When the children made it back to the Odhinkar longhouse from the shopping district, they found Manning still sitting outside in his spruce wood chair, appearing lost in thought. He had this look on his face that reflected heavy contemplation, leaning back with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed, glaring up at the evening sky. The sun was beginning to set, and when the children approached him, he hardly budged, yet spoke in a serious tone when they were about to open the door, not wanting to disturb him out of respect.
"Primus," he said suddenly as they passed him, "come sit with me for a moment. I need to speak with you."
The four children exchanged glances of uncertainty before they left Primus with his father, closing the door gently behind them. He took a seat next to Manning on a polished wooden bench, knowing to an extent what his father wanted to talk to him about.
"Oh, sure father." Said Primus as he sat down, "I assume this is about the upcoming skirmish?"
Manning was as still as a statue, despite his head slowly nodding as he kept his gaze fixed in the setting sun.
"You must go to bed early tonight, my son. We leave at dawn to meet with the commanders of the selected war chiefs and the King, who are in charge of this mission."
Primus gave a subtle sigh as he thought about being up so early, but made it so his father wouldn't read in on it. "You want me to come along as well? I mean, what could I offer to the conversation? I'm uh, quite inexperienced in war tactics and such."
"You're not offering anything beyond your diligent attention." Responded Manning, "You're to take notes and learn from what will be said. The more informed you are, the easier it will be for you in the heat of our conflict."
Primus understood that much. It made sense, after all, to know the details of the mission beforehand so he'd know what to expect to even the slightest degree. First hand account of the details would keep him up to speed, and would certainly allow him to perform his assignments with far more diligence.
"I understand. Who all is going to be there?"
"Well, like I said, the King will be there. The others consist of six of our best and experienced Úlfheðnar; Ingolf Hávarðr, Gudmund Hvalman, the sisters Ingrid and Ylva Randi, Birger Christiansen, and myself. We're going to have a debriefing that you must be a part of so you may know the mission inside and out, as well as to know how you will be helping us from now until we return in more detail."
Primus immediately recognized the last name mentioned, for it was Gabe's father. The others he had only spoken to briefly over the course of his childhood, but didn't know them on a personal spectrum. They'd tend to hang out with his parents whenever they weren't busy, but beyond that he never really gotten to know them that well beyond their names and occupations. Although, it must be mentioned that he did know of their sagas due to his parents and his instructors, and thus had a decent idea as to what they did for the clan.
Ingolf Hávarðr was known to him as a true, pureblooded Úlfheðnar, derived from his ancestry consisting of the iconic wolf-pelted warriors before the title transitioned to that which is known as the Balderklan's nonpareil fighting force. They were like regular berserkers, yet more elite and in tune with the spirit of the wolf, as opposed to the bear. Before the namesake began its descent into forgotten sagas, it was used to title the Balderklan's fighting force who specialize in the use of matured Vættirtols. They'd still hold onto the traditional wolfskin pelts, accessories, and traditions, but it was thanks to Ingolf that it became so important to do so, as he held onto his family's traditions with the utmost admiration and importance.
Gudmund Hvalman was born into his trade as a war chieftain at a very early age. By age 17, he and his family had a long lineage of whalers back in Norway, so he was quite astute at navigating the open oceans and had quite the collection of trophies proving such, from whale skulls to an assortment of hunting spears.
A salty, weathered man, Gudmund was keen on using his specialty in guiding the Arðrmen, who specialize in creating convenient pathways for the rest of the Balderklan to traverse, be it through marshland, thick forests, rivers, and even the vast, wide open oceans.
He was the lead commander of these astounding improvisers. That much Primus knew. Beyond that, he had only heard the sagas of his life through brief mention from his instructors, which consisted of his metal and cunning ingenious tactics that made the Battle of Hastings achievable. He and his group of Arðrmen carefully and diligently carved paths, evaporated trees in near silence, and led the Úlfheðnar to surround both other parties so a surprise attack led by Manning could take place.
Without Gudmand, it'd be next to impossible to avenge those lives lost at Stamford Bridge and secure the conquest of England. Primus had considered joining this division of war tacticians, and still had the opportunity to do so. Perhaps if he got to learn practical tactics and the real world nature of how they function on the battlefield, he'd be more inclined to do so.
The sisters were well known to him for their ruthlessness and their iconic personalities, for they were as formidable, if not more so combined, than his mother Sigrid in both conversation and in the sagas of their lives. Despite their hardships, they were fun loving and eerily casual during any free time they could muster, with a charismatic chemistry that was on par with that of the Odhinkar boys, albeit matured to a vast degree.
Ingrid and Ylva Randi, sisters of a family knowing nothing but the harsh realities of warfare and conflict, were once rogue mercenaries doing work for anyone who could afford their services. Their last paid work under that title was during Hastings, when Balder paid a hefty price not only for their services, but to make them permanent chieftains under his rule and command. The introduction to their Vættirtols was like gold bullion ten times over for them, only stacking on the amount Balder could muster to solidify their loyalty.
