Viking Voices Read Online Free Page A

dangerous as he believes in settling all quarrels with violence. No doubt he believes that the strongest people deserve to dominate and to have whatever they desire. All Norse people know that is the will of the gods.
    When he leads a raid he is always at the front, in the most dangerous place, taking risks with his own life. He shows great respect for his fellow warriors. And many times he has turned back, at the risk of his own life, to assist others who got into danger. He is always true to the vows we warriors take to aid and support each other. No warrior should turn away in a fight and Ragnald never does. He is true and fair and has a warrior’s temperament, so no one gets in his way. We have seen him slice men open with a single stroke of his longsword during raids, and he has brutally split open many skulls. Although he is true to his own loyal warriors he can also be savage to anyone who betrays him. His vengeance is devastating and we have heard stories of his rages and of him strangling with his bare hands those who turned against him. None of us has ever seen that happen but no one doubts that the stories are true.
    His record speaks for itself though; he is careful and calculating in his adventures. He does not carry out raids unless he is sure of their success, unlike the unfortunate Sigfrid, who recently disappeared. He only fights those battles which he is confident he will win. As a result of that all of us that follow him are all still alive, but naturally he has carried out very few raids in the past few weeks.
    Ragnald speaks boldly and confidently, taking centre stage, like one who has complete authority and the right to command the attention of every one. The role of a Viking king, he says, is not to plan and organise a defeat, it is to fight and lead the battle to gain victory. Why was all this effort and thinking put into getting away from our enemy? This is not the warrior way since we do not want to avoid battles; we want to win the battles. Most important of all, why was Ivarr our king and so called leader not there, in his rightful place at the front of the battle, to lead us and to take his chance, make his reputation as a hero and be at the front of the fighting? It is clear that he has devoted his efforts to getting himself, his family and immediate personal guard away when everyone else was left to take their chance with the battle. This is rank cowardice, unworthy of any king, and especially not a Norse king! He turns to confront Ivarr and spits on the floor in front of him, a gesture of open contempt.
    Ivarr knows that he is being confronted and his authority challenged. He reacts like a cornered rat and turns angrily and aggressively on Ragnald, hitting him and rebuking him for his insolence to a king. Ragnald sways away under the blow and then straightens up to look Ivarr directly in the eye, a black angry look, an unspoken challenge to fight.
    Both men draw their swords and are circling each other, making desperate and dangerous moves and for each they could easily be fatal moves. Ivarr glances towards his huskarls, his personally selected warriors, hoping for assistance, but they can sense that the mood of the community is against them. None of them take a step forward to protect their king. Now he must protect his own honour alone in single combat, and he has, at least in theory, an equal chance in a fight with Ragnald.
    These two are immediately plunged into an aggressive combat to the death, each believing that the winner will be the ruler of this reduced community, and knowing that the winner will take all. We must see who it is that Tyr, the one-handed god of those involved in single combat, will favour.
    These are both muscular, large men who have trained as warriors all their lives, but Ragnald is clearly the younger and more athletic and he is also expected to be the more determined and aggressive. Sure enough he is the aggressor; it is in his nature to attack remorselessly.