Here I abandon peace and desecrated law, Fortune it is you I follow. Farewell to treaties, from now on, War is our judge.
Hail Caesar. We who are about to die, Salute you.
- Created By Kasbaarg
Hunting
Just returned from hunting. Well, not just...maybe an hour ago. Me and my men bagged five elk, four reindeer, six bears, two wild hogs, three beavers and a couple of martin. Which should give us enough meat to last us a while, and enough furs to repair boots, hats and coats. It's getting quite cool out there already and several inches of snow have already accumulated. It's a bit early in the year... Ah well.
~Kas
:Titles are required:
Today I woke up, opened my curtain and was greeted by a light skiff of snow covering the stables. There's nothing quite like the very first snowfall. It all melted by midday but it is a promise of more to come and it really won't come soon enough. The snow put me in a good mood and so far the day has been good, only to get better tonight~
All of our armor repairs have been finished, the village's harvests have all been gotten in and their buildings repaired and insulated. Laurie is making cider with the apple harvest and in the cellar there are several bushels of fresh apples. *Planning on getting some later* Next week, my men and I are going out hunting to get fur to replace the furs in our coats and to get meat for preserving. Generally we hunt when we need to but Laurie likes to have a good store of preserved meat as well. I've been craving fish but none of us are really fish catching types, so I'll leave that to Laurie's bartering skills.
I have the feeling it's going to be a very long, dark winter.
~Kas
Gala
Back from sunny Costa del Sol~ Had a wonderful time with min Bjorn, we both needed the vacation. Actually I got back a while ago, but we've (me and my men) have been helping our villages with their harvests and preparing for winter. Kasbaarg Territories has about twenty villages scattered about, mostly in the west towards modern day Moscow where the weather is more mild.
So during late summer, after war season is over we help them with their harvests, repair buildings, bring in wood, do a little training of their light militia. We protect them, but its good if they can protect themselves from bandits and such.
Tonight, is the Annual Charity Gala (one of them anyways) in Moscow. The Family has always given a large sum of money (don't ask me why, its not like we're doing anything with it) so we always attend. It's the only Gala/ball/dress up fancy event that I go to peaceably. Anything else is generally for a winter assassination job. So I'm dragging Kira along to it...well not really dragging. It's generally a pretty good time, my men like to get out and mingle and dance occasionally and the open bar is always really good, plus free food. Can't go wrong with free food and drinks.
Haven't decided which gown to wear though...
-Kas
Barbarians: A Deeper Look
((OOC))
In lieu of Kas loosing her temper about being called a barbarian...again, I have decided to write a closer look at why she flips out and the differences between barbarians and Kasbaargs.
In Kas's world, the Barbarians are the warrior group known as the Mongolians. Mongola borders Russia and as such, border's Kasbaargian Territories, making them enemies since her father, Aleksander was in power.
Note: I am looking at this from Kas's viewpoint, but also with historical fact, and references from people I know who live amonst the Mongolians. I am not being racist or putting down the Mongolian culture.
The Barbarians:
- They are filthy. The Bubonic Plauge which gripped Europe in the 1300's, known then as the Black Death, was brought to Italy by infected rats that had boarded ships from the 'Middle East' These rats were infected by infected fleas carried from Mongolia and China by the Mongol Horde. *Wikipedia gives a different story, but I'm going by what I learned in college history class.* They were known for being a dirty people, case in point..they carried fleas.
- They are 'barbaric'. Under the rule of Ghengis Khan, the Mongols killed over 40 million people. (not that Kas is any better >.>) While on the war trail, Mongol soldiers were allowed to keep woman and children from destroyed villages as slaves. They showed no mercy to any country in their way and took under control every conquered country.
- They live in tents. In many rural areas today, still live in 'huts', known as Yurts.
- They eat entrails. They view the entrails, tongue, liver, ect as being the only good meat on a cow and throw out the good meat. My friends who live there say that getting good meat is easy, because no one wants it.
Note: It's a narrow list because Kas is focusing on the bad things why she wouldn't want to be called that.
The Kasbaargs:
- Not filthy. Housed under Kasbaarg Castle, heated by volcanic themal streams, is a bathhouse, with showers, baths and a pool. They stay very clean and as clean as possible on the battle trail, bathing or at least washing whenever a chance. The castle it's self is kept meticulous, weapons are always polished and sharpened, kitchen kept sterile.
- Not barbaric. Unlike the Mongols, Kasbaarg's do not take slaves and do not take countries under control. While in the past civilains were killed regularly, Kas has limited this practice to military or weapon bearing people only.
- Doesn't live in tents. Kasbaarg Castle is set in Northern Siberia in the mountains. During battles or during war season, tents are used as temporary shelter, but not lived in.
- Doesn't eat entrails. Elk, beef, moose, deer, fish, pork and reindeer are all consumed on a regular basis, along with stews, pastas, curries, Japanese dishes, Norse dishes, ect. Never entrails. Rarely anything raw.
Thus concludes a basic compairson without me sitting down and writing a History Paper type essay on the topic. I'm not THAT motivated.
