We lost many men that day. Even the clan of Agerhøne had lost fathers, sons, and brothers. The majority of those who had died were the men of Heiða-býr. Four drekar would need new crews such had been the slaughter. Cnut and Karl had fetched just five hundred men from the main warband and the reason for such a small number was clear. They rode and only that number of horses could be found. The king had retained twelve horses to pull the wagons with the vast treasure we had taken and the rest were ridden by our rescuers. Cnut was deemed, quite rightly, to be a hero. Had he not ridden so hard and been so accurate in his navigation then Karl Three Fingers might have arrived too late. The Saxons licked their wounds and watched us; they were not defeated but they had no fight left in them. We had a truce to recover our bodies and I retrieved Saxon Slayer. It was good that we would not be fighting again this season for I would have to make a new shaft. We burned our bodies. The truce meant we were not able to recover the mail and swords from their dead but that did not matter for we were just grateful to be alive.
We left the burnt-out city of Northwic five days later after we had fitted our masts and crewed the drekar of the warriors we had left, the dead. The famine in the land meant that there was no food, and we were reduced to eating the food we had brought for emergencies. The Saxons kept pace with us all the way to the mouth of the river. I saw Ulfcetel the Bold astride a horse, and he waved his sword at us as we left. I did not know if it was a salute or a sign that he thought they had won because he had made us leave. It mattered not, we had treasure and our crew were largely intact. Just one warrior, Ulf Black Tooth, had died and five were wounded. Many other ships sailed with half a crew. Our training had been vindicated and saved us.
The king was grateful, and we received a good share of the coins taken from the mint. He was not as generous as he made out as there were many of his men who now lay dead and unlike the widows of Ribe and Agerhøne the families of his dead would not receive one silver penny. With favourable winds, we did not have to row and we had neither slaves nor animals. The famine meant that we had been forced to eat the animals we had taken. It mattered not for we had enough silver to travel to the markets of Normandy and Frankia to buy them. In fact, we would not even have to do that for Aksel the Swede would be more than happy to use his increasingly large fleet of knarr to do so for us. It was as we sailed east that Cnut told us of his journey.
“There were bands of Saxons who were guarding the crossroads but my time with the clan has not been wasted. I became the bird which you heard but did not see. They were not mounted, and I was. I rode hard and I confess that I had to leave the horse when I found our men. Karl Three Fingers had also had a premonition of danger and he was already riding back having left Thetford at dawn. He had with him seven hundred men but only five hundred were mounted. He decided to take those and that was how we came to reach you before the flanks had collapsed. I rode with him and as we did so he said that so long as you and your crew survived there was a chance. He just feared that the Saxons would choose to attack you and eliminate the leader.”
“We were lucky and I do not think that I will choose to raid next year. We have enough gold and silver. It is land we need and there is not enough in Denmark.” Sweyn Skull Taker’s words were like a cold shower for he was right. We had not been defeated and gained great glory. All the ones who had fought at Northwic spoke of the bravery of our clan but it felt like a defeat. He was right, men like Gandálfr, Snorri, Faramir and Dreng needed land and there was none to be had at Agerhøne. It came to me, as the coast of Jutland came into view, that we needed to share the land we had. A man was more likely to fight for his clan if he had land. I would speak to Mary about the idea which was fermenting in my mind.
My foster father came to speak to me when we neared Agerhøne. I had been aware that he had been looking for an opportunity but either Cnut or one of his sons was always close and he had bitten his tongue. Now the three were at the prow looking for the first sight of our home and he called me over to the larboard side of the stern. There was no one there. The crew lined the sides as the wind took us home.
“Sven, I would speak with you and I hoped to do so on the way home but…” I nodded, “Once we have unloaded the drekar then there will be too many people close by. On the morrow come early to the hall and we will walk.”
I was intrigued, “Of course, jarl, but I know not why you wish to speak with me.”
