Part 1: The Story Begins...I try not to remember much from my time as a child, but some memories won't go away; a smiling woman with long golden braid who would comb my hair with her precious bronze comb decorated with a running horse; a huge man with scarred hands and a booming laugh who would throw me into the air and catch me as I laughed; brothers who would bring a brace of grouse or string of fish back for dinners; a large milk cow in the yard. I mostly remember light, warmth, and love. Then the demon raiders from the east came at night with fire and iron. Isa yelled for me to get help from a near village, but I didn't even make it to the trees before they caught me. Terror and my burning house... that is all I allow myself to remember of that night... my family... gone. Even now, I am consumed by loss and rage as I think of what was taken from me...
As the sun rose the next morning, I was put on a raft and taken far away from all I knew. I was made a slave to those demon raiders, the Njerpez. I secretly took care of my ways, vowing to avenge my family's spirits. One day, I saw a warrior's wife using my mother's bronze comb and I flew into a rage. I was punished, but I knew who had destroyed my life. I slowly learned the names of those raiders who killed my family, and they became my list... Kaipia, Ruuri, Kalevi, Kaipia, Hirvo, and Rautia. I learned, watched, and grew large, like my father. I banked my fury and nurtured my hate for these men as I slaved for these Njerpez.
One evening, these 6 were boasting to some of the younger warriors about a raid a few years ago into the Reemi. They boasted of their power as they described sneaking through the forest up to my home. Rautia laughed as he showed my mother's prized bronze comb and pointed toward me as I tended the evening fire as a sample of the wealth they took by their might. The young warriors lusted the glory and wealth and they began that night to return to the Reemi for another raid. I convinced Kaipia I would be a help to locate the villages that surrounded my family's homestead, and the fool agreed. I was the only slave taken to care for a raiding party of 10.
Once we landed the rafts on the shore, the raiders crept through the forest back to my homestead's clearing. They repaired 2 of the cabins that were partially standing and started to prepare for their raids into the nearby villages. As they were checking their gear, I realized I was alone in the middle of the camp and took my chance as I ran...