You don't
have to be technical about it,
but through no fault of mine that's just how I am.
ETA: Just decided to post the next chapter, since I'm now done with my last exam. Yayness!
I've skimmed over it a couple times, but any errors/typoes left I will now blame on me being exhausted from my exam today.
Title: Wolves of the Sea
Author: Still Waters T a.k.a. Livvy
e-mail: livvy_82@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and UPN own Buffy the Vampire Slayer in totality. Joss Whedon and the WB own Angel: the Series. No profit is made from this fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.
Feedback: Yes please!
Feedback would be greatly appreciated. Tell me whatever I’ve done wrong, or possibly right, if that is the case.
Pairings: W/T, X/A, B/L
Rating: R?
Summary: Willow “the Red” Haraldsdóttir is a Norse chieftain’s daughter, and thus a powerful Viking. Tara is the youngest daughter of an Irish High King in Lough Neagh, and a healer. What happens when the Vikings come to raid the Northern parts of Ireland, and the two of them happen to cross paths?
Note # 1: The name “Haraldsdóttir” is Old Norse and means “Haraldsdaughter.”
Note # 2: finn-gall (Irish) = fair foreigners -- > Norse Vikings
Note # 3: Vikings have been looked upon as barbarians, but in truth, times were brutal back then. Vikings weren’t the worst of people. Yeah, they had raids where they plundered, stole, and took slaves among other things, but they weren’t barbarians. They were actually pretty sophisticated. E.g. free women had a far better position in Viking societies, than in Christian societies. Women could divorce their husbands (in many cases they could control their husbands by threatening with divorce); they ran the household; and they weren’t sexually repressed as they seemed to become when Christianity arrived.
But back to the raids: Before the Vikings first arrived in Ireland, the Irish themselves were well practised in the art of raiding the territories of their rivals. The Vikings merely added to the intensity of this well-established practice. Many monasteries were attacked repeatedly but recovered quickly and usually continued to flourish.
Warning: Violence, murder, and mayhem.
(Thoughts are in Italics)
(
Spoken Old Norse is in blue) < -- This is easier since I don't actually speak Old Norse
and I have a few other things that take up a bit of my time (even though I technically have summer vacation as of this afternoon).
Chapter 1:
The sun was barely peeking up from the outer rims of the ocean. The sound of a monk’s monotonous singing could be heard from Bangor monastery’s holy church. The sound spilled out, passing the protective walls surrounding the monastery.
Alarm bells coming from the watchtower shattered the peaceful morning, followed by scared shouts of Vikings. “The finn-galls are coming! Norsemen! God save us from the Norsemen!”
Within seconds the monastery was in chaos. Monks came tumbling out from the church, and started running around panicked, not knowing what to do or where to go. People in the village surrounding the monastery armed themselves. Wives said goodbye to their husbands, and mothers said goodbye to their sons.
A handful of monks had the good sense to run to the bell tower, frantically climbing up the rope ladder and hide there, while a few chosen monks trained in fighting picked up their fighting staffs. Unfortunately, the majority of the monks were still running around like headless chicken, heedless of the 9 black “dragon ships” that shot up onto the beach and settled there.
There were well over 300 vikings altogether on the ships. Eager to raid the vulnerable monastery they howled fiercely and jumped out of the ships and sprinted in large disorganized groups up the beach. However, they encountered the armed villagers before anything else. The Norsemen slowed down to a stop, took aim, and threw their spears into the crowd of villagers running toward them. Muffled screams of pain could be heard, and soon the clanging of swords.
The villagers made a valiant attempt to protect their village, but they had to fall back under the overwhelming pressure of Norsemen baring down on them.
The berserkers flew at anyone within range. They were as wild bears; putting the fear of god into anyone who saw them in action.
