------- ~
"All persons, living and dead, are purely coincidental."
~New Axo anthropology~
A brief summary of w45 Post-War Time evolutions,
(followed by a brief look at some adventures of Axo folk , and lost tales/ info, from both before and after the world-war era)
The Axo culture that remained autonomous within the Omeon Empire had eventually offered a rich culture of the Arts, and ancient traditions that led people in a healthy mystical relationship with nature in all its aspects and captured the hearts of vast swathes of the empire , for the old ways were yet preserved in Axo culture, and people who missed their ancient ways in their becoming subjects of the empire, found were drawn to the 'Axo spirituality' or ritual traditions & distinct Warrior-way training's that converted the people into Axo culturalists within the Omen empire.
Axo culture passively became the culture of the empire within 12 years of the Wars End , and after the natural disasters that purged and reshaped the world.
Some politics of the duo culture allowed Axobongo and the Noble Omeon Royals to use the Axo warriors to defeat the malevolent and cruel lords who dishonored the empire, but could not be deposed in any legal way by members of the Omen royal courts. The side effect of these 'Liberation Battles' the Axo won against the Royal families in the oppressed sections of the Omen Empire , is that it created a fusion of Omen/Axo Lands , and populations in adoration of their Axo liberators , and Axobongo became widely considered the 3rd emperor of the world, and 3rd seat in High Court along with Mitche and Pampoomio was reserved for him, And it was said the three high Lords enjoyed each others company, and never found reason to argue.
Those fusion lands became fabled as 'reclaimed' ancient Axo realms , and the Empire realized masses of immigrants to all autonomous Axolands ,and converts to Axoism within the empires borders meant only one logical course remained, the High Kings and world Lords unanimously decided to make it official, and declare the Ax0meon Empire was the final passage of fruition to the virtuous meaning of the world conquest . And they developed a society that merged the rustic beauty of the earthy pagan Axo with the elegance and scientific culture of the Empire elite , the Age of the Axomeon Empire began.
Axomeon architecture combined the best of the advanced structure and light tech of the empire with the swirling weaving patterns of trad. Axo magical designs that all would insist did generate prosperity.
World knowledge synthesized easily within Axo framework, there remained nowhere in the world where rebel fanatic cults offered contrast to the love of knowledge and ritual respect for the deep ancestral relationships to nature and its magical mystery . The people became content and happy , an age of prosperity seemed to weed out much of chronic human greed. The land was exploited wisely and care was taken to ensure the bounty spread and harmed not the nature that gave it,
Axobongo was said to have made 7 voyages at sea after this new empire realized itself. The very first was meant to guide him to the new lands Axopeople and Mazulite people had established near the end of the great w45 wars, and yet it stranded him on w50 on your universal map , now called Odaland , ( w45 became known as Axom) , for his ship wrecked there and in the most oddest of coincidence , it was right on the shores of a patch of land where Vordan, the Green Knight of the Axo , had discovered years before and guided displaced Axopeople when the north was overridden .
By now , he was lord of a Banana republic of Banana Barons whos main deity was the big Banana of the Axo cult , a generation had passed since Vordan first landed there, and returned to Axom to fight by Axobongos side in the final wars of the southwest, and then returned here to aid the people in a futile struggle where Odaians, the amazonic Dystopians, and Hermitians were massive and squeezing the life out of the tough remaining smaller tribes , and the world was at unrest with war.
So Axobongo stayed for a time at the behest of his good friend , and nearly assembled a viable rebellion, linking together several tribes, yet faced kings of untrusting weak spines who shied away from the union they saw forming well, had treacherous lords and no faith in the role they could have played had the mighty union succeeded, but three important tribes that opted out , caused two other tribes to lose faith in the final option, and they all perished.
( let it be noted that Axobongo stayed for a few spans, but followed his destiny to the lands in the mist where his people awaited him, and yet some of his notable speeches in the forum of world gathering inspired a challenge that lad to just such a union of tribes under one banner to face the final empire wars, but by this time it was too late, it was long after his Omegan project fell shortly after he left for the misted lands, and by now the Dystopians had joined into the Odaians , the Hermitians were vanquished)
Here is a story from those times in Odaland , Authenticated Axolore, for these were Bananan descendants of Axoian colonizers, who's texts were discovered in the latter half of the previous to last century in a cave on the cliffs of the Odaian northwest, the people were said to be called Baxona , and where, incidentally the stress relieving herb B'naxo is cultivated by the indigenous people of that region and is sacred to them.
But this account has nothing to do with nice herbs, in fact, there was alot of stress at the time:
~-------------------------Shipwreck sagas and The Tower Tale-------------------------------~
---------by the Bards Ploppy son of Ploppy , and Tholis Bunt, The Mucker of Corralis---------------
Mezinger was thin yet wiry & Brakk was Large and strong with a long red braided beard.
Mezinger and Brakk sat at their station up in the high guard tower playing the stone game on the little grooved wooden board Brakk had made the previous summer.
