A few minutes of idle sitting later Einar could hear the sound of the shear snipping beside his ears as they cut off a braided lock of hair from both sides of his face.

“It is done,” the woman said as she sealed the end of the tied locks with what he believed to be bone glue. “You will receive these tomorrow morning when the glue has dried. For now, you should go and enjoy your last night here.”

“Thank you.” The seeker said before leaving, barely making a few steps outside before Kari grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away while handing him a drinking horn.

This was followed by some dancing and revelry, good food and another horn’s worth of something sweet before his mind began to turn hazy. Kari was beside him the whole time, finally gathering up her courage to drag him away after the second horn got emptied. The two walked beneath the starry sky, Einar carrying the young woman in his arms halfway through their short journey after she asked for it, saying that her legs hurt.

Somewhere during their walk, the two began to kiss each other, the night turning hazier as they reached a building shrouded in darkness. The girl led him into a room while they kept pulling off each other’s clothes, losing all restraint. By the time they were naked, the giant had lost all control over his thirst for Kari as a lustful haze took over his mind.

Einar woke up groggily, lying in a foreign bed, in an unfamiliar room. Alone. Kari was nowhere to be seen, only a lock of braided hair remained behind, nestled into his right palm, its colour making it obvious to whom it belonged to. The young giant slowly got up from the bed, pulling on his clothes and armour before quietly leaving what turned out to be one of the long houses meant for any guests visiting their island.

Most of the doors of the other rooms were still closed with either slight snoring or moaning coming from behind them. Einar felt awkward as he left, the sun still some time away from showing itself in the sky. When he finally got home, he found his father sitting beside the fireplace with a knowing smile on his face.

“It seems you’ve had an eventful night.” Björn said, waving him closer so that the lad could sit down.

“I… I don’t know.” He remarked, his father looking at him surprised.

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t really remember.” Einar said with a puzzled look on his face.

The memories of the previous night were hazy at best, broken glimpses at moments of pleasure mixed with images that made his ears turn red. He could faintly recall Kari’s sweet voice as she moaned, the feel of her silky skin, her shapely chest. The youth knew what they had done, but barely understood how or why and it frustrated him.

“It’s not your fault.” His father said with a calm tone.

“I don’t understand. I only drank two horn’s worth.”

“Forget about it for now,” Björn said. “Later, when you’re on the ship and you don’t even see our island any more, ask Thorwald about it. Not before.”

“I...”

“Not before that. Understood?”

“Yes”. Einar nodded before letting out a deep and frustrated breath.

“Good. Your mother had prepared some supplies for the journey. I doubt you’ll have a problem carrying them, given your bottomless pouch.”

Saying that, the man pointed toward the pantry where a small pile of food awaited the young giant. There was some cheese, smoked fish and sausage along with a basket of apples piled up there, enough for five or six days if he rationed it well.

“Where’s mother?” He asked while packing away the food.

“She went to get some fresh bread.”

“Did she manage to finally calm down?”

“Mostly, but you know what she’s like. She will always worry.”

“Who will worry?” A soft voice asked as Astrid walked in, trying not to make too much noise.

“You.” Björn explained as the woman placed a basket on the table, pulling several loaves of fresh bread from it.

“There’s nothing shameful about worrying for one’s children,” the woman stated as she handed two loaves of bread to Einar, his world eater pouch swallowing them without a hint of trouble. “It’s part of being a parent. Anyway. Are you ready?”

“I don’t know,” Einar answered with his gaze turned toward the windows where he could see the first rays of the morning sun appear. “But it’s not like I have much of a choice.”

“Don’t worry, lad. Everything will be fine.” His father claimed while his mother went to wake up the younger children so that they could say goodbye to their brother.

The Arnessen family had a large parting breakfast together, the younger siblings practically hanging on their brother, not wanting to let him go. When the time came, Björn stood up and headed toward the door. “Alright, everyone. It’s time to go.”

“Are you sure you put away everything you want to bring along?” Astrid asked for the fifth time, Einar giving her a reassuring nod as the family ladder home and followed the path down to the pier.

Thorwald’s vessel easily dwarfed Gunnar’s prized raiding ship, making it hard to miss for anyone. As they neared it, they found a large crowd already gathering in front of the ship, some of Helga’s helpers from the previous day walking about to hand out braided locks of hair to their rightful owners. When they reached the Arnessen family, one of them handed Astrid a bright red braid before trying to leave.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“What about the other one?” Einar asked, the woman stopping momentarily to look at him with a pitying expression.

“We had already given it to young Kari earlier.”

“Kari,” the young giant muttered. “Is she here too?”

“She was,” the woman sighed. “But she claimed that she had already said her goodbyes to you and didn’t want to watch you leave as it would have been too painful for her.”

“I... I see. Thank you.” He nodded with a sour mood as his mother patted him on the back.

“Don’t worry. We’ll take care of her.” She promised, her words making Einar raise an eyebrow but a loud voice cut into their conversation.

“Alright, folks,” Thorwald yelled from his ship. “Say goodbye to your kin and let us sail out while the wind still favours us.”

“This is it,” Björn said with a sigh as he gave a bear hug to his son. “Take care of yourself and remember what I’ve said before. Don’t worry about us. I’ll keep your mother and the little ones safe.”

“I know you will, father.” Einar nodded before his mother hugged him as well.

“Don’t forget about what I’ve told you either,” Astrid said with tears flowing from her eyes. “Whatever you find on those islands, you better conquer it. You’re meant to be greater than any Arnessen before you, so you must stay alive to be able to tell us the tales of your journey!”

