The Hunt
The wind blew especially cold that morning as Bjørn a young half elf and his father, Halvur, a human of the Storm Clan walked through the winter woods together.
The sun was just beginning to rise onto the forest as they trudged through the freshly fallen snow, bits of ice that hung from trees began to gleam as the light became increasingly prominent. As they drew farther from their camp, the smell of a campfire faded, and fresh pine filled the air.
Bjørn had worn his warmest clothes for their hunt. His pants made of thick gray cloth wrapped with various animal furs, his shirt a thick black tunic patterned with small diamond shapes sewn into the stitching; while atop his shoulders was a white wolfs fur.
Halvur dressed in similar clothing, however draped across his shoulders was the hide of a brown grizzly bear.
As they continued down their path Bjørn asked his father “When will my brothers join us for a hunt again?” Halvur quickly replied “I told you son; they are off on a raid with our tribe, we need to stay behind to provide for the clan.” “I understand father,” said Bjørn, “I just don’t understand why our family must be separated while others remain together.” The woods fell silent again as the pair stopped moving and Bjørn's words hung like their cold breath in the morning air. Halvur thought for a moment before looking at his child and saying, “We both know why things must be this way and I am sorry that you and your brothers must pay for my mistakes, but this way they can protect each other, and I can protect you.” Halvur began to walk forward once again and Bjørn began to follow two steps behind.
Halvur was a father to four young men, Cjørn, Bjørn, Hjørn, and Pjørn, Unbeknownst to his clan, Bjørn was born from a non Ulfen woman, Tilda, a wood elf. As honorable as Halvur was, he could not deny he had not truly known love until he met Tilda. Once Halvur’s adultery was discovered his family was outcast and shamed by the chieftain of the tribe. While the five men were still being utilized in combat, Halvur was often left to fight beside Bjørn who was unprotected and left on his own during battles. They loved, cared, and protected each other keeping their family whole had become their primary focus.
As time passed and the sun grew higher in the sky Bjørn felt he should acknowledge his fathers last statement, “I’m sorry for speaking out of line father, I just meant to say I miss how things used to be” Halvur drew a deep breath and replied, “I do too, son.” Bjørn looked at the ground beneath him feeling the weight of his father’s guilt, suddenly Halvur’s hand reached under the boy’s chin slowly lifting it up until he was looking into the face of his father. Halvur’s brown beard with hints of gray near his mouth and cheeks that smiled at Bjørn, his eyes as blue as the sea that said its all going to be okay. “Let us not focus on what has been but let us prepare for what will be” Halvur said to his son pulling him into a hug which Bjørn could not escape even if he wanted to, “I’ve got you” he whispered quietly to the young half elf. “Now let’s find what’s been scaring off our dinner”
Bjørn who had not been paying enough attention to his surroundings during their hike noticed that he had not seen or heard any animals this entire time. “What do you think it is father?” asked Bjørn, who was a bit embarrassed to even ask given how long they had been walking at this point. “I’m not quite sure son” Halvur admitted “whatever it is, was big enough to have left claw marks above us, and the trail we have been following” Bjørn looked up immediately noticing the massive gashes left in the trees above him, he had never seen markings so big or so high up before. Mangled branches and shredded trunks were now quite prevalent. He then looked down to what he thought was the long and manufactured path they had been following, it was wide and rounded on either side, like no trail he had walked before it seemed to wind in and out every twenty yards. Halvur had heard stories of these sorts of trails before but had never seen or believed such rumors. Not knowing what to expect next he felt it right to prepare his son.
“We’re getting close” Halvur warned “Draw your weapons now and be ready to run when I tell you” Bjørn listened to his father pulling both axes from the loops on his belt. Halvur drew his long sword and readied his shield. As the two warriors approached what looked to be a clearing Halvur signaled for them to halt their approach. The Ulfen father of four scanned the area slowly looking over each hill of snow in front of him until finally he saw it.
There in the distance, what looked to be hills of snow seemed to be moving, breathing. Halvur quietly whispered to his son “You need to warn the clan, I will protect you for as long as I can, but you need to move quickly” Bjørn looked puzzled, he was still trying to see what his father saw “Father I don’t see-” then he finally did. Two blue glowing eyes fixed on his own about one hundred yards away. “Father, it sees me” Bjørn whispered, his voice shaking “Then you must run even faster” his father exclaimed before charging in to draw the beasts attention.
The Icy blue eyes that had been staring into Bjørns very soul suddenly raised up into the air and changed their target to the Ulfen Warrior now drawing nearer to it. This creature was one out of stories Bjørn had heard as a young child, its snake-like white body coiling up as chunks of ice and snow fell from its dragon-like head. This was an Ice Linnorm, and it had been waiting for them.
The creature reared its massive head and suddenly let forth an icy breath directly towards Halvur, luckily the seasoned warrior knew what to expect and was able to react quickly narrowly avoiding the blast. Bjørn watched his father charging nearer to the creature, unable to look away from what he was witnessing.
As Halvur finally came into striking distance of the creature he was able to swing a mighty strike with his longsword slashing across the creature’s thick skin and raising his shield before the creature could launch another attack. However, closing the distance would come at a cost. The dragon made two powerful attempts to bite at the warrior who was so bold as to strike at its scales. Halvur was able to block the first attack, even using his shield to bash the creature’s snout, the second attack however threw him thirty feet back causing him to fall prone. As Halvur stood back up he looked back to where his son still stood staring in awe. “GO NOW CLEAR THE VILLAGE” Halvur called out to Bjørn as he looked back toward his target, he realized it had already gotten in front of him. Immediately Halvur unleashed four mighty blows onto the Linnorm causing it to screech out in pain and anguish the first and second attack fully pierced the creatures hide causing sprays of thick red blood to soak the Ulfen man. The third and fourth strikes landed into the now open wound strung across the beast’s body. For a moment Halvur thought he may save his son and village, finally a chance to redeem himself and bring his family back into the clan that had once embraced them. That moment would be short lived.