The watchtower overlooked the southeastern hills and guarded the keep on the Cragmirghast road to Bananaland.
The breeze that whistled past the posts of their crudely constructed canopy of thatched banana leaves blew a lock of Mezingers long hair into his opened mouth, to which he let it rest there for a moment.
" mm, " said he , '' i can still taste this morns mutton tail soup "
"No doubt" said Brakk " Since you tend to wear more of your food than you eat"
" move your stone" said Mezinger, who was 5 games behind at this point.
After a bit, Brakk said,
"Y'know, that was the last of the mutton, supplies are low and we are down to turnips and wheat grass.. whoever wins this stone tourney should get to go to town for the market buys. "
Mezinger scowled "Aye well , if our gold allotment doesn't arrive soon, we may both have to leave our post and try our hand at gambling with the townsfolk to win something to buy some food with."
" Well, we need some news of the world anyhow, its been awhile since a messenger has come around,, i wonder if The Melding has taken place yet?" said Brakk.
They had heard rumors that many High Lords and Chieftains from around the world were riding from afar and meeting in a forum house they built in the highland crevasse of Mount Omega .
They were said to be talking of coming together and linking swords to face the emerging empires encroaching upon them.
The black clad Mibs , and the warriors of Ares , and the Nordic empirical vikings of the east , were all holding talks there on Mount Omega along with the Banana bunch .
Mezinger and Brakk recalled when the great Chiefs Axobongo and eFCee hunt-red , who was called the Moose , came riding through the Cragmirghast Canyon and stayed at this very Keep , and took council here with their Lord of these lands , Baron Jumbo .
Brakk had eavesdropped on the Chieftains , and learned that trouble was stirring with the Dystopans. And their Lord Jumbo would be going on a long journey, on some sort of a quest.
And he heard Axobongo speak of his investigations that had him certain there was no time to waste, that it was time to face facts and act. It all sounded a bit grim to Brakk, who had come to know the language of the wind and bird signs as he sat placidly alone for many hours of the day high atop the watchtower surveying the expanse of the hilly green and distant valleys , rippling treetops , and the surrounding craggy slopes of the canyon pass the Keep guarded.
He was a soldier, but this area had known peace for so long, all this talk of great wars and people of the eastern rim , sounded like romantic battle fables of the Bards, soldiers in the millions and dense clouds of flying arrows, cavalries in the hundreds of thousands, Eastern vikings and southern giants..Men in black cloaks and armor .. Brakk had known battle, he grew with it from early youth, but he could never imagine the scale of the empire wars , there was nothing he could compare it to.
His duties kept him separated most of the time from the Keeps small population, except for the kitchen staff, and spending long hours with Mezinger as their shifts crossed . Mezinger was the night watchman of the tower , Brakk was the day shift.
And Mezinger wanted to be a Bard. But in the service of lord Jumbo he was not free to travel and learn the lore of the land, for he was stationed here for 2 years as a disciplinary act imposed on him by the officer of the guard ,
whose 6 teeth Mezinger removed in a drunken brawl, for him, with a blunt object.
A half year before, Mezinger was in the big town of Skullduggery Pleasant , also known as Skullp among the vulgar peasantry , and he came back filled with news and beaming as sallow moonlight with stories to tell.
They spoke of Axobongos armor, as they played their stone game, as it was of a foreign make,. But more marvelous was that of Vordans, a swirly green that glistened as if embedded with green light.
"ahh" Mezinger said " You did not know those two are nobles of the Axoian clans? The heritage of the Bananalands? , But its said they came from over the water. lord Vordan decades before, and chief Axobongo only recently."
"i think you did mention it once or twice,," said Brakk dryly , although he could not remember the details.
.Mezinger continued,
" Indeed, Vordan had led old world Axonians here generations ago , ancestral connections to this world so its said, from a land far over the wet ocean . Axobongo was said to have shipwrecked here, and discovered the Gods had delivered him to Vordans shores of Bananaland . Twas a strange twisted fate beheld that day Axobongo sat frying Bananas on the beach beside his shambles of a ship , and the Green Knight came strolling out of the forested bush to greet him.
He had asked his old Chief if he might stay and advise their Banana lords, for the future was looking grim.
They made him a Banana Baron and Chief Bard and he has served our people faithfully since then, although its said he longs for the other shores beyond. "
"Aye, there has been a fire put back in the hearts of all our Lords and Nobles since he's ben seen riding the lands to and fro..." added Brakk, whose brow then went into a quizzical shape ,, a sort of furrow , and he asked ;
" Didn't Axobongo and Lord Marty have some giant brawl once?"
Mezinger winked "Ah, twas nuthin' , to be sure , our pompous lord Martinius was often red faced and jealous of the Axo High Chief. its said he lost his temper at Axobongo and slapped him with a bundle of flowers , which he was known to collect in the mornings for his flower arranging hobby,, and met Axobongos right fist that day, knocking Marty out cold with a single blow..
i have learned some of a Bardic canto of The Shipwreck Sagas i'll recount for you, if you dont mind.."
