My Order (Svart)

AXES

Rhona Odinsdóttir made her way through the streets of Kattegat, on her way to the blacksmith's shop. It was early morning, and the sun was just starting to rise. It was her favorite time of day; one never knew what could happen, the day ahead was full of possibilities. She walked up to the shop and looked around, not seeing the blacksmith anywhere in sight. She had ordered a new pair of beard axes from him, and couldn't wait to see what he came up with. He was relatively new in Kattegat, but his work spoke for itself. The town had never had such a skilled blacksmith before, and she was excited to get to training with her new weapons. She looked around and saw that his forge fire was not lit yet; usually a strange sign, but she had come to learn that he liked to gather the wood for the fire himself. Rhona debated heading to the training ground with her old axes, but the intrigue of new weapons held her there. So Rhona sat on a stump and waited, excited to see what today would bring.
   

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Rhona, still sitting on her stump, held one of her old axes. She ran her hands lovingly down the blade, still feeling its sharp edge, honed by her hands every night. They had served her well in battle, and she knew it would take quite a bit of practice to get used to the new axes. Her senses picked up the shuffle of footsteps headed in her direction; no doubt the blacksmith had returned. Rhona looked up to see that he was indeed out gathering his own firewood. "Morning" he said cheerily. " Ready for action, arent you? " followed by a chuckle. Rhona knew that the blacksmith was not the malicious type, or she would have assumed his laugh was at her expense. "I have to be, else I wouldn't BE much longer, smith." she said with a grin; she followed slowly as Svart walked back to a relatively tidy section of his shop, and her hands fairly tingled with anticipation. She bounced on her toes, trying to peek over the smith's shoulder, eager to catch a glimpse of her new weapons.
   

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Rhona leaned over Svart's shoulder, anxiously trying to catch a peek at his work. Damn. He had covered them in cloth. He turned around and she backed away immediately, following him to a small table, where he set the weapons down and uncovered them. "Ta-dah" he said softly. Rhona could tell he was nervous, but as she looked down, she could not understand why. Her new axes were of the finest craftsmanship she had ever seen. She ran her hands over the axeheads, marvelling at the feel of them. He had worked small designs in to the metal itself, the head flaring down in to a hooked section that she knew would pull her enemies or their shields where she wanted them to go. She picked them both up and wandered outside of the shop, signaling Svart with a flick of her head to follow. As soon as she stepped outside, she hefted the axes in her hands. They were lighter than what she was used to, and about two inches longer. She twirled them around, noticing that they were perfectly balanced, and turning on her feet and spotting a target, she swung one at an imaginary foe, and threw the second at a post a few feet away. It lodged itself in the post, and Rhona turned to the smith, with a giant grin on her face. "These are by far the best axes I have ever handled, Svart. I cannot wait to blood them! I will be recommending your services to my shield brothers and sisters, you can be sure of that." She retrieved her thrown axe, and slipped them both in her belt. Walking up to Svart, she grabbed the bag of coins for payment, and held it out to him. She would definitely be making another order. "Think you can make me a knife or two?"
   

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"I'm so glad you like them, they're in good hands, I can tell", Svart said. Rhona proceeded to hand him the small bag of coins, and watched as he took half, and returned the other half to her. "You can pay me the rest when they prove themselves in battle." he offered. Rhona was shocked for a moment, usually dealing with people who ignore her once they get their money, not concerned with interaction. This town could use more shop owners and craftsmen like him. She asked if he could make her a knife or two and he nodded yes. "I sure can, you have any special requirements?"

Rhona thought on that question for a minute, and then said, "Just that they be small enough to hide in my boots, but with a lip on them so that they don't slip out of my hands when I'm covered in blood. Aside from that, I have no requests. You know where to find me when they're completed, right?" She waited for his answer patiently, knowing he was relatively new in Kattegat and might not know where the training grounds were. " If the sun is up, I am usually at the training grounds," Rhona joked with a smile.
   

