by Griff Hosker
The four of them stopped thirty paces from our lines. They were all dressed in mail and three of them were younger than I was. The fourth looked to be a little older than me. All four had open helmets in their hands. The older warrior spoke in Saxon; it was a language we all understood. “I am King Alpín mac Echdach.” He held his hand to his right, “And this is Eorl Aethelfrith, King Eanred’s man.”
I nodded and remained silent. They had asked for this meeting and not I. I saw a look of annoyance cross the King’s face. I had not deferred to him. He did not like that. “You fought well yesterday but you are outnumbered now and your backs are to the river. When we attack you will all be slaughtered.” Still we remained silent. Sighing he went on, “Here are our terms: surrender Jarl Dragonheart to us so that King Eanred may punish him for his treacherous murders and the violation of his home.” Wolf Killer started forward but I restrained him. The King went on, “Then you will all bow your knee to me and accept me as your overlord. Do that and you shall all live and keep your weapons.” He smiled as though this was the most reasonable offer a man could make. He went on, “And before you answer know that King Eanred himself is coming with a mighty host. You are all going to die if you refuse my kind offer.”
I nodded and turned to my son and Sigtrygg, “Does this sound reasonable to you?”
Wolf Killer laughed, “This man calls himself king and yet he leads a rag tag army of half dressed and wild savages. I would as soon bow to a pig and bare my arse to his warriors than acknowledge him as king. In fact I have a mind to take my warriors and conquer this piece of scrubland called Alt Clut!”
One of the warriors with the King was obviously a Scot for he started his hand towards his sword. I hissed, “Think hard my friend. I have an archer behind me and if you draw your sword at this truce then you will die before your King and the Eorl here.”
“Hold Kenneth. This Viking is right. This is a truce and there are rules.” The warrior’s hand came away from his hilt. “So you all wish to die?”
I laughed, “We are Vikings not followers of the White Christ. If we die with a sword in our hands then we go to Valhalla. Do you think death bothers us? And remember Alpín mac Echdach that we are the warriors who sent your men fleeing when they raided Thorfinn Blue Scar, we managed to surprise King Eanred’s strongest castle and last night ten men terrified your whole army. I will not make the same offer to you. You attack us and you die. You do not attack us and we attack you and you die. You flee and we will follow you. We are Vikings and we are afraid of no man!”
He had no answer to that and he turned on his heel and left.
Once we were back in our lines Sigtrygg said, “Reinforcements?”
“It will be the fyrd. They are less well trained than even our bondi. They are numbers that is all. He wants to frighten us with a mob. The best warriors they have are here already. That is why they were successful yesterday. It was their eorls and their oathsworn who fought and died. This shows that he is worried. He would not have negotiated if he thought he could win. There is doubt in his mind.”
“Will he wait for King Eanred?”
“I hope so, son, for that means Ketil will be close. Did Beorn Beornson leave before dawn?”
“Aye.”
“Then Ketil knows our situation.” I smiled, “He is as good at ambush as any Ulfheonar.” I pointed to the river, “And with Arne’s archers we have an extra weapon that he knows not of. However, just to make sure I will make a blót in the river. Where are the ponies we captured last night?”
Snorri pointed. “They are by the river drinking.”
“Good.” As I approached them I saw one white pony. It was lame and stood forlornly alone. It should have been destroyed already for it could barely stand. Wyrd. It was meant to die and would serve my purpose.
As we approached the small herd the other ponies moved away and the white one looked at me. It raised and lowered its head. I looked into its eyes and knew that this pony had a warrior’s heart. Had I had Aiden with me he would have held its head and read its mind. I could not do that. The beast would know, however, that it was going to a better place and serving a noble cause. All of my Ulfheonar had followed me and those others close by gathered for they knew that something important was about to happen.
