The Shield of Christiandom: First preview

[Shish-kabob-Forrest]

Alright guys. Here is the first preview. The grammar hasn't been cleaned up yet, so don't worry. As with TWAA, the finished product will be much nicer.
This is about 40% of the second chapter. The event takes place in the late 1420s as Janos Hunyadi's reputation is just starting to grow. The event is a made-up event actually, filling in for a series of events that we know happened, but know nothing about, just that they happened. This is a series of events in which Janos Hunyadi led a mercenary group to liberate and rescue towns and villages in east Hungary (now Romania) that were vulnerable to the Turks and frequently raided and plundered by them. Appreciation for this same campaign is how Janos Hunyadi came in possession of Hunedoara castle.
Again, what you are going to read about is a depiction of one of many events, which actually happened, but nothing is known about them which is why the entire chapter is but a guess, and more or less just an example of what was going on. There is an R-Rated moment in the chapter which I blacked out with a dotted line. I am only posting part of the chapter in respect for the webmasters wishes to restrain the size of topics. With his permission, I will post the whole chapter, which extends beyond this event.
This preview ends literally one sentence before Janos Hunyadi's first appearance in the story.


The strawberry patch on the farm was surrounded by tall grass and woods beyond it. A trail

went from the side of the strawberry patch clear in to the woods. Since the girl wanted to

make shorter trips in the hotter part of the day, she chose to pick the outer rows of

strawberries first. As she continued to pick strawberries, a grown man's hand suddenly

covered her mouth firmly and she found herself being held down firmly by the man and in the

blink of an eye, she had completely forgotten about picking strawberries and filled with

terror, not knowing who had grabbed her or what he wanted. Was this one of the monsters in

the stories that she had heard perhaps?
The man very quietly but firmly said something to her. She did not understand the language,

but she got the feeling that it had something to do with her keeping quiet. She

instinctively knew that she would be killed if she made the slightest sound.
The man holding her sat her up and a second set of hands cut a piece of her dress away with

a large knife and slipped it under the hand that held her mouth and tightly gagged her with

it. Then the hand carefully moved away from her mouth but it was replaced with the knife at

her throat. The man with the knife carefully walked in front of her without moving the knife

from her throat, looked down at her and said something again. Again, she couldn't understand

what he said, but knew it had to do with keeping quiet. Now that she could see their faces,

she was almost certain who they were. The man had a slender turban around his head which was

tied at the back and the excess of it hung down over his shoulder. His cloths were baggy, he

wore a curved single edge sword and a wheel lock pistol in his belt and a full length rifle

over his shoulder. This was all suspicious but what really gave away who they were was the

knife at her throat. It was polished to a mirror shine yet despite it's polish, it had a

weird pattern in the metal, similar to wood grains on knotted wood.
This reminded her of what her father would tell them when he visited home from his services

in the Hungarian army. He told them that they had killed an Ottoman commander who was

wielding a mighty sword that was cutting right through their shields and armor. After

killing the man, they took the mans sword and presented it to their lord. He had described

the sword as being very shiny but having a weird wood-like pattern in the metal. She also

remembered her father telling her that his lord told them that it was a Damascus sword and

that they were legendary for their ability to penetrate armor without being damaged.
Is this a Damascus blade that he is holding at my throat? If so, he must be an important

man. It then occurred to her that he was in deed much better dressed and much better equipped

then the other soldiers that she saw.
That's when she realized that they were approaching her house where her mother was. At this

point, she didn't care if they were going to kill her, she was going to scream anyway, but

the Turkish commander caught on and quickly tackled her mouth again.
The soldiers entered the house with bows drawn. They clearly didn't want to create a

disturbance with gunfire as this would arouse the nearby community.
Then the girl heard some stomping and tumbling and the whining of her mother. The little girl was crying

and whaling though the turks tear covered hand over her mouth prevented her cries from

being able to be heard at a distance.
Then a Turkish soldier came out and said something to the commander. Then the commander

picked the little girl up, still holding her mouth and walked her through the strawberry

patch and in to the house where she found her mother hog tied on the ground in tears and

with signs of recent battering on her face suggesting that the Turks beat her before hogtying her.
The little girl was then hog tied along with her mother.
Then the men began talking to each other in Arabic:
"You two, watch this house until I send a runner." said the commander. "You, find a good

