The Son Of Ragnar



Askild was a man known around the world, every day he strengthened his hold on the Viking world and this went unnoticed by everyone.

Askild had built such a backing that it would prove impossible to overthrow him and the couple of days that passed showed him back in Kattegat.

Askild arrived with a thundering reception, Ulrik had done well to maintain the peace in his absence. 

Askild could not help but smile even though he had failed the objective of his mission there but something was interesting because Aslild had gone with Rolf yet Rolf was nowhere to be seen when he saw Ingólfur.

Begging the question, where he was considering that he was nowhere near them.

They both returned to the throne room but something that has not happened in years occurred that day and that was Liv embracing her husband.

Askild was confused because Liv showed her hatred for him by her actions so he knew something happened in his absence.

"I am glad you returned safely!" Liv was ecstatic and Askild had to look around because he thought someone had put her up to this.

"What is going on Liv?" Askild asked, breaking from her embrace and gripping the hilt of his sword in anticipation, Rolf followed suit.

"I missed you, I think your time away from me made me realize you are the only thing I have left in this world," Liv said and this added up, she had lost everyone she cared about and no one was coming to save her but Askild.

She knew that Askild kept her safe and she had to fulfill her duties as his wife to remain useful to him. If she meant these words, it was another thing entirely.

"Hahaha! You must forgive my doubt, Liv. Are you sure you are okay?" Askild asked her once again because something was off about his wife.

Askild wanted to believe his wife was back but he had a brain that learned patterns.

She was plotting something but what? Askild knew to play along because he had nothing to lose. If she thought he bought it then it would be a lot easier for him to discern what her motives were. He dealt with Birger, there was no way his wife would be more cunning. 

"You have always been paranoid, my love. I will wait for you in the room so please hurry," Liv was more expressive but Askild did not mind this, she had to step up to rule Kattegat in her husband's place as she was no longer a puppet.

Askild hoped this was the case but he entertained the thought that Liv had simply found a new puppeteer.

Askild was left alone with Rolf, and he wanted to know how things went on his end.

Askild was going to leave Iceland with something and part of him knew that he could not rely on Ingólfur to back him on his quest to England and anyone not backing him would be seen as an enemy.

This was what Askild believed because this was his opportunity to conquer lands outside of Norway and he would not be deterred whatsoever.

"Tell me, what happened Rolf?" Askild asked as he slowly sat on his throne, he did not look defeated for some strange reason despite not getting Ingólfur to support his cause.

"I made contact with Bishop Guðmundu," Rolf spoke freely and this was surprising considering the kind of man Askild was.

"What did he say? Get to it Rolf," Askild instructed him outright, he had no time for delays.

They could have easily spoken on the boat but that was not the time to talk about something so important. Now, the question might be how he managed to sneak Rold onto Iceland and that was easy, Hagen had built him a boat that had a hidden compartment beneath.

Rolf laid down throughout the journey and while it might not be deemed necessary, Askild did not know which part of the sea was under the man he was coming to see.

Rolf had met the Christians and assisted them in attacking Ingólfur, and the thing about this was that Ingólfur did not know that Askild came with an accomplice but if he came back onshore, that meant that his host was not aware.

Askild wanted to confirm with absolute certainty that Ingólfur would not support his cause because he already had Grjötgard's support so now he could kill Ingólfur and still reap the benefit of Grjötgard's alliance.

They were going to side with the Christians to kill Ingólfur so it could not be tied back to them but blamed on the Christians.

Askild was not going to be present but instead sent his warriors there to aid them but the condition he gave the Bishop was that they would not kill the Vikings there.

These were seasoned warriors that worked under Ingólfur so they would no doubt be a blessing to add to Askild's military.

Askild knew that under a change of leadership, he could lead them to even greater things.

"The Bishop told me about the fight with Ingólfur, they have reached a stalemate that neither of them could break. He has asked for warriors but he said something strange… He said he would only accept warriors that convert to this Christianity that they preach," Rolf said and Askild was confused by this request because what does it matter what their faith was?

Askild needed Ingólfur dead and found a way to do it, he was going to take it because if this Bishop does manage to kill him then the Gardsson would have no reason to uphold his end of the bargain.

"That is a stupid request. We can easily pretend to convert and return to our ways when done," Askild said, and he found this rather silly.

"The Bishop guaranteed me that once they converted, they would not want to return to our ways," Rolf responded and Askild chuckled when he heard this.

"Such arrogance…" Askild muttered under his breath.

"We will send sixty men there… This should be enough to even out the odds. It is impressive that they could hold on for so long with so few men but the fortress played a major role in this," Askild said firmly, he liked how things were going but he had not yet been briefed by Bjorn about their expedition so he did not know that he was not the only one with knowledge about Northumbria. Askild initially used this raid to hype up his allies, they met no resistance so naturally they would assume other raids would be as simple and thus more inclined to participate in his next expedition.

"Who do you think should lead the charge in terms of our forces? We cannot leave them for the Bishop to use or he might use them carelessly, we need someone that they respect." Rolf said; he would have suggested himself for this task but no one respected him or even knew him enough to trust in his leadership.

He was a Commander but he was rarely in Kattegat so he was not as known as the rest of them.

"I wonder who could handle this task…" Askild thought momentarily but an idea came to his mind. A warrior that was respected and known by his warriors?

"Ulf…" Rolf muttered under his breath and this was exactly what Askild was thinking.

Ulf had fallen off somewhat recently and this could be the perfect thing to get him back on track. 

Ingólfur did not know who Ulf was, he had never met him in battle and only heard stories where he was portrayed as some sort of deity.

The image of Ulf most people had in mind was a lot different than who he was, this allowed him to move about unrecognized to those who did not know him.

And with someone that renowned, he would more than earn the cooperation of the Bishop.

The Bishop was a cautious man and Askild knew the only way to make him lower his guard was to give him a man that was loyal to Kattegat and that was Ulf.

He shared the blood of Ragnar but Askild did not know why Ulf did not attend the wedding of Ulf but he was aware that he was not the biggest fan of Tyr from the onset.

Ulf wanted to kill him right off the bat but Hagen had saved him.

This was perfect because this would be a fresh start and environment for Ulf until they conquered Ingólfur, and if Ulf did die, it would only give Ragnar a reason to make Ingólfur an enemy so there was no losing in terms of this.

Askild could disguise it as a peace talk that Ingólfur went crazy and killed him, Ragnar was already aware of his hostile relationship with King Rugalf but he did not know why.

However, Askild knew why and already had a Plan B in place in case Ulf would die in this.

Askild did not see Ulf as a valuable asset, he had lost his hunger but he retained his title as a Commander because he held in importance.

The connection to Ragnar ultimately made him valuable, not his skill as a warrior but as a political pawn.