The Son Of Ragnar

Chapter 196 Current State Of The Viking World

Kattegat was in a somewhat stable state, Askild had surrounded himself with even more capable warriors than he had previously, but he was keeping his ears out for news about Tyr.

Erik was discovered days after his death and the killing did not look random.

Whoever did it had a grudge against Erik, it was personal and King Askild could not shake off the feeling that it was Tyr Ragnarsson.

A gut feeling he knew was right but Tyr still had the name of Ragnar so he had to be careful with his accusations.

Ulf had ascended to the rank of a commander, just like Birger had predicted but Kattegat was losing its economic prowess ever since Fredrik died and Liv was a shell of herself because she had lost everything she held dear and she did not know if she loved or hated Askild.

Everything that happened was a direct consequence of how recklessly he lived his life.

She heard about the terrible thing he did to Arvid's wife and how he aided Erik after Asger's wife was violated. Liv knew Askild more than most, this was a man she laid in bed with for years, and she knew what he was capable of.

Birger's words sat with her, she was informed that Askild was the one that poisoned King Xenophanes to weaken him before killing him.

She doubted this until she heard what happened to King Asmund and how he looked near death on the day he died and more so after his fight with Asmund.

There was a fracture and Askild could sense this, he knew Liv knew everything about him and the sins he kept hidden from her.

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Asger was in a better place, he fell into depression a year after Birger's 'death' because he did not know what to do with all the rage he had. He had time to think about it and he realized that everything Birger said added up and he slowly built resentment for Askild.

He tried to end his life a year later but he was saved by the gods, or was it punishment?

Asger knew he would not get rest until he avenged his wife, but what would become of his loyalty? Asger left Kattegat because he could not stay without the overwhelming urge to kill Askild.

And his absence. Bjorn took the role of his former commander, and this effectively shifted Bjorn's allegiance from his family to Kattegat. Lagertha opposed it, she thought that Bjorn was too young to take on this level of responsibility but Bjorn did not listen.

Lagertha wanted to move to Vestfold but she could not leave Bjorn to be poisoned by Askid, like Tyr was poisoned by Erik.

She too, in that sense, became a commander and took over Herfjötur as commander of her all-female battalion. Ragnar knew this was a delicate situation because if Vestfold were to become hostile to Kattegat, his family inadvertently becomes an enemy.

Bjorn was strong, he was taller than most standing at 6 '1 at seventeen years old. He trained under Ulf. Ulf was spending more time with Lagertha after she found out what he did for Tyr.

She felt indebted to him, and she began to let her guard down around him a lot more,

Ulf would spend some nights there, something he never dared try when his brother was there but Ragnar was too busy ruling a kingdom and with Lagertha and Bjorn under Askild.

They could not travel to Vestfold, a kingdom that had ceased its alliance, freely because they were important warriors to Kattegat.

Askild hoped that Ragnar would reconsider his stance on their alliance as Kattegat was crumbling slowly, Birger had taken the foundation and it was only a matter of time before the structure collapsed. New faces had taken up the mantle of commanders as well.

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King Ragnar had not heard anything from King Rugalf regarding the marriage proposal, Rugalf had gone quiet soon after Tyr's exile but he was still very much in contact with Ragnar.

He was against him cutting ties with Kattegat because they benefited from both a financial and political aspect.

Kings should not make decisions driven by emotions and Ragnar was slowly understanding that he would be better off reestablishing this alliance.

The Viking world was on edge and with the map that Askild had found, he had offered both King Ragnar and Rugalf an opportunity to explore whatever lands lay at the end of the waters in the east. A scout had been sent but they returned with no news of such lands, and Askild knew he was missing a piece, A piece he soon found as he discovered he was looking at the map wrongly, and he ventured to the West. And they found land so vast, and rich that it made Norway look like crap. King Rugalf encouraged Ragnar to join King Askild on this expedition or he might miss out on the loot.

But everyone had an interest in Tyr's whereabouts because he had affected them in one way or another but Tyr was nowhere to be found.

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But there was one person who knew who he was, the person Tyr took everything from and his name was Signy. Signy had kept tabs on him but the region Tyr wandered into should have eliminated his possibility of survival but he had underestimated the son of Ragnar, or rather, Signy underestimated the favor the gods showed Tyr and now knew he had to use his own hands to snuff out Tyr's life, a task he knew would not be easy and had used these years to increase the probability of his success. Signy knew someone saved Tyr, he just did not know who.

He was done underestimating the son of Ragnar, and intended to crush him with everything in his power, Jan loved this new side to Signy as he had crossed a line that his father never dared to and offered his full assistance because of this.

They knew they needed to wait until summer to launch their campaign against Tyr and focused on intel gathering in the meantime.

One thing was certain however, Tyr's life was in danger.