When the Poles had driven Vladimir as far as they wished, and had seized many prisoners and much booty, they returned shouting victory. Not suspecting that Filya had been terribly beaten, they marched back rejoicing, but, instead of finding Filya in possession of the battle-field, they came upon Mystislav’s warriors, who rushed at them savagely. Meanwhile Vladimir had turned, and with him came the Polovtsi. A great slaughter set in. The Polovtsi took captive all the Poles who were not slain, taking from them their arms and horses. But Mystislav’s men touched no booty. Following the enemy, as they scattered in every direction, they slew without mercy. The whole field was covered with bodies, and the streams which ran through it were crimsoned with blood.
Mystislav stood before Galitch immediately, and demanded surrender, promising immunity to all. Filya, in spite of his impregnable fortress, sent a courier advising surrender. Since he himself had been beaten, he despaired of success through another. Mystislav repeated his summons three times, but with Koloman were leaders who would not surrender; they relied on the stronghold, and swore to endure to the end with their sovereign. Sending out all who could not fight, so that there should be no useless mouths in the city, they made ready for the siege.
Mystislav declared that from that hour there would be no mercy shown to any man, and he prepared to take Galitch by storm. The Hungarians were confident, and strengthened the gates of the city. That Mystislav was digging a tunnel under their stronghold they knew not, and that it was finished they only discovered one gloomy night when his warriors rose through the earth and cut down the guards at the gate, which they opened then to their comrades. [[203]]
At daybreak, Mystislav with his army was in Galitch. The leading Hungarians shut themselves up in the church, which Mystislav surrounded. They were unyielding; they threw stones and shot arrows, but at last they were captured. The magnates and their families, for whom immense ransoms were expected, and some of the higher Poles, were divided among the victors. Koloman, his queen, and Filya went to Mystislav. Sudislav, the artful, fell at Mystislav’s feet, embraced his knees, wept, and swore that while living he would serve him most faithfully. Mystislav, knowing little of Galitch, and seeing the position which Sudislav held among boyars, not only left life to that traitor, but gave a good town to him.
The people magnified Mystislav now as the deliverer of Galitch; they called him the shining sun, the bright falcon. Their delight at being freed from foreign men seemed unbounded and heartfelt. When news came to Leshko of Filya’s defeat, he immediately made peace with Daniel, and feigned immense love for him. Daniel wished now to see Mystislav, his father-in-law, so he hurried off quickly to Galitch. The delight of those two men was great. Not only were they avenged on Poles and Hungarians, but those enemies had been paid back a hundredfold, and were eliminated as rulers from Galitch. The Orthodox people said that God had given those two nations into their hands to punish the enemy for defiling His temple, which had been turned by them into a bastion of battle. The people did not forgive this “great sacrilege,” as they called it.
Thus Hungarians and Poles perished in a land which they had planned to take from its owners. Many were killed in battle, others were taken prisoners, still others perished on the roads and in lonely villages. They died of hunger in forests, or were drowned in crossing rivers. People rose up and slew the invaders wherever they found them. Few escaped.
On losing his son, Vassili, Mystislav had no heir left. His youngest daughter was in tender years yet, his eldest daughter had married the son of Big Nest, Yaroslav, whom he held in his power; his second daughter, Anna, was the wife of Daniel, who, as heir to the great Roman, would have seemed the direct heir of Galitch. The people thought that land would surely go now to Daniel, but deceit and intrigue disappointed them. Not only in [[204]]Galitch but in Volynia there were falsehoods, conspiracies, and endless struggles. Mystislav’s victory changed the form, not the substance of the misery. Men now persuaded the prince to take Galitch himself, and Daniel was set aside promptly. At the prayers of Koloman’s father, peace was concluded, and reports were sent out that Mystislav was to give his youngest daughter in marriage to King Andrei’s second son.
Meanwhile in Volynia Bailski made war against Daniel. Daniel defeated his enemy, and was ready to give the last blow to him, when Mystislav commanded his son-in-law to withdraw and not trouble Bailski in future. Andrei and Leshko from having been enemies of Mystislav became his friends in appearance, but their friendship was more deadly to Russia than their enmity had ever been. Supported by Leshko and Mystislav, Bailski acquired so much influence that Roman’s sons lost all the power they had won. Bailski made use of the open and unbounded confidence of Mystislav, who was a great man in battle, but short-sighted and incompetent as a ruler, and strove to persuade him to a direct war against Daniel. In this he was aided considerably by Leshko, and though they failed at first, they succeeded later on. So neither Volynia nor Galitch gained anything from Mystislav’s victory.
Forgetting for the moment all care touching Galitch, Daniel established himself firmly in his own place, which, notwithstanding the woes of that period, he served very sensibly. He took from Leshko the border lands that the Poles had attached to Mazovia. Though the profit of this winning did not seem much at the time, it proved very great in the sequel.
Brest was at first a border settlement of Russia, beyond which were the Yatvyags and the Lithuanians. In ruling those regions, the Russians did not quarrel with their Lithuanian neighbors. The Lithuanians had long been protected by Russian princes, to whom they paid a small tribute. The Poles, after seizing the country, acted differently and harshly with these people. When Daniel restored the places to Russia, the whole country breathed much more freely. All the elders, or, as the Russians called them, princes, sent solemn declarations of peace to Daniel, and thereafter he found in them faithful allies against Leshko. Those tribes had many relatives, both in the Baltic country and in Poland, who would help them when proper agreements were made. They [[205]]now aided Daniel against his Polish opponents, and with their assistance he carried on further struggles with Leshko. At this time there was a special movement among Lithuanian tribes, which till then had been quiescent.