Viking Clan

by Griff Hosker

  He walked down the gangplank and was greeted by his father and brother. Gruffyd and Mordaf were not there. Their hall now lay some way out of Whale Island. I was not surprised. I was disappointed but not surprised. After Ragnar had greeted his son and when I had stepped ashore with Haaken he said, “When we saw the drekar we sent word to Kara, Ylva and Atticus. The raid went well?”

  I nodded, “I daresay Sámr will tell you all. For myself I need to get back to Cyninges-tūn quickly. I need to have conference with my daughter and granddaughter. I will give Erik and his boys their share and then we will leave. I beg your understanding.”

  I saw that he was disappointed. Sámr showed his new maturity. Despite the fact that he wished to get back to Aethelflaed he said, “Baldr and I will spend the night here and we will tell you all although I fear we will not do it justice. For that we would need Haaken One Eye.”

  “You are too kind” Haaken loved praise. It was like pouring pig fat on to a fire! It made it burn fiercer.

  I returned to the drekar. Erik Short Toe had gathered all of our treasure, grain, wine, ale and chests on the quay. Ráðgeir and my men had brought horses and wagons from Ragnar’s hall. They began to move the cargo from the quay. I opened one of the larger chests we had been given at Tui. We had two identical ones and then another three chests we had taken from the hall of the Emir. “Is this enough, Erik?”

  “It is too much.”

  “No, it is not for you were a teacher as well as a captain. And besides you will need coin for ‘Heart’. She took some damage on this trip.”

  “Aye, like all of us she is getting tired.”

  I clasped his arm, “Farewell my friend. Erik has gone to say farewell to your wife.”

  “Aye she will miss him, I will miss him. I know that you will care for him.”

  I smiled, “I cannot thank you enough for what you did for Sámr.”

  “Jarl, it is no more than you did for me and when he has a son then I will be honoured to train him too… if I am spared.” A breeze came from the south. The Norns were spinning.

  By the time Erik Shield Bearer returned with his bag of belongings we were ready to move. Erik and I did not ride, we sat on a wagon and had a leisurely journey home. We were fortunate for we reached the Water just as the sun began to dip behind Old Olaf and we saw the Water bathed in a golden light. It was a magical moment. I took it as a good sign. The land welcomed back the warriors of the clan and all was in harmony. Erik looked ecstatic. He had never been this far north before. His family had farmed north of Úlfarrston.

  The ones who lived south of my home left us as we passed their homes. By the time we reached the walls of Cyninges-tūn we had lost a third of our number. Karl Word Master and Cnut Cnutson greeted us. Haaken had left us to go to his home and I saw the worry on their faces as Karl asked, “All went well, Jarl?”

  I knew what they meant. “Aye Karl, we have lost no more Ulfheonar. Haaken took an arrow in his leg and I daresay that will become a saga which we will all endure at Samhain.!”

  They laughed for we all knew Haaken. We liked him for despite his bombast there was no truer warrior.

  “Your daughter said that you would be tired and would need your rest. She will see you on the morrow.”

  I nodded. That was good for it meant that she had not dreamed some disaster to greet me. “Have some men unload the grain and food into the granaries and the rest into my hall. Atticus can make his scratchings on the parchment. Come Erik, let me show you your new home.”

  Atticus and Germund awaited us at the door. Both looked pleased to see me but I saw them looking curiously at Erik. I was used to his diminutive stature but they were not. “This is Erik Shield Bearer. He will live with us.” I nodded to Germund, “This is Germund and he was a Varangian Guard. He will help to train you. Erik here would be a warrior.”

  Germund was a Viking and he was blunt. He nodded, “Good, I like a challenge!”

  “And this is Atticus. He will teach you to read, play chess and to use your mind. He was Sámr Ship Killer’s teacher.”

  Atticus gave a mock bow, “And you look young enough for me to mould. Come, we have food waiting.”

  “Germund, there will be treasure, spices, weapons and pots. Put them somewhere safe until Atticus can make an inventory of them. We have a short time to divide them up.”

