In which Ylva Sigefridsdottir, also known as Ylva the Dread, had been an earl since she was a young girl, despite having two brothers, following the death of her mad father and power-hungry stepmother.
Hearing of the girl's feared reputation and...
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Freya stood in an empty room with Ylva, wearing a blindfold. She reached her hands outwards, not knowing where anything was. "Why must I wear this? I can't see anything," Freya complained in an aggravated tone.
"You want to be a good fighter?" Ylva asked, walking toward Freya as she spun two staffs in her hand, "You must first always be aware of your surroundings. You must always listen to what is going on around you. It will work in your favor when you are fighting one opponent and can't see the warrior coming for you from behind. You must learn to fight without seeing anything at all. Instead of seeing them, you must trust your instincts and listen. That is how my father taught my brothers and that is how they taught me."
Ylva wasted no time tossing a staff in Freya's direction. The girl scrambled to grab ahold of it, nearly dropping the staff as she did so.
Freya attempted to ready herself, only to cry out as Ylva struck her on the side with her own staff. She tripped Freya, who stumbled to the ground. "Get up," She demanded in a stern tone, "Stand and fight like the warrior you claim to be."
Freya nodded, quick to pull herself off the ground. She moved around, beginning to feel uneasy. "I can't see."
"That's the point," Ylva replied calmly, "It's not my problem."
She swung at Freya again, who cried out as she was struck with the wooden staff. Freya straightened herself back up and wasted no time attempting to swing at Ylva, who avoided her forms of attack at ease.
Ylva drove her staff forward, striking Freya in the belly with it. Freya coughed but forced herself to remain standing as she tried to hit Ylva with the stick.
Once more, Ylva swung at Freya and that time, her staff collided with Freya's face. The young girl cried out, falling forward as she spat up blood.
Despite that, she forced herself to stand back up, and over and over, she tried to strike Ylva with the staff.
Despite the fact that Freya was failing to actually strike her, Ylva looked impressed, seeing as though the girl refused to give up as most would at that point.
After a moment, Ylva swung at Freya twice, causing the girl to be hit in both the leg and the face. She tripped the girl and walked closer to her, smiling slightly. "We'll continue this tomorrow," She informed in a calm tone, causing Freya's eyes to widen as Ylva removed her blindfold.
With that, Ylva walked away, leaving Freya aching and in pain. Sihtric entered the room and Freya turned to him with wide eyes, blood spilling from her mouth and nose.
Sihtric sighed and walked over to Freya, his niece. He knelt in front of her, wasting no time with placing a cloth on her nose. "Forgive her. That is how my father taught my brother, your father, and me how to fight and that is how Erik taught her how to fight. The difference was she began learning at eight years old. It's brutal, but trust me when I say it's efficient. It made us better warriors than most of the men and women around us. It kept my sister alive."
