The Son Of Ragnar



A couple of hours had passed and this meant that Tyr had been with his father for quite some time.

Tyr and Ragnar were together and they were about to have a serious conversation but this conversation wasn't just about what was about to happen but things that he wanted to speak to Tyr about ever since he came back from his exile.

"Son…" Ragnar called out.

"Yes Father," Tyr responded with the utmost respect.

Ragnar remained one of the few people he looked up to and Tyr was glad that he was adopted by such a great man or his life would have been a lot more different.

"What are you scheming? This war isn't one that we can simply turn our backs on after being paid off, we aren't mercenaries or bandits. We are Norsemen, we are Vikings," Ragnar said.

"Hahaha! Father, you are the biggest advocate for peace that I know of, you have the power to slay Signy yet he lives even though you know he poses a threat," Tyr said but he was not done.

"I have no intention of retreating…" Tyr paused as he saw the boat that the Christians had sent out, returned and they had brought back the treasures and food.

"I see, we are less than a day away," Tyr said with a smile and with that single sentence, Ragnar was caught off guard because Tyr was clearly seeing something he was not.

"What are you talking about?" Ragnar asked.

"We are less than a day from Northumbria. No, they went and returned so it is safe to say we are a few hours away," Tyr said.

"I see…" Ragnar paused as a proud smile creased his face.

"You never had any plans of retreating, did you?" Ragnar asked his son but this was a rhetorical question.

"That is correct father, I just wanted to know how far we were away from their home…" Tyr said with a grin and Ragnar chuckled in disbelief.

Even he could not have thought about this on the spot the way his son did.

"So why the treasure and food?" Ragnar asked.

"It is so we can feed, we will 'retreat' out of sight but we will certainly hit them at night. We have established the distance so now we can draw up a plan with that information. I do not plan to return to Rogaland until I get to Northumbria." Tyr said and Ragnar did not know where this ambition stemmed from but it seemed to be a grand one.

Ragnar knew these enemies would not be easy, they only had a little taste of their military strength and it was nothing short of overwhelming.

It took Tyr's plan to prevent them from losing even more men.

"I cannot believe how much you have grown Tyr," Ragnar said and Tyr smiled at his father.

Ragnar wanted to ask if he had anything planned with Bjorn but he knew that Bjorn would not appreciate it if he told Tyr anything.

The boats of the Christians were on their way to give them the food and treasure that they had retrieved. They were received with open arms from the Vikings and a war was seemingly averted.

The food was distributed among the warriors and the Vikings feasted with huge smiles on their faces. They left their seas just as they had agreed and this was a good thing.

Everyone was back on their boats and Tyr knew that the leaders needed to do something now.

The fact that he had done this without informing his General could be interpreted as him undermining his leadership but Tyr's impact so far has trumped that of everyone else exempting Bjorn so he had the attention of everyone on his side.

The sun was setting and that was when the boats of the Vikings came to a halt.

Grjötgard Gardsson listened to Tyr's request to stop as he assumed he wanted them to take a rest but Tyr knew that they were being followed from afar, this was Northumbria's way of seeing if the Vikings had any intentions of honouring their bargain but now, that boat had turned back.

Tyr was the only one that took notice because he was the only one that expected it, and the distance made it very difficult, it was only because of his paranoia that he could make out a very small dot in the distance.

"General Grjötgard Gardsson. Do you trust me?" Tyr asked.

"No," Grjötgard responded in a heartbeat and this almost made Salgard snicker because he did not know the kind of answer that Tyr was expecting but Grjötgard was not one to spare a person's feelings with his words.

"Northumbria, General… I want it, I never planned to retreat," Tyr finally let the cat out of the bag but Grjötgard did not look surprised by this.

"The person that was trailing us has stopped as well, you got the food so we can replenish our strength but I do not understand why you got the treasures… You made a smart choice and I have a feeling it is not just me that caught on because retreating goes against everything I have heard about you Tyr," Grjötgard said.

Tyr could not believe the insight this man possessed and he now understood why he was feared a lot more than Rugalf himself.

"VIKINGS!" Grjötgard raised his voice for the first time since this journey had begun and with filled bellies, everyone was energized as it felt like they were just arriving.

"WILL ODIN ACCEPT US INTO VALHALLA IF WE RUN AWAY FROM THESE CHRISTIANS?" Grjötgard screamed, it was not just his warriors that heard him but those on the other boats nearby.

"NO!" They responded and this brought a smile from Grjötgard with Salgard standing right beside his brother.

"THESE CHRISTIANS THINK THEY CAN PAY US OFF AFTER DISRESPECTING OUR GODS? WE WILL TAKE THEIR HEADS AND THAT OF THEIR GOD!" Grjötgard screamed and this brought an end to his speech but Tyr could not believe the effect it had on everyone.

Without explaining the situation or anything, he had gotten warriors that were ready to return moments ago, bloodthirsty.

"So this is a General," Tyr thought to himself.