  We entered my hall. Had Erik not been with me then I might have gone across the Water to visit the grave of Erika and to speak with Aethelflaed but I remembered when I had been a little younger than Erik and sent to Old Ragnar’s house. I would not have liked to be alone with strangers. He knew me and I had to stay with him. We sat at the table in the middle of my hall and I saw him looking around. This was both grand and new to him. It would take some time for him to become accustomed to it. I would need patience.

  As we waited for the food he asked, “Do you live with just Atticus and Germund?”

  I nodded, “I had a wife but she died and I had a servant who lived here from the day we first raised this hall but he is dead. I seem to outlive most people.”

  “The crew said you are the greatest Viking to have walked the earth. Is that true?”

  I shook my head, “I am just a warrior who does the best he can for the clan.”

  “And I am of your clan now?”

  “You are. All who choose to live in the Land of the Wolf are in the Clan of the Wolf.”

  He beamed, “That is good!”

  Atticus brought in the food and the ale. I saw that he had watered it for Erik. This was not the food of Uhtric but I liked it. I watched Erik frown as he tasted it. I smiled, “One rule here is that you have to clear your platter. I remember when I was a slave and had little to eat. I remember those days.”

  “But what if I don’t like it?”

  “It is good training for when you are a man. A man has to endure many things he does not like. A real man gets on with it and the others complain.”

  Atticus sniffed, “It is called free will! If the boy does not like my food, I will cook him something else.”

  “No, you will not.”

  There was steel in my voice and Atticus nodded. “Do not worry, Erik, you will get used to it. It is good food.”

  “I am sorry Atticus, I should not be so ungrateful.”

  That moment bonded the boy and the old Greek. Germund asked me about the raid. His lame leg prevented him from raiding but he still enjoyed the tales of heroics. Atticus was also interested in the land for the land of his birth and the followers of Islam had been enemies for many years. He did not seem to mind our paganism but the fact that the Moors, Seljuk Turks and Berbers either converted or killed Christians somehow appalled him. I said nothing although I suspected Christians might have done the same. My people did not mind another’s beliefs. A belief was personal to a man.

  Germund said, “I would be interested in seeing one of these bows, lord. Are they like the Saami bow?”

  I nodded, “We brought a number back with us.”

  Atticus smiled, “They are called a composite bow and they use different woods and horn to give the strength to the bow. That is why they are shorter than the bows the clan makes and uses.”

  “All I know is that they are powerful. So, Germund, I task you with helping Erik Shield Bearer become stronger and then training him to use the sword and shield.”

  Erik looked crestfallen, “You will not be teaching me, lord?”

  “No, Germund would be the better teacher. He learned properly. The tricks I use are self-taught. Besides, I have much to do. My work to prepare Sámr to be leader of the clan is only just begun. We have made a good start.”

  Atticus asked me about Sámr’s progress. After I told him he added, “We have kept an eye on Aethelflaed and Nanna. They seem happy enough. Your daughter and granddaughter visited every day.” He shrugged, “Of course that might have been to visit the grave of Aiden.”

  “No Atticus. They need not visit his grave to speak to him. Kara will spea
k with him each night.”

  I saw the scepticism on Atticus’ face. He believed in heaven but not in the communication between the Otherworld and ours. To me it seemed obvious. Christian dead would wish to speak with those they loved. Perhaps Christians had lost that connection. That was sad.

  “And so, we have more spices. How will you divide them, lord?”

  “We will keep a quarter and I want you to divide the rest up. We let those who wish the spices to take them. Whatever is left will go to Kara. I have a new cedar wood spice chest. It has a key and you shall have it.”

  Germund laughed, “I fear, old friend, that you will be working long hours for the next few days. I have never seen so much treasure and coin.”

  Erik Shield Bearer bobbed his head, “I will help you, Atticus, for I think that the jarl will not need his shield bearer for a few days.”

