One morning, as I woke up early to begin my training, I decided to break into my father's shed in search of a certain something. I had grown tired of the same training every day and was looking for a change of pace.
The shed held many of my father's tools, but what I was interested in was his axe. A small axe he used for chopping wood. It was leaning in the corner of the shed, and I quickly grabbed it and left.
I went deep into the forest and found an area with lots of thick trees. My goal was to cut them all down, no matter how long it took. Whether it took months or years. I wanted to train with a weapon, and this axe was the only weapon I had available.
My motivation was fueled by my jealousy of Ragnar. He had the chance to train with a real weapon while I had to train my body. I didn't want to be left behind. I wanted to learn how to wield a weapon and an axe was as good as any.
So, I spent the morning hacking away at a tree, swinging with more desperation than technique. I barely made a dent in the tree, but that was to be expected.
The weight of the axe was too much for me to handle at first, but over time, I got used to it. I also gradually adapted to the proper technique I needed to swing the axe more efficiently. It took me a month to cut down my first tree.
By that time, I had developed blisters on the palm of my hand, and the skin was peeling off. I took it as proof of my hard work, no matter how painful it was. I even split the wood into small chunks with the intention of selling them. The problem was, I didn't have anyone to sell them to.
One particular morning, while I was swinging at a tree, I heard a rustle from the bushes, followed by a scream and then a sharp thud.
Curious, and a bit wary, I went to see who it was, and to my surprise, it was Frey, my half-sister. The sight was amusing, to say the least. She had teary eyes, a bumped knee, and was sitting on the ground covered in flower petals of various colors like some kind of fairy goddess descending to earth.
After stopping myself from laughing, I offered her a hand. The two of us lived together, but we hardly spoke. She had a shy personality and was always with her mother, Ari. Plus, I had the feeling she didn't like me very much. Or maybe she was just wary since I didn't make much of an effort to connect with her.
She resembled her mother. She had long blonde hair that cascaded down to her waist, a slender build, and a face cute enough to pass for a princess. Ari, Ragnar and Frey were the only ones in the village who had blonde hair. There was a rumor that my father's second wife, Ari, was actually a foreigner. Which made sense the more I thought about it.
"Are you okay?" I asked as I extended her a hand.
She averted her eyes, her face flushed red. She was embarrassed. She also had a small cut on her knee. It was a small chip, but it seemed to be bothering her, so I tore off a piece of cloth from my clothes and wrapped it around her leg to stop the bleeding.
"Eeep!"
She let out a cute noise and squinted as I wrapped the cloth around her knee, and when I was done, she bowed her head.
"T-Thank you very much!" she exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. She bowed her head and lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, her face as red as a tomato.
Is that a curtsey? Her mother must've thought her that. Her mother raised her as if she was the daughter of a noble. She was polite and kind. Unlike the other girls her age who had the temperament of a wild boar.
Seeing her reaction, I couldn't fight the urge to pat her on the head.
"You're welcome."
I thought she would react adversely, but instead, a warm smile crept on her lips.
It was strange; after all this time, this was my first interaction with her. I never really got the chance to know her before; maybe this was my opportunity.
"What are the flower petals for?" I asked.
There were flower petals of different colors scattered on the ground around us.
"They were a gift."
Her hands tightened on the hem of her skirt, her eyes showing a deep sadness within them.
"A gift? For your mother? If that's the case I can help you pick some more." I asked.
She shook her head and raised her hand slowly, pointing her finger at me.
"They were a gift for you."
A gift for me? But why? For the first time during our whole conversation, she looked me in the eyes as she spoke.
"I want you to train me!" she blurted, fist clenched.
I could hear the conviction in her voice as she said it. Her face held an excitement that I had never seen from her before.
"I want to be a shield-maiden like Lagertha."
A shield maiden?
Shield-maidens are female warriors who have chosen the path to voyage across the sea in search of wealth and power. Lagertha was one such warrior; she was the most famous shield-maiden to ever exist.
When the nights were cold in the winter and a simple homemade fireplace wasn't enough to soothe the freezing temperatures, we would all gather and huddle together in the longhouse. The men would tell us stories of the adventures of warriors of the past, as well as their own stories of adventure.
