Ch 18
The next night, the original core of Erik's people gathered around the largest fire in camp. The newcomers ate outside the circle, but here, close to the flames sat the seasoned ones:
Bowls of stew passed around. Meat roasted over the flames. Despite the exhaustion of the day, this was the moment for planning.
Erik sat last, lowering himself onto a log.
"All right. Let's review what needs to be done. Everyone report what they were assigned to"
Korb exhaled sharply.
"The report? The report is that you've given us a crazy amount of work do to. Again." Kord groused
"Yes, Erik… every time we finish one impossible task, you invent two more. It's almost talent, truly." Gonir added as he lifted his bowl, eyes gleaming mischievously.
"It's a miracle we sleep at all." Runa nodded
"I swear on my grandmother's rotting teeth, if you tell us that we're adding more, I'll throw this stew at your head." Yrsa grumbled
Orvar grunted in agreement
"Enough!" Helga injected angrily "Erik has done more than any of us dared even dream. He gave us all youth. He saved the dying village. He cut down the worst raiders. He spared the young ones who did little wrong and gave them the chance to redeem themselves."
She looked around at all of them, her voice gaining fire.
"And now they follow us. They help us. They want to rebuild something better in this cursed North. That is because of him." She said pointing at Erik
"We owe him." Helga said "He told what we'd do when we joined him. Then why are you all complaining now?"
"I never said he was wrong… only exhausting. " Korb replied
"Yes, yes!" Gonir agreed grinning toothily "He's like a force of nature. Like a storm with legs."
Laughter rippled around the fire.
Erik brushed the moment aside.
"All right. Now that you've all got that out of your system. let's talk the problems so we can find the solutions"
Korb leaned forward.
"We need more yurts. " Korb stated "A lot more. The raider camp had plenty of tents, but the hides are small and some are even rotting. Their quality is worse than anything we've used before."
Brand added:
We can salvage the frames, but half the leather tears if you breathe on it too hard." Turik complained
"Then we do what we did at the last valley. Strip everything usable, remake what we can, and build new from scratch where needed." Erik replied
Runa folded her arms.
"That means another week of sewing canvases until our hands bleed." Halldis complained
"Better than sleeping in those tiny filthy tents our people used to make" Helga reprimanded
"Mounts next. We need far more than before." Ketil said "Seventy newcomers. Seventy riders. And at least a dozen extra animals to haul supplies like food, tents, arrows, rope, cooking ware."
Erik nodded.
"We do what we did last time. We scour the forests and hills. Every elk herd, every deer herd we find,if they're big enough, I'll combine the deer into giant elk again."
"Yes! The great Erik, father of monstrous hoofed beasts!" Gonir cackled below Helga elbowed him.
Skaldi cleared his throat.
"That's not the worst part. We have no good weapons left." Skaldi reported "The twenty sets we brought were used up last time. Half went to the best archers and so they got the compound bows. The other half went to our best fighters and they got the samurai scale armor."
"Which leaves over seventy new people with nothing more than what they had when we attacked them." Jakob added "Just bone and stone weapons with a few bronze weapons"
"I can help with that at least" Erik replied "I can make bone glaives like ehe ones I made for you all . Hardened inside with carbon fiber. Reinforced outside with it too. I can manufacture enough for everyone. They're easy enough to make. Same for the bone swords"
"What about armor?" Skaldi asked "Will we make more of the light leather armor we provided Jakob's people?"
"No" Erik replied shaking his head "We use the hides to make the yurts and saddles. Once we have enough mounts for everyone, we move on. We gather more people and we capture more raiders. We survey the land. We have two objectives. The first is to grow and in the process of growing we stop raiders and help those that need it."
"We move on. We gather more people and we capture more raiders. We survey the land. We have two objectives. The first is to grow and in the process of growing, we stop raiders and help those that need it."
A pause followed.
"And the second?" Skaldi asked.
"The second," Erik said evenly, "is to find suitable land along the coast for us to build our own city. It must have fresh water, fertile ground, timber, stone and metal deposits close enough to exploit."
Several of them leaned forward now.
"When we find more raiders , we keep the captured raiders alive," Erik continued. "Those willing to join us are put to work and bound by oath. Those who refuse will still serve a very different purpose."
Helga's expression tightened, but she did not interrupt.
"They will be given to the Children of the Forest," Erik said. "Their lives used in a land-altering ritual."
"To do what?" Runa asked quietly.
"To shape the land itself," Erik replied. "We create a vast natural stronghold, a dormant volcanic caldera. A great circular valley, ten kilometers across, its walls rising nearly three hundred meters high. Steep and slick enough to be impossible to climb and the valley formed wide enough to hold farms, forests, water, and a city at its heart."
