Bjorn said nothing as they dragged him to the block, where a lawbringer was waiting. He wasn't wearing the usual helmet, just a hood over his face. Bjorn could here the grunting as they hauled the big Shugoki next to him. Both of their hands were bound in metal cuffs, it seems that they didn't want to take any chances. The lawbringer stepped forward, a frown on his face.

"What's this?" The man asked, "I was not told that we had already started weeding out the sheep."

"Orders from the captain," The head knight said as he pointed to Bjorn, "He's to be the first, an example. He's too mad to be useful, more likely he'd turn on us."

The Lawbringer growled as he looked at Bjorn before looking at Gorou.

"And him?" The man asked.

"He's too big to keep feeding," Another of the knights answered, "Too keep one of his kind in fighting shape is too much to ask."

"Pragmatism then," The lawbringer growled as he hefted his weapon, "Bring up the Viking, we'll start with him."

Bjorn said nothing as they hauled him to his feet, shoving him forward. The Viking only grunted as he walked towards the stump, they had clearly just cut it for the occasion. His footsteps barely registered to himself as he stepped forward, a single thought entering his mind. A single word: Peace.

"Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death," Bjorn muttered to himself, "I shall fear no evil, thy staff and thy rod comfort me."

"What's this?" The Lawbringer asked as the Viking got closer, "Are you praying?"

"No…not praying," Bjorn said as he looked at the man dead in the eyes, "Remembering, I do not pray. Tell me, are you a religious man?"

"Hold they tongue, knave!" The lawbringer growled as he slammed his fist into the Viking face, a sliver of blood going down Bjorn's jaw, "Thou aren't worthy to speak to thine executioner."

"So you believe that you art a better man then?" Bjorn laughed as he continued towards the block, "Talking like you are a priest of god?"

"Silence, heretic!" The lawbringer growled as he shoved Bjorn to the ground, the Viking grunting as he got up, "Thou art not worthy to speak to a man of god nor to speak his divine word."

"Funny," Bjorn said as he arrived at the block, "Because thy acted as my Simon."

"On thy knees!" The lawbringer roared as he slammed his weapons shaft into Bjorn back knee, forcing him to them. Another man placed his foot onto Bjorn's back, holding him down as the man readied his blade, "Any final words?"

"The flies…I'm happy to be free of the buzzing of the flies as they eat the corpses of you daft knights." Bjorn choked out before the lawbringer growled as he raised his ax blade. Bjorn closed his eyes, he knew what would happen. The blade would come down and his head would twitch for a few heartbeats. He only hoped his head lasted long enough to convince these bastards that he was possessed.

That's when the sound of a horn rang out, across the lands everything stopped. Soldiers stopped eating, sharpening, and drinking, prisoners stopped praying, and the executioner didn't swing his ax as he looked up at the source. Bjorn opened his eyes as well, seeing the horde of horsemen coming down the hill. Bjorn recognized the banner they flew, the Steeds of the damned…old Halvdan was finally fighting then. The Viking chuckled, everyone would be slaughtered, everyone wearing Blackstone colors…everyone…including…

The lawbringer barely had time to react as Bjorn suddenly roared, throwing off his warden. The lawbringer quickly tried to swing his weapon, but Bjorn simply slammed his shoulder into the man.

"Miserum!" Bjorn yelled as the two clattered to the ground, the Viking quickly crawling up to the man's face. The lawbringers shook off his daze as his once captive looked him in the eyes, only for him to plunge his teeth into the lawbringers throat. The rest of the men stare in shock, only for a cry of fear to sound out. They turned to see that Gorou had knocked down one of their two men holding him and had sat on him, the big man growled as he quickly brought a leg down onto the man's skull.

"You two deal with him!" One of the knights yelled, pointing at Bjorn, "I've got the big one."

The two men nodded as they drew their blades and readied to fall on Bjorn, who had gotten to his feet. The commander quickly turned to face Gorou, who was still sitting. He raised his blade and charged with a war cry.

"For Apollyon!" He screamed as he brought his blade down, only for his hands to be caught by the big man. The knight yelped as he looked down to see the cuffs on the floor, he didn't have time to ponder as Gorou grabbed his throat and picked him up. The knight's blade fell to the ground as Gorou squeezed harder and harder until he heard a snap, the knight going limp. The big man didn't hesitate as he grabbed the sword and looked over at Bjorn, whose back was against a wooden rampart.

