The Heros of the Vyir: Halfstien Hallbjorn

Chapter One

"Real men are forged in the heat of battle. They do not retreat, they do not waver." said Thane Leifur. Young Halfstien Hallbjorn took this in intently. "If there is a weak link on the shield wall, we all die horrible deaths because the Orcs are not known for their mercy." The new warriors nodded. "Drink on the eve of battle is like falling on your own sword." said the Thane. "Drink only after the battle and only in amounts that you can tolerate. I knew a fool who once split his guts open when he fell on his own sword when he fell out of the doorway of the Hall. It was my older brother." said the Thane. "Another member of the family went out alone to gather firewood from his slaves. He never returned. The Orcs had killed the slaves and they killed him too! He didn't even have his sword on him. Ours is a beautiful and a deadly land. It was my little brother, killed on his seventeenth year." said the Thane, deadly serious. "The desire for women drove my uncle crazy and the gods cursed him and turned him into a weirwolf." said the Thane. "We had to hunt him down and kill him because he became a Grendel." said the Thane. "a hideous monster that does not change back to a human." said the Thane with a note of horror. The warriors nodded, eyes wide open. "When the enemy hits, they scream a horrible, otherworldly scream that can send even the bravest man running for his life. Stuff moss into your ears to lessen the impact but don't stuff so much into your ears that you can't hear battle-commands." said the Thane. "Okay, one more thing. We just got a shipment from the Capitol of things called "hand cannons" and a large "cannon" We will have the shield wall duck when the hand-cannoneers fire their loads and the heavy cannoneer will be off to the side and he will fire into the charging Orcs. The High Yarl hopes that these weapons will make it easier to fight the Orcs off, who seem to be breeding more and more as of late." said the Thane. "They keep coming through that damned gate at the Hand of the Watcher in the desert lands." said a senior warrior. "Aye, and it's been the third invasion of them so far. I hear they have advanced weapons on their planet but they cannot bring them through the gate, so they raid caravans for our simple weapons." said the Thane. "The Du Frondeuc lords had ravaged Nordlandia and turned it into five of their Kingdoms, all with latini names, except for brave little Nordmark, which threw back the feudal Du Frondeuc lords. Unfortunately that had left us here in Vyirlund wide open for invasions from the deep south." said old Tryggvi the three-fingered. 

Chapter Two

Halfstien looked at the field, it was white with snow. He manned the main cannon with another warrior, Ulf. The hand-cannoneers were getting into position. "Here they come!" said the Thane and the shield wall quickly formed. 
"Fire!" said the Thane and the cannoneers let the Orcs eat cannonball. One shot alone took down twenty Orcs and the sheildwall began to advance. The Orcs, not in a great number, just a raiding party, turned and ran. The warriors pursued and killed the remainder of the raiding party. The small army went to a cave that the Thane guessed where the Orcs were hiding. They surprised thirty of them and set the cannon at the entrance of the cave and blasted the Orcs to pieces. "It amazes me how fast they come back here and build their strongholds and villages! We had to clear thirteen Orc villages this year, all of them squatting on my land! Thankfully the Orcs raise cattle so stealing back the cattle that they stole from other Thanes has increased my profits for the year." said the Thane. "Sire, I am shocked, don't you return the cattle to their previous owners?" asked a warrior. "Only the ones with marks on them, everything else falls under the laws of booty and plunder." said the Thane. The warriors searched the other passages for Orcs but only found an ancient altar. "Nothing in here. We should probably seal this cave." said a huscarl. "Get to it." said the Thane. The men chopped down large firs that grew all around them and sealed the entrance to the cave. They drove iron spikes into the wood and into the rock to keep the logs from falling away. The army returned to the Hall and rested before dinner was served that night. Halfstien took to writing an idea down on paper. He drew diagrams and after several false tries, he sent the letter by Currier to the High Yarl. The High Yarl studied the idea and was impressed. "According to this lad's idea, all warriors would be hand-cannoneers or cannoneers. The sword and shield would still be used of course, only for close combat." said the Chancellor. "And he also proposes that all the warriors be directly under the High Yarl as a National Army, with Captains and such." said the Chancellor. "So what would the Thanes do?" asked the High Yarl, not liking the idea. "I suppose they would tend to their estates." said the Chancellor. "The only thing that has kept us from actually forming an official force, except for the Ranger Force, has been the enormous cost. We can't possibly feed, house and train every Vyir in the country. If we had to adopt this idea, it would have to be a small force of 100 men." said the High Yarl. "Why not ask all new members of this new National Army to already be trained and pay their own way?" asked the Chancellor. "Brilliant! Now go out and find 100 trained men and thanes to serve as Captains." said the High Yarl. The Chancellor saluted and left the Great Hall. After a month of running all over the Kingdom for volunteers, the Chancellor had found 1,000 men willing to pay their own way and who were already trained on hand cannons as well as wheeled cannon. The forty thanes that had volunteered where named Captains and everyone was given heavy fur coats and a fur hat. "Remember your ranks! This is all we have. Unless someone can think of a way to display rank without tipping off the enemy, everyone looks the same." The men were given cutlasses. "Wear these and use them for close combat." said the Chancellor. "We need shields!" said a volunteer. "Not if the Orcs are running. They hate cannon-fire" said the Chancellor. The 1,000 man army was divided into forty legions, each under their own Captain. "We seem to lack a leader." said the Chancellor. "Prince Valbjorn will lead this "New Model National Army" as General. Halfstien Hallbjorn was invited to see the fruits of his efforts. "Thanks in large part to you and the Chancellor, we now have a modern, National Army." said the High Yarl. "I name you Thane, any lands you can take from the Orcs are yours. I also name you Captain in the National Army and you are asked to serve as Captain when the National Army is called." said the High Yarl in solemn tones. "Yes sire!" said Halfstien as he saluted the High Yarl. The National Army was sent immediately to break a fortified position of Orcs to the south. They crushed the Orcs and killed them quicker than the Grand Army ever did. The result was that the National Army swelled into a 10,000 man force and the Thanes had to ask some of their retainers to "stay around" and use hand-cannons on trespassing Orcs. Most thanes saw the writing on the wall and released their retainers and hired their own mounted Ranger forces, which used the new "muskets" to send the enemy fleeing. 

