"It will come as a surprise tom you but your father and forty other Clan Chiefs went off planet to attend a Seafood trade convention on Tyson Planet. Of course it helped that Tyson Galactic invited them with all expenses paid."
My chin dropped to my chest." Father went off planet? You had him arrested and he will hang?"
Grandfather shook his head:"No Eric. Tyson's Planet is a privatley owned world and they went there on a private charter. " He sighed. " He is not on Union what I hear he cursed and complained and did not want to go but he also did not want to stay behind while even the Elhir Chief went along. "
I did not try to hide my disapointment but then I said:"Forty Clan Chiefs gone? I wager this is the most peaceful time this planet had since the Stockholm Ark landed."
"I see you learned much from the Keepers and paid attention. I too was amazed by the collection of things they keep in the Hall of Collections from the early days."
Although I heard the Ancient talk about it once during dinner, I never saw that Hall he mentioned, as I did not see much of the Keep above the mountain. I had to be careful now and not to reveal I knew little about the structure on top of the mountain.
He then changed the subject and told me about local politics and a dispute over Free fishers versus Fish Farmers and why the Circle of Elders was upset with a 3rd born son of a little known and young clan living in Oresund, a fisher village located somewhere on the ice of the southern pole. Because that young man received a grant of 100,000 credits to develop his idea of farming flicker crabs in underwater cages.
I feigned interest and asked." Why would they be upset? Is it not the man's own business?"
"Because the young man did not ask his oldest Brother for permission and refused to share the grant with his oldest sibling who is of course the first born. The case is tricky as it involves Federal Money and stipulations so the young man cannot be simply executed for his insolent behavior."
"What are your thoughts on that, Grandfather?"
"I sympathize personally with the entrepreneurial spirit and applaud his patience and skill to get through the Grant process, but he violated the Traditions by going over the will and knowledge of his Clan leader"
Inside I was afraid Grandfather would say that and it showed me that, despite all his Cosmopolitan flair and time off planet, he was still a Neo Viking and Elder first and foremost.
He said." I recommended a solution and it was agreed upon. The Grant has been paid back from the Common Fund and I managed to get the process annulled. The young man will now deal with his Older Brother and Clan chief for whatever internal solution they find."
"In other words his dreams and his chance have been crushed and he was punished for trying to get ahead."
"No Eric, he was punished for not following our laws."
I kept still but my oppinon of my grandfather changed that moment forever. "He went out of his way to punish a man way out of proportion for trying to start his own business and seemed pleased with his own wisdom and yet he let father go off world and did not follow up on his own promisse. Corporate Planets were still within Union Space and they had to adhere to Union Laws. I knew that from Union School. Murder was a capital offense and no Company would or even could object if Union Police came to arrest a murderer. Either grandfather was less honorable when it came to his own family affairs than they said he was or he was simply blind when it came to those matters. I somehow even then understood his reason not to follow up on his own promisse. He did not want any troubles with Tyson and them chosing to take their business somewhere else. I knew that Tyson Glactic was the Ragnarsson's best customer and we sold our Tyrannos, Snappers, Nubhirs and Seaweed products to them. My respect and admiration for my Grandfather was never the same from that day onward. He claimed honor and duty came first even before his love to his daugther and me. It became evident to me that it was business and money that stood before anything!
***
Things had improved even after Grandfather was gone and father had returned from his trip two weeks later. Father ignored me for the most of the time and that in my opinion was a very good thing, besides I spend the mornings of the weekdays at School like every other kid in the Union and two afternoons every week at fight and heritage class
After school and after fight class I was now allowed go to Uncle Hogun
He operated a Guesthouse with a combined pub and restaurant right at the sea port of Halstaad Fjord he and his wife Aunt Freydis owned. Aunt Freydis also was a midwife. While this was a virtually unknown profession on most other Union worlds as Mr. Walters said, here on Nilfeheim babies came the old fashioned way and no one would even consider Arti-Wombs or anything like that. She was a very kind woman with very little to say. I was not that Uncle Hogun would not allow her to speak, Aunt Freydis had very few interests outside her Midwifing duties and there was simply nothing to ta talk about for more than 2 minutes. She did mother me in a warm simple manner whenever she was there. She took her midwife duties very serious and was always in great demand. That was why she was gone more often than not to help some woman somewhere to deliver.
Uncle Hogun was my Fathers younger brother and traditions and the Old ways were as important to him as any other Neo Viking. He was stronger and bigger than Father and conceivably one of the strongest men of our world. I was almost certain of that as I had never seen anyone taller or bigger than him.
While I was in there I had seen him arm wrestle other men and he always won with ease. Once just a week ago even against two burly warriors at once.
Once a week, the cargo floater from the exchange would deliver barrels of ale, beer and mead along with other supplies. While his helpers and the delivery men would struggle with the big and heavy barrels, he would lift them as if they were empty.
Greifen told me that other Inns often had strong men employed to keep order and to throw out those men who had too much to drink and became rowdy.
He said, that there was no one on all Nilfeheim who could get drunk enough to find the courage to cause real ruckus in Hogun's Inn.
