Rebirth of a Norsemen

Brad vs Gunnar: Odin's curse

Odin threw his spear at Brad. It rotated with such velocity that the tip created a wind tunnel. The runes turned a dull red and the spear slowed in front of Brad. He tried to move from its path but was unable. The spear point gently tapped his forehead and a trickle of blood ran down his face around his nose before dripping from Brad’s chin.

 In an explosion of silvery light Brad’s body was torn apart and reformed again. Brad fell to his knees and gasped for breath. He wasn’t sure how to explain what had happen to him but he was sure he didn’t want it to happen again.

“Stop being such a milksop.” Brad looked up to see a muscular man wearing loose fitting trousers. “Really you make me sick,” said the man.

“Brad meet Gunnar. You don’t want to be him so bad then all you have to do is kill him.” Odin said smiling.

Gunnar gave Brad no warning. He snatched two spears from a rack and threw them both at Brad who just managed to drop to the ground in time to avoid impalement. Taking up a shield and another spear Gunnar bolted at Brad.

Brad took a shield of his own pairing it with an axe. Like with Eir he let instinct control his body. If Odin was telling the truth than he could be free by killing this…

Memory? Brad thought.  Whatever it was Brad would destroy it and Odin could rot with his whole end of the world stuff.

One powerful thrust is all it took for Gunnar’s spear to pierce Brad’s shield. Brad swung his axe cleaving the shaft of Gunnar’s spear in two. It was Brad’s turn to attack his previous fear gone. It was now replaced by unrelenting energy that he fed into his axe.

Gunnar blocked, dodged and rolled his way to safety from every blow. Brad came downward with his axe and Gunnar caught his arm. Twisting Brad’s arm around he claimed his axe for his own.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Gunnar razzed. “So green, is this really what I have become?”

In response Brad clinched his fist and punched Gunnar in the check.

“I guess you have some balls after all,” Gunnar said with a smile.

Weaponless Brad was forced on the defensive. The axe came whizzing and he sidestepped it sprinting for another weapon. Brad’s hand was about to clasped onto a spear when a crippling burning sensation in his back forced him to the ground.

Brad rolled over to see blood dripping from Gunnar’s axe. Steam raised around it like mist. Brad felt weak and when he looked down blood was beginning to pool around his body.

“Awe, someone has a booboo.” Gunnar said. “Here let me fix that for you.”

Gunnar lifted his hand and hundreds of little blue bubble of light left his hand and entered Brad’s body. Brad could feel his wound heal itself. His back still felt raw, but he would live.

“Wouldn’t want you to die too soon,” Gunnar said winking at Brad.

“You’re going to wish you didn’t do that,” Brad said.

Brad reached up at the weapon rack and grabbed the handle of an axe. Without trying to aim he heaved it towards Gunnar. Gunnar raised his shield and the axe hit handle first before falling harmlessly to the ground; but it was the opening Brad needed.

As Gunnar lowered his shield, Brad took up a spear and closed the distance between them with a few short steps. Brad thrust the point through Gunnar’s neck and more of the blue lights entered his body from Gunnar’s.

Brad watched in shock as the Gunnar’s wound healed itself. “Well guess that makes us even,” Gunnar said.

Brad dropped his shield and wielded the spear in both hands. Gunnar was the first to press the attack. Without an efficient way to block Brad was forced to dodge. Already he was regretting his decision to drop the shield.

Brad’s muscles throbbed and his breath was heavy an irregular. It seemed like a lifetime had passed. A lifetime of him dodging and striking out with a wild counterattack that Gunnar easily blocked. The only thing still giving him hope was that Gunnar didn’t look any better off.

They had wounded each other several times. Each time the bubble lights would appear around their bodies and they would be healed. Brad was starting to wonder if Odin’s real plan was to keep him here until Ragnarök happened. Like some sick training method.

Holding shield and axe in one hand Gunnar rolled a small white oval object in his fingers.

“You know what this is?” Gunnar asked

“A rune,” Brad said trying his best to sound board.

“Oh, very good,” Gunnar said. “But it isn’t just any rune. It’s a favorite of ours.”

“What does it do?” Brad only got another wink from Gunnar for an answer before Gunnar swallowed the rune.

Brad couldn’t be sure but Gunnar looked less tired somehow re-energized. He soon discovered that didn’t begin to describe it. Gunnar lashed out with a flurry of attacks that Brad could just barely see.

Brad did his best to dodge but he wasn’t fast enough. He took three hits to his body and the shaft of his spear took another snapping it. Brad stared into Gunnar’s eyes and was greeted with a look of hunger from a wild beast.

The blue lights seemed a permanent fixed to Brad’s body as Gunnar landed one hit after another. The axe head was less than a blur as cut and hacked into Brad’s body. Gunnar had become unstoppable in battle and Brad was sure he was going to die.

Brad lay on the ground as Gunnar stomped him repeatedly. Brad desperately reached for anything. Anything at all that could save him. Brad’s hand gripped onto the broken spear point. Franticly Brad lashed out with the point missing in his attempt to free himself from the dread Gunnar filled him with.

Gunnar trampled Brad’s wrist and Brad could feel it snap causing him to drop the spear head. Gunnar laughed pulling Brad up by his hair and kneeing him in the face. The world came in and out of focus like waves crashing on a beach.

Much to Brad’s surprises it was the lights that saved him as Gunnar’s body disappear in a storm of blue bubbles. Brad’s wounds healed and the blackness that threated his vision went extinct.

Brad woke in a cold sweat. It hadn’t been like any of the other dreams. This one was somehow more real. Looking down he noted that although not broken his wrist was a bright purple color and his back still felt warm.

“Are you okay Gunnar!” Eir shouted. “You looked like your body was being torn apart. At one point I swear I say blood.”

“Yeah, I think I’m fine,” Brad said

She wasn’t talking to you, Brad’s fear returned. The thought though in his head wasn’t his. He knew, could sense the voice that went with that thought and it belonged to Gunnar.