Tyr punched him until his face caved in, but even with that, he did not stop. Tyr was enjoying it and he only came to his senses when the savages began cheering for him.
These were creatures that held no loyalty, as long as the one who led them was killed, they would submit to the victor.
Tyr, however, did not know and braced himself for any potential attack that they might initiate.
But all they did was crouch on all fours and lower their heads to the ground.
Tyr was not oblivious to how animals behaved, he knew that this was how wolves submitted, but he did not know if these people could be led.
"Heh! I see what is going on…" Tyr muttered under his breath, this was a fortunate development and one of them approached the shirtless Tyr.
He looked at Tyr and then looked to the ground where Skol lay, asking permission for them to devour the body.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtTyr nodded and they ripped into Skol's body like animals, tearing off his limbs. Tyr thought they at least cooked their food but they did no such thing, they devoured him raw.
"Well, that is not something you see every day," Tyr muttered under his breath, picking up his fur clothes to wear, wearing the head of the bear back as a mask but he abandoned the heads that were strapped around him.
Tyr had passed the final test he had set for himself but what would happen to these savages? They were cruel and he knew with every disadvantage, there is an advantage.
He knew if he took them under his command, he did not have to worry about their mental state deteriorating because this was something they were used to but what could he do with a measly thirty men?
He watched in silence as they stripped Skol's flesh to the bone in no time.
The man that had nodded earlier stood to his feet, attempting to start a conversation with Tyr.
"Others… Chiefs… Angry," The bald man said, but Tyr did not understand his speech pattern.
"What do you mean?" Tyr asked.
"He has a speech impediment, that one there is Finn." A lady said, coming into view, these savages were dressed in animal skin, normal fabric was not something they could find after all.
Tyr jerked his head in the voice's direction and his eyes settled on a lady that looked nothing like a lady, she had pale skin and one would think she was dead with a single glance.
"Who are you?" Tyr questioned, she was a lot shorter than him and he could not make out her other physical attributes because of the clothes she wore,
"My people call me Nora, Chieftain," Nora said, with a bow but that name rolled off his tongue effortlessly.
"Chieftain?" Tyr thought, there was no escaping it now, he was their leader whether he liked it or not.
"What did he mean by others?" Tyr questioned and he noticed everyone's head hanging like they were ashamed of what Nora was about to say.
"There are three other clans of savages. Clan Haukdælir, Clan Ásbirningar, and Clan Sturlungar but the clan that you should worry about are Sturlungar. They are being led by Sighvatur, they are currently at war with the other two. A war we do not have the strength to fight…" Nora was explaining their current situation to Tyr because she knew he had to know where the clan stood.
".... So you ran and hid? What do you think would happen after this battle is over? Do you think they would let you be?" Tyr asked and Nora fell silent, Tyr noticed she was the only one that understood him excluding Finn.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"We had no choice, we did not come from these lands originally but we learned their ways. We understood that survival comes above all in this world, these people do not care about anything else and right now we have submitted to you because we know you have the strength to help us survive. This was Skol's way of surviving, show us yours, chieftain." Nora's speech made sense, Tyr understood why all these people could growl like animals, it was because they did not speak or understand any other languages.
If they were like animals, then he would need to teach them commands, that would be enough to instruct them. Nora looked at him and noticed he was in thought so she kept quiet.
Tyr knew this was an opportunity to expand but he did not know if other savages followed the same rules as this one, did he just need to kill their chieftain?
"Chieftain?" Nora called out in a hushed voice.
"Survive? I have no intention of doing that, we are joining the battle." Tyr said bluntly. Nora was surprised about this revelation and the people around noticed her surprised look.
Nora knew she had to translate and she did just that, it was weird because Tyr doubted these were actual words she was using but the moment she did, the savages were ecstatic, howling like wolves. This was not the reaction Tyr was expecting but something told him these savages loved battle even more than Vikings. Skol made them weak and Tyr now had a new objective.
Tyr wanted his army.
"Can you get in contact with any of the other chieftains? I am sure if that man is as strong as you say then they would be looking for all the help they can get, we will exploit their desperation. I was fortunate to wander into this strange land for I had lost sight of my purpose but my first battle with Skol gave me an epiphany. It showed me as long as people exist to kill, their purpose would never run out. He knew if he was going to protect anyone, he would need to have the power to destroy anyone as well, they go hand in hand.
"I will try my best, chieftain!" Nora said, and Tyr smiled at this, looking up to the skies.
"It looks like the gods have not forsaken me," Tyr muttered