"oh go on then, i know your dying to..." Brakk said , rolling his eyes to the side , but secretly grateful for the diversion.
Watching Mezinger summon his Bardic stories was always a strange sight, he would roll his eyes upward into his head 5 or 6 times and bob back and forth for several heartbeats,, and he seemingly hummed a mu-mu-mu-mu mu mu mo mo mo,, set of utterances quietly ... then suddenly stop cold, frozen and in a sort of trance, his eyes open wide but seeing into some other world , and his voice pitched in a bold and enunciated tone;
"... And so, Axobongo found himself separated from his fleet of ships.... mu-mu-mu-mu-mo-mo-mo..
...and landed on these shores. .....Discovered Vordan had earlier founded a tribe here. a tribe whose wealth came from the Banana trade.
This world was different then where he had come from, so many inept and inexperienced Dukes and Barons , too many powerful children of feeble minds but massive armies, it was such a wealthy and richly giving land, it gave many the illusion that they were great leaders , when evidence showed time and again they had little clue about forging loyalty and growing power through wisdom and honor and honest battle.
Most of the kings and dukees he met were dull witted and overly proud , those who cared more for their crown than their people. Opiated with wealth and slow to govern. Even the duke he was honor bound to serve displayed these inglorious qualities. More than once , Martinius was angry at Axobongo for his honesty and strong approach, Axobongo lamented that marty had little faculty to even half understand the complexities of Ruling and leadership. That he would be chastised by this inferior duke for hurting his feelings while working so hard for the well being and growth of the banana people, had troubled him. Although Axobongo respected Martinius as a person, he could not respect him as a leader.
Patience flared one day and martinius slapped Axobongos face with a roll of pansies wrapped in leather. To which Axobongo replied with a swift uppercut that sent martinius out the threshold of the door and down the stone stairway to the council forum.
When he was roused to consciousness an hour later, he claimed he had tripped, to save his pride, but inwardly was furious with this friend of Vordan for his impudence.
" i dont answer to you , Axobongo, i am a Duke and you are a Baron" he exclaimed when next they met.
"And i dont bow to you, marty, for you are a lesser duke in a small pond, and i am the high Chief of a mighty and ancient people"
then added " Look, i am honor bound to serve the Banana people, and not betray you , thus i have worked to my utmost , even though i see you as undeserving of the precious crown you flaunt. You seldom do more for your people than occasionally rolling out of bed to say, "i agree" or "i disagree" ,, when you neglect 50 fold the true duties of leadership your people deserve,, it is no wonder the Bards composed a song of your lack"
This argument was put down by the wise Vordan, whose soft words calmed the flustered pride bruised Marty , and before long, Axobongo was riding the long roads trying to secure alliances for the Banana people.
Where he would face again , as he would say, fine little tribes whose leaders diplomacy skills were haughty and dimwitted .
But there were solutions for the Bananas , unless they continued on their present course.
Axobongo knew that only if they adhered to his methods, and found some luck, there was no hope, not if Axobongo were not with them, or if duke martinius opposed his strategy and hard work.
This is the popular song sung in taverns and pubs of Bananaland ,
Martinius the minimal Duke,
once had a tribe upon a fluke,
in emptiness he floats unseen,
a consciousness in the crack between
a butterfly on a Banana skin seam
All Hail, Martinius the Minimal !
unpresent in the thick of it all
unbaker of unleavened bread,
A Banana somewhere shakes its
big Banana head
to be wise, but not smart, or smart but not wise
to wear a crown with unopened eyes
sweet at heart, and blissfully blank
must be like gas leaking from a tank
Martinius was not amused, Though it was customary for all leaders to fall victim to the scathing wit of the drunken minstrels of the common folk, it wound him up into a steaming lather of fuming indignation . Whilst walking alone he happened upon Axobongo in the charred remains of the old pub leaning in repose against the last barrel of fine Dark Stout which he had pulled from the burnt rubble , smiling and drinking from his horn . He invited Martinius to share a cup or 3 and the two men sat together talking.
Axobongo said, " You are a man i respect for a good heart and a positive spirit, and i regret any insults i have caused you.
no matter how much i stress there is far too much more a Duke must do for his people than i see you do, i know
your heart and respect for others is in the right place, and i respect you as a person for that. and i like the pretty flowers you arrange..
Let me show you how to move to higher levels , and raise your people to something greater.
Martinius had much to contemplate.. but contemplation was said to challenge the Duke and cause him a pain between the ears. Marty returned to his Palace playground and was often seen spending long hours swinging on the swing set built for the fat little noble children for recreation , in a similitude of deep thought, but never scratching the surface of basic understanding , so vital for basic thought..
