The Heros of the Vyir: Ysgramor Volundson the Mighty-Axe and the First Rebellion

Prologue

Sigurdi Thorenson poured over manuscripts and papers, trying to piece together the lost history of his people. The High Yarl wanted the University to have a new text that made the origins of the Vyir to be less of a mystery. Many had just assumed that they were lineal descendents of the Nords. Even fewer understood that the Vyir had gotten their start on Summersmere Island, which now belonged to the High Elf Druids. Sig opened an ancient tome and tried to make sense of the ancient runes written therein. He then realized that he had seen these same runes in the "Book of the gods of the Light" and "The Forever War Between the gods of the Light and the gods of the Darkness" the only problem was that only a Priest could read the runes. He traveled to the Temple of Light in Olstaad and asked the Priest there if he would work with him in translating both texts. The Priest only smiled and went into a backroom and produced a book that had the translations of both epics. Sig thanked the Priest with a large donation of guilders and took a carriage back to his house in Thurgidstadd. (This was 100 years after the Orc War was over) He poured over the translated texts and was surprised by a name he never saw before: Ysgramor Volundson the Mighty-Axe. His little son ran into his study. "What are you reading?" the boy insisted in his five-year old manner. "I am reading about an almost forgotten man." said Sigurdi with a smile to his son. "If you promise to be silent and listen, I will tell you the story." said Sigurdi.

Chaper One

"Ysgramor! You are a fine warrior and a man proven at arms! The High Priest of the Nords wants to speak with you!" said Magnus Yverson. "So, is the rebellion still on then?" asked Ysgramor grimly. "Come with me." said Magnus. The men walked to the former Dwarven Hold where 100,000 Nords and the High Priest of the Nords were holed up, waiting for a sign from the gods to launch the rebellion against the Orcish Empire. He strode into the great Halls and went to the Throne and saluted the High Priest. "I am ready to lead this Grand Army if you are ready to let me lead it." said Ysgramor. "Indeed I am ready, the gods told me last night that YOU are the sign I have been waiting for. Your escape from the Orcish slave camp and your quest to free as many of the Nords from slavery as possible was inspired and brilliant at the same time." said the Nord High Priest. "Well Kiel, you freed a great number yourself." said Ysgramor. "The Grand Army is yours. Go forth and conqour." said the High Priest. Ysgramor saluted and the Cheiftans of the Nords went to plan the battles with their new leader.

The White Wolf appeared in Ysgramor's dreams. "Ysgramor. You have been chosen by the gods as the Ethnarch of all of mankind, whom you are to bind together into one great Army. Take the Nords, the Volsans, the Venetians and the Gammaca and lead their tribes against the Orcs. Free mankind from their tyranny and break the yoke. Establish just laws for all of mankind and as a gift from the gods of the Light, you will be stronger than the Orcs that you fight. Go on the front lines in all battles, your great strength will be your guard." "Only know this, the Kelti will not help you. They worship the gods of the darkness, like the Orcs. You saw them guarding the slave camps. Enslave them so their descents will repent their great wickedness." said the White Wolf. "The will of the gods of the Light be done." said Ysgramor. The dream ended. "Wow. Quite a bit got dumped on my shoulders." he said to himself. He met with the Nord Cheiftans and sent messengers to the other tribes throughout the continent, all of them either under tribute to the Orcs or enslaved by them. Because of the letter to the Volsans, their leaders launched their own rebellion and freed all the Volsans from the slave camps and put all the taskmasters to death and burned scores of Orc cities to the ground. The Venetians, in their city-states, agreed to join the rebellion covertly. The wild Gammaca, never bending knee to the Orcs or doing any business with them quickly agreed to contribute 400,000 warriors to the cause. Ysgramor, armed with his long-sword, engravened with runes. It was called "Orc-Slayer" and the engravened spell could only be used once a day. It blew a circle of fire at opponents. Ysgramor and the Nord Grand Army marched south to meet the Volsans and the Gammaca. 10,000 Venetian Officers agreed to join the ranks and be the Officers of the United Army. All sides had their mages, priests and berserkers. "Listen! The Orcs still outnumber us! We will fight on the run. We'll withdraw into the forests and deserts to fight the Orcs, we'll use traps and canyons to whittle them down. Split the Army three ways, I'll get my portion of the Army, Gaskerond of the Volsans will get his share and Gaius Maximus of the Venetians will get his share. It will be a mixed force commanded by the Venetians, they have superior military tactics." said Ysgramor. His cohorts nodded. They split the Grand Army three ways and proceeded to harass the Orc Army as much as possible, free all the humans and the other enslaved races (except for the Kelti)

The gods of the Light were with the Grand Army. The Orcs fell before their foes and after two years into the Rebellion, the Orcs would flee the slave camps before one of the three armies came. The Commanders stayed loyal to the 1st Command; "Do not fight in the open" and they slew scores of Orcs while being barely effected themselves. The three armies had less success with the heavily defended Orc cities though. So, in the campagin against Ter'rock'agar, Ysgramor used messenger hawks to signal the human slaves inside of the city to revolt while his Army besieged the city. The slaves in the city immediately revolted against their Orcish overlords and opened the gates of the city to the Grand Army. The Grand Army armed the freed slaves and put the city to the torch and killed all the Orcs therein. They tore down the great stone walls to deny the Orcs a strong point. The Armies destroyed 300 Orcish cities in a three year timespan. The whole Continent was a massive battleground. The Orcs withdrew to a well-defended Valley and rebuilt their Capitol. The Grand Army was no-where near the valley at the time so the Orcs were able to survive utter extiniction. The war was basically over and the Orcish Emperor sent an envoy to Ysgramor for terms a year later. "They want terms? They have to free their remaining slaves and then they will have peace." said Ysgramor. "And we get the mountain regions to the north and the spit of land above that." said the Orcish envoy, Har'ath'agar. "Then we have an agreement!" said Ysgramor. Both Ysgramor and the Orcish envoy and the three other Captains signed the treaty. The Orcs satyed true to their agreement, only because the Nords sent "watchmen" with the Orcs to make sure that the Orcs freed all the slaves and withdrew to the agreed-upon borders. The Nords claimed a huge chunk of territory, the Volsans their chunk and the remainder went to the Venetians and the Gammaca. The Kelti left the service of the Orcs after the war and illegally set up a Kingdom inside of Gammacan territory, which started a war between the Kelti and the Gammacans)

As a "thank you" for freeing the race of mankind, the Volsans cleared the Ise of Summersmere of Frost Trolls and gave it as a present to Ysgramor. (The island had once been the possesion of the Frost Elves and later, the Frost Orcs, the Frost Orcs gave the Island to the Frost Trolls for their loyalty.)

Ysgramor married twenty Nord women and his 70 Nord followers built long ships and in the summer months after the war, sailed for Summersmere Isle. He built his Nord-style Hall with some of his own ideas. He brought over seed, cattle and horses and sired 300 sons and daughters, all of whom married Nords once they became adults. All the descendants of Ysgramor were 3 hands taller than their Nord cousins and all of them had Ysgramor's incredible strength and fire-red hair. In the years following, the Nord descendants of Ysgramor began to call themselves "Vyir" meaning "favored" in the ancient Nord language. The Vyir began to raid the Kelti and brought them back to Summersmere Island for slave labor, thus reducing their numbers and it allowed the Gammacans to regain their territory. The Kelti fled to western part of the continent and built several kingdoms, all of them loyal to the Orcish Emperor. They mined gold and silver and sent it all as tribute to the Orcish Emperor, they gave their strongest men as warriors and their woman as prostitutes. They even began to burn captives taken in war to their dark gods. The Nords and the Vyir raided the Kelti kingdoms mercilessly, carrying away gold, silver, silks and captives. After several generations, the Vyir Yarl declared the Kingdom of the Vyir on Summersmere Isle and stopped sending tribute to the Nord Yarls. The dispute seemed was over if the Nord Yarls on the Continent could impose taxes, tarrifs and fees on the Islanders. The Vyir Yarl and the Thanes on the island were opposed to the measure, since the Nord Yarls did nothing for them in return. Another thing that didn't help relations was that the Nord Yarls claimed that Ysgramor said that they were entitled to 90% of all loot taken from all enemies. (Which Ysgramor never said) and to make it worse, the Nords began to accuse the Vyir of being atheists for not having the right number of Temples to the gods of the Light. Independence was easy, the Nord Yarls didn't send in an Army but they stopped trading with the Vyir for a few years until the new Vyir High Yarl sent an envoy to make a trade treaty.

