There was an entirely new life waiting for Silas at Hedderik. And a lot of terrible discoveries as well. For starters, the rumors proved to be true, and Skegge wasn't Silas' father. Bjorn was.

He told it Silas himself shortly after the boys' arrival at the palace. A curious conversation they had that day:

"So, this means Bil is my...", said Silas, aghast.

"Well, northerners would call you half-brothers, but I urge you too see all of your siblings as brothers and sisters. And no matter what happened between you two, know, that Billem will always be on your side, always".

Silas doubted it to say the least, but being not exactly in the position to argue, nodded. Then Bjorn proceeded to give the explanations of what happened to Silas and why it was imperative that he stays away from humans for now.

Well, it wouldn't be that hard considering no northerner will ever let me on his doorstep, Silas said to himself. He fought tears though, for that meant he might never see his mother again.

"Does she hate me now?", he asked as if Bjorn could know the answer to that.

"Don't try to see her again, Si", he only repeated. "Promise me".

Silas did.

After that they spoke for a while, until Bjorn decided it was time to leave.

"Why don't you rest for now, son?", Bjorn said as he headed for the door. Silas still had so many questions, but at the same time felt exhausted and weak.

"Wait!", Silas said in a trembling voice, instantly starting to doubt whether he sould proceed. But braced himself and continued:

"What will happen of me now?", meaning it.

And what a relief it was to learn that father wasn't mad and had no plans to execute him whatsoever.

It was on a cold morning only a few days after Bil had dragged him back to Hedderik, that Silas had his first real sword training. By then the boy had fully recovered, and couldn't help but to be impressed with the ability of his bjorgen body to heal. One of a many shape-shifters' talents, father explained. Alongside with excellent night vision, inhuman strength and speed, and, oh, longevity. But do not rely only on your bestial gift, for our enemies are viscious and cunning. And their ranks are replenished day by day". A strong hint it was indeed. And yet what father said sounded reasonable. Besides, trainings made it somewhat easier for Silas to take his mind off his sorrow.

And ever since Silas had been practicing for about two hours six times a week. He used bokken with Bersy, his younger brother, who was eight at the time, and steel with Bjorn's ward, Reig. Bil hated sword fighting, thus he never participated. What for Bjorn, he himself trained Silas only once, but that was a good traning they had.

In short, life has been going on. As it has been said, most days Silas was at the training ground, too busy to be scared or sad. And most nights he was in the great hall, listening to skalds' songs devoted to bjorgen glorious past, too drunk to feel anything at all.

One song that Silas particularly enjoyed was "Rik's hymn" and it presently sounded in the hall:

...The days of our glory will too come to pass

But fear not, my friend, for they'll sing of us

Before those who'll come after,

And before the fallen ones

For us they'll sing in the Great Halls

of the Ancient King's palace.

The voices stopped. And Silas, like everybody else around, raised his goblet to his lips and drained it at one gulp.

To the Ancient King and his folk!

In this way the time passed without event until the fourteenth day.

That gloomy morning Silas woke up feeling absolutely wretched. And a loud banging on his door didn't improve his mood.

He pretended not to hear it, but the banging hadn't stopped. It was at the exact moment when Silas was going to tell whoever was there to go away, that the door flew open and... Reig ran in.

Young Reig [https://i.imgur.com/UTVB3ON.jpg]

Of course it was Reig. That boy was two years younger than Silas, but had laready been superior to him in height. He was also by no means wanting in courage (bordered on impudence) and for some reason wanted to befriend Silas.

"Get out!" Silas turned away from the door as he barked that. He knew this will do no good, but it couldn't hurt to try.

As expected, the boy paid no attention to his request. "Tonight, during the celebration, we'll have a rare chance to loot the king's cellar! And we're not going to miss it", he declared with a huge grin.

"Well, have fun...", mumbled Silas, pretending he was unaware that we included him as well.

"Huh? You're coming with us, you prick".

"I most definitely do not".

"You must attend the wedding, you understand that, right?".

"And why is that?".

Reig sighed like a grown-up bothered by a clueless child and then started to explain: "Because it's your brother's wedding, and, if that alone is not convincing enoguht for you, that is also your future king's wedding. It's your duty as a prince to celebrate Bil and Hejrid tonight", and then added jokingly: "And my duty, prince, save you from a miserable fate of becoming sour as a mug of turned milk".

Silas shook his head, trying to contain chuckle. "Fine! I'll go, but only if you promise you'll never, ever call me price again".

