The Son Of Ragnar

Chapter 49 Arm Ring Ceremony

?Herfjötur stopped Erik from intruding on Lagertha's time with her sons or even harassing Lagertha. Erik hated Herfjötur and she knew it.

"Erik The Berserker, I am surprised you are not chained up beside King Askild like the dog you are," Herfjötur insulted Erik, she was not afraid to anger him despite his animosity towards her because she knew Erik could not kill her not because it would anger King Askild, but simply because he could not.

"Why you….!" Erik wanted to strike her so badly but he could not bring himself to do so, he kept his rage controlled because he was well aware that things could spiral out of control if he did act recklessly.

"Erik, do not speak to me like you could take me on in battle, or do I need to remind you about what happened the last time you tried?" Herfjötur asked him in a cold-blooded tone as she walked up to Erik, she was mere inches from his face as she looked him in the eyes.

"If you think you can kill me, Erik, I will accept your duel right here and now…" Herfjötur said, Erik watched the fearlessness in her eyes and that is what irritated him. Why was a woman so confident, he hated it and it pissed him off the more he thought about it.

"... but if you can't, then please shut the hell up with the threats." Herfjötur ended the conversation as she pushed past him and headed in the direction of Lagertha, stopping in her tracks briefly.

"If you come close to Lagertha, Erik. I will make sure to make you less of a man, you piece of shit." Herfjötur warned as she continued in her tracks.

Erik gnawed on his teeth with his fists clenched in anger, he wanted to kill her so bad but he could not, at least not now so he accepted that he had to let it go for the time being.

He turned and watched her walk in the way of Lagertha, his intrusive thoughts were getting the better of him and this would be the perfect time to strike her down with her back to him.

"You bitch!" Erik muttered as he reached for his throwing knife but a hand stopped him with such absolute strength that it made Erik jerk his head in the direction of the hand.

"What do you think you are doing?" This voice… It was the voice of Skarde but the malevolent nature of his voice made Erik question if it was truly him, even after looking him right in the eyes. It was Skarde but the killing intent he oozed was overwhelming.

"Is that Skarde?" Erik asked playfully, he was not threatened by his killing intent as he has experienced a lot worse.

Skarde abruptly let go of his hand and the moment he did that, his killing intent dissipated.

"You should be careful brandishing weapons, someone might mistake you for a threat," Skarde said with a broad innocent smile but Erik knew just what he meant by this.

"Things are getting interesting," Erik muttered under his breath, he liked how things were turning out.

-

The day came to an end and the sun rose once again, this day was the day that Bjorn and Tyr were to swear allegiance to one of the leaders. It was like a ceremony for all warriors that were yet to receive their arm rings. It was approved by King Askild because he knew the importance of loyalty as most warriors honored it.

Lagertha watched Tyr and Bjorn stand in line, with the prominent Viking warriors in a side-by-side line of their own.

Each warrior was to walk to the man they sought fit to lead them, as Ragnar stood in this line and looked his sons right in the eyes. He could tell they were nervous but it was the good type of nervous so this brought a sense of comfort to him because he hoped they would pick him to watch over them better. But he had a bad feeling about this, he was not confident about their choices because his sons were different from him.

Bjorn was more like his brother, even his fighting style prioritized strength over speed and Tyr…

He had no idea why Tyr fought the way he fought but he knew he did not learn it from him.

It took no time to reach the turn Bjorn, he looked at his father with a smile and Ragnar smiled back because this was a proud moment for him.

Bjorn stepped forward and began walking in the direction of Ragnar, Ragnar heaved a quiet sigh of relief.

"Good choice, Bjorn," He thought to himself but just then, Bjorn walked past him and this drew a surprised look from Ragnar. He got on one knee in front of the man called Asger with his sword outstretched showing he was willing to give his sword and life to Asger.

Ragnar was satisfied with this decision because Asger was an honorable man. This was a good choice, it was better than the other men present despite him taking a liking to Skarde.

It was Tyr's turn, Ragnar trained him so he was expecting Tyr to pick him if nothing else.

Tyr did not even look Ragnar in the eye, he did not acknowledge his presence and instead was looking in a different direction entirely. It was in the direction of Ulrik.

It was a strange choice that Tyr was going with as this must be the first time he was seeing Ukrik, Ragnar as well did not know much about Ulrik but he knew Tyr could have picked worse.

Tyr walked in that direction and Ragnar smiled in defeat, Lagertha too smiled as it was clear by this that their children did not want to follow the path of their father.

But something happened, Tyr walked past Ulrik and the only person past that point was the man they dreaded the most, it was Erik The Berserker.