"Viking!" Gorou yelled, earning the attention of the trio, as he threw the blade. Bjorn grabbed it as he looked at the two men with a snarl, one of them charged screaming, only for Bjorn to side step and drive the blade into his stomach. The man's intestines spilled into the snow as the other man followed up, attempted to stab Bjorn as his blade was still lodged into the man's stomach. The Viking let go of the blade, narrowly dodging the weapon as he grabbed a dagger the dying man was carrying.

Bjorn quickly closed the distance, grabbing the knight and jamming the blade in between his ribs. The man gasped as he fell, Bjorn letting him fall to the ground. He looked over to see Gorou finished off the final knight, the one he knocked over, by stomping on his neck. The Viking turned to the man with his guts in front of him, retuning to him. He quickly grabbed the sword and pulled it out of the man, the man falling down to stare at the sky.

Bjorn turned to the camp as the horsemen struck it, he wiped the blood of the lawbringer off his mouth and started towards it, pausing as he heard foot steps behind him. He turned to see Gorou following him, carrying a makeshift club from one of the various stakes behind him.

"You coming with me?" Bjorn asked, earning a nod from the big man. The Viking nodded his consent as he walked forward, stopping as he saw an axe embedded in a nearby stump. The berserker walked over and grabbed it before continuing on his way.

In the camp…

Charlotte held up her shield to block the strike coming from a Viking blade, a growl coming to her lips. She swung her flail around, hitting his arm, crushing the bone. The man readied the second strike, only to gasp in pain as his ax suddenly fell to the ground. The man followed, revealing the unmasked Soliel. She looked up at Charlotte, examining the woman.

"Are you all right?" The peacekeeper asked as she turned to ensure that no one was sneaking up on the pair.

"I'm fine, merely caught off guard," Charlotte replied as she stared around at the chaos, "What happened?"

"I don't know." Soliel said as she looked around the chaos, her lips curled upward into a snarl.

"I thought the Viking's had called their banners, who are these barbarians?" The conqueror said as she looked around.

"I had heard tales that another clan of Vikings where in the area," Soliel answered, "The Steeds of the Damned, but last I heard, they had also called their banner."

"Whatever the case," Charlotte said, "We need to regroup, where's Richard?"

"He just returned from the fort," Soliel answered as she readied herself as well, "He should be at the main tent."

"Then that's where we need to go," Charlotte said as she looked around to get a vantage before pointing it out, a flag flapping in the wind, "That way, let's go."

The pair started running, dodging the various skirmishes that they saw as well as the spears of the horsemen. A few of the men where off horses, fighting the members of the Blackstones, but they paid no mind to the two women. The pair continued across the camp, stopping at the sight of the command tent. It was a large clearing where a group of Blackstones had erected a line of defense, desperately trying to keep the warriors off them.

"There!" Charlotte yelled as she turned to face Soliel, only to yelp as she narrowly dodged a sword blow. Some of the attackers had snuck up behind them, it seems. Charlotte held up her shield to block the next blow from the man, she looked around to see that Soliel situation was no better as she parried a blow from an attacker. The conqueror growled as she turned to face her opponent, blocking another sword blow as she tried to wind up her weapon.

The man growled as he moved in, shoving himself into her shield. Charlotte groaned as he pushed her back, he clearly had experience fighting knights as he closed the distance, preventing her from readying a blow. The man smiled as he grabbed his sword, readying a stab. The conqueror suddenly dropped her weapon, grabbing the mace head as it fell.

She roared as she slammed it into his head, the primal ferocity of her attack driving the man's skull in. He moaned as she followed up again, her blow caving in more of his skull. The pair fell back into a tent, the woman roaring as she pushed him off her. She quickly leapt out of the tent, only to see that Soliel situation had gotten worse. A second opponent had seized her from behind as her original opponent readied his blade.

"Soliel!" Charlotte yelled, only to feel a pair of hands grab her from behind. Another assailant had snuck up on her, this one held her in a vice grip. Charlotte squirmed as she tried to buck the man off of her, screaming in that primal fury that lay in all of mankind. The man suddenly threw her to the ground, readying an ax blade. The woman attempted to raise her shield, only for the man to step on it. He roared as he raised his ax, Charlotte looked at his face with fear, knowing this was the end.

A silent prayer fell from her lips as the man readied to bring the ax down, the woman closed her eyes, expecting the blow. She shuddered as she felt something wet hit her face, only to open her eyes as the sound clattering metal came to her ears. She looked as her assailant fell down, she could see the ax embedded into his back. She looked behind him to see a face she never wanted to see again, a second woodcutting ax in his other hand.