The first Norseman to enter the monastery encountered a monk on his knees holding a crucifix, praying to his god to save them all from the heathens. However, he was immediately struck down with a blow to the head from an axe. Dying instantaneously he was spared the horror of seeing an old monk get shot by a single arrow to the chest. He didn’t see another aging monk on his knees offering gold plates to a Norseman; only to have the Norseman slice open his gut. With a look of astonishment, the old monk dropped the gold and tried to hold his stomach together with his hands to prevent his innards from tumbling onto the ground. Blood seeped out from between his fingers, and he slowly sank to the ground.
From inside the bell tower the monks in hiding looked on in fascinated horror. They prayed for the people down there fighting for their lives, while being grateful they were out of harm’s way.
Brother Jonathan noticed two female Norsewomen making their way onto the holy grounds. Something niggled in the back of his mind; a memory. He had heard a rumour of a Norsewoman, with hair the color of flames, and with the ability to strike down her enemies with lightning. He had heard tell from travellers that she was a daughter of the Norse god Thor.
He didn’t know what to believe, but seeing her down there fighting her way to the church, he felt compelled to believe the stories. She had surely come here to punish them all for their sins.
“What are they doing with that?” The question brought Brother Jonathan out of his reverie, and wetted his curiosity.
Crawling over to the small group of monks at the entrance of the bell tower, he leaned over them and looked down below. Some Norsemen had their arms full of wood and pieces of bogpeat.
Brother Jonathan felt a strange feeling of dread when he saw the men below spread the wood around the bell tower with the bogpeat. “Dear Lord in heaven....” Turning to his fellow brethren, he continued: “They want to burn us out!”
* * * * *
Willow the Red was at the front of her ship. Her ship was in the middle of the ship formation, along with her brother William’s. Her father had given it to her for her 20th birthday. She had proven her worth as a Viking, so he had rewarded her a ship with 40 Vikings to man it and be part of her team during raids. Her Viking team had only increased in quantity since she got her ship.
All the Vikings were split up in teams, with different purposes. They were more efficient that way. Some teams looked for gold, others for food, fur, amber, or future slaves. Every Viking had its purpose, even the ones who had to look after the ships and load the loot onto them, while the rest had the fun.
She had grown up by the sea, so the sea was part of who she was. With the wind whipping her hair about, and feeling the waves carry the ship ever forward to its destination, she would close her eyes and just soak it in. This was where she was the happiest – out on the sea.
Though being a Viking was like a double edged sword, she still loved it. The travelling, the different cultures and the spoils of the raids. When she was younger, the thrills of it all was enough, but not really anymore.
Viking ships were one of the lightest and fastest on the seas, and they had perfected the art of sneaking up on unsuspecting villages and monasteries. Because sound travelled well over water, they all kept quiet, even the berserkers. There was nothing to be heard, except for the oars hitting the water, driving the longboats forward faster.
She looked over at the group of berserkers on her ship. They had no armour, but wore bearskins. They were chewing on their shields – they were so eager to attack the monastery. Berserkers were different from the average Viking. They were feared even among their own family and friends, because they could turn on their own at any time. But when it came to battles, you wanted them on your side.
Faith stood at the ready next to Willow, tapping her foot impatiently. She never could learn to be patient.
And Xander...he looked nervous enough to bite his own shield like the berserkers. She had known him most of her life, and she knew his skills in battle were enviable, but he lacked a certain amount of confidence in himself, even with his years of experience. It kept him from becoming arrogant like a lot of Vikings with a few years on their hands. He was a good man, and she hoped he’d remain that way.
As the shore was nearing, she placed her
helmet on her head, and checked her armour and weapons. Her mail armour tunic was on, with a reindeer hide beneath for padding and extra protection. Her weapons were at the ready in her belt. Her favorite double-edged long sword with
Damascus steel, “Leg-biter,” was hanging comfortably in its scabbard at her side. Like most Vikings she had runes and other inscriptions on her sword. From a distance the light glinted off the sword, making it look like a serpent.
Swords were particularly important because they were a symbol of good status and wealth. She had two. Damascus steel was stronger than most swords, and hard to get a hold of. But after a particularly good raiding trip, she had gone to the best blacksmith in Hedeby, and bought herself two Damascus
steel swords The sword had cost her an arm and a leg, metaphorically speaking, but it had been worth it.
