>SELECTED: “Witchbane. It is a worthy name. I will take it.” A brave opponent, but his fate was writ the moment he challenged a knight under the mandate of heaven. You accept the name ‘Witchbane’ as one of your ongoing titles. [Conclude the Challenge]The Norsikaan huscarl Gunnar Golden nods approvingly at your translated words. Behind him, scores of the northmen have gathered around the body of Einar. They lift his body up on their shoulders,
The Norsikaan longaxe lies at your feet, it strikes you as wrong to leave it there on the cold floor when the man who wielded it so bravely is being taken away. There is a bristling pause from some when you pick up the axe, followed by grunted affirmations of assent by all gathered when you place the axe upon the breast of the fallen warrior and wrap his arm around over it. None move to interfere, so clearly the gesture of respect to your fallen opponent by yourself was an appropriate and appreciated one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9zLegJ7SIQ&ab_channel=Throneful - Norsikaan Funeral Rites<span class="mu-b"><span class="mu-i">“Þetta er ekki fyrir þig.”</span></span> As you go to follow the procession carrying the fallen Einar away, the warrior with the eyepatch Baldur Farsight steps in between you with a shake of his head. <span class="mu-b"><span class="mu-i">“Þú ert nú nefndur. En þú ert líka morðingi bróður míns. Og nú verðum við að harma hann.”</span></span>
You watch the column march stoically down the great hall, the song from their lips is one that you can tell is ancient and old to their people. It is not for folk like you, not this. The dark-haired northman lingers a while, staring at you longer than is polite.
<span class="mu-i"><span class="mu-b">“Ekki taka því persónulega, maður sem þjónar einum guði. Þeir fara til að búa hann undir ferðina til enda veraldar.”</span></span> The usually dour Norsikaan breaks into a wide smile, as if speaking with a lifelong friend rather than a stranger and foreigner. <span class="mu-b"><span class="mu-i">“Ekki óttast. Við sjáum Einar aftur, í lokabaráttunni í lok tímans.”</span></span>
Their meaning is clear, even before the slave guide translates their words. You are no enemy of theirs, they may even deeply respect you after what they have seen here, but your welcome is at an end for today. You depart the great hall of the Norsikaan Guard Cohort with the sword sisters in tow, most of the latter remarking aloud that they had never seen such a thing as this duel during their own service with the Dragon Guard. It appears the Norsikaans are not the only ones you have made a mark on, even if the officer Dame Svetlanna for her part seems as perturbed as she is impressed.
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