The End.
 

The Saga of the Vyir: The Assassins War Series: Odric the Slayer

Chapter One.

Odric was walking from the village to his master the Thane's field to plant seed when a rival slave stopped him, Othandric the Brawler. "Get out of my way." said Odric. The bully continued to stand in his way. "Move, this harvest won't come in by itself." said the slave to the other slave. The bully grabbed him by the throat. He reacted like lightening and split his enemy's jugular vein with a seed-drill. His enemy dropped to the ground, dead and he stepped over the corpse to work in the field. Soon, a kelti peddler who sold goods from village to village saw Odric's handiwork and gave the Thane the 50 guilder needed for manumission. "What is your price?" asked Odric. "You do me some jobs. You could say that the Yarls need my services." said the shadowy trader everyone called "Yemric the Black" who himself was an assassin. "There is a Venetian noble that needs killing. He lives in Ostia on the coast of the Empire, his villa is the biggest one near the town. Kill him quickly. He reclines near his pool, asleep. Perfect target. I will pay you 10,000 guilder for the hit. The employer, who wishes to remain unnamed, is giving me 1 million for the hit." said the shadowy assassin. "Some advice? Don't spend your money on whores and drink. Buy a pair of blades and get some runes that allow you to travel undetected. Buy a robe of invisibility from the Assassin's Guild. We usually don't hire this quickly but there is a shadow war on and we need troopers!" hissed the assassin. "Fine, just forward me the money." said the ex-slave. The assassin dropped a money-bag into the hands of Odric. "I'll be watching your first hit. If you do well, I'll give you another job. If you fail, I'll let you die in a Venetian torture-chamber." said the assassin. "Consider it done." said Odric. Odric ran to the Capitol city and went to the "black district" where assassins, thieves and spies lived and did business. He walked into a shop and knocked at the counter. "Fool! Are you new? You have to be with the Assassin's Guild in order to buy from me!" said the shadowy shopkeeper. "I am the trainee of Yemric the Black." he said. "Then you can buy from me, you should have said that before!" said the shadowy shopkeeper. "Here!" said the shopkeeper as he threw a black robe at the would-be assassin. "That is a cowl of hiding, you remain invisible whenever you wear it. It recharges at the light of the moon. Disregard all murmurings from dark gods when wearing it, after awhile their voices will drive you crazy." hissed the shopkeeper. "Buy this as well." said the shopkeeper. He passed over two short blades. "These will come in handy, I don't need to tell you how to use those. And by the way, if anyone asks you what you do for a living, tell them that you are a goods peddler. It is a code and a disguise at once. Keep some items on you to sell and learn how to haggle." said the shopkeeper. "Fine, thank you." said Odric. "Hells, just get out of my shop!" said the shopkeeper. Odric slinked out with his new gear and went to a tavern and bought a meal. Spies, cut-throats and thieves filled the Inn. Skalds played music of both Vyir and Kelti legends while the kelti serving girls flirted with the men. "Idiot! Didn't I tell you to stay away from the Inns!?" asked Yemric the Black. "Just here to eat and I start my journey to-marrow." said Odric. "You could have caught a river ship out of here tonight and slept on the deck of the ship." said Yemric. "Fine, when I finish this, I'm out of this place." said Odric. A Vyir Guard came in. "I am looking for a criminal by the name of Yossarin the Knife!" cried a Vyir guard in kelti. "See? The High Yarl has this district buttoned down tight, we usually do most of our business out on the open road, in katta camps. They sell things we need and most of them are certified to sell to our guild." said Yemric. Both men quickly drank their cheap ale and ate their meat and potatoes and hurriedly left the Inn after paying the serving lady. 

Chapter Two.

Odric was outside of the villa of the Venetian noble, it was midnight. He looked for a vine or a ladder to cross into the courtyard. He found a fallen ladder left carelessly by a slave and he mounted it against the wall and climbed up into the courtyard, unseen. He flipped the ladder again and climbed down and saw the snoring patrician on his couch near the pool. He walked up to the fat noble and slit the throat of the victim and as quickly as he entered the courtyard, he left. He ran, invisible through the fields and finally came to a forest and rested in a glade. "Good work for a beginner! You didn't even set off the dogs sleeping in the house!" hissed the senior assassin. "Here is the other half of your share. 20,000 guilders." said Yemric. He tossed the bag into the junior assassin's hand. "I have another job for you. Another noble, but he lives in Venetia itself. Large palace. He changes rooms every night, very paranoid. Several of our number have tried to take him out but have failed." said Yemric. "Master, we need to lure the fox from his hole." said Odric. "You might be right. I'll send a letter to him that someone is trying to kill him in his own house and he should meet us at some site out of the city, and that we'll help him get the slave in his house that is trying to kill him. We'll lure him to Ossara's Fountain. That place is totally unguarded." said Yemric. Yemric pointed out the fountain on a map. "We'll wait there." he said. "Memorize it." he ordered. 