“And if I tell you now, hurriedly, then there will be no need to meet and I might choose the wrong words. I will speak with Agnetha for she helps to clear my mind and I know that you will do the same with Mary. Fear not it is nothing calamitous or should cause you to worry, but it has been on my mind since your father was killed.”
A chill came over me. Had the Norns been spinning once more?
Egbert and the thralls were waiting for us but there was little for them to take. The coins we had taken were in my chest and they just carried the chest and my shield. “Was it not a successful raid, my lord? There are neither animals nor slaves.”
“There is gold and silver. Your land is enduring a famine, Egbert, and there is little to take.”
He nodded, “That explains the merchants who have been coming here to buy from us. The preserved herring and salted pig are in great demand. I did not know whence the merchants took it.”
Aethelred’s policies still had an influence on every person who lived in his land for he was spending his country’s taxes on food rather than giving it to us. How much longer could he continue to do so?
We had not been away for long and yet I saw a change in my children. Gunhild could now run and she babbled. I caught a few of the words but Anna and Mary seemed to understand them all. I knew that my ear would become attuned to their sounds in time. That I was whole pleased my wife. I did not tell her all that we had done for I knew that it would upset her, but I told her of the famine that her land endured. She frowned and that was a sure sign that she sought a reason which would sit well with her beliefs. When she could not come up with an immediate explanation she said, “And now you must bathe, husband for you have the smell of war about you.”
She was right of course, and I nodded.
“There are clothes I have had made for you. One of the thralls will show them to you when you have bathed. Seara, hot water and food for your lord.”
Seara was another of the slaves taken when we had been in Wessex. They had all adjusted well to life in Denmark and it was proving not to be as terrible as they had imagined. That night we ate well. This raid had not enjoyed the range of food we normally consumed and the feast at my table tasted better than I remembered. When we had eaten and were seated before the fire, I brought up my idea.
“My love, you know that land is scarce here in Agerhøne?”
“Aye, I do, and it is becoming more crowded, too.”
“We have plenty of land and it is producing a great deal. I thought to let those who live in my hall farm some of our land.”
She smiled, “A Christian thing to do. I commend you, my husband, and while I think it is a good idea the men to whom you will be gifting this land are not poor. Charity is for those who cannot help themselves. I like the idea but I think that they should share our gift with us. That way it is in their interests to be productive farmers.”
I could not think of an argument against her and, to be fair, it seemed a better idea than mine. The warriors who lived in the thrall hall, there were just three, Gandálfr, Faramir and Siggi, were all proud men and would not simply accept my gift. They were all grateful to have a roof over their heads and rooms where their families could live. I decided that I would tell them of my offer, but I would wait until I had spoken to the jarl. His request to speak to me still had me a little worried.
Sleeping in my own bed with my wife cradled in the crook of my arm was one of the pleasures I looked forward to the most and when my children burst in to join us in the bed, I felt slightly resentful but after a few moments of tickling them, I remembered that they would soon become a different kind of pleasure for me. The cooks had prepared all the food I enjoyed the most so that when I went to meet Jarl Sweyn, I felt replete.
He was speaking with Cnut when I arrived at his hall and I waited politely for them to finish. Cnut was growing and as he had shown in Northwic was becoming a warrior with a mind. I knew that the next raid would see him fighting in a shield wall. It was what his father wished and would show King Sweyn what kind of leader his son would be. His training would have to intensify and that meant I would have to devote more time to him.
He smiled and waved as he returned indoors, and my foster father strode over to me. He gestured towards the north. There was a good beach there and the wind was not too strong. It would be a pleasant place to stroll. “My other foster son did well, did he not, Sven?”
“He saved us, jarl, and the clan owes him much.”
“Aye, you are right and he has a place in his heart for the clan. That is down in no small part to you.”
“Me? But Hawk and Sweyn spend more time with him than I do.”
“Perhaps but it is you he speaks of when he talks to me. I would have you spend more time training him. He needs to be a warrior who is as good as you.”