The other day he had thrown out two strong and grown men by grabbing one at the belt and the other by the neck and transporting them outside with the same effortless ease as if he had nothing to slow him down at all. The rowdy men who had just moments ago tried to start a fight were as tame as Nubhir Wolf Puppies and did not try to fight him.
When I arrived after school he would sit down with me at one of the wooden tables, since the Inn was not very busy during that time and help me with my homework assignments. I found out he was much more educated than the let on. He would teach me about our clan's history or instruct me in his backyard how to use our traditional weapons and to throw an axe.
I had returned from the Halls of Hasvik now almost a month ago and we were well into the second year of Shortsummer. The weather was for the most part sunny and warm and we had moved into the back yard.
"Uncle Hogun," I started a question after we had thrown hand axes on a swinging "pour-a-wood" target." Why is it we Neo Vikings use such archaic weapons. I mean we live in the 50th century and I heard you could order an Energy blaster right from GalNet. I know from School Earth had much more advanced weaponry than axes and swords long before even the Galactic Ascent. Would that not make guns and blasters traditional weapons as well?"
He sat down on the wooden bench next to the back door and made a gesture toward the swinging target." You keep throwing and while you do that I will tell you!"
So I went to the target, about ten or twelve meters away and retrieved the small throwing axes, he bellowed with his mighty voice inside the house after one of the servants and ordered himself a tankard of Mead. He motioned me to throw, nodded and smiled as both axes hit true." First of all we are not Neo Vikings. That is a Term the Off- Worlders gave us after we joined the Union."
I wanted to correct him that this was actually done before we joined but I kept silent.
"We are Norse. The word Viking means noth
ing more than traveler in the old language. They would say we go Viking and that meant to go on a trip. Either to pillage or on a trip to trade wares."
He got his tankard with Mead and took a long draught then wiped his beard, belched in such a manner that I was sure Odin would be jealous, got up kicked my feet a few inches apart. "This is how I told you to stand! It gives you a better position. Throwing an axe into a wooden target is easy. If that target is a man who tries to do the same to you, that's an entire different story. However to be prepared for exactly that, is the reason for all these exercises. Don't be stiff as frozen fur in the Darkwind, relax and be light on your feet. Now go through the movements. Count with your breath to three, and get it into the rhythm of the swinging target and then throw."
"I hit it before!"
"I want you to hit it every time and all the time. No misses, no two out of three. In battle there are no second chances or do-it-over. There are no scores and points given. You hit first and you live, you don't and you're dead. That is the old way, that is Olafson tradition and that is how you will learn it from me!"
Again I threw and the axe smacked with a cracking sound into the wooden plank. He nodded again. "Now I want to see that again, hitting the same spot!"
He took the other axe and a honing stone and began to carefully sharpen the gleaming blade." As you know we originally came from a planet called Earth now better known as Terra. The original settlers that came here and took their lore and culture to this new and harsh world. Life was hard especially when they started out."
I threw the axe again and retrieved it." I know about that part, Leif Erikson gathered his people and all the worshippers of the Aseir as they were not welcome on Earth and came here to live true to the traditions and free of alien influences and all the things that made mankind soft."
He tossed me the honing stone." Sit down and take care of your axe while I answer your original question." He put his axe back in the leather bag and tied the strings." Yes Leif did that, but the nature of this world was more unforgiving and then expected and it has little to give in the long time of Longnight. Especially to a culture that rejects all modern technology. Each clan started to have their own idea just what the traditions should be and who should be allowed to live on the rocks in the Burgs and who had to live on the ice up north. When a Contact ship from Earth came a few clans banded together captured it, and with it started to pillage other colonies around this neighborhood of space. Other clans refused to use this modern technology and called the others traitors to the true spirit of Leif, who had already been long dead by that time."
He basically repeated what I had learned inside Muspelheim
He stopped his narration to take the stone away from me, and then he dipped it in honing oil and gave it back." As you can imagine the other human colonies did not really like to be pillaged, robbed and killed. So they called the Union Navy for help. Battleships came and made a swift end to our planets short space pirate career. They gave us a choice after they destroyed our few pirate boats. Be forever isolated on our planet without any contact to the other worlds or to join the Union and accept Union law and with it Union help. It took the Elders back then very little time to choose the second option and Nilfeheim became a Union world.
However the Elders back then did not speak for all clans as they do today. Other clans who didn't like the idea of using modern technology to go Off-world to pillage and pirate others in the first place also didn't like the idea that Nilfeheim now was a Union world. Not that they had anything against the piracy and pillage part but the way it was done, was against the old traditions, meaning the rejection of machinery and technology of course. Every clan had their own idea how much technology was good. Being on a new world new traditions formed as well and clashed with the old ideas and as you know our kind we are not the best diplomats and arguments usually ended up in fights."
I simply nodded and kept pulling the stone over the edge of the axe in the way he had shown me.
He actually got up and said," Wait here!" then he disappeared inside the house only to reappear with a green metal box and out of it he took a modern weapon. I had never seen one in real but I knew them out of the Virtu Shows in our theatre and of course from school.
