Chapter 26 Lands of the Northmen
The Frozen North, Part III
Morning arrived beneath a sky of pale silver. The Dragon King still flew northward. Far below, endless forests slowly gave way to signs of civilization. Not cities. Not castles. Something older. Something simpler. Something stronger. Toivo saw the first village shortly after sunrise.
His heart nearly stopped.
"There."
He pointed downward.
Gret smiled immediately. The giant warrior recognized it at once. A Northman settlement. The village sat upon a rocky fjord overlooking dark northern waters. Longhouses with carved wooden roofs clustered together around a central hall. Smoke rose from stone chimneys. Fishing boats rested along wooden docks. Fields of hardy northern crops stretched beyond the settlement. Everything looked exactly as Toivo remembered. The Dragon King descended slightly. Not enough to alarm the villagers. But enough to see details. Children ran between buildings. Women worked near drying racks covered in fish. Men repaired ships along the shoreline. Large wolfhounds slept beside doorways. Toivo smiled. Home. Real home. Not memories. Not dreams. Home. The Dragon King continued onward. More villages appeared. Then more. Scattered throughout valleys and coastlines. Every settlement looked different. Yet somehow familiar. The Northmen built where they could survive. Beside rivers. Beside forests. Beside fjords. Beside mountains. Anywhere strength and determination could overcome winter. Moon watched quietly. His jet black eyes changed color again, into silver. Silver eyes observing the world below.
Toivo noticed him smiling slightly.
"You like them."
Moon looked toward him.
"Yes."
The answer surprised nobody. Moon liked almost everyone. Especially stubborn people. The Northmen were extremely stubborn.
Gret laughed.
"That's because we're impossible."
"Yes."
The answer came immediately.
Gret looked offended.
Kev laughed so hard he nearly rolled off the dragon's back. The black cat remained curled comfortably in Moon's lap.
"The tiny moon prince has learned honesty."
Moon ignored him.
Toivo grinned.
Below them, the land continued changing. The forests grew thinner. The coastline became wilder. Massive cliffs rose above crashing seas. Ancient watchtowers stood upon rocky hills. Many were thousands of years old. Some older than the kingdoms themselves. Toivo remembered the stories. The Northmen had never truly united. Not completely. Not like southern kingdoms. Instead they were divided among clans. Families. Jarls. Tribes. Every village possessed its own customs. Its own heroes. Its own history. Yet all remained Northmen. Bound together by shared values.
Strength.
Honesty.
Courage.
Family.
Gret pointed toward a distant harbor.
"See that?"
Toivo followed his gaze.
A fleet of longships rested upon the water. Their carved dragon heads faced the sea. Colorful shields lined their sides. The sight made Toivo grin. Raiders. Explorers. Traders. The southern kingdoms called them pirates. The Northmen called them sailors. The truth depended entirely on who survived the conversation.
The Dragon King snorted smoke.
"Humans."
Gret crossed his arms.
"We're charming."
"You burn villages."
"We only burn the rude ones."
The dragon stared.
Kev laughed.
Moon looked as though he might actually be considering the argument.
Toivo quickly changed the subject.
Hours passed. The group observed more of northern life. Reindeer caravans crossing snowy plains. Nomad tribes traveling with enormous elk. Hunters following wolf packs through forests. Fishing communities living beside frozen lakes. The Northmen adapted to everything.
Winter.
Hunger.
Storms.
Monsters.
They survived because they refused to do otherwise.
Moon seemed fascinated.
Toivo eventually realized why.
The Northmen reminded him of Moon's daughters. Stubborn. Proud. Loyal. Entirely unwilling to surrender. The thought made him smile.
Then the Dragon King pointed ahead with one enormous claw.
"There."
Everyone looked. A much larger settlement appeared in the distance. Not a village.A town. Massive wooden walls surrounded hundreds of buildings. Watchtowers guarded every approach. Longships crowded a harbor. Banners snapped in the wind.
Toivo immediately recognized it.
"Jarl's Hold."
Gret nodded.
One of the largest settlements in western North Elyria. A gathering place for dozens of clans. Markets. Warriors. Merchants. Hunters. Storytellers. Thousands lived there. The Dragon King remained high above the clouds. Fortunately. Landing a dragon inside a Northman town would create complications. Mostly because half the population would try fighting it. The other half would try feeding it. Neither option appealed to anyone. The dragon seemed relieved. As the day continued, Toivo found himself watching the people below. The fishermen. The hunters. The warriors. The families. For the first time in many years he no longer felt lost. The road ahead remained dangerous. The White King waited somewhere beyond the northern wilderness. The Shadow Wolf Lord hunted them. The Jester still wandered the shadows. Yet despite all of that Toivo felt lighter. Because no matter what happened next he had returned home.
Then Moon suddenly spoke. A rare occurrence.
"They have not changed."
Toivo blinked.
"What?"
Moon gazed toward the settlements below.
"The Northmen."
His expression softened.
"They still laugh loudly."
Gret grinned.
"Of course."
"They still build near dangerous things."
"Naturally."
"They still challenge creatures stronger than themselves."
Gret looked proud.
"That's tradition."
Moon nodded.
"As I remember."
The answer left everyone silent. Because Moon had not said centuries. Or generations. He had said remember. As though he had watched the Northmen grow from the beginning. Perhaps he had. The Dragon King continued northward. Far beyond the coastal settlements. Far beyond the fjords. Far beyond the forests. Toward stranger lands. Toward ancient secrets hidden beneath snow and ice. And somewhere deep within North Elyria unseen eyes were already watching their approach. The Frozen North had welcomed them. Now it waited to reveal its mysteries.
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