Hamund stood atop the bloodstained lands, his gaze sweeping across the once thriving village now reduced to ash. The fires that had ravaged it still smoldered, the smoke curling up to meet the darkening sky, like the remnants of a dying world. The kingdom was scorched, the crops burned to blackened husks, and the once-proud fields lay in ruin. The flames reflected in the king’s eyes, but they were not of hope, not of some redemption that had come from this savagery.

  No. These were flames of rage, all the suffering that had brought him here, every unmet sacrifice that forced him to embrace this. His eyes burned with a fire stoked by vengeance, by a thirst for blood that would not be quenched.

  “Royal dogs,” he muttered to himself, the words rasping on his tongue like the last remnants of a fading memory. His soldiers, no, his dogs ravaged through the town as he watched from above. Shadows seen only in the light of the flames burning down houses of anyone who stood to oppose their king. Hamund watched as families were brought to their knees in the streets of his kingdom. Fathers were thrown from their house, naked, begging for their life, crying for mercy from the man who stood upon his perch. The sounds of the whips cracking on the backs of the beggars could be heard clearly from Hamund perch. As the cries of his people echoed in his ears, Hamund’s chest tightened. Part of him, the man who once believed in mercy, in justice, fought to rise above the madness. But with every passing moment, that part of him grew weaker, drowned in bloodshed. The child he had lost seemed to have taken a piece of him with it, leaving behind nothing but the crown–a man of wrath, a monster born of his own creation.

  Once those who were suspected of treason had fainted from the pain, the dogs would cut off their heads leaving the bodies as a stark reminder of what treachery brings. Their heads were collected as trophies by the dogs, placed upon pikes ready to be displayed along the castle walls. Hamund could hear women screaming for help from within the homes, but even those would die down, leaving a cold and vicious silence.

  Ken entered the room, he watched as Hamund stood above the world, flashes of light shooting across the sky as new bloodied cries rang out. Ken approached Hamund slowly, “My lord, can I discuss some matters of great importance with you?”

  Hamund remained silent, simply waving his hand in approval to Ken’s request.

  “I fear, these flames, these hangings, the rapes of the land and people. They may be ill timed, we know that winter's approaches, we can not afford to fight a war on two fronts.”

  “That is exactly why now is the time to kill this rebelion, we can rebuild within the month.” Hamund points down at one of the few makeshift gallows that were setup to display those suspected of leading rebel units. “You will be hard pressed to find people unwilling to comply after tonight. And as an added bonus I now know where the loyalty lies amongst the kingdom.”

  Ken stared at Hamund, this wasn’t the man he had admired before. This was something darker, it was as if a chained animal was let loose upon its captures. “With all due respect, I am not normally one to shy away from violence, but I do fear the toll this will hold on your soul.”

  Hamund paused for a moment, his empty stare piercing the landscape. “I have killed more lives than most people could ever dream of, what's a few more?” Hamund replies, trying to justify his choice.

  “There is a big difference between a fighting force and innocent lives.” Ken remarks as he slowly steps closer to Hamund.

  “Innocent? I seem to recall you being the driving force in our plan for the feast, and now you call them innocent?” Hamund replies as his hands ball into fists.

  Ken pauses for a moment, noticing Hamund balled fists “Within the confined walls of the castle, eye for an eye, this isn't the same.”

  Hamund felt tears rolling down his cheeks “Well they changed the rules when they killed my child.”

  Ken stopped as he realized Hamund could not be reasoned with by sensitive conversation and comforting remarks. “Stop the bullshit, You put her in that room, you knew the risks. Are you going to sulk over what was lost, and kill those you feel may have issues with you? That's not how you work, where is the thought, the plan, any trace of reason?”

  “Where has that gotten me? A son who may not be mine, and a child in the grave. Don’t sit here and tell me I don’t have a right to sulk.” Hamund says as he hears the echoing scream begin to fade.

  Ken felt his excitement rise as he heard about Hamund's situation, to think Thorkell may be kin to someone else.“You’re a leader, you don't have time to sulk over what was lost. I say this with the utmost respect, you told me once that I would be your Fenrir, tell me then, does this not feel like a self fulfilling prophecy.”

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  Hamund remains silent, his cold stance now frozen as he peered down on the chaos. The tension between Hamund and Ken was thick, it was clear Hamund was unwavering in his stance. “I will pay whatever cost, they stole something from me I will never get back.”

  Ken paused for a moment before replying “I know you loved Admadra, but this isn’t what she would want.”

