CHAPTER 3 - A THREAT FROM THE NORTH
The early people of Tengsu were broken up into many small tribes. They were focused on providing enough food to sustain them through the long winters. While tribes would put themselves at great distances in order to have enough resources between them they would still raid each other from time to time when food was scarce.
Tengsu, A History Chapter 2.2
Ash quickly made his way back to Bjorn. His thoughts turned to Frae as he ran out of the forest. He tried to move like a Rev-Visir, keeping his head smooth through his stride making his movement as smooth as possible.
The hutshroom fields came into view before Jóss had fully risen over the horizon. Grabbing his tools and hat out of the shed and he got busy checking on the Growths. He made his way up to the first row and began checking the hard cap of the first hutshroom in the row. The smooth top of the shroom ran under his hand as he checked for any irregularities in the blooming body. The sporeseeds were finally beginning to show right on time to harvest before the coming winter.
As he busied himself with the work he failed to notice the commotion coming from the village until a group of men ran down the path near him. Ash started up to attention and noticed that the Bjorn were dressed in their battle gear hurrying north away from the village.
“Is this a Yfir raid?” Ash wondered, “the northern tribe has never attempted an attack on Bjorn so close to winter… they should be making their final preparations for the first snow if it is not already upon them…
Ash continued to mull over the situation when he recognized Syskon amongst the next clump of warriors.
“Sysk!” Ash called out as he began to set down his tools.
“Ash! Where have you been? Have you been out here working all morning? Chief Mir has called all of the Hjaldr to arms. There is a Yfir attack from the north!”
“Yfir?! Are you sure? It’s been more than a year since they’ve been seen around the village?”” Ash’s stomach turned at the thought of the attack. He should have told his father about Frae.
“This is real Ash!” Syskon replied, “Hurry back to the Hall for your armor. We will need every man!”
Ash sprinted back down the road towards Bjorn. His thoughts continued to race as he hurried back to the Hall.
“It's all my fault… If I had just told my father instead of hiding Frae. Bjorn would be safe. But if I had told my father Frae would not be safe either. We will probably be fine with defending the town. The Hjaldr have fought Yfir before… everything will be ok… it all has to be fine…
He struggled to control his breathing as thoughts of the battle took all of his focus. Gasping for air as he came into the square he took a moment to gather himself before heading into the hall. It was completely empty as all had gone out to protect the village. The men with the swords and axes and the women with the bandages and provisions. Everyone was a part of keeping Bjorn sage. Everyone except for Ash today.
He grabbed his polyplate and quickly pressed it against his chest. Ash felt the familiar cold feeling as the armor reacted to the heat from his body ready to mold to his form to protect him. He reached out for his leather helm and hurried out of the Hall. As he ran north up the path back towards the hutshroom fields the mycelial tendrils of his polyplate began spreading over his shoulders. It hardened as it grew creating a protective and lightweight shell.
After passing the hutshrooom fields he ran over the rise that guarded Bjorn to the north. The carnage that awaited him was overwhelming. Men strewn all over the battlefield. Blood stained the ground red. Ash hurried closer to help whoever he could.
The first man that Ash came up to was Mikell. He was trying to limp his way back out of the field. His left leg was gashed diagonally across his thigh deeply cut by a vicious blade. As Ash got to him his limping turned to a stumble and Ash was barely able to catch him as Mikell began to fall. Ash was barely able to support the large man’s weight. Mikell was large even for a Bjorn, his shoulders looking more like a hall door than a human. Luckily for Ash, Mikell’s legs still had some strength left and together they were able to carry Mikell out of the carnage.
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“What happened Mikell?” Ash asked.
“It was the Yfir, there were so many of them Ash… I’ve never seen them fight like that before. They were so fierce.” Mikell began to close his eyes as he finished his answer.
“Stay with me Mikell! Hrafa does not call for you yet!”
As looked around and spotted his sister near him bandaging another member of the Hjadr.
“Anna! Mikell is fading fast. Come help him.” Ash yelled out.