But for Vordan, the choice would be easy... He would give up his Dukely crown and and follow his old Chief to war with a gusto of moxian pride, for they had fought side by side in the old days, and he knew what the ancient secrets of the Axo could provide for our faltering people... "
,,,
Brakk made his move in the stone game , "aha! " he exclaimed,, " its your turn,, heheh , lets see you get out of that.."
his smile faded in blankness as he looked up and saw Mezinger still in his trance..
" mu-mu-muu,, Meyari !,, "
"Hmm? ,, Meyari ? " Brakk had not heard this name before.. Mezinger continued..
"Meyari , young and beautiful and really builtiful , haunting dark eyes and long dark hair of the exotic strain, its said she captured Axobongos heart and he was ready for the end of war, ..
He had fought most of his life, won his wars, and fought some more,, now he was gaining a following among the wise ones of this world, but it was a world he was not bound to settle in. He was on the verge of unifying great forces and effect a strong rebellion against the oppressive empires terrorizing the land. He gave much of his wisdom and tools to these good people of the Banana tribe and others . It would be up to them to seize his offerings or ignore them, but the time had come for them to go at it on their own.
Before leaving the land, several good Chieftains of various clans bid him to stay a little longer, to help set up a new tribe , a tribe with a fighting chance, for it was now evident to many that Martinius was not leading his people to victory, and some were in tribes that were bound for extinction.
Axobongo agreed to this humbling request. FC A'Huntred,The Moose and the worthiest of Banana Thanes, also saw the value of creating an entity able to challenge the enemies , this would be their legacy.
Vordan was often on long journeys, seeing to wandering AxoTribe people he had once guided to these lands, His deeper responsibilities meant he was away overland, and also oversea. and with Martinus as the tribe head,, the little tribe of Bananas were facing grim outcomes if they didn't find a way to overcome their dukes lack of rulership.
Knowing he would see his old friend Vordan on another shore , he plotted with the captains of the seamen the way to the new lands of the Axo. Seaman Stains was the hardiest captain and wisest, he agreed to guide the Axo high Chief to his people.
In all, 17 Longships would set sail one day, thousands of fit warriors, and two famous lovers were bound for a new reality.
But first, Axobongo would ready a new force , led by mighty chieftains. A tribe bound for glory.
the Banana and Ba people of Ba , would need to learn to fight together, and not alone . several tribes wanted to merge with Bananas, but want that all the people vote for a new high king from the Royal Chieftains. So Axobongo agreed to help them come together, for the good of everybody, ''there is safety in numbers.'' he would say, ''providing those numbers counted'-..
He would set the groundwork for a great tribe, prophecies said a grand Warlord would emerge and rule wisely these collection of fine lords and noble Chieftains of the many clans , Omegaens to the worlds end . "
A bit of drool plunked out of Mezingers now frozen stare as he sat there in silence for a moment.
"Are you done yet?" inquired Brakk, " its your move, matey,,"
"what?,, oh yes, of course, " Mezinger replied refocusing his attention " how'd i do ?"
" Better this time" said Brakk, " i was all captivated and all that,, now make your move with the stones, i can smell your purse approaching my pocket where it belongs.."
" Thanks" said Mezinger " its not like i get alot of Bardic practice stuck up here on this tower day after day "
For hours they had focused their attention on stories and the little game, sitting on the floor looking down , they had neglected to see the retinue of archers assembling at the nearest ridge to the Tower Keep, nor the cavalry charging in
from the long road headed to their Pass. nor the battalion of foot soldiers a furlong behind them.
Delaying his move with the stones, Mezinger stood to piss from the tower , and was sent twisting back as an arrow went thump into his shoulder.
"shit!" exclaimed Brakk "what the hell..?!?"
Mezinger stumbled back and fell , as a hail of arrows came streaming towards the tower.
He poked his head over the grey block of their little wall and saw the cavalry approaching at full gallop. and the hail of arrows continued, the canopy caught flame as some were loaded arrows, and the alarm bell remained out of reach as he huddled over the bleeding Mezinger .
"Bloody hell.." He saw in dismay, the enemy archers had crawled their way through craggy mountain rock to gain a vantage point that the Keeps own archers were want to use via a small path that led them to that ridge on the right flank of an approaching army.
its position meant skilled longbowmen could rain down their deadly sticks into the yard of the castle Keep itself.
And now the enemy held it.
" we have to go down!" Brakk yelled out, he could see down into the yard some few of their men emerging from barracks and scrambling on their armor , tho no alarm bell had yet rung.
Mezinger scowled , and stood reaching for the alarm bell , and managed some 8 or10 loud rings from it before another arrow hit him in the jawbone and lodged there.
Brakk raised his Bow for action and took aim, but the flaming canopy twisted in the breeze and partially fell upon him , and he frantically brushed his body clear of burning ash.
" we are going down!! , Brakk called out, "can you walk? " Mezinger grunted and gurgled out something incomprehensible, and spat blood from his wounded mouth.
