5. Tyr The God of War

My shoes hit the shallow water which instantly sipped through the seams and I started to shiver from the sudden cold. But there wasn't any time to reflect on that. We had things to do.

My eyes scanned the village ahead. The buildings lay close to the shore and I knew they had instantly spotted us. I could hear the commotion from fleeing women and children, animals grunting as they tried to move them. They shouldn't have bothered I thought, we weren't here for food or cattle, our ship wasn't big enough for that.

So what were we after? Whatever we could find that would make my men content. And me? The experience, maybe. This was the beginning of my new life, a life my dead uncle had forced me into. Or did he really? I pushed the thoughts aside and pulled the axe from my belt as my feet moved quickly over the stoney shore. I led the way but Freke was not far behind me.

The noise from the village escalated as we came closer, armed men were running towards us now. At first they hesitated, perhaps thinking we were traders, but as soon as I drew my axe from my belt they knew.

From the corner of my eye I saw Freke shift to their wolf form, and now a black-furred great wolf with orange burning eyes ran beside me.

They were closing in. I slowed down to save my stamina and rearranged the shield on my arm. I wasn't scared of pain or battle, or even dying. I was afraid to make a fool out of myself. We needed this to go our way, we needed the gods by our side.

The light axe felt heavy in my hand as I raised it, preparing to aim it at the first target. A long haired man with thick eyebrows and a wild looking grin on his face ran towards me. That's when I filled my lungs with air and pressed out the loudest battlecry I could manage, and soon after I heard my men answer me with a mighty roar of war behind me, filling me with adrenaline.

I raised my shield as his shortsword moved towards me, and I took a step forward to push him, to get him off balance, but he was experienced and saw me coming.

He lashed out towards me with full force. I dodged and pushed forward. The redheaded man was a head taller than me, bigger and stronger and as he continued to smash his weapon against my round wooden shield, again and again, and I suddenly found myself on the ground.

I twisted and rolled to avoid the sharp edge of his blade, keeping my shield between us. I took hit after hit knowing I'd get my chance soon enough. I had to be patient and study his moves.

My arm started aching, tired of upholding the heavy wooden circle that was currently saving me from severe injuries - my only lifeline at this point. Then, finally, I saw my opening, and I aimed a kick to his kneecap with such force that he instantly crumbled down, exposing his neck to me. Without a second thought I reached for the dagger I kept in the back of my belt, and without hesitation I let it sink into the soft tissue between the collar of his blue shirt and his bearded jaw.

Blood poured over my hand as I pulled the dagger out and rolled to the side to prevent his heavy body from landing on top of me. I put the dagger back in my belt. I grabbed the axe but realised I had to wipe the blood off my hand to keep a steady grip, and used the cloth on my thigh to do it.

I took the opportunity to catch my breath and had a look around. The air was filled with the smell of blood and death, and my thoughts sent a quick prayer to the God of war before I let out another furious cry in hope the gods would hear me and the morale of my men would improve.

All around me there was movement. Heavy breaths and moans of pain from fighting men. Some lay badly injured, blood painting the grey stones red, some were already dead. A lot of them were my own.

But this was not the time to question my decisions, we had to do this. I could not show weakness. I was not going to travel home as argr.

Everything happened so quickly after that. The sound of iron against wood assaulted my eardrums and woke me from my daze.

I ran towards the nearest group of people and buried the axe in the back of the opponent. I didn't stay and watch as he fell to the ground, I didn't even meet the eyes of the man I'd helped. But I knew who he was, he was my friend.

All around me I heard weapons clashing into each other and I was determined to help whoever might need it.

Blood splattered into my face as a villager cracked the skull of one of my warriors close to me. In a single motion, I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and saw the opportunity of his vulnerable position. He still needed to lift that heavy two handed axe to protect himself. And that was when my much smaller, and quicker one hit him right in the ribs. I could feel the bones cracking and he let out a huff as the air left his lungs. But I had to move quickly now, he was still able to lift that axe.

I could sense the wolf before they were seen behind the greataxe-wielding man, the white sharp teeth glistering in the fading sun, the pitch black fur and the fiery orbs that met mine. But the chaos around me had caught up to me now, I stumbled back and raised my shield to protect me from a blow that came from my side, he was too fast and the edge slashed through the muscle of my upper arm.

I spun around and screamed with rage, smashing the dull side of my axe into his face with such force that his nose was completely gone when I raised my weapon to do it again. I didn't have to, though. The man fell backwards, holding both of his hands to cover his face as he screamed in pain. I left him there, bleeding on the ground.

My body started to tingle, and I instantly knew why. Freke was healing me. I cast them a quick glance, a smile and a nod before I ran towards the next man, clearly the leader of their clan.

But as soon as I approached him I noticed his eyes were fixed on Freke. And when I was close enough to hit him, he fell to his knees before me. And I watched him throw his axe on the ground and raise his hands to the air in defeat, and all around us his men did the same.

"You have a healer with you," he grunted between heavy breaths, as if that was the reason for his surrender.

"I do," I answered him and cast a glance behind me to see blue flashes of magic leaving my lover's palms and entering the body of one of our men.

"What is it that you're after?" He continued with a suppressed fury in his eyes.

"Let's talk," I said and offered him my hand to help him up on his feet, and after a long process of thoughts he accepted my hand and pulled himself up.

Slowly I followed the Jarl as he walked towards his hall. Freke in his human form moved up beside me and let their hand slip into mine, creating a few nervous glances towards us.

I could feel their power pulsating through their skin and enter my body, creating a welcoming warm feeling within me and suddenly my energy levels felt so much better.

"Save some for yourself," I mumbled low, but only got a quick squeeze as an answer. They never listened to me, Freke always did whatever they thought was best. Sometimes it annoyed me but I was used to it. They'd always been the independent one, and I'd always found that a little funny since they were a pack animal at heart. Maybe it bothered me because I relied so much on them, but I knew in my heart they'd be fine without me.

My eyes grazed the buildings. It was quite small but a thriving community. Modest fishing boats rested by the edges of the coastline, and I realised they were probably their main source of food.

We entered their great hall and as we sat down around a fire I took the opportunity to study the man. He was old enough to be my father, his otherwise brown hair was almost entirely covered with white and grey, as well as his beard.

"Let your women take care of the wounded," I said, "we won't hurt them."

He gave me a thankful nod and then gestured to a much younger man who instantly ran out the door. "What is your name, boy?" The Jarl said after he'd eyed me curiously, casting weary glances at the vitki seated closely beside me.

"Tyr Starke, Jarl of Skal," I said and accepted the cup of beer that I was offered. I instantly moved it to my lips, grateful to get rid of the dryness in my throat.

I watched his eyes widen and his chin fall to the floor, his irises moving from me to Freke and then back to me. "Tyr, as in the God of War, accompanied by a wolf?" he whispered and drew in a sharp breath.

How I hated that story, but our paths always seemed to go back to it, wherever we went.

So I decided, at that moment, to do something different. To change my approach to it.

A faint smile played on my lips as a new idea started to form inside my head, I was to use the likeness to my advantage.

"Yes, that's right. The mighty Tyr and the ferocious Fenris have returned to Midgard." I chuckled and winked at Freke who licked their lips and gave me a sharp smile, showing their fangs. But we both saw the impact our words had on the gathered men, they were all staring breathless at us.

And I knew immediately that the rumour would spread and we would be feared, and maybe even remembered for our generosity of sparing the men's lives in this small village.

This was the beginning, this was the fate the Norn's had weaved for me. And all doubts were gone, I accepted it with all my heart.

*Ergi, argr and ragr were severe insults. Similar to calling someone a coward.