Hours passed since the children had fallen asleep. Sigrid was watching the cooking station fire pit, prepping it for dinner. She was still dwelling on her concerns, which were conflicting with the truths and realistic outlook the situation presented. She was sitting in her designated chair, leaning forward and poking the fire with an iron poker every so often.
Soren was the first to awaken from his slumber, stretching and yawning while noticing his mother brooding. He quietly got up and approached her, scratching his side with his notable immature and ignorant facade compared to that he had during lunch.
"Hello momma. Do you know what time of day it is?"
"It is a few hours until dinner time, Soren. I am merely keeping the fire ready for my cooking." Replied Sigrid, as she forced a smile to her unassuming middle child.
"Cool, cool. Are we having venison? I noticed what father had caught earlier."
She patted his little head and gave an assuring, responsive smile that outshined her initial one. "Such an observant young man you are, Soren. It will be as tasty as usual. I know you prefer the meat and bread only, but I do encourage you to try and eat the vegetables as well. They will be simmered and seasoned with my best expertise."
Soren shrugged. "Eh, maybe. I don't disrespect your cooking, but I do not prefer things I am not accustomed to."
"You do that on your own, being so picky." Responded Sigrid with a sigh. She took the poker and set it aside, picking up a stewpot of the marinated venison and placed it above the fire. The smell was exotic and full of a savory fragrance. "I do not want to force you as usual, but it is because they are good for you, if nothing else."
Soren scoffed, but decided to not argue with her. At this point, he noticed she was in no mood to do so. "Ugh. I GUESS I can try a little bit, but not a full serving."
Sigrid shook her head, still holding her usual smile. "I suppose that is the best I can hold you to. Now, why don't you wake the others? You can play until I am done here, which will be a little while."
Soren nodded and walked back to the beds, first approaching Lars, who was still out cold. He grabbed the end corners of his bed and began to shake it vigorously. Lars moaned and groaned but didn't budge an inch. When that didn't work, he jumped on him and began wrestling him to wake up.
Lars was not pleased. "H, hey. HEY! Quit it! I'm awake! I'm awake already! What are you doing that for?!"
Soren lifted him toward himself by the shoulders and pushed him back down, to which resulted in Lars flailing angrily. "You're under attack, little man! What are you gonna do about it?"
Lars responded by kicking Soren in the chest and forcing him off of him, which angered Soren suddenly. He proceeded to grapple Lars with a serious, flustered face and force him in a basic hold around the neck, to which Sigrid shouted back at him to leave him be, to no avail.
"Let me GOOO!" Exclaimed Lars, tapping Soren by the forearm repeatedly, begging for him to show mercy.
"Fine, fine. Such a crybaby. You still think you'll be a worthy Ulfheðinn?"
The commotion had woken Emika and Primus, though Primus would simply roll over while Emika was already wide awake, jumping onto Soren and forcing him into the ground, pinning him like he did Lars.
"Be nice to your youngest! He already has enough to prove without you rubbing salt in the wound!"
Soren rolled face down and stood up with Emika still holding firm. He shook her and grabbed her arms to no avail. Then, he twisted his upper body and pushed her away by the face, forcing her to let go. "Alright, alright! I get it! Go wake Primus! He is being as lazy as usual!"
Emika reluctantly let go and approached the snoozing Primus, pushing and shaking him by the side to get his attention.
"Priiiimus! Its time to wake up, you sleepy bird!"
Primus groaned and brushed her away, but when she yanked the fur blanket off of him, he curled up and rolled over to face her with a less than enthusiastic glare. "Leave me be. I'm still tired."
"Dinner is a few hours away, Primus!" Exclaimed Soren from afar. "You can't sleep in until then!"
"Maybe if you weren't so loud I could. But I guess I am awake enough now not to fall back asleep."
Emika let him be and went over to the other two, watching Sigrid tend to the fire. When the boys all got out of their beds, the four would sit around the dancing flames and warm their little bodies up, keeping themselves comfy after escaping the beds that kept them snug.
"It is already Heyanner!" Exclaimed Lars, noting the time of the calendar with its notable shift from the consistent warmer weather. "Time flies when you're having fun, huh?"
"Yes," Sigrid said, "it does seem cooler lately. No doubt that is why Primus was so reluctant to get out of bed."
Primus chuckled. "It is, to a degree. I also did not wish to partake in the bickering and fighting after our time in the clearing. I still feel sore after all of the uh, playing we all did."
Sigrid looked over at him. "I hope for your sake that you aren't wrestling or fighting again. You don't want to break Lars's nose again, correct?"
"We know better than to go through your punishment, mother," stated Primus, before Soren could interject, as he was already half smiling and ready to respond.
"Can we go out and play until dinner is ready, momma?" Asked Lars, who seemed to disregard the concerns of his mother's threat.
"I suppose that is fine," responded Sigrid with a sigh, "but you better not come back filthy again, or so help me, you'll be in big trouble."
The four of them lit up with excitement and charged for the door, their little feet stomping and shaking the foundation with a subtle echo that complimented their laughter. Sigrid smiled before they slammed the wooden door behind them, to which she called out in sudden assertiveness for them to be more careful, albeit in vain, for they were already out of earshot.
