Tyranny of Steel

1 The Afterlife Part I

It had been over a month since Berengar had entered the next life. And during this time, he and Brynhildr had been focused on one thing, and one thing only. Survival. There was a lot that a man like Berengar could do in a month if he had the resources and team to accomplish the goal.

But now that he was all alone, with nothing but a valkyrie to keep him company, and with no civilization to speak of. The once mighty Kaiser of the German Empire was forced to start from scratch.

Because of this, Berengar had built a raised lean to shelter, where he and Brynhildr had slept for the past two weeks. And during this time, Brynhildr would scavenge, while Berengar would hunt for food. Luckily for him, this world seemed to be a perfectly balanced paradise, that was filled with an abundance of food, and fresh water that was not the slightest bit polluted.

Thus, neither Berengar nor Brynhildr needed to focus on purifying water for survival. Instead, they simply drank from the river, and hunted much of the wildlife for food. Berengar had fashioned a longbow from a single yew log, with a Flemish bowstring made from plant fibers. This, along with flint arrows, allowed him to expertly hunt down a large, wild boar. Which he brought back to their camp.

Once butchered and cooked over the fire, which Brynhildr maintained nearly every hour of the day, it would provide more than enough calories for the day. That Berengar would use to work in their shelter.

The Lean to was not enough for long-term survival, and Berengar had no idea when the winter would come in this world, or if it ever would. Thus, he had wanted to build a proper, long house before such a possibility prevented itself.

Of course, Berengar was working solely with stone tools of his own making. Thus, it was a slow effort to chop down the trees, and clear the space necessary for a longhouse to exist. Which was exactly what he was doing at this very moment. '

Soon enough, Brynhildr arrived with a wineskin fashioned from goat leather. It was filled with water, which Brynhildr handed to her man with a wide smile on her face, while asking about how the new home was coming along.

"So how much longer will it be before the land is cleared?"

Berengar simply scoffed after taking a deep gulp from the wineskin, where he then handed it back to Brynhildr before making a comment about the whole thing.

"By the end of the day, I should have enough space cleared for the longhouse, but we will also have to think about a small sustainable farm, a place to put domesticated livestock, once we have manged to accomplish this, as well as a smoke shack so we can properly preserve our food.

So may be in about three days' time, I will have the land cleared for all of that as well. Not to mention we will have to build a smith, so I can make some iron tools. Because these fucking stones are worthless! Gods, I miss steel!"

Brynhildr could not help but giggle at her man's remarks. He had been working so hard to get this longhouse up and running, now that they did not have to worry as much about basic needs. And yet there was very little she could do to help in this regard, because she constantly needed to maintain the fire.

All she could really do was scavenge the plentiful forests nearby for berries and fruits. But she could only do so for a limited amount of time, and could never stray too far from camp. Thus, she truly felt bad for making Berengar do all of this work. Yet, despite the fact that he appeared to be exhausted. Berengar seemed to be happier than he had been in a very long time. He was finally able to be useful again.

Even if it meant starting from scratch, Berengar finally had something to do. Something meaningful. And he could not be happier. After all, he had to prepare for his wives and children, many of which would soon be joining him in this paradise. And thus, he needed all of what he had just listed to Brynhildr, and even more if he wanted to provide for his loved ones when they finally joined him.

With this in mind, Brynhildr was simply happy that her man was happy, and was quick to comment on this.

"Well, I trust you will have the longhouse built in another month. As for the other things, they will come on time. For now, we simply need to take things slow, and conserve our energy..."

Berengar couldn't help but agree with Brynhildr as he finished chopping down the tree. Which fell over in the opposite direction of the two of them. Once it had done so, he called out to the mature beauty to hand him his shovel, which he had fashioned from stone, wood, and plant fibres.

"Brynhildr, be a doll and hand me that shovel, will you?"

Brynhildr did not hesitate to assist the man, as he stuck the shovel into the ground, and began to pry the stump out of the ground from its roots. Only a man with the superhuman strength and endurance that Berengar had inherited from the starry well of the world tree, and the mystical pool in Iceland would so easily be able to remove a stump.

Berengar would continue on this effort, until the night began to fall, which he and his woman then retired back to the camp, to feast on some freshly cooked pork, along with some vegetables and fruits scavenged from the forest.

---

While Berengar was working tirelessly to build a home from scratch in the afterlife. His wives, lovers, and children were all rather depressed. Though they all knew the man was in a better place, a month had passed since the patriarch of their dynasty had passed away. The Funeral that was held for Berengar was the grandest that anyone could possibly imagine.

To honor Berengar as the Great Kaiser who had built the German Empire from nothing. The German Army Corps of Engineers quickly got to work building a grand mausoleum in Kufstein that was designed to be the man's final resting place.

The work was on the scale of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and was located in the center of the Kufstein Military Cemetary. Berengar's corpse had been laid in a solid gold sarcophagus, which was carved to resemble his youthful appearance, back when the man was in his early twenties.

The coffin was painted with enamel to match Berengar's appearance, as he appeared in life. With two solid blue sapphires in the eye sockets. Every day, his wives and lovers would visit the tomb to speak to their loved one who they missed dearly. Perhaps none more so than Henrietta, who struggled to find a reason to continue living without her beloved big brother.

Even now, as night fell, Henrietta stood silently, gazing upon her brother's corpse with a solemn expression. She had been standing still for hours, not saying a word to anyone. And this was mostly how she spent her days silently communicating with the deceased, hoping he would give her some words of wisdom that she might be able to live by now that he was gone from this world.

Eventually it was Adela who came forth to collect the girl. They had always been close in life, almost as if they were truly sisters, even if they were cousins by blood. And yet Adela could not help but mourn beside the girl as she gazed upon Berengar's casket with a look of sorrow on her aging face.

"He really was handsome, wasn't he?..."

Henrietta silently nodded her head, not wanting to say a word. Because if she did, she did not know if she would be able to prevent herself from crying. After a dreadfully long silence that lasted longer than either of the two women knew, Henrietta finally spoke of her thoughts.

"Soon, big brother and I will be reunited... I don't know how much longer I "Soon, big brother and I will be reunited... I don't know how much longer I will be able to live without him..."

Adela could sense something dark in her cousin's tone, and thus she looked over at the woman before asking the question that worried her the most.

"Henrietta... You aren't thinking of...."

Luckily, Henrietta shook her head with a bitter smile on her face. It was clear that she had contemplated ending her life multiple times throughout this past month. Hell, perhaps she had thought about it multiple times every day since Berengar passed away. Which was ultimately confirmed by her words.

"Berengar would never forgive me if I took my own life... But I can tell that my time is coming... It may be a month, or it may be a year, but I know in my heart I will be the first to reunite with Big Brother, I was the first he saw when he came into this world, and I will be the first he sees after he has entered the next...."

Adela was at a loss for words over what her cousin had said and simply beckoned her to return to their home. Which they had lived in for most of their lives.

"Come, Henrietta, let us return to the palace. Dinner should be ready soon, and Hans will be worried if we are out for too long...."

Thus, Adela grabbed hold of Henrietta's dainty hand and led her back to the car, which had been waiting for hours to take the two women home.