When unrest sets in at the front, and this is inevitable, for the men are getting fed up with the war, the Cossacks will be sent to crush the mutineers.

Having made their home in the Wild Fields north of the Black Sea, these cossacks— derived from a Turkic word for "free man"— are renowned as one of Europe’s most formidable military forces.

Composed of hunters, fishermen, nomads and outlaws, the Cossacks found freedom in these fertile unclaimed lands.

Officially, all of Stepan’s men have sworn to uphold the Cossack code by undergoing seven years of military training and remaining unmarried.

In practice, some are part-timers, holding more closely to their own traditions, and maintaining families in nearby villages, outside Cossack lands.

Thankfully, the tenuous peace is not broken before they reach the Sich— the center of Cossack military life.

The settlement is remarkably well- organized, with administrative buildings, officers’ quarters, and even schools, as Cossacks prize literacy.