There are many fabled stories of love and life, compassion, positive moral judgment, and how good prevails. This is not one of them.
A young woman of just 18, Astrid grew up in a small farm village in Scandinavian present day Norway. Her long dirty blonde hair shined with the sunlight, and her green eyes mirrored the fields of her homeland. She had the love of her parents Nel and Esther, and her younger brother Sven. Their farm was bountiful and on the richest land in the Jarldom. Their crops were plentiful, and the hunting on the land was also. Astrid's family always met their quarterly quota for the Jarl, and remained in good standing with his militia.
Astrid's family Jarl, Gudrun, was an old man who has been through and seen it all. He grew up being teased for having a girl's name that his father gave him after Gudrun's mother died during childbirth which toughened him for adulthood. From multiple wars between clans, to raising a family of his own, he was quite possibly held as the most knowledgeable of any Viking Jarl in the land. Unfortunately, as he grew older, he grew weaker putting a target on his back. Knowledge can only do so much against brute force, and he knew his time was coming to an end. He hadn't heard from the surrounding Jarls in a couple of cycles, and his intuition told him what was to come. That end came sooner than he had thought.
Gunnar was a Jarl who grew up taking everything he needed. As he became stronger he took anything he ever wanted. He ruled his Jarldom with an iron fist, literally, his weapon of choice were the two spiked iron gauntlets he wore on his massive hands. Massive hands attached to a massive body. His hair was dirty and black, with a braided mustache that hung as low as the beard that dropped to the barrel that was his belly. His mere presence struck fear in the hearts of his people who did his bidding because Gunner and his men would kill any who disrespect them. Gunner and his clan had slowly and effectively seized control of most Scandinavia. Gunnar had absorbed all the Jarldoms, except one Gudrun's clan, and Gunnar knew Gudrun's people were loyal to him. Taking it by fear or intimidation wasn't going to work this time which is why Gunnar took the neighboring Jarls quickly and quietly to add to his force before going after Gudrun. He looked down on Gudrun's plentiful land, a smile creeping across his face. Once he took this area, he was going to be a king.
Astrid sat at the table eating a lamb stew that her mom had just made. Sven played nearby acting like a normal 10 year old, while their mother and father tended the crop, and livestock.
A Horn sounded.
Astrid thought that the scouts may have returned, but that didn't make sense because they just left a week ago on the long ships, and shouldn't be back for a couple of weeks.
Horn again...
What could possibly be going on? She thought to herself. Just then the screaming started. She peaked through the window and saw hundreds of men armed for war, on foot cutting across the field. Astrid knew that their intentions were not good. The horn was a warning to prepare. How could she have forgotten that two horn blasts meant - Her heart skipped a beat, and fear overwhelmed her. They were under attack.
Astrid's mind went blank as her heart beat fast; she was scared and couldn't concentrate. She didn't know what to do. Just then she heard a voice that signified love and terror at the same time.
"Astrid, what is happening, I'm scared," It was Sven.
I have to get him out of here. Astrid thought to herself as she scooped him up and ran to the stable.
She didn't have time to saddle Magnus, the fastest horse she has ever seen. Magnus was a gift to her family from Gudrun for being the most plentiful of farms in his area. Horses were few and far between so having any horse was a blessing from the gods, but Magnus was elite. Magnus knew that something was amiss, and Astrid saw it in his eyes. She calmed Magnus with a hand on his massive jaw and a soothing look. The screaming was getting closer.
"Leif," she said to Magnus looking him in the eye knowing the horse comprehended, and threw Sven on top. "Sven, Look at me!" She pleaded.
Sven looked down on her, tears overwhelming his eyes and opened his mouth to say something.
"We Don't Have Time Sven. You Need To Go NOW!!" Astrid yelled at him, knowing that he was confused and scared. "I Love you VERY MUCH, now lie down and prop your feet up."
Sven smiled a terrified smirk knowing that his sister loved him and would never stare him in the wrong direction. She wasn't crying and he didn't think he needed to either which calmed him. He did as she had asked as she kissed him on the forehead and covered him with a saddle blanket. She slapped Magnus on his rear and the horse bolted through the closed stable doors as if the strong wood doors were nothing but a piece of parchment. Now she could start to cry, and she did as she grabbed a worn and beaten sword and headed to the fields.
Gunnar looked down on his men as they flooded the village. The men that he acquired from the conquered Jarldoms should make quick work of Gudrun's faithful people. He spotted a mighty and fast horse sprint across a far field and thought that the beast would make a great steed for himself. He believed that the horse may be on its way to call for reinforcements, but that couldn't be the case. There was no rider, just a saddle blanket. Gunnar chuckled knowing that the horse as fast it was, probably got spooked and took off before being saddled, and a horse with such a fear could never be a beast for himself. The Jarl checked his gear and headed down to join his men.
Astrid went to find her parents. The attackers covered the farmland, and she heard the screams of her neighbors as they reached their end. Quickly and without warning her mouth was covered and she was pulled into a den. The terror subsided to relief in a split moment.
"Dad," Astrid said relieved, "I thought you were," She couldn't speak. "I thought you we--."
Nel grabbed her in his arm held her tight and kissed her. Astrid could hear his heart beating. Nel reached out for his wife. Esther came into his arms as he held the most important women in his life. Astrid new her mom was terrified.
"S...Sv...Sv..en," Esther said expecting the worst.
Astrid replied, "Leif."
Her mother burrowed into Nel's chest soaking his torso in tears. Astrid had thought she had done wrong until she received the reassurance she needed from her father as he nodded in acceptance.
"He will be ok Esther," Nel cried.
Her father could no longer hold in his anguish. They huddled there together holding each other with hope and faith as the terrified screams of their brethren slowed to a muffle, and finally to silence.
It had been quiet for what seemed an eternity. Not a word was spoken as they stayed in the warmth of their huddle. Astrid's body finally calmed down when the den opening burst into the light of day.
"HAHA, stragglers, my favorite," said a man.
Astrid didn't recognize him as she felt her father break from the group and grab the worn sword Astrid had taken from the stable.
"Please sir," Nel pleaded. "Please just leave my family alone."
In an instant an iron gauntlet grabbed the broken sword and pulled Nel, still holding the hilt, closer. The other hand with a reflecting glove of its twin grabbed Nel by the throat. The man disarmed her father and put both hands around the same neck that she held on to as a child.
"Look at them," The man said squeezing Nel. "Look into the eyes of your beloved family as your world goes dark."
Nel kicked and flailed like a wildling until he realized as his life was slowly leaving him. There was no escaping this man's iron grip. He accepted his fate, and looked to his wife and daughter. A lonely tear rolled down his cheek as he knew he had failed them. What will this man do to them? He saw his wife running towards him before he heard the loud crack of his neck and the world went dark.
Astrid's mother ran without thought as the man that just killed her husband threw the love of her life to the ground. She closed on him quickly, and before she knew it he countered her rush and turned her to face her daughter as he stood behind her with his arm around her neck.
Astrid stood frozen, but shaking. She caught the look of her mom and lost her mother's gaze as the women that raised her used her last moment to stare at the man she loved.
"There is a fire in this one," The man said as he licked the side of her mom's face from chin to forehead. He stared at Astrid and his eyes widened excited to see the young woman's reaction.
Her mother didn't even blink. She was already gone when her farm soiled shirt became stained with the crimson shade of her blood. The man's blade went through her heart and out her chest, but her heart lay on the ground beside her. She went to join him.
