Chapter 1: A dangerous discovery

It is the fourth era in Herthumaar. Wulfric, leader of the warriors of Mondryne sends his squad after a tough fight back north.

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Wulfric removed his long brown hair from his face. He was sure he heard something in the distance. Carefully he stepped farther forward. He stood at the foot of a mountain and had a good view on the landscape. It was dark but the moonlight gave him a good sight on the valley. In the distance he saw a small settlement of Skalbren.  Wooden platforms  were made ​​over a small river that ran through the valley.  A small group of Skalbren stood guard and here and there stood a tent. Small fires surrounded the settlement. Suddenly he heard a hoarse cry. He saw a group of prisoners on one of the platforms.  

It looked like all prisoners came from the north, just like him. One of the Skalbren swung his sword towards the group. The harsh cries of the dying prisoners echoed in the mountain valley and their lifeless bodies fell to the ground. Wulfric felt the blood rush through his veins.

 It’ was almost two months since Wulfric traveled with forty warriors to the border of Herthumaar. The Skalbren, the creatures from the dark depths ravaged the surrounding villages and enslaved everyone in their path. Of course Wulfric and his men defeated almost all the Skalbren in that area but unfortunately there were only twenty warriors left. There was Aldir, a heavy built and strong warrior. Aldir was like a brother to him. They grew up together in Mondryne and their families knew eachother well.  Jormund, one of the other warriors, was a cousin of the king of Weldar. He was spiled and out of control. Wulfric would prefer not to speak with him, unless he had no other choice. Irdin, the young prince of Mondryne also shared their journey. Wulfric, as leader, had to make sure nothing would happend to him. Most other warriors came from poor families from Mondryne. They mostly lived in the fields outside Mondryne. 

Wulfric shiverd. He could not stand the thought of losing more of his men and the news he had to tell their parents, wives and children. 

The warriors came up beside him to take a look at the terrible scenes. 

    “dogs, we will show them the real people of Herthumaar!” Aldir said while he drew his sword from its sheath and rushed downhill toward the settlement. The rest of the warriors followed the excited Aldir who already had a strong lead.  But Wulfric would have preferred to stay. Unseen so they could continue their journey peacefully. Despite his honorable duty as warrior, he felt a weakness deep within. The innocent blood that was spilled in the many battles he had witnessed this journey made him furious and upset. He knew that he, as leader of the warriors, was never allowed to express these emotions. His face was therefore expressionless, no smile or joy was seen. Not in years. Many people considered him as fierce and merciless. His hair was unkempt and his clothes covered with blood. Many people feared him, even his own warriors. He would never give in to his weakness, though.

Now also wulfric took his sword from its sheath. He ran behind the group of warriors and thought of the many innocent lives that were ended last months. Lives that had been ended by the hands of the Skalbren, but also by him. “no more..” he whispered. 

The group of Skalbren looked surprised when the warriors arrived. They had not expected an attack from outside and were unprepared. Surprised they searched for their weapons, but for most it was too late. After a while, most platforms were blood red. The skalbren were outnumbered and easily defeated.

Wulfric focused his eyes on the dead prisoners. Some stared with frightened eyes up to the spot where the man had attacked them. Their bodies looked tortured and exhausted. Wulfric shuddered. This was not the view he wanted during his journey home. Aldir came up beside him and inspected the bodies. “great gods ...” he whispered, as he crouched beside one of the bodies. Wulfric moved closer to Aldir. 

     “What’s wrong?” He said pointing to the corpse of the man who layed at Aldir’s feet.

Aldir sighed deeply.

     “I can hardly believe it, but these people wear the sign of the Gjelaer.” 

He pushed the torn tunic of the dead man aside so Wulfric could see the scar. The scar was in a form of a symbol. It looked like a small flame that was carved below the left shoulder.

     “Are you sure Aldir? That nation is not seen in ages. Why would they leave the mountains?”

Algir mumbled something unintelligible and came back walking towards Wulfric and the others.

     “There is a legend, that the Gjelaer carry the fire of an ancient god. Kjeldrir, the high god of winter.. He lived in the mountains of the north for a while. There he sighed his last breath of life over his own created mountain kin, the Gjelaer. His soul was as powerful as a firestorm of dragons. Because of these forces the Gjelaer would not suffer easily from cold. He gave his power to the Gjelaer so they could protect his favorite place forever. He also made sure they could protect themselves, now he was gone. “ 

It took a moment before Wulfric was able to understand the story Aldir was telling.  Suddenly they heard a moan. It came from a wooden platform that was located next to the prisoners. Wulfric ran towards the sound. It came from a severely injured Skalbren. the man gasped heavily for breath while a stream of blood came from his mouth and fell on his chin. Wulfric crouched down at the man and stared into his eyes. 

      “What happened here? Who were your prisoners?” Wulfric asked with a strong voice. The wounded man tried to answer. His voice was hoarse and his body shook softly. 