  Atticus laughed, “I can see that you have wit and wisdom. I will be glad of your help and you are right. The jarl will speak with his people for that is his way. They will wish to see and speak with him. He is a talisman. He is the clan. This hand over of power to Sámr will not be as easy as you expect, Jarl Dragonheart.”

  “I know. I now have to temper the steel that will become the sword tip of the clan. Sámr must become as strong as Ragnar’s Spirit.”

  That night, as I lay in my old and familiar bed, I did not sleep as well as I might for I dreamed. That was not a surprise. I had been away from my home for some time. The last dream had been Wyddfa.

  I saw Úlfarr the wolf. He padded down from the top of Úlfarrberg. His long legs ate up the ground and he ran towards Grize’s Dale. I saw him sniff the ground around the remains of the hall in which Wolf Killer and Elfrida had first lived. His ears pricked and he looked around. I saw his hackles rise and his teeth bared. Suddenly he leapt at a figure who was hiding in the undergrowth. His teeth fastened on to a Dane. The Dane had the skulls of small animals hung from his neck. Úlfarr’s teeth sank into the throat of the Dane and blood spurted. An axe came from nowhere. It took Úlfarr’s head and the head of the Danish skull taker. I could not see the Dane’s face. A hand reached down and picked up the wolf’s head. He held it up and turned around. It was Sven the Boneless. Around him Danes rose in numbers beyond count. They began to bang their shields rhythmically. In an instant I was a hawk in the sky and I saw them flooding across the Land of the Wolf. Flames preceded them. An arrow soared from their midst and I could not avoid it. I began to fall towards the earth. It grew closer and closer. Then all became black.

  I sat upright and I was sweating. I looked around. Had I screamed? There had been no sound in my dream. I rose and went to the jug and horn which stood on the table. I poured myself some ale and drank it. Úlfarr had been the wolf which protected Sámr when he had been young and he had died ensuring that he lived. I would see Kara for I had no doubt that she had seen my dream. Aiden had given me an insight into the reading of dreams and I saw that Úlfarr connected my great grandson and my son but how did Sven the Boneless fit into this nightmare? I went back to bed and slept fitfully. I did not dare enter the dreamworld again for I feared what I might see.

  Chapter 13

  Atticus gave me a strange look as he served Erik and I the bread and cheese. “You dreamed last night, Jarl Dragonheart.”

  “I shouted?”

  He shook his head, “I was not disturbed but your bed looked as though a battle had been fought and the jug of ale was empty. I recognise the signs.”

  I ate. Atticus was becoming more like a galdramenn each day. Had Aiden become a ghostly shape shifter and taken over the Greek’s body?

  Erik asked, “Dreamed?”

  I looked at Erik. I would dream again and I did not want the young boy to be afraid. “I sometimes enter the dreamworld and I see things which are more terrifying than battle.”

  “What can be more terrifying than battle, lord?”

  Atticus asked, “How old are you Erik Shield Bearer?”

  “I have seen eleven summers.”

  He nodded, “You look younger. The Jarl is right, you need building up. I will serve you food to make you twice your size.” He waved a hand as though to focus himself. “When you have seen a little more you will learn that there are terrors beyond battle. I have never been in battles but I know of terrors which still make me wake and shiver. I do not believe in the dreamworld of the Dragonheart but I do believe in the evil of man. If Jarl Dragonheart has dreamed then it means he is troubled and he will seek the advice of his daughter. And you and I will go with my tally stick and begin to count.”

  “Tally stick?”

  Atticus rose, sighed deeply and shook his head, “I have much to teach you. Come let us make a start. Germund we shall need your brawn to go with my brain.”

  I finished my food and looked at Ragnar’s Spirit hanging on the wall. I wondered if I should keep it in my bed chamber in the future. Odin had touched it and that might help me fight off the daemons of the night. I would ask Kara.

  Getting to Kara’s hall took longer than I hoped. My people were keen to speak with me. Bagsecg Bagsecgson had been my blacksmith. He had died some time ago but one of his sons, Haaken Bagsecgson, was still the weaponsmith for Cyninges-tūn. As I passed his workshop, he waved me over, “Jarl Dragonheart, did you bring any metal which might be reused?”

