Hey there! I've grown a bi tired of admiring Ivar as a leader :D so let him take a short break from his responsibilities.
Here Ivar is an ordinary Viking warrior.
Ira (Wrath)
'Our father who arth in heaven, hallowed be thy name…' but the words were interrupted by the burst of laughter and whooping from outside. Abbess's lips pursed angrily in a thin line but she said nothing.
"Thy kingdom come, thy…' the nuns frowned uncomfortably, exchanging perplexed looks as another louder wave of shouts and hoots reached the convent.
They were feasting again. They were always celebrating something, those Norsemen. In the most outrageous and unspeakable way. From time to time they asked for some animals of the livestock the nuns kept and killing was the most innocent thing they did to them. Erin once saw them collecting the horse's blood into a bowl and some were painting their faces with it. Some were even drinking it. She still felt sick when her mind went back to that scene.
No matter that God bid them to learn forgiveness, and probably that was one of his tests, the nuns were all indeed appalled and confused about the king's decision. It was not about him making a pact with the Norsemen to ensure him with support and alliance against Fair foreigners or Finngaill as Irish people called them. They had come there long before and since then were ravaging and plundering their lands which were in unstable position as it is, sometimes uniting with warring parties, that is with kings of other provinces, so having additional assistance from those, presumably considered splendid warriors, was not the worst idea after all.
It was about his other decision. The condition on which they agreed to help was to give them land for farming and establishing a settlement. And it wouldn't be that bad if the land he'd given them was not around a women's nunnery which was unspeakable. The devil himself must have whispered it into his ear, either way he would have never done something like this, being sane and sober.
So when the nuns heard the land around their convent would be given to pagans, they thought the king was out of his mind. One of not many still standing holy places in Ireland he chose to desecrate.
The Abbess was even about to go to the king herself when his messengers refused to listen to her. Her respectful age and proud nature couldn't take it peacefully but she was threatened to keep her mouth shut (which was a surprise for every one as nobody had allowed to contradict her before) and not to dispute his majesty's orders, otherwise the consequences would not be pleasant. It might have been the Norsemen's choice, in fact, because the soil there was just perfect for farming and the king just had to submit to that. Which sounded more horrifying because in this case basically nobody had control over the pagans. There were not only men but also women but it didn't make it less unholy to share the territory with them, and moreover to coexist with people who stroke deadly fear into them.
'Amen.' they finally managed to finish their broken prayer and instead of enjoying the blessed silence after an evening service, a merry song being sung by drunken voices reached their ears. The nuns were looking at each other, wondering if that was some kind of a mockery of God.
They pulled the heavy benches away from the door they were barricading to keep them from intruders. The Norsemen never really intruded and, in fact, did act pretty civil. Even were polite enough to greet the nuns what used to scare the life out of them. But days were passing by and the women had nothing to do but accept the situation. However, at times they got especially feasty, and the nuns preferred to be on the safe side, just in case.
They were scattered around the territory, some were drinking, some just lying on the grass. Three women in white gowns were weirdly painting their faces while men were bringing branches and sticks for what seemed was going to be a bonfire. All of them were speaking too loudly and making a lot of noise which didn't use to be normal for the nun's bedtime.
The nuns knew that the Norsemen were going to perform some horrible ritual again and hurried to hide in their rooms not to see it. The building they slept in was just across from the chapel and before everything they used to walk enjoying beautiful flowers and plants blooming at the sides of the path, imagining being in paradise. Now with these people around them there was no room for contemplating. And in the beginning, after they first came, the only desire was to walk to their rooms as fast as they could and not accidently catch their attention.
A group of three Norsemen settled on the milking stools, almost right in the way where women had to go. And some nuns decided to use a longer way to get around.
Sister Maeve, the girl of sixteen who Erin shared a room with, all went pale when Erin decisively headed through the short way.
'Erin, please, should we go the other way instead?' She almost whined, tugging Erin at the forearm.
'Oh, there now, Maeve! They won't do anything to us.' Erin took her by the hand. It was freezing cold and trembling.
Yet Erin's body tensed a little as they were getting closer to the men. Just a few more steps and they'll be behind us, she was soothing herself, but on the outside she tried her best to be calm. Maeve's fear was more than enough for both of them. But the next picture that suddenly opened before them was ugly.
The men were laughing and boohooing at a goat who was bouncing between them, overwhelmed with terror.
'Hey,' a younger man let out several short whistles and pressed the cup with some liquid to its nose while the other got hold of the animal's horns. The goat sniffed the liquid and shook its head hysterically trying to set free from the hands that were keeping it. They men found it tremendously amusing and funny.
Erin averted her eyes. That was just unbearable to look at how they were torturing that poor scared animal. They were going to kill the goat anyway during their ritual. That was just too barbaric.
'For god's sake, leave the poor creature alone!' She didn't have time to think before her compassionate heart spat it out. She suddenly grew afraid of her own voice.
The men turned their heads at the girls with interest, wild smiles still on their faces.
'Oh, sorry, sweetpie.. as you say.' he let go of the goat while two other men were unceremoniously gazing Erin and Maeve.
The man picked up two apples from the basket on the bench. 'Want some?' His hand was so huge that two apples easily fitted on it.
'N-no.' Maeve stuttered shaking her head and pulling at Erin's sleeve urging her to go.
'Come on now, We won't bite,' he said but sounded like he did. He grinned at Maeve and the girl's fingernails went deeper into Erin's skin.
What Erin felt at the moment was comparable to coming close to wild animals. Make a wrong move and they'll eat you alive. And she seemed to have already done one.
Because the younger Norseman was looking at her with a sly grin on his lips. The gaze of his blue eyes was shifting from her face to her whole body and she felt uneasiness filling her chest. It felt like she was totally naked under his stare, and even with her robe on, she wanted to immediately have something to cover herself with.
That was the difference between their men and the Norsemen. The men from the village never allowed themselves to gaze at the nuns like that. They respected them. These Norsemen seemed to have little respect to their ways. And it was probably the agreement with their king that stopped them from acting their will.
She squeezed Maeve's hand harder and took fast steps forward to get away from them as soon as possible.
'Hey, that's rude to walk away like that?' the young man frowned sarcastically and they all burst into a high pitched laughter, perhaps extremely happy with the result of how they managed to scare the nuns to death.
Maeve was long asleep, snoozing softly into her pillow, while the sleep was refusing to grant Erin with its presence. Just as she closed her eyes there was always his face and that filthy sticky feeling rushed onto her. How his eyes were overpowering and how unprotected she felt. And so, lying awake in her bed, she watched shadows of light flickering on the walls. Whatever they were celebrating out there, it seemed the hell itself rose to feast together with them.
