When the Seventh Sword Strikes

Apologies for the formatting, I don’t know what happened to it.

I am going to be a leader. I wouldn’t have picked this, being raised as if I had the right to end and save lives with a single decision, but I believed in my father and his council. Their discernment of souls that I didn’t understand had set generations upon generations on their paths and though I might not understand it yet, my father promised one day I would.

It still doesn’t feel real, like a dream from the trickster god had rewritten my life. I can’t bring myself to joke with the warriors I camped with this night, too aware of their individual lives. Lives that I might see end on my word.

I walk away from the morning cook fires and up towards the ridge that brought shelter from the wind to our camp. It was an earth bridge towering higher than a building, created by a collapsing god tree thousands of years ago. I study its curve for a bit, looking at how its massive form is supported by the regular trees that grew up around it. They’re still massive, but they all appear like saplings next to the fallen tree.

I turn away from it and am about to walk under when I hear something that catches my attention coming from the opposite direction of camp. I climb up quickly, having scaled more trees in my life then months I had lived. It’s surprisingly earth-like on the bridge, thousands of years having grown a mossy grass to cover the god tree.

There are swords embedded in the tree, likely placed there by the families of fallen warriors. I glance at some, seeing the places the sheaths were buried so that the swords were still visible. Verifying that they weren’t just carved stone or sticks, I turn back to the direction of the noise, still on the edge of my hearing. I walk carefully to the far edge and peer out, looking to the river. The creature I see swimming below takes my breath away.

I regain it quickly and pull a golden intricate sword from the hillside.

I don’t even know whose blade I’ve just unsheathed but I don’t have time to care, I whistle sharply as I toss it behind me for one of the warriors to grab and surge forward to unsheath and toss out more blades.

The massive bear in the river below was bigger than any I’d seen before. It was most likely a god bear, but I wasn’t going to tell the warriors that.

These warriors were all my age. Most of them were colleagues and friends that had grown up around the castle. They would throw their lives away trying to attack me, or run before my orders if they knew it was a god bear.

And if they ran, they were dead. There was no way for them to out run or out smart this creature. The last warrior to have killed one was two hundred years ago. He had lost thirty five men and it was a miracle he hadn’t lost more.

One hundred and twenty warriors were with me, one hundred and twenty men could die here. One hundred and twenty lives in my hands. Was it worth it?

If the god bear killed me he would leave the rest alone. These god creatures had long memories, it would be satisfied if the blood of the man who had killed its kind was dead. I had known that, but if this was the challenge my father had sent us here to face, we would face it as our code of honor demands.

I pull a long silver sword for myself and crouch as the creature comes closer. Its massive form crushes into the ground like it was designed to kill anything around it.

It charges at the men below and I duck behind a thin tall tree towering up beside the god tree bridge. I listen to the screams of the warriors below as some begin to run, too scared of the beast towering over them to worry about the consequences.

Their terror overtook the code engraved in their bones since they’d been picked to train for the leader’s guard when they were twelve. A shamed guardian was as good as a dead guardian, but they didn’t care about that at the moment.

I shook the frustration from my skull and reminded myself of the second verse in the saying, forcing my hand to still even as it grips the strange sword’s hilt.

A dead leader was the shame of every guardian.

I could hear Leif below, screaming at the others to hold their ground, to choke fear and strike. The growl of the god beast below drowns him out for a moment as it attacks those before it, swiping at men with claws the size of their legs then it stops, sniffing the air as if it had caught scent of something more interesting than the soldiers.

It had found me. It had discovered that the killer’s blood was near, and the chance of my death just increased tenfold.

It reared up on its hind legs and I yank myself into the side of the tree as its head becomes visible, level with the god tree bridge.

Leif screams, “hide Vidar!”

As he charges towards the beast brandishing the sword I had tossed him.

As if I wasn’t already doing that despite the shame to my sword and honor.

I grit my teeth, determined not to yell back at my best friend and second in command that he needs to shut his trap and focus on the gods’ damned god bear before I become his biggest problem.

The god bear crashes back down to the ground and ignores the warriors all frozen in terror to walk under the ancient tree bridge to the other side.