I nodded with relief because now I knew what he had wished to say, “I had already planned on doing so. He is now old enough to stand in the shield wall.”
“He is and that is not the matter I wished to discuss with you.” I had been wrong! “Although we did not try the Boar’s Snout formation at Northwic on the Yare, you showed me that day your skills as a leader. Once again it was you who managed to penetrate the enemy line and the clan was willing to follow you. Had our flanks not been so threatened we could have driven deep into the enemy lines and we might have won without the need for Karl Three Fingers.”
I shook my head, “I am not so sure, for Ulfcetel the Bold was a cunning enemy. He chose to attack where we were weak. Had he fought against us from the start then I doubt I would have made any inroads.”
“You are modest and that is good.” There were some dunes covered in marram grass and he gestured for me to sit next to him. “Despite what you thought, your father and I were friends and between us, we led the clan. There were differences of opinion and you know that. We differed in that he sought glory and fame. You already have both but I know that you did not seek either. That speaks well of you. Just as your father and I led the clan and, his last raid apart, worked in harmony, I would have you and I do the same. I release you from duties as my hearth weru. Hawk is now in Ribe, and I have my eye on a couple who have been brought to my attention by Lodvir. Would you agree that Dreng and Snorri are the best young warriors?”
“Aye, and they showed great skill when first I trained them. Nothing I have seen since makes me doubt my first view of them.”
“My sons agree with you and I will ask them to be my hearth weru with my eldest son. When you train new warriors, I would have the best two from each group identified. I want hearth weru who are young so that they can strengthen the clan and show every young warrior that there is the chance to be given a byrnie and serve the jarl.” He smiled, “Thanks to our victories I have more mail shirts than I can ever wear. I shall give two to Dreng and Snorri if they agree.”
“Believe me, they will agree!” I stared west, towards England. “But I still do not see what you mean about me leading with you.”
“After your father died, then Lodvir took over and helped me to lead. It meant that when we went to battle, I could rely on him to organise our warriors. He now has a wife and lives in Ribe. He still fights with us but the men of Agerhøne no longer look to him. They already look to you and I would have you use it.” He smiled, “They call you Oathsword and when you take out your weapon, they all call out its name. For them, you and the sword are the same. What say you? The ones in your wedge will be the core of your warriors and the ones who stood behind them will be given the chance to join you.”
“Join me? It sounds like we are to be a different clan.”
“No, not different but you will be the head of the spear that is the clan of Agerhøne. Twice it has been you and those who follow you who stepped forward and broke the enemy line. I am not a fool and the Norns have spun. I now see what they are trying to tell me. When they put that sword in your path it was to change not only your future but also the future of the clan. I would be a reckless fool if I ignored them.” He stood and stretched, “If you wish a suggestion I would say that if you have them all paint a sword on their shields it will help for when an enemy sees it then they will know what they face. Cnut told me that his father desires the sword more than anything. There are many other warriors who agree with him. You have a name, foster son, and men will seek you in battle. You cannot change it for it was spun. You can, however, use it. What say you?”
I smiled, “You are right, foster father, and I cannot escape my fate. I might wish to be anonymous, but I know that I cannot. If I am to be the warrior that my father and you wished me to be then I must embrace this change. I will do as you ask, and I will help you to lead the clan.”
“Then you are now hersir of Agerhøne. The king gave his permission when he gave me the silver. I had this in mind then.” He took, from his pouch, the torc which was worn on ceremonial occasions by the hersir. I had not seen it for years. I nodded my thanks and took it. I confess that I was unable to speak for a while. I was so young and had achieved so much. Sweyn Skull Taker was right. When the sword had called to me then my life was changed.
“What of Sweyn One Eye? He is your eldest. Would he not expect to be hersir?”
“King Sweyn said that when I die my eldest shall inherit the title of jarl. Sweyn knows that and he is content.”
That pleased me for I did not want to rob my cousin of his birthright.
