Vol. 1 Chapter 18 - The Wolf

A.D. 875 Kingdom of Wessex, Winchester

/pov Alfred/

Tasteless.. thats what my meals are.. mostly just broth or porridge with a little bread and cheese.. how am I supposed to have the strength to run this kingdom eating this gruel.. there's a wolf outside our doors sniffing around looking for prey.. and I must forsake meat because my god calls for it.. hes not busy preparing for a possible war with a vicious man eating wolf.. I am.. but no matter.. this shall not delay my inevitable dream of a unified country of 'England'.. nothing shall delay my dream.. nothing.. not Danes.. not saxons.. not even my health will stop my dream.. Im uneasy.. I hear talk.. of a beautiful smooth road.. reminiscent of the old Roman road that remains to this day at the old fort in the city of Lundene that borders Mercia on the Thames.. they say Coocham where this road originated is filled with houses built from the same material as the roads.. we don't know how it's made.. after the little information we recieved from our spies.. we took to having our brightest minds work with different slurries made from rocks and minerals that had been crushed and mixed together.. we have had little progress.. we will replicate it eventually.. have no doubts at whatever the costs.. I will have roads and cities built with this so called 'cement'.. they say the brothers have built this road all the way from Coocham to Oxford.. now it has started to grow and enlarge the web being spun by the brothers encroaching on my fine city.. within a week.. Ealdorman Odda will have recieved payment by the brothers by now and given them the permission they need to build the road through his lands and then continue on reaching eventually Winchester.. where I have lost rest on many of sleepless nights preparing my city and my men to keep the brothers poisonous schemes from harming us.. I even sent my imcompetent nephew to break bread with Uhtred.. we wanted to learn how he trains his house-guards and hopefully we take from what we learn and train our current peasant like army into a true 'standing' army as the 'wolf' has monikered his forces that do nothing but train and fight.. they are pure soldiers.. instead of our traditional use of peasants his peasants farm while his soldiers do the fighting.. it obviously works.. Saxons have flown to Oxford like flocks of sheep's following their shepherd towards greener pastures.. he protects them.. supposedly bandits and raiders avoid Aethred's like the plague.. while they stroll through our lands raping and reaving .. this must be changed.. hopefully Aethelwold returns with more information than the peasants being told to stand still all day in a 'military posture' as they called it for their first month of training.. there must be more to learn.. we will keep watching.. biding our time.. growing our strength..

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/pov Brother Asher/

I have been in the service of a Briton king named Ceanwulf.. not the best of kings or lands to serve in.. but I'm a young monk Im sure I'll one day find the king who Im destined to advise.. raiders led by a Viking who calls himself 'Skorpa' of the White Horse have ravaged our coastlines and taken control of the fort of my lords market town.. I've come to Wessex in hopes of securing aid to return the fort to us.. Im assured there is an Ealdorman Uhtred I have heard so much about sworn to King Alfred.. a great warrior they say with a band of godly warriors.. if he is willing to help we shall pay him handsomely.. the 'shadow queen' Isuelt advises my king he has no need to worry.. for she has seen a great warrior coming to his aid.. I don't believe in heathen witchcraft.. but she's useful to Caenwulf he says.. foolish superstitious ways the pagans have..

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/pov Odda the Older/

The realm is uneasy.. scars have started to heal on this blessed soil of Wessex.. but they haven't healed yet.. god I pray they heal before more would be invaders come to inflict even more harm to and on our lands.. once the news of Ubba and Guthrum's deaths had spread through the lands.. the pagans have avoided Wessex and looked towards Ireland and Wales to plunder.. we have even heard of raids happening to the Scots.. what we haven't heard is any news of raids on Aethred's new lands.. they won't even sail near the place.. they choice to continue down the Thames instead of choosing to dock at Oxford.. supposedly they already have thriving market town where their new 'cement' harbor was built.. soon it'll have the population and facilities needed to be called a port city.. ridiculous.. it hasn't been a full year since Aethred assumed dominion over his new lands.. I can't imagine what they will have accomplished another year from now.. I don't wish to.. I lose enough sleep as it it's..