Schumacher The Shieldmaid

5. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-3-7549-0850-1
Verlag: epubli
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Deutsch, 152 Seiten

But nothing is as it once was. A storm takes him to a foreign coast and villagers find him. The mistress of the settlement and her shieldmaidens do not accept him as a friend and let him feel it. In secret, he forges a plan to escape, but suddenly everything is different. The entire settlement and even he himself is in danger. Will he use the opportunity and flee, or have the gods determined otherwise. 'The Shieldmaid' is the first volume of a three part Viking story. Volume 2 is 'The Journey of Björn' a prequel to volume 1 and the conclusion is volume 3 'The End of an Era'. The stories are self-contained and are based on the historical events of the time.

Ich bin am 08.07.1972 in Wiesbaden geboren, habe 2 Brüder und hatte eine glückliche, unbeschwerte Kindheit. Es gibt nur wenige dunkle Schatten in meinem Leben und ich bin wirklich glücklich, dass mir das Schicksal die Zeit gegeben hat meine Gedanken und Ideen auf Papier zu bringen. Ich liebe Tiere, die Natur und mag es durch die Wälder zu laufen, am liebsten mit Hund, aber ab und dann kommt auch die Katze mit. Seit meiner Kindheit interessiere ich mich für Geschichte und Politik, das sind ganz spannende Themenfelder.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schumacher, Jens