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"Well then what are you doing here? ", Svart joked. Rhona lifted a brow at the blacksmith, and said, "Welcoming the new blacksmith by placing another order", and immediately broke in to a smile. She may have found a friend, if he could handle her attitude with the understanding that it was not malicious. Then Svart surprised her once again by asking to join her in her training. "All free men are welcome at the training grounds, " she said. She looked up at the rising sun and noted that their transaction had taken only half an hour, and then asked, "Are there any weapons of your own that you wish to train with? There are all manner of weapons and shields at the grounds, if you wish to try something new." she stretched her arms and shoulders as she waited for his reply.
   

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Rhona watched as Svart placed his hand on the axe in his belt. "No I think I'm good for now", he answered with a smile. "Lead the way." Rhona needed no further encouragement, as she was ready to test her axes. She turned to her left and began walking past shops, toward the grounds, knowing from his tall frame that he could keep up with her. But she was curious about the blacksmith. Most of the men she had met that practiced smithing had to be dragged from their forges; and not one of them produced the kind of work she saw in Svart's shop. As soon as the question formed in her mind, she asked it, "Where did you learn your trade, Svart? It is of exceptional quality. And how are our residents treating you? They can be... Unwelcoming to new faces." The fact that she had given him no time to respond between questions did not bother her; she had no time for the slow-witted or shy. If they were to be friends, she had to see if he could keep up with her.

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Rhona was surprised to find that she was glad the smith could keep up with her style of communication, answering her queries and firing his own in the same breath. Rhona took and breath and said, "You learned from King Vidar in Uddevalla? That must have been rough after what happened to his wife. I was given to understand that he does not truly care for his people, and does not let people leave his kingdom lightly. Were you banished, or did you run?" She paused and when no answer was forthcoming immediately, she decided to let him keep his secrets, and spoke to fill the silence. "I started with the shield-maidens as a young child, after my mother died."
"At first I was too young to participate, so I stayed near the edges of the field, working on being able to hold and swing the axes, and when I was fifteen, I felt ready and started sparring." She held her tongue then, allowing Svart to process the information, and watched him look around, noticing that he seemed to be memorizing the twists and turns they took. Smart man. He would make a good friend, if he was truly who he said he was.

They kept walking together, Rhona looking ahead as the field she loved came in to view. She could hear the sounds of training, and it energized her, knowing that every minute she practiced her deadly art, she became that much harder to kill. It would be necessary with as popular as Kattegat was becoming as a trading hub. She glanced at Svart, giving him a minute more to continue the conversation before she would set her mind to fighting.
   

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"...So please go easy on me." Rhona heard from Svart. She grinned, perhaps a bit darkly, at him. "Steel is molded from a hot fire, yes?" she retorted. She could tell he had strength, and was eager to test it, and herself. He then went on to tell her of his younger years, and how he could understand his old King's position, and feelings of pain. It was a sad story to be sure, but Rhona didn't dwell on it for long. She was used to closing off the more useless emotions she felt, like pity or sadness. Those could be a deadly weakness for a warrior.

"Let's get started, shall we?" Rhona needed no further invitation. She ducked under the fence and removed her axes from her belt. Still marvelling at how different they felt compared to her old ones, she twisted them in her hands, then swung them, in turn, stretching her arm muscles and working her joints. She readjusted her grip, and lowered herself down in to her fighting stance, legs spaced apart, right leg and arm advanced slightly further than her left. She raised one of her brows and flashed a grin at Svart, joy suffusing her entire body. She loved fighting in any form, and thrived in it. She gave him a nod, saying, "Let's see what you've got, friend."
   

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Rhona readied herself for the fight. She figured his attacks would be powerful, and she knew he was smart. She locked eyes with him, and saw them flick to her left. He leaped forward, and she shifted to her right, using her left axe to deflect his double headed weapon, twisting to follow his movements and tapped the side face of her right axe on his shoulder. She followed her twist to its completion, moving a half step forward, even closer to the man, and watched as his axe came back by his left side, closer to her. She employed the beard portion of her right axe to hook the head of his weapon, and yanked. She met with resistance so she added her left hand axe to the motion, and wrenched her arms back, pivoting on her right foot to add the strength of her muscled legs.