Hedeby was one of the most important trading cities in Denmark. People from all over the world came there.
Finally the ships slid up on solid land. Any other types of ships would have had to be tied to a docking place, but Viking ships were different; they were more sturdy, faster and lighter than other ships and could easily be moved across land, and thus they had no problems getting them out on the water again. It was one of the reasons why they were so good at catching unsuspecting settlements by surprise, and getting away before anyone had the presence of mind to assemble a defense.
They jumped out alongside hundreds of other Vikings. Everyone ran up the beach in groups to the monastery with their axes and spears at the ready, while other groups spread out and attacked the village. Atting the monastery and the village, the Vikings gave off a blood-curdling roar.
The beach was riddled with bodies they had to step over on their way to the monastery. Mayhem had replaced the idyllic atmosphere of the morning.
It was like taking food from a baby – so easy. Faith would say the monks deserved to be plundered when they were such weaklings; less than men.
Willow agreed that it was like stealing from babies – it was too easy. She had no qualms against killing. In fact it was really easy to kill someone. She just preferred to fight people who actually tried to fight back. It made it more justifiable.
Willow followed Faith who was heading for the church. Inside the holy church they found everything they could possibly wish for in jewelry: jeweled covers of illuminated manuscripts, gold crucifixes and silver chalices. Xander was dragging a small chest after him.
“
For such a small chest, you would think one man would be able to carry it,” he panted.
Faith grinned at him. “
You’d think.”
Roughly patting his shoulder, Willow told him: “
Don’t worry. We’ll find a couple big strong men outside.”
“
Hey! I resent that!” He said, insulted.
Dragging the awfully heavy chest toward the exit, Willow had a thought.
“
Wait! I’ll be right back. You two go and load this onto our ship. I just want to check something.”
“
Sure. Leave us with the heavy chest. We don’t mind,” Xander said sarcastically.
“
Great. Meet you down on the beach.” And she ran off farther into the church.
“
She’s just…leaving us here,” he said exasperatedly.
“
Stop being such a wuss. Let’s get this bitch down to the ship before you expire, you look like you’re going to pop something. Your face is all red.”
“
Yeah, yeah.”
“
You know, you should train more. You’re getting lazy in your old age.” She grinned. “
And I don’t think Anya would object to it.”
The Vikings would also collect scriptures that the monks had intended to burn from i.e the muslim world. They were eager to find new solutions being true entrepeneurs and aquiering new knowledge. In this way they saved what would otherwise be lost (i.e. medical science from the muslims or other things they deemed to be unholy).
The air inside the holy church had been stuffy. Once they got outside the air wasn’t so much fresh, as smoky and smelling of blood, but at least it didn’t smell of the surpressed. The air was so thick with fear they could almost taste it.
A group of Vikings had started a huge fire around the bell tower. Satisfied with their work, they went about setting the rest of the monastery on fire.
Xander just shook his head. “
I don’t get them. What’s the point of torturing the monks to death like that?”
“
I would hate to be a Christian monk now,” Faith grinned.
“
Meek, pious, and celibate?” He looked at her questioningly. “When would you
not have hated it? You can’t even go a day withou-[/color]”
“
Shut up, Xander, and get that thing to the ship.”
Faith and Xander found their ship, and let the ship watchmen load it onto the ship. Not long after, Willow showed up with her arms loaded over with scrolls.
“
Medical scrolls from the Middle East.”
Xander, Faith and Willow made haste to the village. They didn’t want to miss out on all the action there. The monasteries were fun enough, and easy to find treasures in, but there was a lack of action. There was no challenge in it.
Running through narrow walkways in between the houses, they couldn’t storm the village in large groups like normal, but the Vikings before them had already paved way. There was no longer any resourceful defence in place.
Walking swiftly around the village they encountered random armed villagers jumping out at them from dark alleyways and nooks and crannies. Willow flipped one villager over her head with her wooden shield. She just knocked him out with the back of her battle axe before he could jump up. They could use more slaves.
