AuthorShawnWilson

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 34 - Goodbye and Hello

“You’re all seriously going to leave, aren’t you?”

Reinn nodded.  

“Son, you, Einar, and Osvif have your rooms reserved for a month.  By then, you three should be set up with a warband.  I don’t expect to see you more than once or twice this next year.  After you all have risen through their ranks and new warrior program, perhaps you can stop by for a few weeks.  Until then, this is goodbye.”

Magnus saw that Guat almost looked shoc...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 33 - A Champion

The path to the dueling fields was lined with people wishing each and every one of the nineteen finalists their congratulations.  Trampled flowers lined the streets, and people showered them with even more flowers.  Guards stood every so often to remind the people to stay behind the marked white lines.

Somehow, amid the throng that pressed against each other, no one stepped over, knowing that doing so would end badly.

“They’re going crazy,” Guat shouted over the di...

Ultimate Level 1 - 185 - The First Boss Floor in the Tower

“You look like I wore you out all night,” Tanila teased as they rode back in a carriage to the Faction property.  “I hope this works out how you think it will.”

Nodding, Max fought back a yawn that tried to make itself known and winked at Tanila. “I could see it in their eyes.  The opportunity is too great for them to pass up.  You and I both know they will hope in time that they can convince Joshua to join the faction.  For now, having someon...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 32 - Spoils of Not Dying

“Einar?”

Blinking his eyes a few more times, Magnus saw that Arngrim was sitting next to him on a chair, and he was in a small room lying on a bed.

“I guess I didn’t die,” Magnus said as he stretched his neck.  “How long have I been here?”

“One day.  They gave you something to help you sleep and heal.  You lost a lot of blood.”

Slowly flexing every part of his body, it only took a few seconds to realize he felt great and that nothing hu...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 31 - The Fight Everyone Wants

Teit and Reinn had changed up the way people could approach Magnus, creating a small barricade with two permanent guards at the edge of it.  The booth he always sat in had been a decision he made from a lifetime of never leaving his back exposed.  Now even his sides and fronts were guarded.

Everyone who came to congratulate him gave Magnus a token of their appreciation for winning again. Each understood that they would be limited in how close they could get after news traveled...

Ultimate Level 1 - 184 - Joshua

“What’s in it for you besides our goodwill and gear down the road?” Tom asked. “I mean, you seem to think we need to give you more than we already do.”

Everett held up his hand, storing the clipboard and moving to the stone counter where the two other men were standing.  

“Wait, I’m curious,” Everett said, his eyes focused intently on Max.  “You’re telling me that you might have access to a homeless epic crafter?”

“Is that a problem?”...

Ultimate Level 1 - 183 - Tanking Like a Boss

Fowl rushed toward the giant skeleton, and when he got within twenty-five yards, the creature roared and came running at him.  Its massive red feet shook the ground as it raced toward Fowl, kicking up clouds of dirt.

It swung both swords in a combo attack, and Fowl blocked and parried them as they came from both sides. 

Max had watched, wondering what kind of damage it might cause. Other than the roar the skeleton let out as their weapons collided, Fowl was still in full...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 30 - Always Stop When Told

Five remained, and the announcer had done his job, whipping the people in the seats into a frenzy.  Each boy moved as one, walking in a line to where a jar rested on a stone pedestal.  Bior was there, wearing an outfit that made Magnus think of kings.  Leather armor with gold and silver runes covered the seams, reminding him of what Odin had had.  A massive cloak of green fabric that looked expensive based on the forest green color had more runes stitched along the edges.&...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 29 - Danger Everywhere

“Had I known you needed this kind of protection, I would have asked my shield sisters to walk with us,” Avitue said, winking at Magnus.

Chuckling, he nodded and motioned to the eight warriors who were hired to escort the pair of them as they walked along the streets of Kopanes.  

Already, the guards had pushed away a few dozen, but after one Viking that had been a little too drunk and didn’t heed their warnings suffered a broken arm, no one else pushed close.

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 28 - Proving His Worth

“That was foolish, and you know it!”

Magnus nodded and did his best to look remorseful as Thora berated him again.  

“If you had died—”

“He wouldn’t have,” Valgard said, cutting her off again. “He is no longer our child.  He is a warrior, and death is always a possibility.  Do not dishonor what our son has done today.  Einar defeated another without lifting a hand.”

