33.
33.
Eight thousand five hundred warriors willingly set foot on foreign soil to avenge their father, fighting for glory, and two thousand of them fell.
Of the surviving warriors, two thousand followed Ivar in search of further adventure, and two thousand followed Björn, Halfdan, and myself back home.
The warriors who took a liking to the land of Northumbria wished to stay there and put down roots, and I let them do so.
After all, many minor lords had died in the last war, leaving only their names behind, and there was uncleared land all around. A population of about two thousand could be absorbed without any difficulty.
The territory of Northumbria I had swallowed was vast.
In any case, Ubba and Sigurd, though each had their peculiarities, were not soft men, so they could certainly govern a region.
With Ivar in Dublin right next door, I left Jorvik with relative peace of mind. The fleet of Björn, Halfdan, and myself slowly sailed south along the eastern coast of Britain.
Unlike the time we had ridden up the old Roman roads, the fleet passed the old Lake Kingdom and the land of the marsh people in an instant at great speed, arriving at the coast of East Anglia.
Moving like this firsthand, I felt again that the sea route was truly our lifeline.
As a primal instinct for bigger ships, stronger and faster ships, was just stirring within me, following the signals from the guards who had disembarked first to check for any possible threats, I was at last able to set foot on the soft sandy shore.
"Ugh-cha."
[Chak-]
It was the second time I stepped onto this shore, but many things had changed.
The hill where I had first locked eyes with Edmund's mounted patrol. On that hill overlooking the shore at a glance, there now stood a wooden tower rising high into the sky, and inside it, a man was shouting something, ringing a bell earnestly and gesturing downward.
"Is that a lighthouse?"
It seemed to have a fire-lighting apparatus too. Seeing that a small village had already formed around the tower and on the surrounding hill, it showed great potential to grow as an intermediary point on a trade route connecting Northumbria, East Anglia, Frisia, and Scandinavia.
"I can understand why Sigebryht was itching so much."
This man was going to make a fortune just sitting still.
"Let us go, Konungr. Sigebryht is said to have prepared a welcoming feast. I heard he made thorough preparations, enough to feed your warriors until they are full."
"Björn... can't you please speak more comfortably? That's an order from your Konungr."
"Haha— that's difficult. You, Konungr, must now grow accustomed to such things, so shouldn't I at least continue?"
"I said stop it..."
Exchanging meaningless bickering with Björn, I led Refil, Seutorolpeu, Hrolf, and the other guards who surrounded me like an iron fortress, slowly crossing the soft sandy beach and setting foot on the grassy hill.
Last summer, when I first climbed here with Ivar, I hadn't been able to see it while chasing the traces of fleeing horsemen running for their lives, but the impression of the well-preserved, untouched nature—far less marked by human hands than the 21st century—was so beautiful it was beyond any trade.
[Pururuk- Puruk-]
When we had climbed about halfway up the hill, a commotion broke out on the beach, now far enough away that I had to look down to see it. That irritable black horse that resisted human touch. Taller at the withers and better built than the others, yet still a smaller and hairier breed than the horse in my memory.
One reason we traveled along the coast rather than crossing the North Sea on this voyage was that one and his companions.
Horses, led by the black one, being unloaded one after another from the large merchant ships that had trailed our fleet.
[Hihing- Pururuk!]
"Hey! It's getting away! Catch it quickly!"
"How many times did I tell you to tie it up!"
"There! Don't walk behind the horse! It's dangerous! Show your face clearly, I say!"
"Won't it run even more then!?"
Merchant ships had to carry many goods, so they were much wider and more swollen than the longships the warriors used, but they could only carry about one horse per vessel. So I could only bring about fifty horses on this voyage.
Of course, I wasn't sure how long these fellows, who threw fits the moment they reached land, could endure the journey ahead...
It was a mess, but after somehow unloading all the horses, the slaves that Olaf of Dublin had sent as gifts came off in a line one after another.
'What am I supposed to do with them...'
How he bragged that he had handpicked only the finest quality(?).
