by Griff Hosker
I glanced at Ragnar. I knew why Gruffyd had said what he had. He wished me to give him my smallest drekar. I smiled at my grandson, “Perhaps I will come with you on your next raid then. If I think your men are worthy enough I may let you use my drekar for a share of the profits.”
My son frowned. He was too young to have gathered as much treasure as Ragnar. I had heard that few of his men had mail byrnies. Gruffyd had one because I had commissioned Bagsecg to make him one. While he ruminated I asked, “And Thorghest? How goes his war with the Hibernians?”
“He does well. Hrolf the Horseman now has jarls who serve him. Some of his warriors came and fought for Thorghest. And you have a granddaughter, Brigid.”
“Her mother will be pleased. It is a shame that she could not have sent us word.”
“Aye but they have much to do in that land of wild men.”
Gruffyd suddenly said, “I would raid Om Walum.”
“With one drekar?”
“No, Ragnar. I would take as many as wish to go. King Egbert thinks that he has captured that land and not paid a price for it. I would bloody his nose.”
“You would not retake it?”
He shook his head, “I am not a fool, father. The land is rocky and, save for tin and ore has little to commend it. This is a better land. But I know that I cannot lead such a raid. I have not the experience.” He looked at me.
I said, “Gruffyd, I told Ragnar last year that I would hand over the clan to him. He showed me, when we rescued the King, that he can lead the clan. Ask Ragnar.”
My grandson had grown in stature since his sons were born. He had an inner strength which his father, Wolf Killer, never did. He did not speak straight away. He considered. I saw him pretending to look for signs of truculence or immaturity. Then he raised his eyes and said, “And where would you raid? We emptied Tintaieol.”
Gruffyd must have thought long and hard about this. He had an answer. He said, emphatically, “Karrek Loos yn Koos has a monastery. The Christians worship someone called the Archangel Michael there. It is an island for part of the day, when the tide is in. At low tide, a man can sometimes walk from the land to the island if he does not mind getting his feet wet. Many people visit the island and leave offerings. Ebrel says it is rich.”
“And how does she feel about Vikings raiding it?”
“King Egbert gave it a large sum of gold when he conquered her father’s land. The priests and monks there soon forgot her father. She would have them punished. One day I may go back and take Ebrel’s land back for her. For now, a raid will suffice.”
I looked at Ragnar who nodded. He said, “It seems that you have thought this out. Are there warriors close by?”
“There is a Saxon burh at Pennsans. They have a thegn and warriors. There is another church and chapel there. It, too, is rich.”
“Then I will consider it. Now did we come here to talk or to hunt?”
My days of trying to impress my men with my skills as a hunter were long gone and I was content to keep my bow ready should it be needed. Úlfarr just stayed close to me. My son and grandson did compete. I think they were trying to impress me. I was just grateful that it seemed good natured. It was a good hunt. We killed two boars and eight deer. Úlfarr enjoyed the guts that were spilled in the kill. We would eat well. All the way back and during the feast my mind was busy planning. It would be Ragnar and Gruffyd’s raid but I knew they would need the knowledge I had gained from over fifty years of wielding a sword.
I went with Ragnar to visit with Erik Short Toe. The most senior of the warriors who captained my drekar he knew the seas and my ships better than any. “Jarl Dragonheart. You are to have more great grandchildren. The Allfather smiles on you.”
I nodded, “Aye he does and I am grateful.” As I said the words I kept my hand on the pommel of my sword. “We raid Om Walum; the southern coast.”
He looked up. “Then we risk Syllingar.”
We had avoided the island where we had fallen foul of the witch. This time we would have no choice but to sail close to those waters where a ship could be drawn into a circle of magic no matter how skilful the captain.
I nodded, “We will take Aiden with us. A galdramenn might keep us safer.” This time I had a hand on my sword and one on my dragon amulet. “Are the ships all ready?”
He smiled, “By the time you have gathered enough warriors to crew them then aye. Will you need them all?”
I shook my head. “We will need but three. Which one requires the most work?” Although Bolli was the shipwright, Erik Short Toe took charge of the ships.