Thora snorted and groaned, wagging her finger at Valgard an...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 27 - The Ultimate Challenge

“What? Who would—” Magnus stopped his line of questioning and immediately looked at where Jarl Unnulf and his son Skardi were standing.  “You can’t be serious?”

Nodding, Arngrim motioned to where Hrein was standing nearby.  

“Jarl Bior sent word just a little bit ago to Reinn.  Word has spread through the city that anyone who attempted such a thing would find that the penalty would result in deaths over and over until they were so weak, a hoe migh...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 26 - Rumors

The crowd was roaring as the two teens moved toward each other.  The stone walls almost seemed to vibrate from the shouting and stomping.

It took all his training to keep his heart from racing.

This is insane!

Magnus and Arnor each shifted toward each other slowly, neither taking a real step, choosing to move with caution and keeping their center of gravity and the ability to react versus closing the distance.

Those icy blue eyes peering out over the edge...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 25 - A Rage That Consumes

No one bothered Magnus as he sat in the corner of the booth, the look on his face keeping even Reinn and the others who knew what it meant.  Guat had sat down, trying to talk, but when he read the rage in the look Magnus had shown, the boy left, joining the others who sat quietly.

“He’ll recover.”

Blinking, Magnus turned and saw Thorketil standing there, his eyes puffy from an obvious amount of crying.

“What?” 

“I said Osvif will recover. Hragnelf...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 24 - A Rival Gained

After all the fights were over, the Berserkers’ Den was bursting at the seams. Rumors swirled about the three teens from Reinn’s village, and others were coming to find out what was different about them.

“I feel like a caged boar,” Guat complained as the three of them were seated at the corner table.  “Look at them out there, talking with everyone like they are the ones who made us who we are.”

“Well, they did train us,” Osvif replied, winking at Magnus, who s...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 23 - Showing Off

Magnus couldn’t help but appreciate the lesson he was learning from all these fights.

Seventy-plus matches today were scheduled, and over a fourth of them had been won by someone using a trick or underhanded moment. The fighting this year had already surprised many; the young warriors were pulling out all the stops and not waiting for later rounds to use their secrets or tricks. Day three was too important, and as the level of competition appeared stronger, no one could afford to hold...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 22 - Doing What You Must to Win

“That is a dangerous game you played today,” Reinn informed Magnus as the group sat in the corner of the Berserkers’ Den, celebrating the three wins for the young boys.  “Do not be too cocky of your own skill.  One false move, one slip, anything can end your chance of earning a rune and catching the jarl’s attention.”

Bobbing his head, Magnus knew why his Lendmann was sharing the Wisdom, but there was not going to be an easier opportunity to earn money than right n...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 21 - First Fights

All along the stone wall of the dueling fields, young men and women stood shoulder to shoulder while waiting for Bior Glandursson to speak.

The deafening roar of the crowd had made it impossible in the last twenty seconds to hear anything, and even the horns that had blown were drowned out.

Finally, everything went mostly silent after a third sounding of the horns.

Torches had been driven into the dirt floor, creating a wide circle of light.  All over the seats, lantern...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 20 - Kopanes

Magnus looked at the city of Kopanes from the docks and wondered how something so massive could survive. 

There had been so many fields that they passed as the shallow boats had carried them upstream.  He and the other men had taken turns using the long poles to propel it ahead during the past two days.

“It’s impressive,” Valgard said.  “It’s been so long since I have been here.”

The shouting of guards and dock workers telling people to move and ge...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 19 - Unlocking Everything

Lying on the table, the pain that Magnus felt was nothing compared to what it had been when Odin had put the first rune into his body.  The taste of blood and metal was in his mouth again, and it felt like his whole back was on fire.  

The same glow he had seen when Valgard got his rune now illuminated the room once more. The golden light and a crackle of electricity fought to overwhelm Magnus’s senses, yet he ignored all the pain, feeling power beginning to seep into h...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 18 - Celebration

“Happy Birth Day,” Thora said as she kissed Magnus on the forehead.  She patted the braids she had just finished putting in his hair, admiring the handiwork.  “You remind me so much of him.”

Magnus smiled and nodded, seeing the water welling around her blue eyes as she sniffed and turned, moving back toward the area she cooked in the house.