"You know the rest of the tale, my son, how we came down from Summersmere Island to help the Orcs against the troublesome Frost Trolls, how they refused to pay us and how we took the Pennensula in payment and made it our new homeland." said the historian to his boy.

The End.

The Werewolves of the Vyir: The Whitepaw Clan

Chapter One.

The bite from the wolf itched. Rognvar the Unready began to worry that he might die of an infection. The Healer looked at it and placed a poultice of mold and holy water on the wound but it was growing wolf fur all around it, and now he was getting sick. He went to the Healer again and the healer wrote runes on a bone and burned the bone in a fire but still it grew worse. Finally the Healer shrugged his shoulders and said plainly: "Your future is that of a Weirwolf. Try not to lose your consiousness when you change form so you won't murder us all." said the Healer. You can seek out the High Priest but I doubt he can help. This is a condition that only the gods can reverse." said the Healer. After that visit, Rognvar left the hut and wandered around the valley until he fell exhusted on the ground. He looked as his fur-covered arms and felt his face as he transformed. He passed out, not able to stand the pain. When he woke up, he stood on his four legs and let out a vicious, primal howl. He went hunting, to sate his blood lust. Deer, elk, Orcs, just not humans. He took down an Orcish hunter that was tending to his traps. He grabbed the Orc by his jaws and shook the body wildly until the Orc was dead, then he ate the intestines of the Orc and buried the body near a river. He ran around for hours, picking fights with bears and other wolves. He then fought another wolf that seemed to have supernatural strength. "You are another Weirwolf!" said Rognvar. "Not just another Weirwolf, I am your thane. You were bitten by a sword brother. Welcome to the Whitepaw Clan!" said the Alpha wolf. "This power seems useful in fighting the Orcs, they just die when we grab them!" said Rognvar. "Indeed. We always try to hunt Orcs in pack instead of formation unless we are fighting alongside another thane or the Yarl, if our secret ever got out, we would be hunted down and killed." said the Thane wolf. "We have 40 members of our pack." said the Thane. "The only member that was cured of this condition was old Geirmundur but he went to the Temple of the god of mercy in Hafsteinnborg and swam in the springs on the Temple grounds. After several days, he was cured. He didn't reveal our secret but he remembered us and let us sleep in his barn and even fed us raw meat chunks while in changed form. He would laugh and call us his "dogs" but it was all in good humor." said Thane Halldórsson. "Come, let us hunt some Orcs!" said the Thane. The pack gathered around and howled and then ran at a supernatural speed to a local Orc village they often raided. The attack was swift and lethal, ten armored Orcs fell to the ground, dead while the other Orcs fled to a nearby cave to hide. "Ga'rroc har thinar!" shouted the Orcs in a panic. "They know we are changelings. They will try to warn the other villages up the river but we will put them to flight. They are on my lands, illegally!" said the Thane wolf. "Do we worship the god of the hunt while in this form?" asked Rognvar. "Only if we cannot overcome an obstacle." said the Thane wolf. "But watch out for the dark god of the hunt! He will try to lure you with promises of strength and power. If he appears to you, change back to human." said the Thane wolf. "We also fight against the Darkpaw Clan, they all worship the dark god of the hunt and they hunt and devour all they meet. Extremely evil and cursed they are." said the Thane wolf. 

Chapter Two

Rognvar and the others changed back to human form and changed back into their clothes and went back into the Hall to get some food and sleep. "Let's stay in human form for awhile men, I am getting weary of this constant raiding." said the Thane to his men. The kelti servants served the men a platter of vegetables, all of them thinking that their Masters were vegetarians but not knowing the real reason why their Masters shunned meat dishes. As a part of the nightly entertainment, a kelti man and his wife, both cooks in the Hall kitchen, would trade insults with each other in Vyir, causing much merriment amongst the Vyir warriors. The kelti villagers knew that their Masters were werewolves but they knew that they and their families were safe because this pack followed the Light and not the Darkness. The Vyir spent a week in human form, training in their armor during the day, as well as carrying logs on their backs and other games of challenge. Night times saw drinking and feasting at the Hall, as neighbor Thanes paid visits and sometimes even dropped their sons off for warrior training. The pack was careful not to bite the visitors, least the secret got out. Another week went by and the men stayed in human form. "We have a problem, if we get a beserker in our pack, he will instantly change form in battle and our secret gets out. No berserkers! If they visit our Hall, we politely discourage them." said the Thane. "Then you do not have that added honor that many holds have!" said a warrior. "Fine, I can do without it. They eat too much anyway." said the Thane. The men laughed. Rognvar was beginning to worry. He was what you call a "random berserk" and he could then change form at any time. He paid a visit to the healer. "Make me a rune amulet that will hide my true form." said Rognvar. "Fine, I can carve some runes on a bone or inlay them in gold and make it a fancy amulet. Which one? The gold one will last longer." said the Healer. "Make it in gold. I'll test it in battle and you watch. If I change form and am spotted, I will toss it back at you and you will remake it." said Rognvar. "The gold amulet will cost me 1,000 guilders to make. Do you have that much gold?" asked the Healer. "I make that much in one battle." said Rognvar. Rognvar went to his chest and collected his money-bag. He poured out 1,000 guilders to the healer and the healer went to work immediately. Little did he know, a warrior was watching. The warrior went to the Thane. "Rognvar went to the healer for an amulet." said the warrior. "So? Who does not? I have one that allows me to swim underwater without drowning." said the Thane. "Leave him be. I will speak with him." said the Thane. The other warrior nodded and returned to his training. After breakfast the next day, the Thane brotched the topic. "You had an amulet made?" asked the Thane. "I am a random berserk. I cannot control when I go berserk so I paid 1,000 guilders to the Healer to make me an amulet of concealment. So, if I change, no-one will know, not even your warriors." said Rognvar. "Good plan, it seems I got something I had not bargained for. You had better keep that amulet on when we are fighting alongside neighboring Thanes and Yarls or we all die without mercy." said the Thane. Several days passed and the men were racing each other up and down the valley in human form and in wolf form when the healer approached Rognvar. "Here is your amulet. Wear it only when you need to and keep it close by." said the Healer. "If you leave it on, I fear you might transform into a grendel." said the Healer with a cringe. "Grendal?" asked Rognvar. "Permenent changling, you remain a wolf and you lose your mind." said the Healer. "The last grendel was hunted down and killed without mercy by the pack." said the Healer. "gods! The Thane never told me about that!" said Rognvar. "And here is another thing that the Thane didn't tell you. His brother leads the other pack. The dark pack." said the Healer. Rognvar began to wonder what he got himself into. "Then it is decided." said Rognvar. He strode up to the Thane's Hall and went inside. "Thane! I ask to be released from your service, my old father is dying and needs me on his farm!" said Rognvar. "Go then, just keep that amulet on!" said the Thane. Rognvar tipped his right hand to the Thane and went out of the Hall. He traveled up the rivers to the Temple of the god of mercy in Hafsteinnborg and removed the amulet and went swimming in the pools. "Ye are sick?" asked the High Priest. "I am, and I will swim this pool until I am well again." said Rognvar. "You don't seem ill but your hair is off color. I will not pester you about this." said the High Priest and he went to tend to the others, lying on benches throughout the Temple. The harp music soothed the wild, ravening beast inside and he thought to himself; "I could get used to this." He volunteered in the Temple, taking food and water to the severely ill and he wore the robe of the lay-priest, which was a custom if one was recovering from a long-term illness. He heard news of a war to the east but he ignored it, wanting to recover from his condition. Several old friends, all battered and bruised from the most recent spate of battles, came in and were surprised to see Rognvar in robes. "Rognvar! We didn't know you had changed your calling!" said Hákon the One-Fingered. "No, I am here for long-term recovery from an illness." said Rognvar. "After this, we are planning to head to Vallhalla-Mitgarde Hall and go into the service of the High Yarl, Hólmfríður the Great." said Hakon. "Aye, you certainly have deserved that honor." said Rognvar with a sad smile. "Ha! The High Yarl does not like my father a bit. The last High Yarl mistook my father for the stable-boy and ordered him to clean the stables. My father challenged him to a duel on the spot and he won! The only honor he got was banishment for one year." said Rognvar glumly. "Perhaps you should travel with us and speak your case before the High Yarl." said Hakon. "Hopefully the High Yarl will not banish me too." said Rognvar. "I doubt it, insults don't last long. I doubt he is your enemy. Enough time has passed under the bridge, I should think." said Hakon. "Fine then, when I have recovered, I will meet you in Ólafurborg." said Rognvar. (The capital city had changed locations several times over the years because the High Yarl was looking for the most secure city in which to reside, the nobles and merchants followed him when he moved his seat.)

