The month witnessed a change in the other world as well, the great Viking era was coming to its peak as warriors and prophecies backed this up.
Bjorn had grown to be a great warrior, he was strong with a sense of justice to boot.
He saw betrayal as the ultimate sin, and now Ulf had shown his true color by coveting someone that did not belong to him.
Bjorn had an army under his command and their loyalty to him was absolute, they would jump on a sword for him if he willed it because they knew the honor that came with serving the son of Ragnar.
Viggo was one, he was a rough person that did not follow the conventional rules but he was no criminal. And listened to the laws but the morality of others did not apply to him.
Bjorn was his anchor and had become his life, he was older than Bjorn but he had no problems submitting to him. Ragnar was rumored to be coming to Kattegat, and this could explain why the security had been amped up because Askild had no intentions of risking this meeting.
Ragnar was coming to Kattegat, this was a risky move even for someone of his skill set because he was not sure of King Askild's intention but he also knew that Vestfold stood at the pinnacle right now.
"Bjorn Ironside. How did you get that name?" Viggo questioned his commander, he was curious to know more about his commander because all he had heard were stories about his feat.
But tales tend to be exaggerated, and he wanted to hear it from the horse's mouth directly.
"It was nothing impressive…" Bjorn quickly shot his idea down.
"What? You are far too modest! I heard no weapon could harm you! I heard that swords bounced off your skin! Your skin is invulnerable to all and every enemy weapon!" Viggo was giddy like a child but Bjorn knew the real story was anything but embarrassing.
"King Ragnar is coming, we have to be ready for his arrival…" Bjorn changed the subject and he was glad that his father was coming to Kattegat. It has been years since he was last year and that was under less favorable conditions.
"You should be more excited! King Ragnar is coming! Your father is coming!" Viggo tried his best to hype him up.
"Hahaha! Do not be silly Viggo!" Bjorn tried to play down his excitement even though he wanted to burst out in songs like he was a character in a high school musical but he kept on a stern face.
"Say, Bjorn…." Viggo said, pausing to draw his commander's attention.
"What is it?" Bjorn responded with an annoyed facial expression.
"It is about your brother…" Viggo said with a sinister grin, knowing this was sure to get under his skin. Bjorn always had a calm look on his face, but he could not keep up the pretense.
"Your brother…. Don't you miss him?" Viggo questioned in a sarcastic tone and Bjorn immediately tensed, only his eyes showed his hatred but his body soon relaxed.
"Tyr Ragnarsson, the son of Ragnar and brother of Bjorn Ironside. I doubt there is anyone that could beat you three if you joined forces." Viggo was right in his thinking but the only thing was. Bjorn did not view Tyr as his brother anymore, he viewed Tyr as an enemy that betrayed Kattegat and his family.
Tyr was ungrateful, Ragnar took him in as family yet he chose Erik The Berserker over his family. He wanted to kill Tyr with his own two hands but he did not know if this was coming from a place of pain or if he wanted to kill him.
He remained silent because he knew if he showed a reaction to this, then it would only motivate Viggo to keep pushing his buttons.
That was the last thing he needed so Bjorn swallowed all his anger and rage at this very moment and flashed a smile,
"You are quite the troublesome one…" Bjorn said and Viggo burst out laughing, he knew that Bjorn wanted to smack him across the head because he had hit a nerve.
"You do not need to worry about Tyr anymore…" Viggo said and Bjorn raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Why?" Bjorn questioned Viggo. Hoping he knew something he did not know about Tyr.
"Tyr Ragnarsson is dead," Viggo said and Bjorn could not contain his laughter.
"Tyr is dead? You do not know him! One thing he knows how to do is survive, and he will do anything he can to do it. This includes betraying his family so the question is… Who will he betray next?" Bjorn had not only a genuine laugh and the tone of his voice betrayed his feelings.
-
Tyr had given Kolbeinn his take on warfare and this included telling him about why anyone would wait that long despite having the upper hand, that was because they had an even bigger advantage by waiting.
Kolbeinn was impressed but Tyr only acquired this knowledge because of the war he partook in, he had Askild to thank for this but there was a different factor in this case, the enemy was the one with the advantage.
"Winter is going to hit hard this year, I do not think they can withstand," Kolbeinn suggested but this drew Tyr's attention to something he had missed.
He remembered why no one dared enter the Sturlungar's clan territory, it was not just because of their strength but their dangerous weather.
Gissur was confident he could take them on for so long with his brother by his side, and one thing Tyr has established is Gissur would use any excuse to showcase his strength so this was not a matter of strength. And the Sturlungar clan only happened to make a move during this particular winter when it would hit harder than it has in forever.
Tyr had broken it all down in his head and weighed up the possibility.
"It is the weather…." Tyr blurted out but before they could continue the conversation or it could advance, Gissur walked in.
"I will kill you…" These were the only words that left the mouth of the furious Chieftain.
