Authors: Stephen Zimmer
“Look to the things of your heart. Is that not the way of your kind? It does not always come easy, to gain wisdom, nor should it be easy,” the old man said reflectively, his lone eye holding Dragol firmly in place. “Draw strength from your heart, and find the truths that have taken root there, and grown over time. Often, we have already learned the answers to what we seek, only we have not realized how to ask ourselves the right questions to discover those answers within us.”
“The questions?” Dragol responded, now thoroughly perplexed.
“When you first learned to use your longblade, were there ever times where a lesson or a movement seemed difficult?” the old man asked him.
Dragol nodded slowly, remembering the many ordeals of being a youth training to be proficient with the longblade. It had been a very painful trial, and he had incurred innumerable bruises during the process. Many were the nights that he went to sleep with his muscles wracked with soreness, and his body feeling as heavy as mountain stone. Sparring, learning defensive movements, body stances, striking techniques, and everything else involved with the mastery of the Trogen longblade had been an extended process that had taken many years, and Dragol knew that he could still get better.
“And did you not have days where a lesson that once seemed mystifying suddenly made sense to you? Or a movement that was once awkward and clumsy suddenly came much easier to you?” the old man asked him.
Again, Dragol had to agree, remembering his own amazement during such moments. “Yes, I remember.”
“What I speak of is a different matter, but it is not unlike the times when realizations suddenly came to you, long ago, as you learned the use of your longblade,” the old man said. “There are things that you know you are struggling with, and there are also struggles going on within you, that you do not know are happening. Perhaps these things will all become clear to you in time, as things became clear to you over time when you were learning to wield the longblade. I do not wish to depart, but I must go now. I will try to return to you soon.”
Without a further word, the old man smiled, before turning abruptly and walking off into the depths of the forest. A bewildered and amazed Dragol watched quietly until the old man disappeared into the thick, woodland growths.
As the old man vanished into the young night, Dragol found himself wondering if he had just experienced his first personal encounter with a Wizard. A very sobering thought then struck him in the midst of his wonderment. If the man was indeed a Wizard, then Dragol was either being faced with a wondrous boon, or a very grave danger. Only time would discern which of the two it was.
*
Ayenwatha
*
Ayenwatha, accompanied by an entourage of Onan warriors, strode briskly down towards the bank of the Shimmering River. Resting farther up on the shore, and streaming in towards it, were an abundant number of sleek Midragardan longships.
Atotarho was already standing close to the water’s edge with another welcoming party, which, to Ayenwatha’s delight, also included Deganawida. Upon looking up, and seeing Ayenwatha, Deganawida gave him a warm smile as he approached.
Both Atotarho and Deganawida were wearing the traditional hide caps upon their heads, graced with two eagle feathers, one pointed up, and one down. Deer antlers were affixed to each side of the caps, to display their status as Onan sachems.
The armada of warships was an exquisitely welcome sight for Ayenwatha to behold, almost bringing tears of joy to his eyes. The prows of many of the graceful ships were carved into the forms of fierce beasts, including an array of dragons, wolves, serpents, and other formidable creatures revered by Midragardans.
The designs of the prows were often echoed in the stern, whether the coiled end of a serpent, or the tail of a dragon or wolf. The effect that the war-girded ships had on the Onan warriors and sachems, standing along the shoreline, was immense relief, rather than the alarm that they would have brought to enemies.
It was truly the sign of a different age, as in truth the sight of Midragardan longships was far from a welcome sight to the tribal peoples living in Ayenwatha’s lands in earlier ages.
The arrival also heralded something beyond just the presence of physical assistance itself. The numerous warships sent a clear, resolute message, that other men, who were not themselves blood members of any of the five main tribes, would stand side to side with the people of the Five Realms. They would share the risks and dangers that the tribesmen faced. The Five Realms was no longer isolated in its fight with the Galleans and their allied invaders, and this alone would bring the tribesmen an enormous boost in morale.
