Morning broke and the sun rose, the death toll was insurmountable, and bodies lay scattered everywhere on the battlefield in various conditions.
The gods feasted for many souls and joined them in Valhalla, warriors that would fight for the All-Father.
Kolbeinn was defeated swiftly but he had narrowly escaped death despite him bleeding profusely, he could barely move an inch as he lay on the floor with the bodies of him and his men everywhere.
"G-Gudrun…" Kolbeinn muttered under his breath, tears welling up in his eyes.
The night of the battle, he had a chance to kill her, something she had begged him to do but he could not do it, he could not kill his daughter and now, he did not know what fate awaited her.
She was a young virgin with a good face, he knew that she would be targeted amongst the men there.
Aksel had no reason for joining the battle, the battle was over before he could even arrive but he saw a few pickings and decided to have fun with what was left.
Kolbeinn felt empty, why did he think they stood a chance against the Sturlungar clan?
Why did they not just stay in their territory and live life under the thumb of the other clans?
Was it too late to concede or was this the end?
Kolbeinn had lost every ounce of confidence he had in this war.
Gissur dying, was the turning point because his strength was what they needed at this exact moment.
Everything looked hopeless and now, Kolbeinn could feel his own life coming to an end despite all he had done to make sure it did not.
Kolbeinn lost consciousness, he thought this to be death as his body went limp, he was not content with this fate that the gods had cursed him with but he could not fight it either.
The men that could still fight had fled that night, they ran for their lives and Kolbeinn understood that not everyone could accept death, not every warrior was in a hurry to go to Valhalla.
Some chose life over death and Kolbeinn could not fault them for that.
He had failed as Chieftain, his contribution to this war was nothing to write home about.
It should have been him that died, not Gissur because if GIssur was the one in his shoes, he was certain he would have put in a lot more fight.
He did not see himself fit for Valhalla, there was no way Odin would want him in his halls.
"Kolbeinn!" Kolbeinn heard someone call him but assumed this to be one of the voices in his head as he had been hearing them throughout the night, slipping in and out of consciousness.
"Death? Have you come to take me?" Kolbeinn tried to speak these words but his mouth could not utter them.
"Hurry up! We cannot let him die!" An authoritative voice commanded and Kolbeinn soon felt hands on him, applying pressure to the wound that had reopened.
"Why do you keep saving me?" Kolbeinn thought to himself, he did not know what to do and he hated it, for the first time in his life, he questioned if he was fit to be Chieftain.
-
Tyr regained consciousness and he was bound, an experience he had gotten used to, he was in a conducive environment, they did not leave him out in the snow or put anything that would cause harm to him.
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ Tyr found it strange, he quite frankly did not expect to wake up, he was certain that an eternal slumber awaited him making him question just what Sighvatur intended to do with him.
Did he want to give him to Askild? Tyr was not about to allow that because he would be as good as dead if he did.
Askild would kill him or use him to destroy his family, he experienced first-hand how manipulative Askild was, and that put him on high alert.
"Why am I still alive?" Tyr asked himself and the moment he did, he heard footsteps in the place he was housed.
"You are awake…" Skaði was the first to greet him as she was in charge of watching over him, her injuries made this the only task that she could do properly.
"I would not celebrate being alive if I were you, Sighvatur does not plan on turning you over…" Skaði said and Tyr instinctively knew what she wanted to say next.
"Heh, he plans on killing me, does he not?" Tyr was rhetorical in his response and Skaði was curious what kind of face he had on.
She was both surprised and irritated when she laid her eyes on him.
Tyr did not look frightened but rather excited because if he was not dead, it meant that he stood a chance at victory.
The god would forever favor him and for some reason, he just knew everything would work out as he recalled the words of the blind man in Vestfold when he touched him.
"The child that should not exist, I think I understand now…" Tyr whispered to himself but Skaði was close enough to hear him.
"Have you lost it?" Skaði asked him because she did not understand what the hell he was talking about and had no interest in figuring it out.
"When I kill Sighvatur, would you join me then?" Tyr asked her and this surprised her, she looked left and right as if the words he had spoken could implicate her.
"Shush!" Skaði shut him up because this was the last thing she needed right now but unfortunately, his words had reached the ears of Sighvatur who was coincidentally coming down at approximately this time.
"Kill me? You wish to duel me?" Sighvatur came into sight and the Chieftain of the Sturlungar and all it took for Tyr to lose his ability to speak was a stare.
This feeling, was a lot denser than what he felt with Sturla, his body felt like lead and his throat closed up but Tyr powered through and said.
"I do not wish to duel you, Chieftain, I wish to kill you,"