I told Mary when we returned, and she was delighted for she understood the status it brought with it. I then sought out the warriors who were in my wedge. I did not want to order any man to follow me and so I asked each of them in turn. It took the rest of the day to speak with them all, for Lars and Lief lived some way from the sea. To my amazement, they all agreed with such alacrity that I was taken aback. It was almost as though they had conspired. My last visit was to Cnut and One Eye. I spoke to my cousin first for I wished no animosity that I was hersir. I told Sweyn that I would happily relinquish the title if he objected. He laughed.
“Cousin, you have been marked for greatness since the first time you went to war and you followed me. I knew then that Sweyn Sweynson would never be the warrior that you were and when my eye was taken it was confirmed. My greatness will come because a hundred years from now men will still sing my songs! Besides, I shall be jarl one day and that suits me.”
I gestured for Cnut to join me outside, “Our foster father has asked me to spend more time training you to be a warrior. Are you happy for me to do so?”
“Of course, Sven, and I know that your training will make me a better warrior than my brother, Harald. Since I first watched you as a youth, I have wanted to be like you. I am not sure that I will be able to use the same skills as you for you seem to know when a blow is coming before the warrior who strikes it. That is a gift from God, but I hope that I can pick up enough to give me a better chance of surviving a battle. The four dead crews I saw when we rode to your side at Northwic were a warning of what can happen when leaders make mistakes.”
It was as close to a criticism of his father as I had heard but it was just vague enough to be deniable. Perhaps it was a test. Cnut was his father’s son and a more cunning man than his father I had yet to meet. His son must have inherited some of his traits.
That first day exhausted me and I was chastised by Mary when I entered my hall, “You have barely spent an hour with your children. They are upset that their father ignores them. Steana may not yet be able to form coherent words but I saw the hurt in his eyes. Today you gave your time to the jarl and the clan. Good. Tomorrow, you give it to your children!”
Most Danish warriors would have resented being spoken to like that by their wives, but I was not like most warriors and I agreed with her. “Of course, and you are right.” I kissed her and she beamed. All was well.
Gunhild’s babble soon sounded like words and I found, to my delight, that I could speak to her. Steana tried to talk and I am guessing that in his baby head he was speaking like we did but it just came out as grunts. At first, I forced myself to play with them and ignore the tasks which tapped inside my head. Then the tapping stopped and I found myself enjoying their company. When Mary fed Steana I had Gunhild to myself although Anna was always close by in case I needed her. I learned that Gunhild did not like the word, ‘no’. I had tears and that was when Anna came to my rescue.
“Lord, Mistress Mary is firm with her when she weeps. She must learn to accept discipline.”
I nodded but found it hard to do so. In my heart, I wanted to stop her tears by acceding to her demands and to make her smile.
On the third day, it was such a pleasant morning that I thought to leave the hall and seek the ash haft. I asked Mary if Gunhild could accompany me as it was a walk. “Of course, but make sure she is wrapped well and,” she nodded towards the hand axe in my belt, “be careful!”
I knew I could not manage two of them and Gunhild and I slipped out of the hall while Anna distracted my son. It was a long walk but Gunhild was a curious child and as I explained what we saw she replied to every piece of information with the same word, ‘why’. I found myself struggling to find some answers and that was good for it made me question what I knew. We found the stand of ash and I gave her a drink of the cow’s milk Anna had given to me.
“Now let us find the piece of wood I need. We are looking for a piece which is straight and longer than I am, yet it should be no thicker than your leg or arm.”
She nodded attentively and, taking my hand, we searched for the perfect piece of wood. Gunhild took the task seriously and even seemed to enjoy it. I had resigned myself to the single one we had found which was not quite as tall as I was when Gunhild, who had disappeared behind some ash shouted, “Here! Is this one right?”
