Chapter 6 Author: Fran Saleški Finžgar The victors lit fires and gathered in large groups around them. With burning embers, they searched the valley, looking for their missing kin. Morana (the goddess of death) had ruled brutally. The stream was blocked in many places, so many corpses lay in it. Even in death, men choked, […]
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Chapter 5 Author: Fran Saleški Finžgar Hilbudij had crossed the plain overnight and led his soldiers to the hillside at dawn, where a gorge opened up towards the Slavic fort. The troops hid in the dense oak forest. He forbade them from lighting fires to cook barley soup, so they ate cold food—some had dried
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Chapter 4 Author: Fran Saleški Finžgar When Azbad left Hilbudius’s tent, the entire army was already at work. Centurions1 and officers were supervising the various groups, and Hilbudius himself inspected the heavily and lightly armed foot soldiers. He personally oversaw the cavalry and assessed their equipment, testing the sharpness of many soldiers’ spears and swords.
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Chapter 3 Author: Fran Saleški Finžgar The day after the sacrifice, Svarun ordered all the warriors to rest. He commanded the slaughter of fattened oxen and a whole flock of sheep for a feast and celebration. Ljubinica brought joyful girls from the settlement, who served the warriors, pouring mead into horns and glasses, singing, and
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Chapter 2 Author: Fran Saleški Finžgar The Danube shimmered in the dim moonlight, flowing and creeping like a giant, silver-scaled serpent through tall reeds and bushes. The mighty river moved silently, only occasionally splashing or bending the alder trees and reeds along the bank, revealing its vitality. A few hundred paces from the Danube stood
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Chapter 1 Author: Fran Saleški Finžgar From the east, north, and west, soldiers flocked to the castle. Day after day, they returned on their sweaty horses, announcing to the aged Svarun that their missions had been successful. They gathered in the courtyard, building circles of fires. Boys cut pieces of roasted chestnut from the spit,
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