Ivar the Boneless, the brutally intelligent leader of the Danes in Irland, was growing older. He could not hold his kingdom forever. Eventually, he would have to depart for Valhalla. As a young man in battle, he had longed for that fate. He did not tell any that now he wished only to remain on his earthly throne, if only to protect his family. His many children and grandchildren were close to his battered heart. Especially the curious and quiet boy that sat in patient thought across from him at the fine game board set of hnefatafl. The pieces were made of ivory and rich, black wood.
Sigtryggr was the only one of his cousins that sat with his grandfather. He was mocked by the other boys for being half Dane, his mother was a woman of Irland. With no siblings to join his side, the lonely child took the bullying with his head bowed. Inevitably, the bully would eventually be punished by quiet means that only Ivar noticed. Sigtryggr was subtle and strategic in his vengeance even in childhood and his grandfather became bent on nurturing those qualities.
He did not want his prized grandson, the true child of his legacy, to lose his focus to mindless bloodshed. No matter how powerful he could become someday, Ivar wanted Sigtryggr to learn that ego came second to the goal. Mindless rage was poison. The only thing that mattered on earth was the advancement of their people, the safety and prosperity of those they loved. War was a means to end for those things, not the reason for being.
Sigtryggr listened well to his grandfather. Ivar was the only person he loved on earth. Not even his father, foolish and drunk, constantly raiding the surrounding Christian villages in Irland and gaining their hatred. It would never end well. The father soon grew jealous of his only son.
After Ivar died, Sigtryggr was strong enough with his sword and wise enough to lead his people as his grandfather had always planned. When failure came, it was swift and from within. Sigtryggr left his burning settlement and sailed from the island of his birth, he brought with him two things. Bitterness towards his father in his heart and a piece of the talf game that had once belonged to Ivar.
The game was far from over.
YOU ARE READING
Communion of Darkness & Light » Sigtryggr || The Last Kingdom
FanfictionAelfwynn's father is infamous. Once a great jarl of the Danes, Guthrum took up the Christian cross and allowed himself to be baptized into their strange faith. In return, he was given land and power. But his children carry the weight of his former l...
