Allfather's Might

Sigbrand then set his glass down and said "Alright then lad, guess it's time for ye to hear our story!" with a clear gaze, despite drinking two kegs of strong alcohol. Sigwulf nodded his head in approval and Sigbrand took that as cue to start.

- - -

Sigwulf and I were born into a rather large Viking village as the Chieftain's sons. Our father, Grim Skarsson, was a strong and resilient man who was the greatest leader of his time. He led countless armies to victory and seized the whole entirety of the present day Scandinavia. We grew up being loved by our father as he groomed us to be his successors. Our people loved our father, for he was a kind and just ruler who always took his people's wishes into consideration, however, he was murdered by a damned honorless assassin!

He was on the middle of announcing a new festival to celebrate the day we had conquered Scandinavia when he was shot and killed by several arrows to his back. The assassin immediately took flight, leaving all of the villagers crying out in despair as they demanded justice. Sigwulf and I chased after the assassin, but he was already gone by the time we had made our way to his vantage point. We made a funeral pyre for our father that same day before Sigwulf and I were both recognized as the new Chief.

We worked tirelessly to fulfill our fathers dream while overseeing our troops during their training. The villagers wanted to fight for our father and, even though our father always said to accept their requests no matter what, we couldn't allow innocent civilians to die in battle. Through countless interactions, the villagers managed to prove to us their strength and conviction, so we allowed them to fight for our cause. We worked, trained, and refined our trades in preparation for war, for we had figured out who had murdered our father and beloved leader.

It was the undead legion of the Hive who had flipped our worlds upside down.

However, we didn't give a damn who we were facing, all we knew was that we were going to make them pay for what they had done. Sigwulf and I readied our weapons and rallied our people before setting off on a journey that would fundamentally alter the way the Hive viewed us Humans.

We slaughtered, hacked, slashed, and beat everything that got in our path. We were a walking army of death and destruction fueled by a never ending rage. We spotted a massive, black and green ship hovering in the sky off in the horizon, so we increased our speed and traversed over half of Scandinavia pursuing the subtle tracks left by the Hive assassin.

We knew it was a trap, but did we give a damn? No! Instead, we used this as an opportunity to wipe these bastards off of the Earth. We neared the large ship after a few more days of traveling and began to prepare our strategies. We had our strongest berserkers up in the front with our shield-bearers and decided to attack them head on with no cowardly assassinations involved. We finalized our plans and I had gathered our people around to present one, final speech.

"My brothers and sisters, today we will get revenge. Today we will not falter. Today we will crush our enemies for the glory of the late Grim Skarsson!" The crowd began to erupt with cheers and voices expressing their desire to get vengeance. I held up my hand to silence them and continued "We will be facing our most hated enemy, the Hive, but fear not! For we will crush their army and hold a grand feast over their bones! We have no fear, for we are the sons and daughters of the might Grim Skarsson! We will win this fight and create a new legend, one that will be sung in the grand halls of Valhalla!!"

Our people's voices roared out as they coursed their anger and hatred through their veins in preparation for the upcoming battle. I ripped my two axes from their leather sheaths and roared out "To victory, my brothers and sisters! Charge!"

We emerged from the tree line and entered a large structure that looked like it was made out of bones and chitin. We entered a long and vast corridor with countless pale skinned monsters with large claws, chattering teeth, and rotting skin.

The Thralls let out a bone-chilling scream all at once before madly charging at us with saliva dripping from their open mouths. I yelled out and ran forward, carving a path through the horde alongside Sigwulf. Our attacks were so ferocious and powerful that they split the floor upon contact and shook the building itself.

I could feel my blood boiling as I cleaved through the cannon fodder and made my way to the back where the real army stood. I glanced over at Sigwulf and noticed that his eyes had turned a pale blue as he yelled and swung his hammer around, killing multiple enemies with one swing. I felt a smile creep up onto my face as I thought about the God of Thunder blessing my little brother with his strength.

We had crushed the horde of Thralls with losing only a single member. I remember praying for his soul to watch over us from Valhalla as I looked at the oncoming legion of Knights. Most Knights were equipped with swords made of bones and metal, but the commanders were armed with these large guns that shot out blasts of Arc energy.

I yelled out once more, saying "Allfather, give me your strength!" as I clashed with the closest Knight. I hooked my axe around its sword and lopped off its head with the other before using its body to shield me from another Knight's attack.