"Charlotte," Bjorn growled as he grabbed her arm, "Get up, you'll die here if we don't escape."

"Soliel!" Charlotte yelled as she turned, only to see that Bjorn had not come alone. She marveled one of the samurai, a Shugoki she believed they were known as, grabbed a man's skull and crushed it with his bare hands. Soliel, using this distraction, was able to flip over her enemies back, grabbing his throat from behind in her elbow and crushing it.

"Soliel," Charlotte yelled as she ran over, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," The Peacekeeper answered as she looked at their saviors, "Bjorn…what are you doing here?"

"Some gratitude," The Viking growled, "I'm saving your life."

"Saving our lives?" Soleil laughed, "From what? Our line is just over yonder!"

"Oh, you mean that line?" Bjorn replied as he looked over at the women's goal, the pair's eyes following, only to see the commander of the line being brutally decapitated by a man with a huge sword.

"Well shit," Charlotte muttered as she looked at Bjorn, thinking how easily killing him now would be, "Do you have a plan?"

"Aye, I do," he said as he turned to face the pair, "First thing, rip off your tabard."

"What?" Charlotte yelped, "Absolutely not! We'll freeze!"

"And if you don't, you're a target." Bjorn growled as he looked around.

"Charlotte," Soliel said, earning the woman's attention, "He's right, we can worry about freezing to death later."

Charlotte opened her mouth to protest but closed it as she thought it over, her tabard displayed the colors of the legion rather brightly so it made sense if she was escaping. The woman growled as she grabbed her tabard and pulled it off, Soliel following suit.

"Alright," Bjorn growled as he turned to the women, "I saw a clear route on our way to find you two, hopefully it's clear now but I highly doubt fate will smile upon us."

The two women nodded as they followed Bjorn alongside their new Shugoki ally, chaos rang around them as they barreled through tents and clearings. Bjorn cursed in the Viking tongue as he came across what was once his clear path, now covered in warriors. The man growled as he readied his ax, only to be picked up off his feet as a Blackstone raider blindsided him. The Berserker yelped as he was thrown off, the Vikings knee nailing him in the head. Bjorn looked around in a daze as the huge Viking raised his ax, only to scream in pain as he felt a blade enter his knee.

Bjorn shook his head and leaped upon the Raider, pushing him back. The Viking glanced over to see that Soliel had turned her back to work on fighting another opponent, a Warden. Gorou and Charlotte where back to back holding off two Viking warriors, a raider and a Valkyrie. Bjorn growled as he turned to his opponent, the raider shoving him off. The Berserker and Raider locked eyes for a brief moment, the primal savagery of the two begging to be let loose. The pair roared as they charged, Bjorn narrowly leaping out of the way of a Dane ax and attempting to follow up by leaping at his opponent.

The Raider snarled as he blocked the twin axes with his shaft, parring the blow and knocking the Berserker to the ground. Bjorn quickly rolled away from the ax head as it was brought down, the Berserker followed up with a kick to the Raiders leg. The man roared in pain as Bjorn jumped to his feet, a snarl on his lips as the Raider recovered. Bjorn readied his axes and roared as he charged into an attack, the Raider raised his weapon to block…only for Bjorn to feint and slam his ax into the Raiders side. The Raider gasped in pain as his eyes went to the blade, Bjorn growled as he pulled it out, letting the man fall.

Bjorn looked around, noting that his allies had finished off their opponents, Gorou throwing off his opponent from his shoulders and Charlotte snapping the neck of hers with her chain and looking over to see Soliel pulling out her daggers from the her opponents throat. Bjorn growled as he looked at the clearing, still packed with fighting me. The Berserker growled as he looked around, hoping to find a clear pathway. Bjorn stepped forward, his feet hitting something round. The Berserker looked down to see an old Viking favorite…a fire flask.

A smiled came to his cracked lips as he picked one up, studying it to ensure it wasn't damaged. His eyes fell to the clearing, a calculating look coming over him.

"Boys!" Bjorn yelled, earning the attention of the rest of his group, "I hope you don't mind the fires of Hell…because we're going through them!"

Bjorn threw the fire flask into the group of fighting men, the men all stopping to stare at the liquid in confusion, before the fire erupted, roasting the warriors. The sound of screams was enough to make the warriors around the explosion stop and stare, only to yelp as a Berserker, screaming like demon from hell, leapt over the fire and buried his ax into a nearby warrior. The brief moment of calm shattered as the warriors all returned to fighting, steel meeting steel as they continued. Gorou looked at the raging inferno, before his eyes turned to a nearby destroyed table.