As Brakk lifted him under his shoulder, an arrow landed in his back, not too deep to kill him, but enough that it sent him stumbling forward, Mezinger had 2 more arrows land in his chest , and his feet stepped him backwards where he tumbled in an agonizing backflip over the small stone wall around the turret , and fell the long distance down , flipping round two or three times before ripping and cracking his spine on the edge of the Keeps outer wall , and bouncing like a rag doll outward and falling long downward several stories more to land heavily before the gate as the enemy riders arrived. sprawled there in his blood and guts popped free from his midsection and shattered skull .
Brakk managed to tear the arrow from his back , and make his descent down the spiraling tower.
He held his sword in hand and would emerge at the half lowered gate and wide open portcullis that never got the alarm to drop in time. enemy cavalry had charged into the castle yard , and the small garrison of men were being slaughtered in droves.
Their own archers on the ramparts were frantically trying to shoot moving targets on both sides of the wall, and failing to dent much of the invaders force.
Brakk was in the middle of a melee. he fought hard as footmen began piling in , felling 10 men in a near berserkers fury,
These were Winkee men , thralls to the dystopian empire. who worked for a surly rogue lord of no honor.
They were falling bloodied and torn from Brakks tireless swings and thrusts of his longsword. He picked up an axe from a dead Winkee mercenary , and unleashed all his death dance , destroying the lives of another 20 men.
There was smoke and fire burning everywhere, the smell of blood and vomit, excrement and piss mixed sickly with it and gave the air the loom of doom.
He knew no survivors would be given quarter from this lot. and determined to mount a free horse and ride hard to warn the town of an approaching army. near the gate , he spotted a black steed and ran for it, his knees threatening to buckle below him. He tripped over a body, and hit the ground.. and upon looking over his shoulder, saw that he was noticed by two enemy cavalry men, who snapped to charge him.
He rose and ran for all his worth , but their approach was rapid. he felt as if he could feel the hot breath of the steed on the back of his neck, and chose an impossible move,, he turned and body slammed himself just over the top joints of the charging horses front legs.
He was a big man, his full weight into it, it actually managed to crack the front leg of the beast, and cause it to topple forward, crushing its rider underneath as they tumbled over Brakk in such a way that the creatures bulk flew over Brakk and barely grazed him, while simultaneously flinging him to one side, he felt as he was hit by a tree nonetheless.
He was able to stand , and his sword was soon in his grasp as the other rider held for a moment, astonished at what he had just seen.
Brakk charged to the riders side and leapt a he swung forth his blade, the mace in the riders right arm,, and right arm itself both flung out, separated from their master, who fell from his mount with a long stream of red blood spouting out the opposite direction..
enemy men were all around him, they had witnessed this marvel, and hesitated to charge.
He mounted that brown and bloodied steed and turned for the gate.
An arrow struck his thigh , but he felt it not, so focused was he on his bolt towards and out the fractured gate before him.
As he charged out the burning cesspool of death and smoke into the fresh air of day and open sky, his heart sank, it looked as if thousands of armored men stood between him and the green lush world beyond. No where to turn,, he would have to bold straight through the middle of them and hope for the best.
He kicked his steed into action and leapt it over 10 men coming up the slope to the gate. there was a small patch of open ground before him, and he headed there. One axman came running to his left, and managed a falling stroke that seemed to rip through Braks shin , a terrible crack was heard and for an instant, Brakk wondered if his foot remained attached to his leg, he dared not look, nor could he, for his head was locked in its goal of leading his body to safety, his eyes were fixed in a desperate peripheral scan of the swimming chaos before him.
He rode forward, men were closing ranks about him , and he tried to turn his mount to the right,,
it was lanced .
Then lanced again , a horses scream can be a horrific sound, it filled his ears as the shadows surrounded his spinning view , shadows and blurs of helmeted man shapes and shining glints reflecting from their raised weapons. The spinning turns of his mount slowed and it seemed not to move ,,
for it was no longer standing,,
Brakk was stabbed and chopped. and crumpled and pulled from his dying beast . Horse death bellows piercing the clatter of feet and metal in a macabre requiem morbidly previewed by the soul it was made for.
He was not murdered outright, through all the abuse his body suffered.
He lay writhing in the dirt and trampled grass as they gazed upon him.
He noted the sweet smell of that grass, and it seemed like the most beautiful smell he had ever smelt .
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Guinness and Hellfire history notes,, Muldy joins ,, and brings wisdom of irrigating techniques , and knowledge of advanced weaponry from the Raki empire..
later, Guinness and Axobong and muldie are riding to inspect irrigation work in a remote area, attacked by Johhny2farts of the meliscious worm tribe,
muldy pulled off an excellent victory for the Axo and he and the chief became fast friends.
