[centre][h1]The Wuhdige Tribe[/h1][/centre]

Divinely provided protection and reform in leadership had made all the difference. At first, the raiders had mocked the new Wuhdige phalanx, snickering at the bucklers about their left arms. However, as the first waves attempted to break the line as they always had, they found that their spears and clubs struck something other than flesh and bone. 

As a single unit, the Wuhdige phalanx, commanded by the newly appointed Shieldboss Woi’e, bashed their plates against the enemy charge, snapping spears and sending clubs straight back at their swingers. The enemy forces quickly fell into disarray as the vanguard was disarmed and dazed. Then, the phalanx broke, with screaming, painted Wuhdige horde unleashing itself upon the broken Elu-Wogweh assault. They donned a new paint now - the red, yellow and dark brown mask of the war god Damasta glistening across their faces as they charged after the routing enemy. 

The small raiding party stood no chance at all. What they thought was going to be a quick fishgrab and capture of some berry-pickers had turned into a complete run for the hills. Wuhdige morale had been restored for the first time in months, and the warriors came home to thunderous celebration. Aloft a large group’s shoulders sat the great Shieldboss Woi’e, tearful with joy at the applause in her name. Fires were lit and fish were fired - their victory warranted a feast. Berries were munched, mushrooms were dropped on hot coals and left to cook. Celebratory paints in honour of the Red Boy were drawn on everyone’s bodies and the Wuhdige danced and sang around a great bonfire until the night was old.

As celebrations neared the end and most Wuhdige had fallen asleep in their burrows, Aloo approached Woi’e and patted her on the back.

“You did it, Shieldboss,” the chieftain praised. “You beat back those lumps.”

Woi’e snickered and nodded. “Was just doin’ my job, chief. Party was small this time; might be bigger next time.”

Aloo closed his eyes and bobbed his head. “I’m not worried - you got this. You lead our warriors into fighting, and you do it well.”

Woi’e blushed and rubbed her neck. “Well, uh… That’s nice of you to say.”

“It’s the truth,” Aloo insisted. “You do it so well, actually, that-...” He put a hand over his mouth in a teasing manner. “Oop - better not say.”

“Not say what?” Woi’e asked with a frown. Aloo shrugged playfully.

“Keep up the good work and you’ll find out.”

The shieldboss gave him a blank stare. “Can’t you gimme a hint at least? So I can kinda guess?”
“A hint? But then all the fun’ll be gone,” Aloo reasoned.

“Pleeeeeeaaaase?” the woman begged. The chieftain sighed and scratched his chin.

“A’ight, fine - but only the one, okay?”

The woman nodded enthusiastically and rubbed her palms together in expectation. Aloo hummed pensively and poked at his lips as he tried to formulate a vague hint. Eventually, he raised one finger and said, “It has to do with fish.”

“Fish?” she said in a slightly disappointed matter. “Like, I get more to eat?”

“App, app! Just one hint, remember.” Woi’e huffed. The chieftain gave her a wink and spun on his heel, walking towards the cave. “Get yourself some sleep now! I’mma join your warriors tomorrow.”

Woi’e blinked. “What happens tomorrow?”

Aloo turned and gave her a thumb up. “Tomorrow, we attack.” 

Woi’e wanted to protest, but the chieftain had already entered the cave before she could force out the words. She sat herself on a nearby rock and grabbed her muzzle in thought. An attack so soon? The enemy could be expecting it after the victory today. They would have to get the upper hand from the start… Maybe if they…

She kept grumbling over strategies even as she went into her burrow and laid down to sleep alongside the rest of her family. Even as she dreamt, all that flowed through her head were battleplan after battleplan.

[hr]

It would be generous to say it was morning. Already long before dawn did the slick, slippery sounds of warpaint lick through the air like a wet tongue. In nigh complete silence, shields were strapped onto left arms and spears were equipped in the right. Even matte bone tips stood out in the darkness, so they, too, were coated with dark brown paint. The paint was made with thick, greasy bear fat - harvested from a fresh cadaver a hunting party had stumbled upon in the woods. The paint stuck to them like fish oil, regardless of whether they walked or swam. Dawn began to trickle over the horizon, and the war council inside the Hohm Cave produced the only voices in the whole camp.