“Ready for the celebration?” Valgard asked.  “From what I understand, Reinn is going to give you an axe today.”...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 17 - A Trap Set

Slowly, Magnus backed up, knowing the path he needed to take to avoid the trap they had created.  Falling in while panicking wouldn’t do anything but get him killed.  Not that he was afraid of it, knowing he had a rune, yet the idea of being torn apart by these beasts did little to help alleviate that fear.

Growls and snarls came as saliva dripped from the wolves’ open mouths.  They didn’t pause, continuing their movements toward him, each step closing the distance....

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 16 - Everyone Partakes in the Pain

Magnus smiled as he watched the Lendmann drop the metal weight, sweat running down his bare chest.  Each of the older warriors’ tattoos was on display, and for a man of his size and age, Magnus knew there was a difference not just in the physical strength but in the power that came from those runes.

“What is the name of this program you’re making everyone do?” Reinn asked between breaths. 

Shrugging, Magnus smiled at the winded man.

“Brennor and Hrein bot...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 15 - A Journey of Growth and Pain

“I’m not certain I can keep this up,” Osvif managed to get out between breaths.

Nodding, Magnus took a few more deep breaths and ignored the sweat running down his entire body.  

Both of them had been training for the last month each night, and the exhaustion had finally started to let up.  Training six days a week with just one day off had been brutal, but with a lifetime of working out and knowing how to train, Magnus had developed a program to get their bod...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 14 - An Ally From Odin

The look of anticipation of hearing what Magnus was going to say was gone.  Arngrim scowled and wagged the finger at him again.

“Because if you don’t, boy, I will tell everyone that the troll was your fault! Then what kind of hero would you be after they learn two children died because of you?!”

Shaking his head from side to side, Magnus shrugged.

“I wonder how they would feel knowing that you can sense people’s rune slots and that you have runes on you. ...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 13 - A Strange Man

Magnus looked at the cart of goods they were taking home with them.  A single mule led by one of Reinn's thralls seemed content to plod along the dirt path.  

Thora walked between Magnus and Valgard, an arm encircling an arm on each of them.

Silence beyond the sound of cartwheels turning and the occasional braying of the mule had been their companion as they walked for the last hour, content to feel like things were finally getting better for them all.

“So�...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 12 - A Beating Due

Magnus stood there quietly as Hrein ignored the protest of his wife and daughter, asking him to leave the boy alone.

A space around them had opened up as others saw the way the man glared at the teen boy they knew as Einar.  A lanky brown-haired boy wasn’t backing down from a man who most believed would snap the kid in a single blow.

“So… Brennor tells me that what I heard was not true. That you used my axe without permission.”

Unable to keep a straight face any...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 11 - The Cost of Death

Magnus found himself a sweaty mess from all the games he had been playing, trying to downplay the attention everyone had been giving him. 

Guat had seen him once and glared, but Magnus had said nothing, a simple nod of acknowledgment, and went on.  He had ideas on how to possibly try and win the boy over to his side, but if he proved impossible, learning how to make Guat submit within the Viking culture was the next step.

An area in the open space that filled the city wa...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 10 - Kroppr

The last rays of sunlight flowed down the path from the road toward their house.

“Tomorrow, I expect the two of you at the Longhouse,” Reinn said as Magnus and Valgard started to walk away.  “I owe a debt, and I will not allow it to hang over me long.”

Nodding once, Valgard turned and put an arm around Magnus’s shoulder, leading him toward the house.

“I mean what I said earlier. I’ll teach you to fight.”

Clearing his throat, Magnus nodded as he fel...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 9 - A Warrior Appears

The troll turned to face Reinn, who had managed to spear the creature in the gut on its side, sinking two-thirds of the blade into the less hardened flesh.  

Valgard’s axe swung at the hand that was coming toward Brennor.  

Unlike the others, Magnus didn’t want to announce his presence.  He didn’t want the troll to know he was there.

Planting his feet and leading with his hips, the axe came down and around as he twisted his whole body. &nb...

Battle Through the Nine Realms - Chapter 8 - A Foe Like No Other

A little over an hour of running ended with a sight no one had wanted to find.  

One of the farms used to have a handful of animals.  The pen that had held them was gone. Blood and bits of flesh, and a large pile of crap, was all that remained.  Worse yet was the footprint Magnus finally got to see.

It was three feet long and about a foot wide, letting him figure out for himself just how large the thing must be.

“We’re fools for being out here,” one...