|
About five hundred years ago,
the country of Russia, originally named Russ, was under the oppressive
force of the Tartars for over three hundred years. Although the
Tartars didn't physically live in Russian lands, they forced the
Russians to pay taxes to their khan. If any city or town refused
to pay these taxes, the Tartars would send in an army to enforce
payment of the taxes due.
After three hundred years of this
oppression, the Russians finally refused to pay any further taxes.
They organized a large army to challenge the Tartars. The Tartars
sent in an army to enforce the collection of past taxes due. The
invading Tartars were unable to succeed in their mission. On opposite
banks of a river, a standoff took place between the two armies.
The Russian army was so massive looking that the Tartar army became
frightened and went home in shame never to return again to Russian
soil.
Because of the long years of Tartar
yoke, the people of Russ developed a habit of being humble and
patient. The Russian people never let the invaders steal away
the beauty of Russian culture, its traditions, and the Christian
way of life that were told year after year in narrations, fairy
tales, and folk song.
These stories tell us a great
deal and make us fascinated to learn about this great nation.
We learn that those people were very peaceful and joyful, full
of hopes and optimistic, very gifted, generous, and hospitable.
Yet, we also learn them to be somewhat careless and quite irrational
in times of stress or political upheaval.
New City
The city where Tsarevna lives is named New City even though it
is five hundred years old. It has gained the reputation as one
of the main cities of political and commercial importance in Russia.
It has the status as the capital of the country as well as a seat
for the royal family. The Russian king is called a Tsar and he
reigns over the vast territory of Russia.
This city is the heart of the country. Dukes and honored residents
of other and smaller towns come and bring gifts to the ruler and
his family. They also bring contributions to the state treasury
in exchange for support and protection when there is a need.
The city is geographically located at the crossroads of important
trade routes contributing to the city's growth and prosperity.
These routes extend all the way from Middle and Central Asia through
New City and on into Europe. This continual growth of New City
creates the illusion it becomes ever younger each passing year.
All of the citizens are very proud of their home city, but not
to the degree that they ignore or dislike the surrounding provinces.
On the contrary, they seem to be very hospitable and are eager
to talk to a stranger visiting the city.
As a visitor you may find such interaction exciting in the beginning
until you are caught up in a lengthy conversation with someone
who goes on for hours about his relatives and in-laws, or his
flocks and crops. Who cares about the fact that you are in a hurry
to meet with your fiancee, and you will be in trouble with her
if you are late.
Eventually, you feel you have heard enough of his stories only
to be dragged into more conversation about times of pleasure or
hard times. There is no one to praise or blame for all of this.
It is just life with its ups and downs, its choices and obligations.
Blessed be the heart of the merciful listener!
Being the capital of a flourishing commerce center, New City
has always been the center of attraction for foreign invaders.
Because of this fact like many Russian cities, New City was built
on the top of a hill at a bend of the river so it could be easily
defended.
Its central part, the Kremlin, is surrounded by sky scraping
walls and watched day and night by heavily armed guards. Within
the walls of the Kremlin is the Tsar's residence. The building
he lives in is called the Palace.
The Palace is an absolutely gorgeous piece of architecture built
of red bricks with the most bright and intricate exterior decorations,
a masterpiece recorded in all guide-books of the time. It stands
high in the middle of the city to symbolize the absolute power
of the Tsar and the might of the country.
Everyone feels honored to approach the residence of the "Highest",
but few are privileged to be allowed inside to witness the sacredness
of authority over the citizens' lives.
Besides the Palace within the Kremlin walls, there are other
outstanding fine buildings such as the Cathedral, the City Hall,
and the Guild Halls. These buildings are extremely beautiful,
and they attract the attention of every pilgrim and foreign honored
guest by their marvelous sight and special spirit of eternal beauty.
The streets within the compound of the Kremlin are paved with
stones and are well-maintained. They are wide enough for grand
royal and religious ceremonies and festivities to take place.
Kremlin
The Kremlin is not only the heart of the city , but that of the
country too. It is known as the most beautiful among all cities
of Russia. Every building here is a masterpiece of architecture
and an example of human greatness. But there is one, that may
be compared to nothing else, which is majestic and absolutely
dear to Russian hearts. That is the Cathedral.
The Cathedral is the most important building for all Russians
who are Christians with no exceptions. It's a home of the Divine
Spirit; and to serve its purpose, it has a marvelous design with
gold plated domes glittering in the sun. Many large bells in the
belfry sound out the celebration of holidays and happy events
or they mourn over the deceased and perished.