He traced the shape in the dirt with a stick: a perfect ring.
"A flat, fertile floor," he finished, "protected by stone walls no army can easily climb. A city that does not need walls, because the land itself is the wall. Furthermore the dormant volcano's heat would keep the entire valley warm enough during the winter years that we could farm crops even then"
No one spoke for a long moment.
A heavy unease settled over the fire.
"That's…" Turik began, then stopped, shaking his head. "Erik, shaping a valley that large? Six kilometers? That isn't cutting canals or raising embankments. That's remaking the world."
"I've seen the work of the Children in old places. The fist of first men. Weirwood roots splitting stone, hills bent out of shape—but this?" Skaldi said as he nodded grimly. He gestured vaguely. "This is on another scale."
"And the cost?" Runa's voice was quieter, more troubled "Even if they agree, magic like that doesn't come free."
"You're talking about collapsing earth, raising walls of stone hundreds of meters high" Yrsa said with a frown. "If something goes wrong—"
"If it goes wrong," Korb cut in, "we bury ourselves, the coast, and half the people we're trying to save."
Murmurs of agreement rippled around the circle.
Helga studied Erik closely.
"You speak of this as if it's certain. But the Children of the Forest are not tools. And even if they were willing… are you sure they can do it?"
Erik let the doubts hang in the air. Then he spoke, calm and firm.
"They already have."
They looked at him.
"The land bridge," Erik continued. "The one that once joined Westeros and Essos. They shattered it. Drowned it. Split a continent from a continent."
Several of them stiffened.
"And the Neck," he went on. "Once solid land. Now a choking bog of water, peat, and twisted roots. They reshaped rivers, sank ground, and turned miles of earth into swamp to stop an invasion."
Skaldi swallowed.
"That was legend."
"No," Erik said. "That was history written into the land. They even made a valley similar but larger to this for the Thenns"
He leaned forward slightly.
"If they can drown a land bridge and tear the world apart at its seams," he said, "then carving a caldera,guiding a collapse instead of unleashing it Should be well within their reach."
Runa hesitated.
"And you think they'll do this… for us?"
"They won't do it for us," Erik replied. "They'll do it for balance. For a place where growth replaces endless raiding. Where fire and stone are shaped once, so blood doesn't have to be spilled forever."
Silence returned, deeper now.
Finally, Gonir muttered, half in awe, half in fear,
"You don't think small, do you?"
Erik's gaze stayed on the flames.
"The world doesn't change from small thinking."
Erik stood.
"Then it's settled. Tomorrow, we start construction on more yurts. The hunters and wargs search for elk herds."
Everyone, even Gonir, nodded in agreement.
"To another week of impossible labor." Runa said as she lifted her cup.
"To Erik—our beloved slave driver." Gonir added in as he lifted his.
"To the True North we will build." Helga said as lifted hers with fire in her eyes.
They drank.
Tomorrow, the work would begin.
Again.
----
The next morning, practice ran longer than usual. The camp had swelled with newcomers, and Erik had insisted they not simply watch, but learn. Eskrima sticks were handed out and the fighters were split into small groups. Those with experience took charge, patiently guiding fresh hands through the basics from the very beginning. stance, grip, footwork, the rhythm of strike and guard.
Only when the drills finally slowed, arms aching and breath misting in the cold air, did a small figure step silently into the circle.
Bloom, the leader of the Children of the Forest assigned to him moved with the quiet certainty of the deep woods. Her bark-brown skin bore faint leaf-like patterns, and her large golden eyes watched without haste, as though time itself bent around her.
"The Greenseer and the Children of the Forest send a gift," Bloom said, her voice soft and even, carrying the weight of long memory rather than haste. "A gift that would be very beneficial in your current predicament."
Erik turned to her, sensing the significance at once. Gifts from the Children were never given lightly.
"A gift?" he asked. "From the greenseer and your people? This should be interesting"
Bloom inclined her head slightly. Then, without another word, she raised her hand and pointed toward the forest's edge. There, at the edge of the forest, the trees seemed to shiver and part. Slowly, steadily, massive shapes emerged, thick-furred, towering woolly rhinos, their breath steaming in the cold air.
A low, thunderous rumble rolled across the ground as the beasts advanced, each step sinking deep into the frost-stiff earth. Their horns curved forward like living siege rams, fur matted and heavy, streaked with mud and old scars. Steam poured from their nostrils in slow, powerful breaths, as if the land itself exhaled through them.