Chapter Three.

When Rognvar was fully recovered (which was after three months in the Temple) he traveled with his friends to Olafurborg by river boat. The city was large, filled with noble halls and temples as well as several districts, each with it's own guilds. "Everyone here seems to be obsessed with either making money or being a lord!" said a boy to the men as they walked around the city. The streets were paved with stone, all the Halls and buildings were built of stone and the streets even had light-stone holders to keep the streets lit at night. "I would move here, if I had the guilden!" said one of the men. "What? And be bored all the time? The Orcs don't attack this city. It has the thickest wall and the best fighting force defending it in all of Vyirlund!" said a warrior. They wandered the streets, looking for Vallhalla-Mitgarde Hall. They saluted a city guard. "Where is the Royal Hall?" asked the men. "Visitation is by appointment only. You can rest in any one of the many Inns inside of the city. If you are fortunate enough to be on good terms with your Yarl, you can stay at his hall here in the city." said the city guard. "Stay away from the tavern district. It is filled with thieves and liars." said the guard. "And mind your manners here or you'll get a stiff fine." concluded the guard. He left. "I know Yarl Runólfur the Double-Axe quite well." said Hodovir. "We'll stay at his hall." he said with a hopeful tone. The small group followed Hodovir to an ornate hall and he knocked on the main door. "What is it?" asked a kelti slave, who answered the door. "it is Hodovir the Gangler. I fought at the Yarl's side at the Battle of Yvern's Field in the last war." said Hodovir to the servant. "Aye, I'll get the lady of the hall." said the servant. He came back a few minutes later with a richly adorned woman. "Aye, I am the wife of the Yarl. What is your business?" she asked. Hodovir tipped his right hand slightly. "We are here to seek lodging so we can plead our friend's case before the Yarl, his father gave offense to the last Yarl, quite by mistake, and our friend wants to clear his father's name." said Hodovir. "And the rest of us are here to seek entrance to the Great Hall to become Huscarls to the High Yarl." said Sigfinnur. "Your clothes that you wear and your stories check out with me. Come in." she said. She opened the door and the men entered into the hall. "You can stay in the visitor's rooms upstairs. I want to hear more about this case you have. I can help you." she offered. The men settled in and sent downstairs to the main part of the hall. A bard began to play music and kelti servants brought in food. "Now tell me, how do you propose to even see the High Yarl without a gift?" asked the queen. "I suppose I can give him my golden band." said Rognvar. "It was a gift from a Nord Yarl for saving his life. I would hate to part with it but under the circumstances." said Rognvar. "It is my best option." he said. "And take this letter." said the queen. She passed him a rolled parchment with the seal of her husband. "This will get you an audience and you will more than likely get what you need from the High Yarl." said the queen. Rognvar took the letter and thanked the queen. They ate for the rest of the night in silence. The next day, the men left the hall to go to the main hall. They found it and the doors were locked. Several Royal Huscarls guarded the door. "We request to see the High Yarl." said Rognvar. "Sorry, that is by appointment only." said one the the Royal Huscarl's. "Here is this letter from the queen of my Yarl." said Rognvar. He handed the scroll to the guard and the guard looked at the seal. "Go in." said the Royal Huscarl. The Huscarls opened the huge door and the men walked inside the giant Hall. "Ye gods, you would think that the giant Ysgramir lived here!" said one of the men. A tall man, dressed in replendent robes approached them. "I am the Arch-Chancellor. What brings you to see the High Yarl?" asked Sigmundur, the Arch-Chancellor. "I am here to plead for my father's return to the High Yarl's good graces." said Rognvar. "Let me see the records." said the Arch-Chancellor formally. He scurried off and came back. "Our records show that your father defeated the last Yarl in honorable combat after an insult was given. This Court feels that, under the new High Yarl, your father was unjustly banished and he may return at any time." said the Arch-Chancellor. "I thank you Arch-Chancellor. Some of my weapons-brothers have a request to join themselves to the High Yarl as Royal Huscarls." said Rognvar. "Fine, I will see them presently. The High Yarl has heard of you and wants to see you." said the Arch-Chancellor to Rognvar. "I suggest you seat yourself at the Great Table and wait." he said. Rognvar did that as the Arch-Chancellor led the men to the High Captain of the Royal Huscarls. A boy of thirteen ran up to Rognvar. "Hello." said the boy formally. Rognvar looked at the ring on the boy's right finger and noticed the Royal Medallion. "Your Highness!" said Rognvar and he quickly tilted his right hand all the way down and bowed formally. "My father died in battle." said the boy. "I am to be formally crowned next year." said the High Yarl. "So, what brings you to me?" asked the new High Yarl. "The issue was resolved by yourself." said Rognvar. "I have heard that you swam in the pools of the Temple of the god of mercy? You must have been hit by a terrible illness?" asked the boy Yarl. "Aye, my Yarl. I have fully recovered and I intend to return to my father's hall and help him run the farm." said Rognvar. "Rumor has it that you know someone who is a werewolf." said the boy. "My Yarl, I did not seek to stir your anger." said Rognvar. "No, I am just wanting to know, what is a changling like?" asked the boy Yarl. "A changling is harmless if he worships the gods of the light, but he becomes a monster if he worships the gods of the darkness. A grendel is what results if the changling is affected by another magical source." said Rognvar. "I have heard that all changlings are evil." said the boy Yarl. "Stienoflur! Come look at this man!" said the boy Yarl to the Royal Priest. Stienoflur came forward and looked deep into the eyes of Rognvar. "He is no changling my Yarl." said the Royal Priest. "My spies tell me you kept company with a pack of weirwolves. You were a werewolf yourself but you were cured." said the High Yarl. "We have no law against a cured weirwolves but we have a law against weirwolves who refuse to be cured." said the High Yarl. "And my agents have tracked down the members of that pack, both factions and have slain them. The local Thane of that hall was one of them. I need to give that hall to another. I want you to have it. I will give you ten of my best huscarls and I will occasionally call upon you to hunt down and slay weirwolves." said the High Yarl. Rognvar said nothing for awhile. "Just as I thought, my spies are misinformed. I will punish them once they return. Weirwolves, what nonsense!" said the High Yarl. "By the way, I need more Thanes for the next campaign. Would you be interested?" asked the High Yarl. Rognvar said nothing. "Fine, you seem to be an honest man who protects his friends. Go in peace but I am watching you." said the boy Yarl. Rognvar walked gracefully out of the presence of the boy Yarl. He left the hall and returned to the house of his queen. "How did it go?" asked the queen. "My father got his pardon." said Rognvar. "And he was on you about what? A wierwolf? Surely he has some growing up to do before he becomes a High Yarl." said the queen. "You have spies too?" asked Rognvar. "Yes, I knew you were coming here before you did." said the queen. "Yes, so thank you for hosting us. The other warriors are now Huscarls and I am on my way back to my father's hall." said Rognvar. "Farewell then." said the queen. He left the hall and took a ship from the river docks back to his home hall. 

Chapter Four. 