I was a bit sour at being saddled with this burden in the name of a gift, but there was no way to refuse a gift given, so I had no choice but to accept.
There were none of those iron collars or shackles people commonly imagine. At most, they were tied with rope?
Furthermore, I had forbidden all harsh treatment of slaves who came under me, so there was no one who dealt with my slaves through the violence, and even greater violence, that was the norm in this age.
There were about fifty of them, too. Half men, half women. Mostly brown hair, with occasional redheads.
'Worry not, slaves. By the sweat of your labor you shall become one with us...'
Since the south and east of Árós were already opened up, I would have to build a new road to connect to Kaupang through the northern mountain paths or the western coast. I would put them there, pay them, and work them. Later, I would have them work as peasants under me...
Anyway, I had plenty of land. If I ran short, I could take more by rational means—.
"Konungr, I see Sigebryht over there."
In front of Rendlesham, which was far more prosperous than when I first came, Sigebryht was waiting with all the villagers.
"Rendlesham is yours. Konungr of all Northmen and Angles, Helgi Ragnarsson."
"When did I become King of the Angles?"
"Thank you, Sigebryht. You and the people of Rendlesham and Beodericsworth played a very great role in winning this war."
"We only did our duty, Konungr."
Reward and punishment must be clear. The people of East Anglia had worked hard to maintain the supply lines, so they deserved due recompense.
Following Sigebryht, who stretched out an arm and invited me inside, my mind raced as I pondered what reward to give them.
*****
The feast at Rendlesham was very pleasant.
The feast hall, which had clearly just taken down the cross and hung a makeshift banner of pretty cloth when I first came, now had the symbol of the Goddess Hel hung up and even had wooden carvings inscribed with the runes [Hel] around it as decoration.
The food and drink were plentiful, and the people did not fear us. The benefits from the explosive movement of merchants and their volume of goods from last winter until now were already showing their effect.
Truly, the economy was the answer. If there was some lingering wound or some stale, musty grudge, I would first shove money at it and see. If that still didn't work, then I would apply the fist. This was the Árós style of diplomacy.
Sigebryht seemed to understand that diplomatic method of mine well. To this ambitious Eorl who showed a posture of absolute obedience without a trace of arrogance, I even entrusted the administration of Beodericsworth—nominally my direct domain, but with him managing it as my agent.
Otherwise, talk of Edmund, who was crouching in the northern marshlands, came and went, but for now, Edmund appeared to be holding his breath.
Weariness had been visible on Edmund's face as he finally departed Beodericsworth, but I never saw the eyes of a defeated man there... so he would surely be scheming to return one day, in some manner or other.
Wessex and Mercia also seemed quiet on the surface, but beneath that, countless conversations must have been passing back and forth. Even the Pope, far away in Rome to the south, and the Archbishop of Canterbury must have been exchanging letters without rest.
"That is why your role is crucial, Sigebryht. If a great battle breaks out, this East Anglia is highly likely to become the front line."
"I understand well what the Konungr has spoken. I shall guard against them without an inch of negligence."
At the close of the feast, his pale blue eyes flashed as he took careful note of the words I had quietly passed to him. How I wished Ecgberht of Jorvik could see this and learn from it... Ecgberht was an opportunist, but regrettably, he was not competent.
With the feast thus concluded, the next day, after exchanging cheerful greetings with the horses who had recovered their strength, Örn and I and the guard company, seated in comfortable leather saddles, followed Sigebryht's guidance and headed to East Anglia's greatest stronghold, Beodericsworth, where we met the lords who had already gathered after receiving advance messengers.
When East Anglia was divided into north and south, all the lords in the eastern part of Beodericsworth, the boundary, swore their loyalty once more on that spot, and I promised them wealth and glory.
After one more feast ended and we enjoyed a grand group hunt on the way back, I returned to Rendlesham. Leaving Sigebryht with words of encouragement to keep up his efforts, I boarded my ship once more and set out upon the sea road.