The children were running, dashing down the trail where they were sparring prior. They all knew what this play date would obligate, so by the time they arrived, Primus took out his oath ring and Emika took out her hair braid from their respective thick pouches. Soren and Lars were ecstatic and bouncing about, as Primus gave his wrist ornament to Soren and Emika handed her hair decoration to Lars.
"Wait, my hair is short!" Exclaimed Lars, "How am I supposed to use it?"
Emika had thought about this since last time, and when she took it out of the pouch, she placed it in his little hand.
"Here, put it in your pocket. We need the pouches to carry them because if we don't, they'll activate on their own. Oh! Or…"
She then took the braid back and revealed a loose piece of string from her pocket, feeding it through the center. She tied it off and put it around his neck, looking quite proud of herself as she took a step back to watch his charming orange aura radiate from his body.
"Aha! That looks much better!"
Lars' face lit up on par with his aura as he tucked the necklace under his shirt, patting it as he felt the warm metal press against his chest.
"You're so smart, Emi! Just like your dad!"
The Úlfheðnar-in-training, consisting of those who reach the age of 9 and go through it until their 21'st birthday, all had their custom made Vættirtols given to them after a week of initiation. After they get a grasp on the color of their aura and their style of fighting, the tools are made to match the essence of their soul, and the style in which they wish to wield such technology. Simple in design, easy for Mathias's team to manufacture, it is more of a ritualistic initiation than one of complexity, which offers each Ulfheðinn a Vættirtol that is unlike any other, similar to how no snowflake is exactly identical to another.
Soren squeezed the ends of Primus's ring around his wrist so it'd fit properly and as soon as it did, it rewarded him with his blue aura slowly radiating from his person.
"Heheh, I feel potent! And this color! Awe man! Emika, Primus, can you guys go set up the sparring dummies please? I bet I can blow mine to smithereens before Lars does!"
Emika and Primus each went to the treeline at the far end of the clearing and pulled out two basic yet sturdy little dummies that resembled the upper part of a body supported by stone and thick branches. They had to drag them, but managed to do so and set them up on either side of the fjórir tree, to which the younglings were now facing from the east. They got lined up, Lars on the left with Primus behind him, and Soren on the right, accompanied by Emika.
"Alright brother," Primus said, as he took Lars by the shoulders and leaned his head in, shifting him to line up as straight as possible, "so, I know how much you wanna show off, but that's only a small part of what makes the Úlfheðnar look cool. It's all about discipline and being competent. I'm gonna teach you how to shoot a basic beam. Sounds good?"
Lars was doing his best to keep his composure, for he was still very excited and his aura reflected it. It was bright and swirling with enthusiasm, untamed and full of promise. He hadn't had the time before to practice, but today was different.
"Yes brother! Oh, I wanna fire a beam so bad! How do I do it? You gotta tell me!"
Primus smiled patiently and put his hands on his own hips as he explained, as elder instructors had done for him many times now.
"So, you feel the warmth, right? And you can see your aura? I want you to get a good stance and get a feel for this energy. Try to control it. Concentrate on your palm and feel the essence. You will. Look at it and imagine that essence forming. The more you focus, the more it'll appear."
Lars managed to focus superbly despite his excitement, and when he looked at his palm, he could feel something there. His little fingers were holding this feeling in his grasp, and before he knew it, a low vibration manifested a translucent ball of orange energy. The hum of it complemented its potency.
His excitement upon witnessing this threw off his focus, however, and it began to fluctuate like a bubble losing and gaining air. Primus noticed this, and thus he stepped to his side and mentored, copying old words of wisemen who taught him the same thing.
"I know you're excited, but you gotta focus brother. Make the orb stable, then aim your hand, and push it out at the dummy. Get a sense first, then don't succumb to your excitement. You gotta stay calm no matter what."
Meanwhile, Soren was lowkey following Primus's words and did the same, but as he did so, Lars fired at exactly the same time, with a thicker and faster motion that outshined Soren's by double.
Soren began to feel competitive, upon witnessing Lars exceed his own potential. With gusto and stubborn force, he fired a second stable beam that made the dummy vibrate and rock for three seconds in duration before the beam diminished. Lars fired again with an outstretched arm, his middle finger acting as crosshairs, and landed a blow that was stronger than it was lasting in duration.
Both were already beginning to feel the strenuous exercise, notable by their breathing alone.
Soren scoffed and focused slightly more than he was already, aiming to try and land a blow that was both as potent and as everlasting as Lars's shots. He reeled back and shoved his hand forward with a grunt, but only managed to fire a beam that lasted until it struck, albeit with slightly more force than his previous attempts, making the dummy bob backwards by about 3 inches.
"Look at you guys!" Exclaimed Emika, "You're both amazing! Guess Soren doesnt need my help this time."
Lars felt the need to keep up with Soren, and despite his stamina draining he repeated his actions until the dummy gradually skid back half a foot. He jumped and giggled, astounded at his own potential.
"I, I did it! Primus I did it!"
"Keep it up brother!" Primus roared, "try and do it until it tips over!"
