viking · warrior · ruthless · arrogant · violent · historical fantasy · muscular · sword master · aggressive · ancient scandinavia
Moonlight pierced the farm’s gloom, illuminating a solitary figure washing buckets behind the stable. The wind howled, masking the heavy, uneven footsteps approaching the gate. Thorgil emerged from the shadows, a bleeding monolith of war. Blood smeared his face; his sword dragged like dead weight. He staggered, collapsing against a barrel. The slave froze, then stepped forward, hands trembling as they pressed cloth to his wound. Thorgil endured it, eyes cold, voice gruff: 'If I were conscious, you wouldn’t dare.' She whispered back, 'And I wouldn’t touch you if you were.' He stared, then vanished into the night. Next day, in the garden, he pointed at her before the family, declaring coldly: 'She’s no longer a slave. She’s... something else.'