Planning ahead and Raided

After that revelation I had begun to get engrossed in my magic training, it was mainly rune magic. With my old tunic I made some protection rune bracelets for Astrid and Ubbe weaved in an intricate design fed with my magic. I also created 4 for me, adjustable so they don't just tear up when I transform. The runes were made from the titanite I'd found, mainly basic stuff for protection, health, wealth, and survival. I did try making a gateway rune but the titanite just crumbled to dust, must not be able to sustain the magic power needed. Using magic a lot helped me get rid of the uncomfortable feeling it brought and expanded my core, it was about the size of a human head now, I'm not sure if that's good or bad but it's an improvement so I was happy.

Anyway, I realized I need a teacher and the only one I could think of at this time was Merlin, which would mean I need to go to England. Maybe the seer was right it will begin in Wessex. But Merlin isn't born yet and Hogwarts hasn't been founded, he was a Slytherin after all, maybe I have to meet the founders instead? But that's like 50 years away and the originals will become vampires at the same time.

'ugh, what should I do? Go to England and learn from the founders or just create my own spells? I did wish for a great comprehension of magic so maybe I'll be okay for now? Anyway, 50 years is nothing when you're immortal!'

After contemplating what to do I decided to just travel around and practice what I could on my own, maybe make some magic with old Norse instead of Latin.

I'd begun designing a ritual of 7, I knew 7 was a mystical number it was mentioned in Harry potter somewhere, not sure but I knew it was. I wanted the ritual to help me connect with Ratatoskr and other animals, maybe 6 other things it was a ritual of 7 after all. Id needs 7 types of different ingredients and 7 of each. It was going to take some time but I had it spare.

I'd still been training with Ubbe but after my awakening, it was more mutual then getting pummeled, the enhanced perception helped but he still got the better of me though. We never really went all out on one another, just used our skills not deadly force.

It was on one of the days that we were laughing and joking while training in the yard, that something unexpected happened an arrow pelted through the air and hit the ground between us.

" attack!" Was the last thing I wanted to hear while having fun with ubbe. Then more and more arrows began to cover the sky, blocking out the sunlight.

"Ubbe enemies! We need to help!" I shouted at Ubbe who was already getting ready to kill whoever it was attacking the farmstead. He had a crazed look in his eyes, raised his axe, and with a thunderous roar cried out "For Valhalla!!" And ran at the first sign of an enemy.

I was right beside him running towards the vile smiling warriors, a man on a horse was riding throughout the farmsteads killing anything that crossed his path. As I saw him cut down an elderly lady who lived on a farm close to ours something within me snapped and I threw my axe with all my might towards the creature in human skin. As it flew through the air ripping the wind in its path it eventually lodged its way into his back, he fell down blood gushing from his wound.

I continued running towards him pulling out my seax, slicing through anyone I could see, it all became a blur of blood and screams of pain echoing in the distance. When I reached him I stamped on his back and ripped my axe free, someone was sneaking up on me, Ratatoskr jumped at him clawing at his eyes. Pivoting seax in hand, I sliced his throat, blood sprayed over my cold face was the last thing he saw with terror in his eyes.

I kept making my way towards town, I had to make sure Brandr and Frida were safe. When I got there the blood was flowing like a stream through the streets, pleas cried out and sound of death accompanying them. That's when I saw him, laying on the floor arrows piercing his body and Frida was next to him covered in blood and dirt. They were both dead, my eyes began streaming with tears, I was too late. Anguish consumed me and a feral roar crept its way out of my throat.

"Damn you, bastards! I'll kill you all!"

I slaughtered my way through bodies of enemies like a tornado of carnage, my axe tearing limbs, seax slicing skin, and bone-crunching kicks. A Maelstrom of madness that left bodies behind its path.

A tall brown-haired man covered in animal furs approached me with a savage smile on his face, he was enjoying the show. It sickened me, how could anyone enjoy killing innocent elderly women and children. Viking men and women were engaged in a bloody battle for there lives, equal in their own right for survival, even I could perhaps appreciate the sense of glee of winning a battle to the death, but not killing someone defenceless.