The hall was in disrepair. The slaves had run off and Rognvar had discovered from a local freeholder that weirwolves had attacked his hall and killed his father and brothers in the mountains. "I am glad I was cured, they are a curse on humanity." said Rognvar out loud, to no-one while in the run-down hall. He set fire to the hall and burned down the village along with it, since there was nothing left. He went out to find the bodies of his father and brothers and found them buried in a mountain meadow, all the graves marked with stone cairns and their swords proped against each cairn. "Rognvar" said a wolf voice behind him. He turned. It was his old thane. "Thane! What happened here?" asked Rognvar. "I lied." growled the weirwolf as it began to circle. "The myth of a righteous wierwolf is a myth. I worship the gods of the darkness." said the weirwolf. "You will pay for the slaughter of my family!" said Rognvar as he pulled his sword. "I will rip you to shreds for abandoning me, you dishonorable whelp!" growled the thane-wolf. "Go to hell!" said Rognvar as he threw the amulet at the weirwolf and the weirwolf caught it and swallowed it. The weirwolf burst into flame and burned up until only his bones remained. "You fool! I studied runes as a youth! I knew that the Healer made an amulet of death for me because you ordered him to! How stupid do you think I am?" said Rognvar, triumphantly. The rest of the pack arrived. "Tho'var!" he cried and a circle of fire expanded from him and caught the rest of the weirwolves and consumed them until they were dead. "Well played." said the High Yarl as he walked out of the woods with his three most trusted Royal Huscarls. "The pack is dead, thank the gods!" said Rognvar. "For ridding the Kingdom of the Weirwolves forever, I name you Court Yarl. You are to advise me at the Royal Court. Anyone who could discover the facts this quickly deserves a title." said the boy High Yarl. "I thank ye, your highness." said Rognvar as he put his sword back in it's hilt.

THE END.

 

The Saga of the Vyir: Arngrimur the Bloody-Hand

Prologue

"Who is the best warrior of them all?" asked a Nord huscarl to his weapons-brothers. The men pointed at old Karl Yaeger. Karl Yaeger shook his head. "No the best warrior ever was Arngrímur the Bloody-Hand." said Karl. "He was a Vyir warrior that I had the great honor of fighting beside for almost 20 years before he vanished. No-one knows what became of him." Karl sighed and drank deeply, he remebered that night all too well.

Chapter One.

It was thundering and lightening. "Arngrímur!" where are you?!" cried Karl to the darkness. He was extremely worried that something had happened to his friend. The rain began to come down and he looked down at his weapon. "I pray to the gods that I didn't kill him!" he said to himself. "I didn't kill him!" he cried. He looked around the battle field for his friend and saw nothing. He began to toss aside Orcish bodies. "Arn!" he screamed. He looked down and saw his pendant. He took it up, weeeping and set it on an ancient stone cairn. He stared at the pendant for awhile and then ran into the forest and ran back to Nordlandia. Home. 

Chapter Two.

The younger warriors were settling into their bunks in the Hall and Rognvar approached him. "I know you are a berserker." he said softly. "You did what you could." he said reassuringly. "Why do you say that you wolf-pup? You didn't hear my story." he said morosely. "Tell me again." said Rognvar. "Alright. It was the day of the battle." said Karl.

"Men! Form your shield wall!" said the Thane. "Here they come!" said a huscarl. The men barely had enough time to get into formation as the Orcs riding their Frostwolves hit the combined Vyir/Nord line at full force. "Stay close!" hissed Arn to Karl. Arn nodded. The battle quickly turned sour as the Vyir and Nords fell like rotten corn to a sharp sythe. "What is happening? Some magic?" asked Karl but his friend had vanished. He tore through the lines, killing hundreds of Orcs and bought enough time for the Army to escape the onslaught but he couldn't find Arn anywhere.

Chapter Three.

"My lord. I have examined the skull of your son. The hit to the skull was bad. He will suffer delusions for the rest of his life." said the healer/priest gravely. "So Karl cannot fight with the other men then. What can I do with him?" asked Yarl Konrad Frothenburg. "He can fight, but he will see people that aren't there." said the healer. "Be glad that his birth injury wasn't worse, or you would have lost him." said the Healer. "The will of the gods be done." said the Yarl heavily. 

"Papa, where is my friend Arn?" asked Karl. "Perhaps he went to the Temple?" asked his mother. The boy ran off and went to the Temple and looked around and saw his friend sitting on a bench. "Why did you vanish on me?" asked Karl. "I come and go." said Arn simply. "Please don't leave me again." said Karl. The boy nodded and they went off to play Orcs and Warriors. 

Chapter Four.

"Arn! Did you actually exist? I saw your pendant! Why am I cursed with this condition?" sobbed Karl when he reached an open meadow that he remembered as being the site of his first battle. He heard a rustle of footsteps behind him. "Karl. I will never leave you nor will I forsake you." said Arn. "Surely you are a ghost!" said Karl, fearful. He turned and saw Arn, bloodied and wearing the pendant. "Karl, touch my arm." said Arn. Karl reached out and grasped a very real shoulder. "I don't understand, you shouldn't have survived that battle." said Karl to Arn. "I am a two-handed wielder, remember? I killed most of that Orcish Army. Our troops got out safely. I had to retreat to the woods and reheal completely." said Arn. They began to walk for awhile and then, with an almost superhuman speed, Arn ran forward and vanished. "Is he a god?" was the thought that formed in Karl's mind at that moment. "No my friend. I am you." said a voice that was unmistakably Arn's voice. Karl paused and thought for a moment. It made perfect sense. Arn was always braver, stronger, faster and tougher. Karl knew he was not that way but he considered himself more of a naturalist and spent most of his time (when he wasn't fighting) recording plants and animals in the forest and meadows of Vyirlund. "So that is the secret." said Karl to himself.

Chapter Five.

The war was over for five years and Arn had not returned to Karl. Karl had settled in as a full-time naturalist, compiling a huge volume of observations into a leather-bound book. He took in a young, promising whelp by the name of Rognvar the Uneasy and was teaching him how to fight and how to use nature to his advantage when out in the wilds. The two had their conversation and Karl paused. "Rognvar, there is something I need to tell you." said Karl. "Say on Nord." said Rognvar. "Arn was me. I did those things, but I always saw that part of myself as a different person. Arn would always appear when I was in high stress, because of my brain injury from birth." said Karl. Rognvar was astounded. "You killed over 5,000 Orcs then?" asked Rognvar, astounded. "I guess I did but I was fighting alongside myself so I couldn't tell." said Karl. "Does Arn return to you anymore?" asked Rognvar. "No, I think that side of me is either resting or is "back" in the right part of my brain. I see him in dreams from time to time but he is fading. Fading fast." said Karl. 

Chapter Six.

"Does Karl know that Arn, the warrior he speaks of, died 100 years ago and is buried over in a mountain near here?" asked one of the younger warriors to Rognvar. "He told me of an exprience he had, he was on a battlefeild calling out to Arn and he found his pendant." said Rognvar. "That is odd, that matches the story of Ulric and Arn. Ulric was looking for Arn and found his pendant and put it on a stone cairn and wept because he killed his friend by mistake." said the young man. "Odd, so somehow that story ingrained itself into his memory and his "other personality" became that famous hero." said Rognvar. "You should hear him retell the story. He is trying not to repeat it, so he can silence the sickened part of his mind." said Rognvar. 

Chapter Seven.

"Karl. I am back!" said Arn to Karl. Karl was startled to see Arn standing there. "Relax and you will enter back into me." said Karl quietly. "Karl. Before I go, I have a bit of a confession to make." said Arn. "Say on old friend." said Karl with a tear in his eye. "Karl. I lied when I said that I was you. I gave you those abilities because they always existed inside of you. I was your mentor and your guide. I am Arngrimur the Bloody-Hand and I was accidently killed by my friend Ulric on this very meadow 100 years ago. I am not quite a ghost you see. I am now a god." said Arn. "You are indeed the great hero?" asked Karl. "Yes, and I changed form and trained you as I trained Ulric. I even gave you the night vision of the night when Ulric killed me." said Arn. "Why?" asked Karl, quite shocked. "Because my dear brother, Ulric was your Vyir grandfather and I promised to watch over his seed always to the gods. A vow is a vow." said the demi-god. "But keep this to yourself, the gods must keep secrets you know." said Arn with a wink and a smile and he vanished, never to again appear to Karl.

Chapter Eight.

Karl visited the Tomb of his late friend. He left a bundle of mountain flowers and the pendant on the lid of his stone coffer. "Rest in peace my dear friend, and could you maybe train Rognvar?" asked Karl. "No, that is up to you my dear friend." said Arn's voice in his head. Karl closed the tomb and returned to his hut and did as he was told. Rognvar grew into a fine warrior and on more than one occasion, Arn fought at his side.

