Disease

"Nek, Nek!"

Blake signaled, releasing the bird perched on his right hand.

The bird flew straight towards a hare, the hare tried to run, but the bird was faster, landing on the rodent and digging its claws in.

"Whitey caught another rabbit!!!"

Ygritte, who was standing at Blake's side, ran towards the bird that was nibbling on the hare's head.

"The girl had better not go too far away, there's a lot of snow, and she might fall into a hole that would gobble her up whole very easily."

The one who spoke now was Clay, who was looking around while the pair of siblings hunted.

"Ygritte!"

Ygritte stopped in her tracks at Blake's shout, who caught up to her and they all walked together to the bird.

"Rrrhhh, Rrrhhh, Rrrhhh, Rrrhhh!"

When he reached the bird, Blake placed a piece of meat in the animal's mouth, taking the rabbit and putting it in his pouch, while the bird landed back on his right hand.

"That's a big bird, I wouldn't be surprised if it could hunt a snow fox."

Clay spoke as he watched Ygritte stroke the bird's head.

"There are two females in the tribe with broods, hunters or warriors who want to can take one, but they will have to take some lessons at the school, and learn from Duk how to handle the bird properly."

"I want to hunt with Whitey too, you never let me hold him, Blake!"

Blake saw the huge bird his sister had named Whitey, it was a snowy owl, it had a black beak and golden eyes, with almost completely white plumage except for some black feathers on the lower body, and most importantly, the bird was over a meter long, weighing 3.5 kilos.

"I told you, when you can hold it, I'll let you use it all you want."

Ygritte pouted at his words, but Blake didn't let up, the owl was simply too big for Ygritte to handle at the moment.

Blake had managed to raise a brood of these birds with the help of a tribesman named Duk who had recently joined the tribe.

Duk found a nest with several chicks of these snowy owls, and Blake had invested time and resources into getting them to survive, Whitey being one of them.

"The breeze is hitting harder, better get back to the tribe in case a storm hits."

Clay looked up at the sky, spitting at the ground and urging Blake to return, it was obvious from his expression that he didn't like babysitting at all, even though he had enjoyed hunting along with Whitey.

Blake nodded, following Clay back to the tribe.

He had taken a couple of hours out of his busy time to go out hunting with Clay, he did this for several reasons, the first was to learn all that Clay knew about hunting, as he was one of, if not, the best hunter in the tribe, and Blake wanted to know all his tricks and knowledge, teach them at school to the children and so train better and better hunters.

Blake had done this for much of the winter, learning from the warriors, from the archers and fishermen, writing guides and placing them in the school library, giving classes, so that any member of the tribe could learn these skills more easily.

The second reason was falconry, Blake had shown Whitey within the tribe for all the hunters and warriors to see, this way they would want their birds, and Blake would be more than willing to provide them, as long as they met a few conditions.

One of the conditions was that they learn to read and write. Most of the young men of the tribe could read, write and count, as they were required to attend school. Tribal members working in the workshop, kitchens, and stables also knew how to write, as Blake had imposed it as compulsory knowledge. But the older hunters, warriors, and fishermen did not consider reading and writing necessary, and many were illiterate.

Blake wanted the whole tribe to advance quickly, leaving some of their savage behavior behind, so he could not miss any opportunity to teach the tribesmen.

When they arrived at the tribe it was still morning, Blake tried to see the time with his pocket watch, but the fog covering the sky prevented the sun's rays from reaching the ground.

"REMEMBER WELL, THE BLACK AXE TRIBE PROMISES PROTECTION TO ALL WHO WISH TO JOIN, AND SO FAR, AS MAGNAR, I HAVE KEPT MY WORD. BUT ANYONE WHO BREAKS THE TRIBE'S RULES WILL RECEIVE PUNISHMENT JUST AS SURELY!"

Blake saw a crowd in the center of the tribe, his father Oswin was in the center, and at his feet lay the limp body of a man whose head had been severed.

(Another one...)

Since the Men of the Frozen Shore had joined the tribe a few months ago, the tribe had been a bit more chaotic, the efforts of Blake and various leaders had kept order within the tribe, but still a dozen men had been executed, while at least a hundred had different sentences where they were to work in the quarries for a term of time.

"GO HOME, BUT REMEMBER MY WORDS, THIS WILL BE THE FATE OF THOSE WHO BREAK THEM!"

Oswin dispersed the crowd, and Blake walked towards him along with Ygritte.

"What was the motive this time?"

Blake looked at the severed head still on the floor, noting that the owner was still a boy, perhaps 15 years old.

"The little jerk stole food for the third time from the kitchens, the first time I sent him to the quarry for a month, the second time I whipped him 20 times and sent him back to the quarry, but this time for two months, how could he do it for the third time?!"

Blake noticed that his father was pale, he didn't know if it was because of anger or for having killed a boy so young, it was something strange since Oswin was not someone soft.

"Come to the cabin after you put that bird away, I want to talk something with you."

Blake nodded at his father's words, giving orders to burn the previously executed boy, taking Whitey to the cages, and leaving Ygritte at home to subsequently walk to Oswin's house.