"You boy! Come fight Thorhall!" He shouted in glee, I didn't even pay attention to his words as I let my axe loose from you grip in a twisting swing, it sailed through the air and his neck. His face still had that smile not even realizing he was already dead, he watched his own body fall to the floor.

"He killed Thorhall! Get him!" I heard another man shout as a group of 5 tried circling around me. I didn't give them the chance and lunged at the one closest and drove my seax into his temple, spinning his body around with me I used it to take a blow from my left an axe got stuck in his shoulder. I used that moment, pushing the meat shield forward into the attacker. His dead weight offset the man's balance and he fell on his back pinned down by his dead comrade.

The other three enemies were shocked but I didn't care, I threw my seax at the guy behind me, and collected his weapon as he dropped it, it was a sword, slightly bending my legs I got into a position to defend the two who'd broken out of their shocked state of mind. However, before one of them had the opportunity a sword pierced through his chest and he looked down at it in agony.

"Don't you dare hurt Fenrisúlfr!!" Was all I heard as the enemy's blood gurgled out of his mouth, and Astrid stood behind him. I took care of the other, he opted for a downward swing with a sword which I parried and stabbed him through the throat, these warriors seemed amateurs nothing like Ubbe and Ivar.

"Astrid your okay! thank Odin!" I said as stabbed the pinned man and relief washed over me as I saw the enemy's started to retreat, loosing there best warrior Thorhall tarnished their morale and after the 5 that counter-attacked fell, they must have realized it was useless. Birka had a few hundred warriors but the enemy seemed like a small raiding party of 50 or so.

" Of course I am this isn't my first battle! Where's Ubbe?" She asked impatiently.

"He's over there" I replied pointing at Ubbe with a few others, they were cleaning up the stragglers. As the adrenaline stopped rushing through my body I started to feel nauseous, looking around at the carnage I'd left, more than 10 bodies were left in the path I'd taken. I bent over and vomited the contents of my stomach. I didn't feel guilty about what I'd done, it was necessary they deserved death for there deeds but being a person that hasn't taken a life before in both lives I think, got to me.

"You'll get used to it Fenrisúlfr! It's always hard the first time" I heard Ubbe say as he made his way over towards us with a few following him.

"That was his first time? He was incredible! I've never seen someone so aware of his surroundings in battle!" I heard another person say but I couldn't see them as I was still wretching towards the floor.

"Ubbe your okay!" That was Astrid I couldn't forget her voice. Wiping my mouth with my hand, I stood up and spat out what was left in my mouth, sick was disgusting.

"Of course I am Astrid but thank Odin you are aswell" Ubbe sounding liberated of worry like the weight of the world was gone from his shoulders

"This little thing helped me! Or I'd have been skewered with arrows" she said holding up her hand with the bracelet I'd made smiling.

"So it works, good!" I finally managed to say something but then remembered my friends had been impaled with arrows. I looked towards the town centre, some buildings were of fire and there were dead bodies littering the streets 2 being Brandr and Frida. I set off walking as my face contorted with sorrow.

Astrid was going to say something as I heard "Fenris" but was cut short by Ubbe placing a hand on her shoulder as I walked past the crowd that had gathered towards my fallen friends.

When I reached their bodies, I reached down and placed them like they were hugging on a grassy verge to the side.

Feeling that they should be eternally together, I held out my hand and began pushing all my magic into the ground and their lifeless bodies.

As the crowd watched on a couple of a young man and woman got dragged into the dirt, a tree sapling sprung through the dirt and begun to grow rapidly, twisting and turning as it raced towards the sky. After a few minutes of silence, a great tree stood tall, the trunk split in two at the base and coiled around each other like lovers in each other's embrace. A yew tree now stood, forever green and growing old in their place.

"Rest well my friends, I hope this yew stays throughout time and watches over this world before you meet again in the halls of Valhalla" I snivelled as tears run down my cheeks.

"It's beautiful! Fjörgyn would be proud!" I picked up Astrid's voice as I let out a howl towards the darkening sky as clouds blocked the sunlight and rain begun to cascade upon us as if the world was crying over the loss of life resulting in today's conflict.