Ayenwatha basked in the reassurance that the ships represented, even as his vision flowed over the features of the incredible vessels. Swiveling gently, and looking almost like axe heads, whether perched at the top of the main masts of some vessels, or affixed at the forward prow of still other ships, were shining, gilt-bronze weathervanes, inscribed with intricate designs.
The great square sails of the longships had been furled already, but the sides of the boats were lined with round shields, resting in the wooden battens running along the sides. Whether their facings were leather-covered or bare wood, the shields were colorfully painted in a variety of patterns and forms, their circular iron bosses glinting in the center.
There was a defined color scheme to some of the ships, reflected in the colors of their prows, their sails, and even the displayed shields, demarcating which ships belonged to which Midragardan chieftains. From the color schemes, Ayenwatha could tell that the fleet represented a variety of leaders and chieftains among the Midgragardans. Some of the leaders commanded just a few ships, and many had just one, but all of them were united in purpose.
Warriors in a state of full readiness for combat occupied the ships. Most of the men on the boats offshore were still helping to row and steer the longships to berths along the shoreline, but all would have been prepared if the group welcoming them on the bank were enemy fighters, and not tribesmen from the Five Realms.
A majority of the warriors were wearing conical iron helms upon their heads, a good number with stout nasal guards projecting downward. Most wore some sort of protection on their upper bodies, as only a small number of warriors were equipped with just helm and shield. Several had donned a distinct type of leather jerkin, crafted from the hide of a unique kind of deer from their own lands. Others wore padded leather jerkins, which displayed a raised, checkered pattern. A small number of warriors possessed coats of chain mail. Their stern visages, visible underneath their shining helms, revealed their hardened readiness to fight from the moment that they landed upon the riverbank.
The ones that had landed their craft on the beach had already removed their shields from the racks along the outer strakes, and had armed themselves with an assortment of wide-bladed spears, broad axes, swords, and bows.
“A time to stand together, as brothers, against an enemy we all share,” called out a huge Midragardan warrior, in Quoian, the language of the Five Realms.
The sound of the booming voice further brightened Ayenwatha’s spirits. Familiar and well-trusted, the voice belonged to one of the few men that could speak rather fluently in the tongue of the Five Realms. The Midragardan warrior who had spoken was standing next to a sizeable, beached longship. Ayenwatha did not fail to notice that the longship was perhaps the greatest in size among the vessels in the wide river’s curving bend.
Behind the huge Midragardan was another particularly large warrior, who had disembarked from the same exceptional warship. The second man bore a standard upright, steadying it with his massive right hand.
Ayenwatha recognized the standard instantly. It was the standard of Gunnar, a great black banner pierced by a long, forked streak of white lightning. Almost the reverse of the standard of the great Jarl Bjorn Magnusson back in Midragard, it showed the deep respect held by the seafaring Midragardans for the great power of the weather itself.
The black and white color pattern was repeated on the serpent head of his warship, the shields still set within the side rails, and other small elements of the warship. The color pattern was likewise reflected in four other Midragardan longships beached nearby, all of which were under the authority of Gunnar.
“Truly spoken, Gunnar!” Ayenwatha exclaimed, walking over towards the powerful Midragardan. “You are a welcome sight to these eyes.”
Right behind them, another longship coasted up onto the beach. Several Onan warriors hurried forward to assist some Midragardans in pulling the ship snugly onto the solid ground of the riverbank. The shallow draught of the boat, with its narrow oak keel, enabled its amazing efficiency in landing. Ayenwatha could never cease being impressed at how the wondrous vessels were so capable in navigating both river and open sea.
Gunnar, with a wide grin, took several long strides up to Ayenwatha. He took the revered Onan war sachem into a tight embrace that would likely have squeezed all the air out of a lesser man. As it was, it still squeezed most of the breath out of Ayenwatha.
The Midragardan chieftain was a full head taller than Ayenwatha, and significantly broader of shoulder. His thick, blond hair blew chaotically about his lion-like face, save for a single, tightly wound plait that hung down each side of his head.