Our fleet, riding the dawn wind and setting out just as we were, did not stop in Kent but sailed steadily south. We passed through Frisia, nominally Frankish land but in truth already the land of our Norseman brothers, and reached the land of the Jutes. At every interval of the journey, the fleet stayed at small villages or desolate stretches of coast, laughing and reveling noisily.
There, I bid farewell to Halfdan, who had remained to marry the Jutish princess, and at last crossed the Skagerrak and Kattegatt straits, where even the color of the water and the scent of the wind felt familiar. Far beyond, across the colder sea, Uppsala revealed itself.
*****
At Uppsala's docks, a great multitude had already gathered.
A tremendous crowd, as if drawn from the entire city and every surrounding settlement, roared out as one with a cheer that... those who had not heard it could never dare to know it.
Indeed, for a grand fleet like this to move was no common occurrence even for us Norsemen, and when its purpose was vengeance for the famed king, Ragnar Sigurdsson, it was all the more an event that captured interest.
And it had not ended merely with exacting revenge upon Ælla and Osberht of Northumbria; we had even seized new lands beyond the sea. The people wished to see with their own eyes this new king of theirs, who had accomplished all of this through feats scarcely believable.
"Konungr Helgi! Helgi Ragnarsson!"
"The Avenger! The greatest warrior on earth! Hel's great warrior!"
"Ah— sing his praises, O poets! Tonight Bragi shall pour out all the inspiration he possesses!"
"He-la! O-din! Frey! Tho-r! Ty-r! He-la!..."
As with any festival, when so many ordinary people gathered in one place, it was naturally joyous in itself, and on top of that, a conquering monarch the like of which Norse society had never once seen before now appeared before their very eyes.
The gathered people were injected with a dose of national pride far exceeding a lethal amount and were all experiencing a collective spiritual catharsis, as if on the verge of ascending to heaven.
'Damn it.'
If I had been merely a common Norseman, born in a farmstead of this land, I would have thrown myself into this scene, laughing and reveling along and shouting 'Hel!' with them.
But unfortunately, I was the Konungr—their Konungr—and so I had no choice but to bring this situation to order.
[Puhihihing- pururruk!]
"The horses are running wild! Cover their eyes with cloth! Plug their ears!"
"We cannot draw near!"
"Abandon ship!"
"Abandon what! I said cover their eyes!"
[Splash!]
Perhaps because they had suddenly heard too great a roar, the horses aboard the merchant vessels following the warships were stampeding, and I could hear the sounds of a few men falling into the water, but it would not be any great problem.
More to the point, if horses were this skittish, my plan to raise cavalry certainly had a long road ahead.
"Hrólfr, Seutorolpeu! Refil! Disembark in order! There are too many people here; we shall have to use the docks and shoreline on the outskirts of the city. First, let the warriors disembark and carry out a Hugh formation immediately, and we will repair the ships once this fervor has subsided somewhat!"
"Understood, Konungr!"
My orders would also be conveyed smoothly to Björn, who commanded the waist of the fleet. The merchant ships at the very rear would likely begin disembarking first.
Now even the warriors were intoxicated by the crowd's mood, and within the crucible of wild enthusiasm where they roared in unison, I planted my foot beside the dragon-head ornament of my ship and bellowed at the people who continued to shout.
"Listen! Norsemen!"
"Waaaaa-!"
"Helgi! Helgi! Helgi! Helgi!"
"May the son of Ragnar live forever! Guard us for all eternity!"
"Odin! Hel! Look upon this place! There is your great warrior! There is Helgi!"
No, listen to me for a moment.
Had my bellowing been a poor choice? Instead, the people grew even more fervent and stretched their hands toward me.
'If it's come to this, there's no help for it.'
Calming this heat was already a lost cause. And look at all those people shouting my name. If something in my blood didn't rise to meet that fervor, then I was no true man at all.
Before I knew it, I had become drunk on the atmosphere myself, and I suddenly bellowed at the countless eyes, swirling with every kind of burning emotion.
"I went, I saw, I conquered!"
Yaaaaaa-!
From that day forward, Uppsala threw its storehouses wide open and feasted and drank madly for an entire week.