11 XI. The Progress

Ten years went by.

During this period, Dag grew up with the conviction of becoming the greatest warrior of Skjold, to discover more about his past, under the watchful eye of his sister, Gridd and of his mother.

He was an average tall boy, with an athletic body and long blond hair, that he used to tie with a leather lace.

Sometimes, after the arena, he and Gridd used to continue the training, in front of their house, near the wood. She spent years, transferring Dag her Shieldmaiden's combat skills.

She turned eighteen 7 years earlier than the present time and she took part in the Sons Of Freya Clan, like her mother. For this reason 2 weeks a month, she moved to Hevnen, where her Clan was set.

Stein and Eirik continued their profession: Eirik was 22 years old now, he was a big, muscled boy. He never really got along with Dag, they never talked in a profound way.

Stein was focused on the job. He and his son started from a few years to build pieces of furniture with the chopped woods, to sell them at the market, where they finally opened a woodworking shop.

Asa turned 50, she was 5 years younger than her husband. During these ten years, she never spent a word about Brann and their past together.

It was a sunny day.

Dag woke up and walked out the door of his room.

They all used to sleep together, the house wasn't big enough.

He got out of the main door, and found Asa, milking the cows, according to her daily routine.

He moved closer to her.

"Hey, Dag…good morning my son" said Asa, calmly.

He kissed her head, from behind, while she was crouched.

Her hair smelled of warm bread and dew on the bushes.

In all that time, he became attached to his step-mother, as if she was his real one. From the first day, she ever was kind to him, even if he was a really bad Viking boy.

He loved her for this reason, no matter if she never told him about Gridd's real father.

She had no business doing so.

"I'm going to the arena, mum. Do you need anything from the town?" he asked.

"No dear, go. See you later, take care of yourself"

She continued milking cows.

Stein and Eirik were probably already in the woods, or down at the market perhaps.

Dag woke up late, as always.

He walked down to the street. During the days he spent going to the Arena, almost every day, he memorized the road. Every tree, every plant, every spot.

A downhill straightaway at the beginning, then a series of bends, until the City gates.

Dag trained hard every day to improve his combat skills, but also to please his sister, Gridd.

He knew he was not so strong, not so able to properly use any kind of weapon, as his sister was.

Dag, after an hour, arrived at the Arena. He perfected Gridd's shortcut, turning down a steep descent, right after the rocky wall he used to climb in the other direction when he came back home.

He entered the gates and walked to the rack, picked a sword, as usual, always the same one.

He recognized it because of a small "D" letter carved in its wooden hilt.

In years, Dag tried almost any kind of weapon, from axes to hammers, daggers and bows.

In the end, he chose the sword. He remembered every day the first lessons Gridd gave to him. The mobility you gain with the sword, the celerity, the precision.

As his sister told him, he was able to use the sword using both one and two hands together. In this way, his stance had a perfect balance between attack and defense moves.

"Today, you will train against each other, switching after a short time. I'll do the order."

Taya was older, but always a strong Shieldmaiden.

Sometimes, sometimes she used to fight with her apprentices, with fake weapons.

Her combat style was quite common: she fought with a spear and a small, rounded shield.

After her words, everyone in the arena set in his position, ready to show his own masters his skills.

In front of Dag, Karl stepped forward. He remained a little, skinny boy. He held a sword and a shield.

Dag knew Karl's combat techniques and didn't found him so hard to defeat.

The fight started, after Taya's order.

Karl's stayed still in his position, with his shield up, ready to interrupt Dag's charge.

Dag didn't move at the beginning: he studied his opponent, even if he knew him. Then, he approached him, fainting a half-height sword swing. Karl hid his own face behind the shield, raising it even more.

The faint succeded, and Dag moved again his sword, but this time aiming to Karl's right leg, under the shield. He hit him, and Karl dropped to his knees. Now Dag put the tip of his sword on Karl's forehead, tapping him.

Karl left his weapons on the ground, the battle was over. Taya saw the scene, but she didn't seem surprised, she continued looking somewhere else. Dag turned his head in the same direction: Taya was looking at Freydis.

Her red hair slightly moved into the air, while she dodged his opponent hit, shifting on her side.

Then she turned around on herself, punching the guy on his ribs. He bowed for the pain and she hit him with a kneeing right on his face, knocking him to the ground.

"Hahaha, that's fighting! Well done Freydis!" Taya clapped.

Dag continued looking at Freydis. Growing, she'd become so beautiful.

She was skinny and graceful, even she embodied the true Viking spirit.

She had a tattoo on her right arm, representing a phoenix with its wings opened on the top and a long feathered tail that circled the forearm.

"My sister still doesn't notice you, am I right?" asked Karl, getting back up from the ground.

"Oh, sorry Karl, I was stunned on her…yes, she doesn't yet"

Dag lent a hand to help him get up.

"Your sister is beautiful, I really like her" continued.

"Yes, but…how can she know about you if you've never even tried to speak openly! You're like a brother to me, you can use this thing for your advantage" answered Karl.

He and Dag became very close in the last years since when Gridd stopped being Dag's only true friend.