"Soren," Emika noted slyly, "are you gonna let your youngest brother beat you doing that?"
"Never!" Soren exclaimed, before he flexed his arm and pushed forward with a grunt, unleashing a blue beam that collided with his dummy, shaking it and, with all of its stubborn weight, remained standing, albeit bobbing slightly to and fro.
"Grr… come now, you stupid thing! Fall!" Yelled Soren.
Lars took both hands and shoved them out in front of him, and, after he focused his essence in both palms, combined the two bubbles in his palms and supported his footing, shoved forward, and unleashed a 3 foot diameter thick beam that made the dummy bobble back and forth, yet remained standing despite the force.
The two dummies were making a mockery of the brothers, taunting with their limited motion. Soren glanced over at Lars and scoffed before he merely copied his dual handed tactic and, after bringing his hands to his side to charge, shoved forward with all his might and fired a beam of equal thickness.
Lars fired as well, doing his best to trust the sensations while Soren used purely brute force. The beams were both struggling by now, exceeding duration expectations by a landslide, and after Lars let out a loud yell and added to the output, his dummy barely tipped backwards.
Soren did the same, but out of sync with his brother, and they both erupted with potent soul essence. The humming sound escaping their bodies could be heard by the four of them, as they were now doing their best to knock their dummies over.
"Come on, Soren!" Emika exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Do it Lars!" Bellowed Primus, "You're so close!"
The two of them kept their beams flowing outward with astonishing prominence and tenacity. Witnessing the two equal sized yet different colored beams lash out like Primus's devastating attack from his earlier spar; nicknamed 'Tenacious Devastator', was truly astonishing. Leaves below the beams were in a flurry, and the two children were flexing all of their body and facial muscles that proved they were doing their very best to knock their dummy over first.
They were becoming weary, Soren more so, yet both were determined enough to keep pushing forward until a winner was decided.
Their dummies, who's bottoms each had circular stone bases, were tipping and skidding far past the fjórir tree, until Lars suddenly began walking forward, and with each step, he added more raw strength to his attack as his aura thickened. He then shifted his aim toward the head of the dummy, tipping the balance in his favor and managed to nudge it to its backside just a couple seconds before Soren did!
Victory achieved, his beam then suddenly diminished into amber-like particles, and he fell to his knees with sweat on his forehead. He was panting, but with a smile on his face and with the aura only heating him further.
"Yes! I did it!" He exclaimed while catching his breath, "Primus, Emika! Did you see that?!"
After the beams diminished and the wind could be heard once more, the leaves settled as Primus wrapped his arms around Lars and lifted him into a hug. He spun him around and laughed, while Emika offered Soren a hand on the shoulder and a few 'tsk's.
"Ah, still you did well for your age, Soren. Guess Lars just has more of a knack for energy attacks than you, though."
Soren shook his head and wiped his brow, refusing to collapse to his knees as he frustratingly took the ring off his wrist before he threw it down before his feet.
"Hmph! Whatever. I'm better at physical combat than using this stupid energy anyways."
Primus set Lars down and stomped over to Soren, picking up the ring and placing it back into his pouch.
"Don't be such a sore loser, dummy! That's what your problem is, you know?"
Soren scoffed still, while Emika simply stood back and laughed to herself at the display of frustration.
"No, my problem is not pursuing what I'm already great at! Forget these beams! Glima is what I am good at!"
"You still did amazing for your first try, Soren." Primus stated, "Don't give into extremes like that just because you lost by only a few seconds."
Soren wasn't having it. "I'm just saying that if it was a Glima match, I would've wiped the floor with him."
Primus shook his head, not wanting to argue with him further. "Whatever. We still have some time, why don't we put away the dummies and go into town for a little bit? Unless you want to go for round two."
There was a moment of silent contemplation before the already winded brothers exchanged a glance of over exertion. Even with this shrot little session, it seemed to be the end, for their endurance and stamina were not quite up to par yet with what they truly wanted to achieve. Such was the main concern with this art form, and why only children 9 and older were properly developed to handle this sort of training.
Lars politely gave back her braid and she took it, putting it back into her pouch.
"Let's take a break for today. I'm already winded. Oh, we should head to the marketplace!" Exclaimed Lars, "Do we have any money? I want to buy some treats!"
Emika patted his fuzzy head. She had some money from selling some of her family's produce, which wouldn't be the case if their farm wasn't extra fertile due to trade secrets of her father. "I have a few coins, I can buy everyone something neat and sweet."
Primus checked his pockets, patting himself down like a criminal before he pulled out some coins of his own, albeit only a few pieces of silver compared to Emika.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan. I need a new sharpening stone for my collection."
The four would work together to hide the dummies and make their way toward the marketplace, leaving their little playground behind for the day. They've truly made the best of their time, considering the fact that the younger two weren't supposed to be using the Vættirtols at their age, but so long as their parents were none the wiser, it mattered not to them.
Power, it is a challenging feat to master, let alone wield. Some tend to go in full of emotional bias, while others outshine by taking the lessons of elders to heart. Discipline. Competence. Patience. Persistence. Such is the way of the mighty Úlfheðnar.