Stories of shield-maidens like Lagertha were popular among the women and young girls, but none of them adored them enough to actually become one.
Shield-maidens were a thing of the past, the warriors used to say. The ones that exist today are few and far between. Never had I thought that the shy girl, Frey, would want to become one.
"My father refuses to train me," she continued, rather passionately. I had never seen her so enthusiastic about anything. Her eyes were almost sparkling. "And Ragnar refused to train me as well."
She grabbed hold of my hand and stared up at me with her big blue eyes.
"Big Brother Sigurd."
Big Brother?
She had the cutest look on her face when she said that. I knew she was manipulating me with her cuteness but still, she was tugging on my heart string. I never had a younger sister in my past life and a part of me couldn't help wondering how it feels.
"You're the only person I have left who can help me. I thought I'd bring some flowers here to convince you, but I…" She was almost tearing up, begging for my help.
How could I say no?
Plus, if it will piss Dag off then I just have to make her a shield maiden out of spite.
I rested my hand on her head, feeling her silky hair in my palm.
"Okay then, I'll train you, but it will be our little secret, alright?" I said giving her a wink.
Her face lit up with a huge grin, and she nodded her head excitedly.
"Yes, yes, alright. Thank you so much Big Bro Sig!"
She jumped in for a hug, wrapping her arms around me, and I returned the embrace. I could hardly believe that this was the shy girl I thought I knew.
Frey's patron goddess was Freya. Just like Odin, those blessed by Freya could also use magic; however, her magic wasn't used for fighting but for life, healing and growth. This was the case for most Vanir gods.
I had seen her use her ability to help plants grow, cure someone's fatigue, and even give others blessings that provided slight resistance against heat and cold. But what was really special about her ability was her connection to animals.
At times people would develop special affinities as the god's power settled within them. For example, my affinity was for darkness and cold. I had seen Frey use squirrels, small birds, and even rabbits to do her bidding before so I'm guessing her affinity is to animals.
Using her magic to grow plants, cure someone of fatigue, and create blessings required precise control over her Máttur, so I decided to teach her the meditation technique the seer had taught me.
So, in the mornings while she practiced her meditation, I focused on my training with the axe.
During the winter months, when everyone was holed up inside, I still continued my training. Even through snowstorms, I was unperturbed. I moved through them with ease. Before my assimilation began, I didn't care much for the snow, but now it felt like a sanctuary, as if I were being drawn to wherever it was cold and dark. I hated the summer months. The heat and the light.
Runa had her baby during the winter. A baby girl with white hair and purple eyes. She named her Astrid, and after her naming ceremony, her true name became Astrid Hallowed Dawn, Child of the North Star.
I found it a bit strange that her true name was similar to mine, especially since a true name is said to contain one's destiny but maybe it was because we were family. In the end I decided to brush it off as nothing.
It was during the spring, when the snow from the previous winter was melting, that my father summoned me and Ragnar. We were on edge as he seemed more excited than usually, which normally means trouble for us.
"Sigurd… Ragnar… It's time you become a man." Dag smiled.
In his hands, he was holding a brown bag made of wool. He threw the bag in front of us and we heard the sound of steel clattering together.
Ragnar and I spared each other a glance before scavenging through the bag to see what was in it.
There were two weapons.
Ragnar pulled out a shortsword while I held a battleaxe.
Ragnar's sword looked freshly forged. The blade glinted in the sunlight, and if you looked closely, you could see small runes etched onto the blade. He tried to ask Dag what the runes meant, but Dag only responded by saying it was Odin's magic. The hilt of his sword was made entirely of silver.
The battleaxe I was holding seemed to be of the same grade as his; freshly forged, with twin blades etched with runes. The haft was made of dark oak wood. It was hard and weighty. I could feel it. It was much heavier than the farm axe I was used to swinging.
"You're finally teaching us how to fight?" Ragnar asked, his excitement evident on his face, as he took practice swings with his new blade.
"How old are you boys again?" Dag asked, tilting his head with a slight grin.
"I'm nine, and Sigurd is ten. What of it?"
"Eh?" Dag scratched his head before muttering, "Age is just a number, after all. How would you boys like to become Vikings?"