  “The Moors and Asturians have good swords. I fear not. When Atticus has organised the booty, I will bring a sword so that you can see the quality.”

  “Good. My father taught me that a good weaponsmith is always learning. He improves his skill with each sword he makes.”

  “And I will need a helmet and a leather jerkin making. I have a shield bearer. He is small as yet but he will grow.”

  “Good. It is good that you have a shield bearer although your people worry about you, Jarl, you go abroad too much.”

  “You and I know, Haaken Bagsecgson, that I never choose to go from this valley. The Norns…”

  He clutched his hammer of Thor, “Aye Jarl.”

  I had four similar stops as I walked the five hundred paces to Kara’s hall. I did not mind for all spoke with concern in their voices. It reinforced my determination to make the clan as strong as I could before I left it to Sámr.

  Deidra and Macha had also died the previous winter. It felt strange to enter the hall and not recognise the women who served Kara and Ylva. Two of the women of the hall took me to the heart of the hall, the room where they ate. The fire was burning; it burned all year. They brought me ale and some cheese. My daughter’s women made the finest cheese in the Land of the Wolf.

  “You dreamed.” Ylva’s voice came from behind me and her hand was on my shoulder.

  I was not surprised that she knew. She and her mother knew all that went on along the Water. “Aye. You dreamed too?”

  “I saw the wolf die and the Danes.”

  “Where is your mother?”

  “She went to visit Aethelflaed. She was summoned there last night.”

  A sudden fear gripped my heart. Had something happened to Aethelflaed? Was the dream to do with her?

  Ylva smiled, “All is well, grandfather. She will return with Aethelflaed and Nanna. Their husbands will be here before noon. So, tell me all that happened in the hot lands. We had glimpses from the spirit world and we know of the deaths but they were young that died and only you saw all.”

  I told her everything and left nothing out. My granddaughter had even more power than her mother. Each year that power increased. She was descended from a volva and a galdramenn. While Sámr would lead the clan, Ylva would guard the land!

  “I will not try to interpret your dream until my mother returns.” She smiled, “Is Sámr ready to lead yet?”

  I laughed, “You know that he is not but he has made huge strides. Most importantly my men trust him. Beorn, Benni, Haraldr and Ráðgeir all follow him and know he will make good judgements. He still has much to learn but I know that when I am gone you will have your eye upon him.” />
  “Is this your way of asking if we have dreamed your death?” I shook my head. “Well we have not. As far as we know you still have many years to rule this land. But it is good that Sámr has made such strides.” She poured me more ale, “Are you disappointed in Ragnar and Gruffyd?”

  I gave her a sharp look. Had she been reading my mind? “A man can never be disappointed in his offspring. Wolf Killer did not turn out the way I hoped but I was never disappointed in him. The same is true of Ragnar and Gruffyd. I may have made Sámr my successor but I still love all of my children and that love is without limits. Perhaps the disappointment is in myself.”

  “That you are not perfect? That is arrogant, grandfather. You are not a god, you are a man with all of man’s foibles. You are better than any other man and that is why the clan is so strong. I fear that we have storms ahead and the clan will need that strength!” She held up her hand as I opened my mouth. “I have said too much and we wait on my mother.”

  We did not have long to wait. The three women arrived. I did not know why my daughter had been rushed across the Water for the two young women looked in the best of health. “You are both well?”

  Both blushed and said, together, “We are.”

  Kara came over to kiss me on the cheek, “Do not worry, father. This is not warrior work.” She turned to the two women, “If you would go with Ylva you can prepare the chambers you will use this night when your husbands return.”

  I said, “They will not return to their hall?”

  Kara shook her head, “Father! Do you not think we wish to celebrate with Sámr and Aethelflaed? Is it just you who gets to enjoy Sámr’s company?”

  “I…” In the world of a shield wall and men I always knew what to do and say but amongst women… it was as though they spoke a different language.