The Son Of Ragnar

The bells rang in Kattegat later that evening and everyone gathered, this included Ragnar, Lagertha, and his sons.

The bells only rang when there was something of urgency going on and in this case, it was the public execution of Egil. Ragnar was surprised King Askild kept him alive this long, to begin with, but he assumed that whatever political reasons he kept him for did go through and it was best to do away with him.

This was the first time his sons would see a man die right in front of them and they were looking forward to it.

This was not unusual for children of this era, because death was not perceived as the end of life but rather as the beginning of it. Tyr did not understand all the traditions the Horsemen followed but he knew about the basic ones.

"Egil Iversen, on the orders of King Askild you shall be put to death today and you will not be granted a Viking's death." A man said, with the executioner walking up towards him.

Tyr looked confused as he thought all warriors were granted a Viking's death or they would not be able to see Valhalla and end up in Niflheim. He asked his father and Ragnar took his time to explain to him.

"King Askild is not granting him Valhalla, he does not intend on giving him the honor of dying with dignity or pride. He is condemning his soul to Niflheim so Hel may do as she pleases with it." Ragnar whispered to his inquisitive son.

This was cruel, even for an enemy but it was King Askild's will, and Askild's will was never questioned but the look in Egil's eyes was still far from defeated.

"You think you can deny me Valhalla?" Egil asked, and the crowd began to murmur with the executioner halting in his steps, they were willing to grant him his final words for this was the least they could do for him. They were present in Asger's conquest and had an unspoken respect for Egil. He was a man of honor and it was a shame that he was given such a dishonorable death.

"You think these chains and shackles stop me from seeing the halls of the All-Father!?" Egil shouted as he began flexing in a bid to break the chains but to no avail.

"I will see those of you worthy in Valhalla!" Egil shouted, looking right at Tyr and this sent shivers down his spine. This man, at this moment, became the coolest person Tyr has seen in his life.

He was defiant, even in the face of death but it did not change the outcome as the blade came down to take off his head but a loud clang was heard, it was his chains.

Egil masterfully manipulated the shackles, meant to bind him, into a weapon to block the swing of the sword meant to take off his head. He did so and everyone looked in amazement as he cut down the executioner despite the wound being too shallow to take his life but it did not change the fact that Egil now had his blade in hand.

"That is enough!" Asger said, calling off the execution and no one was opposed to it. Ragnar had never seen such a thing happen before but maybe it was because this order was specific and this was a man with a greater warrior's spirit.

If they killed him at this point, he would have earned Valhalla and this goes directly against the order they were given as such, they could not execute Egil and Asger could be seen with a smile the moment Egil's eyes met his.

In his cell, the day he was informed of his execution. Asger told him this was the only way to escape execution and even if it was a technicality, no one had the guts to risk offending the King and he used that to his advantage but everything relied heavily on the skills of Egil himself as none of his men knew of this and the chances of Egil even pulling this off was relatively slim but Asger trusted in him. This was no way for a warrior to die. The crowd's whispers got louder.

"Odin did not permit this execution..." A lady could be heard saying and the crowds' murmur was centered around the fact that the gods did not approve of his execution and wanted him in the Great Hall. This was how things looked to the common man but there was a far more logical explanation behind it and it definitely was not the will of Odin that kept him alive.

Asger wanted him to die an honorable death. Ragnar suspected this much and confronted Asger after the place had cleared.

"Hey Asger, was this of your doing?" Ragnar said but Asger gave him the stink eye. These two warriors were not on good terms but they had mutual respect for one another. Ragnar was not looking for a response because his silence gave him the answer he needed.

"I guess he must really be favored by the gods. No Viking should face such humiliation, even if he is an enemy." Ragnar said, walking away and this was his way of telling Asger that he supported the actions he took but if he could discern who was responsible so easily, so could King Askild.

But Asger was ready for it, he knew the consequence this action might bring but he took it regardless as he knew it was the right thing to do. King Askild's options were limited because now the crowd saw it as a sign from the gods and any action that might feel like he is going against these gods must be carefully thought out. He might be an iron clad King but he knew what would happen if Kattegat thought he was going against their gods. A civil war is the last thing he needed.

He was not so careless as to try and execute Egil once more, not when it was perceived as the will of the gods but was it truly the will of the gods that he was alive or was it due to his skills?

One thing was certain, things were about to take an interesting turn.