The siege of Sargoth goes as planned. But one battle outside the city walls, is enough to make our protagonist lose his mind… And to inflict a great loss for the Nords too…

The Trap

It was late at night. We had learnt from a source inside the city of Sargoth, that the Vaegirs were sending with boats 2.000 men at Sargoth, with many supplies, that could give them a huge moral boost and maybe extend our siege even more. We were running out of time, and if we were going to march against Rivacheg anytime soon, we needed to crush our enemies with full might.

Our scout reports were saying that Boyar Meriga and Boyar Valishin, with the help of the Swadian quartermaster of the Crown, Count Stamar, were arriving in order to help the defenders of Sargoth. Because the ships were arriving from Rivacheg, they would come from the east. So, we prepared an ambush. We put oil on the sea and waited with flammable arrows.

And then I saw them. The bastards expected that we were to ambush them from the east, so they arranged a small fleet to arrive from the west.

“Where did they come from?” growled Jarl Olaf, who stood by my side.

I looked through my spyglass, in order to see who the leader of the ships was. The flags were Swadian. And the one who was leading them Despin himself.

“What are we going to do?” asked Myra, that arrived at the spot just then.

“We split up! Olaf keep the right flank and I will greet Despin at the west coast, close to the city”.

“What if the archers spot you?” asked Olaf.

“I intent to go for the kill. Take down their commander and the Swadians will disperse. And if they start to shoot us, I will withdraw to you. After all it’s dark and it will be impossible for them to spot us”.

The battle

Soon, hell let loose. The sea went ablaze from the flank of where Myra and Olaf were. Many ships were rapidly engulfed in flames and screams of the soldiers and the smell of burned flesh filled the air. But the Vaegirs did not back down. Soon they were on landing on the beach, fighting with my men. The city of Sargoth was sleeping, no bells were rung, and no one cried out at the battlements.

My personal guard and I, moved silently to the point where Despin was about to land. But of course, Despin expected this move. Realistically speaking, I did not expect to catch him off guard. He landed at another spot, away from me and marched. Soon we clashed. I was killing many of the Swadians. I was trying to get to Despin, but this seemed impossible, as I could not keep track of his whereabouts in the chaos of the battle.  Suddenly, as I was distracted, an enemy soldier managed to bash me with his shield and send me to the ground. Before I could even raise my shield, he went on to pierce through me with his spear, but a sword pierced his neck.

“We really need a honeymoon after all that” said Myra smiling, while offering me her hand.

I took it and stood up. At that moment, the bells of Sargoth rung, which meant that soon we would be under missile fire.

“Retreat now! Get away from the walls!” I shouted, as the soldiers upon the walls were releasing a volley against us.

Everyone got out of range in time. All but one…

Loss

“Myra! Watch out!” I shouted, but it was too late.

I saw her fall, with an arrow pierced throw her heart. I threw my sword to the bowman, which pierced his skull, killing him immediately. Then, I run to her and picked her to my arms.

“I’m here! Stay with me, Myra, please!” I kept saying but she didn’t listen to me.

She was already gone.

My soldiers formed a circle around me, under the command of Jarl Olaf, who had arrived there.

“Get Tharon and the queen out of here!” he shouted, while a rain of arrows were coming our way.

But I did not listen. I held my beautiful wife at my hands, unable to believe that, in a matter of seconds, she was lost. Jarl Olaf just as an arrow landed right beside me, threw his shield down and grabbed me by the arm with force.

“Listen here! The queen is gone, and there is nothing you can do about it! If you want this war to end, then stay here and die! But if you want to glorify our nation, get your ass out of here!”.

I snapped back to reality. I looked at Olaf’s face. He was like a demon, with mud and blood all over his face. With the help of a few soldiers, I managed to escape to the safety of the camp. With Olaf now in charge of the soldiers, the battle carried on. As soon as I arrived at the royal tent, I laid down the fragile body of Myra. The soldiers in there could not believe it. Immediately, physicians tended to her wounds, but I knew that their efforts were in vain. Myra was dead. I hid my face inside my hands. And I cried.    

The Funeral and the Pain of Loss

The battle lasted until the first light of the day. Nobody won. Both sides had many losses, and we were almost surrounded by the enemy reinforcements that came in the aid of their fellow soldiers. But Jarl Gundur with some other lords, that were back at the camp, managed to repel the enemy onslaught. Although we managed to inflict more casualties to them, they had managed the biggest and most painful blow. They had managed to kill our queen.

In my fury, at the crack of dawn, I ordered the decapitation of all the Vaegir officials that we had under custody. The execution took place just under the walls, for all the Vaegirs to know that this was the fate that was coming for them. Around the hours of the afternoon, after the queen had been placed at the middle of our camp, in order for everyone to mourn her, as it was the custom, according to the Nords. Then, some soldiers of the royal guard took the coffin on their shoulders and moved towards the sea, as the army was following them in total silence.

They put her on a small boat, which had been decorated with some flowers, but also with shields, spears and swords. After all, Myra was a warrior-queen. We bid farewell to the late queen and let her flow in the river. One of the archers took aim and shot a flammable arrow. Soon the queen was engulfed in flames.

This was the first time in my life, that I felt nothing. I did not want revenge. I wanted blood. A sacrifice of all the Vaegir kingdom. The world seemed empty now. And the people that did this to us, would pay the price. For real this time.