“Did you say Ragnar?” Syn asked making sure to speak in Old Norse this time.

“Yes”.

“As in Ragnar Lothbrok?” Syn asked again as he tried his best to keep up with the boys through the forests darkness.

“Yes” Ubbe confirmed proudly. Syn followed silently stunned. ‘Ragnar Lothbrok is real?’.

As the shadows of the forest disappeared, a bright light blinded Syn as they left the forest and entered open air. As his vision adjusted he realised he was on top of a steep hill. In the far distance was a huge mountain range and even larger forest that was more terrifying than forest he’d been in ever was. At the bottom of the hill to his amazement he could see a huge Viking village. A Vikings village that would’ve been seen over a thousand years ago.

‘Where the hell am I. Or should I start saying when’ Syn contemplated as absurd possibilities filled his head.

Along the coast of the sea where seemingly a hundred of wooden longhouses, that looked like that been summoned directly out of the history books. As the village travelled further away from the docks filled with Viking boats the land became filled with crop farms, barns, and stables.

The two boys started carefully making their way down the hill, walking down at an angle in order to not slip. Drawing his eyes away from the view he quickly followed their steps, and it didn’t take long for them to make it down the hill and onto a dirt path that led them straight into the village.

As they approached people began to appear and just like the village they looked just like the Vikings he’d seen in his books, documentaries, and films. Most of them wore tunics and trousers and some even wore animal fleeces and skin around their shoulders like a cloak, although Syn couldn’t see any horned helmets which found a little disappointing. He guessed some things were exaggerated.

He noticed everyone that they passed taking a keen interest in them their gaze always starting on the two boys and travelling up to him where it normally turned slightly stunned. Probably his clothes he guessed. Although all he had now was a ruined shirt and pants the style was still very different to was everyone else was wearing.

“Ubbe! Ivar!” A male gruff voice called out. Syn turned to see a large muscular man almost as tall as himself with long, tattered brown hair and a thick brown beard.

“Uncle!” Ubbe shouted as him and Ivar ran over him. The man dropped to a knee and grabbed hold of their arms.

“Where have you been? Ever since you disappeared last night. Our family have been worried sick” he told them concerned. ‘Last night’ Syn pondered, Just how long were they running from that creature.

“A Skinwalker tried to kill us” Ubbe said which made his uncle’s eyes widen slightly “But it’s fine. He saved us” Ubbe told his uncle while gesturing back at Syn. Their uncles placed his hands the back of their necks and gave them a small embrace. Piercing brown eyes then landed on Syn.

“I don’t recognise you. What is your name?” he questioned.

“Syn Veroir” Syn stated as friendly as possible. He’d finally found civilisation, even if it did seem ancient, it was one the most normal things that had happened today, and the last thing he needed was to get kicked out.

“I am Hrolfr Lothbrok. If what my nephews say is true then thank you. Please follow me my brother will want to meet you” He told Syn.

Hrolfr, Ubbe and Ivar then took off heading further into the village and Syn quickly followed. They walked along the busy pathway filled with Vikings just living their lives. They passed many wooden lodges that Syn imagined to be blacksmiths, workshops and even stables. He then followed them as they travelled further towards the sea revealing the many long wooden docks scattered along the coast with dozens of tied up longships. In front he could see a building different from the rest the house, it was over twice the size of the average home and on a slight elevation with steps leading up to its door.

At its entrance was a man who had an identical appearance to what the Skinwalker had transformed into and then he remembered what the young child had called out. So it had lured Ivar away by pretending to be his father Syn realised. Ragnar was stood at the top of steps talking to a Viking at the bottom of the steps with long blonde braided hair. He couldn’t tell what he was saying but it was clear from his posture, expression, and the emotion in his eyes the man was stressed. Syn didn’t blame him, two of his sons had went missing and if he hadn’t shown up they’d be dead. After Ragnar finished speaking the other Viking quickly rushed off and Ragnar rubbed his hand along his face clearly exhausted.

“Brother!” Hrolfr called out. Ragnar turned towards his brother and his eyes doubled in size as he saw his sons, all the exhaustion Syn had observed being cleansed in an instant.

