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Kylar
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Kylar
Let's go back 1.700 years to the deep fjords and high mountains of a country then known as Norvegur which means "the way to north" and today is known as Norway.
Kylar son of the village chief had lived 12 winters and was becoming the village's best hunter which was a quite honorable status for such a young lad, when food was never enough. He had never been beaten running the past two summers and not lost a bow and arrow marksmanship competiton in last two regional communal fairs. He was fast and precise. He could travel faster than anyone he had heard about which meant he covered more hunting grounds than his competitors.
Kylar had been given the village hero's hunting and war dog when he didn't return from one of many viking raids made from the area to distant lands. His wife Helga 26 had chosen Kylar as the best keeper of her late husband's reputed longhaired greyhound type dog "Samur" which kept heat on his owners during long winter nights. Kylar now understood his community responsilibility to provide her family of 3 young children with food - enough food so her children could grow up to be healthy and strong. Many people deprived of essential food never developed physically in these days.
At first Kylar had left the food - one or two hares or rabbits from each hunting trip by her door at a meat hook high enough so the hungry village dogs couldn't reach it. One late afternoon she waited for Kylar and invited him to join her family eating that night. She was young and the most beautiful woman in this part of the country, attracting various sailed vikings there to ask for her hand as their wife. Denial was her response. Kylar gave her the independance to be able to provide her family with enough food, but she understood that was only temporary, since he would soon after 15 winters of age leave the village as young warriors did to go on to viking travels trading and raiding far way countries.
She had a plan - she wanted Kylar to leave 3 of his blue eyed blond sons with her before leaving the village for good and teach her oldest daughter Hella 10 to hunt with Samur her father's dog. After the meal Helga invited him to stay for the night washing him before bedtime. He was standing in her house's only room in a water bowl as she poured water over him cleaning his naked body while the children watched admiring his already strong body. Hella was an exceptionally beautiful young girl which Kylar had his eyes on for the future - that held her arms around him at night in the whole families co-sleeping bed under numerous hides and sheep skins to keep each other warm during the night as she had also done in their hunting trips when they had to overnight away from home outdoors or in mountain cabins where sheep and goat herds slept when in the area.
Waking up in the dark of the night Helga grabbed Kylar and made him have forceful intercourse with her - his first time. Hella held her hand on his body as an approval - as co-sleeping and sex was a natural way of family life in the bronze age. After Hella wrapped her arms around Kylar falling asleep again.
On fast track home trail Kylar was running and Samur trotted lightly ahead carrying pray, hunting gear and sleeping hides - making a sudden stop to utter a deep guttural sound of anger or hostility. Kylar was aware of danger - either a bear or a stranger that the dog had never smelled before was ahead. War dogs were trained to analyze the state of stranger's hostility by the body's prespiration of sweat and stress level of sweat they smelled. The low intensity of Samur's growl indicated there was only one hostile person ahead. Kylar unloaded the dog's cargo to let it free for action and moved sideways above the trail to get behind this enemy with Samur waiting on the trail. As he got behind this fully armed scout he called Samur's attack signal - 3 redbreasted Thrush's sounds - as Samur came unexpectedly at flying speed towards this scout - Kylar sneaked behind him and said when the dog stopped a few feet from him - "you are dead if you move" aiming his bow. The scout laied down and Kylar tied him up. "I can see that you are not here in peace - who are you - who do you belong to - how many are you - what is the purpose of your raid?" "You can trade your own life for this information" Kylar continued. He got the password and information needed, they were 53 on a viking war ship "langskip" anchoring outside of the village. The ill reputed viking Hrolfur and his men sneaked silently in by sea at night to raid the sleeping village by surprice - kill all opposition and take prisoners for slavetrading including Helga and her children was their mission - as she had denied him as many others to become his wife after her husbands death.
