Throne and the Bear

Fimblewinter- Part III

The cold of fimblewinter had worsened. Almost as if the land itself had been mourning his dear sister's passing. The boy had walked a bit from where he had woken up and began digging a shallow hole. There wasn't much he could do, the snow itself was up a good metre from the ground. It pained him but the trembling lad used his cold hands to dig through the snow and dirt itself. They were covered in blood. Yet he felt numb to the pain, perhaps the pain from his heart dampened that of his wounds.

Tears ran down his cheeks as he carried his sister's lifeless corpse towards the shallow grave. Why did this happen? Had he not lost enough people to the plight of fimblewinter? How much longer would the fates toy with him wondered as he filled the hole back up. Throwing dirt and snow on his sister's pale face. Rune had considered burning her body as per customs but with the memory of his village burning down, fresh in his mind, he could not bring himself to do that.

After all, why would he want his sister to go to a place where she had been abandoned and tossed aside? The words of that marauder echoed in his mind. About how the gods had forsaken them.

Rune stood beside the shallow grave, tears streaming down his face as he buried his beloved sister, Freya. The fire that had consumed their village and taken everyone he had ever known and loved was now just a distant memory. He was the only one left, the only one who had managed to survive the maurauders' attack.

He had no idea how he had made it out alive. The last thing he remembered was the head maurauder bringing down his viking axe, ready to end his life. And then, he woke up in the middle of the woods, with Freya's body beside him and bite marks on her shoulder.

Rune shook his head, trying to make sense of what had happened. He was certain that the gods had forsaken him, but then he heard the ominous voice again. "The fire will consume everything," it warned him. "But I have not forsaken you."

Rune didn't understand what that meant, but he felt a sense of comfort in knowing that he was not alone. He finished burying Freya and stood up, looking around at the dense forest that surrounded him. He had no idea where he was or where he was going, but he knew that he couldn't stay there forever.

So, with a heavy heart and a determination in his soul, Rune set out into the unknown, determined to survive and honor his sister's memory. As Rune walked deeper into the forest, his thoughts started to race. Was this all some sort of fever dream? Had he gone mad? He had no way of knowing what was real and what wasn't.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his thoughts, and took a deep breath. He had to stay focused, to keep moving forward. But the doubts were there, nagging at the back of his mind.

Rune shook his head, trying to dispel the thoughts. He couldn't afford to lose his grip on reality. He had to stay strong, for Freya's sake.

But as he continued on, the voice returned. "Do not question your reality, Rune," it whispered. "Your journey has only just begun. And I am with you every step of the way."

Rune stopped in his tracks, staring into the darkness of the forest. Was this real? Was the voice real? He didn't know, but he felt a sense of comfort. As Rune walked down the road, he came across two travelers fixing their wagon. They stopped their work as he approached and gave him a friendly nod.

One of the travelers, an older man with a grizzled beard, struck up a conversation. "Have you heard about the recent bear attack?" he asked, gesturing to the nearby forest. "They say it was vicious, struck a nearby village. Poor folks never saw it coming."

Rune's heart dropped as he listened to the man's words. Could it be his village? He quickly dismissed the thought. His village had been wiped out by a marauder attack, not a bear.

He continued on, trying not to dwell on the man's words. But as he walked, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. The voice in his head was quiet, and he felt a growing sense of unease. in its presence.

Rune was walking down the road when he heard the sound of hoof beats behind him. He turned to see four patrolmen riding towards him, their horses kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Stay where you are!" one of the patrolmen yelled, as they dismounted from their horses. The man approached Rune with a piece of paper in hand. "Are you Rune?" he asked, studying the paper.

Rune nodded, his heart racing. "What's this about?"

The patrolman looked up from the paper, his eyes narrowing. "You're accused of being a shifter," he said, his tone firm. "We have orders to bring you in for questioning." His body language was tense as he gripped onto the handle of his sheathed sword, gulping what looked to be a mouthful of his spit.

Rune's heart sank as he realized what was happening. He had heard of shifters before, those who could take on the form of animals at will. They were feared and hated by many, and often hunted by the authorities.

He tried to back away, but the patrolmen stepped forward, surrounding him. "You're not going anywhere," one of them said, his hand closing around Rune's arm.

Rune tried to shake him off, but the man was too strong. "Let go of me!" he yelled, his voice rising in anger.

The patrolmen didn't budge, their expressions grim. They were determined to take him in, no matter what it took. As Rune tried to step away from the patrolmen, they quickly surrounded him, tightening their grip on their weapons. "Stay where you are, shifter," one of them growled, his hand hovering over the hilt of his sword.

Rune's mind raced as he tried to make sense of the situation. Could this have anything to do with the recent bear attack the traveler had mentioned? He couldn't be the one they were after, could he?

"I'm telling you, you've got the wrong guy," Rune protested, trying to keep his voice steady. "My village was destroyed by marauders, not some wild beast."

The patrolmen exchanged a skeptical look, but their grip on their weapons didn't ease up. "That's what they all say," one of them sneered. "But the evidence doesn't lie."

Rune felt a spark of anger ignite within him. He was no monster, no matter what they thought. But he was also smart enough to know that he was no match for four heavily armed patrolmen.

"Please, just let me go," Rune begged, trying to keep the tremble out of his voice. "I have nothing to do with this." Rune was fuming with anger as the patrolmen accused him of being a shifter, he had been through enough in the past few days and now he had to deal with this. He could feel his anger boiling inside him as they closed in on him. The hairs on his neck stood up as he realized that he had never felt this angry before.

And then it happened, a growl escaped his lips as he threw one of the patrolmen back by several meters with ease, the man hit a tree with a thud and lay there motionless. The other two patrolmen were momentarily stunned but they quickly regained their composure and charged at Rune with their weapons drawn.

Rune was now filled with a surge of adrenaline as he grabbed an axe one of the patrolmen had dropped and prepared to fend off the attackers. The two men swung their swords at Rune, who effortlessly dodged their attacks. He swung the axe with all his might and it connected with the first patrolman's sword, sending it flying from his hand. The second patrolman swung at Rune, but he sidestepped and delivered a crushing blow with the flat of the axe to the man's head, knocking him out cold.

The third patrolman, who had run away in fear, was nowhere to be seen. Rune stood there panting, looking at the two unconscious men at his feet. He couldn't believe what had just happened, he had never been in a fight before and he had just taken down two armed men with ease.