~ ------------- ~ --------------- ~
~-------Lore of Early Axo Inceptions-----~
~-----by Og Blattwort of Featherplate Muffinhouse ----~~~Translated by Agzar the Glum
It was not long after Guinness and Helfire officially Joined under The Axo banner that Guinness introduced Axobongo to lord Muldie , who had his family and roots in this far north Axoland, but due to its impoverishment, followed a typical path by young men of fighting in the ranks of far away Kings carving empires throughout the known worlds. In this way Muldie grew into a famed warrior among his Raki Empirical Lords, became a veteran of many a war, spent long years on the rugged field but also the opulent life of conquest and wealth, he joined with old friends and a mighty lord and returned with them where they established in the mid-south, after mighty conquests in distant mysterious worlds , he returned alone to the north rim and his roots and long missed family.
The Raki empire had rapidly grown in W45 and dominated the mid-south and worlds heart , Apex and Omen and the Ones were on the rise and wars on this mighty scale were yet unknown in the northern rim where Axobongo began unifying minor Axo lords and training peasants and recruiting warriors to free his resourceful lands of foreign exploitation and waste, and the slow demise of such a rich & ancient Axoian culture.
The tribes and knights of the feudal north were now seeing the rise of Axo and the fall of their own castles. Axobongo taking out the larger Lord Oz, in defiance of the far grander Hunter tribes bid for expansion to the north, had the peoples of the northlands taking notice . Foreign lords bolstered their castles , and native Axofolk began composing popular songs praying to the old gods that Axobongos band would show up to their villages and clear out either the barbarians or the knights of despot kings , it was said the crops would boon in all the villages the Axomen liberated.
But work in development became part of the Chiefs duties, there was often a need to set down his sword and gather inventive minds to discover new technology in producing the practical needs of growing armies . He had to introduce new techniques to the farming communities, gather druid smiths and alchemists and house them in academies of study in the search for effective armor & weapon production . He was constantly on the search for knowledge as well as soldiery.
Muldie and Guinness had met in foreign lands fighting as professionals in mighty wars beyond the scale of Axobongos imaginings when at that time he was still a young traveller learning the art of war as a mercenary and learning of the world in the beds of exotic lovers and talks with historians , whom he sought out in every new place he found himself. Guinness had brought his wealth gained from distant campaigns and fortified his Axo rooted Stompians in their mountain strongholds, and there he oversaw the brewing of the ancient Axo elixer continued .
It was just after the ceremonies welcoming Guinnes and Helfire into the new court of Axo lords that Guinness requested of Axobongo to accept a Raki lord under Axo protection , Muldie , who was an Axo clansman , but was honor bound and promised to his Raki king , to accept him would be under the understanding that he would one day return to Raki service, and Axobongo had to consider this and inevitable conflict with the Raki eventually.
But he accepted, suspiciously at first, but the wise Muldie soon won the chiefs love with his graceful and light hearted manner, and deep knowledge on a variety of subjects that inevitably boosted the education and advancement of all the Axo people. Muldie had supervised irrigation development in remote areas, and brought his education under advanced empires into the fold and soon his lands were flourishing.
Following some victorious shared battle against the Black Knight and securing Guinness another castle, Axobongo and Guinness rode a half day to inspect the new irrigation project Muldie was overseeing near Wormland , still in their armor and with but a small escort of seven men, they joined Muldie near the site of a mountain split Muldie was building a duct in it, and where he had men making reenforced canals and digging feed ditches.
They met at Muldies tent, he was wearing spined leather light-armor of Raki make,it was tan with brown swirling patterns now fading from the elements and heavy use, that coupled with subtle green edging trim,, and Axobongo could see the camouflage quality in it which differed but wasnot unlike the tartan cloaks of many Axo clans . His hair was long and light brown, and he wore no beard as most northmen did, in contrast to the blond mutton chops Axobongo was cultivating, or the rich black trimmed mustache and chin-beard of Guinness. Yet his foreign look and refinement did not diminish the Axo heart in his core , these three conversed easily as old friends would.
And then there was noise, the duct work crashed behind the ridge and a dust cloud rose,,and the sound of mens screams and battle became audible,, from both the ridge and the dig site down below.
Melicious Worm men were sabotaging the effort , workers were slaughtered and they spotted the band of Wormer knights leaving the site of the duct and escaping into the mouth of a small canyon towards the right, Axobongo an Guinness gave chase with their 7 men and 10 of Muldies guard, while Muldie turned and charged at the digger and canal site battle, with his forty remaining guardsmen he'd rallied with a horn blast .
the 20 enemy knights slaughtering diggers wore the tunics of Johnny2farts , and broke when they saw the charge coming down the hill, Muldie knew they would be routed and chased down in short order,, but some intuition was striking him like a gong and the thought of those other men breaking to the canyon suddenly made him envision a trap. He halted his men, bidding 2 scouts to track the fleeing Wormers , then he doubled back with 30 men to ride uphill to the canyons edge , as he followed it, he realized his fears as he came upon Wormermen engaged in ambush of the Chief and Guinness down below .