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Rhona felt his change in motion, as he turned while sliding his hand higher up the hilt of his weapon, giving him more control over it. She realized she would not be able to disarm him at this point, so she threw her hands forward to unhook her axes from his. She needn't have bothered as he began to shove the covered end of his axe towards her weaker midsection. He had great reflexes and a quick mind for battle, which did not surprise her, as he had found a way to leave his home, and survived the journey here. Rhona had no time to move far enough away from his axe handle, so she contracted her stomach muscles and tried to turn herself so the handle would not make straight on contact. She made to step backwards, away from Svart, but felt his foot behind her. She acted on reflex, and spun her leg around, pushing her shin against the inside of his right leg while dropping to a knee in front of him. This gave her a split second to catch her breath while he recovered from the force of his own hit. She would have a very large bruise on her midsection later. Rhona jumped up and danced away, laughing though it pained her sore stomach muscles. "You fight very well, for a blacksmith," she teased, flashing him another smile.
   

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Rhona's smile got bigger as Svart laughed at her comment, and she heard him say, "Never underestimate a blacksmith" and she replied, "and I don't mean to do so again!" They moved forward together, gripped in the dance of battle now, when she saw him coming for her left shoulder again. Something in her knew that he wouldn't try that tactic again. She waited to move until the last second, when she saw him shift slightly, bending his knees and lowering his own shoulder to go for her leg. She leaped to her right while swinging her left axe downwards, blocking his attack. She followed through her movements, leaning on to her left leg and in to him, bringing her elbow to the sensitive point under his armpit. This caused him to fold over slightly, so Rhona bent her knees and jammed her head forward, attempting to butt his chin with her forehead.

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Rhona was enjoying herself much more than usual. It was rare that she got to show off outside of battle, and she was having fun with Svart. He wasn't going easy on her, and each blow was a lesson for both of them. She aimed for his head with hers, and he instinctually dodged it. She ended up hitting the side of his windpipe, and she knew he was having trouble breathing, but he didn't quit. She was officially impressed with his fighting. People that could not think past pain did not belong in battle, and it seemed to her that Svart was one of those people that was good at most of the things he tried to do. He jabbed his shoulder in to the middle of her chest, knocking her back a few steps; she felt as he bruised two or three of her ribs. He bent to pick up his axe and sprung almost three feet in the air, slashing down with his axe. If Rhona had been less skilled, she would have been seriously worried, just because of how strong Svart was. She threw up both of her axes in an X, and caught his weapon in between them. The sheer force of his swing caused her to go down on one knee, and she stared at Svart. They were both sweating from practicing, and Rhona threw another grin at him. Breathing heavily, she asked, "I'm impressed with you, smithy. Are you as ready for some water as I am?"
   

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Rhona held her breath while waiting for Svart to respond. He finally pulled his axe away from hers, and held out a rough, scarred hand to help her up. She transferred her right axe to her left hand, and accepted his help. His hands were warm and sweaty, just like hers, and she pulled herself up.
"It seems like your new axes will be able to keep up with you in battle," she heard him say. Rhona glanced down and ran her fingers along the edges of her axes. They would need to be sharpened after each use, just like most weapons, but they showed no marks or chips. She placed them in her belt and said, "They definitely will. If only because I'd hate to see them in a Saxon's hands, if I perished." Rhona looked up at Svart, watching him fool with the beads and feathers in his hair, and asked, "Do those things in your hair have special meaning, or are they there to make you look pretty?" She was genuinely curious, since he was not from Kattegat, wondering if it was a sign of something, like the bracelets boys got when they became men. She waited for his answer to her nosy question as he followed her back towards the center of town.