The two traveled to the fountain and Odric got out of sight. The "client" walked up, wearing a robe. Odric saw the two talking and he saw Yemric dismiss himself to "use the toilet" and Odric made his move. He got the noble from behind and killed him swiftly. Yemric came back and looked at the body. "You're plan worked. Let's get back to our paymaster." said Yemric. They walked for a few miles to a dark cave and lit torches and went into a central chamber, which was filled with tables, chairs, chests of gold and silver, and chests of food as well as sleeping bundles. No-one seemed "home" until a voice whispered in the dark. "Whom do you serve?" asked the voice. "Ysgramir the Voiceless" said Yemric. A tall Yyir spy emerged. "I am he. You came to collect the bounty on the noble that was nearly impossible to kill? Good work. Here is 2 million guilder." said Ysgramir the Voiceless. He tossed over several bags to the two men. "Do you need a place to store your earnings? I rarely do this but the Bank of the Harbor in our fair city will store money from anyone, no questions asked." said the Guild Leader. "Do they pay taxes?" asked Yemric. "Yes, but that is a given unless you want to be shut down by the High Yarl." said the Guild Master. The men stayed the night in the cave and the Guild Master made sure that they got their bags back. "Farewell! Buy a farm or something and marry a woman. Farmers live longer than assassins." said the guild master. The men traveled concealed back to Vyirlund and deposited their guilders at the Bank of the Harbor in the Capitol city. Odric walked around the other districts and asked the merchants what they would want if they could get it. "Spice!" was always the answer. Odric invested his guilders into a sailing ship and hired a crew and a Captain. "Captain Toddric, there is an Island to the deep south of here that has spices galore. The natives trade it for gold ingots. Take us there." said Odric. The ship sailed and they reached Yosi Island after a week on the waves and they made the trade. He sailed back with 23 million guilders worth of spices and made a profit instantly with the wealthy middle-men. He paid the Captain and the crew and the profit back to him was 10 million guilders. He didn't feel very whole though. He went to his old valley and bought 150 thousand acres and built his own house and decked it out with Kelti decorations and hired a maid to cook him meals. He hired 150 kelti lumberjacks and began to log off his land to sell the timber. He also gave his old Thane a gift of 2 million guilders for Yuletide. He never married and in his will he gave his land to his old Thane's son. As he got older, he converted from being "so-so" about the gods and converted to the Way of the gods of the Light. He freed as many brethren as possible and got them set up on his lands. When he died, everyone from the Assassin's Guild, his old crew, and his tenants and his old Thane's family showed up to pay their respects.


The End.

The Saga of the Vyir: Deux Imperium

Chapter One

Peace had come to Nordlandia and the newly crowned Emperor of the Venetians sent his Crown Prince to the court of the High Yarl of Nordlandia in order to bring that country into the Empire as a tributary. Crown Prince Gaius Maximus Icarius (the Icarius family would struggle with two other families for the throne for the rest of the existence of the Empire) brought a small army of supporters, entertainers and missionaries with them. The High Yarl greeted the Crown Prince warmly and thanked him for the help the Empire gave in keeping the Orcs at bay at various times. The High Yarl gave gifts and gold to the High Yarl and even gave him purple robes and a white toga and a tirara. The High Yarl shaved his beard, his head and adopted the dress and manners of the Venetians. He ordered the other Yarls to do likewise. The Crown Prince and his party stayed with the High Yarl and the gathered Yarls of Nordlandia for three months, the cultural missionaries taught the Yarls latini, the official language of the Venetian Empire. The High Yarl ordered the Nords to use the latini language and Venetian alphabet for official documents and official business. The High Yarl sent his Princes with the Crown Prince and his party back to Venetia for a "high education" and the Venetians went back to their Empire, which was at it's greatest height at the time, and it had even made the Orc Kingdoms (the First Orc Empire was dissolved) tributary to the Venetians. 

"We need to next bring the Vyir under our heel." said the Emperor to his Senators. "Why on earth should we meddle in that snow and ice-caked hell?" asked Senator Decimius Fabius Dornia. "The Senator raises a good point, we would be wise to leave them alone." said Senator Secundus Helma. "That is besides the point, we are so close to ruling the known world! Our Empire will bring peace forever!" exclaimed the Emperor. "But at what cost?" asked Senator Dornia. "We will just send the Crown Prince with a small party of cultural missionaries." said the Emperor. "Making them tributary should be easy after that, they are only barbarians after all." said the Emperor. "Ah, true but they are highly organized around their Yarls. I have seen their Capitol! It is amazing what they are done in only 20 years!" said the Second Prince. "Indeed?" asked the Emperor. "Yes, their "Great Hall" is almost bigger than your Palace. Their Halls are all made of stone, their streets are lit at night, their roads are paved and they even pipe in water to their Halls with stone pipes and pipe out water with other stone pipes. Their capitol has a force of police attached to the Great Hall. They are 90% literate and write everything on deerskin parchment, which they roll into scrolls or they lay flat and sew it into large books. Their library is the biggest I've ever seen and they even have a University that is ran by their Priests. They require everyone to have some sort of schooling. They use advanced seigecraft, dragons and wolves in combat. The Vyir are 20 times stronger than all humans. Factor that all together your Highness." said the Senator. The Prince nodded. "Well, we proceed like we proceeded with the Nords then. Slow takeover. We make them so dependent on us that they cannot live without us." said the Emperor. 

