Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

"Yes, Sander. This time I will stay here to protect the city and the Clan. Until a few days ago, the idea of this suicide mission seemed like incredible bullshit to me, but you... you have always believed in it and I intend to respect your honor and ideas" she said, stroking the big bearded man, who reciprocated her smile.

"So I get that we're already 4 Masters, right?" Dag exclaimed, ready to organize the rest of the expedition.

"Yes, we are. Who do you think will come with us?" Kjell asked.

"I'm going to ask Egill, the wise Master of Healing of my Clan. I'm sure he or Dargeon, despite their advanced age, will be happy to follow us" he replied, already imagining the scene.

"Oh, I know Master Egill... you know, he and I are almost the same age and we trained together in Jernhest when we were just two insolent, self-filled kids... eheh... the good old days…" Sander chuckled, confessing that he already knew Egill and leaving Dag surprised, who didn't believe they could be the same age.

Sander's robust constitution and lack of white hair or beard gave him a much younger look than Egill, whose back continued to bend over time. 

"What about the troops? I don't think Skjegg has 40 soldiers willing to take part in such a dangerous mission and risk not seeing their families again" Gridd said, who tried not to focus too much on the Masters issue.

"Well, other warriors could come from our Clans... if we gathered 12 soldiers from the Hammers Of Thor and 12 more from the Sons Of Freya, there would only need 16 more" Dag said, looking up at the ceiling and trying not to make any miscalculations.

"We won't have any trouble finding 16 volunteer warriors here in Skjegg" Ellen confirmed, smiling at Dag and reassuring him. 

The conversation continued for a few hours and the Sun set, until preparations for the great celebratory feast in the city square ended and Dag, Sander, and everyone else headed to Altar of the Raven Square, happy to announce the details of their next mission to anyone who'll listen. 

After arriving, as the evening began to envelop the sky and some men lit the hundreds of torches hanged along the walls of the square and on the large wooden tables arranged in its center, the citizens of Skjegg began to arrive numerously.

Men, women, and children of all ages sat around the long tables, each of which was already laden with drinks and dishes of all kinds, foreshadowing the good news to everyone.

"Citizens of Skjegg!" Sander shouted, rising from his chair, which like those of the other Masters looked like a wooden throne.

In the square, after a few seconds, silence swooped.

"We have another good reason to celebrate tonight!" 

People began to mutter something, giggling, but listening intently to the announcement.

"After fighting and winning two difficult battles, also thanks to the valuable help of our new allies, we have traced the origins of the latest attacks that hit the southern coasts of Runar... as you've probably heard, they weren't normal enemies... they were Jotunns" Sander continued, uttering that word as if it were cursed and making those who were not yet aware of it be amazed.

"Jotunns? The Jotunns of Jotunheim?!" 

"Are they mad?!" 

"Everyone knows they're just an ancient legend, we've never seen one before!" 

The crowd began to agitate slightly, not realizing if Sander was talking seriously.

He raised his arms upwards and before proceeding, he brought back the order in the square.

"It was difficult for us too to believe it until we saw those monstrous beings with our own eyes, and with the courage that characterized our soldiers for hundreds of years, we rejected them, killing them one after the other mercilessly!" he shouted again, get all the people excited, who began to celebrate the victory screaming.

Dag, listening to his companion's speech, could not help but remember with sadness Sivert, who died right next to the table on which they were celebrating.

"After putting this important decision to the vote, we have decreed, by mutual agreement with the other Iron Alliance Masters, that in a few weeks, we will set off on the greatest mission that Skjold has ever seen: we will face the Great Deep Sea and land on the shores of Krypstorm, the perennial ice Nation!" the Master of Defense continued, attracting the attention of all the people present in the square, that hung from his lips.

"After hundreds of years of neutrality with the evil Clans of the far north, this peace has been destroyed! We cannot just wait and hope that no more attacks will occur, and for this reason, we have decided to beat our enemies on time, leaving them no possibilities to kill other innocents!" 

The crowd could no longer hold back and began to scream: some people rose from the tables and began to squirm and look around, galvanizing their fellow citizens, after hearing the strong words of their oldest Master, a symbol of the strength of their reference Clan.

Dag also stood up and placed a hand on Sander's shoulder, which although he had not yet finished the speech, willingly passed him the word.

When people in the square saw that Dag was about to speak, they again made silence, but less than before, not having the same respect for the young Master as they had for Sander, Kjell and Ellen.

"I am very pleased with your enthusiasm! As Warchief of the Iron Alliance, I am happy that my precious friends and allies have accepted the proposal to travel to Krypstorm, putting everything at risk for the sheer desire to discover the unknown. But I would like you to see this situation from a different point of view... this mission will not be aimed at genocide or unjustified massacres, during which we will raze entire villages and break innocent lives... this would trigger a war that we might not even be able to win".