THE END

The Golden Hind

Chapter One

"Anders! Feed the chickens!" shouted the farmer at his son. Anders rolled his eyes and went to the stone shed to fetch some chicken feed. "My life is so small and predictable." he said to himself. He poured the feed into the sacks and lugged them to the chicken coup. "Why can't you buy slaves for this menial work? I should be out with my cousins and brothers on a shield wall somewhere!" said Anders, somewhat irritated. "WHAT?!" shouted his father. "Fine! Never mind!" said Anders. "You are my son, surely you wouldn't abandon the farm?" said his father. "I might leave for awhile and learn to be a warrior." said Anders. "You keep talking about that but you don't have the gold for the armor and the weapon!" exclaimed his dad. "Because you don't even pay me a wage to work here? What is my recourse?" asked Anders. "The farm will be yours in time." said his dad. "Well, I don't much want to be a farmer!" spat Anders back. Anders father turned red in the face. "DON'T BACKTALK ME!" he shouted. "Fine! Goodbye!" said Anders as he dropped the sack onto the ground and walked off the farm. He kept walking, looking behind him until he reached the village of Goskerdam. 

The village of Goskerdam was a thriving little market center with it's share of Inns and merchants. Paulsen the One-Eyed was the man whom Anders went looking for. He knocked at a door near the village center. "What?? Oh! It's you! Come in!" said Paulsen. He opened the door and Anders walked into the simple one-roomed hut. On the walls were mounted shields and weapons and on the table was a spread of food and ale. "You are expecting company?" asked Anders, pointing to the table. "Yes, some friends of mine are coming by later. If you are here for what I think you are here for, join us for awhile. We'll talk." said Paulsen. The village clock struck 8am. "Sit, have breakfast!" said Paulsen cheerfully. The two men sat down and began to eat. "So you decided to stop being a slave for your father? You did the right thing." said Paulsen. "But before you can be of any use to yourself, you need to stop thinking like a slave. Have independent thoughts, let your actions be dictated by logic rather than by need." said Paulsen. "I can do that." said Anders. "And you need a better name." said Paulsen. "We'll call you; "Anders Troll-killer" ha!" said Paulsen. "But I've never killed anything in my life! Except for a stray wolf." said Anders. "Don't worry lad! All new warriors are called that, until they become famous." said Paulsen. "So I'll be a freebooter?" asked Anders. "Not so fast! First we need to get you trained." said Paulsen. "Well, I can kill wolves with a short sword." said Anders. "That is a small start lad, but I was killing giant cats at thirteen!" said Paulsen. "Do I need to learn a ward spell to protect myself from magic attacks?" asked Anders. "Yes, I will teach you that myself, I am something of a hedge mage after all." said Paulsen with a note of pride. There was a knock at the door. "Come!" said Paulsen. The door opened and a Dwarf and a High Elf walked in. "Anders, this is Knordd the Sledge and Mun the Archer." he said, motioning to the dwarf and the High Elf.  Both humanoids nodded. "I am Anders, just joined up." said Anders. "You are a chicken farmer?" asked Mun to Anders. "I used to be until I quit that today." said Anders. "You reek like it." said Mun with a disarming smile. "Watch out for Mun, he has that smile of his whenever he is sizing up a possible opponent." said Paulsen. "Boy. Here is the truth. A chicken farmer can never be a warrior. Stop being a damn chicken farmer!" exclaimed the Dwarf to Anders. "I'll need new clothes then." said Anders. "Yes, you are slowly getting it." said Paulsen. The Dwarf reached into his dufflebag and tossed out a leather jerkin with leather shoes. "Wear that instead." said the Dwarf. Anders quickly changed into the jerkin and was given studded armor. "Wear that as well." said Mun. Anders quickly put that on. "I will train you as an archer first. You will receive all your training in the wilds." said Mun. The group said grace for the meal to the gods of the Light and ate. An hour passed and many stories were told and finally the group got up and left the cottage and the village for the wilds. 

The pine trees loomed high against the mountains and the howling of wolves could be heard, as well as the disconcerting screams of Wood Trolls and the noises of woodland creatures. The small group walked off the road and slowly, making sure they weren't being followed by dire wolves or giant cats. Mun saw a small herd of Red Elk laying down on the forest floor. "Tonight we eat!" said Mun. "Take this bow and arrows" said Mun. Anders equipped the bow and arrows. "Shoot after I shoot." said Mun. The High Elf left an arrow fly and it hit a deer. Anders shot and it hit the stag in the heart. "Good shooting!" said Mun as the stag fell to the ground. The High Elf skinned the deer and butchered it while the others did what they could to help. "We are living in the wilds for a few days. It'll be your only chance to get started." said Paulsen. "If a bandit attacks us, which is likely in these parts, take this mace and back me up!" said Knordd. They finished taking what they could use from the stag and left the gut pile for a passing bear, after Mun took some intestine for bow string. The group walked to a meadow and set up three skin tents and a campfire. Mun instructed Anders how to make an archery target and Knordd instructed Anders how to hit with an iron mace. "Now hit the target dummy like you mean it!" said Knordd to Anders. Anders swung at the target and connected with the head and took it off. "Good! That will be your weapon, for now." said Knordd. Day became night as the training continued. Day became night as the group settled in for the night. Knordd shot up from his wrap about 10:00pm. "Wait, I hear humans nearby." said Knordd. The others quickly woke up and armed themselves. "Be ready for action." said Paulsen to Anders. "Hello there! The local Yarl has issued a warrant for the return of a missing servant!" said the man, stepping into the light of the camp. "Stay in the tent." hissed Paulsen to Anders. "I haven't seen a servant here but I will send him your way once I see him." said Paulsen to the ranger. "Good, there is a bounty of 10 gold for his return." said the ranger. The ranger turned on his heel and left. After almost a half hour of waiting, Anders emerged from his hiding place. "Your father seems to think that you are a slave after all? Did he sire you by a Kelti woman?" asked Paulsen. "No, I am pure Nord. My father is a bit funny in the head." said Anders. The group returned to their bedrolls without comment and slept until daybreak.

The group wrapped up camp and began to hike deeper into the wilds, were they fought dire wolves and wood trolls. Anders was already feeling like he was a battle-hardened veteran with all the kills that they made. The group came upon a stone tunnel in the side of a large hill. "Some ancient tomb, no doubt." said Anders. "Make yourselves torches, we are going in." said Mun. The group wrapped branches with linen rags and set them on fire and proceeded to enter the dark tunnel. The tunnel let out into a central chamber and Paulsen cried out to some armored men sitting around a table. "Hey, It's me!" said Paulsen. The men greeted them. They came to the table. "This is our newest member! He passed all the tests successfully. Shall we add him to our band?" asked Paulsen. "What is your name lad?" asked one of the warriors. "Anders Wolf-Killer" said Anders. "What is your weapon?" asked another. "The mace." said Anders. "What is your trade?" asked another. "Warrior." said Anders. "Welcome to the Golden Hind Band" said Paulsen. He shook Anders hand and everyone exchanged greetings and congratulations with Anders. "We work contracts for the Yarls." said Paulsen. "Our specialty is killing bandits." said Paulsen. "Most of the time, most bandits can pay a fine and get off but when they come back, that is when the Golden Hind is called in." said Paulsen. "We split the loot evenly. We are based here and in town. When a war starts, anywhere in the world, we are called in by some Yarl or some Emperor and we fight for pay. War is our real payout." said Paulsen. "Then we join our other chapters and our numbers swell to 1,000. The Grand Master of our Guild is Lord Gerhardt the Cat-Killer and he commands us in battle. Since he is a lord, he expects everyone to obey him without question." said Paulsen. "Humph." said Anders. "Sorry boy, the only armed men out there not sworn to a lord are bandits!" exclaimed a warrior. "Let us pray." said one of the men. They prayed to the gods of the Light for a blessing on their enterprise.