Behind the lead rhino came a dozen more, just as massive. Upon each sat another Child of the Forest, small bodies swaying gently with the beasts' gait, their hands resting lightly against the coarse fur. Their eyes, pale and unfocused, confirmed Bloom's words, these were not mere riders, but minds joined to muscle and bone.
Erik stepped forward, every instinct screaming caution, yet he presented a brave front.
"So," he said quietly, never taking his eyes off the approaching creatures, "the Greenseer believes the time has come to wake the old strengths of this world."
Bloom inclined her head. "The world remembers what it once was," she replied. "And it remembers you."
The lead rhino halted a dozen paces from the camp. The ground shuddered as it lowered its massive head in a slow, deliberate gesture,half submission, half acknowledgement.
The Child of the Forest atop it spoke in the true tongue, the voice echoing faintly
Stone-breaker. Sky-breather. Enemy-trampler.
A murmur rippled through the gathered warriors. Some took an unconscious step back.
Eldri's mouth fell open. "By the old gods… are those… rhinos?"
Korb's eyes were wide, his voice a mix of awe and disbelief. "I've heard tales of them, but I never thought I'd see one alive… let alone a whole herd."
Helga quickly, muttered a prayer. "The Children of the Fores and riding such creatures of myth. Its like tales of old coming to life"
Yrsa leaned close to Corb, whispering, "Do you think they'll attack? I don't think our shield wall can stop them"
Corb's gaze was fixed on the lead rhino. "Look at that rider. Milky eyes… he's warging it. The creature will not harm us unless he wills it."
Bloom stepped closer to Erik. "Just as the giants domesticated mammoths, the Children of the Forest preserved many massive creatures of old. This herd of woolly rhinos is our gift to you. We know you will make good use of them and help propagate their kind. Only a few of us remain willing to release them into the world."
Erik's eyes swept the herd, calculating already. "This is a timely gift," he said, a slow smile forming. "Not only do we need more mounts, but our elks are unsuitable for frontal cavalry charges, their massive antlers make that impossible. These rhinos… they are perfect. Though, I'll need more if I want to truly wield them in battle."
Luna's tone was skeptical. "And you trust that we can control them? They're enormous and very angry looking! And that horn's huge"
"Don't worry about that" Erik replied.
Corb knelt beside the nearest rhino, running a hand along its thick, coarse hide. "It's incredible… like touching a mountain. They feel… ancient, wise, not wild in the usual sense."
Helga's voice trembled slightly. "I pray we are worthy of such a gift… that we do not ruin what has been preserved for centuries."
Erik placed a hand on the lead rhino's shoulder. The creature huffed softly, steam curling in the cold morning air, and lowered its massive head as if acknowledging him. "Then we'll be worthy," he said quietly. "We'll honor this gift, and we'll make sure it serves more than war, it serves the land and the future."
The herd stood at the edge of the camp, silent, patient, waiting. Around them, the camp breathed in unison, the old world brushing up against the new.
----
In the following weeks, Erik's band remained in the valley, forced to stay longer than planned. Their numbers had more than doubled, seventy new people had willingly joined them, swelling the group from fifty to well over a hundred. With such a sudden surge in population, they had no choice but to halt their movements and re-organize everything from the ground up.
The weeks became a blur of constant labor. They tore down the raiders' dens, tents and hide shelters, salvaging every usable strip of leather, canvas, and bone to build new yurts. As many as they could manage went straight into constructing enough housing to keep the growing tribe warm, sheltered, and hygienic, far better than the wild, filthy nomadic conditions the newcomers had lived in before.
At the same time, Erik and the others worked relentlessly on mounts. They scoured the surrounding forests and open hills, capturing more elks and producing additional giant elk hybrids. Bit by bit, they outfitted the newcomers with riding animals so the entire force could eventually move as one mounted host. The dozen or so Wooly rhinos heped as they became mounts for his heavy cavalry freeing up many elks for others.
Every day was filled with training: mounted drills, formation practice, basic discipline, and adapting the newcomers to life among Erik's more organized people. They hunted, gathered, tanned hides, carved bone, and shaped wood using every resource the valley offered.
There were many instances when a former raider would freeze midway through an action and fall down screaming in pain as they'd had thought of going against Erik's wishes. Most former raiders soon learned not to entertain such thoughts but a few stubborn one had to go through multiple pain episodes to get that through their thick skulls.
By the end of the month, the valley camp had transformed. Two Dozen of new yurts stood where scattered ruins once were. Every fighter had a mount. Weapons and armor were distributed. Discipline had improved. And for the first time since their numbers exploded, the tribe felt ready to move again.