Chapter Two

The Crown Prince of the Emperor of the Venetians, his brother and a small party of cultural missionaries traveled up the river to the Vyir Capitol. They passed fields of wheat, cattle and horses and saw many Halls and small villages as well as the Yarl Seats as they traveled. It was summer. They came to the Great Hall and were granted enterance. "Come in!" said the High Yarl. They came in and the skalds began to play their music and sing their eddas. "Hail! We come in peace from the mighty Empire." said the Crown Prince to the High Yarl. The servants showed the royal party to the Guest Chambers as the Chancellor whispered into the ear of his High Yarl. The party came back downstairs and offered a gift of a purple robe and a white toga and a tiara. "I must decline, my Yarls would dethrone me if I accepted such a gift." said the High Yarl. "Then we offer you horses and gold." said the Crown Prince. "Yes, just so long as there is no strings attached." said the High Yarl. "It is a free gift." said the Crown Prince. "Fine, I will take the horses and the gold then." said the High Yarl. They talked and the cultural missionaries tried to sell the High Yarl on adopting latini and the Venetian alphabet but the High Yarl declined. "We have too much history with our runes, we can't just turn to something else now and lose volumes of history and meaning later." said the High Yarl. "Then let us take a son down to our Capitol, so he can learn to be a better ruler." said the Crown Prince. "I can do you one better. Marry your daughter to my oldest son. Such a marriage would seal a pact of peace forever." said the shrewd High Yarl.
"I will have my daughter Princess Dimna marry your oldest son then." said the Crown Prince. "How old is she?" asked the Vyir Crown Prince. "She is eighteen this year, as is our custom." said the Venetian Crown Prince. "That is the same as our custom." said the High Yarl. "My son is twenty-three and is a great warrior. She would make him a fine wife." said the High Yarl. "It is done then." said the High Yarl and the two parties saluted each other. "Can we build a road to your Capitol?" asked the Crown Prince. "Only if it is a defensible road! The Orcs would use that road to invade us every time." said the High Yarl gravely. "We can build forts every mile and post our troops to protect the road?" asked the Crown Prince. "No, we can have Thanes patrol that road to keep the enemies off." said the High Yarl. "Can we donate 2,000 of our books to your University?" asked the Crown Prince. "Sure, but I am not sure of how many Vyir would want to read them. I can get translators to translate the books to our format and send back each copy as we translate." said the High Yarl. "Why bother with translators? Just adopt our latini and our alphabet like the Nords did." said the Crown Prince. "Because that is a deep betrayal of our sacred traditions handed down to us since the time of Ysgramor!" said the High Yarl. "You ask too much." he added with a note of warning. "Can I read you a tract?" offered a Venetian Priest. "Fine." said the High Yarl with a nod of the head. "And the gods said to one another; does not the high god have no beard and no hair? Is he not clean-shaven?" said the Priest. "Ah! You misquote! The gods meant that they were shaving off the old residue of darkness that had held them captive back when their brothers lived with them in Vallhalla-Mitgarde. The dark gods were exiled from the heavenly hall and the gods of the light cleaned themselves of the filth, but they regrew their beards." said the Vyir High Priest. The Venetian Priest looked like he had been horsewhipped. "Lice and bugs harbor themselves in beards and hair." said the Crown Prince. "But our hair and beards are clean. We already know about lice and bugs and we bathe and sauna daily." said the High Yarl. "And we need the hair for the long winter months." said the High Yarl. The missionaries searched their books, they were dumbfounded that these "barbarians" were rejecting their culture. "You would like our games." said the Crown Prince. "Heard of them, barbaric and filthy! Why slaughter humans for no cause? For sport? For laughter? For merriment? Not here! All men here are freemen and our slaves are never killed without a fair trial and we don't execute people in public. In fact, we executed a mass murder as of late, a former slave who called himself the "son of Timon", he was given a fair trial and even a jury of slaves and they voted for him to die and he was beheaded in the basement of the Great Hall in the room of execution. No, we do not cheer death in our lands as you do in the south, we have far too much of it with these endless wars with the Orcs." said the High Yarl. "You make yourselves to be better than us?" asked the Crown Prince. "I simply stated a fact." said the High Yarl. The Crown Prince sat down and fumed. "I will give you 1 million guilders and seven of our best breeding cattle-stock as a gift, if you keep the treaty." said the High Yarl. "Fine, we have a deal. Your gift in exchange for a wife for your son." said the Crown Prince of the Venetians. The servants counted out the gold coin and the Royal Breeders selected seven breeder bulls for the Venetian guests as the party feasted with the High Yarl and his Huscarls. Later in a private conversation; "The Priests do not like the divinations for the treaty. There is death hanging over this agreement." said one of the missionaries. "We should demand a hostage from these people in return for the marriage agreement." said the Crown Prince. "And they would demand one from us in return. We cannot win this time, we should bide our time." said another missionary. "Perhaps if we raised up a Prince from this Hall, he would become loyal to us, and when he becomes of age, Vyirlund becomes ours." said another missionary. "No need, the seed of the union would be sent to us." said the Crown Prince. 

The Venetian party left Vyirlund. The Venetian Crown Prince talked with his daughter and hold her about the Vyir. "You would have the honor to bear a son that would be seed royal of both the House of Icarius and the House of Ysgramor. He would rule both the Empire and Vyirlund." said the man to his uncertain daughter. "The Priests have looked at that in their divination's and they have seen death. I am scared papa!" said the young woman. "Do not be afraid, perhaps the death only occurs to the firstborn." he said, soothingly. "Prepare for your journey north! We leave next week!" said the Crown Prince. 

The Vyir Priests looked at the omens. "Dire news your Highness. The young wife of your Crown Prince will die or her child will die." said the High Priest to the High Yarl. "It is not the will of the gods? I will then have the wife live in a Hall south of here and apart from her new husband." said the High Yarl. "We cannot cancel this treaty now." said the High Yarl. "Besides, my grandson will be Kaiser of the entire known world! Both Vyirlund and Venetia! Imagine, our thanes and Yarls will go south and receive new lands galore! I would make sure he is raised Vyir of course." said the High Yarl. 

The new wife and her party came north to Vyirlund and her new husband met her at their brand-new built Hall 80 miles south of the Capitol and was married there by the Vyir High Priest. The Crown Prince and his new wife fell on their wedding bed and conceived a child while the Venetian Emperor suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack. Word was sent to the Princess that he Grandfather was dead. She wore black and went into mourning. He father and his brothers argued before the Senate who should be the Emperor and finally Senator Mohiam raised his aged hand and declared that the Princes shall rule as co-Emperors, all five of them. The Crown Princes submitted to the will of the Senate and moved into the Palace and expanded the throne to include five thrones. The Vyir High Yarl heard the news and laughed. "So much for them conquering the known world!" he said in a merry moment. "Only your grandson will not be Kaiser!" said an adviser, a wealthy Thane from the nearby valley. "If we support the cause of your son-in-law, their Empire will be ours!" he said. "Maybe, let's see where the bones will fall?" said the High Yarl. 

