The rebuilding.

" The gods have accepted our sacrifice " The priest declared . The villagers erupted in celebration . 

It was customary for all except the children to drink and dance after the ritual however they were not blessed with wine hence this tradition had to be broken for the year. 

There was a bit of sadness on the people once they realized this and this was especially seen on the youths who had no families to hold them back .

However most of them internally vowed to have a great celebration the following year. 

The villagers went to sleep after the ritual for they knew they had to rebuild the next day. 

_-_-_-_-_-

Early the next morning the villagers woke up full of energy. The chief started dividing people's work. 

The woodsmiths were to chop up the trees to create more room . They were given multiple youths to help. 

There was hunters who were to both scout ahead and hunt for animals. 

The head of houses were to build the houses with the materials provided .

The old men who could barely work were to take care of the kids. 

What people would take weeks with no equipment took days. The villagers were superhuman.

Most youths of about 15 to 28 could uproot trees with their bare hands. 

Most middle aged men could single handedly beat beasts as large as elephants and as fierce as lions. 

The chief himself had the power to level down castles alone.

But even then they could not defeat the vampires. 

Their collective strength made them be able to landscape the area they chose in less than a day. The rest of the day they spent on straightening the wood for building houses. 

The hunters were having a tough time . The new environment made it hard for them to hunt easily but even then they were able to find deers , a common game even in Espha , and kill them .

Night soon came and most of the land had been cleared and landscaped . The wood was being prepared and in about a month or two the place will have grown to become a young village. 

The hunting party returned with meat barely enough to sustain the village and information of the forest. 

" It holds beasts from the outer worlds " One of the party members said. 

" They are 4 legged beasts as tall as men . They have three eyes and their fur is as grey as ash . They look like wolves yet their temperament is different. Lone beasts they are . I could sense their eyes looking at us from a distance as if we were prey. They were bidding their time , studying us" Another described. 

This made all parents with young children cautious . It seemed they also had to fence the village. 

" How strong are they ? " A middle aged man with an incredibly robust body asked. He was one of the few greatest and surviving warriors currently alive. He was also both a confidant to the chieftain and his brother. 

" We did not confront them so we are unsure of their full capacity " A party member admitted.

Some of the villagers sneered for their cowardice but warriors who had experienced wars held them in a different regard. Fighting an unknown enemy was simply foolish .

" But we sensed that its power was around that of Bjorn the Unyielding " He continued.

Bjorn , the chieftains brother now understood why they ran and so did those who understood what was at stake currently . He was one of the strongest in the village with a few men being able to match or defeat him in power. 

Bjorn turned to his brother signalling him to speak. 

" Thank you for your work " That was all he said. He then stood up and walked away. Bjorn followed him . 

The two finally reached the beach . Their view was to the ocean with the ship they arrived at the corner of their eye. The scent of the salty sea was an unwelcome smell for both of them yet their body conveyed of no such feelings. 

" You could have said more brother " Bjorn said.

" Those old fools would have pestered me to lead and fight those beasts that we know nothing of " The chief reasoned. The older generations still wanted to maintain the tradition of valor and glory in war regardless if it would be the end of them. 

" Times have changed and death in battle is stupid currently " He added.

" That is a problem. " Bjorn agreed.

" That is why I will change the tasks. The building of houses will go to the youths , while the warriors will hunt . This way our seeds will not have to die ,those old goats will be satisfied and we will be able to learn more about the beasts "

Bjorn wanted to object , building houses were for the head of the families . But he did not , he instead swallowed his objections. 

What the young hunters had described seemed to be Class B beasts . They were troublesome creatures with the body of beasts and intelligence equal to man . They were cunning when they hunted prey . They made traps , studied their enemies and knew when to attack . They were a great danger to whatever they wished to hunt. 

_-_-_-_-_-_-

-- 4 Months later ----

During this period the village had been rebuilt and grown . All the households now had roof under their heads.

The households also had their own land to farm crops for sustenance thus reducing the need to constantly hunt. 

Besides the households , they had built fences to prevent any wild animals from attacking and watchtowers for guards to keep watch for anything that might attack them at night. 

There was also a slaughterhouse where meat for the whole village was kept . This was rarely used as hunting was rarely done in fear of the Class B beasts lurking in the forest . They had after all found other means to sustain themselves.

The kids below 6 now had a play ground where they could play without wandering off

And the youths ranging from 6 to 18 now had an open space where they were personally taught by Bjorn the unyielding on how to fight. Their training session vastly depended on their age. 

Those between 6 to 10 did light exercises. They were also taught the core concepts like how to hunt , how to wield an axe or a sword.

From 11 to 14 , they were taught how to think strategically in battle. They were also beaten to a pulp to learn how to embrace the pain . This was when their exercises intensified and most of them by 15 were able to uproot trees with their raw strength . They also went hunting with a competent supervisor.