      “The Gjelaer, the magicians ... We got them by accident. We wanted to take them to our leader as proof of their existence. Our leader wanted to use their magic in the war. The gjelaer refused to cooperate. So we took them by force ... “ The man stopped talking and coughed heavily the blood from his throat.

     “Why did you kill them?” Wulfric asked with frowning brows. The man wiped the blood from his mouth with his trembling hand and continued his story. 

     “Listen now. ... they use nature as a force. One of them murdered three of our strongest and best armed men. They are not like you and me... no, it’s like the old stories, warrior .. “ The man was coughing again and a while later almost choking in his own blood.

      “Kill them as they are at their weakest ... because with their strengths, they are almost unbeatable ... not even by you, young warrior ..” 

The man laughed but because of the blood he immediately coughed. This time his throat was filled with too much blood and the man stopped breathing rapidly. His head fell sideways and stared at a world that only dead could see.

      “This is not what I expected,” said Aldir to Wulfric. 

      “We’ve heard rumors just a few weeks ago, I doubt if there are many of them.” Wulfric rubbed his beard which had to long braids in it. He sighed deeply. 

      “We have to travel further as soon as possible, who knows what the situation is at home. We have to inform them.”  

The warriors agreed and tried to clean their wounds with low river water. 

     “Try to find food and useful items for our journey” Wulfric said to the others. He himself stepped into a nearby tent.

 Inside the tent stood a table with some old papers and junk. He saw a piece of bread and grabbed it. Quickly he bit a piece off but it was tough and old. He chewed it for a few seconds and then spited the bread out of his mouth. He noticed a chest beside a wood carft bed.
       This is an odd place for a chest that big. There must be something precious in it, Wulfric thought. He walked purposefully towards the chest. Before he arrived, he heard a soft thump. He was almost certain that it came from the chest. Suddenly Aldir came into the tent and walked towards Wulfric. “We have to ..” Wulfric signaled to Aldir that he had to keep quiet. He pointed his finger towards the chest. Almost silently he drew his sword from its sheath. Aldir did the same. Wulfric slowly walked closer to the chest. With his left hand he gently lifted up the lid while his other hand held up his sword. When the contents of the box was visible, he found something he had not expected.

    “Please, mercy ..” he heared a soft voice say. In the chest he saw a young woman. Her body was very wounded. Here and there where bruises visible. For as far he could see, her back was red from the blood. Old tears on her face were still visible because it had formed a track in the dirt and blood. Her almost black hair stuck in the blood of her wounds. Her skin was very white and made the blood look more red. He saw a scar in the shape of flame just above her left breast. He froze both from fear and surprise. It was the symbol of the Gjelaer. She was a one of them. He did not know what to do, murder her as soon as possible or questioning her?

Wulfric and his warriors took their task to protect people very seriously. An innocent will never be killed in their name. Of course it did happen sometimes. Especially last month’s and always when there were people around like Jormund. But warriors in Mondryne also been taught that weapons are defenseless against magic. It is better to kill an evil magician as quickly as possible, especially if the person is weak and wounded.

A few seconds Wulfric and the girl remained staring at each other. She had something in her face that begged him for mercy, and he could not go against it. There was something special about her.

              Would it be her magic that makes me feel like this? Wulfric asked himself. Aldir walked closer to Wulfric. He looked at the girl and saw the symbol of the Gjelaer almost immediately. Aldir grabbed the girl by her tunic, holding his sword against her neck, ready to cut her throat. 

    “She’s a Gjelaer, What shall we do with her?” Aldir asked while holding the girl tightly. Wulfric looked at her. Her frightened eyes were watching him. She knew her life was now in his hands. He took a little while to think but could not find the right decision. 

He heard Jormund enter the tent.

     “Oh come one! If she is a Gjelear you must kill her, Wulfric.” He said to him contemptuously. Jormund was known for his ruthless and disrespectful behavior. The warriors were also terribly annoyed by him during their long journey. It were man like Jormund who gave the warriors a bad name. Jormund dishounored many woman. He ripped children from the hands of their mothers, murdered their fathers. Despite the good intentions of the warriors to help the country, they had a bad reputation. He knew that he himself was also was guilty. He wanted every effort to accommodate to become a better man. Honorable, valiant and kind. Someone people could be proud of. Nobody, not even Jormund would be able to stop him becoming a better person. 

     “Idiot, i am the one who makes the decisions here!  We have to travel further and the Skalbren are never less than a full patrol. Why are you still here babbling?” 

Wulfric clenched his fists and his eyes sparkled with undisguised anger. 

     “Check the environment and place guards, and fast!”.

Jormund already walked away muttering but Aldir stayed in the same position, with his sword still on her throat. 

     “We must kill her, there is no other possible decision!” Aldir said to him. Wulfric felt the blood rush through his veins but his face remained calm and controlled.

