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Bear
My body hurt, every inch of it. I felt the heaviness of my medium build as I was being thrown onto the boat by two men. The same boat we had arrived in only hours earlier. Only this time, on the way home, I was not in good health. I could hear dozens of men fussing over me, pulling at me and speaking of my fate. I could hear, but my mouth wouldn't match my thoughts. I wanted to tell them that I was okay, but nothing came out.
One year earlier
There were three rules in Västerbotten, home of the Vikings and land of Sweden. My home. The first, praise was given to Odin, in hopes of one day returning to Valhalla, the second, traditions were sacred and to be respected, and the third, home is where you lay your head.
I sat at the edge of our ship, the tip of it barely dipping into the water. I thought of Sage as I threw stones into its shallow depth. We were docked for the night after a raid, and were on our way home. The others were celebrating our win, which I chose to sit out. I tried to avoid those ghastly events as much as I could, but sometimes, couldn’t escape my father's wrath if I skipped out. Sage would get so mad at me everytime I went on a raid because she was never allowed to come. She trained as much as I did and was just as good a fighter, if not better, though when it came down to it, she was a girl, and girls weren't allowed on raids. My father was in ruling and when she cussed him out about his descrimination, he always told her that she just wasn’t ready.
She was like a daughter to him, as much as I was his son and she was a sister to me, through and through. Even though She hated me everytime I left, I made sure to bring her back something magical from each place to try and make it up to her.
I heard loud bellowing cries coming from the cabin behind me. I shuddered thinking of the scenes that were taking place. For this aspect, I was glad Sage didn’t come on these expeditions. I lay back against the wooden deck, resting my long, brown curls onto its eroding surface. I rubbed my calloused hands over my face, pressing in my eyes enough to see a black sky filled with stars.
I didn’t know how the minds of others worked, but in mine, every event that had ever happened in my life, played like an act in my head. I always thought about my deceased mother. How before she went to Valhalla, she named me ‘Berserker’, meaning Bear-shirt, or a warrior who entered into battle, only wearing the skin of an animal. That is how I chose to live. With courage and enthusiasm.
My best friend, Sage, had nicknamed me Bear as a child, which I took on to be my identity. Bears were vicious and brave, though, always took care of their cubs and ensured they were safe. I liked to think that I took on that philosophy and applied it through every aspect of my life. I tugged at my hair. It was dried with a mixture of blood and mud from our last venture. “Bear! Get in here! There is a real beauty in here with your name on her.” A voice travelled from the cabin. I ignored it.
I thought about how my ancestors had taken over the rights to the ground that I lived upon, the county of Västerbotten, Switzerland... Long ago, before even the eldest of my home's residents were born, we invaded from Jämtland, and celebration was born. In Västerbotten, my family had taken over the rights to the land when they had invaded, and since their invasion, celebration had been a common occurrence. No different to today, celebration included capturing people that didn’t escape the invasion, and keeping them locked away in our boats cabins to be treated as slaves and hors; to later be taken back home to be given as gifts. This round of captives were taken from Kapellskär. It was a vicious cycle that had gone on for many hundreds of years.
When I had reached the age of fourteen, I watched my father fall over himself in a drunken state, his arms around two women. I knew exactly what that meant for the duo, and it sickened me to my stomach. Mostly because I would think of what my mother would say if she were alive to see my father's behaviour and how he had changed since she died.
Unlike him and the rest of my kind, I wasn’t interested in their idea of a good time. I just wanted to hunt and invade. I felt so alive getting on that boat with a destination in mind, bounding out of it once we had reached where we were headed and slashing throats. Nothing matched the thrill of finding hidden jewels and claiming land that could be passed down the family line. I often took some pieces in secret, stealing them away in my garments until our safe return home. I would always be the first off the boat, rushing to hide them in a secret place. On occasion, when I would share my findings with Sage, just to see her face light up as she gushed over jewels, trinkets or written words sprawled over the page of an old scroll... It was enough to get me through the sin that was happening behind me.
I flipped over an abandoned Mermaid tool in my hand, its smooth exterior sliding across my palm easily. They often left their tools, which were mostly made of stingray bones. They became common ingredients in Viking tools. A popular choice amongst my coven. We would collect different weapons from lands we had invaded and faction our own from the remains; placing them in sacred drawers, waiting to be drawn when needed. The tools would be taken out and used only in war, unless for training purposes. Just like the treasures, I always kept some tools hidden for my own use.