"Follow!" The Shugoki yelled to the two women, throwing the table onto the flames before leaping across it. The pair stared at each other before nodding and following him, the table cracking as Charlotte leapt off of it with Soliel ahead of her. The pair landed on the soft snow and kept running, realizing the now clear pathway. The pair caught up to Bjorn as he pulled his axes out of another poor sod before they barreled out past the barricade, stopping to catch their breath. Bjorn looked around and noticed a pair of horses, their dead riders nearby.

"Easy there…" Bjorn said as he approached, the horses balking at him as he approached, readying to bolt.

"Easy…" The Shugoki said as he approached, the horses seemingly called by his presence. His hand clasped on the reins of the beast and he pulled them over, Bjorn took one of the reins and handed it to Soliel and Charlotte.

"You two," Bjorn growled, earning the pairs attention, "Take the horse and follow the setting sun, there is a horse trail that will lead you to the bottom of the mountain."

"Why would we do that?" Charlotte growled back, "You just helped us escape a slaughter, why shouldn't we return to the Blackstone Legion?"

"Charlotte…" Soliel started before Gorou suddenly interjected, the big man's voice cutting through the cold air.

"Blackstone's are finished," Gorou said, earning a look from the trio, "Samurai are marching."

"That's impossible," Charlotte replied, "The Samurai don't have the man power to defeat Apollyon."

"Charlotte," Soliel said, this time her voice in a commanding tone, "We have to go, the Blackstones here are finished, even if they survive, there is nothing stopping the Viking's from finishing them off. We need to go ahead and report back, we need more men."

Charlotte stared at her companion, confusion coming onto her face. She had spent a lot of time with Soliel but she had never taken this kind of tone with the Conqueror, Charlotte nodded her consent as Soliel climbed upon the horse and offered her hand. Charlotte was pulled onto the horse, the beast seemingly muttering a slight protest before Soliel laid a comforting hand upon it. Bjorn nodded and turned to face Gorou and continued his plan.

"Big man," Bjorn ordered as he pointed at a distant smoke cloud, "That's their forward camp, run there as fast as you can. It'll be difficult, but they won't ask how you escaped."

"You?" The Shugoki asked, a bit of concern coming to his tone.

"I'm taking the horse," Bjorn said as he pulled himself upon it, "I have business I must attend to on my own."

Gorou nodded as he started off towards the smoke cloud and the pair of women nodded as they started off down the mountain, leaving Bjorn to aim his horse and kick its side as he started off towards his destination…the Fort Sigrun.

Meanwhile…

The two women barreled down the mountain path, snow kicking up behind them as their horses breath pumped into steam. Charlotte held tightly to Soliel as the moved before getting the courage to start speaking.

"Why did you stop me back there?" The woman asked, earning a look from Soliel, "We could have met back up with the Blackstones and told them about this route."

"…The large man was right," Soliel replied, "The Blackstones are finished."

"You mean the Samurai? They're weak, they could never match Apollyon!" Charlotte yelled incredulously.

"It's not JUST the Samurai," Soliel answered back with a sigh, "This wasn't meant to be told to anyone besides a trusted few…but the Iron Legion is reforming."

"The Iron Legion? You mean the knights who failed to protect us from the Viking raids in the beginning of this war?" Charlotte growled, clearly not impressed.

"Don't forget, the Blackstone Legion is made up of former Iron Legion veterans, some of whom have returned to their old calling," The Peacekeeper replied, earning a scoff of surprise from Charlotte, "And they returned with their soldiers, battle hardened veterans of this war."

"Surely they cannot match someone like Apollyon and her generals!" Charlotte replied, still in denial of the situation.

"No…unless her generals left for the Iron Legion as well," Soliel replied, "Holden Cross is leading their forces alongside that Warden that Apollyon was so keen on for so long."

"I heard of them," Charlotte replied, "The Warden that defeated Gudmundr, right? Why would a Warden of such renown turn on us?"

"I don't know, but that Warden is now Knight-Commander of the Iron legion and, in the last report I saw, the Iron Legion was on the march." The small woman replied.

"If that's true…then Apollyon really is finished…" Charlotte muttered to herself, the realization setting in, and "…What does that mean for us? The Blackstone Legion was our home, the Viking's won't give us sanctuary after this."