When one walks into the Cathedral, it is either all of cleansing
beauty or reminders of mourning by its amazingly painted icons
and glimmering candle lights. Peace and love, sadness and sorrow
reign here. Nowhere else but inside this magnificent Cathedral
does such a combination exist. It is nurturing for one's soul.
The inhabitants of this part of the city comprise of the Tsar
and his immediately family, state officials, high priests, wealthy
merchants, and court clerks.
Their lifestyle is quite different from that of the outer town.
There's no rush, no anxiety, and one may sleep until the second
or third chime of the morning bell.
Most women don't work here, and they are addressed as ladies.
Their life is not too bright just the same, but it is not hard.
Their only duty is going on visits and receiving guests.
Young ladies take classes in music, dancing, and drawing. In
the hours of leisure, which are most of the day, they try on new
finery or read love stories.
In the afternoon after morning animation fades away, the Kremlin's
world falls into motionless and soundless dream. It is only the
birds that chatter in the blueness of the sky and fair maids are
swaying in the swings to rest from housework. This is the New
City of Russia during the 1400's A.D.
Midtown
Behind the Kremlin wall lies a less attractive but more business-like
part of the city. It is where the residential sections of the
city are and people make their trade.
The buildings here are not as beautiful as those in the Kremlin.
They are rather plain-looking, unpainted, and weathered wooden
houses. They are, on the other hand, very solid and durable in
construction. Most of them are one story homes with a front porch
and colorful shutters on the windows. Some of the houses have
a touch of painted artistic ornateness on the window shutters,
the corner of the house, or over the front door.
In the yards surrounding more well-to-do homes, there are usually
some buildings such as a barn, a shed, or a stable to store goods,
keep domestic animals, or assist in household chores. In most
all surrounding yards of these homes there are piles of wood for
repairs to the house or stacks of logs for heating in winter months.
The streets in this section of the city are crooked, narrow,
and are not paved. Grass grows tall along the side of these streets,
so in rainy weather the streets turn to mud and slippery traps
for both riders and walkers.
Domestic animals are wandering in the streets, and they sometimes
get very annoyed people's attention.
Here and there you can see a well people take fresh water from.
It is very cool and refreshing. There is no other drink in the
world like a big gulp of pleasant cold water from a well.
The people who live here are working hard to earn their daily
bread. They make their living mostly by manufacture and trade.
In fact, this part of the city is a very busy place, active with
many people, noisy markets, and joyful fairs with strolling actors,
musicians, and jugglers.
Besides these two visible parts of the city, there are a lot
of underground constructions in the form of caves, tunnels, and
troughs for running water. These not only serve the needs of the
city by supplying fresh water and disposing of sewerage, but also
might provide a safe shelter for someone in times of danger or
serve as a dwelling space for mysterious beasts and ghosts.
It's a hidden kingdom of shadows and winds with its own story
which has to be told in a whisper, lest you should scare sleeping
babies with the spirits of the unknown and fearful world.
But what can stop a determined man from getting to see his beloved?
Neither the impregnable walls of the Kremlin nor gloomy and stern-looking
guards protecting it nor even monsters and ghosts from under the
ground can stop him. His quest to gain the hand of his future
bride will be accomplished at all odds.
Outer town
The outer town that makes the boundaries of the whole city is
inhabited by people of different trades and they all look pure-hearted
and friendly. You can always count on the helpful advice or comforting
words from a passerby or an old "babooshka" sitting by the door
of her house in a dreamy peace thinking of her children and grandchildren.
New City greets its visitors with the noise and richness of the
market square which seems to be the most attractive part of the
outer town for a stranger to enter its boundaries.
The market place is a very lively spot where you can learn all
the latest city news and gossip. It is also a very important part
of the town because the majority of the citizens are either craftsmen
or merchants where they can sell their products and merchandise.
Here you can find every item you may need for your household.
Such items could be pails, pots, plates, mugs, and silverware.
Personal household items could be clothes and footwear. Other
items may include tools for home repairs, house building, or land
cultivating which are useful for the farmers living on the extreme
outskirts of the city.
If you wake up early enough, you can see chains of country wagons
being drawn by oxen or horses slowly rolling up to the town market
place before the sun lightens the horizon. They bring mostly crops
and food products with them to either sell or to exchange for
the things they want.