The next day, the 10 man band attacked a bandit camp of 20 bandits, took them by surprise and killed most of them and captured the remainder. The gold was counted out and several ingots were produced from a chest. "Look at the seal." said Goddric the-Mace. It was the seal of the Orcish Empire. "The Orcs are paying the bandits?" asked Anders. "No, more than likely, the bandits hit an Orcish caravan." said Paulsen, squinting at the gold bar.  "The Yarl needs to know this." said a warrior. "We'll send the new guy with a seal and the bar." said Paulsen. "Take these to the Yarl and say nothing. The Yarl will understand." said Paulsen to Anders, thrusting the ingot into Anders hands. Anders left the underground room and traveled back to the Yarl's Seat along with Yodric the Strong and Ulfric the Hammer. They came to the Great Hall and knocked on the door. "Official business only!" said a guard. Anders showed the guard the ingot and the seal of the guild. "Go in!" said the guard and he opened the door to the Great Hall. The Hall was mostly empty except for the Yarl on his throne and his two trusted huscarls, one on his left and one on his right. The group did not bow, according to Nord custom, but instead lowered their right hands with the palm up. "Welcome! What brings you to my Hall?" asked the Yarl. Anders passed the Yarl the seal of the guild and the Orcish ingot. "This means the Orcs are on the move again. Go and call your Guild Master and tell him to come here speedily." said the Yarl. "Wait." said a hooded man. He walked to the throne and looked at the ingot. "This ingot is fifteen years old, it dates back from the last war between the Vyir and the Orcs. No war. No worries." said the Mage. "You have provided another valuable service to the Yarl and the people of Nordlandia." said the Yarl to the Mage. "If you have any other ingots, keep them. This is ancient history." said the Yarl. He tossed the ingot back to Anders. The small group left. 

"So." said Paulsen. "The Yarl's Mage thinks that this seal is old? We'll keep our eyes open for any Orcs but in the meantime, we continue to fill contracts for the Yarl." said Pauslen. The group went out and traveled in the direction of Yarl Yurgenor's Tomb to clear the area of bandits. "Stop." said Paulsen as the group drew close. An odd stench was in the air. "Orcs, unmistakable!" said Paulsen. The figures in the tents around the tomb entrance were much bigger then men and moved slower as well. "Must be ten of them, no doubt, it is a scouting party." said Paulsen. "We'll slip away and warn the Yarl." said Paulsen. Just then, a group of twenty Orcs came in from behind them and began to yell in Orcish. "To arms!" said Paulsen. The group of 20 men drew their weapons and gathered into a shield circle. The Orcs attacked mercilessly and killed five of the warriors before the remaining Orcs retreated. "Retreat." said a wounded Paulsen. The group fell back to their under hill stronghold and tended to their wounded. "Hopefully the Orcs won't find us here." said Anders. "There is a spell on the door, only humans can see the entrance." said Paulsen. Hagamar the Hawk-Keeper went outside and sent a message to the Yarl by one of his homing Hawks. 

The Yarl's Mage received the Hawk and took and message and tossed it into the fire. The events of the battle played out as illusion in the fireplace. "Our deal with the Orcish lords can never be discovered." said the Mage to the Yarl. "Send your huscarls to tell that guild to leave your kingdom and never return." said the Mage to the Yarl. The Yarl nodded blankly and did what he was told. The huscarls rode hard to the guild hideout and brought the bad news. "What sort of betrayal is this?" asked Paulsen, now mostly recovered. The huscarls shrugged. "Anders. Go with these huscarls to the Yarl and listen in." whispered Paulsen to Anders. Anders saddled a spare horse in the stables inside of the Tomb and rode out with the huscarls. The small group returned to the Yarl and the Yarl looked at Anders with a questioning look. "Why are you here?" asked the Yarl. "I wish to pledge myself to your service!" said Anders. "Done! You are now my huscarl. You can live here. I will send you on assignments to pick up criminals and wolf heads and if you know the epic tales of the Nords, that is a bonus. I enjoy hearing them." said the Yarl.  Anders settled into his new role as a spy and send messages by pigeon when he could. The Guild Master of the Golden Hind rode to the Hall and pay the Yarl a visit a week after the expulsion of his guild. "Your highness! Please tell me what is going on?" asked lord Gerhardt. "What brings you to my Hall? I heard you were engaged elsewhere." said the Yarl, vacantly. "You expelled my guild from your kingdom. What did they do?" asked lord Gerhardt. "Nothing, they were bringing in false reports of Orc activity." said the Yarl, not under his own power. lord Gerhardt saw the magical trance that the Yarl was under. He went to the Hall gong and hit it with the clapper. The Yarl quickly came out of his trance. "What?? Where?? How long have I been out?" asked the Yarl. "You were under a magically induced trance. Some Mage put you under a spell." said lord Gerhardt. "My Mage! He is a traitor!" exclaimed the Yarl but it was too late, the Mage caught both the Yarl and lord Gerhardt with frost bolts and killed them instantly. The comatose huscarls, deluded by the sleeping spell, disposed of the bodies in the Hall basement but Anders had a powerful ward and was able to escape the influence of the spell. He hid himself in a backroom and quickly wrote to the High Yarl of Nordlandia to send an army of mages to deal with the traitorous mage. He also penned a message to Paulsen. He dispatched the pigeons and they flew swiftly to Paulsen at the Tomb.

Paulsen and the men had retreated into the deeps of the Tomb into their "fallback" room which had been cleared of human bones and was set up like any other hall, and it had a backdoor to the wilds. The men were listening to the messages and were shocked to learn that their Guild Master was dead. "That means I am now the acting Guild Master." sighed Paulsen. "The first act, we are taking over the Hall and we are imprisoning that traitorous mage!" exclaimed Paulsen. "The second act, we are going to write the Yarl's son and send him down with an army, if our spy didn't already alert the High Yarl." said Paulsen to the men. The men walked up the narrow passage to the outside and found the hidden, jury-rigged stable they had built and mounted their horses and rode hard and fast to the Great Hall. The men rubbed their wards and they were all shielded from magics. They drew their weapons and entered the Great Hall. The huscarls came at them with weapons drawn, shouting "traitors!" and Paulsen quickly went to the Gong and hit it with the clapper and the huscarls awoke out of their trances. "The mage!" cried a huscarl. "He is a traitor! He has been cooperating with the Orcs the whole time to bring the entire Orcish Army into the Kingdom!" said a huscarl to Paulsen. The mage appeared and began to chant a Resurrection chant. The bodies of the dead Yarl and the dead Guild Master came into a state of undeath and attacked the guilds men. "Use your wards!" shouted Paulsen. The men rubbed their wards and the zombies collapsed back onto the floor, dead. The mage then conjured up a fire-demon and transformed into a raven and flew off. Just then, Anders sent a flock of Hawks after the shape changed mage and the Hawks devoured the mage with their sharp talons. The mage changed back to human and fell back to the ground, dead. "Quick! Burn his body! He might resurrect as a zombie!" said Paulsen. The men threw the corpse into the fireplace and watched it burn. "The gods curse your soul for all eternity." said the group priest solemnly to the burning corpse. A scream was heard and it was done, the mage was defeated forever. 

The men thanked Paulsen and Anders for their quick action and thinking and Paulsen made himself the Chief Marshall of the Kingdom until the son of the Yarl could return to claim the throne. When the son rode in with his 1,000 huscarls, he was met outside of the city by a much bigger force of Orcs. The battle raged for two days, the Orcs losing five Orcs for every Nord killed. The High Yarl arrived with his force and joined the battle, defeated the Orcs and gave chase to them, killing them and scattering them to whence they came. The Golden Hind fought bravely that day, quickly joining the main force of the new Yarl and standing with the sheildwall and keeping the Orcs from busting through the main line. Paulsen died during the battle, having been run through by an Orcish spear man. Anders avenged his death by going berserk and killing twenty Orcs before he fell from exhaustion. He was quickly pulled out of the battle and rushed to a nearby shed were he was able to rest and heal up.

One Year later.

Anders was on his farm with his new wife, Gretta. His two year old son chased the chickens and the Kelti slaves did all the work while he supervised them. His old father had only died a year before, just before the Orcish invasion. As a huscarl, he was able to build a Hall on his farm and he turned the old house into a barn for the slaves and the animals. "Hail Guild Master!" said a messenger boy who handed him a message from the Yarl. "Wife, I have to depart shortly. I have an invasion of trolls to deal with." he said to Gretta. "Your son will miss you." she said with a smile. "There will come a time that he won't miss me. Until then, I will train him to be the best warrior my family has ever seen. Until then, he learns how to run a farm." he said. He kissed her with a deep and passionate kiss and he ran to his waiting horse and rode off.