I scurry across the bridge myself on hands and feet, slamming my back into another tree as the beast rears up again to scent the air.

I marvel at the size of it as it looks out over the river scanning the terrain. Its head rivals the size of the cyclops skull Gunnar’s father had brought back from one of his journeys.

It huffs deep in his fishing boat sized chest, still trying to locate me.

Ivar must’ve grabbed his bow when I’d whistled for it because I hear the twang of an arrow released before the god bear growls and turns back to its prey. I’m pretty sure Ivar is still firing, but the only thing I can hear over the bear’s threats is the sound of Leif rallying the others.

I scurry back across and flatten myself by the trunk of a supporting tree, trying to get an idea of how they were going to fight.

I whistle directives to Leif and he implements them immediately, as if the notes themselves didn’t need translation.

Ivar backs off to stand beside Bodil and both continue firing as Ulf and Toke take one side and Bo and Randi take the other. Orm stands by to yank any injured out of the way as Leif continues giving directions.

The god bear swipes at Randi and Toke darts in with his short blade to stab at the creature’s ribs behind its elbow. He’s pulled back by Ulf as the beast swings back to swipe at him.

I sneak over to the next tree trunk, heading for a branch bridge that crosses over the bear’s path.

They’re so close to where I need them but so far away. Leading a god bear anywhere was taunting death. Leif calls for Bodil to aim for the eyes.

I know she’s heard when I see black shards flying from the beast’s face as her volcanic rocks make contact and shatter. One piece flies past me as I pull my sword closer to my side shuffling forward. I didn’t want to lose it to the drop.

I snap my back into contact with the next tree as the god bear rears up, shattering the air with his roar of anger and pain.

It must’ve seen me when it tilted its head back since I had seen a flash of its glittering black eyes so I shut my eyes and waited for the blow to come.

Instead, the beast lurches forward and I throw myself to my feet to lunge for the branch bridge, needing to get there first.

I run even knowing the god bear would kill me the second he sees me. The branch bows beneath the weight of me as I make it to the thinner offshoot.

I catch sight of the blood and wreckage below me, warriors dragging warriors out of the way as others flee for their lives. Only Leif, Bodil, and Ivar stand before its charge.

Bodil and Ivar are too concentrated on their aim to run but Leif stands solidly with his great sword raised just before them, as if he will be enough to stop the beast from touching his comrades.

I leap for the god beast’s head as it lunges at my companions beneath me. I pull my legs up for impact and thrust the long silver great sword down, watching as the blade pierces through thick fur and thicker skull.

The god bear collapses and I fall with it, wondering if this will be the end of my voyage before I’d ever gotten to start.

I slam into the beast’s lifeless skull as the blade pierces the jaw muscles and past, stabbing into the dirt below.

I don’t look up at my men at first even though I want to praise them. Instead I let the anger and fear bleed out of my gaze and stare into the beast’s third eye.

It’s a small squinting thing, set between its true eyes. Something only god beasts have. I watch as the anger bleeds from its gaze too, finally allowing the last of its life to flee.

The little eye watches me until it closes, and I close my eyes in solidarity, pressing a palm into the blood pooling from my sword’s strike. My way of apologizing for choosing my own life over the life of this wild spirit.

Only when every part of the god beast has stilled do I rise, letting go of the sword hilt to step off the creature’s massive head. I will honor the god beast as we have for generations, but first I must check on my guardians.

Those eight who had passed the test with me. Leif, Gunnar, Toke, Orm, Bo, Randi, Ivar and Bodil. Two rangemen and six swords, each having faced fear and struck back at the god bear.

I wrap my bloody palm around each of their wrists, saying nothing until each of the eight have been marked with the blood of the god bear. It will stain for a day or so and those who wished could mark it in more permanent ways once we got back.

Other warriors approach slowly, trying to bury their shame and witness the new making of the guardians. Those I trusted and had already pledged to stand beside me are among them, Sigurd, Arne,Trygve and countless others.

They hadn’t known what the test would be, most thinking it a battle of elimination that would take place once we got there, but that was not to be. I hadn’t really known either.