Housewives or servant maids of well-off families start their
daily routine by visiting the market to buy food for their family's
or master's meal. They like shopping there because this may be
the only daily outing they can enjoy.
It's customary for women in a family to have a busy but rather
dull life. They are not allowed to public places or men's gatherings
except for church services and big community festivities such
as a royal wedding celebration or the yearly Fair.
These type of festivities are not a frequent occurrence so a
dinner guest becomes the next best enjoyment for a woman in this
city. Oh yes, the women are wonderful cooks and guests are always
specially treated with dozens of dishes all to be tasted at a
given sitting. What a sweet tradition that has become.
Though in practice a home is run by a woman, a man is deemed
the head of the family for he is the money maker and rubles and
kopecks are hard to come by.
The inhabitants' usual day begins at early dawn when the dreaming
of the city ceases in answer to a main bell of the Cathedral that
disturbs the calmness of the morning sky and declares a new day.
A day is twenty-four hours long, but it seems even longer since
there is no hurry. There is nothing exciting to do except the
daily household chores of cleaning, cooking, flock tending, or
working in small plots of vegetable gardens as the tradition of
living off the land has remained unbroken even in the towns.
Many families have held onto some businesses for generations.
They cherish and keep their secrets for their sons to take over
after their father's retirement. Some have developed unique skills
and earned a world-wide reputation which adds to the fame of Russia.
There is an old famous tale about a Russian gunsmith from the
City of Tula whose nickname was "Left-hander". He was so skilled
that he managed to shoe a flea with his own hand made tools. The
shod flea was presented to the English king who was absolutely
amazed at this unbelievable fine work. Despite the Left-handers
arrogance, the king offered his only daughter as a wife to this
Russian gunsmith shoemaker because he was crazy about the idea
of having this master in his shops in England.
Usually Russian people don't value money enough to make it run
their lives such as the Russian gunsmith did. Besides, there are
no women in the whole world more beautiful, sincere, and desirable
than a Russian woman for a Russian man. There are not enough rubles
in Russia to even begin to challenge the value of a Russian woman.
Russian woman of their native land have deep, pure eyes; long,
fair braids; and soft, gentle smiles. It is said that a country
is rich in its people. If you want to get to know a country, you
have to meet its people. What a simple and wonderful truth.
The male population in this country is very privileged. No woman
would ever raise a voice against a man's right to spend an hour
or two in a relaxing discussion in the company of his fellows
after a long working day.
In the drinking houses throughout the city, men sip the sweet
bitterness of stimulating drinks from the wine cellars which never
seem to be exhausted of supply.
In fact, this part of the town's population can't stand a sober
mood. It is a source of shame to the male community if someone
gives up before he is dead drunk. Also, who can resist the temptation
to shake off the burdens of the day by giving rest to every limb
of your body and every thought in your mind through drunkenness.
Just be primitive and enjoy it!
Mugs are filled, food is piled on the plates, singing bursts
from breasts and throats, and nothing can stop them from cursing
the day and praising the night.
But, be aware of a young woman dressed in black clothes who moves
among the weak bodies of the frequenters to pick up someone as
a sacrifice for the "Spirit of Evil" whom she serves at night.
She comes up to you with a word of comfort. She puts a lambs wool
shawl on your shoulders, and whispers the pleasures of love into
your ears. Her kiss is warm and sweet, and her arms are soft and
caring; but her blood is icy cold, and her heart is stony. One
does not have a chance or desire to stand against her spell as
she takes you by your hand and walks you out into the night.
Nobody knows where she comes from, and nobody knows where she
takes her chosen ones because the ones she takes never return.
However, she appears over and over again and is never stopped
for she is your fate. You can't rebel against it. This sounds
like a horrible story, but don't take it to heart. It may be just
the play of the night shadows or the cloudy imagination of a drunken
mind or she is one of the fellows' wife who comes to take her
drunk husband home, and he follows in obedience.
Though life in the town is not simple and serene, it has some
pleasurable things and events in store. There is absolutely one
special time for the town inhabitants and neighboring village
peasants. This is when both men and women put on their best clothes,
dress up their children and make their way to the market square
to please their hearts with the lovely noise of excitement and
enthusiasm of the Fair.
The Fair is not only the best time to make bargains, but also
the best time and place to have fun which one has been looking
forward to since the previous year's Fair. It is its overwhelming
music, the appealing screams of sellers, and its general excitement
that leaves no chance to spoil this day with troubles and worries
of the everyday run of life.