     “Your anger has taken over, you bring us all in danger with this reckless behavior, remove your sword, Aldir.”

 Plagued by indecision and longing the heavy built warrior lowered his sword arm. With dejected eyes Aldir mumbled an apology. Wulfric placed his hand on Aldir’s shoulder. 

     “We are not murderers, we are warriors. Warriors with a code of honor. Never forget that.” Aldir poured himself a sigh of discouragement and he sincerely regretted that he has put his leader and friend before him. After one last look at his leader, he also rushed to the rest of the men to be aware of the situation. Left alone with the girl, he decided to find out why she was in this chest and left alive. At first glance she seemed upset and hurt but her eyes were cold from pride. He moved a little more towards her and gently touched the scar. 

     “Can you understand me?” Wulfric asked. With a short nod the girl notified that she spoke the same language as him. He saw her body and hands were tied with rope. So he knew she was also a prisoner. He thought carefully and then decided to take her with him, as a prisoner. Maybe he could find out what her kin is planning and how they will be able to defeat them. Slowly he pointed his sword at the heart of the girl. The girl widened her eyes and her pride was replaced by fear again. A tear left her face. Wulfric’s face split into a grin.

     “You’re coming with us” was all he said. Quickly he cut the rope, but left her hands tied. He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her out of the chest. He placed his sword against her neck.

     “Run and I will kill you.” 

He placed his sword back and grabbed the rope her hands were tied with. He walked her out of the tent towards the warriors who had gathered not far away. Jormund was the first to notice Wulfric. His face was fierce and he watched the girl intently.

     “Why did you bring her, Wulfric?” he said as he pointed towards the young woman. Wulfric watched Aldir, who also knew that jormund would make a problem out of this.

     “She comes with us, we might need her.” Wulfric said calmly.  Jormund’s face split into a grin.                 

     “Oh, I might certainly need her..” he said as he walked towards the girl. “But tell me, Wulfric, why we would risk our lives by taking this young woman with us? She will delay our journey and when she has her strength back she might be.. dangerous.” 

Jormund grabbed the girl’s chin and pointed it up to watch his face. He looked at her extensively.  Wulfric pulled the girl closer to him. Making her loose out of Jormunds grip. 

     “Look at her.” Wulfric said to the warriors. “She’s hurt, tortured, exhausted. I don’t think she will be dangerous. What will happened to her eventually we will decide later. For now, we need to find out why they are here. If we take her with us to Mondryne, the Gjelaer might not attack us.” 

The warriors looked at the girl, and so did Wulfric. He saw that her thick dark hair reached till over her waist, like almost all the women from the north. Her black eyes revealed the magic deep within her. Her body was trembling from the pain she had from her wounds. She had pressed her hand on the left side of her waist where a red spot was visible on her long green dress. Wulfric knew it was not a smart move  to take the girl on such a long journey. The warriors were exhausted and grumpy. He could not really afford to take care for this girl. Also, most men did not had a woman in month’s. The sight of this young girl might become a problem. He doubted the warriors would stand on his side.

Eventually the majority of warriors agreed that this girl would do no harm. Even Jormund nodded that his leader was right. Still, he pulled her by her hair and grabbed her neck. The girl released a cry and looked into Jormund face with fear.

      “You will obey us , Little witch. For I can make you beg for your death.” Jormund whispered in her ear while he enjoyed the fear the girl had for him.     

      “Let her go, Jormund, she has done you no harm.” Wulfric said controlled. Jormund grinned and eventually removed his hand . He then walked a little further towards a big forest which was seen in the distance. 

      “I suppose we are going through that?” he said, pointing his finger towards the dark spot.

Reviews

[Austin H.]

Fascinating read. As a first chapter, it serves really well to immediately let us in on the action, plus establishes character conflicts, their moral struggles, and a possible hint at the overall plot line. Plus, I love the mythology of my ancestors (my family is Swedish at its roots), and seeing new takes on old themes is exciting when people do them well, such as you just might.

[Larry Dyson]

just posted a pic for Mother earth tree..

[Chris]

Laury recommended you...and it read well!

[Larry Dyson]

wonderful beginning to the story ,all the flavour of a Norse battle scene...well played distrust in setting up the characters..I like it the "english grammer" mistakes will come out in "spell check"...enjoyable read...Laury

[SkepticState]

I love Nordic myth and culture! I love it! You have a fan in me

[Jaslin K]

A very good write. It certainly sets the mood of older times.. I don't know why, but I kept of thinking of skyrim while reading this..
It's a very strong story

[Coyote Poetry]

A powerful story. A very good beginning to this story. I like the names and the old myths being rebirth in this tale. I'm a fan of myths and old story. I enjoyed the situation and interaction of characters in the story. I hope to read more. A excellent opening chapter.
Coyote