“I will.” He promised, wiping away her tears.

“Please don’t go, big brother!” His little sister pleaded as he crouched down to hug her and his little brother, both of them crying as they hugged him as if their lives depended on it.

“I will only be away for a couple of weeks. You’ll barely notice it and I’ll be back.” He forced himself to lie, almost choking on his words as he realised that it might take months if not more before he could return.

“But...”

“Alright, you two,” Astrid pulled them off of him, hugging them. “Let your brother go before they leave him here. As for you. Go on before they cry their eyes out.”

Einar gave his parents a final nod before turning around and walking away, jumping aboard the ship.

“Took you long enough,” Thorwald remarked from the side. “I was starting to worry that I’d have to send people to pry you out of your mother’s arms.”

“Dumb crybaby.” One of the twins sniggered from their left side, both of them taking back a few steps as Thorwald looked at them with a rueful gaze.

“Ulf,” the king’s seeker yelled toward the helmsman. “Cut her loose!”

“Yes, sir!” The man replied as the sailors pulled back the ropes that tied the ship to the docks, while also lowering the sail so that they could catch the early morning wind.

The ship began to move after a slight shake ran through its spine, everyone settling down as they left the port. Einar spent the next quarter of an hour staring back at his homeland, watching it as it became smaller and smaller. A while later he let out a sigh and sat down beside the railing at the stern of the ship. After hours of sailing, Einar finally cleared his mind enough to do as he promised. Thorwald sent away the sailor he was talking with when he noticed the young giant approaching, his brows creasing at the sight of the youth’s conflicted expression.

“What’s wrong,” he asked. “Homesick already?” “I want to ask you something,” Einar said as the two turned toward the sea, grabbing onto the railing of the ship. “Something’s been bothering me since I woke up, but Father told me to only ask you after we were far enough to not even see my home.”

“Sounds like Björn decided to dump something bad in my neck,” Thorwald sighed. “Out with it.”

“Last night, Kari and I,” he began with a slightly awkward tone. “We... you know.”

“You slept with her,” the man nodded sagely. “So? Was it that bad?”

“No,” Einar replied immediately. “I mean... I don’t think so. It’s... I don’t remember pretty much anything, despite only having two horns' worth of ale. I drank before and I was fine even after a dozen tankards but...”

“And your father didn’t tell you why,” the man rolled his eyes. “Figures he would leave explaining this mess to me. All right, listen well. You will most likely never get to go back to Bear-rock Island.”

“What?” The young giant asked back with the railing almost cracking beneath his grasp.“This journey to the Torn Serpent Isles is a one-way trip. I don’t know everything, but I do know that the ring of storms will only lessen until the God-marked reach the isles. After that, it will reform to lock you in and everyone else out.”

“But then... my family.”

“They know. Helga secretly visited every family with a God-marked to talk with them. They were told that they would likely never see you again.”

“Why?” Einar asked with a steadily darkening tone. “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this? If I knew...”

“Nothing would have changed if you knew,” the older seeker stated. “You would still have to answer the call and it would have only made saying goodbye more bitter. This way at least you could leave with your head held high. As for that girl, she was part of your last ritual.”

Seeing the young giant’s clueless expression, Thorwald let out a deep sigh before trying to explain it. “Often when the High King calls upon warriors from the different aisles for a raid or a war, they hold a farewell ritual to make sure that the warriors leave their blood behind. Otherwise, their bloodline might die out with them.”

“Hold on,” Einar growled as the railing cracked beneath his grip this time. “You’re telling me that Kari...”

“Helga asked every family with a God-marked man if the lad had someone they fancied. Your family must have named this... Kari as your sweetheart. After that, she must have volunteered to bear your child when Helga asked her. Those two horns' worth of drink you received were part of the ritual, both of you drinking some to make sure that she would be able to bear your blood. That’s why you don’t remember. It’s a side effect of the brew.”

“Why?” he muttered in a weak, almost silent voice as a teardrop broke free from his eyes. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

“I believe it was too painful for her,” Thorwald patted him on the back. “Seeing one’s beloved sail away, knowing that they will never return is not an easy thing to do. We men always sail out to seek fame and fortune, trying not to think about whom we live behind if we fail. I’m sorry they decided for you, but I too believe it was the right one.”

As he said that, Thorwald looked down at the hay-coloured braid the youth was holding.

“Never forget your home or your loved ones. Never forget Kari either,” the man said as he left. “But don’t let them hold you back either. Let them fade into a pleasant memory you can think of when drinking or staring into the campfire. Otherwise, they will only weigh you down. Your life on Bear-rock Island is over. Today marks the first day of your new life. Try to make it a long one.”

It was a shitty advice in Einar’s opinion, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense, even if he hated to admit it. He recalled his parents’ words as they said their goodbyes, trying their best to hide that it was a final one. No. Einar refused to accept that. He would conquer whatever he’d find on those islands, then return home. Or die trying. Dozens of thoughts run across his mind, all of them vying for his attention.

The young giant couldn’t let it go on like that. Even if he had a chance to one day return, he had to survive to do that. He had to get stronger. Looking around, Einar noticed some extra ropes lying about, most likely used to moor the ship when they reached a port. He slowly picked up a small pile of it to test if it was sturdy enough before tying one end of it around his waist and the other one to the back of the ship.

“Hey lad, what are you doing?” One of the sailors asked as Einar took a few steps forward and leapt out of the ship.

“Captain!” The sailor yelled as he and many others watched the young giant drift away.

Thorwald hurried back with the others, only to see Einar as he began to swim after their ship like a madman.