The long night drenched in blood and calamity finally came to an end, and the morning sun rays welcomed a new day that everyone hoped would be a lot different.
Hagen was at work, the gate had been lifted, and the repair was ongoing because there was no way they could defend Vesfold if the gate were down, and the second gate allowed them to go in and out while work on this gate continued.
They chose to rest rather than party and celebrate as they were wary of the night, but the moment morning came, they marched to the throne room of Asmund for all to see.
It was a statement that Vestfold had a new ruler and was not Signy. They all looked like shit, and every able man that could walk was instructed to escort Askild because there were sure to be a few leftover warriors.
The murmurs of the citizens could be heard; they whispered and whined, the fear in their eyes visible. Erik liked the smell of fear as he noticed that Vestfold's women had excellent waists for breeding; a perverse look crept up on the brute's face as he knew he would have fun in this kingdom.
Tyr walked side by side with Bjorn, but neither spoke a word to one other; the awkward silence was all they could write home about.
Asger, who had been passive much of the fight, had fought bravely and the fact that he was still alive showed that he pulled his own weight.
He was no fool, he noticed the rift between Bjorn and Tyr. He knew that Ragnar was also knowledgeable, but they were kids; kids always fought and made up, so this was nothing new. But Asger could not help but feel this stemmed from something more profound.
No one in the crowd dared speak because the last thing they needed was to be used as a scapegoat for their new rulers, but the reason they were so scared was revealed, what was left of Asmund's head after the explosion was strapped to Erik's back.
It took little to no time until they were in the throne room of Asmund, and Askild heaved a loud sigh because the war was finally over; they had fought for this moment for more than a month.
There, they met an older man in his 80s, seated on one of the chairs in this room as the setup differed from the one in Kattegat.
"You have arrived." The older man said. He looked like he was on the verge of death but this was no surprise considering his advanced age.
"Who are you?" Askild questioned but Birger took over the conversation the moment he saw the man. He rushed forward and grabbed him by the hand.
"You… I do not know you…" The man said, feeling the palm of Birger, and Askild realized at this moment that he was blind.
"Birger, I believe our alliance ends here…" Askild blurted out and coincidentally, his helmet cracked further, it was barely holding up but it held up just fine for now.
"You are too hasty, don't you think you have more important things to worry about?" Birger said, returning his attention to the older man.
Asger was doing a tremendous job of hiding his raging anger toward the man who killed his pregnant wife.
"This man here is known simply as Ga; he is the one that will see if you are worthy of being king, and only after he approves will the people accept you," Birger explained their current situation and the moment he touched his hand was to see if he was worthy of being king.
"Is he a seer?" Askild asked, but Birger shook his head to put this question to rest.
"Askild, step forward. He is calling for you…" Birger said despite no one hearing him say a thing.
Askild took a step, but Birger gestured for him to stop.
"Unarmed…" Birger stated. Asger was reluctant and suspected Birger had something sneaky planned, but Askild was alright with this as Birger himself was unarmed.
He gave his weapon to Asger as he walked down to the strange older man.
"Stretch out your palm," Birger instructed, to which Askild complied, and he felt the wrinkly fingers of the man caressing his palm.
Askild thought this was nonsense, but he wanted to give it a go as he found it amusing that this man thought he could decide on a king just by reading his palm.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "Well, are you going to give me the crown now?" This was rhetorical, and the man's fingers stopped moving.
"You… You are no king, but among you exists a true king…." The older man said, and this particular phrase triggered something in Askild; these were the words of Xenophanes when he was younger, prompting him to yank his hand out of the man's grasp.
He was uneasy, and Birger noticed this; everyone heard what the man had said. He had just stated that a king was among them and said Askild was unworthy.
"Do you think anyone believes your antics?" Askild asked, but he saw the looming shadow of someone standing behind him; there was only one person this big.
"Erik, what do you think you are doing?" Askild asked, Erik was interested in hearing what the man had to say, and it was not up to Askild to make this decision because it did not matter who ruled; they were all sworn to Askild.
"King Askild, I want to know…." Erik blurted out. Askild had given Erik a special privilege thanks to their special relationship. Askild knew he had nothing to lose and allowed Erik his moment.
One by one, everyone began stepping forward to have their palm read. It would have been a pointless ceremony if this man did not explicitly state that there was a king among them.
It reached the turn of Tyr, but the man did something he had not done with anyone else.
He touched Tyr's face before revealing a toothless smile and saying.
"You should not exist," This was as cryptic as they come; Tyr raised a brow before muttering.
"Weiro…" The only person that understood what this man had just said was Ragnar.
The man suddenly looked in Ragnar's direction; he was blind, so there was no way he could see him; hence he perceived him some other way.
"You… Come," The elderly man called out to Ragnar, who initially had no intention of stepping forward before, but the man had explicitly called him forth.
He read the palm of Ragnar, and a calming smile creased his already wrinkled face.
"You... You are the one.." The older man said, and everyone had a surprised look plastered across their faces, everyone but Askild.
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