Xander and Faith gave her a wondering look as to why she had left him alive. “
I’ll come back for him. I’m in a need of more strong slaves.”
Xander nudged her shoulder. “
Want to check out that big house up the hill?” Faith was already trotting up to the house, so Willow just nodded, and they both ran after Faith.
The house looked deserted. It was dark, but the light from the doorway showed the furniture had been overturned.
“
Someone’s obviously been here already.” Faith held her palm over the firepit. “The fire’s been extinguished very recently I’d say – it’s still smoldering hot,[/color]” she said quietly.
“
Maybe they’re still here somewhere.” Xander looked around, but it was too dark to see much. Willow walked quietly across the floor, and opened two window panes, letting in the light.
“
Not for long,” Faith said, drawing her dagger. Faith preferred to forego using a shield, and instead keeping both hands armed. Both Willow and Xander preferred using shields, but it wasn’t always advantagious. Without one they could move more easily.
“
Shh,” Willow glided over the floor, listening for any sounds. Faith and Alex followed her lead. They didn’t have her acute sense of hearing, but they were trying none the less. “
Do you hear that?”
“
Hear what Red?” Faith couldn’t distinguish anything beyond the screams and clanging of weapons from the outside.
“
Isolate the sounds from outside, and you’ll hear it – a mewling sound.”
Crouching down, Faith tried to locate the source of it. “
Where is it coming from?”
“
There.” Willow had found the source. Beneath a bed lay a young woman.
Xander bent down and reached in under the bed to drag the woman out, but the woman lashed out at him with a knife. Surprised, Xander hit his head on the underside of the bed and scrambling back he held his bleeding hand. “
Ow! Great googlymoogly, was that really necessary?!”
“
Fiesty little girl,”grinned Faith. “
Good for her!”
“
Well, can you blame her?” Willow said exasperated. She just wanted to be done with this and move on. “
We’re attacking her village, invading her house, and trying to capture her. Wouldn’t you want to strike back?”
“
I know I would. Anyone try to invade my house and attack my family, not even the gods would be able to protect them from me.” Faith looked visibly mad just at the thought of it.
Crouching down to get a good look at the woman, Willow gave her an ultimatum: “Either you come out from under there, or I’ll just kill you where you lie. Understood?”
The woman nodded timidly.
“Good.” Willow stood up.
“
Peachy,” Faith said impatiently.
“Slide the knife out slowly, and come out with your hands visible.” The woman complied with her demands.
Xander secured her quickly, and they left. There wouldn’t be much more to pillage now. And they all prided themselves with leaving as fast as they came. They went looking for the man Willow had knocked unconscious. Xander lifted him onto his shoulder with a grunt, and they proceeded down to the ships and boarded their own.
* * * * *
The attack on the monastery and the interconnected village only took a small amount of time. There was no time to get help from the village beyond the hill in the distance. And before anyone had fully comprehended what had just happened to them, the Vikings had slid their ships out to sea again, and disappeared.
The monastery was left in shambles; bodies scattered around, and blood soaking into the earth. Some Vikings had made a fire at the bottom of the bell tower – effectivly killing and literally cooking the monks inside it. The lucky few who had survived somewhat intact walked around in a daze.
Later on, people came running from the village nearby; ready to help, but too late. The Vikings had come and gone, and taken whatever they wanted. The treasures could be replaced, but not the people. The people would either become Viking slaves or be sold into slavery somewhere in Denmark only to end up God knew where.
The villagers organized the cleaning up of the monastery. Tending to the injured, and collecting the bodies in one place to be buried at a later time. Some had to go down to the beach and drag a few drowned monks up. A couple monks came straggling back to the monastery in the nude. The Vikings had just wanted to have some fun, and humiliate them.
a couple months ago and I figured that if I can join that and be an RPG roleplayer, then I can definately post this and see if anyone likes it or not.
)
Maybe?