I hurried around, grateful that my wife would never know that I took my eyes from her and saw that she had found a copsed ash tree. Six branches had sprung and grown upright. She had seen and found what I had not, there was the perfect spear shaft, but it was in the middle of the others. The other five would make serviceable spears but not for me. I would have to cut those away first before I could take the perfect one in the centre. I seated her on the lightning struck tree trunk and gave her some honey cakes while I toiled. I took my time for I saw that there would be six spears I could have. There were younger warriors who would need a spear and all the ones I cut were the perfect thickness. Gunhild squealed with delight as each branch fell. I stacked them close by to her. The last one would become the new Saxon Slayer and I took the greatest care in its cutting. It was after the sun had begun to dip that I finished, and I hefted the ash branch over my shoulder.
“What about the others? Are they just to stay here?”
“No, I shall send men for them. They will be useful. You did well to find what I did not.”
That pleased her. “Father, are there any girls who become warriors?”
I had heard of some but not in our land and I did not think that her mother would approve, “No, it is just boys who train as warriors.”
“Why?”
“That is the way it has always been.”
“Why?”
I saw that I had entered the circle of whys and there was only one way out, break the circle. “Girls are different to boys, Gunhild. They can do things that boys cannot do. Your mother gave birth to you and your brother. I cannot give birth.”
“Because you are a man.”
“Aye.” There had been no why but it soon followed!
“Why are there men and women? Why are they not the same?”
I almost used the word Allfather but I knew that Mary wished our children to be Christian and so I said, “God, in His wisdom made us either men or women. It helps to keep the world in harmony. Warriors protect the women from danger and women ensure that our people grow.”
“I am tired, father.”
I leaned the ash shaft against the sheep fence of Galmr Galmrsson and hoisted her upon my shoulders. Picking up the shaft in my right hand I continued home. “You would not like being a warrior, Gunhild.”
“Why? Do you not like it?”
Her question, as simple as it was, made me almost stop as I struggled to find an answer. My thoughts were just a heartbeat ahead of my words as I answered her, “I am good at what I do, Gunhild, but I do not enjoy killing even though the men I kill are trying to kill me. If I did not have to kill again then I would be a happy man for it would mean that there was no need.” Even as I said the words, I saw the lie. The need was not mine it was the king’s and his ambition. When I had defended Agerhøne against the raiders then there was a need but all the men I had killed in England and at Svolder had been at the behest of the king, yet I could not refuse him for he was my king. I now understood those men who had decided that they did not want to obey a king and had sailed to the land of ice and fire. I could never do that but I understood why men did.
“Father?”
“Yes, Gunhild?”
“You are quiet; why?”
“Because, my love, you have put thoughts in my head and that is what men do, they wrestle with the demons inside them.”
“Like the ones who come at night.”
“Come at night?”
“Yes, when you were away at sea, and I sleep, creatures, horrible ones, come into my head and I wake up crying. Anna sings me to sleep but it is hard for I fear that the demons will come back.”
I squeezed her hand with my left one. “No demons will come into our hall. You have my word.”
She was silent for a while and then said, somewhat sadly, “That is good for you are home. When you sail away again then will the demons come again?”
I had no answer for that and the joy of finding the ash evaporated as I thought about her words. One day the king would call, and I would have to go to war again. I had not thought about this before but now, when I was at sea, I would know the effect it had on my children.
We had a workshop close to the hall. Egbert had made it when I had been on one of my raids. There was an anvil and a furnace. Anna brought Steana and Gunhild to watch when I attached the spearhead to the haft. I had smoothed and polished the haft and I was pleased with it. I had prepared the socket end but this time Saxon Slayer would be different. I still had some byrnie metal and I had made a metal collar. Before I sank the spearhead into the socket I prepared the collar around the top of the spear. An enemy would not be able to hack it off so easily and it would blunt the sword which struck it. I poured molten metal in the socket to bed in the spearhead then I used the fire and my hammer to beat the collar and make the head secure. That done I left it to cool. I was sweating heavily when I had finished.
“Come, let us leave Thor’s workshop and go where it is cooler.” The words were barely out of my mouth before I regretted them.
“Who is Thor? Is he one of your men?”
