The Son Of Ragnar

Tyr did not know who this was but he had saved him and that was all that mattered. Tyr owed him his life but something he had learned over his time in the Viking world was nothing was done for free. The question was, what did he want?

"Why did you save me?" Tyr could not move an inch from where he lay, that was how badly he was injured.

"I did not save you, the gods did," Thorvald said, putting steaming cattle on the makeshift table beside Tyr and cup.

"You must be dehydrated, drink up," Thorvald said, pouring Tyr a cup of water and gradually lifting his head to make sure it did not spill on Tyr's body or it would burn his skin.

Tyr gulped down the water but it did not taste like just water, it had a bitter taste mixed in.

"I mixed in your meds in there, you are lucky to be alive. I do not think your spine is affected but I will have to observe you closely for a few days. I do not believe in coincidence, I believe I found you for a reason," Thorvald said, laying Tyr's head back gently.

"Craaaazzyyy" Tyr thought himself listening to Thorvald talk, he was sounding a little delusional and Tyr waited for the part where he would list what he wanted but it never came.

"I have no reason for saving you. Just as I did, another one once saved me, a man wild as a beast yet he saw it worthy to save me, I named my child after him." Thorvald went on and Tyr had no choice but to listen because he owed this man everything.

-

A week later, Tyr could walk but barely, it took a full month for him to feel like himself again.

He was grateful for the existence of Thorvald because if he was not there when he was, Tyr's journey would have come to an end. Maybe Thorvald's story about fate had meaning.

"I am ready to go. Thank you Mr. Thorvald for everything you have done for me!" Tyr expressed his gratitude with a bow.

"What do you think would happen if you ran into them again?" Thorvald asked him and Tyr kept quiet the moment he heard this, stopping in his tracks.

"Winter will soon be over, stay here until then," Thorvald advised his young friend, but it was ultimately Tyr's choice if he was going to stay or not.

Tyr turned back and headed inside, Thorvald did not ask for any identification which he found strange but he found a lot of things in this world strange.

Tyr stayed under the tutelage of Thorvald, and Thorvald offered to train him once winter was over, an offer Tyr jumped at because, despite this man's advanced age, Tyr knew he could learn a thing or two from him.

He was in his mid-to-late fifties and his figure was that of a warrior, he did not look weak but even he could not escape the shackles of old age.

Tyr trained under this man for months, but Thorvald taught him something unique and that was how to control his breathing for increased stamina and endurance. An exercise he found strange but it proved to be useful because it expanded his lung capacity.

Thorvald used the winter for this. For some reason, Tyr did not run into one savage since Thorvald took him under his care, it felt like they were actively avoiding this place intentionally.

When the frosty snow subsided, Thorvald began training him in a fighting style that relied on your sixth sense. Unlike the savages that made use of a person's blind spot, Thorvald made use of one's ears and senses to bypass this.

If he could not use his eyes, he would have to learn to fight without them. Thorvald blindfolded Tyr for months, he was carrying out his daily activities without his eyes including his combat training. The beginning was painful, he could not cope with it but it eventually got easier.

It took a whole year for Tyr to fully adjust to being blind, his combat skills skyrocketed the moment he could fight blindly as it improved his natural reflexes. Tyr's workout schedule was brutal and left his body sore after every rep.

A year and a half later, Tyr completed his training and his body underwent significant change in the process. Thorvald taught him everything he knew but he grew curious about the man's past.

Why was such a fine warrior this far out and why did the savages avoid him? But Thorvald never revealed his secrets or past to Tyr because he thought doing so might endanger those he wants to protect. He had seen the darker aspect of Tyr's nature and knew he was not a man that had his impulses under control.

"Tyr, my training with you has ended, I have taught you everything I know so in a sense, I now live on through you," Thorvald said, his body was getting each passing winter and winter was here once again, this was when the savages were most active and it happened, they encroached into his land soon after.

A battle ensued where Thorvald held the savages off, Tyr wanted to fight alongside him but Thorvald gave him one last command as his teacher and that was to escape for this was his way to Valhalla. He had lived a long life, and he had no intentions of dying old in his bed, he wanted to die on the battlefield, blade in hand but Tyr was not sure who attacked and why Thorvald, who had no problems curbing the savages was suddenly speaking about death?

It had to be because they were strong enough to make him contemplate death.

Tyr began to suspect if they were other savages, and this was when the theory of the existence of other clans began as Tyr ran, he saw Thorvald being cut down not by a sledgehammer, but by a broadsword.