Sigwulf crushed the Knights head and looked me in the eyes before we nodded our head. We turned our glares back toward the Hive and went on a frenzy, brutally cleaving through the Knights. We had lost more of our men in this fight, dwindling our numbers to about 2,000.

We had cleared out most of the Knights when a deafening roar echoed through the hall, leaving the remaining Hive shaking and frozen in fear. The floor began to rumble as a loud screeching came from the other end of the hall.

I knew we were going to die the instant that abomination cast its furious eyes upon is.

A massive Knight, about 50m tall, with dark black skin and purple spikes, that lit up with a dark flame, were jutting from its back. The knight let out a sound eerily similar to a chuckle before raising its pitch black sword and saying "Go wild, Necrux." in a deep and ominous voice.

A large shadow burst from the Knight's blade and devoured the bodies of the deceased before spitting them back out. The corpses slowly began to regenerate their lost limbs and stand up once more, but with an evil aura surrounding their bodies.

We continued to fight a horde of frenzied Hive and Humans alike as we slowly lost more and more of our men, feeding the resurrected army in the process. I cut through the bodies of people whom I had talked to just the other day, filling me with a profound sense of rage as I looked toward the massive Knight.

I felt a hand clasp my shoulder. It was Sigwulf, who had a serious look in his eyes as he nodded his head. I nodded my head slowly and readied my axes for what felt like the last time as Sigwulf and I charged the black Knight.

The thing let out a hideous laugh as he swung his sword, sending a thin line of Darkness at us. We dodged the attack and continued our advance as the Knight said "Oh, how intriguing. You two will make for excellent test subjects, don't you think Necrux?"

A grating voice responded to the Knights question, saying "Yes, Master. I do believe that they will provide us useful information..." I raised my axes and swiped at the Knights leg, but he easily blocked my attack before taking a step back to avoid Sigwulf's hammer.

The Knight took advantage of the opportunity and slammed its foot into Sigwulf, sending him crashing to the ground several meters away. I clenched my teeth as I became a whirlwind of steel, furiously hacking away at the Knights seemingly indestructible body.

The Knight sighed before batting me away with its hand. I hit the wall and created a large crater. I fell to the ground with a thud and felt my consciousness fading, but I fought the urge to give up and close my eyes. I was able to lift myself up to my knees and look at the massacre happening to our people.

We were getting slaughtered like livestock as more corpses began to get resurrected. I tore my gaze from the scene and looked back to Sigwulf, only to see the Knight plunge its sword into his body.

I stared in horror as the Knights bloody blade shone with an evil light as the Knight began to laugh manically. I felt my blood turn into a raging sea of flames as I looked the Knight in the eyes and readied my weapons. The knight issued a low 'oh?' before brandishing his blade. I leapt across the floor with such speed that even I couldn't keep up with where I was. I recovered almost immediately from my initial leap and sunk my axe deep into the Knight's calf, causing it to snarl viciously.

I ripped my axe free and found its pristine blade shattered into fragments. I cursed and threw the weapon aside before running over to Sigwulf's corpse and grabbing his hammer. An expression of pure wrath covered my face as I faced the Knight with a new fire burning inside of my very soul.

The Knight charged toward me and swung its sword in a downward arc. I guided the swords momentum away from me with the hammer before slashing the Knight across the arm multiple times in rapid succession.

The Knight roared out and attempted to grab me, but I ducked under his strike and slammed the hammer against his shin, cracking the armor-like plates and sending it down on one knee. I raised my axe to strike once more, but the Knight was able to strike me with its fist, sending me crashing to the floor once more.

I heard the loud booms of the Knights footsteps as it walked toward me and stopped before saying "You led your people to their deaths as well as displayed a pitiful attempt at combat. You are weak, Human. Know that I will see you once more in the afterlife..." before cleaving me in two with his sword.

I still remember that seemingly infinite amount of time I had spent, wandering in darkness trying to remember the memories I was slowly forgetting one by one. It was then that I had a ray of light shine through the darkness and reach out to me, so I took its hand.

I remember waking up in a completely different place that before. I was on top of a snow covered mountain with countless pine trees dotting the area, as well as a little floating robot clad in flames staring at me with intrigue.

I looked around the tundra and saw a familiar figure lying in the snow a few meters off with another floating robot, this one clad in a thin layer of lightning. After being risen from the dead, Sigwulf and I set off on a journey to find more people, and we stuck together after that until we had regained our memories and remembered that we were, indeed, brothers.