Flying through the skies, moving so fast that no one in the sentry towers overlapping the city could observe him, the flying man easily controlled his speed's impact on his environment, passing through the Barrier that protected Oslo, the Capital of Norland. The being arrived in the biggest and largest building in the capital's center. It was a palace that covered 49 acres of land, filled with a garden that surrounded it in a circle, with a lake and a courtyard where people could be seen training. The Palace had everything from a hospital center to hundreds of semi-apartment divided into dozens of pavilions. Many stores and buildings were filled with so many resources and goods important for cultivation. The Palace was like its own self-sufficient village. Landing in the courtyard, where the royal guards were patrolling, the King of Norland arrived. The Royal guards, elite Viking warriors personally chosen by King Sigurd upon taking the throne centuries ago bowed to him. The King nodded at them as he continued his walk towards the inside of the palace. King Sigurd was a tall, six feet, seven inches mighty Norseman, with golden hair and a beard that covered most of his face, traces of golden script markings could be seen across his neck. An aura of power and majesty flowed off him as he passed through the court attendants who bowed for him, the pressure of his will alone was enough to make them bow without them even making a conscious effort. As he walked to the council room, pushing the door open, he could already sense the tense atmosphere that was in it. But King Sigurd made no effort to pay attention to it. The Royal herald announced the arrival of the King making the Elders of the council rise. Among the Elders were Prince Magnus, the King's younger brother, Prince Harbard, his firstborn son, and Princess Ingrid, his middle child. These individuals turned to stare at each other as they knew where the King was coming from. King Sigurd slowly and intimidatingly walked up to the front of the Great square table where the councils were standing. King Sigurd glanced around the room, his one golden eyes and other sky blue eyes scanned the room before he took a seat. As he did so, Prince Magnus and his nephew and niece followed suit. And then it was the Elders' turn to sit down. After a couple of silence pervaded the room, Prince Magnus cleared his throat.
"How was Kattegat," Prince Magnus said. "Bestla did well clearing the Rune Walkers this fall season," The Elders waited for the King to respond to his brother's question, a question that they wanted an answer to also.
"Last I checked, it looked good," King Sigurd said with a smile. "So what's the situation," Everyone in the room grew tense as the atmosphere in it changed. One of the Elders in charge of the Intelligence division of Norland began to address the King.
"It seems the tribes folks of Faroe Island are beginning to move," Elder Orm reported.
"Hmm, are they getting ready for their annual raiding games," said one of the Elders with a smirk. Raiding was once a huge part of the Norse lifestyle, but that was long ago before the desolation of Midgard. Now in this new world of theirs, with Frodi's peace active, things like raiding and pillaging were not in the kingdom's best interest. They had everything they needed in the continent and did not need resources. The same could not be said for the Islands around the Western region of the continent. The Faroe island continued the tradition of raiding and pillaging, using their boats to cross the sea to reach Scandinavia land to perform their tradition. At first, it was a monthly occurrence, with villages by the coast of the continent being attacked. It was only when one of the three Islands made the mistake of attacking Kattegat, that King Sigurd sent a small elite team of Vikings led by his Wife, the late Thrud Lothbrok, to the island and sent a message of dominance and might. After that, Faroe Island's raids slowed down to once or twice a year. It became something for the mainlanders to laugh about.
"It's not that,' Elder Orm said. "There was an envoy from the Kingdom of Denland."
"An envoy," Prince Harbard said. "What was an envoy of Denland doing in the Western region," King Sigurd was surprised by the information. He had focused most of his attention on Kattegat and observing his grandson, so he had missed some events happening in his neighboring Kingdom. Luckily for him, the Intelligence Division he had set up was able to remedy the situation. But still, King Sigurd concentrated his essence on his eyes, and when he opened his left eye, the blue eye was gone, replaced by a golden color with a black marking that resembled a snake eating its tail. This feature of the King was the reason behind the name that had been given to him, Snake in the Eye, and it was the source behind King Sigurd's power that he had accumulated over the centuries. The rest of the members of the council watched as the King displayed one of his mighty abilities. Orm sighed knowing full well the capabilities of that eye when it came to gathering intelligence. Most Intelligent agents of Norland were required to possess a Runic visual power but none was as powerful as the one possessed by the King. It was a Divine power that granted one an omniscient aspect.