By dropping large stones and boulders, this group were cutting off Axobongos retreat , which pinned them in between falling rock attacks of another group further along the canyons ridge , and the fleeing soldiers Guinness and the chief were chasing were joined by others and had turned and began sending arrows , only with skillful use of shield did Guinness and the Chief Axo survive that first assault, along with nine others who had watched their fellows get skull crashed and broken half to bits under the stones , or riddled with arrows .
Axobongo and Guinness were now eleven men facing 35 within the canyon. And above, the ten boulder flingers which Muldie first met were quickly dispatched, he sent 20 men to go back down to the canyons mouth and make haste to try and join with the Chiefs band. Then continued up the path with his remaining 10 men to engage the other boulder flingers , who had broke their ariel assault as their brothers down below had sounded the horn to charge the Axomen bogged down on the sandy riverbed.
The Axo's formed shields into a half-box pattern with two spearmen in its center set to strike over the shoulders of the line. The enemy came crashing in on foot as their horsemen held back , The Axo's had perhaps three horses still lingering near, their other horses also felled by stone and arrow, or fled .
...So they had no choice, and met the charge with great spirit. Enemy Wormermen fell four at a time as they ran into the deadly Axo wall when the 16th Wormer man fell , six Axomen remained and they were backed into the canyon wall,, ten mounted knights of the enemy were forming to charge when two were toppled by a falling boulder the size of a fat teenaged debutant , ! hurray!!, Muldie has successfully wipedout the upper ridge ambushers and had now turned the stone arsenal on the very men who had those stones arrayed for murder.
The enemy men were disorientated, they lost another horseman,, then another and found themselves forced to move towards the the six Axomen, not to attack as much as to free themselves from being in range of the falling rocks. Guinness had thrown a spear into an approaching Worm knight cavelryman, and Axobongo managed do de-horse another with a spear jammed up his belly, even as another rider chopped through the skull of his Captain of the Greywatch guard , but was felled by one of Guinesses best knights, Angust Mir-vito , a wiry giant of a man who broke halfway through the enemies spine and torso with his mighty long necked axe.
Through the scrambling noise and chaos of battle, Axobongo heard a sound , it was a new tone for his ears and he knew not it was a Raki Swan-horn, on the ground before him a man from muldies guard was floundering with a sword pierced right through his thigh , he perceived an axman and rider raising their weapons to end this mans life, and no sooner had his brain acknowledged that , than blurs of movement from behind those enemies emerged and toppled them in their tracks, 20 riders in unbloodied tan tunics of Muldies men were miraculously pounding by them, toppling footmen and riders of the enemy and sending the four remaining Axomen , (Axobongo/Guinness/Angust/& Hamish Ung of Axobongos clan) scrambling against the canyon wall to avoid the hoofs,, the Muldie guardsman with the sword lodged in this thigh was not so fortunate, he was trampled under hooves of his own brothers , as they galloped by and into the remaining enemy knights,, and within minutes, all those enemy knights were sprawled bloody on the sandy riverbed of the canyon.
The Muldie Guardsman, both thigh pierced and trampled , did not die , tough and lucky, he ended up with a limp and a lame hand, half blind in one eye, and yet reached a ripe old age as a notable swordsman despite his challenged body.
They gathered horses and weapons and met Muldie at the canyons mouth, Axobongo was livid, and wanted to give chase to the other saboteurs , he wanted to ride the half day back to where his and Guinness left armies sacking their newest castle , but the calm logic of Muldie eased his Chief back to earth, Muldie said he and his leather clad light cavalry could make better speed, and he had a castle near enough to to gather his men and assault Johnny2Farts castle, suggesting the Chief and Guinness could gather their forces and meet him at the siege in two days time.
At that agreement , Muldie rode off , Axobongo said to Guinness '' this Raki friend of yours shows wisdom and worth, if he manages to pull this off, i will be well impressed, for this Johnny2farts is known to have much a larger force than muldie , and high walls at his castle, he will need all the men in riding distance we can muster.''
Three days later , Axobongo and Guinness were arriving at johnny2farts castle, They had rams, catapults, axmen and knights polished and ready to fight, their cavalry was massive, and their banners flew in the wind long over the heads of this impressive army.
,,, And all for naught, for beyond belief, Muldie had managed to take the castle alone, with a lesser force and much skill, he punched a hole, got men into the castle and dropped the gates, his men stormed in and Johnny2farts very soon ended up with his head nailed to the door of the front gate to welcome Axobongo & Guinness's arrival.
The young Chief was mightily impressed , Guinness found this amusing, for he never doubted his friends skill, Muldie was the brother of one of his mentors , and the empire wars they had all fought prepared them to easily face any 'poorly educated northern rim Lord'.
Muldie was enjoying some fine wine and dangling a leg over the armrest of Johnny2farts throne, a feast table had been spread out before him and ready to feed Axobongo and Guinness and their hungry generals and officers.
