The Worst Generation

Uld was a peaceful village... or as peaceful as the Nornish could be, sure they would slug you if you talked bad on the Raven God or pissed on a farmer's reed come Frey's spring, but sparing that and the odd tavern brawl, the Uld were good people, honest people, and Aetri respected them, even if some did not wholly respect him back.

He walked along the Village path, all frost and gravel, Aetri's boots crunching along as He approached the South Gate, a tall, log crafted double wall that opened like a maw to the right folk, the pair of fur-clad archers with fresh pine bows on each side above deciding who the "Right folk" were.

Twin blue eyes stared from above, spotting Aetri's fur-clad form emerging from the treeline as the wind grew aggressive, forcing the snowflakes to march faster through the breeze "W-Who goes there!?" He heard a familiar tone call "Show your face your face, Snow-stranger!" Another identical voice cried in the Nornish tounge as Aetri drew closer, throwing back his hood to reveal his face.

"You know who it is you great big pair of tits!" He called to the twin archers in Clear Nornish, his smile sure and amused, Jalk and Rod burst into laughter, lowering their bows as they saw His face

"Damn Your gold eyes, Fehu, You could have been a Skjal, could of been filled with arrows you could!" Rod said with a laugh

Aetri scoffed, rolling his eyes "You two blind and deaf bastards couldn't hit a Bull at point-blank range, now hurry and open the bloody gate!"

With a laboured creek and a whipping crack, the great Pine gates opened, and Aetri walked briskly through into Uld proper. The Village was what was known as Raven-watched, this meant that the Uld would open their gates to those who gave worship to the Mighty One-Eye and his pantheon... though not worshipers of the Tricker, like the Skjal, hence Aetri's confidence in Kara's entry being allowed; that being because Kara was pious praiser of the Raven God's fables and of course because she was to be associated with Aetri, and anyone who messed with Aetri... naturally had to deal with Lee, and nobody messed with Lee, capital N: No one.

It was Noon now, and Virgin rays of the winter sun swept the horizon, shining on the blanket snowfall which as always kissed all nooks and crannies of the Village. A burst of life met with Aetri's senses, the sounds of people, moving through the snow, trading with the merchants in the east-village in their engraved carts of Pine and Dew, the smell of winter-honey and the gentle scent of Myr-rocks carved from the combs of Black beehives, graced his nostrils, paired with woodsmoke from the burning braziers and Torchfires at the foot of every Hut.

Aetri strolled through the market, feasting his eyes on the glazed pinewood houses and their thatched rooftops, the great halls filled with the townsfolk who would seek for seed and sup now that winter was near its end.

The Uld where a vibrant people, often tall but nimble of frame, with locks of Winter platinum, bark brown and fiery crimson. The men were towering folk, with frost hardened faces and shining eyes that watched all who passed, they donned tightly wrapped furs of Wolf and Ox, and in their braided mane of hair and beard where Blackened feathers of Crow and Raven in tribute to their wise god.

The Men were stern, hard as all Northmen were, but they had a like for joy and gayety, sitting by flame to drink and talk and hum as they worked. Oh but the women... oh yes, the Uld woman were a different creature entirely, as tall as the men they were and wild in their beauty, there was not one person without a smile on there face, their braids were long enough to kiss their full hips and little were the furs that they wore, exposed often of strong belly, full breasts and powerful legs, a real feast for the eyes.

Aetri smiled fondly as He remembered what Lok had told him all those years back "Thank the fucking gods that Uld have ice in their veins, so that Our women can be half-naked in the cold!" And a feast it was, watching those pale-skinned beauties sing and dance in the snow as their bodies swayed was enough to almost make Aetri wish that He wasn't committed... almost.

"Fehu, Ma'boy!" Aetri turned his gaze to a stall on his left, where a Short man stood in his thick dyed tunic. The Young man grinned, moving towards the bearded man, who looked almost like a dwarf due to his forest of black hair that culminated on his face, though his long black locks on his head were tied back like thick iron wires, his beard an even wilder forest of auburn, but there wasn't a time where Aetri wasn't happy to see a Kinsman of Britannia.

"Well met, Markin, sell any shit today?" The Young man replied, smiling fondly as the Smith tossed a red-hot horseshoe into the ice-cold bucket, his grass-green eyes sparking with joy as he bellowed in a heavy belly laugh

"Ho ho ho, easy with the Jests there, lad or I'll give ya a good clipping 'round the ears on Madam Lee's be'alf" Markin spoke in his hefty jargon, that of the Stonelands to the South-east of his home. Aetri merely raised an eyebrow, smiling as the Shoe-smith's dirty cheeks shone crimson "...Aye, I sold a pound of shitty shoes to Jarl Jorgen's men just this morning!"

The two shared a laugh, Aetri coming to sit by Markin's forge which drove some of the cold from the Young man's bones. Markin fixed Aetri with a knowing eye, the nose of his Iron flask vanishing under the bush of his beard for a moment before He offered it to the Boy "Saw your lass walking over to'the Longhouse... And where's your bloody sword, It may be a bit old by now But that was good steel!" Markin drew up a sooty wooden stooll beside Aetri, The Boy ruffling his red nose

"Oh I uh... left it at the lodge, I didn't realise that You could see from under those furry caterpillars..." He said with a grin, Markin laughed, though He rocked Aetri with a jab to his bicep that made his teeth clack together

"Feck off. You are pushing your luck, kid, I 'eard plenty o' whispers from the New Uld, they were pissed about Kara being here before, Bringing her back now is taking the piss."