With a look of intense seriousness on his face, the boy said: "You have my word...prince!".

For that Silas elbowed him in the ribs.

They spent the rest of the morning together, exploring Bjorn's palace and talking. Reig, as befits king's ward, was imparted with all sort of knowledge, and withal coundn't keep his mouth shut for long, but Silas was excited for the chance to learn more about, well, everything concerning his new home. He also secretly enjoyed Reig's company. The boy, as being said, didn't have too many friends in Kobbertrellan. Actually, he had none and those few children who paid any attention to him were bullies.

And by now Silas knew why northerners wouldn't accept him.

He asked Bjorn all manner of questions relating to that. But father never gave straight answer to any of them. Futhermore, Bjorn generally avoided the topics that interested Silas the most. For what he has got so far it seemed his parents were in love with each other and even wanted to marry. Good start, but after they'd announced their intentions, things had gone severely downhill. First, Bjorn was banned from coming to Kobbertrellan. Then, Igrid against her will, was betrothed to a swards named Skegge. Bjorn begged her to run off with him to Hedderik, but she refused, insisting that Kobbertrellan was her home and northerners were her people.

Good job, mom, Silas though bitterly.

"And the end of the story you know yourself. Igrid married Skegge, and I left her for good".

"And what about me? You knew I was your son and yet you never even visited me! Why?", Silas blurted out, both angry and hurt.

"I do not expect you to forgive me now, son. I abandoned you and there is no excuse for that. Words can't express my regrets and my shame. But please, believe if you can that I did it for your own good. At least I thought so until that day...until I've met you".

That was it, the end of their conversation.

Silas lost heart remembering all that.

"Sorry, Si,but you look terrible. Are you getting sick?", Reig's question brought Silas back to the reality. The boy looked at him, concern in his green eyes.

"Better than ever", Silas replied, but that was far from the truth. "Really, I'm fine. And what do you say to us going to the backyear now and having some good fight? "

"Can't refuse the opportunity to kick your ass".

"Or maybe I'll kick yours this time!".

"In your dreams!".

The boys had almost reached the backyard when Bil appeared out of the blue, looking menacing as usual.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!", he snarled and then added: "Father gathers everyone in the Great hall".

"But the celebration starts at dusk...", said Reig, who sounded a bit surprised.

"That's right, smartass!", Bil curled his lip in a sneer. "But it seems to me we're going to have a few more guests, for Jarl Aud came and he's escorted by dozen armed swards from a shithole village where Silas went on rampage".

"Oh", Silas managed to utter, starting to feel sick for real. Bil and Reig stared at him.

"Fine, we will go now", Reig assured. And as soon as Bil was out if sight, laid his hand upon Silas' shoulder in an attempt to cheer the boy up.

"Don't worry", he said. "These pigs can do nothing to you".

Oh, but is that really so?, Silas wanted to reply, but bit his tongue.

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Lords and ladies, warlords and kreggers, captains and sailors and many others gathered in the Great Hall to gawk at the visitors. Some of those present Silas already knew well, having dined with them every day, some he recognized by face, but most he'd never seen before. And those and others gave the boy curious glances as he strode to the daise where his father's throne was standing.

Bil was already there, arguing with Degrun, their stepmother. Silas wouldn't know what the quarrel was about.

And he had more pressing matters to pay attention to. He took his place on a daise, without speaking a word to them. And soon enough, came Bjorn.

Jarl Aud and his company at the sight of bjorgen king had risen from the benches. The guests, according to tradition, were seated at the most honorable table, and served best viands and drinks, but Silas noted that they barely touched the food. All of the swards, aside from braided beards, had awful expressions of resentment upon their faces. Resentment towards bjorgs, there was no doubt of it.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

[https://i.imgur.com/plvBYaP.jpg]

The hall was filled with noise, but as soon as Bjorn raised his hand, and called for silence, all the sounds stopped. And there was a great calm then.

"Aud Long-Armed and gallant swards! What a pleasure it is to welcome you here under my roof! But no matter how much it gladdens my heart to see you here, I cannot help but question the intentions of a man who comes unannounced yet not unarmed", Bjorn said.

"You knew perfectly well, Bjorn The Red Flame, that I would come", jarl replied. "For the reason for my sudden visit is a massacre in Kobbertrellan that was commited by your son. As the lord of those lands, I came here to seek justice"

Bjorn hesitated slightly before answering, his face unreadable: "And justice you will get, in a way that bjorgen law defines it".