In the blink of an eye Ragnar was down the steps and embracing his sons, Hrolfr standing slightly to the side and Syn standing awkwardly behind him.

“What happened?” Ragnar questioned. Unlike his brother, his voice was soft however, Syn couldn’t explain why but it also demanded authority.

“There was a Skinwalker and then and then-” Ubbe quickly started speaking excitedly.

“Wait” like he’d just remembered something important, his father suddenly stopped him while containing his surprise on what his son had already said, “Go see your mother first she’s been worrying herself to death”. Without saying a word Ubbe dragged his brother up the steps and into the house. Ragnar faced his brother and stood up straight. He wasn’t as tall as Hrolfr, standing at what Syn expected to be five foot eleven, but his body was just as muscular, and battle worn.

“Thank you for finding my sons” Ragnar said while placing his hand on his brothers shoulder.

“It wasn’t me” Hrolfr admitted, he then turned to Syn, “I found this man with them walking down from the forest”. Ragnar’s gaze switched to Syn for the first time. He looked him up and down seemingly analysing every aspect of him.

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“You’re not from here are you?” he smiled. Syn shook his head.

“Who are you?”.

“Syn Veroir” Syn stated again, he felt like that was all he’d said today.

“You found my sons?” Ragnar asked and Syn nodded. He placed a friendly hand on Syn’s shoulder and gestured to his house. “Please come and tell us what happened”. Ragnar then led them up the stairs and into his home.

He entered a huge room and Syn was instantly hit by a wave of heat from the lit firepit carved into the centre of the stone floor. On the right of the fireplace was a long table carved out of a dark wood with long benches running along either side. To the left from the firepit, the house elevated up wooden steps. He could hear the excited voices of Ubbe and Ivar through a wide doorway that was partially blocked by a black curtain. Ragnar then indicated Syn to follow him up the steps and towards a thick black curtain.

However he abruptly stopped and turned towards Hrolfr, causing Syn to nearly trip on a step when coming to a halt a hands-length behind him.

“Before I forget. Brother go find Bjorn and Merida. He’s been searching for the boys constantly since they went missing and I want him to know they safe” Ragnar said calmly. Hrolfr gave his brother a nod before swiftly exiting the house.

“Now” Rangar grabbed onto Syn’s shoulders a curious smile on his face, “Welcome to my home Syn”. Before Syn could respond Rangar ushered him through the curtain. He entered a small room. Ragnar guided him through what Syn suspected people where he was from would call the pantry due to fact it was clearly where they stored their food. They headed towards the voices through a wide arched doorway into what could only be the ‘master’ bedroom. On top on a massive king-sized frame, lined with animal skin sat a woman with four children. Syn had to admit she was a very beautiful woman. Like Rangar she had blonde hair, it was long, thick, and sections were braided with the longest braid falling past her shoulder. As soon as they stepped into the room her attention switched to them and he could see like Ragnar she had bright blue eyes. She placed Ivar down from her arms and stood from the bed.

“Syn this is my wife and the mother of my children Lagertha” Ragnar said, and Syn instinctively gave an awkward wave and instantly regretted it. Should he have bowed? She technically is queen. He instantly began overthinking the situation. Ragnar turned to his wife. “Lagertha this is Syn Veroir the man who found our sons”.

“Thank you” Lagertha said with a gentle smile “If anything my sons have said is true I have to say I’m very impressed”. Ragnar cocked an eyebrow and glanced at Syn his curious smile returning to his face.

“Now I know my sons are safe I’m very intrigued on what happened. Syn if you don’t mind would you tell me” Ragnar asked politely.

“Of course” Syn quickly responded “King Ragnar” he quickly added.

“Please call me Ragnar” Ragnar waved away the honorifics. He then placed a hand on Syn’s back and started guiding him back into the houses main room. “You must be hungry and thirsty?”. It was almost as if his body had forgotten and just been reminded but he instantly felt as if his throat had become sandpaper and his stomach violently vibrated.