Grinning he said '' i recommend the mutton,, its todays chefs special , said to be fortified with 8 essential ingredients ''
Now this part of the tale some scholars doubt , nonetheless it is within the narrative, but some scholars complain that other versions dont include this part, so it was likely added later,, while others argue, that this must be the older version, and this part later omitted.
Johnny2farts had in his dungeon a giant, said to be 10 feet tall and built like a mutated pair of conjoined oxen. and its said the feast & drink had Guinness bragging that a mans size on any scale is no issue to a highly skilled swordsman. Drinking and one thing leading to another, meant soon this giant (who was shackled and imprisoned by Johnny2farts himself , for the giant had a nasty psychotic nature ever since taking the concoction of a disreputable barbarian witch , a hemorrhoid potion that went terribly wrong when applied incorrectly) was brought forth to face Guinness in battle to fight for his freedom, and for the entertainment and wagers of the men.
Axobongo liked this not, putting his friend and top general in needless jeopardy like this was senseless, but he knew that once the wagers were made, and Guinness so readily in agreement, to exercise his authority and call off the gladiatorial match would not only dangerously anger the men, but its said the gods who covet the blood wagers of man would get their revenge if the sacred offerings of mortal combat wager were denied them once promised.
The two would fight naked of armor and clothing, except for the loin .
So a circle was made, and this behemoth made unchained and armed, the longsword he held looked small in his hand, he held a riding mace in the other.
Guinness held sword and shield. and tilted his head casually and relaxed as this giant stalked carefully closer to him.
The giant swung first, and second,, and third,, he swung his mace and choped with his sword,, the ground shook with each slam of his weapons into it as Guinness managed to sidestep and dodge every blow, using his shield at deflecting angles that never took a direct hit, but glanced the giants blade off its trajectory.
The giant man got a devastating death blow with his mace that finally hit square and crushed a deep dent in Guinness's shield, this brought Guinness down to knees on the ground, before he oriented his footing, another mace blow totally distorted his shield, tore it slightly, and made Guinness unsure if his forearm was bone broke or not. The shield fell from his grasp, bent broken and useless.
Guinness then dived between the stance of the sweating giant man and jumped up with a wild looking backswing over and behind his head, splitting a gaping wound in the left forearm of the giants mace hand, he dropped the mace immediately, but turned with the longsword flying at Guinness, who managed in a split second to press his own sword against his chest lengthwise and precisely counter the giants blade landing on his flesh, but the blow sent him flying back about 18 feet , he rolled into a crouched position, locked eyes with his foe, and struggled for breath while trying to appear unfazed.
The giant and Guinness ran towards one another, the giant swung low and guinness leapt far over the sword streaking by, and in midair, was able to pull down his sword and cut through the giants leg as he fell to ground. the Giant roared in pain, and awkwardly raised his weapon , but this exposed his armpit, which Guinness was able to stab in another leap strike, however it did not enter deep enough for a death blow.
First, the giant would stagger back and fall to one knee , before the magnificent death blow of Guinness would land gashing the giants neck to spill his head blood and pull out a bouquet of marbled meat , his head tilted a little too far, and he wobbled in place, then Guinness mercifully gave him another lick of the sword , splitting the forehead of the giant man right down to the nose, the bulky man fell to his back, his legs folded under him, and the blood flowed out of him as urine flows from an elephant.
The men cheered and Guinness stood triumphant and called for his bitter Ale to quench his thirst, and the men hoisted him overhead and brought him to the table, there they piled for him the best of the sacked wealth of the castle, and wrapped him in the kings cloaks, even Muldie goodheartedly placed Johhny2farts crown on the head of his friend, who was roaring in laughter and good humor , and raising a toast to the high chief and all the Axo people and their clans, Guinness had a manner that generated great cheer among his people, they would follow him to hell and back smiling and laughing all the way .
'These Norwestern Axo people were hardy folk,' Axobongo observed, in time he would realize three other notable warriors from this far northwestern rim, Hellfire , Tobynmoka, and Fatmanrunnin,, it would be years before he would meet Fatmanrunnin ,who would emerge as one of the last survivors of this world . And Helfire would also survive, as a Ranger he led Axo people to safer lands in other worlds, but not after many adventures and pulling off the prevention of two stupid wars that so easily could have ensued between Axo and two tribes, *NR* and notably, KTA~ the Temple Knights .
Helfire and Axobongo secretly saved the tribe more than once , yet for so long, the tribe new it not, for his castles were farthest from the heart of Axoland. And so this is why they carved a great statue of Helfire which you will see at the entrance to westlands from the pass of ArrghNop-over-the-Brine. Tobynmoka was also wandering these northwest lands, destined one day for Axo glory.
Axobongo found it a pity that Muldies castle lands were so far from the new heart of Axoland , but he felt confident he now had wise generals to stabilize Axo-westlands, and in the eastlands, he had Thor , and Thor was sturdy enough a lord to hold those lands until the Axo were ready for expansion.
This was the first adventure, but not the last, these three would know together.
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Good to see the story finally concluded.