The Norse Of the North

After Darkness Comes Hope

 Two huge groups of shield-bearers line up opposite each other. The warriors raise their shields creating a wall paying attention to the gaps. The alignment of the defensive line is the basis of a well-designed plan that will lead to victory. Arne the king's commander crosses the wall with his shield, touching the heads of his squires, giving them courage. He stands up infront raising his hand as the sun passes through the gaps of his fingers. That isit. The signal has been given. He raises his shield and together with his warriors, starts to take steps forward reducing the distance from the enemy. The same tactic is followed by the opposing army.

The two camps rushing against each other with great force as they try to line up their shields on the opponent's shields. From time to time they push their swords in the gaps of the shields trying to injure the enemies. Alongside, they are sealing their wall when they are the ones getting attacked.

Everything seems to go well for Arne's army. The victory is close for him and his soldiers. Most of the soldiers of the opponent are laying down dead on the land, it is a complete bloodshed. You can see both the smile and the excitement on his face fade away as he realizes the opponent has fooled him. King Gorm is playing a smart game after all. That is not the actual battle but it is the ultimate trap. Hundreds of men are marching down on Arne's side as he was completely motionless. His friend reaches his side "This bastard, we are going to get crucified, we need to retreat immediately!"

Arne's eyes turn black and ruthless as he grabs his sword while shouting to his people "We were ordered by the king to bring Gorm's head and we are not going to back down until we do so. You all swore an oath, I swore an oath. The Vikings fear no man and no God. Finish them!" As long as he finishes his speech all of his warriors are overflowing with confidence. The one camp is marching against the other, lots of individual fights taking place. Even though, Gorm's men are outweighing in number they lack skill and determination. Just a bunch of amateurs almost as they are no Vikings at all, and would that be a surprise Gorm is not known for his accomplishments on the battlefield either.

Arne goes upfront and takes it on three other men. He swifts fast just like the wind moving his sword at their waist cutting them in half. Absorbed in his thoughts and his urge to survive he doesn't notice his soldiers are not managing as well as he does. Most of them are laying on the ground wounded as their blood is filling the grass creating a sea. The sight was beyond horrific, men trying to cover up their wounds as they are dragging themselves closer to the shields. Their hands are getting weak, they moving away from their bodies and let their blood spread all over their clothes and weapons.

Two friends on the other side are wounded deadly, striving to say the last goodbye. Their voice can barely be heard as they manage to crawl and unite their hands. They consume their last energy to give courage to the rest camp, or maybe what's left of the camp. Arne is desperate, he is looking around for survivors only to find out he is the only man standing. He sinks his sword into the ground as the edge is filled with his soldiers' blood, he looks at his back searching for some way to survive but it's pointless. He is on a large valley alone with a countless army mucking him. The end is far from near. But no a few soldiers are pushing dead bodies that were laying on top of them! Some are half wounded and some are not. Arne smiles but he is yet worried. What chance ten people could have against a whole army?

And there, in that dark moment, he sees his friend Torsten looking at him. It was just a glance that kept less than a second but it meant a lot more than that. It was like he was saying to him "Arne, my friend you are not alone. How did you dare to think you are going to join Valhalla without me? I know you are scared. I know you want to live but I also know you will never back down from a fight. So here we are. Friend to Friend. Brother to Brother. Let's make this battle unforgettable"

Suddenly Torsten starts to run away, Arne's world is crushed he can't believe what he just witnessed. Torsten isn't only running away from the battlefield but he is also giving up on his friend, on his brother. And now they are nine, nine on four-hundred. He tries to regroup and gather up his people. They create a triangle "We are going to win this no matter the odds, have faith in ourselves, have faith in our Gods". They are pointing out their swords, covering their chest with the shields and they start running towards the enemy while shouting "ODIN!!"

As long as they reach the first line of the opponent's wall they push their shields to the opponent's shield. Arne is going a little far from their wall and kills half of the two front lines. With the same tactic, they wipe out almost half of Gorm's army. The enemy is shocked and furious. He swears at his soldiers and shouts at them with great rage. "Kill those motherfuckers, you idiots!"

Arne rushes back to his position creating a solid wall along with his soldiers as they are marching closer to the enemy with more confidence. "Now let's deal with the rest of them." Arne says while taking a big breath "No disrespect Arne but they are too many for us..." a soldier says as his hands are getting tired and his shield lowers down.

They reach closer to the enemy as more lines are marching towards them, they all have accepted the fact this battle will be their downfall. The only motivation for fighting is Odin. Odin is watching and he will praise them once they die. They will be feasting with the gods as anthems about their battle accomplishments will be sung all over the kingdoms. Arne takes a moment to breathe, the picture of his parents keeps showing up in his eyes "Till we meet again Father..."

And then Torsten appears from the back of the enemy with hundreds of soldiers. Not only men but also women, -the Shield maidens- all ready to battle. In the first line, he sees a woman he can't recognize. She doesn't look like a Viking, she doesn't look like any culture he has ever meet. Her skin is pale with rosy cheeks and nose. Her blonde hair is fluttering with the wind like the flag of victory. She can barely hold the shield but at the same time, she doesn't seem scared, she looks fearful and angry. Her blue eyes are reflecting the blood that is shed in Arne's body reminding him of the battle he had almost one year ago.

King Harald's army is finally united, Torsten and Arne are finally united. They all march against Gorm's soldiers as they eliminate all of his camp in no time. Gorm is coming upfront kneeling in the middle of the battlefield keeping his hands up in a surrendering position. Harald laughs as he moves closer to him, doing circles around him. Arne can't stop looking at the foreigner, something is so mesmerizing about her. Her thin arms make her put her shield down as he smiles at her. He decides to get to know her so he starts moving towards her, the king is talking to his people as Arne is making his way closer to that woman. "You look different, new to the lands?" he says with a look of confidence.

She is making an evil smile as she raises her sword "Yes and I am glad my land taught me to have eyes on my back as well" as long as she finishes her sentence she swifts around Arne killing Gorm as he was ready to stab a knife into Arne's back. Arne turns around surprised as the rest of the camp is clapping at her after her accomplishment.

The king comes back with the queen seeing Gorm laying on the ground as his body is cut into two pieces. "Brilliant, I thought to take him as a slave but he is more useful to me that way. A great alternative for the fireplace" He says as he laughs "Wait a moment" He looks the way his body is departed as he gets shocked "Who killed him like that?" he asks in disbelief.

The foreigner raises her arm as she steps closer to the king "And where is his bloody head?" he asks while he is looking around. The foreigner reveals her other arm as she is holding Worm's head by his hair. She throws his head at the feet of the king while smiling "Right there my king"

All of the camp is speechless, women get to fight, and they get to kill but that level of violence was unremarkable. It wasn't a desperate move to save her life, it was an act of personal satisfaction. Actually, it's so beyond understanding because the king was already dead. That woman didn't only slaughter a man cutting him in half and forcing his organs to fall and scatter into the ground. But also after he was killed and there was no breath left in his body she chopped off his head as a loot.