Aetri took a long swig of Markin's iron flask, letting the Britannian wood whiskey warm his gullet as He rubbed the pain out of his arm "The New Uld can whine all they want, Frigg says I'm welcome so we're welcome, simple as that." Aetri slid the flask back over to Markin, though He didn't drink it, Aetri sorely missed that whiskey already... small as it was, it reminded him of home.

"Listen, Boy. You do all the fire-dancing for winter and the Frey's dance for spring all you want, braid your hair as they do..." Markin flicked the long braid in Aetri's Honey-brown hair, crudely mouthing out in the Norne tongue "You can even speak as they do, but You're not."

Aetri shifted uncomfortably, snatching the flask back and taking another grateful swig "And what do you suggest I be, if not an Uld?" Aetri replied in a cleaner, crisper and more clear Norne.

Markin sniffed away a chortle, trying to rub away the grease from his face though only achieved in a coating it in the oil was soaked into his smithing apron. "You're a Bloody Briton, a Queensman of the blood, that's what I suggest you be, canst thou even converse in the King's tongue anymore? Her Majesty would be ashamed to see one of her population in such a state of estranged disrepair."

A Cold clot of spite rushed through Aetri's blood as He leant in with fiery golden eyes "Fuck the Queen. Briton I may be, but a Queensman I am not."

The Smithie's eyes softened, and He settled with a smile "Alright Lad. Just be wary, that Tyrg is a nasty piece of work, says bad things on You and Your aunts."

Aetri rubbed his eyes, swept-back his braided hair and stood, taking a cold breath "Yeah well, nothing new there." He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his furs and went to set off.

Markin grunted, going to grab his flask, though found his hand grasping at an empty space "Oi! You little shit, not again!" Aetri was already a ways off down the village path, tipping his head around to grin darkly as He waved the shiny black flask at the Smith mockingly "THE NEW ULD WITH BE THE LEAST OF YOUR CONCERNS IF THAT FLASK ISN'T BACK WITH ME BY DAWN!... Gah... bloody bastard."

Walking along the slushed path to the Longhouse, allowing Markin's whiskey to warm his belly as it tickled his throat, Aetri's thoughts lingered on Young Uld Tyrg and his gathering of rats.

"You'd think that the Old Generation would have the problem, but no."

It was true enough, foreniers like Markin were allowed into Uld for his usefulness, the Northmen were many things but confident metalworkers weren't one of them, even if He did sell to the Skjal from time to time, He only gave them the poorly forged leftovers... But Aetri, Crow, Lee... they were allowed residence through Honoured kinship, Jarl Tyr, Frigga's Father owed Lee a great debt from the past, Aetri was never allowed the grace of knowing what that Debt was, but He did know that Frigg swore to allow Lee and Her blood to stay with the Uld even after the fever took her Father

"Crow maybe Lee's blood, but it's the Friggs and the Uld's fear of Lee that allows the hollow facade of our relation to stand." The thought of it made him smile, it was a true testament to just how terrifying Lee was... Saint's only knows how much of a scourge she must have been in times past.

The elder Uld were honourable folk, and as hesitant as they were to accept Aetri, He soon won a good few of them over... But the Younger Generation, headed by the late Jarl Tyr's Son and Frigga's brother; Young Uld Tyrg, now if anybody hated the constraints of the Old ways and anything concerning them (Like Aetri) it was the Young Uld.

"J-Just open the fucking doors!" Aetri was pulled out of his thoughts by an all too familiar tone, a fiery-haired voice directed at two stone-faced Guards outside of a grand longhouse, engraved with One-eyes charms and hung with the weathered shields of 12 generations of Uld Jarls.

Aetri watched the Guards of the Jarl's long hall remain dead still, eyes forward, never acknowledging Kara's existence as she seethed at them, the two of them both turning their gaze to Aetri as He stepped on deft feet. "Come on now gents, such bad manners to ignore a lady." Kara jolted as she felt his arm rest across her shoulders, pulling her in close as the Young man crossed each guard with a critical eye

"You're not coming in, Outlander, You or the outcast-"

"tut tut Naughty, You acknowledged the outcast, very bad omen to break the shunner's law, One-eye's one eye will look poorly on you." He stepped forward, looking between the pair of oafs "Listen, Harg, Sven... I don't want to tell your lovely wives about your little canoodle with Sigurd the other day, do we? I'm sure she can cook me up a spitroast almost as good as the one you two made, while we talk?" The two's eyes widened under their leather helms, staring at Aetri's crocodile-like smile then to each other... then to him again.

"How in Hel did you know about that, I didn't think that You'd know stuff like that!?" Kara giggled as they walked up the steps as the Guards opened the doors for them, Aetri gave her a wink "You see only with your eyes, so you are easy to fool."