Chapter Three

The Princess was pregnant and her husband used every excuse he could to be with her. Her belly swelled with a large baby, which the healers feared might be the death of her. She was small in frame and not at all strong like Vyir women. The factions in Venetia began to make flags began to chant and march whenever there was a holiday from work. The five factions were secretly backed by each of the five co-Emperor's and the marches became riots in the middle of the summer. More and more people joined one faction or another and many Governors and Generals began to secretly pledge their support of one of the five Emperor's. The Vyir and the Kelti went to war when a large Kelti army landed off the coast of Vyirlund. Rumor had it that one of the co-Emperor's ordered the Orcs to order the Kelti to attack the Vyir. Finally the flags and the banners of Venetia came down and the provinces declared for one Emperor or another. Venetia herself declared loyalty to the Senate and the Senate declared it would recognize the winner of the "debate". The senior Senators, moved by Mohiam's sense of urgency, called the five co-Emperor's to the Senate to get them to recognize Crown Prince Maximus Pilander Icarius, whose daughter was the wife of the son of the High Yarl. The four co-Emperors refused and rode out of the city with their factions while Maximus Pilander remained in the Capitol and fought against his brothers. The armies agreed to only fight each other in the field and no-one burned fields or sacked farms or killed civilians, because they knew that they would lose support. All five contestants built their share of forts and walls in a defensive strategy to keep their enemy out of their provinces. The High Yarl sent 10,000 Vyir to Maximus Pilander to use in his legions and he wrote that his help "hinged on his willingness to keep Vyirlund free of Venetian troops." and Maximus agreed. The 10,000 were trained in Venetian tactics, given Venetian armor and were taught Venetian. They fought in 123 battles and they were the main reason why Maximus Pilander defeated his rivals, won over the Generals, one by one, and finally defeated his last rival and returned in Triumph to Venetia and was crowned Emperor and his wife became Emperoress. The Vyir troops marched with their patron in the Triumph in their Venetian armor and clothes. The citizens of the city threw gold and silver coins and flowers at them. "Remember this Triumph, if you stay with me, we'll conquer the known world." said the Emperor later to his mercenaries. "If you mean our homeland, we'll be waiting for you, with steel in hand." said the Thanes. "Fine, I am in agreement with your High Yarl. I will not attack Vyirlund as long as I live." said the Emperor. The Thanes believed him and nodded. As soon as the civil war was over, Mohiam retired from the Senate and Osilanar succeeded him as Head of the Senate. The mercenaries followed the new Emperor on his campaign against the newly insurgent Orcs, who were trying to reform their lost Empire. Gar'Rath'azr was crowned the new Emperor of the Orcish Empire and he rallied 20,000 Orcs, marched on Fort Antonina and burnt it to the ground. The Venetian Imperial Army hit the Orcs at the fort site and fought the Orcs to a standstill. The Imperial Army withdrew and returned to Venetia while the Vyir mercenaries went home. 

Chapter Four.

The Princess gave birth to a healthy baby boy but the Princess died shortly after because the birth was too much for her. The healers tried everything to stop and stem the blood loss but the mother died. The baby boy was given to a kelti nursemaid to nurse and raise in the Hall. Once the child reached twelve, he was sent into the wilderness on his rite of manhood. He survived and even came back with several wolf skins. When he turned thirteen, the Emperor asked for him. He was sent by ship, to Venetia. He arrived at the Imperial Court and was raised as a Venetian noble and learned latini as well as the arts and sciences. 

The client ruler of Nordlandia died of old age and his son hated the Venetians with a passion because of what he saw as cultural genocide in his lands. He ordered the Venetians out of Nordlandia and canceled all the treaties between them. The Emperor of Venetia sent a 100,000 man legion into Nordlandia and the High Yarl and his Yarls took their warriors and went on a "merry chase" all over Nordlandia. The Venetians marched until exhaustion while the Nord Army set traps and slowly reduced the Venetians to a small number of 1,000. The main Nord Army hit the 1,000 troop remainder and slaughtered them. The Emperor was humiliated and defeated. He appealed to his ally in Vyirlund but he got no response. The Emperor raised an army of 100,000 mercenaries from the kelti kingdoms and the provinces and invaded Nordlandia again. The Army attacked and burned the Nordic Royal Hold and invaded Vyirlund, a treaty violation. While Nordlandia was under occupation for the second time, her army withdrew into Vyirlund and joined up with the 500,000 Vyir Grand Army. The 800,000 man force marched on the 100,000 man force and fought them in a series of running battles where they seemed to be retreating but were drawing the legion into traps. Defeated again, the Emperor and his legion withdrew back to Venetia. He walked into the Palace and greeted the Vyir Prince with a hug. "Grandfather, I have a gift from the gods for you." said the Vyir Prince gravely. The Emperor missed the malevolent glint in the Prince's eye and the Prince rammed a blade deep into the stomach of the Emperor until the tip of the sword came out the back. The Vyir Princeling withdrew the blade and fled the Palace, only sparing the females of the family but he utterly slaughtered the most of the males except for the one that was in exile in a distant province. He fled back to his father's Hall in Vyirlund disguised as a Priest. The exile returned to the Imperial Capitol and became Emperor Gaius Maximus Glander Icarius. The kin-killer was put into irons in the Great Hall but was released after it was learned that the Emperor had insulted the Prince repeatedly and had done everything to besmirch his honor. The High Yarl fell by the blade of a Venetian assassin a month later, revenge for the kin-killer Prince. The New High Yarl sent an assassin to the Court of the Emperor and the assassin closed the Emperor in a pool room and drowned him. The assassin escaped back to Vyirlund and so the Assassins War began in earnest. Many nobles on both sides died and all the Yarls had their huscarls defending them on two shifts. Finally after the last known member of the House of Icarius died in a pool of his own blood, the Assassin's War ended. 

