Clink. Clank. The sounds of swords clashing against each other were drowned out by the screams of dying men and women. This was my life. My name is Yngve and I was a Viking warrior. My family had been comprised of Vikings for decades and we were good at it. For years we made our living off of raiding other people’s homes and looting their cities. We were feared throughout all lands and had a reputation that made us who we are, until the Blackstone Legion rose. They had pushed us back into the mountains where we had to stay and fight our own kind for food. However, one day a new Raider was born. There are a couple things you must understand about Raiders, when they are fully grown, they become ruthless Viking warriors the size of bears. Their favorite weapon in combat is the Dane Axe, which was wielded with no mercy by their ancestors. The new Raider had a particular goal in mind. Her goal was to bring all Vikings back together. That’s where it all started.
As bad as it sounds, our first task was to kill all the Viking scum that were too selfish to share food. They ended up killing innocent people and viking brothers in order to keep their food and gain more. We were scouting our target, his name was Snorre. He had just finished raiding another clan, returning with canisters full of food and other goods. We went back home and started crafting a plan. That same day we walked back to his village. He wasn’t expecting any kind of attack, his guards were woefully unprepared for us. We slaughtered all of the men that came into our way, mercilessly, unless they bowed down to the Raider and became one of us. When we reached the main hall where he’d had a feast, we tried to break open the door but it was locked.
A few seconds after we knocked, Snorre himself came out and screamed “WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!”.
The Raider and her two companions, Valkyrie, a warrior that conducted soldiers and other warriors from the battlefield to Valhalla, and Berserker, an ancient Norse warrior that fought in a wild frenzy, stared him down. He had then realized what happened. Snorre ran back into the main hall, where the rest of his army was, including his best fighters. We stormed in, weapons ready, and the fight began. The Raider was taking care of their leader, while I fought his troops. I felt proud of what we were doing, though we were killing other Vikings, because I knew that they were not true Vikings and that they were traitors. We severed their limbs and took off their heads left and right. When their last man fell, Snorre was the only one left and decided to run like a coward. He jumped on a horseback and galloped north of his village. The Raider decided to follow him, so she climbed on the nearest horse and raced toward him. There weren’t enough horses for us all to ride, so we decided to run after them. I didn’t see much of what happened, but I heard the sound of weapons clashing against one another. When I arrived, Snorre was on his knees, listening to the Raider, who was telling him how he was a dishonorable Viking and that he had no right to rule a clan. She asked him if he would join us and he simply said “I will see you in...VALHALLA!”, she pulled her axe back, screamed and sliced his head clean off.
After order was brought back to our clans, we returned to our old ways and traditions. Our leaders had decided it was time to show the Samurai our improved selves and strike fear into their hearts. We prepared our fleets and troops which got us ready for starting our journey. We prepared our catapults just before we arrived, but the Samurai had seen us coming so they had done the exact same thing. Shortly before the shore, we lost about ten of our 50 ships, which was tragic but we still believed we could win. When we reached land, we stormed off the boats and got right into battle. It was a brutal battle and it was harder than the ones we had before. We were lucky to have even reached the gates before they closed them, which caught the Samurai leaders by surprise. Our troops overran their city and all they could do was watch. Only a few hundred of thousands were able to save themselves. At that point in time, the Vikings were not very caring. What we did when we raided cities, was we killed all the inhabitants, including women and children. We were gathering the last resources when suddenly the Blackstone Legion broke through the gates and attacked the Samurai. It was weird, because they didn’t care about us Vikings and let us leave, but we were not going to stay regardless of who they did or didn’t decide to slaughter. We got what we came for. The Vikings and I had to go back to our ships, and fast because remaining Samurai were after us. Some of our troops sacrificed themselves to give us more time, an action for which we were very thankful. The Raider was also in a way proud of all of us because we were back to our old viking selves, that were once lost upon us. We successfully arrived at our ship and took sail. For the most time on our way back we celebrated our victory over the samurai and screamed “FOR ODIN; FOR VALHALLA!”
Our rulers had decided that our next raid should be against the knights, but we knew it would not be an easy one. We waited for about six months until we attacked. During that time we prepared for the fight. We trained our troops and hid in the mountains. The Vikings and I didn't raid any other places because we thought it would be better not to risk losing our army because losses weren’t allowed if there would be a chance of winning. They were hard months and we were running low on food so it came to us that it was about time to start our Raid.
We traveled to the main castle of the knights. It was dawn when we started our attack. There were no guards. We either expected them to know we were coming or for them to get surprised by our attack, but what we saw when we entered was completely different. There was a shock at first but we were here on a mission and our people needed us. The Knights were fighting the samurai so we joined the fight. We fought both Samurai and Knights, and all we wanted was to get the supplies for our folk. There was slaughter everywhere. Vikings, Samurai and Knights were dying all over the place.
Clink. Clank. The sounds of swords clashing against each other were drowned out by the screams of dying men and women. We were fighting our way further into the fortress when a Samurai was heading for the Iron Legion Warlord. We didn’t try to stop him because it seemed to us that if she dies, our task would become much easier. Minutes of fighting passed but they felt like hours. Then I was hit by an arrow in the back. I lost my breath. I realized what was happening around me. The pain of the arrow opened my eyes. I saw and thought about everything that was happening around us. Before my vision turned black, I figured out what was happening. The Warlord of the Knights had tricked us into war because she wanted us to see that humankind was created to destroy and to kill. Everything that has been happening was part of her plan. Even the fact that she died to that Samurai. Her sword was stuck in the ground about ten meters away from me; therefore, I used all the strength I could gather to walk towards that sword and break it. Then my vision turned black.
I woke up back at home. I remembered everything that had happened. The pain was still there but it was less severe. I thought about what I saw and what I felt. I talked about it with my family and friends. I went up to the Raider and told her about it. She told me that she had figured out the same thing and that she was going to meet the other leaders to talk about peace. It seemed completely obscured to me. I was in rage. I knew that peace wouldn’t last forever though I wanted it to. I made up my mind and decided to leave, to leave it all behind me and leave the Viking. Today, when I look back at it, I think I had done the right thing. Nowadays, about 5 years later, I am a farmer far away from my past. I haven’t looked back on my past and the good and bad decisions I have made.