“... A’ight, so…” the chieftain whispered. “Me and Woi’e will swim around the beach, down to the Elu home, with half our warriors. You, Duh, gonna stay here with the rest and make it look like you way more than you actually are. That way, they’ll think we’re still at home.”

Duhwah nodded understandingly and looked at Woi’e. “Then what? They’ll call our bluff after a while, no doubt.”

The Shieldboss nodded. “After we take the Elu camp, we gonna move back towards Hohm on land, retaking all our hunting and gathering hubs and outside camps. It’ll be risky, but… If it works, we’ll own the whole island.”

Duhwah furrowed his brows. “What if their camp got lots of warriors in it? Or what if they attack with everything they have while you’re gone?”

Woi’e sighed. “Like I said, it’ll be risky. Hohm got good defenses, and we got a breather after yesterday’s win to really gather some food. You can hunker down for a bit - they ain’t gonna get past the spike ditch.”

Duhwah pressed his lips together. “Sure, we could, but what about y’all? What if you run into their big party?”

Woi’e and Aloo exchanged looks. “Well,” Aloo said, “let’s hope that doesn’t happen.”

Duhwah shook his head. “This plan sounds dumber and dumber by the second.”

Woi’e nodded. “Yeah, but… It’s the best we got.”

Eventually, Duhwah nodded. “It’s the best we got… Good luck to y’all out there.”

Aloo gave his champion a nod and walked over to embrace him. “You, too, champ.”

Woi’e waited for Aloo with her spear in her hand, and the young chieftain soon followed her out with his own. Duhwah crossed his arm over his chest, the paint in his face colouring his expression quite stern. They would have to succeed - they had not the warriors for another defeat. If they lost this, the Wuhdige tribe would come to an end.

[hr]

It was not before night had fallen again that the Wuhdige warriors approached the Elu camp as they had done two years prior. From the ocean, it seemed that the camp once more was largely abandoned, with only a few selka strolling about. Woi’e looked up at the sky. The night was still quite young - a streak of red still shone in the west. She turned to the warband and motioned for them to swim as far out as they could, until they no longer could see the camp, and go to sleep in the water. She would come later to wake one up and take watch. Aloo and the others nodded and silently dove back underwater to swim further out. Woi’e remained staring and observing the camp. Her buoyancy kept her afloat with minimal effort, so it was a simple task to spy on them from the sea. Among the oddities she noticed in the camp was an odd rack from which hung fish cadavers - and they did not just hang there as if someone had thrown them onto the rack and left them there; no, they hung there deliberately. For what reason would someone hang up a fish to dry out, Woi’e pondered with the subtle scratch of her head. One of the Elu came waddling over to the rack and Woi’e followed her movements closely. The female inspected the many fish, turning and lifting them. Then she took one down and, with some effort, ripped off a dry, flaky piece and nibbled on it.

“... eah, ‘s ‘ood,” was all Woi’e could hear, but she could piece together that this was some method of preparing the fish. Did its flavour improve, perhaps? Or was it so it wouldn’t go bad? She sniffed the air and frowned. No, it certainly smelled like it could go bad. Still, it would be interesting to attempt this technique back home at Hohm.

Then, mid-ponder, she spotted them: Out of the Elu cave came a massive force, greater than any she had ever seen - at least a-... She counted on her fingers, but found she ran out of them much too fast to get a good count. They did not outnumber the Wuhdige tribe, but they certainly outnumbered her force. She dove a little deeper and prayed to Damasta that her war paints were dark enough to blend in with the sea. On the shore, she heard distant chatter and concentrated every fiber of her being into decyphering what was being said. Luckily, or perhaps unfortunately, the voices were closing in. Woi’e froze completely and shut her eyes, appearing to be nothing more than a small rock breaching the sea surface. The voices were clear as day now, and they spoke:

“... So ye’re sure about this?” the first voice said. The Wogweh accent was like poison to her ears, but even frowning could potentially break her cover.