He then spoke in solemn tone, adressing all present: "Common grief brings us here together. And I, on behalf of all my people, express our profound condolences to you, our northern friends. What happened indeed is a tragedy that must not be repeated. And repeat it will not, I give you my word on that, Aud the Long-Armed. As for the justice, a man price will instantly be forthcoming and I will see to it that its established amound to be multiplied by ten".

Even Silas knew that was a lo-o-o-ot of gold.

But Jarl Aud shook his head, and his gaze turned to Silas. The boy shivered. "We appreciate the generous offer, Bjorn the Red Flame, but this is in no way the justice we seek. I demand the boy to be judged by The Northern law. He is responsible not only for the deaths of fifteen people, but also for the violation of the peace agreement between us. For these crimes he deserves no less than death".

Silas never heard of any such agreement before, and had he not been too preoccupied with his catastrophically bad position, he would have realized that swards and jarls knew much more about the bjorgs than commoners did.

The kreggers stopped drinking the moment jarl Aud declined Bjorn's offer and some of them were already getting up from their seats as he went on talking. By the time he finished, there was dead silence around him. How long the hall was quiet, Silas couldn't tell, neither he noticed the exact moment a brawl started.

For what he managed to note, it was Kreggers that attacked first, but swards were eager to cross swords with them. And that was how a massive fight broke out between the northerners and the bjorgs. Many would have died had Bjorn done nothing. And at first it seemed that was what he meant to do. But presently he signalled for his own guard to intervene.

King's guard consisted of a few dozen of men...well, not just any men, but shapeshifters.

They encircled the rabble fast, claws ready and teeth bared, and they roared, and the noise of the clashing of metal against metal stopped at once. Both swards and kreggers had lowered their swords, some of them were injured, some could hardly stand but no one had died yet for the whole affair lasted only a short time.

Bjorn spoke again after a few moment of silence. And it was strange to Silas to see him looking so menacing.

"Do you mean to say my son must be executed, Aud? How dare you come to my house and demand such a thing?!".

Jarl changed in his face and kept quiet. And as Bjorn continued speaking, Silas realized his father was, by all means, the king.

"You dare to accuse me of breaking the treaty, Aud the Fool! This is an insult to me and to the people of Hedderik! And for this you shall pay with your life".

Jarl, who was tall and regal, presently hunched his shoulders. His stern face became red and he seemed a bit lost. "And If I had believed your reason has not become beclouded by drinks and grief, I would have had your head this very moment. But I can see you're suffering and my heart aches for you".

Then Bjorn continued in a mild tone: "And as your friend, I'm offering you a chance to take all those terrible words you've spoken back. What will you say to that, Aud The Long-Armed, son of Thren The Just?".

And when jarl spoke again at last, his whole demeanour changed. He no longer seemed proud, and though he still wore gold and furs, his appearance suddenly was different, unkempt. He looked old, and was talking really fast, as though any delay could cost him his life: "Bjorn the Red Flame, indeed you have spoken the truth. I admit my mind was clouded and it would be tragic if my rash words prevented us from returning to common sense. Hold no malice against me for I meant no offence to you.". Then jarl straighted up a bit, and said in what may have resembled a commanding voice. "As a token of my good will, I order my men to strow their weapons and return to their seats. And I invite you to do the same thing, o friend, and start negotiations about how the matter would be resolved".

Bjorn, seemingly pleased with jarl's answer this time, signalled to his men to retreat.

"If that is so, my friend, I forgive you for I believe peace is still possible between us.", he said. There was a wave of dissaproving whispers among those gathered and both swards and kreggers were visibly angered. But Bjorn paid no attention to that. "What happened today I call misunderstanding, an honest mistake anyone can make. I am willing to bury the hatchet and to prove it I invite all of you, gallant swards, to join in our celebration tonight. And as for you and me, old friend, we have a matter to look to that has to be resolved fairly and without a haste. I say it's best if we hold talks now, in private".

With those words, Bjorn and Aud took their leave and Silas haven't seen his father until dusk.

He himself in the confusion of the hall managed to slip out of it and escape to the backyard, that, usually busy, was deserted at the time. Silas ran into the training ground under the gaze of dozen dummies, his heart pounding, his eyes cloud with tears.

"What are you s-staring at, you stupid piece of wood?", Silas suddenly felt angry, but why he didn't know.