THE END



 

The Slaves of the Vyir: Cedric Volton

Cedric was the healthiest and largest slave in the village of the Thane of Brynjar. The village, the farm and the valley was also named Brynjar. Cedric had been taken in a raid from the kelti Kingdom of Fendric, which was a breakaway Kingdom from the original three Kingdoms but was still the most raided by the Vyir. The Elder of the village feared Cedric and kept him busy plowing the fields and cutting wood, so he wouldn't have time to plot an escape. He began to learn Vyir from a wandering Vyir Priest and he agreed to receive baptism into the Way of the gods of the Light. The other kelti began to hate him and call him a traitor but he led several more kelti men to the Light. Cedric and his baptised fellows went to the Thane and in perfect Vyir, asked to be manumitted and asked to help the Vyir fight the Orcs. Thane Brynjar was surprised and considered it. "Slave, I can free you but I cannot call you a warrior. We have a ritual of initiation but you are twenty-eight. You are too old to learn and you lack our strength. Do this: Talk with the wandering priest and he will take you in as an adept. Our people need healers and you look like you would make a fine battle-healer." said the Thane. The slave passed over the fifty guilder needed to be freed and the Thane signed a document and Cedric put his mark on the document in front of witnesses. Cedric returned to his small grass hut and packed his meager possessions into a small leather bag and walked down the road to the stone hut of the local priest, who was in the area for the holy day sacrifice. "Hello Cedric." said the Priest. "You were freed? You can help me collect white rams for the sacrifice. I have to sacrifice twelve white rams at the third hour of the afternoon and burn them on an altar to the gods." said the Priest. "They came and told us to do this as an act of obedience and submission to the Will of the Light. Many years ago." said the Priest. "I will do that." said Cedric. He went out and collected twelve white mountain rams, all wild and brought them back to the stone hut of the Priest. "Good, good. You are now an adept. I will teach you how to be a healer." said the Priest. 

One day, as Cedric was sent out to collect wild primrose from the sides of the mountains, he was attacked by an Orc. He looked around and picked up a heavy stone and bashed the Orc's brains in. "I am stronger than them? How can that be?" he wondered within himself as he went about to complete his task. He wore the cowl of a Priest and carried no weapon. The Priest saw the blood on his cowl and scolded him. "You are not supposed to engage in warfare!" said the Priest. "I have not yet taken my vows as a master Priest." said Cedric. "Was it a troll?" asked the Priest. "It was an Orc." said Cedric. "Only the Vyir can slay an Orc, unless you have special strength from the gods." said the Priest. "You would do well to keep this to yourself." said the Priest. "The Vyir might try to have you killed for this." warned the Priest. 

Cedric was sent out again to collect herbs in the mountains and he was confronted by a troop of Orcs. Cedric quickly etched some runes on a bone and vanished before their eyes. He walked past them as they looked for him. He remained invisible as he finished off the day collecting herbs for his master. When he got back, he saw that his master had been slain and his hut was on fire. "You there! Slave!" said a warrior running towards him. "Who did this?" asked the warrior. "I was out collecting herbs in the mountains, I am an adept of this Priest." said Cedric. "More than likely you killed him and set his hut on fire!" said the Vyir warrior. Cedric rubbed his carved bone and vanished. "Damn!" said the warrior and he ran off to the Hall. Cedric walked for a day and came to an open field were he rested. He could live off the land but he was forever a marked man for a crime he didn't commit. He saw a campfire and went to investigate. It was a group of runaway slaves, all of them bandits. He walked into the camp and introduced himself in kelti. "So they gave you a bad deal too?" asked the bandits. "I was supposed to be freed to but another Thane took me as a slave and held me against my will until I escaped, now I fight these bastards until we can return to our home Kingdom." said Donric, the bandit cheiftan. The others had similar stories. "If we fight them, the Orcs will reclaim this Kingdom and mankind itself might be overrun." remarked Cedric. No-one had much of a comment on it and silence told Cedric to "leave it alone."

The small band of kelti bandits met up with a larger band of kelti bandits and they began to attack Halls and barns all over the region. Cedric healed his kinsmen after the battles but he refused to go against his former masters. He tried to teach the bandits the Way of the Light but they preferred the dark gods and cursed his gods. After trying to convert the men, he gave up and left the bandits. He traveled north and lived in a cave, praying for a sign. "BUILD AN ALTAR" came a voice one night. He quickly built an altar and waited. "COLLECT TWELVE WHITE RAMS" said the voice. He quickly did so and proceeded to do a sacrifice. The local Vyir appeared in their holy clothes and he sprinkled the rams blood on them according to as he was taught. They thanked him and invited him to come live in their village by the Hall. He accepted and began to be the Priest of Thane Bjork. 