"Looks like she's still there," King Sigurd said. "Interesting. I wonder what King Horik is playing at,"
"What should we do," Prince Magnus asked. "Should we intervene?"
"What for?" King Sigurd said. "Denland is free to do business with the Faroe Islands."
"But...."
"Enough! As long as King Horik honors Frodi's peace, we will not intervene in any business he has with the Island," King Sigurd said. Prince Magnus kept quiet, not saying anything else. His brother was obsessed with maintaining the decree of the Sage, Frodi. "Any other concerns I should know about since my absences." None of the elders said anything.
"Good!" King Sigurd stood up, showing that the meeting was over. The others followed and bowed as he walked away, leaving the council room.
****
-Two years later-
"Why does it have to be in the Capital," Ragna's voice carried to Aksel and Bestla in the front of the carriage that they were inside. Seating on the opposite end of the carriage from his parents was Ragna. In the two years that had passed, he had grown taller, reaching six inches, and his golden hair had grown longer, reaching his shoulders. He had lost most of his baby fat and looked more like he was in his late teens. The humans of this world developed a lot faster than the humans from his former world. Ragna had not been a human in his previous life, so he had been surprised at the state of his development being so different from the humans he had observed for millennia. Still, Ragna was grateful for the process. He did not have to be a child for a long time. Now he had reached the age of ten, the age one reached adulthood in this world. And it was for this very reason that they were in the carriage, traveling to the capital of Norland. For the coming of age ceremony where those who wanted to become a Viking would finally get the chance to awaken their core. Ragna was questioning why they had to go to the Capital for such a thing. He would have preferred if they could perform the ceremony in Kattegat.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"You'll find out why when your ceremony starts," Bestla said with a sigh. Aksel's hands went to Bestla's side, her stomach showing a huge bump to it. Although her situation was delicate, and any normal person would have stayed at home when their due date was so close, Bestla had decided that she would come with her family and have her second child in the capital. Ragna stared at his Mother's stomach and frowned. He was wary of having siblings due to his experience and he was concerned for his mother. He knew she was strong, but in the end, pregnancy was always a period of weakness for a woman, especially if she was a Cultivator. Most of their energy was expended on nourishing and protecting the child. His Mother's case seemed to be especially different. Bestla rubbed her stomach, feeling a connection with the life that was within her womb. Like was the case for Ragna, Bestla had developed some kind of bond with her child that allowed her to feel whatever the child was feeling. However, in Ragna's case, the bond was a lot stronger due to him being a Reincarnator.
"This reminds me of when I had you," Bestla said.
"I still don't see why we had to travel," Ragna said worried about his mother. Bestla could sense Ragna's anxiety and concern for her well-being.
"I'm not going to miss my son becoming a man," Bestla said.
"Besides your grandfather wants us all in the capital for the birth," Aksel said. His Grandfather, huh? Ragna had heard lots of stories about the King of Norland. King Sigurd-Snake in the eye. He couldn't understand what kind of nickname that was. He was the one to unite the warring tribes and form the first civilized Kingdom after the desolation. Following his actions, other tribes across the continent had done the same, uniting together to create their own Kingdom. For example, the Kingdom of Denland was formed by the Fairhair royal family in response to the perceived threat of the Lothbrok family. Ragna was glad for his grandfather's action in achieving peace. He did not like the idea of living in an age of war and ruin. he had done that before and did not care to go through it again. The journey to Oslo took weeks to reach, and during that journey, Ragna had been meditating, refining his mental power and sharpening it. From what he had learned, the Capital was different from Kattegat, the Vikings being the elite of the elite. Only the talented and the genius was stationed in the Capital, to protect the aristocrats and important stations. When their carriages arrived at the gates of Oslo, Ragna pulled his head out of the window of his carriage. The gates loomed large before him, the black gates engraved with runes of various tiers and levels. He recognized some as a kind of protection enchantment that protected the city. Standing on the top of the gates were seven-foot Vikings in black metal armor. Their helmets resembled the skulls of various beasts. As their carriage got closer, Ragna saw the traffic that was happening in front. Every ten-year-old had come to the capital for their awakening, eager to become a Viking. Behind his family's carriage was one belonging to Torvi and Ander's family carriage. Other Carriages from Kattegat were also behind them. Ragna pulled his head back inside while his internal senses were projected outside the carriage scanning the city. As soon as they came close, their carriage began to draw itself away from the rest towards an entrance that was meant for the royal family and aristocrats. The warrior stationed by this entrance scanned the carriage and the rider of the Carriage who had an insignia showing who he was. Recognizing who was inside the carriage, the warrior nodded and let them through the checkpoint without much inspection.