There is a great deal to look at and a lot to enjoy. Women are
negotiating to buy skirts and high red boots, very fashionable
in this season, that make you feel confident and look attractive.
Young girls are looking for fortune tellers to learn about their
destined grooms. They easily part with a copper coin if they are
promised a good looking, rich young man. Knowing,this, the fortune
tellers are very generous in their prophecies to these young girls.
Children are crazily running about the strolling circus preparing
for the performances. They are anxious to pet or even feed on
over sea monkey that is wildly jumping from shoulder to shoulder
of its master frightened of the boisterous crowd.
Men full of dignity and self-respect are walking along the aisles
looking around for something that is worthy of their attention.
They stop from time to time at a counter to praise the goods and
exchange matter-of-fact remarks with the seller. If the man is
wealthy enough to purchase a new horse, he will never pass by
the stables without a curious look or he will simply stand there
for an hour or two trying to make the right choice.
Every fair has special attractions, among which is a bear performance.
Russians are so handy and smart that they teach a clumsy animal
to dance and do acrobatics to the delight of crowded spectators.
Or sometimes you may even be shocked to see a man with a pair
of hand made wings floating over your head as a fairy tale monster
of three heads and nine lives.
The Fair usually lasts for a few days and the people have an
excellent opportunity to spend their energy and money being saved
for this special event..
Underground realm
It has been mentioned already that the New City is underlain
by a tremendous system of underground passages, corridors, and
tunnels with troughs creating streams of water flowing through
a complex network of channels.
Built of gray, rough stones, it doesn't look very attractive.
Frankly speaking, it is very unfriendly looking so that even those
who might need a shelter would rather avoid using it. Though it
is not a problem to find an inlet to this dark, cold, and damp
dungeon; it is not frequented by anyone.
This unique system of underground water passages is well designed
and constructed very well to serve specific purposes. Thoroughly
drawn maps of it are kept sealed in the State Archives to be used
for the defense of the city.
But if some curious fellow would like to find a way to the Tsar's
wine cellars, or treasury room via underground passages, he is
going to get into serious trouble. There is Żo way out for an
inexperienced traveler, and only good luck would be in his favor
to find his way out of this realm of darkness to see sunlight
again.
Therefore, human voices and steps are hardly ever heard here,
but it is not a dead place. Now and then strange, scaring sounds
rise up from the fresh water wells of the city. These petrifying
sounds drill a cold shiver up your spine and strike terror into
your heart. You struggle in haste away from the well in panicked
fear almost paralyzed by your shaking limbs. Fresh water can be
retrieved another day in this situation.
According to the legend, in this spacy underground abode lives
a monstrous beast. People say it exists, though just a few of
them have claimed to witnessed seeing him. People say he is out
at night when the lights are off, when the city rests in a peaceful
dream, and when a wild moon is gleaming like an angry lion's eye
in a starry sky. He is out from his cold, damp, and sinister dwelling
to haunt his victims.
Nobody knows for sure what he looks like or are too scared to
remember what he looks like. Those who claim they have met him
were almost frozen to death, so cold was his breath. All those
who made these claims were people of uncertain position in the
city, know for their filthy business, and therefore doubted in
the truth of their tales about this monster.
Nevertheless, when ever such a blood-freezing tale was heard
about this monster, the listener never failed to spit over his
left shoulder in an immunity reaction to the superstition of the
monster's existence. He would also refrain from walking in the
darkness of the night through unlit streets of the city unless
it was an emergency.
His name is used to discipline children by threatening that the
underground monster does not like crying children and will seek
out and kill such children. Such children shield their crying
wails with their sleeping comforters or pillows lest the monster
should hear them and seek them out for the kill in the darkness
of the night.
Young girls are kept indoors when it is getting late by their
mother's warnings of his night walk outs. If mothers only knew
that every girl dreams to meet him, because they believe that
he was a bewitched prince who had refused to marry an ugly witch.
The girls dream that a very beautiful girl could save him from
his devilment and bring him back to this world. If a lucky young
girl finds him and is bold enough to kiss him in spite of the
fear he bears on people, he will revert back into a handsome young
prince.
She in turn will be rewarded by his devotion eternal love, and
his hand in marriage. No wonder that all the young girls of the
city are trying to slip out of their homes at night to meet their
good luck.
Download
the game
| 
