Post by alfvin on Oct 7, 2008 13:04:12 GMT -1
Well, this is my first attempt, but here is a new story. The first page:
I was woken by the cold, it had crept into my very bones and the morning dew had soaked my clothing through, adding to the chilling cold. I opened my eyes to be greeted by a dull overcast sky.
Birds were singing the dawn chorus. It seemed louder than normal as though my hearing had become more acute. Raising my head I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I flopped back down again and lay still, feeling new sensations washing over my body. The pain in my neck radiated out to behind my eyes so that I had to screw them tight shut. Then there was the pain in my left leg. It had been numb up until now but there came an intense dull pain below my left knee and I tried to remember what had happened.
I tried calling out but my mouth was dry and no sound came to my lips. Feeling dizzy, I decided to stay where I was. Surely the others would be along in a moment.
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There had been a raid in the early evening of the previous day. The villagers had been in their little church. It was newly constructed out of blocks of the local grey stone. Three mid summers day’s had passed before it was finished. Eorl Goddfric had paid to have it build, so that his wife could go and pray there. Goddfric still followed Woden and the gods of his ancestors but saw no harm in the new religion which practiced peace and forgiveness.
When the Northmen arrived it had been expected. The raiders had moved quickly and silently with great skill and the church had been surrounded. They had called for the priest. Goddfric and his fyrdmen waited in cover and watched as the priest emerged into the bright sunlight. Blinking his eyes and staring open mouthed at his captors.
Goddfric never had liked the priest. He was a drunkard and a womaniser without any honour. Goddfric watched dispassionately as he was swiftly despatched with a spear through the spine. Well at least he knew his wife would be free from the priests wandering hands.
There wasn’t much in the village worth taking, a little gold in the church a few slaves but not what the raiders had expected. The villagers didn’t seem as frightened as they should have been and one or two murmured words of defiance.
The women and children had huddled into a group and seemed to be waiting for something to happen. It had all felt wrong but they certainly hadn’t expected any resistance but they were to be surprised that day.
A steady rhythmic beat reached the ears of the raiders and as one they turned to face the direction of the sound. An Anglo Saxon shield wall with one or two rectangular shields of the Brythons approached at a slow walk. They must have been fifty men across and two rows deep. Behind the shield wall were longbow men, perhaps a dozen. The sun glinted off shield bosses and off of spear points and one or two helmets. They were not well equipped but they seemed well trained and disciplined, showing no fear. As they slowly advanced, spears were beat against shields to produce the beat they had heard just moments before.
I was woken by the cold, it had crept into my very bones and the morning dew had soaked my clothing through, adding to the chilling cold. I opened my eyes to be greeted by a dull overcast sky.
Birds were singing the dawn chorus. It seemed louder than normal as though my hearing had become more acute. Raising my head I felt a sharp pain in my neck. I flopped back down again and lay still, feeling new sensations washing over my body. The pain in my neck radiated out to behind my eyes so that I had to screw them tight shut. Then there was the pain in my left leg. It had been numb up until now but there came an intense dull pain below my left knee and I tried to remember what had happened.
I tried calling out but my mouth was dry and no sound came to my lips. Feeling dizzy, I decided to stay where I was. Surely the others would be along in a moment.
--------------------------------------------------
There had been a raid in the early evening of the previous day. The villagers had been in their little church. It was newly constructed out of blocks of the local grey stone. Three mid summers day’s had passed before it was finished. Eorl Goddfric had paid to have it build, so that his wife could go and pray there. Goddfric still followed Woden and the gods of his ancestors but saw no harm in the new religion which practiced peace and forgiveness.
When the Northmen arrived it had been expected. The raiders had moved quickly and silently with great skill and the church had been surrounded. They had called for the priest. Goddfric and his fyrdmen waited in cover and watched as the priest emerged into the bright sunlight. Blinking his eyes and staring open mouthed at his captors.
Goddfric never had liked the priest. He was a drunkard and a womaniser without any honour. Goddfric watched dispassionately as he was swiftly despatched with a spear through the spine. Well at least he knew his wife would be free from the priests wandering hands.
There wasn’t much in the village worth taking, a little gold in the church a few slaves but not what the raiders had expected. The villagers didn’t seem as frightened as they should have been and one or two murmured words of defiance.
The women and children had huddled into a group and seemed to be waiting for something to happen. It had all felt wrong but they certainly hadn’t expected any resistance but they were to be surprised that day.
A steady rhythmic beat reached the ears of the raiders and as one they turned to face the direction of the sound. An Anglo Saxon shield wall with one or two rectangular shields of the Brythons approached at a slow walk. They must have been fifty men across and two rows deep. Behind the shield wall were longbow men, perhaps a dozen. The sun glinted off shield bosses and off of spear points and one or two helmets. They were not well equipped but they seemed well trained and disciplined, showing no fear. As they slowly advanced, spears were beat against shields to produce the beat they had heard just moments before.