The city of Oslo was magnificent, divided into three wards determined by one's social status in Norse society. There was the Ward of Common filed with the commoners, those who were low class and of lower status. The buildings were made of wood, special wood that was strong and hard. Children were playing around, and the elders were on their porches or stairs enjoying the late afternoon sun. And then there was the Ward of Business, the entire district full of merchant stores that dealt in goods and services such as Weapons and Armor stores, herbs, pills, and food. There were more stores selling crops and herbs due to the nature of Norway being an agricultural-based economy. The third ward was the Ward of Residence, a metropolitan district. Ragna was shocked to see the level of advancement that the capital had. Though it had been nine centuries since the Desolation, it seems that the Kingdom was growing very rapidly, reaching new heights in advancement. However, it would take a long time before it could reach the level that the Norse civilization once had. Various carriages drove around on the road, and people in coats and hats walked on the sidewalk. The road which Ragna and his family were driving through was a special path designed for the personal use of the Royals so they did not get to be stuck in the traffic that was happening. The Capital was full of lots of people who came from outside the capital for the Midsummer celebration and also the coming-of-age ceremony. Their carriage arrived in front of a large round gate that took up a lot of land. The guards by the gates saw the Royal flag on the carriage and the insignia the driver wielded, and signaled for the gates to open. The Palace had four entrances, North, West, East, and South. They were passing through the southern entrance, into what looked like a mini city that looked like a suburb with its own business stores and residential district. The carriage finally arrived at a large, tall building with a garden and courtyard in front of it. Ragna was glad that they finally reached their destination. Bestla was also glad as she wanted to lie down. Being pregnant and traveling at the same time was not a good combination. They got out of the carriage where a lady in a green gown was waiting for them. She was fair skin with golden hair and blue eyes, bearing some resemblance with Bestla, and very tall.
"Sister!" Bestla called out. Princess Ingrid, the middle-born child of King Sigurd smiled upon seeing her baby sister. She hadn't seen her in a long time, so she was glad that she had been able to make it.
"Father wanted to bring everyone out for his dear daughter but I had to push back on that knowing full well how you wouldn't like it," Princess Ingrid said as she walked down the stairs to her sister. She hugged Bestla gently, aware of her situation. She turned to Aksel who gave her a bow.
"Princess," He said.
"Aksel, so nice to see you again," Princess Ingrid said. And then she turned her attention to the boy by Bestla's side. The boy was tall, with light brown skin that looked like he had been tanned by the sun. He had golden hair that touched his shoulders and blue eyes like hers. Princess Ingrid was struck by the appearance of her nephew. This was her first time seeing him, and he looked nothing like how she imagined. It was fair to say that Princess Ingrid didn't know who Ragna's father was or how Bestla got pregnant in the first place, so her surprise at Ragna's appearance was reasonable. "And who is this?"
"Ragna, this is my sister, the Princess Ingrid of the House of Lothbrok," Bestla said to her son. "Ingrid, this is-"
"My Nephew," Princess Ingrid said grabbing Ragna and giving him a bear hug. Princess Ingrid was a Viking, as such she was taller and stronger, her muscles hard and sturdy as she crushed Ragna on her bosom. Ragna couldn't believe the strength she possessed as he fought to breathe. "I'm so glad to finally meet my nephew."