Kapitel 18: Son of Roma

Throughout history, important routes for travel and trade have traversed the wide expanse of the Great Steppe.

Traders travelled in caravans, their horses, donkeys, and camels pulling carts filled with goods from one end of the Great Steppe to the other.

And it is from this trade route that Mayeux story began

Mayeux is a young warrior of the Brolgadhr tribe. His grandfather is from a different land. He is not people of the Great Steppe.

But his grandfather because of some machination of his family had to hide and his grandfather chose to hide in the vast plains of the Great Steppe.

His grandfather is from what the Ashran people called Roma. And that is why Mayeux had a different kind of complexion compared to his other tribe people

He has olive skin, dark hair and dark eyes. And his high cheekbones and strong jawline, giving him a sharp looking facial feature. And his nose is also quite different

A pointed nose, the Ashana told him. The Ashran wanderer that once stay in the tribe once said that he has the Roma nose.

But he did not suffer alienation by the people of the tribe. This because Mayeux father, Dax, marry a Brolgadhr woman.

And his mother is one of the daughters of one of the concubines of Dramirnova who is the grandfather of Aeryon.

His father's real name is Julian but he changed his name to Jayeux when he assimilated with the tribe

His father did not talk much about Roma and it is the same for his grandfather. Of course, this is only when he is little

After he grows, his father would sometimes tell him story of Roma and its cities and its people

His father and his grandfather have a sense of an alienation with the people of the Brolgadhr tribe but that same sense of alienation did not pass down to Mayeux.

Mayeux was born strong but his strength is not remarkable as Belarion, the strongman of the tribe. He is good at archery but he is not the most accomplished.

A good fighter but not the greatest.

He also has talent in horse-riding but compared to some of the great riders in the tribe, he is also lacking.

Then what is special about him? He knows how to read. That is his specialness.

In the world, the people that could read is a very select few. Even in Yan, only the nobles, the scholars could read.

The villagers could not read and most of them do not have interest to learn writing or read, preferring to sow the seed of paddy field, or hunt animals in the forest to fill their stomach.

But Mayeux from a very young age was taught of writing and reading.

His father had taught him the word of the Roma and the words of the Yan people. He is a fast learner and he could speak in many languages.

And with the ability to write and read, his knowledge expands. He reads strategy books from Roma; he stole book from merchant of Yan and read the kind of schemes and plots of the Yan people.

His grandfather and his father, all teaches him this knowledge so that one day he could go back to Roma and see for himself the greatness of the Great Roma Empire.

His grandfather and his father both think of the tribe as something to disdain. His father disdain his mother.

Because to his father, his mother is a barbarian, unlearned and primitive.

It is for this reason that Mayeux rebel against his father wishes and shed no tear when he is dead.

Because unlike his father and his grandfather he held affection for this tribe, for its people and for his mother

He hunted eagles and condors with his friend, he rides the horses and galloped through the vast expansive plains and he drank the rain water from the sky and felt the wind of the plains caresses him and to him, the Great Steppe is his home and his mother is the only one woman in this world who he would worship

His mother loved him terribly and even in the state of lacking many things, have always tried to do good for him and a strong woman that fought for him and protected him.

That kind of love…how could it not be felt? How could it not be repaid?

His father might bestow him with knowledge but all he could remember of his father was the cold eyes.

To his father and to his grandfather, he is the vessel for their dream. They have been living in the great Steppe for decades, yet they could never be the people of the Great Steppe.

Not like Mayeux.

So, even though he hated his father, as years goes by, he also began to understand his father. The hatred also slowly dissipates.

But just because he slightly understands his father did not mean, all of his resentment just faded away

However, he does have the desire to understand his father feelings and dreams. Now, he is alone in the tribe. His father had died, his grandfather had died and only his mother is left.

But his mother also doesn't seem to have many years left.

So, he too harbours a desire to go to Roma one day. Though, he would go there for a different reason

He wanted to see what kind of city Roma is that it made his father and his grandfather obsessed for their entire life, wanting only to once again return there with glory.

Mayeux has always remains kind of aloof in the tribe but he participated in many of the tribes' activities and so in one raid attempt to the tribe, he protected the tent of one of his neighbours. The previous Chief was so impressed, that he appointed him to become one of his horse riders.

Then the Xewa tribe kills the Chief the leadership fall into Aeryon, the only son of Rakarys.

When Aeryon decided to go to Yan, Mayeux understood the wisdom behind such move. It is a helpless choice, and this is Aeryon bowing to the circumstances.

Mayeux approve the move and approve the decision because it shows that unlike his father, Aeryon is someone who could bend according to the wind. And only by bending, that one would not break.

But then as they near the city in the North pass, somehow, Aeryon decided to return back. And then the subsequent moves make Mayeux become confused.

Weirdly enough, this incomprehensible move had won the tribe a chance.

Yes, a chance.

That is what Mayeux could see.

He had learned many military strategies and it is clear that Aeryon move are bold. But boldness does not mean that it guarantees success.

The idea of Aeryon wanting to raid the camp by his lonesome and dispatching the horse riders afterwards very much seem like a suicide move. Even Mayeux wanted to object.

The people of the tribe might have no problem listening to an order to jump into death.

But Mayeux is different.

In his mind, there is all kinds of strategy and there is no need to jump to their death. Preserve lives and fight for another day.

Of course, if he voices this out, he is quite sure he would be branded as a coward.

To him, the method of the tribes of the Great Steppe created almost a fearless army but it also has its drawback. One massive failure could set back years of development.

You could conquer the world with military force, but you could not rule the world with military force.

It would be too unstable and the point for failure is high. Such kind of thing could only work in the Great Steppe where only the strong could live.

That is why he thinks of objecting the order.

But he held his tongue and pray for a miracle.

That is why he followed the orders and stopped Belarion from going out before the appointed time. He has two intentions.

It might seem like he is loyal but he also wanted to reduce any further casualties and preserve the strength of the tribe in the case that Aeryon fails.

Surprisingly enough, not only Aeryon did not fail but he also manages to win beautifully.

The Utgard tribe retreated but when he thought of the person who retreated…. he could not feel at ease

Garron the Viper.

When the two sworn brothers both holding onto each other, persuading each other, one wanting to raid, and one wanted the other to stop, Mayeux was looking at Aeryon and he is thinking.

When he was a kid, he likes to play with the grass. When he is a little bit older, he likes to watch the clouds.

And when he had learned and improve himself, he now has ambition.

Mayeux was content when he was a child but full of desire when he has grown up.

If he was not taught words, and were not thought military stratagem and all kinds of knowledge, even if he has ambition, he has no ability

But he ahs the ambition and he have the ability.

He stays with the tribe because his mother is still alive and is the people of the tribe. But he also knows that a good bird chooses the tree upon which to perch, the talented subject chooses the lord that he shall serve.

He did think to himself that if his mother died, he would go with his horse on a journey to Roma.

He would not choose Yan.

Because he knows how the people of Yan treated people of different race.

Brolgadhr tribe has the sign of decline. He could also think of the idea of Aeryon when he chose to go to Yan.

But even so, he could also see the disadvantage of such strategy.

Hence, he chose to stay because of his mother.

And when his mother is no longer there, he would leave the tribe and find a place for himself in this world and make a name for himself with the knowledge that he had been bestowed.

But now, looking at Aeryon, he wanted to know...he is curious…. does miracle happen repeatedly?

So, now he is no longer aloof and he reveal the title of Garron.

'Explain' that is the order and Mayeux smiles in his heart and he began speaking about the things he knows about Garron the Viper.