I knew vaguely what this forest held, and in so knowing, had an inkling of what our test would be. But I had hoped more would stand fast. Despite the god bear’s ability to instill fear, I thought more would steady themselves and rely on the training they had honed for years. I was wrong,

Leif steps up beside me and I pull myself away from my disappointment, flicking a hand to tell him to have them stand back.

I don’t want those who could not face the beast to see it in its downfall. They hadn’t earned the right to mock the bear with their gazes, which I feel burrowing into the creature’s fur with awe and greed stirred together like a clouded river.

Toke and Leif step forward and drive their sword points into the dirt before the beast, holding back the tide of warriors.

The other guardians fall in beside them, shielding me and the creature. I press a gentle hand to its third eye to ensure it’s closed, unable to curse any of the weaker souls around us.

I whistle softly and Lief adjusts his stance so he’s still facing the others but he can look to me. I tap my forearm and wave him off, knowing he’ll do what I ask. We don’t need words to communicate, not when we’d put so much training into our signals as children.

Leif and Toke stand down to dress the slice across Toke’s arm as I asked, then Lief walks the line to look for any other injuries. The others hold the line until they both fall back in. Once back to his place, Leif holds up an empty hand not bothering to look in my direction as he snaps at a whining warrior just below the lip of the hill.

Assured the Guardians were taken care of, I turned my attention back to my task.

I take my time as I skin the beast, murmuring to it to ask that it lend me its strength and courage. The creature is too massive to move and we do not eat god beasts so the moment the pelt is free and prepared, I sprinkle a mixture my father had given me to bless the beast and strike flint against my sword hilt, letting the flames eat the rest.

It burns quickly, sparking green like the god beast was returning to the world tree. I whistle sharply once to let Leif and the others know they don’t have to guard anymore, then turn to watch the flames.

Others come, trying to congratulate me and the guardians, offering their support and belongings as blessings, but I do not turn to them.

This is not the time for them, with their blessings and offerings. Not out here under wild skies. Now is for the life we had ended, and the ones we had taken back for ourselves.

None that fought the god beast spoke that night. Not as the others celebrate, telling stories of bravery and myths around cook fires. And not when the celebrations end and night watch begins.

Lief murmurs assurances quietly the next day on our journey back, still trying to maintain his own code of leading the guardians but I do not speak again until we open the doors to my fathers hall and spread the pelt out before his seat, big enough to cover all nine of us with room to spare. The other eight stand just behind me, out of the way but still in my fathers line of sight.

I wait until he steps down to inspect the pelt, walking slowly around the massive thing until he comes to stand next to me at the creature’s head.

Size alone had told him of my success, but I watched as the tension leeches out of him when he spots the beast’s third eye.

The only thing that could confirm this bear was a god beast had been left undamaged by my swords strike. I would have succeeded either way, but I would have started my voyages with a bad omen.

At last my father turns to me, and he speaks the ritual words as he blesses my journeys and gives me the right to lead all 112 men that had survived.

He calls my guardians forward, inspects the tattooed handprints they had all gotten and blessed them each, giving them new, better quality weapons from the storehouse. Then he turns back to me.

I can see the pride and sorrow equal in his eyes, knowing this is what I was meant for just as it was what he was meant for, but that did not stop his sadness in knowing I will be far from his reach, unable to protect and guide me as he always has.

My eyes echo his sorrow, but the confusion that had clouded them is gone. I just hope the understanding that has replaced it allows me to see and understand what decisions will preserve my band’s lives.

That night, before I begin preparations to leave, we sit alone speaking quietly together.

Just before we parted to sleep, my father gives me the written log of his own voyages and then presses a soot covered thumb to the space between my eyes, just where a god beasts third eye is.

We stand silent for a moment before some barrier in him collapses and he pulls me in by the back of my neck until our foreheads meet. Eyes closed, we bless each other silently. Both praying for the chance to meet again on the other side of our own journeys.

Characters.