Leseproben

Chapter 1
A long way   A cold wind blows across the land, high snow covers the landscape and testifies to a long and icy winter that has not yet arrived in full force. The lakes are frozen and the forests are covered with bare trees. If you are very still and listen carefully, you hear nothing, - only the whistling of the wind. These are the sounds of winter. A trek of merchants and jugglers has come to rest in a small Frisian village in the year 873. For days they have been traveling in the freezing cold, their beards and their cloaks covered with ice. Now they are basking in the warmth right in front of a big fire, but they all know that they will soon have to set off again. Their way leads them to the southeast, their destination is the Orient, where trade flourishes and where one business deal follows the next. Many traders see there their only chance to make important contacts and enough business to get through the year. Most are just out to be able to feed their families and offer them something now and then. Others only see the profit. They want everything they can get their hands on and are not afraid to go over dead bodies if they want something. But to achieve all this, the men realize that their venture is a journey into the unknown, for many dangers and challenges lie in their path. A large merchant sits by the fire, deep in thought; he is the wealthiest in the trek. His eyes wide open, he stares into the flames, going over the rest of the journey in his mind. He knows it will not be easy, yet he is very optimistic. After all, he has a strong troop behind him and they all know what they want. Pure life is raging around him. Until now, he thinks to himself. His cup is hardly empty when a maid refills it with mead. Men and women are laughing and enjoying themselves. Children run around and seem carefree to him. He rubs his long beard. "If you all only knew," he mumbles, taking a sip from his cup. Worry spreads through him, for he was sure that many of the inhabitants would not survive the harsh winter. When they arrived here, he was told that the village must have had a very bad harvest - these are not good conditions for a winter. After a long time he tears himself away from the flames and lets his gaze wander through all the people, not far from him he notices a sturdy peasant boy. The boy immediately gains his attention, sitting with his parents and his three siblings, just having a meal. The merchant is sure that this boy would be of valuable service to him in a few years, as far as his parents will enter into a trade with him. At first glance, the boy seems to be in good health. Quite the opposite of his three siblings, who have hardly anything on their ribs. The trader suspects that they will probably not survive the winter, especially the infant, who is sucking at the breast of his slender and exhausted mother. "Hey, farmer," the merchant calls out, beckoning the astonished-looking man toward him. "Come here, I want to make you a deal." Thus he begins a long conversation with the peasant. The merchant knows how and with what words he can convince his customers. He knows something about what he does and is sure that he can propose a good deal to this man as well. A few hours later, the wagon train moves on, with the farmer's boy among them in the merchant's wagon. So he was able to convince the boy's father with a goat, a buck and three chickens, and he was also able to convey to him that this would ensure the family's survival through the winter. The merchant must admit that it was not an easy birth and that at the beginning of the conversation the farmer did not want to give his boy away under any circumstances, but the longer the merchant talked at him, the more he gave in. When the merchant lifts the boy into the wagon, he learns that his name is Björn. Saying goodbye to his parents and siblings is very difficult for him. In the eyes of his parents there is sadness and gratitude at the same time. Sadness because they are losing their son, gratitude because they now know they can get the rest of the family through the winter. Björn looks out of the covered wagon with tears in his eyes and waves to his family until they retire to their house. It is the house where Björn was born and grew up. It is the house that has given him shelter, warmth and peace, and it is the house he will probably never see again in his life. He sniffles and wipes his nose with his hand. In the meantime, it has begun to snow and darkness is already making itself felt on the horizon. Björn watches his home village grow smaller and smaller with every step the horses take, and he doesn't miss the chance to look at his old life until it disappears behind a hill.   ***   Many years have passed since then, but to Björn it sometimes seems as if it was all just yesterday. In the past years there was hardly a day when he did not think of his family, and there was hardly a night when he did not dream of the terrible parting. Although he has now become a strong man, the pain of loss still sits deep in his heart. Some days he condemns his family for trading him for food back then, but for the most part he can understand why they acted the way they did. He probably wouldn't do it any differently today. Björn hasn't fared badly in recent years. Like a king, he sits on his horse with his head held high. A magnificent animal, as he likes to call it. He is dressed just as impressively. His high status as a warrior is betrayed by his robust leather doublet with a chain mail shirt, plus a helmet that he wears protectively on his head. In addition to a longsword, he possesses a battle axe and bow and arrow. Bjorn's journey has been long, full of adventure, pain and hardship, but also full of love, happiness and joy, but that is another story. In his mind he goes back to the evening when he last saw his homeland from afar. With a sad look he now stares at the ruins of his settlement. Nothing more than rubble remains of his old home. A small smile appears on his thin lips when he sees the sea behind the ruins. Just like when he was a little boy, he hears the sound and feels the fresh sea breeze on his skin. He closes his eyes briefly and thinks back to the fishing trips with his beloved father. Björn is finally home after such a long time. Tears gather in his eyes. If he were not alone, he would say it was because of the frigid wind, but it is more because of the sad sight he sees. How could it have come to this? Rubbing his eyes, he dismounts his horse with a loud sigh and ties it to a lonely tree that has stood on this hill for as long as he could remember. Bjorn desperately needs to get some relief. It's always a risk to do one's business in the open, so he does it the way he once learned from a great warrior of the Varangian Guard at the court of the Emperor of Byzantium. "Thrust your sword into the ground beside you so you can see exactly what is happening behind you, but be careful not to forget what is happening in front of you and around you. You must always have your eyes everywhere." Harald, that was the warrior's name, plunged his sword into the ground, pointed his index finger at his eyes, then at the surroundings. "You never know if there's a vagabond lurking somewhere to murder you or rob you." He nodded. "And make sure the wind comes from behind you, because usually those bastards stink so bad you can smell them before you hear them." Such vital advice is something Björn takes very much to heart, and fortunately for him, it burns itself right into his brain so he never forgets it. Björn has had a queasy feeling all day. Since his last rest in the valley, half a day's ride from his settlement, he can't shake the feeling that someone is following him. But thanks to his good training, he can hide such perceptions very well. The day is dreary and a certain melancholy hangs over the area as he goes about his long-awaited business. Suddenly, an eerie silence falls, sending a cold shiver down Björn's spine. "Something's wrong here," he mutters, frowning and swallowing loudly. His horse whinnies softly and becomes nervous. His gaze swings quickly to the left, then to the right. He perceives a crackling sound, perhaps from an animal, but perhaps also from a human being. He cannot recognize it. Three breaths later, he catches a bestial stench, followed shortly by a shadow in his longsword, which he had rammed into the ground. Björn suddenly realizes that he is no longer alone. At the same moment he hears a loud battle cry from the attacker. He then perceives an axe whizzing directly towards his head. Bjorn's reflexes are very good, with a quick movement forward, he grabs his sword. Shortly after, he spins around. Because his pants are pulled down, there is no question of lightness and speed. Already he catches sight of the stinking attacker directly above him, hatred and anger written in his eyes. Björn does not hesitate, he lashes out with his sword, but hits him only lightly on the shoulder. The attacker laughs maliciously and bends over Björn. He opens his mouth to say something. Björn is overcome with disgust when he sees the rotting teeth...