I saw Anna grasp her cross and I shook my head, “You know the stories from the Bible, the ones Anna and your mother tell?” She nodded. “Well, Thor is like that. He is from a story we have here in Denmark. He makes weapons and armour.”
She seemed satisfied with my answer. She liked stories. I would have to watch my words from now on.
I had done as I had promised and I had spent three weeks giving every moment to my children, but I was now a leader of men and Cnut came one morning to ask when I would do as I had promised and begin to train him. Mary was there and she gave a nod. I had done what she had asked and she understood that I was a warrior.
“Now! We can do some spear work. I will call Gandálfr and the others.”
Cnut smiled, “They are already waiting, Sven Saxon Sword.”
I had also finished the other five spear hafts and, without their metalheads, were perfect for training. With my young warriors who had fought in many battles, we were able to teach Cnut what he ought to do. He had seen us do this but watching and doing were two entirely different things. He tripped and fell three times. Faramir had also had the same problem and he gave Cnut the solution. “We always move with our sword leg first. Think sword and move that leg.”
It solved the problem and Cnut began to improve. He also found it hard to hold the long ash haft for long periods and there was no simple answer to that. I told him how Lodvir had made me hew down trees and carry them back to strengthen my arms. “You will need to be stronger for some battles, like the one on the Yare, may last hours. A battle is not only a test of skills but strength and endurance. When you are not training with us then you should be training alone and making your arms stronger.”
I was aware, while we trained Cnut, that I was also training what were, in effect, my men and so we began to modify the way we fought in a wedge. Lars and Leif were not close by and so I alternated other warriors to stand behind me when we were in a wedge. Who knew what might happen in the maelstrom of a battle? We worked on my commands to change formation. Speed could win a battle and after many days of training, we were able to move seamlessly from one formation to another. As winter began to bite and the days became shorter, so our training intensified.
Hawk and his wife, Frida, now lived in Ribe. They had a fine hall but that of Aksel the Swede was almost palatial. Hawk and his wife often stayed in Aksel’s hall. Aksel seemed to really like Hawk and the two got on. It was from Aksel that we learned more of Aethelred and England. The famine had caused many deaths. Aethelred had also become something of a tyrant. The massacre on St Brice’s Day was just one of a series of savage and ruthless acts which eliminated any opposition to him. A new name was mentioned and, when we feasted in the jarl’s hall to celebrate the birth of the White Christ and the winter solstice, Hawk still visited regularly and it was on one such visit that he told us of the new eorledman of Mercia, Eadric Streona. The man had come from nowhere and now appeared to rule Mercia for the king. He appeared to be the antithesis of Ulfcetel Snilling in that he was not a warrior but a plotter. It said much about King Aethelred that he advanced men like Eadric Streona whilst, seemingly, ignoring warriors like Ulfcetel.
“There will be no raid this year for the king.” Hawk had looked at his father who knew what the look meant.
“And there will be no raid from Ribe and Agerhøne. Our young men who are yet to be trained have time to develop and to grow while those who have married can father new warriors.”
I nodded, “And land? Where will these fathers and warriors get land, foster father?” I saw Cnut look up at my question.
Sweyn Skull Taker shook his head, “That I cannot answer. Perhaps we should farm the sea. We can use more men to fish and gather the sea’s harvest.”
I nodded, “If they choose to do so.”
“Men always have choices, Sven. You chose to give land to your men. That has proved successful. Other men must make their own decisions. We cannot make them for them.”
The jarl was clever. By planting the idea at the feast, by the time the days lengthened then many of the warriors who had no land built fishing boats and began to do as he had suggested. In a year without war, we became richer through our hard work. They became better seamen and learned about weather, waves and the wind. When war came we would be better prepared. The jarl was also correct about the growth of the clan. Mary as well as many other of the women in the clan were with child. Steana and Gunhild would have a brother or sister soon. Hawk and One Eye would also be fathers. That year was the most peaceful any could remember yet for Hawk there would be a worry.