To let all the anger out, he punched one of the dummies in its dumb face. He didn't feel any better, but clenched both his hands into fists and started beating the shit out of it.

And only after all of wooden dummies had been hammered into splinters Silas calmed down. Exhausted and bleeding, he sat on the wet ground with his eyes closed, tears now streaming down his face.

"We-e-e-e-ell", said the voice right behind him "You've made quite a mess, you know".

It belonged to Bil, who followed Silas all the way down to the backyard and had seen his fit of rage. Silas would've been embarrased, but he couldn't care less at the moment. Presently, the boy sank down next to him, and started to talk.

"They hate us, but you already know that. But do you know that they envy us our strength and our talents? Northerners are spiteful and weak, but most of all they're humans. Damn, what I would've given to be the one who gave them a beating".

"Shut up!", Silas started to lose it again.

"No, seriously, why are you so bothered about them? Haven't they treated you like shit?", asked Bil, now eyeing Silas with interest. "And, anyway, what would you rather be a little swordsman or a mighty shapeshifter?"

"And what's so good about being a monster?"

"A monster? You're only a monster for as long as you think yourself one", then Bil waited a moment before continuing on. "You know, I had been taught from early childhood all the rules by which we live and survive. And the very first one I should've learned was not to harm the northerners... but I fucked up".

"Yes, you did!", Silas snorted.

"Oh, shut up, I'm trying to make an actual point here. And that is, it should've been me standing there and being accused of all sort of things. And... I know father is dissappointed in me for what I've done in the Copper Forest but he would have been even more dissappointed if he knew what I haven't done...".

"But you have nothing to do with what happened".

"No, that's the thing. I knew what I was doing and I did it anyway. It was me who let you go that night although I should've stopped you".

Silas sighed: "Well, you were chained...".

"I could've waken the others, and that would prevent everything. I'm the oldest, I should be the example for you, the young ones, and I should look out for you...Forgive me, Si".

Those were the words Silas did not expect to hear, but what was even worse, they sounded sincere. He pondered that for a while, but could not produce the answer at the time.

"Will father settle the matter?", he asked to change the subject.

"I think so", Bil replied.

For a moment no one said anything, but then Silas broke uncomfortable silence once again.

"You're right, they did treat me like shit. But I don't think I wanted them dead...".

"Well, they are dead and it can't be undone, so accept what had happened and move on".

It was a strange thing to say, thought Silas. Moreover, it was a very strange thing to hear. Yet the whole conversation paradoxically comforted him.

Presently a thought struck him. Silas looked at Bil and asked: "What happened that night after I passed out? I mean, how come I ended up in Hedderik?"

"Well, first of all, you didn't pass out, I knocked you out. And then brought you here, of course"

"Why haven't you just left me there to die? Seems like it would save you a lot of trouble".

Bil looked at him aghast and replied: "You mean, deliberately kill one of my own kind? You're out of your mind!"

"You didn't know I was one of your kind", said Silas and immediately realized he just uttered the dumbest thing ever.

Bil laughed: "It was quite obvious. Unless you know some other shapeshifters living nearby", Silas' face turned red. He wanted to talk about something else, but Bil smiled brightly at him as if he had just had an epiphany. "I've an idea! I can train you!", he exclaimed.

Silas became confused on hearing that: "As if you come here ever to train with us".

"Not in sword fighting, you dork. What's so useful in waving a big steel stick when you have claws! I can teach you how to shapeshift properly".

"Do you mean to say I can turn whenever I want?".

"Oh...Of course you can. The beast is not some sort of spirit that comes and goes when it pleases. It's a part of you, it's like...", he hesitated for a moment, searching for the right comparison. "...doing a trick! And once you've learned the trick, you can do it any time you want". Bil beamed at him, and his eyes started to glow. Then they became normal again, and then glowed even brighter than the first time.

Seeing this, Silas gasped: "Yes, teach me!"

"Ha! As if you had a choice. Well, it is settled then. And now, enough of all that crap. Get up off your ass and let's go celebrate my last few hours of being a free man!".

And Silas celebrated in a way no one had ever seen him celebrate ever before. He drunk, and danced, and raised the godlets to his brother and his beautiful bride. And for a little while the heavy burden pressing on his heart dissolved and he felt almost as if he hadn't been bawling like a baby a few hourse ago.