I drew my seax and put my left arm around the neck of the pony. I spoke softly as I led it to the water. It hobbled on its three good legs. “You are in pain, my friend ,and I shall end that for you. Your sacrifice will help us to win this day and for that you will be remembered. When you are in the presence of the Allfather then tell him that we need his aid this day if we are to drive our enemies hence. You are noble and I will make this swift. You have had enough pain in your life.”
He raised his head and whinnied as though he understood.
I took him into the sluggish river so that the water came to my chest. I spoke loudly so that my men and the gods could hear. “Allfather and great god Icaunis I give you a blood sacrifice to ensure that we defeat our enemies this day. Take this fine beast and welcome him to run free with the others in Valhalla.” The pony raised his head as I drew the seax across his throat. The blood spurted and splattered me. Its body fell into the river and the current took it west towards the sea. It was a good blót. The animal had not fought me. Those who had seen it all cheered. Arne’s archers on the far bank took up the cheer and it seemed to echo across the Eden valley.
I waded from the water. My helmet and my armour were covered in the blood of the pony. This was a good sign and my men banged their shields as I walked past them to the front lines. Wolf Killer walked next to me with his hand on my shoulder. “The gods favour you, father. The pony wanted to die. There was no struggle. That was a good blót.”
We will know by the end of the day.”
Chapter 15
It was late morning when their horns sounded and they began to advance. Perhaps that meant King Eanred had arrived. We could not tell for the land to the east was hidden to us. There was no sign of Ketil yet but that did not worry me. If I could not see him then our enemies could not. I stood with my leaders in the front rank. There were now fifty of us with mail. Some, like Leif, had taken the mail from dead Scots. It was a more formidable line than we had had the day before. The two rivers protected our flanks. We stood with a line of interlocked shields and fresh spears. Arne had ferried them over during the night. Our problem would come if they broke through our mailed line for behind us we had just fifty warriors and they had no mail. If we failed, and I prayed that we would not, then they would be ferried to the safety of Arne’s citadel. The Scots would be denied their corpses. Of course if that happened then they would flood into my land and my people would suffer. We had to make sure that we did not die.
I had Wolf Killer and his men to my right and Sigtrygg and his oathsworn to my left,. The centre was made up of Ulfheonar and those who had claimed mail. Haaken had not been happy about that for he wanted my Ulfheonar in one block.
“They will fight better alongside the best that we have. Would you rather we put them together? Would that not be the weakest part of the line? This way we have strength all the way along the line.”
“But I would protect your right side, Jarl Dragonheart, as I always have.”
“And you will but there will be another warrior between us. Gunnar Gunnarsson fought well yesterday. He deserves the honour.”
And so we stood and we waited. Our front was narrow and they were using a boar’s head wedge to come at us. This gave two points to probe us. It meant that Wolf Killer and Sigtrygg would bear the brunt of the first attacks. Perhaps they were wary of attacking me. Our second ranks had not only spears but javelins. They would hurl their javelins and then use their spears to form a barrier. The archers beyond the river would release their arrows once the enemy were fifty paces from us. They might not kill those with mail but any without mail would be hit. This time we had forty archers. They might make all the difference.
The two w
edges came on slowly, warily watching the ground before them. My warriors had placed the stakes and spears to show the archers when they could loose. As the wedges were broken up by the spears the arrows fell. They made a terrible noise as they clattered and clanged off helmets and mail. The steep angle of the arrows meant that some even penetrated metal links and soon the advancing Scots and Saxons had lifted the shields above their heads. Few fell but many were hit. As the ones with mail passed through the arrow storm more men were felled as those without armour were hit. They lifted their shields high above them. They were like the grains of sand on the shore. No matter how many we killed their ranks were filled by others.
Behind us the men with the javelins prepared to throw them. Some threw them high while those, who had the skill, threw them horizontally. I saw one Scot clutch at his stomach as a well aimed javelin went beneath his raised shield. His place was quickly taken but the fallen body was yet another obstacle to those who followed. I saw the leading warriors all wore boots and they stamped as they marched. The horse breakers were crushed into the ground. They were now ineffective as a barrier
I saw the wedge tighten as they prepared to charge.
