Chapter 6 Saku Remembers

Saku, Fang, and Ferin slowed to a walk when they came up to a hill reaching the top as Saku looks out over the horizon he remembers when he was a little boy in the settlement. He remembers when he was about five or six he had to duck, twist and dodge flying axes and arrows, he remember mom, dad, and Vala who was slightly younger than him. One he came out of the longhouse to find his dad who was sitting at a wooden dock by a longship, this ship had white sails with the Nordic compass on it in black. It also had red shields lining the sides from when he stood and the guy that steered it was it had fifteen wooded boxes for seats and a long pole in the center that was able to move side to side in case they had to put it down. At the front and rear of the ship was a wolf carving as if it was howling, he remembers that he was walking up to his dad and asking " Dad! What are you doing by the ship? Are you leaving again?" His dad told him no and pulled out a fishing line " Here son take this and help me catch for the feast tonight!" Saku nodded grabbing the line he sat there on the end of the dock talking with his dad for a while when Vala came up " Brother! Oh, Brother where are you? There you are I've been looking for you brother!" She says as she comes up from behind them giving her brother a hug " Want to sword fight brother?" Saku looks at her for a moment " Yea here in a few systir, I want to fish with faðir for a few then I will okay!" Vala nods turn and run off laughing. Just then Saku got a bite and his father helped him pulled up the line revealing a large salmon " Well son looks like you caught one big enough to go with the hog that was brought in an hour ago. Go Ahead go play with your systir." Saku hands the line to Sauk "þakka faðir for letting me fish with you!" he says as he begins to walk away " Don't wander off too far Saku for we have a feast tonight with a guest!" he yells Saku nods " Yes faðir!" Then running after Vala " Hey systir wait up!" Vala turns tossing him a wooden sword " Think fast!" Saku raises his right hand up catching the sword and blocks Vala's swing. They play around with the wooden swords until dusk when a bell rang throughout the settlement and they hear their mom say "feast time! Kids come clean up!" They run to the longhouse and into their rooms changing then to a small water basin dipping their hands into the water rubbing them together then shaking them off. When they got to the table with their mom " Saku that sure is a nice looking fish you caught there!" He grins "þakka I didn't really try it just grabbed the bait and yanked hard almost taking me with it." She laughs " Oh you poor thing!" As jarl Sauk walked in with the guests Saku noticed one of them in a hood and long cloak " Hey mother! Who is that with the long cloak?" Saku asked. Yuka catches a glimpse of the face and shouts out in glee "Arnora is that you?" Sauk tells the guests to make themselves at home, when the hooded person nodded removing the hood Yuka looks at Saku " My sweet boy that is your sister from another tribe!" she tells him Saku looking confused " From another tribe?" Yuka's grin turned straight " Yes my sweet boy, but that is a story about your father I would rather not say nor share!" Saku nods as Arnora walks around " May I sit here Yuka?" she asks. Yuka nods and she sits by Saku and Vala "Hello broðir and systir my name is Arnora, I'm from the Yew tribe four lands west from here. I'm glad Jarl Sauk has accepted me to join this family. My family was killed by bandits, my mother hid me in a haystack behind our longhouse and sent word out your father was the one that answered back by sending out a war party to get me and keep me safe." As Sauk walks toward the throne he begins to say " Friends, family, broðirs, and systirs! This is a special occasion, for my son has caught his first fish and soon he will hunt. I have called this feast for the gathering and celebration of my son and his fish which has been prepared for us, my other daughter from the Yew tribe which is no more sad to say, and of us, for we live another day by the gods. Fill your bellies with food and ale. Skål!" Everyone in the longhouse shouted Skål and began to talk eat and drink. Saku snuck a drink of ale from his mother's horn and Sauk caught him " Saku! Come here boy!" Vala looked at him " What did you do broðir?" Sauk asked Saku "Was that good boy?" Saku nods. Jarl Sauk hands him a full horn of mead " Here drink this and tell what you think!" He grabs the horn and tilts it up and chugs all of the mead, Vala stares at him amazed. " Brother you are twelve, how are you drinking that?" Yuka hands her a horn " Drink up Vala your at the age also!" She grabs the horn " Are you sure mother?" Yuka nods and Vala tilts the horn up takes a sip cough spitting out the little bit that she just had but quickly tilts the horn again this time chugging it all. Jarl Sauk takes Yuka to the floor by the fire and began to dance with her, everyone else joined in, Saku remembers the laughter, the feasts, the fishing, and hunts he went on with his dad. He remembered the time that he got into trouble the last time before he went on the last battle for the land. He and Vala were in the settlement at an ax-throwing target, there was a sacred totem a little ways behind it. As they throw the axes Saku was still learning as far as controlling the spin and speed of the ax when one throw missed the target and chipped the sacred totem, Saku remembered the sound of the ax hitting the totem. Sauk heard the sound and come out from the trading store saw the ax by the totem and looked towards the target area saw Saku and Vala, he walked over " Who threw that?" Saku looked at him "I did faðir, I am sorry!" Sauk sighed heavily "Saku we have been going over you getting in trouble constantly, I don't know why and now I don't care there is going to be a war party going out at high noon and you will be with them.