The near extermination of their entire family line started on 23 November, 1002, during an event known as the St Brice's Day massacre. When raids from the Danes became too much for the then King of England Æthelred the Unready to control, he used that holy day to prove his authority over the Viking invaders and settlers under The Danelaw. Their mother was pregnant with Ingrid during that time, and narrowly avoided her death at the cost of her entire family and many others who allowed her to escape and avoid the horrid bloodshed by a thin hair.
Fleeing, she eventually reestablished herself in York before she died giving birth to Ylva, leaving a now 15 year old Ingrid alone to care for and raise her sister after the massacre. In a world of torment and astonishing loss, the two would eventually be discovered by Balder, who hired them to participate in The Battle of Hastings, through which he assured that vengeance against the English who wronged them could be achieved. After that fateful day, they quickly took initiative to prove themselves further, and became war chieftains of their own division of Úlfheðnar.
They were well aged by the time Primus met them, yet due to their astounding prowess and constant conditioning during the following conquest of most of England, they were young in body and spirit; they were children at heart, making their stories easy for the rest of the clan to properly respect and digest with empathy. Truly, they were the best of the best when it came to warfare, further proving that if your heart was in the right place, and could build the competence and tenacious discipline, anyone could become a damned fine warrior if they applied themselves.
Birger Christiansen was quite the astute warrior, an improviser who specialized purely with defensive tactics. Shield wall formations were tight and unwavering under his command; holding tactical positions despite the worst offensive assaults imaginable was his ideal perk of understanding. When it came to holding small numbers of Úlfheðnar against thousands of foemen, he could hold firm and had a streak of losing not a single one of his own men under his leadership going back decades.
Master of shields and thinning attackers as they dared to try and break the foothold, Birger made a name for himself as the sole defender of the Balderklan. He would pass these tactics down to the Úlfheðnar-in-training, especially his eldest son Gabe, who in turn, in secret, would do the same to his younger siblings. It truly made sense to Primus, as it explained where Gabe's stubbornness was adopted from. Always so proud and equally irritating during training, Gabe was in a position to gloat as much as Primus could, though the difference between them was their levels of humility and good sportsmanship.
Primus hated to gloat, while Gabe got off on it beyond reason.
While he and his family did adopt Christianity as their new religion, it didn't really make a difference when it came to loyalty toward the Balderklan. If anything, it helped them understand the English people's ideologies, which came in handy when it came to finding common ground during the merge of Scandinavian people into the newly conquered land on a cultural spectrum.
When it came to religious beliefs, Balder knew that a diverse community was more ideal compared to that of a single belief system, and thus didn't tend to force anyone to stick to one. From his travels to the far east and the introduction to the open minded Crittermen belief systems, he knew there was no one gracious path to Enlightenment; each religion had their own approach that could reach it in a single lifetime and thus, diversity was worth the petty bickering and preaching from all sides.
"They're the best of the best, my son." Continued Manning, "You will gain more insight during this conflict than six months of training could ever offer you. Be proud of that fact, but only ever express yourself by displaying your newfound understanding through action, not words."
Primus knew that much. "Of course, father. You know me, I'm not good at boasting even if I wanted to be. How will we be preparing for the next six days?"
"Well, to start, you'll be prepping our horse for tomorrow's trip to Bamburgh Castle. From there, we'll go over the game plan, and then you'll be assisting whomever needs an extra hand by any means. Staging, primarily. When we set off, you'll be by my side at all times, or if not me as situations reveal themselves, one of the aforementioned leaders. You are not to participate in active combat in any regard. You are too young to cause serious harm."
"But what if the worst case happens?" Asked Primus, "What if something goes wrong?"
"That's not likely. Contingency plans will involve you hiding, fleeing, or getting behind the line of defense by any means necessary. But, if you merely follow orders and do what we tell you down to the thinnest detail, you'll be perfectly fine."
Primus felt anxious again, but tried not to get locked in his head by asking another question.
"Can I bring Skofnung with us, father?"
Manning scratched his chin as he thought out loud. "The sword I handed down to you? I mean, if you treat it like you treat your Vættirtol and don't lose it, I don't see why not. It may offer us extra morale and help you defend yourself if you happen to need it."
"Oh I won't lose it, I promise." Assured Primus, "All I need to do is sharpen it with this new stone I bought earlier."
Manning nodded, patting his son's shoulder with a firm hand as Primus took it out to show his father with a grin. "It's been awhile since that sword has seen any conflict. I'm sure you'll be able to hear the voices of my trusted fallen brethren once or twice, begging you to strike something. Pay them no mind, unless the scenario demands it."
Primus felt like he gathered all he needed to for now, and so he stood up to go meet the others inside. Before he opened the door, Manning spoke out, which halted him dead in his tracks.
"Oh, and next time you let your brothers use those tools, try to be a little quieter. You children kept me distracted from my thoughts for quite some time."
Primus gulped down his dread. "You uh, heard us?"
Manning chuckled to himself. "So long as your mother doesn't find out, as far as I'm concerned, you needn't fret. I know you have their safety in mind, but you know how she can be. Tend to the horse after we eat, I'll be inside soon."