“Ready! They are about to charge!”
Because many at the rear of the two wedges were still negotiating bodies and stakes they did not have as many men charging as they might have liked. When they struck us it was with little effect. They did not have the weight of mailed men behind them. I saw Wolf Killer spear the leading warrior who faced him. He threw his body contemptuously to one side and then brought his spear sideways into the open helmet of a second. They were holding. The enemy line now began to fill in the gap between the two wedges. I saw that Leif was still waving the standard back and forth above my head. It seemed to draw the enemy to me. That was good. That was what I wanted.
The clash of arms and the shouts of the dying and the wounded filled the air. I concentrated on the mailed Eorl who came towards me. He had a wild boar painted on his shield and from his helmet fluttered four feathers. His mail looked to be well made and he had a sword which was almost as long as mine. I held my spear at waist height for a pair of spears were on each of my shoulders. We both jabbed forward at the same time. I took his spear on my shield but perhaps he was distracted by the two spears which faced his eyes for he failed to lower his own shield. My spear head bit into his mail. He was not wearing a leather byrnie beneath his mail for I saw the look of pain on his face as my spear struck flesh. I withdrew it and stabbed again quickly. He was not expecting the blow. At the same time the two warriors behind me stabbed forward and their spears hit his helmet above the nasal. He fell back. I pulled back my arm and hit him a third time. This time my spear went beneath his byrnie and tore up into his unprotected body. He fell backwards into his warriors and his oathsworn.
The warriors of the Eorl gave a roar of anger and hurled themselves at me, keen to avenge their lord. They fought angry and that is never a good idea. Their wild strikes got in the way of each other. I took the flurry of blows on my shield all the while stabbing with my spear. On the third strike it broke and I drew my seax for we were too close to each other for swords. Their angry fury-filled faces were before me and they were cursing me in Saxon. I cursed back, “Follow your Eorl you women who feared to face me last night! I am Jarl Dragonheart and I fear no man!”
I ripped my seax horizontally three times in quick succession and three men had their throats cut and fell in a bloody heap at my feet. The press of men behind meant they could not raise their hands. I stabbed to the left and to the right until I had enough space to draw my sword. It was then that I could swing. I stabbed forward and made a warrior jump out of the way. That allowed me to sweep to my right and my sword bit into the side of a warrior who was busy fending off Gunnar Gunnarsson..
As I brought my sword round again I saw that there were no mailed warriors before me. We had broken their first line.
“Push! We have them!”
Perhaps it was just we in the centre who had had the success but we began to hack into warriors without armour. Gunnar Gunnarsson was chanting as he slew, “Dragonheart! Dragonheart! Dragonheart!” It seemed to help his rhythm.
The men before us could not stand against such a weight of armoured men. They had no warriors behind them to hold and to protect with their spears. As they backed into the stakes and spears they fell and were skewered where they lay.
I heard a horn sound three times and the whole line began to fall back. We were not strong enough to pursue and so I called, “Hold and reform.”
I looked down our line and saw many dead warriors. These were men who had come with us to fight the Scots. Some of those who had just acquired mail lay dead but the bodies before them showed that they had died well. Many Scots were piled up around their bodies. Wolf Killer and Sigtrygg stood and raised their swords in salute but many of their oathsworn lay dead.
“Strip the enemy of mail and remove our bodies to the rear. This is not over. Water and food. One man in every two fetch food and water.”
I turned and saw Snorri approaching. “We are running short of arrows, Jarl.”
I nodded, “They have done their job. Any sign of Ketil?”
“It is still before the time he said he would arrive but look yonder,” he pointed and I saw the banner of King Eanred. He had his oathsworn with him and behind came a column of armed men; it was the fyrd.
The enemy might have been wavering but now they were being reinforced. It would give heart to the others. I took off my helmet and handed it to Leif. I gave him my shield too. “Watch these. You did well. Make sure you have food. This battle is not yet over.”
