(English!) The Rose and The Bleeding Stag

Chapter 2: Something New

Something New

The eyes of Njall, those of Zygvarr, those of every single human being, man or woman in that damned room were only pointed at me. And that was the right time to speak, to present to all my desires, my ambitions, to let my voice be heard. And I did, I spoke my truth, for once.
"What's the matter, Louis?"
My father frowned, and looked at me with a slightly surprised expression on his face.

I was never, nor had ever been the silent and good one, but I rarely dared to oppose the decisions taken in the assembly: I usually had not much to comment, and at the end of the day I had always accepted without too much reluctance what had been proposed. But it was not the case, this time: I had to give some sort of shape to that dream of mine, and it all depended on me.
"I disagree with going east this year. It's what we always do, what everyone expects from us. But the world is not only the east. Small fishermen villages are not the only thing to pillage."

I looked around... some nodded, some were puzzled. They knew that, at the end of the day, I was right, and I knew that, like me, many of them were tired of the monotony that all this represented, but they would never have the guts to oppose, to try something new.
None of them dared to speak, and so I went on with my speech.
"I had a dream this night... there was a land, a green land and flourishing, that overlooked the sea and whose villages were rich. And..."
I remembered something, something particularly interesting: a huge sweep of flowers that I had never seen, of a bright red colour, as red as blood. But I decided to keep that particular to myself.
"We should find these lands." I gazed up, looking all around me.

There was a general murmur, accompanied by a few laughs of mockery and some sarcastic remarks. "Should we risk everything, based on your dreams, boy? Is that what you're saying?"
Valdemar, Zygvarr father spoke. That man had always been impertinent, and I admit that his son had inherited that quality, although the latter did not lack cunning and intelligence, which certainly did not belong, at least partially, to Valdemar. He had always been jealous of my father social position as a King, as a man and as a husband, and I had been told that, even during their childhood, the competition between the was strong enough to lead to strong arguments and fights. Nothing too serious, of course, but as much as he tried to hide it, we all knew Valdemar wanted to be where my father was. This sort of jealousy, however, did not trouble my father much. He had always tried to keep it clean and safe, and the result of his efforts was me and Zygvarr being eternal friends and companions.

My father turned in my direction, passing his hands on his thick, blonde beard, as he always did when he was lost in his thoughts. Then he spoke:
"Louis, my dear son, what sort of idea is this? For sure the east is not the only place in the world where we could raid, but how do you know where this magical land you're talking about is? And how do you reach it? "

At least, he was taking it into account, and I tried to be as convincing as possible.

"Father, I think it's located in the West. Thor and Odin are in our favour, this could be a sign." I was almost begging him to give me a chance, and I knew this was not what I was used to, but I wanted it, I really wanted it.
"What about you! -I said aloud, addressing the participants in the Assembly- why don't you think about how much wealth could a new expedition bring to us all. It's about new Lands, new worlds, new villages. We could get far, expand, become the Masters of a New world."

I beheld Njall stand up, lifting one arm before speaking:
"I think Louis is telling the truth. It's an opportunity. Why not try it? "
I was thankful to him for his support, and I turned a smile that expressed my deep gratitude for what he was doing. Someone, however, had to dispute. "What have we to lose?! We don't even know where this place is, we don't even know if it exists. If we get lost at sea, or have our ships damaged, it would be a disaster!"

A buzz of consent arose to Kjartan's words: That man was even afraid of his own shadow, and no one was surprised by his intervention.

Zygvarr took the floor, also in my favour: "Yes, it could go wrong. But it could be good, too. Louis has divine dreams, we all know that. It could be a sign of the gods, we might be destined for something great, something that no other clan or people have ever discovered or known! ".

Murmurs, jokes of mockery, some nod of consent: everything arose to his words, until my father stood up, calling everyone to order. "Hush!" He tapped his stick on the wooden floor of the upside on which his seat was placed, and everything subsided. I pointed my blue eyes at him, hoping he would give me a chance to prove to everyone that, in the end, I was right.

A bike of pride pushed in my chest as I waited for him to speak, without saying a word, moving the gaze from him to my two friends.

"The boys might be right, as you too could all be. They are young, they are the men who will take the reins of our world when we are greeted by Odin in Walhalla. They deserve a chance, I believe"

I let a smile come to my face, and a new, bursting fire lighted my eyes, concealing my desire for adventure and my thirst for knowledge. All around, there were protests and abrupt comments, but all were immediately silenced.

"... but! You three will be the only ones to lead the expedition. I will not provide you with any host, anyone who wants to join you, will do it spontaneously, and you will be the one to procure what's necessary: the ships, the weapons, the provisions. You'll have do it yourself, Louis."

I nodded to what seemed like a good compromise, and a good chance to show that, even without the help of the old bones and blood that surrounded us, we could do it. I would have brought up our, my name. And I would have caught that flower as red as blood that I still had before my eyes since the previous night.

"Yes, father."