The short crossguard of his sword rested against the bronze chape of a leather-covered scabbard, hanging at his waist from a baldric looped over his opposite shoulder. The lobed pommel and crossguard were ornately decorated, covered in golden foil, and inlaid with spiraling, intertwining designs. Between them was a grip fashioned from the purest ivory. It was a sword crafted splendidly in artistry and functionality, and did not wear its name of Golden Fury lightly.
The sharp point of Gunnar’s large nose, and a set of piercing blue eyes, stood out prominently above his thick, blonde beard. The latter was braided into one lock that fell from the bottom of his chin to the middle of his chest. He was clad in a short-sleeved chain mail shirt, worn over a green tunic with silver brocade along the hem. Beneath were brown trousers, the lower part bound to his legs by long straps of fabric wound up between ankle and knee.
The snug-fitting mail shirt revealed the contours of his broad shoulders, and very sizeable upper body. The bulges of his powerful build made it seem as if the man’s flesh underneath was carved out of stone. A lone, spear-shaped silver pendant was resting upon his chest, from the end of a leather thong.
“You look as strong as ever, Gunnar. If not bigger than I ever remembered you before,” Deganawida stated, having come over to join them. “It has been some time, my friend.”
“Have to keep the louts in line, and the edge on my better men. No small task, I assure you,” the other replied, with a hearty laugh, as he took up the older sachem in a somewhat less boisterous embrace than the Midragardan had applied to Ayenwatha. “You look well yourself, Deganawida. I must apologize that we have the carved prows affixed to our ships, but we could not be sure that we would not land in the midst of a battle, or be welcomed by a hostile bunch of Galleans.”
Ayenwatha glanced back towards the beaching Midragrdan longships, recalling the fact that they normally removed the fearsome visages from the bows of their ships when landing in friendly harbors. The carvings were symbols reserved for the uncertainties of war, and he did not blame the Midragardans for keeping the carvings displayed so deep in Five Realms territory.
“No harm has been done, Gunnar. Our lands are no longer filled by those with an intent of friendship,” Ayenwatha replied, with a trace of melancholy in his voice. “I am here greeting you with the colors of war on my own body.”
“How many have come with you?” Deganawida inquired, glancing past Gunnar, to where several other boats had found slots on the muddy bank and were now being unloaded.
The air was filled with the sounds of spirited shouts, talking, water splashing, and metallic clinks, as well as a host of other noises as the embankment began to fill up with ships and warriors. A number of timber gangplanks had been set over the sides of the ships, and men were already offloading chests, the elements of tent frames, haversacks, wooden kegs, and many other containers and implements.
Ayenwatha could not help but marvel at the striking collection of colors evident on the men. Unlike his own people, whose war attire blended in well with their surroundings, the Midragardans seemed to desire the most conspicuous attire, as if seeking to proclaim their presence with boldness.
“Over thirty ships, with more than twelve hundreds … of good men,” Gunnar stated, with some visible pride as he announced the number that he had been able to muster on such short notice.
“Twelve hundreds?” Ayenwatha repeated, in elated surprise.
“Yes, and you are lucky that ships were gathering for trade this summer in the islands near Gael, Gael itself, and our quarters in the Kiruvan towns,” Gunnar replied. “It doesn’t take much to turn us from traders to fighters, unlike those western merchants. Just be grateful that your eastern shores are located close to the ship routes.”
“Believe me, I am,” Ayenwatha responded.
“I also hope that word has reached you that a full war band of sky warriors upon Fenraren has arrived in your lands. Over four hundred strong. King Hakon’s been keeping more of them to the north … maybe he foresaw the storms approaching. Our brethren on the Fenraren will rid your skies of those who would seek to harass and assault you from the air.
Gunnar’s tone then lowered, taking on a tenor of compassion.
“I am sorry to hear of your terrible losses and suffering. It would be my wish that you had hundreds of Bregas, and as many riders for them. They are good, hardy steeds, and as Skiantha they are family to the Fenraren.”
He glanced past Ayenwatha, to where the two Bregas that Ayenwatha had come with were standing. Ayenwatha followed his gaze.