From 15 to 18 they did combat drills and when the need arises , they fought in battles. 

Another thing was the medic center where Hilda worked as a healer among other multiple women.

There was also the grand hall where the villagers met for important meeting or after every fortnight for a feast. 

...

The sun was setting , light was fading and most of the people were heading back home. At the chief's backyard , his son could be seen swinging a large axe for his stature at a large tree. 

The axe weighed about 10 kgs and even him wielding it at such a young age was a great feat. Ragnar raised the axe above his head , lowered his body shift the centre of gravity lower and used all his strength to swing at the tree. The axe barely scraped the tree as it fell to the ground after Ragnar's swing . 

Ragnar almost fell down with it but managed to release the handle before it was too late. 

" That is no toy Ragnar. " He heard a masculine yet calm voice . He turned to see his father in chief's attire which comprised of a warriors clothing with a jacket made of polar bear fur. 

He walked to his son and picked up the axe with ease. He observed the craftmanship. It was well balanced for an axe, had a long hilt meaning it was meant to be held as a two handed weapon . It edges were very sharp it was a surprise Ragnar was not hurt wielding such an item 

" A fine axe , where did you find it ?" The chieftain asked.

" Uncle gifted me . I asked for advancement in my training and he told me I should be able to cut a tree with one swing from this axe for him to personally train me " Ragnar said with a hint of determination. 

The chieftain sighed . He turned to Ragnar and knelt down to his level. 

" Why are you rushing things ?" The chief asked. 

" I am the son of the chieftain and the future chieftain of Brumhildr tribe. I am also its chosen warrior that means I cannot afford to slack off. " Ragnar said . His tone did not carry pride only burden. 

The chieftain ruffled his son's hair then smiled kindly. 

" Do not be so hard on yourself "

" But if I do pause then I will fall back " 

The chieftain smiled. 

" Do you wish to know how Loki became one of the best warriors of our tribe ?" The chieftain asked.

Ragnar looked up , his ears perked.

Loki was the one he most admired second only to his father . It was ironical how history was repeating itself. He looked up to Loki his brother and now Skadi looked up to him in such a regard.

" He became a free spirit . "

" What ?"

" He did not care much of what people expected from him but more on what he wanted from himself "

" I do not understand how that makes me stronger. "

" You will , perhaps next year , a decade from now or probably a century . You have all the time of the world " His father said as a matter of fact. 

" Surely you do not believe I am destined to live forever " Ragnar said. His father spoke of the gods with great reverence in front of the village but under his household all could sense the skepticism in regards to the gods.

" I do , but that gift was not from the gods "

" Where was it from ?"

The chieftain gave of a mysterious smile. Ragnar already knew he was not going to get anything from the old man now. 

" You speak in riddles father , it is one of your least desirable qualities. "

The chieftain laughed uproariously , the ground slightly quaked and the birds in the vicinity flew. 

" I am certain it is something you will come to love about me , perhaps even adopt my way of speech " He said confidently. 

" I hope not " Ragnar could not imagine himself speaking to someone like that . It was annoying.

" I believe time will be the final judge to that "

They were quiet for a moment. The wind breezed through the land forcing the grass beneath their feet to sway and some of the leaves on the tree to fall gently to the ground.

" ....What do you think of magic Ragnar ?" The chieftain asked his only son . The playfulness in his eyes had quickly dissipated replaced by a serious atmosphere.

Ragnar frowned at the word magic. 

" I think it is an abomination that only those bloodsuckers and betrayers of humanity use " Ragnar said. 

" Tell me what you really think of it. " The chieftain could read his son like a book. 

Ragnar hesitated but said what he thought of it. 

" ... It has potential . From what I saw it is versatile and as of now we need every strength we have even if it is magic "

" Good . A tool is only as good or as wicked as the hand that wields it. " The chieftain said. 

" Now there is something Loki found , a book that talks of utilising internal energy , a subsidiary of magic . He practised it and now I want you to have it " The chieftain said as he pulled an old book from his coat. 

Ragnar felt the weight of what the chief was doing . Magic was not allowed and anyone found practising magic would be killed or excommunicated. This was not something the chief randomly thought of but something he had constantly been contemplating. 

Ragnar looked at the book , his eyes unclear of the next action forward. He wanted to give it back and never speak of the matter but his father was not a man to randomly do questionable things without a reason 

" I believe you will not show this to anyone "

" What about Skadi ?" 

" That is your choice to make but remember a child is loose lipped , the only reason I give this to you is because you are smart "

" Alright father "

" I will not judge how you use it but remember actions have consequences " The chieftain said. 

" ..... Are you sure ? To gift me such a burdensome book ?"

" ..... I am certain . I believe what you call a burden will be quite helpful in the future " Another cryptic statement . Ragnar accepted it trusting his fathers' wisdom .