“Yeah, we gotta do it, R-... Rogan,” the other voice responded, and Woi’e knew it was Egoo, the last great warrior of the Elu that they knew of. The voice continued, “If we beat them down once and for all, we control the island. We won’t have to worry about being spread out too thin anymore.”

Roganweh clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Even so, their defense is too strong. Many will die in the fighting, son. This would’nae have happened if ye--”

“If we had taken time to gather more food during the fall, I know! Y’all have said that plenty of times. Don’t forget, raidin’ was your idea in the first place!”

There came a scoff. “Es not like we told ye ta be dependent on it. Now ye have poked the wolf too many times ta go back. The Wuhdige are angry and the seasons are changing.” A few steps in the sand. “Listen, son - ye don’t have to get yerself killed. Let them get overconfident ‘n come here. Let’s ambush them like last time.”

“We don’t have enough food to wait, Rogan. The trees are picked clean ‘n the seas are fish-free. Winter’s coming soon, like you said, and the only food left is at Hohm. No, we ain’t got time to wait for them to attack. We gotta hit ‘em with everything we got and steal everything they got. They won the last time, but they won’t win against all of us.”

There was another disapproving noise. “Suit yerself,” Roganweh muttered. “But the Wogweh won’t follow ye ta die in the spike ditches.”

“W-what?” Eloo gaped. “What do you mean, you won’t follow us?!”

“Exactly what that means, ye lump. If ye wanna raid the Wuhdige, fine - do it fer all I care. But I’m not havin’ a part in it.” Roganweh’s voice grew a little more distant. There came a furious growl.

“What about our deal, Loganweh?!”

“Es -Roganweh-! Ruh! Ruh!” the Wogweh retorted. “And ye don’t make the demands here, Eloo. Ye’re our vassal, not our ally. If ye get attacked, we’ll come back, but we’re not coming along just ta die - not after what happened last time we raided them.”

There came a thud in the sand. “But… But then how do we beat them?! You have half our boys!”

“We will have some food sent fer ye while ye wait. Maybe tomorrow - maybe in a week.” There came a snort and a clearing of the throat. “Ye should really be grateful fer the help we’ve given ye already. Ye control almost the whole south beach ‘n the Wuhdige are not even shades of what they were two years ago. That ye did’nae gather from the land while ye had the chance is yer own fault.”

A few more thuds hit the sand, likely fists. “You… Dumb-...”

“Careful now, Eloo,” Roganweh cautioned. “Remember who yer chieftain is - and remember his brother.”

Eventually, Eloo responded, “Yes, Roganweh.”

“Good. Wait here until they attack ye and ye can wipe them out as before. We’ll return ta Dun-ar-Wog ‘n prepare yer food fer ye.”

Footsteps disappeared into the night, then were quickly followed by louder, more disorganised footsteps, like a group making its way across the beach. Woi’e dared open her eyes and saw, merely seven or so metres away, the broken Eloo cursing at the sand while in the distance, half of the assembled forces made their way out to sea. The shieldboss nearly wanted to scream with joy, but focused every fiber in her being at remaining still. She heard muttering suddenly, and realised it was Eloo. The mutters grew louder:

“... Wait…? All we’ve done is wait…” Woi’e one open eye saw Eloo strike the sand once more. “No… To the depths with him - with all of ‘em. They think they’re better than us? They think we need them?” He rose up and kicked up a cloud of sand into the water, barely missing the frozen Woi’e. “I’ll show ‘em… The Elu’ll show ‘em all.” He stormed off towards his now very confused host and started barking orders at them. Not much later, the selka set off into the woods. 

Woi’e couldn’t believe it. To think the Wogweh had abandoned the Elu’s mission for total control over the island, or at least abandoned them to carry it out on their own! It was almost too perfect. She held her breath. Could this actually be a trap? Had they seen them in the water earlier and proceeded to plant false information deliberately to make them overconfident? Woi’e swallowed. Eloo was perhaps not the sharpest spear on the rack, but Roganweh was something entirely different - arrogant, perhaps, but certainly capable. It wouldn’t be far-fetched for him to think of something like this.