"The Iron Legion still needs good men and women," Soliel said as she looked back at Charlotte, "And you are one of the best women I've ever met. There's a port town a few days travel from the base of the mountain, we can secure passage there."

Charlotte nodded as she looked past Solei's shoulders, a bit of apprehension building in her chest at the thought of leaving the Blackstones, Soliel and her warm words, but in truth, her thought's returned to Bjorn…he saved her, there was no denying that but…could the legend be true? Could he have really married her mother and have been searching for her this entire time? Most importantly…what happened to her mother?

A few hours later, at Fort Sigurn…

Bjorn climbed off his horse, surveying his surroundings. The remnants of a camp still lay around him, bearing the sign of a quick exit. He tied the horse to a nearby post and entered the fort, his jaw set on his prize. The Viking passed by its magnificent halls, now stained with blood and littered with bones and shattered steel, he passed the dining hall, once so full of life and merriment, now filled with silence and shattered wood. He passed by the armory, now stripped bare, leaving only a few grindstones and tables. Finally, he arrived at the command room, the door battered in. The map was gone now, leaving only a solid wooden table, the documents that once littered the table were gone as well. Bjorn could feel the coldness of the room, he had only been in it a few times, especially after Magnus let the knights enter, but he knew that the life of this room had been gone for a long time.

Bjorn walked up to a torn tapestry, this one bearing the tale of Beowulf slaying Grendel's mother with a giant's blade. His hands pulled the tapestry off the wall and revealed a blank wall, the Berserker pulled out a knife and started probing the walls, remembering his brother's words.

"If the fort and I fall," Magnus had told him over a campfire at one point, "Look to Beowulf and Grendel's mother, my will is there. You might still deny my right to call you this, but you're my brother and I can only trust you to carry it out."

Bjorn growled at the memory as his knife suddenly hit loose mortar, the Viking got on his knee and scraped it away. The Berserker smiled…a loose wall…clever Magnus, he stepped back and kicked the wall a few times, the mortar breaking a brickwork falling apart to reveal a chest. It was a medium size chest, too large to just contain paper. Bjorn pondered why as he pulled it out and placed it on the table, the chest was solid but aged. The wood showed scratch marks but it didn't show any rot, Bjorn looked at the lock, a solid iron one at that.

Bjorn leaned back and pondered this, that wood was solid so he wasn't cutting it any time soon and that lock was way too solid to just snap. Where was the key then? Bjorn pondered this as he examined the hole where the chest came from, his eyes stared around it before stopping. The man quickly ran to his horse outside and started searching through its saddle bags and pulling out a torch, he quickly lit it with his ax and some flint from the same bag and ran back into the room. The Viking pushed his torch inside the hole, revealing an odd sight.

It was a shrine, too deep in for the light from outside to illuminate it. Bjorn was puzzled by this, Magnus was a stark Odin worshiper but this shrine felt…odd. It was of the Knight's faith, a wooden cross made of wood. Why would Magnus hide this? Bjorn thought to himself as he pulled the cross out, it was fairly large, the vertical piece was about a foot long and the horizontal piece about half that. The Berserker turned it over, seeing nothing but immaculate wood. Bjorn growled as he slammed the cross onto the table, stopping as he heard a rattle from it.

Bjorn quickly shook the cross again, hearing the slight rattle from inside of it. The Berserker quickly smashed the cross horizontal piece off, revealing a small hollow and from that hollow, a large iron key. Bjorn grinned as he pushed the key into the lock, the clicking of the tumblers turning making him laugh. He quickly threw the lock away and opened the chest to reveal…a set of chainmail and leathers. Bjorn stared at them in a bit of surprise, he quickly pulled the armor out to reveal something he thought was long gone.

Bjorn pulled out a ruined blade and shield, the memories it generated reminded him of a long forgotten past. One he had pushed to the back of his memories a long time ago…one he'd like to forget.

"Bjorn," The knight had said as he and Bjorn were sifting through the vault of a dead lord, the young Viking turned to face his companion as he held up a runed blade and shield, "These marking's mean anything to you?"

Bjorn rushed over and stared at the runes with youthful curiosity before almost dropping the weapon's entirely, his eyes glazing over with shock.

"This…this is my name sakes weapon," Bjorn said in shock as he turned it around, "Bjorn was a…he was a Viking warlord who died many lifetimes ago…he was my ancestor…how did his shield end up here?"