He smiled and rubbed his shoulder. “I thought that working on the farm was hard enough but this is harder than harvesting the rye in the dale.”
“And when you go back your arm will be so strong that you will complete the task in half the time!”
More than half the men who had fought were not warriors but farmers. Warrior blood coursed through their veins but I knew that the ones who had died had been the farmers and not my warriors. I walked around my lines talking to as many as I could. I spied Asbjorn and Eystein. The bandages on Eystein’s lower leg were bloody. “Have that cauterized. I cannot afford to lose my rock.”
“I will do so after the battle.”
“You will do it now that is my command. Asbjorn take him. I will talk while you are gone with my young cubs here!”
Asbjorn led him away. I saw Rolf Eriksson. He now had a short mail byrnie and sported a scar down his face. “Will Hlif like that scar do you think, Rolf?”
He looked confused for a moment and then shook his head, “I have not thought of her for some time. You were right, Jarl. I was a foolish young man. I am sorry.”
“We can only get wisdom when we are older if we make mistakes when we are young. You and your comrades have done well. Have you lost many of the crew of ‘Odin’s Breath’?”
Rolf’s face became serious, “Five have died and two lie across the river, wounded.”
“Do not grieve for them. They will wait for you in Valhalla. You will have many more tales to tell them.”
Another of the cubs, Rollo Thin Skin, asked, “Will we win, Jarl Dragonheart? They have been reinforced.”
“Have they breached our lines yet?”
“No Jarl.”
“Then there is your answer. So long as we fight for each other then we will never be broken. When our enemies fall they believe they go to a heaven where all is peaceful and no one fights. We go to Valhalla. That is why we will win.”
Rolf said, “And because we are led by the Dragonheart who wields the sword which was touched by the gods. The whole world has heard of you and fears you.”
“No Rolf, the world apart from our land fears me. I would hope that none of you fear me.”
Rollo said, “When I was growing up and I misbehaved my mother said that the Dragonheart would come in the night and punish me. I was afraid of you.
I thought you could change into a wolf. When we heard the howls last night it brought back all those memories. Even though I know you just wear the cloak I am still in awe of you and a little afraid.”
“Then fear not for my wolves only bite and kill when our enemies are around. We will drive them hence. Fear not.”
I spoke to each group of warriors. Those who were Wolf Killer’s men and Sigtrygg I did not know as well as those from my own settlement but I was pleased that none were disheartened by the reinforcements.
Haaken shouted, “Jarl, they come.”
I strode back to our front line. Leif handed me my helmet. Before I donned it I studied their attack. King Eanred had placed his oathsworn ahead of his other warriors and they were being backed by the fyrd. They were heading towards our right side. The Scots had a smaller warband and they were coming in one large block of men led by his mailed warriors. The two wedges had failed. He was using sheer weight of numbers to try to defeat us. We had but forty two men in mail and that included me. We had enough arrows for a short time only.
“Move back towards the rivers I want a solid line flanked by the water. Icaunis will protect us.”
“Aye Jarl.”
As we moved back it gave heart to our enemies who thought we retreated. They came on faster. As they neared the spears and stakes I saw that the warriors at the front hacked at them with their swords and axes. It removed them but it blunted their weapons. The destruction of those flimsy defences seemed to give them the taste of victory and they cheered and began to run at us. That was a mistake. They did not keep their shields tight together and our archers hit more of them.
We had fewer spears now as many had shattered. I had the few which remained given to those in the second rank. “Press your shields into our backs!”
This time the attackers had more momentum and would hit us harder. The nearer they came to us, however, the narrower became our frontage and they began to barge into one another. They struck our line but many were unable to bring their weapons to bear. As most had spears as weapons there was a huge crack which rippled down our line as they struck shields and armour and shattered. We did not bend and the spears broke. The spears in our second rank, in contrast, had the freedom to punch at head height into the open helmets our enemies wore. The enemy were so packed together that they could not get their heads out of the way in time.
