489 Ingmar of Red Axe, Saxon Beserker (NPC) - The death of my father whilst helping Octa and Eosa in the North
Our king Ælle of Sussex sent me, my father Aron of Red Axe and some of our men to help King Octa in the north against the Cymric's; we travelled up on one of the ships brought from home to replace those burned by the King Uthers men 2 years ago.
Because the Cymric king Uther unexpectedly managed to resolve his differences with his follower in Cornwall he had a much larger army in the north than we expected,this meant that King Octa did not seek a large battle but simply ordered smaller raids against the duke of Lindsey’s holdings instead.
It was on one of these raids that we saw approaching along a road a group of knights. At the centre was the leader of the group flanked by 2 companions, one obviously a Christian because of the cross upon his shield and the other with a horse upon a green background, all were very dandyish dressed (my how shinny and new their armour looked!).
As we lined up ready to receive their charge (as we were not perching cowardly on horse back as they were) we saw the faces of the 3 knights at the centre contort with rage, out of the corner of my eye I could see that my father was likewise impassioned, later I found that my father had been in a duel of honour when the knight with the horse on his shield had seriously impinged his honour by involving himself as a third party!
As they charged I worked myself into the berserker rage taught to me and prepared to take the blow from the Christian with the cross on his shield and prayed for the strength of Wotan to strike him back! After what seems to have been an age the knight was on me and I felt him strike me with his sword, it was much stronger than I though possible from such a foppish creature and I knew that I was slipping into the darkness and that I would only have one chance for revenge, as my Great Axe bit deeply into him I saw him slump in his saddle as I too fell into the darkness.
As I was no longer awake I can only recount second hand the rest of the combat. After a short skirmish both sides withdrew in good order each side taking their injured (including myself) and dead our side with one of their number as a captive (a young knight follower of the leader of the party). I was seriously injured and it was only a number of days later when I realised that my father had not yet visited my sickbed, I was then told how my father after fighting fiercely had finally fell to the sword of the knight with the horse on his shield and that now I was the leader of our family.
In many ways it had been a disappointing trip to the north, my father dead, no real battle and York had been recaptured by the forces of Uther, however we had captured a knight for ourselves which should have yielded a handsome ransom and my father had certainly died with his axe in hand (even if only during a raid) against a seemingly worthy opponent (from interrogation of our captive I found that the killer of my father was called Sir Gorvannon, the Christian knight was Sir Evan and the leader of the group Sir Dalan).
Because the Cymric king Uther unexpectedly managed to resolve his differences with his follower in Cornwall he had a much larger army in the north than we expected,this meant that King Octa did not seek a large battle but simply ordered smaller raids against the duke of Lindsey’s holdings instead.
It was on one of these raids that we saw approaching along a road a group of knights. At the centre was the leader of the group flanked by 2 companions, one obviously a Christian because of the cross upon his shield and the other with a horse upon a green background, all were very dandyish dressed (my how shinny and new their armour looked!).
As we lined up ready to receive their charge (as we were not perching cowardly on horse back as they were) we saw the faces of the 3 knights at the centre contort with rage, out of the corner of my eye I could see that my father was likewise impassioned, later I found that my father had been in a duel of honour when the knight with the horse on his shield had seriously impinged his honour by involving himself as a third party!
As they charged I worked myself into the berserker rage taught to me and prepared to take the blow from the Christian with the cross on his shield and prayed for the strength of Wotan to strike him back! After what seems to have been an age the knight was on me and I felt him strike me with his sword, it was much stronger than I though possible from such a foppish creature and I knew that I was slipping into the darkness and that I would only have one chance for revenge, as my Great Axe bit deeply into him I saw him slump in his saddle as I too fell into the darkness.
As I was no longer awake I can only recount second hand the rest of the combat. After a short skirmish both sides withdrew in good order each side taking their injured (including myself) and dead our side with one of their number as a captive (a young knight follower of the leader of the party). I was seriously injured and it was only a number of days later when I realised that my father had not yet visited my sickbed, I was then told how my father after fighting fiercely had finally fell to the sword of the knight with the horse on his shield and that now I was the leader of our family.
In many ways it had been a disappointing trip to the north, my father dead, no real battle and York had been recaptured by the forces of Uther, however we had captured a knight for ourselves which should have yielded a handsome ransom and my father had certainly died with his axe in hand (even if only during a raid) against a seemingly worthy opponent (from interrogation of our captive I found that the killer of my father was called Sir Gorvannon, the Christian knight was Sir Evan and the leader of the group Sir Dalan).
posted by Anonymous | 11:18 pm
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