"Probably got lost and ended up in this vault through trade," The knight said as he leaned over, "We only just got access to this vault a few days ago, and the lord had no heirs and no family. He was eccentric to the end, desiring to get relics from foreign lands."

"Well that explains this!" Bjorn said as he pulled up an odd hooked blade, "What even is this thing?"

"That's a hook blade from the east!" The knight said as he took it.

"You mean from the samurai? I've never heard tell of a weapon like this from them." Bjorn said as he continued to examine the sword and shield.

"No, even farther than them," The knight responded, "Very few have ventured there and even fewer have returned, but no matter…this shield and blade, they belong to your ancestor?"

"If they are real, but even if they aren't, these runes and jewels are certainly valuable enough." Bjorn replied as he readied to turn them over to the knights pile of valuables.

"No Bjorn," The knight said as he put his hands on Bjorn's shoulder, "This belongs to you, it's your ancestors and it will certainly replace that blunt hunk of metal you've been swinging."

The knight laughed as Bjorn threw his undrawn blade at the knight.

"Still heavy enough to kick your soldier's ass!" Bjorn laughed, only for the two to turn as another knight came rushing in.

"Sirs…the Iron Legion is here, they want to speak with you my lord." The knight said as he bowed to the knight Bjorn was with.

"Well Bjorn," He replied as he pulled his kite shield out of the ground, "Let's see what the Legion has got to say to us."

Bjorn shook himself out of the memory and looked at the blade, tears forming in his eyes. How long ago was that day? Years at least…Bjorn quickly shook himself out of his melancholy, why did Magnus leave this here? This blade should be in their family's hall, not in the middle of a frozen tundra…unless…Bjorn took a deep breath as the meaning hit upon him.

Magnus had children, enough to carry on his name and will…but they were merely babes compared to him. Magnus wasn't desiring for a continuation of his legacy from Bjorn…he was wanting Bjorn to return to his old ways…the ways of the Warlord. The Berserker growled as he slammed the chest shut and turned around, grabbing a nearby chair and throwing it against the wall with a roar. He was no longer fight to be a Warlord, what was Magnus thinking? Bjorn had long since embraced the feral side of his humanity, he couldn't lead an army like his brother could!

Bjorn paced around in a fury as these thoughts came into his mind before he calmed himself, the Viking stopped and took a deep breath before looking at the chest. Bjorn growled as he walked over and grabbed it and hauled it off the table outside, looking around for something to put it on. He stopped as he spotted a cart that had been left behind as part of the swift exit. He slammed the chest onto it as he looked at the nearby horse, he sighed as he walked up to it.

"Be strong…it'll only be for a tad bit longer…" Bjorn muttered as he led the horse to the cart.

An hour later…

Bjorn stood before the three graves, each one marked with the commander's weapon. The Viking turned to the one marked with a sword and shield, a sigh forming upon his lips.

"Magnus…I'm sorry," Bjorn said as he looked at the grave, "I…can't lead our people, not anymore, not like this. I've gone too far to go back to leading them, ever since…Elizabeth was…murdered by the Blackstones…I have never been able to let go of my hatred for them. The Union is dead brother, it will fall apart in time. None of the Viking's have your charisma to keep it going, it might last for a week, a month, maybe even a few years but it will fall apart."

Bjorn took a deep breath.

"I can't keep fighting for them, I just…The knights have done so much to our people, to our family, to…to them, you know who I'm talking about. I guess Godric knows now too, why I hate them so much. The knight's took everything from me, even you brother…everything except…Astrid and Ragnar…and Charlotte. Yes…brother, Charlotte's alive…I don't know what gods rule us but there has to be one for this to happen."

Bjorn turned to the cart and reached for something.

"I can't lead the Union and can't forget what the knights have done to us…but I swear this…I will make the Blackstones pay for this, for your murder, for taking Charlotte away from me, and even for the deaths of those damn Knights and Samurai who died at Sigrun. I can't forget what they did…but I can avenge them. Brother, I'm sorry for this…but I must do this."

Bjorn turned around, a shovel in his hand.

"You and these…warriors deserve a true burial."

A few hours later…

"Halt, state you're…" Layla started before Hilde cut her off with a hand as the cart approached.

"Bjorn…" Hilde said as the cart passed, Layla's mouth quickly shut as she heard the fear in the Valkyries voice. The pair watched as the Viking passed, noticing that the back of the cart had three frozen bodies…with a sword and shield, a pole ax, and a nodachi beside them.