A moment passed as she pondered. She could return to the others and tell them that the time to take the camp was now, and that if they were quick enough, they could ambush the Elu party that same night.

But, and it was a considerable but - what if the Wogweh would then come back and attack them from behind? Perhaps the wisest move would be to return to Hohm and notify them of the divide, perhaps even exploit Eloo’s overconfidence and eliminate the Elu forces from the equation entirely, then proceed to retake the island from the north? Either way, their plan from before was optional now. She swam back to the others.

[hr]

“And they’re gone now?” Aloo whispered. Woi’e nodded. The warriors had taken the news with joy and glee, and already it seemed many were eager to storm the camp. Aloo, however, raised a hand as mutters became mumbles and mumbles became talk.

“Sshh. We ain’t so far away that they can’t hear us,” he whispered loudly. “Now, Woi’e, wha’chu think? This a trick?”

Woi’e exhaled some hot air and shook her head. “I-... I don’t know, chief. It could be either. They sounded real enough, but it’s too good.” 

Aloo bit a finger. “We can’t wait, either. They said they would be back with food, right?”

“Right.”

“Darn… A’ight. Duhwah and the others can hold off an attack, no problem. The Elus are few now - no way they can break through. Their camp’s undefended, too, right?”

“Yeah, it looked that way.”

“So if we take it and make our way back to camp on land, worst that’ll happen is that the Elu’ll be gone when the Wogweh get back, right?”

Woi’e nodded slowly. “Riiiight, but--”

“Then we do that,” Aloo whispered smilingly. The others tried to contain their applause to small ripples in the water. Woi’e shook her head.

“We wanna keep what we take too, right? If we take land as we go home, the Wogweh will just sweep in and take it back. No, we gotta swim back.”

Aloo shook his head. “They won’t expect us to attack from behind. And if we kill ‘em all, they won’t have anyone to go back to.”

Woi’e’s mouth flattened out. Many of the warriors nodded in agreement. “Well,” said the shieldboss quietly.

“I say we do it,” said Aloo’s uncle Joku.

“Yeah!”

“Sssh! Keep our cover!” Aloo whispered loudly. “Woi’e, we agree?”

The shieldboss capitulated with a nod. While she didn’t like the idea of slaughter, she couldn’t argue that wiping the Elu out couldn’t solve their problem. The chieftain’s expression flashed a malicious grin and he raised his spear out of the water. The selka dove and made their way to shore.

[hr]

Duhwah sat on a rock, resting his chin on a balled fist. He stared out across the sea and the beach, peeling his eyes at any anomalies in the waves or the trees that the dawn’s rays uncovered. Two days had passed since the war party left and the ceaseless itch of anxiety threatened to wear out the ageing selka’s heart. No one had come to attack them and no one from the outer camps had come screaming for aid. This only led him to fear that the chieftain had fallen prey to an ambush like the one two years ago. Aloo was young still and without an heir, and Tokkan was, well… It didn’t help either that the late Jotokan’s brothers and cousins all had gone with the chieftain. If they had been killed, a family other than the Tokuans would have to take the mantle as chieftain, and frankly, Duhwah doubted the tribe could sustain a battle of succession like that. 

Those thoughts were pushed aside, however, for Duhwah soon spotted distant shapes on the sand. Hohm was impossible to attack from the forest - the cliff around which the camp was built was much too tall to climb down from, and it extended that way for just long enough that the forests on top, while good cover, could hardly be considered a proper place to ambush from. Therefore, any attack would either have to come from the sea or the beach. So when Duhwah saw these figures make their way across the beach, he called his retinue to arms. Before long, about twenty Wuhdige stood ready behind the spike ditches, over which had been built waist-high walls of packed sand. They weren’t much, Duhwah conceded, but they kept anyone from jumping the gap, and were therefore just enough. Still, they needed their bucklers to defend against ranged attacks.