Hrolfur was a known mercenary strongman viking and a rich dualist gaining the loosers properties and lands when he fought duals and won. He hadn't lost yet. Kylar got describtion of all the high ranking vikings including Hrolfur who was always in full armour with metal helmet in raids, duals and wars. After cutting the scout's both anchilies tendons by his heels Kylar left food and told him to stay the next days by the trail for help and headed towards the village - now running faster with his bow and arrows only. He needed more arrows for his hunting-bow which wasn't the same as grown ups used. This was small bow easy to handle with no metal points on the arrows - only dry hard pointed wood made for hare and rabbit hunting but leathal in the right hands. Two more raider scouts were on the trail by the first scouts information. Samur located them in time and Kylar killed both by sniping with his bow aiming for their neck's jugular vains. Now the trail back home should be clear and Kylar ran like never before - when arriving the mountain edge overlooking the village's fjord seeing houses burning, a vikingship short distance from shore and people gathering on the town's square.
On his way to his familie's house Kylar sniped 3 more raiders from distance by hitting their neck's jugular vains on his way to the village's arsenal to pick up a spare bow and 50 more arrows, both hare and warfare arrows. Coming to his house his father was in bondage in front of Hrolfur demanding his revenge for being denied earlier of Helga at the same time a group of raiders had formed a circle throwing his 6 months old brother between themselves by spears points and raping women in front of their husbands and families - amongst them his mother. A common viking practice to break opponent's morals. Kylar knew now more than ever he needed to stay calm what ever happened. While they killed his infant brother he got himself into a large tree above their house with good view covered by leaves. This tree he knew from early childhood like his own hand and positioned himself in line to Hrolfur but then he had 5 more high ranking vikings also in sight after Hrolf. As Hrolfur was standing in front of his father - Kylar waited for him to stop moving his helmeted head with only thin lines for eyesight - too narrow for ordinary metal pointed arrows to penetrate. His father knew who's behind this small wooden pointed hare-arrow when Hrolfur was suddenly with an arrow standing out of his helmet's eye as he fell down dead before he hit the ground. Kylar got the second in command within 5 seconds. Caos started amongst the raiders, which didn't realize from where they were being attacked while Kylar got the three others making the raiders completely without command as they started to withdraw Kylar got 3 more in the back from his position.
Kylar's plan was to use the village's mountain trap trail when aborting the tree to be seen by a group of 12 raiders starting chasing him on his home ground, where he knew every trail, stone, tree and house. Kylar made sure how many followed him before going up to the deadly mountain trail. Once up there Kylar made his way along the narrow cliffhanger path leading to a U-shaped curve into the mountain wall where a rope was fastened to the wall to hold on to tied with stronghold on both ends. As Kylar finished the U-shape curve he stopped at the far end and waited for the 12 viking raiders to enter the curved path. Kylar now took of his weapons and tied one end of the path-rope around his body and threw himself out of the cliffhanger pulling everyone - one by one off the trail path into free falling by the gravity of his weight - climbing back up the rope afterwards.
Kylar now went for the ship to prevent the raider's departure by sea with prisoners and shot a few firearrows into places shipmates couldn't reach easily setting the whole ship a fire. The raiders group now gathered to flee without realizing who the opposition was, only that they were falling like flies by snipers and as the ship was lost when they fled on foot with Kylar and Samur following. Once on the mountain trail from the village Kylar had an easy access to their last men and killed a few before he went sidetrack in front of the group sniping a few from the front - then luring some more to chase this young boy vanishing up the trail and then sniping the first two of the group. None of the vikings returned from this raid but the one - the first captured trail scout. A few villagers were killed and wounded.
Kylar's rumor spread around Norvegur at young age. His life was into the same tracks as before bringing food for his new family while Helga took care of the small farm at home. Hella became a good hunter as time passed keeping fully up with Kylar's travelling speed. Kylar's first son was born one year later and then two more the next two years as Kylar left Helga pregnant of their third child going into viking travelling the world for trades and raids. Hella waited for his home coming while providing her family including Kylar's 3 sons with all the prey she and Samur hunted.
Sheep die
friends die
you die yourself
but those who
good reputation earn
never die.
2000 years old proverb from the nordic poem Havamal
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Submitted by:
Jocasta
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