“‘King’s Gift’ needs her main mast replacing. She might cope with the voyage but if you risk Syllingar then I would have all of them perfect. We are preparing a new pine mast for her but I would prefer to wait for her to sail.” He knew his ships and I would trust him.
Ragnar nodded, “Then I will take ‘Odin’s Breath’ , you, grandfather, will have ‘Heart’ and Gruffyd, ‘Crow’ .” I looked at him sideways. He smiled, “I know that it appears as though we give your son what he wants and he will have no one watching over his shoulder but we put his drekar between ours. We can then see what kind of leader he is.”
Ragnar was wise. He was leading and I was pleased. His decision was the right one and my doubts were just those of a father.
Leaving Erik to his ships we walked back to the walls of Ragnar’s home. Gruffyd awaited us there. If he felt resentment at being excluded from the discussion and decision he showed no sign of it. When we reached him, Ragnar told him of his decision. This time Gruffyd could not contain his joy. He beamed!
“And who do we take with us? Einar Fair Face and I have crew enough.”
Ragnar nodded, “Erik Ironshirt will come with me. Raibeart and Sven Long Walking can sail on ‘Heart’ . I will have Erik Short Toe with me. I will need his experience.” He smiled but it was a sad and wistful smile. “The days when half the crew would have been Ulfheonar are long gone, eh grandfather?”
Sven Long Walking was a new leader amongst my men. He and his warriors had arrived from the south. They had been raiding Mercia. While ashore a storm had wrecked their drekar and they had had to fight their way north to reach us. They were hardy men and a welcome addition. Aiden had said that the gods had sent the storms to wreck their ship. They were meant to fight alongside us.
He was right. Cnut Cnutson had been lamed in the last battle. He would be my standard bearer now. He would not be needed on this voyage. That left just six Ulfheonar. Our success and our progress had been marked and measured by the graves of the ones who had fallen in battle. They stretched back through time. Now they were, for the younger warriors, the stuff of legends and a mystical memory. For me they lived in my head and in my heart. I would never forget them and I knew that they awaited me in Valhalla.
“I will send for them. They may choose not to come. Haaken, too, is a grandfather.”
Ragnar laughed, “And that guarantees that he will come! You never tire of your blood, grandfather but Haaken has had enough after five days back from a raid.”
I laughed with him, “You are right. Haaken still seeks glory. He has never changed since he stood with me on the fighting platform in Norway and we fought back to back. He could not wait to sing the song of our fight!”
I would usually be heavily involved in the planning of such a voyage and a raid but this time, after sending a message to my Ulfheonar and speaking with Aiden I spent time with Sámr and Ulla War Cry. And of course, Úlfarr who had taken to the boys as I hope he would do. Who knew how much time remained to me? I found their wooden swords and bucklers. A Viking was given a wooden sword as soon as he could stand alone. We went to the flat ground where warriors practised. There were some there as we approached and they smiled at the two tiny Vikings.
“Ignore the other warriors. In a battle, you must have eyes for your foe alone. If your eyes flicker to the side then you die!” They both nodded seriously. “Now face each other.” I looked at their
guard. Ulla was the smaller of the two and he did not have as much strength. His shield arm was down. I took his buckler from him. “Use two hands on your sword.”
Sámr said, “Then I should discard mine too.”
“No, for this is just practice. When Ulla has the same strength as you he can use his shield. Besides this is useful practice. You think that having a sword and a shield gives you an advantage over a man with just a sword?”
“Of course.”
Kneeling I took the wooden sword from Ulla. “There we are the same height.” I was aware that the other warriors had stopped their bouts to watch what this foolish old man was doing. “And I cannot move quickly. Let us see, young Sámr, if you can slay the Dragonheart.”
I saw, in his young face, that he thought it would be simple. He ran at me with sword raised and his shield before him. I watched as he brought the sword down. My hand flicked up and I blocked his blow. I used my left hand to pull forward his shield and slid my wooden sword down to his throat. “There, you are dead and I did not even have to move.” I struggled to my feet and handed the wooden sword to a grinning Ulla.