THE END.

The Lost Prince

Chapter One

 A new age had dawned for the lands of men. The Empire was gone and in it's place were baronies, all slowly forming into larger and larger combinations until five Nord Kingdoms arose. White-River, Stags-Heart, Golden-Dome, Mountain's-Dale and Nord's-Haunt. (all the names are given in English as to not confuse the reader) Her Kings were: Hermann-Deathblade of White-River, Hanns-The-Great-Reacher of  Stagsheart. Pieter-Oathblade of Golden-Dome. Gerhart-Hall-Songs of Mountain's Dale and Jurgen-White-Blade of Nord's Haunt. The Nord lords ruled over the former subjects of the late Empire and added the strongest of them to their armies when wartime with the Orcs or other Night creatures came about. It was no secret that each of the Kings desired to be the Kaiser but the defense of humanity came first. 

The Prince of Nord's Haunt, Karl Yaegar II, was captured by native bandit-rebels  when he was in transport between Holds and passed to the care of an elderly native woman who tended bees. His father launched an all out effort to find him but the elderly woman hid him when the knights came, looking for an infant with his features. The woman renamed him Ostric and taught him in the ways of beekeeping and the forest. Years passed and his father had given up on him as dead and sired several new male heirs, Prince Konrad, Prince Lothar, Prince Dagobert and Prince Ewald. 

Unfortunately the Bandit-Rebels, led by Tanaric-the-Bloodly-Handed, raided the Hold and killed the King, his wife and all of his sons. Tanaric made himself the King and became a great tyrant over the people of that Kingdom. The lords refused to swear alliegence to him and rose in revolt with all the thanes, knights and Nord freeholders. The Tyrant's Army consisted of most of the native population. The war lasted seven long, bloody years and the old woman fled with her adopted boy to the Court of Hermann-Deathblade. 

Chapter Two.

Ostric and his "mother" were allowed to settle in the village of Tannhausen. She was appointed the "Chief Beekeeper" and planned to pass the role to her adopted son when he was old enough. The war was long since over, the Tyrant Tanaric had been murdered by his own mistress for a steep blood-price and the Crown of that Kingdom had reverted to King Pieter-Oathblade and his heirs. The old woman died and Ostric longed for adventure and spoke with the King's Captain of the Army to enlist as a soldier or a Fenns-Ranger. He was placed under Ganaric-Strongarm of the Royal Rangers in his seventeenth year and he married a local girl. His marriage had caused a bit of a stir because he looked Nord but he spoke the language of the Kelti. 

One night, Ostric, and his fellows were out on patrol when they seized several bandits in their camp and questioned them. "Lord Yaegar? Is that you? You look as alive when we first took you for ransom many years ago. Of course the ransom note never went out because I was captured and thrown in yet another dungeon, one of many in my poor, miserble life. If I can make amends with you, return to claim your throne. You are the sole heir of King Jurgen-White-Blade." said the bandit. The men all laughed at once. "You certainly have a sense of humor bandit!" said Ostric. "Perhaps your little story will buy you the giblet in the Kingdom of Golden-Dome but fortunately for you, you will only be jailed and you will pay your fine and you will go free." said the Captain of the Rangers. The men shot questioning looks to Ostric and he strugged, something he didn't do often, if he could help it. The Captain shot Ostric a look that said "Come talk to me later." and Ostric couldn't help ducking it. 

The Rangers rode back to the Hold and unloaded the bandits into the gaol and collected their fines. "Now get out of the Kingdom." warned Danaric, the Captain of the Rangers, to the bandits. They left the bandits in the cell and just as Ostric turned to leave, the older bandit threw a pebble at Ostric. "Hey! What I said was true, it wasn't a drunken story. I have a witness, according to the customs and the laws of the Kingdom. The other witness is Yesarian-The-Troll-Killer. He lives over in Klausenhiem and tends the King's cattle there."
said the bandit. "What? He didn't want to run the risk of being declared an outlaw and being hanged?" asked Ostric with a grin. "Better, he "got religion" and teaches every weekend at the Temple." said the bandit. "If you ask me, he is just trying to cover his own arse." said the bandit. Everyone laughed. Everyone except Ostric. Ostric walked back up the stairs and went to the room were Danaric's office was located. "Come, sit down." said Danaric as he beckoned his charge to a chair. "Ostric. You said that you were the son of a beekeeping lady, Messinia Faratric? And yet you look Nord? Who am I to believe? Did you commit a crime against your thane or your King?" asked the Captain. "Old Faber collected the honey from her, he is my witness." said Ostric bravely. "Then I shall talk with him. I would hate to remove you from the Rangers but if his story doesn't hold, I will have to arrest you for making a false witness to an Officer of the King." said Danaric gravely. Ostric left the room and went back to the bunkhouse and sat on his straw pallet and began to think, "who was he really?" he wondered as dayfall became night. The men were gambling away their paychecks again with games of cards and dice and plenty of the King's ale and rum. He tended to avoid their games and instead sent his money to his new wife, who tended to his "other" home, which was a cottar rented from the King, worked by a Kelti slave, a young man who had flights of fancy to enliven his dull life as a slave. He worried sometimes that he didn't get home enough and that the slave would "move in" on his wife and kids and he would lose what joy he had. He took it upon himself to warn the slave to mind his own business. The next day came the "drums for muster" and the men lined up in the courtyard of the Castle. "Good, good." said the Captain of the Rangers as he inspected the men. "Oh, Ostric, good news. I talked with the old man. Your story holds water.
I also checked out the story of our bandit warlord, turns out that his story is true. You are the son of the late King Jurgen-White-Blade. So we have a bit of a problem; you are unlawfully married to a native, since you are a Nord. You can remain with us, since we take both Nords and everyone else. No problem there. Another problem is you don't know a lick of Nord and to boot, you dress like a native and the King of this Kingdom wants to see you immediately." said the Captain. "Yes Sir!" said Ostric and asked to be dismissed. "Everyone is dismissed!" said the Captain. The men went back to their bunkhouse, since the day was an off-day. Ostric went to the throne-room and bowed to the King, who was off his throne and pacing. "Oh Ostric. I wanted to talk with you. You seem to be in a bit of a bind, now that your past has been accidentally revealed. Several Kings want you to swear alleigence to them as liegelord while you retain your Kingdom for their benefit. Problem is you have no legs to stand on, no-one would recognize you as a noble. I could keep you here at this court, under my protection but I look down on idle Princes. You have to do something. I shall put you in charge of the Rangers. Your pay will be seven manors. I raise you to the rank of Knight." said the King. "I am astonished, your Grace!" said Ostric. "Don't screw this up, and learn Nord for crying out loud." said the King. "Dismissed!" said the King. Ostric went to his wife and told her the good news. "But you have to find a way to pass as Nord." said Ostric. "Fine, I will dye my hair reddish" she said. Ostric went and tried to get himself called by his true name; (Sir) Prince Karl Yaegar II. He learned Nord from the former Captain of the Rangers, whom he raised to Secondary Captain of the Rangers, since he was back to just being enlisted. He sent his wife and children to Yurgenson Hall and she watched over the manors from there while he continued in his duties to the King. 

Chapter Three

Word got out to the other Kings in the other Holds that King Pieter had taken the once-lost Prince under his protection. The Kings schemed to get the loyalty and attention of the Prince and began to send him gifts. King Hanns sent 20 hunting steeds, King Hermann sent an ancient sword, King Gerhart sent 1 million in gold. The Prince used the gold to rebuild his father's Castle from ruins. He had ridden out to the site many times and was able to locate the graves of his fallen family and reburied the remains under a chapel he had built on the site of the new Castle. He hired stonemasons to build the Keep and curtain-walls and the Hall. The project took 10 years. The King became worried that he would lose his possesion to the Prince and finally the day came when the Prince vouched the question. "May I, Sire, be finally recognized as the Crown Prince of my own Kingdom?" asked the Prince, in full Nord, dressed in Nord noble clothing. "Fine, I release you from my wardship. Your Kingdom is safe and the other Kings have told me in letters that they would recognize you as King of your own Kingdom. Your lords already recognize you, as you know. I would like my manors back though." said the King. "Fine, they are thine." said the Prince. The family had since moved into the new Castle so the manors that he held from the King were occupied by their thanes. 