Thane Bjork's men were executing bandits captured during an anti-bandit campaign and Cedric interceded for the lives of the men. "Spare these remaining men, and I will try to teach them." said Cedric. "Fine, but if they escape you, then we will execute you too." said the Vyir warriors. Cedric gathered the three men, Banric, Bors and Baewic, and taught them the Way of the Light and all three men agreed to be baptised and they became his adepts. Cedric explained a plan that he was coming up with to liberate the kelti. "We will teach those who can be taught and when most of the kelti in this Kingdom are baptised and following the Light, they will ask for manumission and they will be freedmen, and slaves no more." said Cedric. "You'll have to face the Dark Priest." said Bors. "Who?" asked Cedric. "The Dark Priest. He travels to the villages disguised as a Vyir Cleric and he performs the dark sacrament with human blood and he is sowing the seeds of rebellion in his wake." said Bors. "He must be stopped. I will talk with the other Priests." said Cedric. Cedric traveled to the Holds and to the Seat of the High Yarl and talked with the Supreme High Priest. "I understand your concern Cedric. The Dark Priest must be stopped. I will send several Priests with you to Olmsborg. It is believed that the Dark Priest is hiding there." said the Supreme High Priest. The new group traveled to Olmsborg to confront the Dark Priest and after talking with some slaves, they found the location of the next dark sacrament. It was to be held in a cave, deep in the woods. The Priests disguised themselves and went to the cave and saw the Dark Priest with his victim, a helpless cripple. "Die villain!" said Cedric as he appeared and shot a bolt of fire at the Dark Priest. Another Priest ran in to get the cripple out of the way of the battle. The battle lasted an hour as both Priests battled each other with all of their power. Finally, the Dark Priest collapsed, exhausted on the ground and a Vyir warrior delivered the coup de grace and executed the Dark Priest. "Finally! The nemesis of the Light has been defeated." said Bors. For no reason at all, Cedric walked up to the corpse and examined his tattoos. "I bear the same markings. He was of my clan!" said Cedric, shocked. "He was your father" said a ghostly figure. Cedric turned to see his old mentor, as a ghost. "He was also my adept but he turned to the dark gods and he escaped after I tried to kill him." said the ghost. "He had become so obsessed with the liberation of his people that he forsook the Light to do it and made a pact with the dark gods and lost his soul forever." said the ghost. "The gods have blessed your enterprise. Go forth and liberate the kelti who are willing to come to the Light." said the ghost. 

Cedric and his adepts traveled all over Vyirlund, preaching the Light to the slaves and made many converts and freed many kelti from slavery, in the spiritual sense and in the physical sense as well.  

The End.


 

Dragonriders of the Vyir

Chapter One

"We need a flying wing to confuse these Orcs quicker!" said Chancellor Haversholm to High Yarl Hrimgrimnir. "Is this another mystical scheme of yours Chancellor?" asked the High Yarl doubtfully. "No! This time it will work!" pleaded the Chancellor. "Is that like the time you tried to invent a device to help my father catch an Ice Bear?" said the High Yarl. "Better than that, and if your Highness will recall, my invention actually worked." said the Chancellor. "Those were the days!" laughed the High Yarl. "I will go to the dragon riders of the "Hand of the Blessed Light" and lease some white dragons from them and get some Vyir volunteers to ride them." said the Chancellor. After a few minutes of silence, the High Yarl sighed. "Fine! Go round up some volunteers from the Holds! I doubt a single Vyir will volunteer his time to ride something that might mistake him for lunch but it's worth a try." said the High Yarl. "Are you daft?" asked Prince Hornbori. "Dragons eat their weight in food on a daily basis and they burp fire when they get heartburn. Where do you propose to house these things? They'll burn down our barns in the first week. No, you need to arrange this more rationally. Keep the dragons in caves nearby and keep the riders close by." said the Prince. "I thought of that already brother. In fact, you can help organize the dragon riders into a fighting force." said the High Yarl. "Perhaps I should have kept my mouth shut." said Prince Hornborri. "Get on the royal river ship and go find volunteers and bring them back here." said the High Yarl. "I believe that the Chancellor is planning to go south to Nordlandia to get the dragons we need." said the High Yarl. "And volunteers!" he added. Prince Hornborri saluted and left the Great Hall in a hurry.

Prince Hornborri went to the river docks and looked around for the Dragon Boat. "Oh hells! The Chancellor sailed without me!" said the Prince. "Need a ride? Only 100 guilder to any point north or south of here!" said the boatman. "The High King will settle accounts with you! Take me to all the Holds." said the Chancellor. The boatman nodded and allowed the Prince on board. The boatman took his dragon-boat all over the map. The Prince was only able to get 60 volunteers, all of them youths of seventeen or eighteen. "So we'll all have mounts to ride?" asked one of the youth. "Um, just wait. I'll explain all once we return to the Great Hall." said the Prince. The large, several boat party landed back at the city docks after a half-week on the rivers. "You will have a rigorous training regime followed by an actual flight on a dragon. I think you will all get your own dragons." said the Prince to the group as he led them to the Great Hall. "You think? What about those of us that get no dragon?" asked a recruit. "You might have to share dragons." said the Prince. "At least you didn't give us double-talk" said one recruit. "No, that is for the High Yarl to do that. Just listen to me and you'll get through this unscathed." said the Prince with a warning note. The recruits entered the Great Hall, amazed. In the corner sat a beaming High Chancellor with a nest of dragons eggs. "How did you get back so fast?" asked Prince Hornborri. "I was flown back. I have the eggs and we have three full-grown dragons stabled in Fenrir Cave. So I am the head of this project." said the High Chancellor. "Like hells you are! I am!" argued the Prince, who was hot under the collar at the fortunate High Chancellor. "Shut up, both of you!" came the rebuke of the High Yarl. "I found a Vyir that flew with that Order 20 years ago and looked him up through a contact." said the High Yarl. "Jormungandr the Airloft will direct this flying squad." said the High Yarl. The Prince and the Chancellor stormed out of the Hall. Jorm was sitting at the table and got up. "Recruits, come to me. I will teach you everything you need to know about this art." said Jorm. "You will be taking practice flights on our three adult fliers but each of you will get a dragon egg. You will raise each hatchling as your own and that dragon will become a full-grown flyer in ten years. There are 60 of you? We need more eggs then!" said Jorm, glancing to the High Yarl. "We'll have enough" said the High Yarl. 