Anna looked to him and then to Mikell. She gave him a quick nod and finished the bandage she had been working on. She then grabbed her slingsack and rushed over to Mikell. She didn’t say a word to Ash as she pushed him to the side and began mending the slash in Mikell’s thigh.
“Whats going on Anna? Why did they attack us now? How many of them were there?”
Anna ignored his questions and continued to tend to Mikell. After a moment without looking up from her work she quietly grunted.
“Go to the Chief.. Now.”
Ash was caught off guard by her abruptness. Even in the toughest of times Anna had always been cheerful. He had never heard her speak with such intensity. He wandered away from her bewildered by the scene. Ash had helped ward off a number of raids in his time but he had never been involved in a battle such as this. The sickly smell of iron blood hung in the air along with the moans and groans coming from the men assaulted his senses. The cacophony of the battlefield along with his encounter with Anna had him lost. His mind was blurry and his body took him further into the battlefield.
After some time wandering that could have been one minute or one hour as Ash had completely lost a sense for reality his senses finally focused in on something. The green and black X that made up his father’s crest came into focus on his large greatshield. Kneeling down on the ground his normally large figure seemed so small hunched over towards the ground. Ash then noticed a great wailing coming from his father’s direction. Ash snapped back to the moment and rushed forward to his father. As he came around the side of his father he noticed why Anna and his father had been acting so off.
Syskon’s body lay in his father’s arms. The boys beloved ax was lodged deep into his chest. There was no life left in his blank eyes. Ash fell to his knees and began to cry uncontrollably. He was unable to breath between sobs as grief took over him.
Not Syskon… Not my brother… How could this happen…
He reached out to touch his brother only to have his hand grabbed by the firm grip of his Father
“Where were you boy!” Chief Mir yelled out. “How many times have I told you not to be off by yourself? You are Hjaldr. You are there for the fight when you are needed. Your brother needed you. You should have been by his side.”
Ash stared up at his father at a loss for words. He had never seen his father so passionate before. It scared him to his core. He wished he could shrink into nothing, retreat into his shell like the small skald safe from all hard. He froze up and could only look back up at the Chief.
“Well Ash! What do you have to say for yourself? What could be so important that you would abandon your duty?” Chief Mir questioned.
Ash then did the only other thing that he felt he could. He tore his hand out of his father’s grip and he ran. He ran away from his father, away from his brother, away from the questions, away from everything. His legs carried him as tears continued to stream down his face.
I should have been there… Syskon needed me.
Ash didn’t know where he was going. It didn’t matter where he was going either. He just needed to escape. Get away from the terror that lay behind him. The battle. The blood. The Chief. The questions. The death. The fear. All of it. He just ran.
Why wasn’t I ready? Why couldn’t I just have told father about Frae? I should have been there. Syskon shouldn’t have died. It should have been me… It should have been me…
Ash found himself at the edge of the forest. He continued to run into the woods letting stray branches beat against him as he ran recklessly not caring what would happen to him. Maybe he would trip over a root and strike his head against a rock and fade away into blackness. Go and join Sykon at the tree of Hrafa. The great black bird would welcome Syskon into his wings with honor. Then he would punish Ash to the depths of Hell like he deserved. Maybe then no one would ever see him again.
Ash then burst out into a familiar clearing. He heard Frae begin to bark happy again to see him. Ash walked over to the pup’s kennel and looked in at the happy face ready to greet him. He unconsciously stepped into the kennel with Frae. He let himself fall to the ground and curled his knees up to his chest continuing to sob.
Frae sniffed at Ash and began to whimper at him. He licked at Ash's hands trying to get to his face hidden behind them. He prodded at Ash with nose trying to get closer to him. Ash could not bring himself to let Frae in. He couldn’t do anything but cry.
Frae walked around Ash a couple of times, seeming trying to see how he could help the crying boy. He finally settled down behind the crook in Ash’s legs. Feeling the warmth of Frae next to him he scooted up closer to him. Tears continued to stream down his face for hours. He cried and cried until there were no more tears left.