A Chosen Fate

The sunlight hit my eyes waking me up as I huddled underneath the fur blanket of my bed. I am now fifteen years of age almost a man in this culture , I have learned their language and their gods my favorite being Tyr for his fearlessness. Looking in the mirror I splashed cold water from a basin on my face. My hair which was a dark red color as if made out of blood was cut short on the sides while the top which was longer was slicked back with water to keep it out of my eyes. My eyes, father says I have the eyes of Loki though I think he is just jealous as they are a deep green like the trees. I am fairly shorter than the other boys of the village that's not too far from here and skinnier so most of them think I am too weak to fight. Despite this I have a fairly muscular build from practicing combat with father and doing work around the house such as chopping down trees, splitting wood and hunting. Astrid says the girls think I am cute but I don't believe her, I still struggle to talk to the other norsemen when I get embarrassed and I have retained memory of my Celtic language which I sometimes use to mess with the other boys. Despite this I have made friends here in the village of Hyarsem and I don't ever think of home unless someone brings it up.

Getting on my linen shirt and pants I then put on my fur boots and put on my coat. It was currently the beginning of winter and the snow has set in which carries a chill in the air. Today I am going with father to hear the kids chosen to become berserkers. Apparently the training is harsh and few survive though those that do become great warriors blessed with an animals virtue. Though father says they also have a drawback as they are engulfed in a rage and often times cannot tell friend from foe. Father says I most likely will not be chosen as I am a foreigner taken in by his family though I secretly think they won't care. Yawning I walked out of my room to meet father and mother who were having some bread and milk for breakfast. "Morning Orin ready to go?" He asked as I shoved some bread in my mouth and nodded.

Soon we were beside each other both on horses as we rode into town. A stage had been constructed in the town's square and a large man with a wolfs pelt draped over his chainmail gazed down upon the townspeople. The man's face was old and he had a scar on his jaw , his hair was stark white and long draping on his back and he had a large braided beard. As for his physique he was quite fit for his old age and he had two axes on his belt. Thorm the Jarl of the village, a middle aged man with short blonde hair and a close shaven beard sat in his chair on the stage. "Listen villagers your Jarl has called a Thing to announce who will join the ranks of the berserkers!" The white haired man yelled out as I and my Father dismounted and joined the crowd.

"My name is Yurim and I am the leader of the berserkers!" I heard him cry out as he took out a piece of parchment. I then began to listen to him as he called out names about two boys were chosen one who was like a bear incarnate and the other who was even skinnier then I was. Then my heart dropped as I heard him call out the final name " Orin Gyearmson ". I had been thinking about how I would be chosen because my luck and even though I thought about it jokingly I never thought I would really be picked. "You have until midday to spend time with your families after that then regroup here!" I heard Yarim order. Hugging my father we once again mounted our horses and rode home.

Upon getting home my father told my mother and sister the news. They shed some tears but we spent the day as a family tending the sheep staying inside and listening to stories of the gods. It was almost like I did not have to leave today. Father told me I would come back home after I finished my training but that wouldn't be for three years. Finally midday arrived and I said goodbye to my family getting a affectionate kiss on the cheek from Astrid which made me blush. I then set on to the village and after everyone had arrived Yarim took us on a ship where we set sail for Greenland.

As we were sailing I felt the sea air hit my face and I took a deep breath. I introduced myself to the other kids the bear of a boy being named Jarsom and having black hair in multiple braids and a face that showed he had been in multiple fights with blue eyes. The skinnier one was named Hasirir I noticed he had brown hair that already seemed to be graying and brown eyes. Being boys we were all clean shaven I then looked at Yarims eyes which seemed to be yellow like a wolfs. After a few days at sea we reached Greenland and the berserkers training camp. It had a wall around it made out of sharpened logs and as we landed then walked in I could see multiple longhouses. I was told one would hold us, one would hold the instructors and their slaves and then the final was where we would eat.

"Alright! Listen up! " I heard Yarim yell to get our attention. There was about fifteen boys In all gathered. "Today you are joining the ranks of the Berserkers , now you will be trained in combat and what makes a berserker and a berserker. Now the first thing we will do today is pick your animal fur to wear. You see whatever you pick you must kill then wear its fur, killing this animal will give you it's virtue , you may choose from a Boar which gives you endurance , a Wolf which gives you speed and finally a Bear which gives you strength." . I listened to these words and pondered what I should choose as I watched the other boys choose some, most regular people chose the Boar while the skinnier ones chose the Wolf and larger ones chose the Bear. I noticed Jarsom actually ended up choosing the Boar while Hasirir chose the Wolf. Finally deciding I would walk up to Yarim and say "I choose a Bear."