spot in those brushes over there to watch the town with your rifle." The rest of you will

accompany me in to town.
Then one of the men looked at the mother and said in Arabic: "We're going to have

some fun tonight." Then another Turkish soldier said to the commander: "Sir, that reminds

me. The younger girl looks really sweet. Can I have her?" The commander replied: "That's

enough. We'll talk about this later. Besides, you may find girls you like more before we're

done here. Right now, let's focus on our mission." Then the men began laughing in a

perverted tone as they began to take positions and move out.
As the commander and his men left the building and began moving towards the town, a woman

screaming could be heard in the distance. The commander paused, became wide eyed and said in

a raised voice: "LET'S MOVE!"
They charged through some hay fields, jumping over fences and cutting through farms, seeing

their comrade struggle with and terrorize locals along the way. They soon made it to the

village.
They went in to the stores where they beat up the men in them and tossed them out in to the

streets as did the other units involved as they entered the village from different directions.
Turkish soldiers marching in formations with guns drawn herded the terrified villagers

together in the middle of the village. Struggling boys were tossed in to a pile and hogtied

with rope from the stores. As this was happening, a Turkish soldier rode in to town on an

Arabian station. He was dressed in fine linens and velvet. His turban was large with a jewel

at the center and feathers sticking up. He wore a thick, bushy beard. Some lower ranking

soldiers who appeared to be of western decent laid out a carpet and knelt down for him to step on their shoulders.
Once on the carpet, the commander from before approached him and bowed before him. The

higher ranking Turk said to the commander: "Why was the town alerted of our coming?" The

commander replied: "I do not yet know. What I know is that myself and my men heard a woman

screaming as we approached the village. The high ranking turk replied: "Then investigate. I

expect you to find out who is responsible for allowing this. You know that I do not

tolerate this sort of behavior among our ranks." The commander replied: "Yes sir. I know

and I will not fail you. The high-ranking Turk replied: "Good." Then turning to the

captivated town's people, the high-ranking Turk spoke in the Hungarian language so the towns

people could understand him: "This village is now under the jurisdiction of the Ottoman

Empire. You will be provided a translato....
Then a resilient preteen boy finished chewing away the cloth he was gagged with and said:

"My dad is going to KILL you!"
The high-ranking Turk, without a word, quickly drew a decorated rifle from his horse, aimed

it at the boy when a man in the crowd of captives began to scream. The Turkish soldiers

quickly apprehended the man and held him down, knowing they might get in trouble for hitting

the man in front of the high-ranking Turk without permission. The high-ranking Turk said to the boy: "Well, now we know who your father is." The boy paused and was then relieved to see the high-ranking

Turk put his rifle away. Then, he shouted to the commander, as if to make his voice heard by

the whole town: "Bring me the fathers head." A translator repeated his words in Turkish to

the commander. This being a vocal practice used for terror purposes.
The father began to scream and struggle as he was dragged to the commander. The commander

drew his sword. The preteen boy began to scream. Seeing this, the high-ranking Turk yelled:

"HALT" to the commander. Then, in a soft and caring voice, he said to the preteen boy: "Oh,

is that sword too big and terrifying for you? Alright, I wont make them behead your father

with that large and scary weapon." The Turks became confused. Then he said to the

commander: "Put your sword away." The confused commander put his sword away. Then after a short pause, the high-ranking Turk said in a calm voice: "Behead him with your knife."
The commander, apparently use to carrying out horrible executions, showed no hesitation as he drew his knife and gradually cut the boy's father's head off over several terror filled seconds time, causing the child utmost mental trauma as he watched **********************************************************
The high-ranking Turk said to the towns people: "Does anyone else wish to disrespect us?"
The people were silent. Then he started issuing orders to his men to prepare the people for

departure in to slavery when a Turk guarding the rooftops yelled out: "RIDERS COMING FROM

THE NORTH! The commander yelled: "IDENTIFY THEM." After several seconds the rooftop guard

replied: "ARMORED CAVALRY, AND THEY LOOK LIKE THEY HAVE SOME BATTLE WAGONS. THEY ARE MOVING

FAST....WAIT!" Then after a few more seconds, he continued: "THEY ARE FLYING THE ITALIAN AND