Sámr looked thoughtfully at me. “I was not expecting that!”
“If your enemy cannot move then use your speed to go around him. Your shield is a weapon. If you hit a man’s sword hand it becomes numb. If you hit him in the face then you may break his nose or, at the very least, make his eyes stream so that he cannot see.” I turned to Ulla, “And if you are smaller, as you are, then strike at your foes legs. Karl One Leg was a great warrior but when he was lamed in a fight he almost lost his life. There are more places to strike than the head or the chest. Use your mind and your quick hands.”
We spent the rest of the morning practising. There were bruises and there was blood. I knew that I would incur the wrath of Brigid if not Astrid but that was how a Viking toughened himself up. He learned to fight while he was hurting. I stopped when I saw that even Sámr was struggling to raise his wooden sword. Úlfarr looked up. He needed either food or exercise.
“Enough, you have both done well. After such a battle, a warrior needs to feast. Let us see what the women have for us!”
As we went back they questioned me closely about tricks and techniques they might use when they were old enough to raid with the men. I knew that my grandson would be pestered until he allowed them to sail with him. It would not be this voyage but soon they would sail as ship’s boys and learn what it was to go A-Viking.
Chapter 2
We headed south and west for the winds were with us. We rowed when we had to and if the gods sent us south and west then that was meant to be. Ragnar led and we followed Gruffyd. Raibeart was the captain. He was a good sailor. He had sailed a knarr for me before he had become a warrior and a jarl. Since his brother Coen’s death, he had assumed the leadership of his people. They had been there since before the Romans and, like me, had a blood link to the old people. They were the people who lived in the west. The Welsh and the people of Om Walum were, apart from Raibeart’s people, the only survivors. Haaken One Eye was in his element. There were younger warriors with whom he had never sailed. He told them the tales of our deeds and was now teaching them a chant to use as we rowed.
Raibeart smiled, “He may have grey hair and more of a paunch than he used to but Haaken One Eye talks as though he was a young man once more. I admire that in him.”
“Aye, within he is young. I know not why the Romans set such store in their mirrors. It is only when you look in one that you know you are old. If you feel as though you are young then why should you not be young?”
He pointed ahead. The sky was clear but, behind us, it was thickening with cloud. “We need to make that open sky before the storm begins. I would not risk the rocks around the isle of the Angle Sea.”
I smiled, “That would be a test for my son and his young crew.”
“They are keen but you are right. He has not experienced a storm yet. His is lucky; ‘Crow’ is a good vessel. She rides higher in the water. And we guard the rear. He has us to watch for him and Ragnar.”
I turned to Aiden. He was busily studying the map. “What think you of Gruffyd as a captain?”
Aiden did not look up, “He will learn to be a good one. All of us make mistakes when we are learning. That is how we learn. I have not dreamed his death. I have dreamed of him leading warriors. In my dream, he has a full beard.”
That was my wizard all over. I stared at the back of his head. He was enigmatic. I knew that he dreamed of the future. He had promised me that he would tell me when he had dreamed my death. I was not certain that he would. If he told me might I change my future and not die? I looked south and east to the mountain of Wyddfa.
Aiden looked up and smiled, “I would tell you if I had dreamed your death for you cannot change once the Norns have spun. I have not dreamed. This is not your time. Just as your walk along the edge of the wild to rescue Úlfarr was not your time. Your wolf has been in my dreams but I cannot see his purpose yet. Perhaps your rescue of him was the purpose. Since you have found him you have been the Dragonheart of old. The gods like you, Dragonheart. I know not why for you flaunt your mortality with all that you do. When others would sit at home and bounce Sámr and Ulla War Cry upon their knee you tempt the Norns and raid the holy men of the Saxons and the Franks.”
“The Franks?”
He nodded. “Karrek Loos yn Koos is their island too. They have another close to the land where Hrolf the Horsemen now lives.”
“How do you know?”
“I speak with the captains when they return with their cargo. That is how I make the maps better each time you use them.”
“And why do you come, Aiden the Galdramenn? What is your excuse?”
