Chapter 96 Split In Bonds

King Askild called Tyr over and Tyr dashed to his position. Ragnar on the other hand went to check if Bjorn was alright, Tyr felt different from a month ago.

He did not flinch despite seeing Bjorn knocked out by Erik, nor did he show any emotional response to it.

He bent the knee but Askild did something that Ragnar had been the recipient of and that was telling him to stand up.

"Tyr, was it?" Askild asked, and Tyr felt goosebumps all over his body the moment he heard his name on Askild's lips.

"Y-Yes my king!" Tyr responded with a smile and this motivated Tyr to just gush about everything that he had observed.

"Tell me, what do you see…" Askild asked, he was taking a liking to Ragnar's children because he hoped that they would inherit his greatness despite Tyr not being his biological child.

"What do I see?" Tyr repeated, he was confused. It sounded like a riddle and he did not have the answer to it.

"You aren't Tyr, at least not the child from a month ago…" Askild said, pausing to spare Tyr a good look.

"You have fractured both in body and in mind, but I want to know what you see…" Askild said. He was speaking in syllables that Tyr did not understand but Tyr was not about to get on his bad side.

"I know we are being watched…" Tyr muttered, the tone uncertain and this brought about the biggest grin from Askild. He was glad about this response, but this was general knowledge.

"Was any of that true?" Askild interrogated him, this was about his earlier actions.

"I do hear the voices, the screams, and cries of the innocent. I hear them all, I feel terrible but I do not remember why. I understand the consequences of being a candidate for the great hall of Odin." Tyr responded firmly.

"The voices never stop, child… You need to stain your blood to keep them at bay and that is why Erik does what he does but I believe he's a psychopath incapable of remorse," Askild said, he spoke to Tyr in a calm voice despite their situation.

"Do you remember your life before Kattegat?" Askild asked, he showed an interest in Tyr, an actual personal interest in where he was from despite not being new in Kattegat.

"I do not, my king…" Tyr responded timidly, the aura of Askild was intimidating and with every word that escaped his lips, he had to force it out.

Tyr knew this was his opportunity because he realized that he had all of Askild's attention and he had to hold it if he was going to be useful.

"I found something out about their raids, King Askild…" Tyr muttered and those words held the interest of King Askild.

"What do you mean?" Askild asked and Tyr took this opportunity to be the main character.

"They never leave their dead, they always return to get them. I have never seen a rotting corpse of theirs, only of ours." Tyr said but this was not new information to Askild or anyone as they would want to give their warriors an honorable send-off, and not let them rot with maggots.

"I have a plan that might change the tide of this war, it is something I have been preparing for a month..' Tyr said with fire in his eyes, Askild looked at him as there was something he had noticed and that was the children of Ragnar had interesting ideas, this was seen with Bjorn's plan to strip naked to take the enemy by surprise.

There was no reason not to give him a listening ear, he was glad to even as Tyr began to explain his plan in detail, and Askild's face changed from curious to disgust.

"What kind of sickening plan is that?" Askild said out loud, drawing the attention of everyone around.

Tyr looked scared as he reflexively got up and took a couple of steps back. He knew better than to stay at Askild's side before the king's blade found his neck. He walked backward while facing Askild, until he bumped into something, that something was his father.

"What is going on with you, son?" Ragnar asked. Tyr was confused about what he was feeling because one minute he was on the verge of a mental breakdown and the next minute he was as calm as a cucumber and this frightened him.

He looked at an unconscious Bjorn and he looked at Erik, clenching his fist in anger because he knew there was nothing he could do as Erik was his commander and it was in a commander's right to defend himself if attacked, Erik could have killed Bjorn on the spot and no one would have batted an eye.

"I am scared, father. I do not know what I am becoming…" Tyr muttered, but Ragnar noticed something was strange with Tyr, it felt like he was looking at his son but at the same time he was looking at another person. The look in his eyes had changed.

"Tyr, what happened on that farm?" Ragnar asked but Tyr looked confused as he muttered in response.

"What farm?" This shocked Ragnar but Oskar, who was eavesdropping, intruded on the conversation between father and son.

"He has repressed those memories, what he does not know can't hurt him. He did the same when he washed ashore on Kattegat I was told. He has no recollection of where he is from." Oskar said, explaining why Tyr suddenly seemed stable out of the blue as well as the change that Ragnar noticed,

"Unlike Erik who revels in the act of killing, Tyr still has compassion in his heart. I do not recommend bringing up the incident anymore either, his mind might have forgotten but his heart remembers." Oskar said, before walking away but this gave Ragnar something to ponder upon.

Ragnar knew he had to be a father right now and not a warrior, he bent down and took Tyr in his arms.

"It is okay, son. It is okay…" Ragnar whispered and during this consolation, Bjorn's eyes opened and he was alone.

He saw his father embracing his brother despite him being knocked out, he was left alone. Bjorn did not like this, gritting his teeth in anger as the look of resentment danced in his eyes. For a brief moment, Bjorn felt his father favored Tyr and he hated it.