HUNGARIAN FLAGS!"The high-ranking Turk yelled: "IT'S THAT MERCENARY GROUP! PREPARE FOR

BATTLE!" The commander yelled: "SECURE THE PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH AND TAKE DEFENSIVE

FORMATIONS! GO, GO!"
As the people were gathered in to the church, the rooftop watchman yelled: "They are

breaking up! Battle wagons are staying on the roads. Cavalry cutting through the meadows.
The Turks began taking up hidden positions around town while others remained in front of

the buildings. The high-ranking turk took up position in a stone building and the commander

took up a first floor indoor position that was strategically placed so that he could deliver

commands throughout the village.
The town went quiet for a few minutes before they started hearing occasional shots in the

distance, including one near the strawberry patch of the little girls house.
Some of the Turks began joking among themselves that the sharpshooters were busy when the

rooftop guard yelled: "THE CAVALRY HAS..." Then a led ball struck him in the neck and he began

gagging and tumbling around before falling off of the roof and landed in front of his

comrades where he continued gagging for a few seconds before passing away.
The commander heard the commotion and sent a runner to find out what happened. After

receiving the news, he asked his men to figure out what the guard was trying to say when he

got shot. Perhaps he never needed to give that order. As he turned around, he got a glimpse

through a window in a nearby room of the cavalry, standing still in the nearby meadows and

farm crops less then 200 yards away. Knowing the crafty reputation of this mercenary force,

he was spooked by the motionless sight of the cavalry. Peaking his head outside of the door,

he saw the battle wagons now guarding every road in and out of the village. It was clear to

him now, they were surrounded. He thought: "No matter, we have too many sharpshooters in the

brushes." When something occurred to him: "How were they able to hit our guard at 200 yards?"

Taking another glance at the battle wagons, it became clear to him. The battle wagons were

more then half empty. Soldiers secretly unloaded out of them while in rout to the village

and the shots heard earlier were not fired by the Turkish sharpshooters, but shots fired AT

the Turkish sharpshooters. The commander, knowing how few his options were, ran across the enemy guarded road to meet with the high-ranking Turk and give him the news.
"You fool!" yelled the high-ranking Turk. "Don't you realize that they want you to think

that. Our forces are too well trained to allow something like that!" The commander replied:

"With all do respect sir, recent history suggests otherwise. This mercenary group has

Repeatedly emerged victorious in engagements against us just like this one."
The high ranking Turk, now terrified, realizing that their recent atrocities against the villagers would be exposed and revenge sought if captured, became terrified and moving about frantically. The commander knew nothing of how to deal with a higher-ranking Turk then himself when out of control, so he chose to just leave the high-ranking Turk be and mount a suicide resistance. He ran outside and yelled to his men: "We can't win this battle. Do as you will, but I suggest you die fighting, for if you are captured, you may die a horrible death! Then the Turks gathered in to small groups and led full-hearted dashes against the battle wagons. As they charged, gunfire and arrows cut them down and the few who made it to the battle wagons were chopped up by swords or shot by the still hidden sharpshooters. Then the cavalry began to charge back and fourth through the village with lances drawn, apparently attempting to draw fire before dismounting, and going around kicking in doors and dragging hiding Turks out. Seeing this ahead of time, the commander, who managed to get to safety in his original post after the dash, drew his pistol to take his own life when a mercenary charging towards his building, saw him through the window and thinking he was trying to shoot him, fired at the commander with his pistol and the led ball hit one of his arms, fracturing the bone as it glanced off and landed in the other arm causing the commander to fire his gun in to the roof. The mercenary busted in to the room and drug the Ottoman commander out in to the streets with the rest of the Turks to find a small group of mercenary cavalry nearby.

[Vlad]

Shish....I asked you nicely not to post your extended versions here.

This being a mere Bulletin Board, rather than a Publishing House.

However, we can turn around and establish Dracula's Castle as a PUBLISHING HOUSE, if you wish.

Excellent work, by the way.

Regards,

[Shish-kabob-Forrest]

LOL. I know.

[Vlad]

LOL. I know.

Please don't expect it to be saved. It may get lost in translation.