His face was deadly serious, “Do you not know yet? The gods sent me to watch over you. Your warriors can protect you in battle but I see in the dark places where men fear to go.” He lifted the map. “Come, enough talk. You need to know that which we seek.” He traced our route and pointed out where the dangers might lie. I saw that we would have to pass the castle from which we had rescued Ebrel’s father. I had come close to death that day. “As you can see, Jarl Dragonheart, there is no great distance between the two churches. The question remains, which one should we attack first?”
I knew that he had worked that out already.
“That will be Ragnar’s decision.”
“And he will be guided by you.”
I looked again. Pennsans would obviously have the warriors; it was a burh. That meant it had a wall and a ditch. It had a thegn and warriors to guards its walls but the island would have the treasure. “Pennsans first. The churchmen cannot empty their church quickly. If we attack in the evening then the men on Karrek Loos yn Koos will have no idea that we have raided. We could approach the island during the day.”
He nodded, “That is what Ragnar said too. It is good that your minds are in tune.”
“This was a test?”
“I was just making sure that your mind was still working as well as ever. I am satisfied.” My wizard grew more infuriating as he grew older. I preferred it when he had deferred to me. Since he had married my daughter and become a father he was different.
Raibeart disguised a smile by shouting at one of the ship’s boys to tighten a stay. As soon as we sighted the coast of Hibernia we followed Erik Short Toe’s course and tacked to head south and east. We would pass the isle of the Angle Sea. We would be safely to steerboard of that rocky grave of many fine ships. We had sea room to the west of us. There the sea rolled away to the end of the world. The rain began to fall as the storm caught up with us. Although we were not travelling as quickly, we were still moving well.
“Rig the spare canvas!”
Raibeart’s boys lifted some of the decking and took out an old and slightly torn sail. They tied it to the sheerstrakes on both sides of the drekar and to the mast fish. I did not stand upon ceremony but scurried beneath it, along with Aiden, as soon as it was up
. The rain was coming from aft and so we were sheltered. I chose a place where there was no hole and I was dry.
Haaken One Eye joined me, “So, Jarl Dragonheart, you have adopted a wild wolf?”
“Úlfarr is not wild.”
Haaken laughed, “A wolf that is not wild? You never cease to amaze me. Surely there is a tale there.”
Aiden chuckled and said, “Of course there is a tail. It is a wolf!”
I warned, “Do not try to use words to defeat Haaken. His tongue is as sharp as your mind, wizard.”
“Aye I know and unlike my mind he never knows when to turn it off!” He lay down. “I shall sleep. I have heard all of Haaken’s tales. As I know the truth of the tales and not the stories Haaken tells I will sleep.”
Haaken was not put out. He had known Aiden as long as I had. “It is true then, you let Ragnar lead. This will be his clan?”
“He is ready.”
“He is but you wield the sword. Men will still look to you.”
I had been afraid of that myself. In the heat of a battle with enemies pressing around and blood flowing warriors sought the security of the sword which was touched by the gods. They believed its protection would extend to them. It made them fight better. Would they look to me rather than Ragnar at some crucial stage of a fight? “Perhaps I am ready to pass the sword to another.”
For the first time in a long time Haaken looked surprised, “Truly? You could not hand over the sword to another. The gods chose you when Thor sent his lightning. It strengthened the sword and did not harm you. You would give up Ragnar’s Spirit?”
“Haaken have you not thought of the name. Who should wield the sword after me but Ragnar. It is meant to be.” My other Ulfheonar had joined us and they listened as we spoke. “But I do not think I will give it up just yet.” I waved a hand aft. “This storm is what we can expect in the Land of the Wolf. We think we are at peace. We have children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and then, suddenly, a wind comes in and disrupts our lives. We have had good harvests for many years and neither disease nor pestilence have blighted our land. That may not last and when our world is struck then we fight back. Saving Úlfarr seems to me a sign. The Land of the Wolf; that is where we live. I saved a wolf. I cannot divine all of the meaning but I now have purpose again. The sword will remain in my hand.”