Like Blake's house, Oswin's house had been made of wood, stone, and mortar, using the Song dynasty architecture that Blake knew best.

When Blake entered, he found Oswin sitting in front of the fireplace, with wine and some appetizers.

Blake looked inside the house, the door to the room was closed, and the living room even with the fireplace lit looked dark.

"Come, sit down and join me for a drink."

Blake sat down taking a Wineskin and pouring himself a drink.

"The Men of the Frozen Shore are too wild, it will take us some more time to get them to follow tribal rules, we should delay the journey to Thenn and the Giants for a few more months to stabilize the tribe."

Oswin took a sip of wine still watching the flames in the fireplace as he listened to him. Blake thought his father looked much older than how he remembered him at the moment, in his eyes was an amalgamation of feelings that he struggled to identify.

"Is it really necessary for you to go too? It would be better to let me and Wymond take care of this, while you stay with the tribe."

Blake also knew that was the best plan of action, but he needed to undertake this journey to the lands of eternal winter.

"I've sent hunters all over the Night's Watch looking for the wizard who can give me answers about what the dark spirits did to me, but they haven't found him, it's like he's hiding from them. If I can't finally find him, I have to seek those answers in the lands of eternal winter, or I will have to live bound to this body for the rest of my life."

Blake's voice was cold and monotone, not hiding the current state of his mind and thoughts.

Oswin's already pale countenance worsened as he listened to Blake's words.

"I always dream of when I found you in the middle of the forest, in the hands of that monstrosity, and managed to get you back... Had I been quicker, had I stopped that demonic woman, had I not fallen asleep, I always think of how things would have been had I acted differently."

Blake simply shrugged.

"I never blamed you for that, if it wasn't for you, who knows what I'd be right now."

Osiwn looked at Blake, even with white hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes, Oswin found features similar to his own, very different from the horrifying monstrosity he murdered in the Haunted forest that night.

"Hahaha, you're right."

Oswin took another drink after making a slight chuckle, and Blake didn't know if that chuckle was one of happiness, reassurance, or sadness.

"There's something else I want to talk to you about..."

Blake noticed Oswin's restless eyes looking at the fireplace with some concern.

"Yesterday... Willa told me she was pregnant."

Blake looked with some surprise at his father.

"Congratulations, I didn't think you'd have any other children at this point."

Blake patted his father's shoulder, sincerely congratulating him.

Oswin shook his head.

"I told you the story about the shaman who cursed me, didn't I?"

Blake nodded, at least a dozen times he had told him that story while drunk.

"For many years I thought I would never have descendants, and that the bloodline of my ancestors, my father's, would die with me, I fought 100 men and one more, stealing from dozens of women so I wouldn't indulge that old shaman."

Blake nodded.

"And you finally did, there's me, Ygritte, and now you have another son, I think that shaman was just a demented old man."

Oswin smiled a little as he listened to Blake, but quickly his expression darkened again.

"When Willa told me, I was so happy I held her all night long, I couldn't sleep after that, I just held her in my arms."

Oswin's restless eyes watched the flames in the fireplace as he counted.

"WIlla always covers her feet with sheepskins, she has never let me see her feet, but this morning she was asleep, and I was very curious, so I cut the skins without waking her."

Blake looked quizzically at his father, he didn't understand what he was trying to tell him.

"Willa has a grayscale disease, I saw it on one of her feet."

Blake's eyes widened sharply upon hearing the news.

The greyscale disease was known throughout Free folk, there were terrible legends concerning this disease, where entire clans and tribes died from this disease.

"When I saw the gray scales surrounding her foot, I almost reached for my sword to kill her right then and there!"

Blake watched as Oswin's face reddened with rage as he counted, but after a few moments, he calmed down again.

"But she's carrying my child now... I couldn't do it, even though I knew it was the right thing to do."

"Where's Willa?"

"She's still asleep in the room, still not waking up."

Oswin took another sip of wine, and this time turned to look at Blake.

"I called you for your advice, what do you think I should do now?"

Blake knew little of the grey-scale disease, but he remembered Shireen, a kindly girl with a cruel fate, who carried the disease for a long time without infecting the people around her.

"If the disease has been upon her for all this time, and has not spread, it is most likely not dangerous to the tribe."

Blake said these words very slowly, trying to calm Oswin.

"Legends say that the disease never goes away, it just sleeps, ready to wake up and kill everyone, are you sure of your words?"

Oswin looked at Blake seriously, as Magnar, his duty was to protect the tribe, and he could not afford to expose this great danger to the tribe, even at the cost of his son.

Blake nodded.

"I know ways in which to keep her from being a danger, when we cross the great wall, we can seek doctors who know better about the scale disease, you won't have to kill her, nor kill the future child, trust me."

A rock seemed to have fallen from Oswin's back listening to Blake's words, he looked at him hopefully.

"I have to see her first."

Oswin nodded, and they both walked to the bedroom.

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again I feel that the ending was abrupt, leaving part of the chapter cut off, but I ran out of time too quickly, it's a pity.