I continued to flip the tool back and forth in my hand, listening for any surprise attackers overboard the ship. An unusual snarl made its way from the wavering waters beneath me. I ventured toward the boat's edge, letting my curiosity overtake my cautiousness, just for a moment. Without warning, I was slammed against the rough boat edge, the rough wood splintering my chest. I fought against the force that had a hold of me, though it took on the challenge. I peered closer to take a look at my opponent, to see a dark beast. It slathered its writhing fangs, biting my arm into the bone. I recoiled in pain, grasping my wound, which instantly began to ooze a bloody mixture of poison.
I recognized this particular species from old tails found in scrolls and bound archives. I always had Sage to thank for that. The creature had a hairless scalp, deep blue scales and black fins. The fangs, razor-sharp and dribbling poison were ready to snatch the next victim. With webbed hands and a fetish for flesh, this creature was not to be trifled with.
I tried to scramble up the side of the boat, peering at my gashed arm. The flesh was now bubbling and beginning to rot, the skin turning yellow at the site of the wound. Shock began to set in and I couldn’t find the strength to climb any longer. I yelled out in pain, “Someone help me!”. My men too drunk to notice as I continued to howl in agony. In the midst of my mourning, I barely noticed the sudden swoosh of a tail appearing in my peripheral vision. Again, I felt my scathed arm followed by the rest of my body being pulled into the water. Had the beast returned to finish me off? I packined, trying with my best efforts and what was left of my strength, to pull myself back onto the ship, but it was a lost cause.
As the strength of the one holding me captive increased, I ceased struggling. My only hope being that whatever had me in its grasp would take pity and leave me for dead. We soared through the water at incredible speed. The force of it caused my weary eyes to close as I felt myself drift off into unconsciousness.
When my eyes found the will to flicker open, they adjusted to the water quickly, allowing me to come to the realisation that I was face to face with one of my most powerful enemies, a Mermaid. I tried to resist the hold that she had on me, though I fell victim to the most beautiful sight I had ever come to see. The face of a beautiful creature. A gleaming goddess. Different to the one that had attacked me, her tail was magnificent, gliding effortlessly through the water. Its pearl colouring reflected all shades of a rainbow as she propped me up in a stand still at the oceans floor. As I struggled to comprehend the beauty that was positioned in front of my own eyes, the thought crossed my mind that I was face to face with a creature that I was brought up to fight to the death. And at that moment, I wasn't sure why.
Her stature was perfectly proportioned, with large, wide eyes the colour of the teal ocean behind her and her lips were fuller than I had ever witnessed with his own. Her silver-blonde hair gently drifted through the water, as her psychedelic scales were sporadically placed on different points of her body: her left temple, her right cheekbone, her hands and all over her six-foot long, and girthy tail.
Our positioning ever so slightly mimicked the movement of the ocean. Only for a split second, we made eye contact before she whisked us deeper into the ocean's abyss. Only once we had reached our destination, had I noticed that I was still breathing. Did I need her to breath? to stay alive? I pulled out from her grasp, she watched me drift away... pain filled my lungs, as did water. I began to lose control over my breathing and sudden awareness of how little control I had over my own survival. I couldn’t breathe without her...
She eyed me carefully, grabbing a hold of my arm and placing her voluptuous lips onto its rotting appearance. I tore my arm away to stop the pain she was causing, thought she snatched it back into her possession with immense force. I had no choice but to watch her open her mouth, exposing long pearl white fangs, pulling my wounded arm toward them. My scream trilled a muted sound though the water as she made contact with my arm, retracting the venom. Once she has completed her magic, she lets my arm float back to meet the side of my pain riddled body. I entered into a pain-induced lucid state... letting my mind drift away. I noticed a crescent-shaped moon on her arm and reached out to touch it, not sure if it was even real.
I watched though my lucid state as she gathered herself, before speaking a language I couldn’t understand. The complex language of a sea maiden. I shook my head at her and she gazed at me with an expression I could not read. Remaining bubbles leaving her mouth from her one-sided conversation. She sighed, grabbing my garment by the scruff and we were transporting once more. What felt like an eternity later, we had almost reached the water's surface. I noticed that the moon crescent mark on the inside of her arm was glowing an almost iridescent blue. I stared helplessly at its glow- I couldn’t do anything otherwise. Lost in a mindless transe, I almost didn’t notice my body hit the wood of the boat as I was flung back onto its surface. Scrambling back to the ship’s edge to see her for only a split second before she spoke her last words to me and disappeared back into the water, “I will check on you in a few more days. Try to stay safe and not get bitten by any more bloodsuckers.”
“B- but how will you find me?” I fumbled over the words.
“Don’t worry about that, I will find you, anywhere you are in the world.” she jumped back into the deep ripples.
I stared after her disappearing figure - Was she not one of these ‘bloodsuckers’?