However, as the forces drew closer, the retinue began to recognise them. Duhwah’s brother Dohn shouted, “Duh! They ain’t Elu! It’s the chief!” Duhwah rubbed his eyes and, as the warriors in the camp begun to cheer and applaud the approaching victors, Duhwah did indeed recognise the familiar grin of Aloo. Behind the chieftain walked Woi’e, who seemed less enthusiastic, though kept a polite smile. The war paints were neatly complemented by crusted blood on all the warriors’ pelts, and as they entered into the camp over a wooden bridge across the spike ditch, Aloo announced, “The Elu are gone!”

Thunderous applause broke out in the camp and selka embraced and kissed each other left and right. The warriors were picked up and thrown up and down like the champions they were. Aloo raised his blood-caked spear into the air and began to sing praised to Damasta, which many others joined in on. Promises of a great games tournament to celebrate were thrown about, and in the middle of the triumphant joy spreading through the camp, Duhwah went to Woi’e with a concerned smile on his lips.

“H-hey, Woi’e, what’re you sulkin’ for? We won!”

The shieldboss sat with her face in her hands and drew a quivering breath. “We… We killed them.”

Duhwah scoffed. “Well, ‘course you did. That’s what you sent out to do, right?”

“No, you don’t understand,” she whispered in a state of shock. “We killed all of them. They’re dead. Every single one of them.”

Duhwah’s smile faded a little and he let out an awkward ‘heh’. “W-well, they was the enemy, right? They deserve to--”

“And not just the boys, Duhwah - but the girls and the pups, too.”

Duhwah recoiled with a quiet gasp. He turned his head slightly and saw Aloo let out another war cry as he raised his spear to the sound of celebration.

“They-... They were like animals… And we slaughtered them like animals…” Woi’e looked down at her hands. She quickly ran over to the sea to wash them clean, but seemed to scrub and scratch long after the blood had come off. Duhwah took her by the shoulder and pulled her away. She stared at him in terror. 

“Woi’e! Listen! You did-... You did your job, okay?”

“My job was… Killing pups, Duh?” she asked with a shrill voice.

“N-no! ‘Course not! But now the Elu are gone and… Well, we only have to worry ‘bout the Wogweh now. We’re… We’re safe thanks to your win.”

Woi’e looked back down at her hands, slowly opening and closing them. She sniffed and cleared her throat, and as she begun to whimper, Duhwah gave her a comforting hug. He shot another look back at his chieftain and prayed to the warm Alae that this would be the Wuhdige’s last encounter with war.

[hider=SummaREEEEEEEE!]
The shields turn the tide of battle completely and the Elu-Wogweh alliance suffer a devastating defeat during a raid. The Wuhdige decide to take the fight to them and start reconquering their island. Woi’e and Aloo lead a force to the Elu camp like before and when they get there, they find that the Elu and the Wogweh are having a bit of a fight. The Elu have become dependent on raiding since they didn’t harvest enough food during the autumn, and the Wogweh scold them for it and refuse to help them raid anymore after the defeat they suffered. The Elu are upset by this, but the Wogweh state that they see the Elu as little more than vassals and that they are to wait until the Wuhdige attack them instead so they can ambush them and crush them like last time. The Wogweh forces subsequently leave to get food for the Elu camp, though they are vague about when they’ll return. The Elu leader, Eloo, is unwilling to cooperate and takes his warriors to attack Hohm. The Wuhdige attackers are thrilled that their enemy is divided, but they wonder if it’s a strategy to make them overconfident. After some back and forth, Aloo decides that, even if the Wogweh come back to take their lands, they can take the opportunity to wipe out the Elu. Woi’e reluctantly agrees and the Elu are slaughtered down to the last selka off-screen.

The war party returns home to Hohm to thunderous applause, but Woi’e’s traumatised by the fact that she had to kill pups in addition to grown ups. Duhwah tries to reason that she was just doing her job as a warrior, but agrees that Aloo’s a bit fond of blood and hopes that this is the last encounter with war for a time.
[/hider]

[hider=Map of Wuhdige Island/Yentoi]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/z53ll4R.png[/img]
[/hider]