Eyes of Fire

"I am Ivar the Boneless!"

  "I hope you are comfy in that fancy chair, Ivar." I said while standing in front of him with my hands on my hips. His elbows were on the armrests while one hand was on his chin as his brow rose.

  "Why?"

  "Because I have some questions for you."

  "Such as?" He shifted in his seat as I walked closer and let my eyes wander over the room being lit by candles.

  "These Saxons. You know of their beliefs, do you not?"

  "I know enough. Why?"

  "Tell me about it." Turning, I sat next to his chair and pat my thigh to have Garmr lay beside me. "I wish to understand it."

  "Why would you want to understand a false religion? Their god is weak and feeble, nothing more."

  "I want to know why those children were not afraid of me." I replied while petting the wolf's head. "You are smart and know these people better than I do, so that is why I came to you. They looked at me with wonder rather than fear. What is it about these angels? Are they that grand?"

  "....To them. Have you seen the glass windows in the churches? The people with wings?"

  "Yes."

  "Those are angels. They are messengers, warriors, whatever their god needs them to be. The Christians believe these things are without 'sin' and are the holiest beings second only to their god. They are without flaw." Ivar calmly explained before sighing.

  "Well, that's rather boring, don't you think?" I furrowed my brows while scratching behind Garmr's ear.

  "What do you mean?"

  "To be without flaw is to be perfection. Our gods are without perfection, and they are wondrous. To be flawed is to be different, and to be different is interesting." I answered. "Look at you, for example. You are far from perfection with your anger, unpredictability, and even the fact that you are a cripple, but you are interesting. Complex. There is never a dull moment with you, Ivar." There was a quiet pause before he spoke again.

  "I would say the same of you, Hel."

  "Mm. Now teach me their language." I grinned after hearing his heavy sigh.

~

  "That's him." Ivar stated as we watched from a tower how the Saxon soldiers were climbing over the wall.

  "Who?" Hvitserk asked.

  "Aethelwulf, King Ecbert's son. Oh, and he brought his own sons. Like lambs to the slaughter."

  "Hvitserk, Hel, let's go." Ubbe spoke up, and we followed him out while leaving Ivar by the window. The sky overhead was dark and covered with grey clouds as a thick fog was settled over the town. There were traps everywhere for the Saxon warriors ranging from pits of spikes and hidden archers just waiting for something to shoot at.

  Getting into position, I drew my sword when I heard the first screams. Now I only had to wait until those that made it past the traps came running by to cut them down.

  Screaming and pained howls echoed through the air, and I ran out when I saw the first Englishman. Garmr leapt at another soldier and ripped out his throat as I cut a man's leg clean off and impaled my sword through his skull. It was after my third kill that rain began to fall and turned the streets muddy, but that did not slow me as I fought on.

  However, seeing Ivar race by on his chariot did.

  "Oh, that idio-" I was cut off when I saw a sword being swung at me, and I barely managed to dodge it, dropping to the ground and rolling away to regain myself. Shouting, I then lunged at the Saxon and trapped him between my shield and a stone wall before driving my sword through his torso. Blood poured from his mouth as the life left his eyes, and I kicked him off of my blade.