Vidar- The main character. He was assessed as a child and chosen as the next band’s leader, though he had to continue passing assessments and being chosen to maintain that position. He was trained by the council and his father to lead. He always questioned how he could be the best choice but never spoke up. His father saw his doubt anyway but let him find his own footing on the path set before him.

Leif- Guardian. Second in command and Vidar’s best friend. He typically uses a short sword and half shield but he uses a great sword in the story because it’s what weapon he had access to. (He picked up one of the blades Vidal had thrown down.) He and Vidar practiced together because he was one of the kids who went through the same leadership assessments as Vidar. Had Vidar failed a test Leif passed, they would’ve switched places.

Gunnar - Guardian. He usually uses a single headed axe/ saxe knife but picks up one of the swords Vidar tossed down. His father was a renowned guardian and he was originally assessed for leader training. He failed the leadership assessments faithfully every time but never once failed a loyalty question or test. Gunnar doesn’t often take things seriously unless someone’s in danger of death and it’s still a toss up whether he’ll crack jokes to lighten the mood.

Toke- Guardian. He typically uses a short sword though he can fight with any bladed weapon. He’s good with spears and axes as well, but nervous of using axes since the head of his first axe snapped off and nearly rebounded into his face when it ricocheted off the target. Great with maps but can’t draw people to save his life.

Orm- Guardian. He usually uses a double headed axe, but picks up one of the swords Vidar tossed down. He passed the first few leadership assessments but was eliminated for being too slow to come up with answers, especially during physical tests. It was deemed too dangerous and he was opted in to regular training.

Bo - Guardian. He typically uses a sword/ saxe knife. Bo is smart when it comes to reading a battlefield but can’t make decisions based off of what other people should do, or what an enemy might do. He’s more content to fight who he’s told to fight and let someone else use his battle knowledge to make their own decisions for him to obey.

Randi— Guardian. She is a shield maiden, who typically uses a spear/ saxe knife. She also has extremely good aim with javelins but hates breaking them so she prefers the spear. Fastest of their band, she’s quick on her feet. The council originally wanted her to be a message runner but she refused and as long as she kept passing her weapons assessment they let her stay in the band as a warrior.

Ivar- Guardian. He is a bowman, occasionally uses a pole axe when up close fighting is the only option. He’s slow to anger but slow to forget once angry. He’ll hold a grudge for his friends until he can find a way to right their wrongs for them. He’s extremely loyal but feels things a little too deeply occasionally. He broke down crying during a leadership assessment and failed.

Bodil- Guardian. She is a shield maiden whose primary weapon is a slingshot. She likes using volcanic rocks that burst into shards upon contact. Quick to anger and never really calms down. She sees Ivar as her younger brother despite him being three months older and over a foot taller.

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Sigurd- He is average in battle skills but great at breaking tension between people and soothing over rivalries. Vidar was counting on him to pass so he could put him in charge of non battle related disputes but he fled from the god bear, actually stepping on and failing to help another warrior who had fallen and couldn’t regain their feet. That warrior died. Sigurd never quite regained his outward confidence, becoming more soft spoken in his shame. He thinks Vidar is angry with him but he is not.

Arne- He is a loud spoken well built boy whose father was well known for his weapons forging, Arne bragged that he was going to out do his father reputation just so that he wasn’t known as the blacksmiths boy. He fled from the bear.

Trygve- Vidar and Leif’s soft spoken friend. He was more introspective but amazing with a sword, constantly studying foreign books to learn new techniques and attempting to apply them so that his tactics were harder to beat. He was thought to be impossible to anger, as he took everything as a challenge to overcome in an intellectual or physical way. He fled before the bear but stopped once he realized others were trampling each other. He didn’t regain the courage to return to fight the god beast but he didn’t flee either. He immediately apologized to Vidar for failing him but didn’t pass the test. They all remain good friends anyway, and he later manages a feat of bravery (fighting off a two wolves that were attacking a child)

The act is witnessed by the council and he is given permission to act as a Guardian if the others accept him. (They do) he does not get a tattoo to match the others, though they manage to convince him to tattoo the bite mark across his forearm that one of the wolves had given him in red, to match theirs.