Chapter Two

Ten years passed and the volunteers were ready for action and so were the dragons. Each dragon reflected the personality of it's master so the quickest of the group was out of the cave first while the slowest was out last. Word came that 10,000 Frost Orcs had emerged from a cave to the north, all armed to the teeth and needed to be defeated immediately. The High Yarl led the Great Army of the Vyir but held the sheild wall away from the advancing columns of Frost Orcs. The Battlemage gave the signal. The dragon riders and their dragons appeared on the horizon and swept down and burnt up 90% of the Orc army in 20 minutes. The remaining Orcs fled back into the cave and the Grand Army followed the Orcs back into the cave and slaughtered the survivors without losing a single man. News of the fast victory reached the ears of the Orcish Emperor and he sent a troop of 100,000 Orcs into Vyirlund. The dragon riders swooped down on the Orcs and burnt half the Orcish force when they saw black dragons flying in. The white dragons squawked and tried to flee. "Forward!" said the dragon riders, the leader blew his horn to get the dragons to refocus but it was too late, the dragons had fled the battle and the Grand Army was forced to retreat to a more defensible position. "And that is that!" said the Chancellor, knowing that his scheme had failed. The battle raged on for three days as the Vyir held off the charging Orcs until the Nord Army with the Nord High Yarl marched in and attacked the Orcs from behind. The Orcs were defeated but the Vyir Grand Army lost 3% of their entire force. "Treason!" screamed the Vyir High Yarl at the High Chancellor. "I will find out what happened." said the High Chancellor. As the Vyir and Nord combined armies camped out near the battle field, the High Chancellor seeked out Jorm. "Where is Jorm?" asked the High Chancellor to the dragon riders. "Dead, his mount threw him off during the battle, when it saw the black dragons." said Lofn. "Who led the troop back to safety?" asked the High Chancellor. "I did." said Lofn. "Then you are the new Captain of the dragon riders." said the High Chancellor. "But we aren't flying them if the enemy brings out black dragons." said Prince Hornborri. "Wait. I can train these beasts to not panic at the smell of black dragons. We need a dead black dragon whelp to rub in the noses of the flight." said Lofn. "I'll get one, I saw one go down east of here!" said a rider. He mounted and flew off. "What is going on? Where is Captain Jorm?" asked the High Yarl. "He died in battle but we can condition these dragons to not panic at the smell of black dragons." said Lofn. "Good, I name you Captain. Do not disappoint me or I will disband this unit." said the High Yarl. The rider got the corpse and the riders flew their mounts back to the cave. 

The riders spent a week retraining the white dragons to not panic at the smell or sight of black dragons. "Thank the gods for the battle-mages and the battle-priests, or we would have lost our entire Army to the black dragons." said a flyer. "We have to get it right this time, or we go back home in disgrace." said the Captain. 

The next month, the Orcish Emperor threw another 10,000 Orcs and 20,000 Kelti warriors at the Vyir. The Frost Orcs used their small numbers to burn barns and Halls all over Vyirlund. The Grand Army met the Orcish combined force head on and the dragon riders swept in on the Kelti force and burnt 90% of their number and sent the rest fleeing as the white dragons ate the fleeing Kelti. The Orc Army kept trying every trick to get the shield wall to break but it held firm. Finally the Orcs withdrew and the Vyir pursued. The slow withdraw became a panicked, disorderly retreat and the Vyir slaughtered the remaining Orcs. Just as victory seemed assured, the black dragon riders came. The white dragons didn't flee this time but instead blew their flames into the black dragons faces. The white dragon riders were able to maneuver under the black dragons and spear them from underneath. The black dragons started to drop from the sky and soon the black dragon riders were defeated. The Grand Army cheered and the white dragon riders flew by in triumph. 

The riders were awarded thanedoms and 1 million guilders each for their heroic actions. Just as everyone thought that the war was over, Frost Orc spies had discovered the cave of the dragons and had poisoned their food. The next day, the riders awoke to discover that their dragons, all of them, were dead. The riders bewailed their dead mounts and vowed revenge. They sent word to the Order and they sent in replacement mounts for the group. The group flew to a more secure cave in the north and set up headquarters there. They spent 10 months training the new mounts for the next battle. 

The Orcish Emperor ordered the 5,000 Frost Orc rebels to burn halls and barns all over Vyirlund. The Thanes used their best warriors, mounted on White Dire Wolves, to pursue and kill the rebels. The white dragon riders burned large gatherings of Orcs when they could find them and helped bring the campaign to a speedy end. The Orcish Emperor brought in an elite wing of Red dragons and Kelti riders to burn down the Great Hall. The dragon riders met them midair and fought them against overwhelming odds. 200 Red Dragons flew in to fight 60 White dragon-riders. The last White Dragon rider fell dead off his mount and soon his mount fell dead but the Battle-Priests came to the battle and used their light bolts to bring the Red Dragons and their Kelti riders out of the sky.

"It is over my Liege." said a sad Grand Chancellor to the High Yarl. "It is not over. We'll seek more volunteers, get more dragons." said the High Yarl. "We can fight the dragons more effectively with a ground force of battle-priests." said the High Chancellor. "That might be true but who will roast our enemies from above?" asked the High Yarl. "The men are all dead." said the High Chancellor. "Not all, Hervor forgot to wake up on time for the battle and missed the whole thing." said the High Yarl. "Hervor will recruit a new force. This time we will come back with a force stronger than ever. 1,000 dragon riders." said the High Yarl. "Fine, but I doubt anyone will want to volunteer after this." said the Grand Chancellor. 

Hervor traveled all over Vyirlund and recruited 2,000 men for the Dragon Flyer Squadron. He also sent for Green Dragon eggs, the Green Dragons were a bit easier to train and grew quicker than the White Dragons. Within 10 years, the Squadron was ready for action and they brought the Vyir Army victory after victory. Hervor earned a new nickname: "the dragon wise". Hervor also used his own funds to raise a stone tower with a bronze plate on it listing all the original dragon-riders at Boddi's Mountain.

The End.



 

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.