Tower of Thorn Tower of Fangs volume 3 chapter 29

 

Chapter 29  Trials of the Sea

The Frozen North, Part VI

The morning after the Trials of Strength, Toivo awoke sore. Every muscle hurt. His shoulders hurt. His arms hurt. His back hurt. Even parts of him he didn't know existed seemed offended.

Gret found this hilarious.

"Good."

Toivo glared.

The giant warrior laughed.

"If you're not sore, you didn't learn anything."

"That's a terrible philosophy."

"It's a northern philosophy."

Apparently that made it acceptable. Outside, snow drifted gently across Jarl's Hold. The settlement was already awake. Fishermen prepared their boats. Hunters organized supplies. Merchants opened stalls. Life continued. Toivo expected another day of rest. The Northmen had other ideas. The Jarl summoned him before breakfast. Which immediately felt suspicious. The old warrior sat upon his carved chair inside the great hall. Several clan leaders stood nearby. Gret was present. Moon sat quietly beside a window. Kev slept in cat form across his lap. 

The Jarl grinned. Toivo became nervous. Whenever Northmen smiled like that, trouble followed.

"The people like you."

Toivo frowned.

"Thank you?"

The Jarl nodded.

"They want to know if you're truly one of us."

"I am one of you."

"Good."

The grin widened.

"Then prove it."

Toivo immediately regretted everything.

"The Sea Trials begin today."

Silence. Then Gret burst into laughter. Moon lowered his eyes to hide a smile. Even Kev woke up long enough to look amused. Toivo had a terrible feeling. He was right.

Hours later he stood upon the docks staring at the ocean. The sea stretched endlessly beneath gray skies. Cold waves crashed against rocky cliffs. Dozens of longships waited in the harbor. Their carved dragon heads faced the horizon. Warriors loaded harpoons. Ropes. Spears. Barrels. Enough equipment to fight something enormous.

Toivo looked toward Gret.

"What exactly are we hunting?"

The giant warrior smiled.

That was never a good sign.

"Leviathans."

Toivo stared.

"Leviathans."

"Yes."

"The sea monsters."

"Correct."

"The giant ones."

Gret nodded.

"The very giant ones."

Toivo looked toward Moon.

The lunar god offered absolutely no help.

Traitor.

An hour later they sailed. The longship cut through dark waters. Wind filled the sail. Snow drifted across the waves. Northmen stood confidently upon the deck. Some sang. Others sharpened weapons. Several argued loudly. Everything appeared normal. Except for the giant sea monster hunting expedition. Moon remained seated beneath a fur cloak. Daylight kept him in his smaller form. The child-sized god watched the ocean quietly. Tiny fairies occasionally peeked from his sleeves. Kev slept beside him. As usual. The black cat somehow managed to sleep through almost everything. Toivo stood near the bow. Frostfang rested across his back. The sea felt familiar. Different from the rivers of his childhood. Yet strangely comforting. Hours passed. The coastline vanished behind them. Only ocean remained.

Then the lookout shouted.

"Movement!"

The ship instantly became silent. Every warrior looked toward the water. The ocean stirred. Something enormous moved beneath the waves. A shadow. Massive. Ancient. Hungry. Toivo felt his heartbeat quicken. The sea suddenly exploded. A colossal creature erupted from the depths. Water crashed across the ship. Several warriors laughed. Actually laughed. Toivo thought they were insane. The leviathan towered above them. Its body resembled a cross between a whale and a serpent. Silver-blue scales covered its hide. Ancient scars marked its flesh. Massive fins churned the sea. One golden eye larger than a wagon stared at them. The creature roared. The ocean shook. The hunt began. Harpoons launched. Ropes flew. Northmen shouted. The leviathan dove. The ship lurched violently. Several warriors nearly fell overboard. Toivo grabbed a railing. The sea monster circled beneath them. Faster than something that size should move. Then it attacked. The creature burst upward beside the ship. Its enormous body smashed into the hull. Wood cracked. The ship tilted dangerously. Several sailors screamed. Toivo moved without thinking. Training. Instinct. Experience. He leapt. Frostfang flashed silver.The enchanted axe buried itself deep within the leviathan's scales. The creature roared. Blood colored the water. The crowd aboard the ship erupted into cheers. Toivo held on for dear life. Which became significantly harder when the leviathan dove. The world became water. Cold. Dark. Violent. Toivo nearly lost his grip. The sea monster twisted. Rolled. Tried throwing him free. He refused.The Northmen watching from the ship roared approval. Toivo felt slightly offended. They seemed to be enjoying this far too much. The leviathan surfaced again. Toivo finally pulled Frostfang free. Then struck again. And again. The enchanted axe bit deeper each time. The creature weakened. Gret chose that moment to join the fight. The giant warrior launched himself from the ship. A completely unreasonable decision. Yet somehow it worked. His greataxe crashed into the leviathan's back like a falling mountain. The beast roared. The ocean erupted. The battle became chaos. Harpoons. Axes. Waves. Shouting. Blood. The sea itself seemed alive. Then the leviathan turned toward the ship. Toward Moon. The creature froze. Its enormous eye met Moon's silver gaze. For a moment everything became still. The sea calmed. The wind softened. The leviathan lowered its head. Like a bow. Like recognition. Moon raised one small hand. Nothing more. The creature gently touched the water. Then turned away. Everyone stared. The leviathan swam into deeper waters. Slowly disappearing beneath the waves. Silence followed. The Northmen blinked. Toivo blinked. Gret blinked. Kev opened one eye.

The Jarl finally spoke.

"What just happened?"

Moon looked genuinely confused.

"It decided to leave."

Nobody believed that. Not even slightly. The ship returned to shore by sunset. Without a leviathan. Ordinarily this would have been considered failure. Instead the entire settlement celebrated. Because apparently climbing onto a leviathan with an axe counted as victory. Toivo no longer understood Northmen. He technically was one. That somehow made it worse. The feast that evening became even louder than the previous one. Stories spread instantly. By nightfall the tale had changed. According to popular rumor: Toivo wrestled the leviathan barehanded. Gret punched it unconscious. Moon commanded the sea itself. Kev killed three sea serpents. None of these things happened. The truth no longer mattered. Toivo had proven himself. Not through words. Not through lineage. Not through destiny. But through action. The Northmen respected that. And for the first time since returning home Toivo felt something settle within his heart. Belonging. True belonging.

 Yet far beyond the sea... Beyond the forests. Beyond the frozen mountains. Within a palace of ice and crystal. A pale king stood before a window. Blue eyes watched the northern horizon. And for the first time in centuries the White King smiled.

"You're finally home."

No one heard him. But somewhere far away Moon suddenly looked north. As though he had heard something carried upon the wind.