The mysterious Ethnarch visited the Crown Prince and gave him his blessing. The Patriarch crowned the Crown Prince as King in full sight of his lords and subjects. His first act was to allow the marriage between Nords and natives.

The End

(I might rewrite this in more detail at a later point but it is late and my mind feels like mush.)

World of Warcraft: In the Very Begining Of Azeroth....and the Very End of Azeroth.

Chapter One. Anulith.

Back in times before Stormwind was only a small trade town associated with no Kingdom whatsoever, back before all the Kingdoms of Azeroth came into being, there was a solitary High-Elf Wizard named Anulith. He lived in early Stormwind right where the Palace is now, in a simple house, built away from the center of the town (now the Old Center) He did not like humans but they pestered him anyway. (The reader should take note that the High-Elves of Azeroth looked down on their human cousins, in the years before the first Alliance) They came to him about all their problems, thinking that they would all "go away" with the proper application of magic. He shook his wisened head at their requests and instead gave time-tested advice and even gave (sometimes) a "placebo" spell that made them "think" that their problem had gone away. One day, when he was cleaning his small house, stacking his spells and singing in his singsong High-Elf language, an old man appeared at the door. "Wise one, teach me what you do." he said. "Go away and get your possesions then." said Anulith. "Master, I have no possesions" said the human in a humble retort. "Go then and proclaim your greatness to all of Stormwind then." said Anulith. "Master, I have no greatness." said the older human. "Give me all of your gold then." said Anulith. "Master, I have no gold to give." said the human. "Then you are indeed ready. Come in and help me create this potion I've been working on for weeks." said Anulith. "My name is Darnath." said the human. Anulith stood upright as shocked. "The prophecy is true then!" he exclaimed. "I know you, I know what you are to become, and what your Grandson is to become." said Anulith. "From your loins, a city shall be built, and it shall float in the air and draw all of Azeroth to it." quoted Anulith. Darnath said nothing, but was amazed at his new Master. 

Chapter Two. Darnath the Magus and Yves the Gifted.

Years passed and the solitary Anulith returned to his homeland to take the Great Sleep in the Emerald Dream. Darnath was given the mantle of the Magus and he began to teach others. Pilsor the Dwarf, Garngan the Gnome, Liam the Blessed (human) and Fadmoor the High Elf all became his students. This became the basis of the University that was later centered at the Mages Tower in the Mages District. Darnath was careful to use everything that Anulith had taught him and even added some rituals and questions to the mix to prevent evil beings from becoming members of their group. He also began a process to explain, using science, the different elements of magic. Years later, students would either curse him under their breath or they would bless him, depending on their I.Q. Darnath suddenly vanished on an expedition to Kalimidor (which was as of yet, unclaimed by the Horde, but in two more years, the Horde would burst on the scene) Pilsor and Garngan set out to find their master and left the growing University in the hands of their fellow Masters. A student, Yves the Gifted, was already passing all of his courses and talked of a floating city in the sky as if it was a present reality. The Masters of the University promoted him to the rank of Exhalted Master and on that day, he revealed that he was the secret son of Darnath. They made him the Lord High Wizard and he became almost a potentate in his own right over Azeroth because of his wisdom and foreknowledge. The future Kings of Azeroth came to him, seeking a blessing in organizing the human towns and villages into Kingdoms. He gave his blessing and a stern warning: "The strongest of you is going to be asked to lead an Alliance against an alien invader from an alien world. It would have been best for all of you to unite into a single Kingdom, but your languages have already been divided by the Great Druid, from a time only remembered by the High Elves. When a leader arises, follow him, because he will save Azeroth from several horsemen. One horseman is Green and is alien. One is a Demon and One is Death itself." Then he said something cryptic, "The Alien is the servant of the Demon but beware of the horseman of Death, for he shall spring from the seed of Menthil." "Death shall utterly consume the north and the alien shall ravage all of Azeroth and settle in the land to the west." "The light shall come when the seed of the ruler of Stormwind shall discover the rent land to the south, then all things shall be known perfectly." said Yves. The Wizards were astonished at this prophecy. 

Chapter Three: Timor Menthil and Tearthas Menthil.

Timor was a Cheiftan of the lands of the North. His family already ruled and owned most of the North and there was talk of making him the King, in order to unite against the coming threat. He was present when the old Wizard uttered his prophecy and everyone agreed that it was the gods of the Light that used him as a vessel to warn the beings of the world that a terrible and dark new era was coming. Timor did not agree with the prophecy and believed that it could be changed. He began to teach his son, Tearthas Menthil I, that the Light was the only way to rule and his son was made King instead of him because of past disputes with other cheiftans in the north. The Cheif of Alterac, seeing that the boy Tearthas was made King, seceeded and declared himself King of Alterac. His line was doomed to produce a traitor to the First Alliance. Thus relations between Lordereon and Alterac were strained at best. Under the boy King Tearthas, Lordereon was built up into a mighty city, with low taxes and free trade within the Kingdom of Lordereon. Stormwind crowned her King but it was a small and struggling Kingdom that often depended on Lordereon for settlers and financial support. She seemed doomed from the begining. She lost control of several lands to the south and struggled for years afterwards to recapture them. One of the graduates of the Magical University (as it was informally called at that time) was given a title of nobility and he proceeded to "outdo" his fellow nobles by building a great Castle in a rocky and barren area. He called it "Karazhan" and it was only discovered years later his dark secret and his ultimate undoing and the Castle's abandonment to it's magical horrors and ghosts. 

Chapter Four: Pandaria.

Prince Anduin Wrynn was surprised to see an aged human he had never seen before. "Did you get here first?" asked the boy Prince to the ancient man at the Pools of Healing. The man was dressed as a Pandarian and wore a Pandarian hat. "No my son, these Pandarian were here first." said the old man. "Tell me who you are?" asked the boy. "Ah, if you studied your history, you would know me." said the old man. "Darnath the Exhalted?!" asked Anduin, extremely surprised. "Yes, and did you know that the Light let me see you before you were born? You, my son. You are the Dove of Peace that will lead the Alliance and the Horde to a lasting peace. That was the last bit that Yves withheld, and that is why you came to Pandaria. To find me and to hear the last bit of history. The End of History." said the Aged man. "It will never end, perhaps the wars will end, in time, but history will never end." said the boy Prince. "Listen, in later days, the Elves, your friends, will retreat into the Emerald Dream, the Dwarves will seal themselves into the mountains and the Orc will leave Azeroth for their homeworld. Azeroth will become the domain of man evermore." said the old man. "What of the Gnomes?" asked Anduin, already sad. "They will leave Azeroth as well in great ships and pursue their destiny." said the Old man. "The Light will transform the murlocs and the Naga into tiny creatures that will pose no threat to men, the gnolls will revert back to their dog-forms and will no more be a threat, all because the final demons of the world will be conquered by your grandson." said Darnath. Prince Wrynn paused, thinking of his beloved, a girl that he was betrothed to, who was of the line of Menthil. "The seed of Arthas and the seed of Wrynn will undo what the Orcs had began." said Anduin, remembering the ancient text he had read. "Yes, and now that you realize that you must return to Stormwind and marry your beloved. Within a year, your father will die in battle on a distant shore." continued an Old Night Elf that had appeared. "Anulith! My old master! You have returned!" said a surprised Darnath. "Yves will be with us shortly. He too, went into the Emerald Dream, his High Elf Blood allowed him to do so." said the High Elven spirit. "And when your father dies, you will be crowned King of Stormwind and Lordereon." said Yves, also a spirit. "Lordereon's darkness will be lifted and the undead will be defeated. By you. Thousands will follow you into Lordereon and settle there, the old city will be rebuilt and you will sit as King in the Citadel of the Kings of Lordereon." said Yves. "But here this, in the later years of your life, you will fight the new Lich King, a seed himself of Arthas and Deathwing, he will command the powers of hell and death as well as the elements, and for a time, all will seem to be lost, until your son saves you in combat, and you will die upon your bed in peace." said Yves. Then the spirits blessed him and all vanished, including the old man. Anduin turned to his Pandarien friends who had all fallen into a deep slumber. "Wake up, I am going home. Destiny calls." 

THE END