Which cannot be said about the swards, who kept their distance and didn't join in the merriment of the wedding. From time to time they would glance indignantly at the bjorgs as if reproaching them for having a good fun. Silas in turn would now and then sneak a look at Ulle, but the man, having noticed that, turned away immediately.

Well, that is it, the boy realized. Bil's right and I'm not one of them, I have never been.

And as Silas was about to get back to celebration, Ulle suddenly looked at him and there was something about his eyes that made Silas' stomach turn.

Bjorn and jarl didn't return until it was time to say the vows. And before giving his blessings to Bil's marriage, Bjorn made an announcement. "From today and til the end of times bjorgs are forbidden to set foot on the territories subjected to jarl Aud The Long-Armed. And northerners in their turn are banned from crossing the border through the Isstrem river".

"It's a fair deal", whispered Reig.

"But this means we...I mean, northerners lose the Field of the Fallen". That was a rather grandiose name for a clearing located in the depths of a forest where swards traditionally held their trials. Yes, many had fallen on their bottoms there, but still...

Reig shrugged his shoulders with disinterest. But the announcement of course caused a wave of discontent among the swards. None of them though dared to challenge their jarl openly.

The rest of the night passed splendidly, but ever since Silas briefly locked eyes with Ulle, he had felt uneasy. And late at night, taking advantage of everyone being drunk, Silas sneaked away to see his mother.

He ran as fast as only shapeshifter could and reached Kobbertrellan long before the dawn of day. But nobody was waiting for him there. All the boy found were beams and ashes at the place of what once was his home. He didn't have to rack his brains trying to guess what happened. The northerners resorted to vigilantism quite often. The law of course didn't approve that, but the tradition allowed, and tradition was all that mattered to...

These beasts!

It was now getting lighted with every passing moment, and the stars were getting fainter, but Silas still stood there looking out at the barren site. He didn't even move when he heard heavy footsteps behind him, neither he turned around to see who was approaching him for he already knew who it was.

"You swore to protect her", he said as the man drew level him. The sound of his own voice sounded strange to him. "You have sworn an oath and what did you do when it was time to keep it? You set the house on fire, is that what you did? Or were you the one who barred the door? Answer me!", he almost yelled at that point. "Oh, no, wait, I know. You did nothing, am I right? When they were out there burning my mother alive you stood still, watching, and did nothing!".

"I couldn't stop them", Bragge replied. "What one man can do against the mob that seeks revenge? It was you they wanted, of course, but you fled. And we honor tradition, and blood feud was the only way to avenge what you've done. They caught her inside, like wounded animal, and threw the torches into the house".

Silas said nothing to that, and so Bragge continued.

"You shouldn't have come here, not tonight, not ever. Had it been somebody else who spotted you, you would have already been chased by the whole village", Bragge paused then added: "Listen, Silas. Leave now, boy, and never return again. Live with your kind or, if you won't do as I say, die here for the next time they will be ready and will not hesitate to kill you".

But Silas had no intentions to leave like this. Instinctively releasing long claws, he span on his heel to face the old man. "Neither will I hesitate to tear them all apart!", Silas growled as his body started to change.

The funny thing was, he didn't feel any pain this time. Neither he lost the sense of self-awareness.

Bragge unsheathed his sword and said to Silas in a cold voice: "I will not allow that to happen! I ask for the last time, go now! Leave! I don't want to do this, don't make me do this!".

Silas was halfway through the transformation, when he remembered Bil's words. I know father is dissappointed in me for what I've done in the Copper Forest but he would have been even more dissappointed if he knew what I haven't done. Then he heard Bjorn's voice, announcing: From today and til the end of times bjorgs are forbidden to set foot on the territories subjected to jarl Aud.

I'm not one of them, I have never been, his own thoughts came back to Silas.

You're bjorg, he told himself. So be bjorg!

And with that in mind Silas, fully transformed by that point, made a leap over Bragge's head. For a brief moment it looked as if he was launching into attack but the bear landed on a patch of waste ground behind the old man, and without looking back, ran towards the woods.

Reig found him alone, some hours later, weeping. And when the boy asked Silas what had happened, he told him everything.

At that very time, in the queen's chamber, Degrun was dreaming of a golden crown being forged by the black flames and the Great Smith's hammer. Thousands of swords swinging she was seeing in the dance of flame, and deafening were the cries she was hearing in the crackle of the fire. And fear engulfed her as she watched the crown being placed on the head of a young man, a man she vaguely recognized.

His name surfaced in her mind.

Silas.

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