  Hamund broke his gaze over the fire and ash, he thought of the pain she must have gone through as his child was cut from her. “I wish it was that easy, Ken. You told me when we first met, your plan was to find Yggdrasil. Is that still your intention?”

  Ken smiled, it was the first time he had ever seen Hamund armor truly crack. This was the moment he had waited for, without hesitation he stated “Of course, there are so many of our problems that could be remedied by finding it.”

  “Do you think it could bring back what was lost?” Hamund asks in a softened tone.

  “I would venture to guess yes, but I can not speak on the will of the greater powers.” Ken replied, even though he was unsure of what power he was chasing.

  “Give me a month's time, I need time to prepare Thorkell to lead this world. He will have a lot of cleaning up to do after the mess I made.” Hamund says as he closes his eyes trying to fight back the tears.

  Ken simply nodded, he watched as Hamund's eyes flickered behind his eyelids. He knew not to speak, words weren’t what Hamund needed now. Ken quietly departed the room leaving Hamund alone to reflect on the destruction caused by his guard.

  Hamund collapsed onto the floor, his eyes remaining closed as he asked himself “How did we fuck this up?”

  “Well let's start with the obvious part, you took on too much, I did warn you about this.” Hamund heard a familiar voice respond, but was unsure of who it was. “And to treat our son as if he didn’t grow up watching you, what were you thinking?”

  “I did what I had to to protect him.” Hamund muttered as he realized who the voice was talking to him.

  “You did what you had to, to protect yourself. You were so afraid of him not being your son you pushed him away.” The voice responds as Hamund feels a pressure building on his chest.

  “What would you know? I have been the one down here raising him, I never wanted any of this.” Hamund replies as the pressure on his chest begins to feel warmer.

  “Need I remind you, it was your family that arranged our marriage. I was always in love with your brother, you knew that, but still you agreed to the marriage. Maybe if you didn’t have such spite for your brother none of us would be in the situations we are in.” The voice pressed harder, its words were as sharp as knives against Hamund’s skin. It was no longer just a whisper of his broken mind, but a force that gripped around his heart like a serpent. His breath became shallow, and the grow pressure he felt on his chest had become unbearable. His legs weakened, and the tears that he had fought so hard to hold back finally spilled from his eyes.

  “You knew the risks, you could and should have stopped it. But your pride killed her, and now it is killing you too.”

  Hamunds hands trembled at his sides, unable to grasp the magnitude of what was happening inside him. He wanted to scream, to shout at the voice to leave him alone, but he couldn’t. It was as if every word of blame, every ounce of pain, was rooted in truth.

  “I did what was best for my people.” he whispered, his voice breaking. “I needed to protect… our son.” Hamund continued as he peered through the iron bars of his balcony toward the burning village below. He could see the soldiers below still hunting down anyone who dared resist. His dogs, his royal dogs, fed on the chaos that he put on their plate.

  “Protect him? Or protect yourself?” the voice lashed at him again, searing through his thoughts. “You never thought he’d turn out to hate you. You could never see him past your own fears.”

  Hamund struggled to pull himself up gripping onto the cold iron bars and peeling himself from the ground. Hamund deafened the voice long enough to say “Eir, i hope you can hear me, Activate my valkyrie drive.”

  “Where is he now?” the voice asked, cruelly taunting. “What has become of our son?”

  Hamund couldn’t answer. He had caged his son from the world for so long, fearful of who he may have become.

  Hamund peered over the balcony, as he looked down he saw nothing but darkness. The dark shadows felt welcoming in Hamunds mind, anything to avoid the voices that ravaged through his mind. Hamund felt an overwhelming emptiness seep through him as his gaze was fixed on the village below. The smoke still clung to the air like a suffocating blanket.

  As Hamund peered down into the shadows, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of grief roll through him. This time it wasn’t about what had already happened, but it was about choices yet to be made. Hamund climbed onto the edge of the balcony, it appeared as if now he was walking through the abyss of space once again. Hamund's grip began to slip off the balcony rails, the weight of the situation faded for a brief moment as he fell towards the ground below. Hamund remembers moments of bliss, hunting with his son, learning to wield a sword with his father, even his adventures with his brother. Soon those memories faded and were replaced by a few simple words. Words that were meant for only one man, though he would never get to them from him.

  Hamund closed his eyes and within one brief breath he let out his dying words “I am sorry, thorkell. I should have been a better father.”

  Suddenly everything faded, the sounds of fire, the heat, the pain all faded away leaving nothing but emptiness.