Several days later, and the day of the battle is upon us. I never understood why battles are fought this way in olden times, but I guess it had something to do with dick measuring contests between arrogant and prideful generals.
Or maybe It was the only real way to make things fair? 'Let's pick out an open field and whoever has the best army wins' type beat.
The walk to the field was shorter than I imagined. And when we arrived, I realized just how badly this villiage needs us here. The T'onser Clan had amassed roughly 290 individuals, but somehow this random bandit tribe had amassed over double that by the looks of it, and were rather well equipped. They even have a dedicated group of archers, while ours are scattered about haphazardly.
"Brother, im afraid I were weren't here the T'onser clan would certainly lose." I whisper to Thor, who nods at my statement in agreement.
"But luckily they have us. Now, let us fight till the last man!" He said excitedly, and I can certainly see why he is a God of war. My brother craves battle like no other.
"Indeed! Let us revel in their screams of misery!" I yell out, and the T'onser clan surrounding us yells out with me in agreement. After our battle cry, the Chief rides out in front of us on the only battle horse the villiage has and inspects us while yelling words of encouragement to rile us up. Honestly, I've always thought battles like this were dumb wastes of human lives, but I guess it makes sense why they happen.
Humans have their pride after all.
"Chargeee!" Chief T'onser yells out and i immediately feel the blood pumping as Thor and I run out ahead of the rest into battle.
That's when I realized...
I've never killed a human before.
Thor doesnt seem to notice my hesitance, by the Chief does.
"Kill first, think later! This is a war, Verdandi! You cannot afford to hesitate!" He yells out just as the first volley of arrows from the attacking bandits is fired, and that's when I notice I am sorely lacking a shield to defend myself. Or an arm to block arrows.
Not that it matters as I activate my foresight and dodge the arrows with some effort. However, I cant seem to dodge them all and one eventually strikes me in the left shoulder. However, the arrow simply bounces off my skin as it makes contact.
"Right... bulletproof." I comment to myself as I charge forward without worry of arrows. The second i come into contact with the enemy Vanguard I simply swing my sword and cut a man in two. The sight is horrific, and the blood splatters all over me, but a charging man with a sword stops me from staring- my survival instinct coursing through me as I lob off his head in a swift motion. The sight almost makes me puke, but for the next few moments, I dont have time to puke as I engage several enemies at once. For the next ten minutes of battle, I can think of nothing but survival as I cut down enemy after enemy. It must've been over 50, because by the time I realized the battle was over i looked around me and noticed the Carnage trailing behind me. I could clearly see the path I had carved through the enemy ranks, as well as the comrades who died after trying to capitalize on my success. Each face i recognized. Each face burned into my retina like a curse. Not a single one managed to hit me, but my heart suddenly began to pound and my chest began to heave. Safe to say I was freaking out at the sight of the men I had called, body parts sliced off, guts spilled and heads cut clean off.
My lunch made its way to the battlefield to add to the horror of battle.
My brother was soon at my side, clutching my shoulders as I began to cry in horror at what I'd done. They weren't Asgardian, but they were still people. Probably with families and children and mothers and fathers. With futures. With pasts. People trying to make the best of the present for those around them.
I had decimated them. They couldn't even fight back, and that was really the worst part for me.
I felt like I cheated. They couldn't harm me, not with a thousand of them, yet I could kill them without hesitation. Without effort really. So this is what Odin means when he says we're not to interfere in mortal affairs. The most he ever does is give them the equivalent of good luck through the Odinforce. The Battle is still up to the people.
"It gets easier brother." Thor says, and I can tell that he's trying to comfort me, or give me peace of mind, but snap at him nonetheless.
"I dont want it to get easier! Why did I agree to take part in this?! Fuck! All those people I killed... they might as well have stood still and watched as I gutted them like livestock!"
"I know." His stern tone stopped me in my rant, "but think about this: if we weren't here, the people who pray to me, OUR PEOPLE, would've been slaughtered without remorse. Their wives raped and children slaughtered. Lands taken without effort. Yet because of our efforts, those people lived. We won with minimal casualties."
"I... I guess you have a point..." I say as I look down at the earth in remorse,"Will I ever forget their faces?"
"...Never. Not according to Father at least." Well, I guess that's just something I'll have to live with then.
"Thabk you Brother." I say quietly, pulling him into a manly hug.
"Always." He returns the gesture with love.
-
Fucking arrows.
37 men didnt survive. Fairly low numbers considering the disadvantage we had in numbers.
15 were killed in the melee.
3 were trampled.
14 didnt survive the initial volley of arrows.
Of those 14... one of them was the Chief. I hadn't even seen him fall. He took an arrow to the face. He must not have seen It coming.
The funeral for the fallen warriors was extravagant, yet peaceful. Everyone pitched in to build and decorate the Graves of the fallen with flowers and their weapons. Especially the new villiage Chief, Jori T'onser.
I walked over to Jori who was sitting in front of the funeral pyre built over his father's body, and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Borr was a great man. He had the greatest of respect from the entire villiage, and even from God's. I will ask the my father secure his place in Valhalla. It's the least I can do. I'm sure Thor will do the same."
He turned towards me, gave me a pained smile, and held out his hand for me to take, "I cannot possibly ask for more, Verdan. You and Thor have done our villiage a great service. Tell me... I've given thought to honoring my father, the man who pioneered this villiage, by naming it after him. What do you think of Tønsberg?" He asks, and I feel my breath hitch at the name. The same villiage that the frost giants attack, and the same villiage that guards the Tesseract by request of Odin.
"A fine name indeed!" Thor says from behind me, walking uo and clapping a strong hand on Jori's shoulder. I nod in agreement, and Jori smiles a hopeful smile.
"I know he'll love it. My people, please listen up! Today is a sad day... a day of great victory, yes, but a day of great loss as well. However let us not forget the sacrifices of our brethren, who fought and died so that this villiage... Tønsberg villiage, can live on forever! Now, let us mourn no longer, and celebrate the lives of the fallen soldiers so that they may live on in Valhalla happily! To Tønsberg!"
"ToTønsberg!" The villiage yells out in celebration as the pyres are lit and music begins to play.
"He's got quite the knack for speeches. Reminds me of someone..." I say, thinning of How Steve Rogers is famous for just coming up with speeches on the spot. Who knows, maybe Steve is a great descendant of Jori. That'd be funny.
"Who?" Thor asks me, and I give him a sly grin.
"You'll meet him... given time."
-
Later that night, both Thor and I sat by the Funeral Pyres and bowed our heads in prayer towards the heavens.
"Allfather Odin, we humbly bid you allow those who died in battle into the halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live forever, and we shall not mourn but rejoice, for they have died the glorious death." We said together in almost perfect sync, and when I opened my eyes I spotted Mugin and Ugin perched on the funeral pyres in front of us, as golden dust began to rise from the smoldering ashes in a beautiful display.