He said. "This is an old Directed Energy blaster. Legal on many planets." He aimed the weapon and a bright bolt of light crackled through the air and the heavy wooden target we had used to throw our axes had a huge burning hole in it and the massive rock wall that enclosed the back yard had a large red glowing crater as well. I was quite stunned by the damage the weapon had done. He said." That was not even close to the highest setting. It takes little skill to use one of these. Physical strength and agility make no difference. Can you imagine what would have happened if the Clan wars would have been fought with weapons like these?"
I understood. "I think no one would be around today."
"That is exactly right. The clans that went to space and were now forced to stay on this world had plenty of these and used them to force their will on the other clans. Quite a few of the real old clans completely vanished in that time and new Clans arose that haven't been of the old lineage. It was one of your ancestors I believe someone of the Ragnarsson Clan who went to the Union post and complained.
Long story short it was that Ragnarsson who assembled all Clan leaders to a big meeting and even the most thickheaded chief knew no one would survive another long night with all the fighting and no outside help at all. So the then new Circle of Elders was elected and a long document of rules, The Nilfeheim Laws of Tradition was produced. It tightly regulates how Clan differences should be fought and what is and what is not tradition. First rule in that book is to fight only with the ancient weapons. No guns or blasters are allowed as any distance weapon is to be considered less "honorable" than a hand weapon. According to our custom, all free men are required to own weapons, as well as permitted to carry them at all times. These arms also indicative our social status: The Great Clan, like ours will have a complete ensemble of helmet, shield, chainmail shirt, and sword when we are top assemble on official business and meetings. Those not born to the old families are the Bóndi as you know. All the men of lesser clans' small families will have at least a harpoon, an axe and shield, and everyone even the Low men and those of no clan association carry the Seax, our Skinner Knife."
He glanced in his empty tankard. "I don't think ever talked that much on a single tankard."
"Can I shoot the Blaster? Just once?"
He nodded." Yes but not here. These things are terribly dangerous and we are in the middle of town. Those bolts easily go through walls and we could hurt someone. Tomorrow at the beach I let you lose a few bolts."
Chapter 24 The Steiners
The next day he did as he promised and took me with is rugged freight bed flyer across the island away from town to a deserted dark pebble beach. Most of the rocks where about fist sized but there many much bigger and a few almost house sized. "These are carried by the glaciers from the mountains and after every Longnight they go a little further till they end in the sea." He explained, "Eventually carrying our small mountain range away to the sea."
He took the metal box with him, handed me the Blaster and explained to me how it was used. "This is an old Bofors Saab Directed Energy Bolter Type III, but usually Mercenaries and Freelancers who still use them call it the Bo-Zap III."
From the box he took a oval stick about three fingers wide and one finger thick and slid it into the handle." This is a Charge Pack. It carries enough charge for about 50 standard shots at medium setting." He pressed a small orange glowing button above the handle and a fine sound that started at a low hum to a high pitched whistle , then a small green light came on replacing the orange.
"The weapon is no charged and ready to go. In combat you want to configure the weapons programing and set it to no light option. " He knew quite a bit about Energy weapons for a simple Inn Keeper I thought, but kept listening quietly.
&nbs
p; "The programing right now is set to basic and the weapon recognizes everyone, meaning the Biometric sensors are shut off." He handed me the gun now. It was an exciting moment.
He knelt behind me so he was almost on the same level as me and his enormous arms around me he adjusted my hand grip." You hold a this weapon like that, right hand on the grip,index finger on the depressor or trigger like terrans call all controls that release a your thumb on the thumb rest you deactivate the safety like that."
Uncle Hogun said." The weapon is no armed and very dangerous, it is set to Medium and you see the amount of bolts you can fire right in this indicator field. The weapon has no sophisticated targeting options so you line that grove on top of the front barrel up with the sights back here and the target. If everything is in line and you are sure you won't hurt anyone you can depress the trigger."
"What do you want me to shot?"
"Aim at one of those big boulders. Just never shot an energy weapon against a target that is too big for the beam to penetrate all the way. Molten superheated matter can spatter back at you if you're to close and unprotected and it can kill you just as easy.
I pressed the trigger and from my point of view I could not see the beam but I heard the crack and instantly a bright white flash appeared on the front side of the big boulder and a shower of sparks flew in all directions, the flash was immediately gone and there was a bright white glowing crater of in the center of the rock, the size of a Viking shield. Liquid bright glowing magma drooled from the bottom of the hole to the ground.
"See what I mean? Had you stood closer you be showered by liquid rock matter. Energy weapons are quite dangerous as you can see!"
I swallowed. It would take a man with chisel and hammer at least a month to create a hole like that." Yes I can see that!"
He let me loose a few more and the poor boulder finally split in several pieces.
Hogun said." Can you imagine what such weapons would do to us? This is why we use Swords and Axes. We have not learned how to pacify Neo Vikings and curb their easy flaring temper not even today. "
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 6 (The Galactic Chronicles Series) Page 179