“I could definitely eat” Syn admitted. Ragnar grinned and patted him on the back He gestured for him to take a seat at the table before he headed back into the pantry. Syn walked down the steps past the firepit and took a random seat near the middle of the long table. Ragnar’s children excitedly pulled their mother into the room. From a nearby small table Ubbe grabbed wooden cups and a large jug of water and plates. He placed them in the centre on the table before quickly taking the seat next to Syn. The other 3 children sat across the table by their mother who sat directly infront of him. Syn had no idea how much she’d been told but she was eyeing him curiously in a similar way to Ragnar. Syn not knowing what to do just awkwardly stared at the tables wooden surface. Relief filled his body when he felt her gaze move behind him. He glanced behind to see Ragnar bringing in a plethora of food. With one hand he held a wooden pole over his shoulder with many raw chickens impaled along it. On the end of the pole were strings of fish and in Ragnars other arm was a basket of bread. Ragnar began setting the meat over the firepit and Syn turned his attention back to the table. Lagertha was filling her children’s cups up with water when she glanced at Syn.

“Water?” she asked. Syn nodded and she filled one of the cups up with water and then placed it in front of him.

“Thank you” he said before grabbing hold the cup and taking. a sip. The water was thankfully ice cold and before he knew it he drank the entire cup. The table shook as Ragnar took a seat beside Syn and emptying the breadbasket onto a large plate.

“The meat will be a little while” he told them “plenty of time for us to talk”. He tore apart a piece of bread and stared intensely at Syn like he was analysing every aspect of him however suddenly his gaze switched to Ubbe. “So Ubbe what happened”. Ragnar’s gaze was a strange thing it put Syn on edge. It was somehow friendly and threatening at the same time as if an apex predator decided to be your friend instead hunting you. Ubbe was clearly unfazed by his fathers gaze as he went on to excitedly explain to his father what had occurred with such enthusiasm it was like the boy was finally happy to have an adventure he could tell his father about. He told them about how a creature that looked identical to Ragnar lured Ivar into the woods and Ubbe rushed off to save his brother which clearly impressed his family. He went on to say how they ran away from the creature through the forest the monster always stalking them. When questioned on why they couldn’t escape to the village he stated the forest would constantly change and they would find themselves in parts he’d never seen before however would then strangely find themselves in parts he didn’t recognise. Eventually they made it close to the village however the creature grew more aggressive and followed them closely behind calling out to them with their fathers voice. The monster was just about to catch them when Syn arrived. Ubbe told everyone however, Syn had kicked ‘his father’ an incredible distance and how the monster had transformed into the Skinwalker which caught his family off guard however they became truly stunned when Ubbe revealed that Syn had killed the monster with his bare hands. After Ubbe finished the table remained silent, all the children were mesmerized with their brothers story and Ragnar and Lagertha stared at Syn with wide eyes.

“You killed a Skinwalker with your bare hands” Ragnar stated his voice a mixture of excitement, disbelief, and awe.

“Yes” Syn confirmed.

“A Skinwalker’s presence in those woods is worrying. They shouldn’t be straying this far, especially not one that has completely gave away its humanity” Lagertha said to Ragnar after snapping out her daze. Ragnar stared at the table while eating a piece of bread clearly gathering his thoughts.

“It is worrying” he finally said “But we won’t discuss it now. Not without the others”. He then once again stared at Syn with that curious smile. “The meat will still be a while. If you’re not tired I would love to see the ability of the man who can kill a Skinwalker unharmed”.

Syn debated Ragnars request for moment “Of course” he accepted the request. He decided through this he could try and figure out where he was, what had happened and also he could test out his own abilities. He didn’t really know why but ever since appearing here he has been feeling stronger than ever before and then there was those strange battle instincts arising inside him. If he was wanted to experiment he doubted there be a better time than a friendly spar. Or at least he hoped it would be a friendly spar.

“Can I watch father?” Ubbe asked.

A massive grin grew on Ragnars face “Of course, it’ll good experience for you. In fact all of my children should come and watch”. Ragnar clapped Syn on the back and got up from the table. Lagertha and all her children excitedly rushed after their father out the door. Syn grabbed a piece of bread and took a large bite before standing from the table.

“Great an audience” Syn mumbled trailing after them.