The snake-like dragon began to uncoil its body feeling the long gaping wounds on its flesh, it let out another long roar before beginning to wrap around Halvur. The coils of this massive being, now circling the warrior, began to close around him. As Halvur tried desperately to escape the creatures grasp he continued striking but was unable to land a strong enough hit to do any more damage. He started to feel the pressure of the icy scales against his back as this gargantuan monster was slowly squeezing him.
As the coils lifted him into the air pulling him closer towards the mouth of this evil creature, he looked for his son but could no longer see him. Halvur could now feel the frigid air coming from the beast’s nostrils, the smell the death on its breath was strong as its jaws opened wide to swallow him. Halvur had now accepted his fate, his only thoughts now were if he gave his son enough time to escape. As he closed his eyes and felt the darkness begin to overtake him, he could not help but ask for aid from his deity Gorum.
The thunderous battle cry of a warrior echoed for but a moment over the valley. Suddenly and without warning the dragon let out a deafening screech as it threw Halvur’s body towards the tree line. He struggled to get back to his feet, but when he looked toward the dragon to see what had caused it to forsake his life. There hanging onto the beast was his son Bjørn hacking and slashing away at the monstrous face that had moments ago been his grave. One of the axes Bjørn had thrust into the creatures left eye as the other axe violently slashed at its nose. Each strike rang true, and blood began to pour from the creature’s face as its body writhed in pain. With one quick swipe of its claws the dragon has sent Bjørn flying back to his father, tumbling, and rolling through the bloody snow until his body stopped at the feet of his father. Halvur helped his son up, quickly passing the boy his own axe. Bjørn stumbled for a moment, being much weaker than his father at the time, could not withstand such ferocious attacks. His father caught him by the arm “I’ve got you” he said firmly to his son, “you go high, and I’ll go low.” Bjørn nodded and smiled standing up straight. Both warriors turned to face the dragon who had just recently spotted them through its only reliable eye.
Both Halvur and Bjørn running at full speed toward the threat in front of them were able to avoid the icy breath weapon the dragon had unleashed. Halvur slid into place at the base of the creature’s body as Bjørn nimbly hopped and jumped from coil to coil drawing nearer to the beast’s head. Halvur’s sword began to smoke and suddenly ignite as the Ulfen warrior whispered an incantation under his breath. This drew the Linnorms focus, forcing Halvur to act. Quickly striking the thick scales of the dragon each blow hissing and popping as the creatures hide gave way to the burning weapons might. It was not enough though, before he knew it the creature had struck him with a claw attack knocking the weapon out of Halvur’s hands. As the beast reared its head wasting no time it lunged for the man, mouth open wide ready to bite and swallow. Then a bright flash of lightning appeared above the dragon, time seemed to stand still at that moment as the world became deafly quiet.
Above the dragon’s head was a dark silhouetted figure clutching two axes both raised above his head, the figures angry eyes were glowing a bright shade of blue. Then it dawned on him, this was Bjørn. His son had tapped into something deep within himself, something Halvur had never seen. Then time resumed.
A clap of thunder so loud it was as if the gods were beating hammers on anvils. A thick fog of smoke cleared and standing on the severed head of the Ice Linnorm was Bjørn, breathing heavy and eyes still glowing. As he stepped down towards his father off the fallen dragon’s head Bjørn could not contain his excitement, “Father did you see that?!” the boy exclaimed as his eyes faded back to their natural human state. Halvur who had not moved stared at the head of the dead Linnorm “what did you do” he spoke quietly not as if asking a question, but in disbelief of what he had seen. Bjørn still beaming from his victory “I killed a Linnorm father! I don’t know what came over me I saw you in danger and just felt this burning hot rage come over me and I-” Halvur grabbed his son by the arm and pointed toward the corpse “Bjørn do you know what this means?” he spoke with anger that Bjørn could not understand. Timidly, Bjørn replied “I didn’t mean to father it just happened” He looked into his father’s eyes with confusion “If I had run as, you wanted then you would be dead, and that thing would be coming to eat our entire village. I saved us, I saved everyone!” Bjørn’s voice grew louder as his frustration grew “That is not how our Chieftain will view it” Halvur said sharply as he held his sons gaze, “He will now see you as a threat. Killing a creature such as this gives you a direct authority to challenge him” his tone was harsh, but Bjørn understood why.
His father had tried for so long to maintain peace and a place for his sons in the Storm Clan. “You will not take credit for this kill.” Halvur said firmly “We will tell them it was me who struck the final blow. Do you understand?” Halvur asked not breaking eye contact with his son. Bjørn feeling the severity of what he had done simply replied “I understand Father”
“Good” said Halvur, “Then let’s get back, your brothers will be back in two days, and we have a lot of hunting to catch up on.” Bjørn did not move with his father at first, he felt the weight of this new burden crushing him. He stared at the bloody snow and ice at his feet the taste of iron in his mouth was strong and the smell of singed flesh around him was palpable. Yet he felt frozen in place. Then his fathers calloused hand once more raised the young warriors face back to eye level “Don’t worry, I’ve got you” his father said once again smiling. The two warriors began to march back through the snow towards their camp each with a new story they could never tell.