A bright flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and Tova reached for her bow. A dull roar of a storm rolled from the sea, pouring rain. Tova rushed forward, past the warriors waving blades, and, having pulled an arrow out of a quiver, inserted it into a bowstring. Seeing the Swell warrior ahead, Tova immediately fired an arrow. She watched the arrow soar into the air and hit the chest of Swell's woman. She fell back, the sword fell out of her hands, and two men standing behind her, immediately hit the ground.

She was trying to find Halvard, but he disappeared, dissolving into the dark shadows that filled the forest.

Everything around was blurry in a foggy haze, and Tova wiped the raindrops that covered her eyes. The forest air was filled with the warlike cries of those fighting. An avalanche came from the sea, growing every second. Noticing a ledge in the rock nearby, I rushed there. Slipping in the mud, Tova ran past the fellow tribesmen interlocking, hurrying to the moss-covered ledge. Warrior from the Swell tribe, noticing her, darted in her direction, but she swung and hit his jaw with her bow. His head jerked to the side, he stumbled, and at that moment the warrior from Nadir crashed into him, and both rolled on the ground, strewn with pine needles.

Reaching a ledge in the rock, Tova grabbed its stone surface with wet hands and pulled herself up. From her vantage point she could see the battle unfolding below.. Having pulled out another arrow from the quiver, she knelt down and took aim at a group of Swell warriors trying to break through Nadir's defenses. Listening to the sound of the wind, She fired arrow after arrow, knocking the Swell warriors off their feet. Suddenly, she froze and squeezed her bow, noticing the wagon in the back of the army. It was filled with small wooden barrels. In such a barrel, Jorrund brought tar with him.

And at that moment a flash of lightning cut through the darkness, as if the Spinners themselves wanted Tova to see it with her own eyes. In her bright light, - it was Halvard. He fell upon a woman with a sword, knocking her down, and another warrior Nadir thrust his sword into her chest. He straightened up, his face hidden by the shadows in the dim light that filled the forest. The brother threw an ax at him, and, having caught him, he turned around and, again swinging his sword, thrust the blade into the hand of another soldier of Swell. The man cried out, falling forward, and Halvard finished him off with one blow, and then rushed to the ranks of the Nadir soldiers, where the Swell soldiers tried to break through to the edge of the forest.

They were close to their goal. Too close.

- Halvard!" - Tova screamed, but her voice drowned out by the thunder. And he was already too far away.

The Swell woman slipped between two fighting men and rushed after Halvard, lifting an ax over her head, preparing to throw it, and Tova froze, feeling a scream of horror burst from her throat. Pulling another arrow, she lifted her bow. As an arrow whistled into the darkness, a strange calm seized her, even the booms of thunder suddenly became quieter, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She listened to the sounds of the forest around her, the sound of sea waves, the sound of a storm raging in the sky.

And as soon as another flash of lightning lit up the forest, Tova let go of the bowstring.

The arrow, shining like a spinning stream of fire, rushed through the forest and stuck into the shoulder of the woman from the Swell army. She collapsed forward, and Halvard turned around, staring at the arrow sticking out of the woman's body, and then looked around the forest and finally met Tova's gaze.

- The cart! Tova yelled through the wind, pointing him to the back rows of the Swell warriors.

Dangling her legs from the ledge of the cliff, she slipped down and ran, jumping over dead bodies on the ground, while running, taking another arrow out of the quiver.

Halvard grabbed a dagger from his belt and shouted a Tova's name, and then threw the blade over her head. She crouched and Swell warrior crashed into the dirt behind her, Halvard's dagger piercing his chest. Blood poured from his mouth when Tova pulled the blade out of his body and jumped up again. In the forest, it became darker from the accumulation of leather vests and fur capes of the Svell and Nadir warriors, streams of rain lashed the bodies of the dead and dying, and Halvard rushed to Tova, the breath of clouds of steam burst from his lips in the cold air. The battle lines were shifting and the Swell warriors further and further advanced to the edge of the forest. A little more, and they rush from the hill to the village

"The wagon!" - Tova screamed again.

But Halvard did not hear her. So she took off the quiver and put it in my hands with a bow, and then grabbed his ax.

- What are you doing? He stared blankly at my bow.

"Correcting what I did," Tova shouted back.

He glanced at the approaching back rows of the Swell warriors.

"They will kill you before you get there."

Tova smiled, touching the cut on his cheek, wiping off the blood. His eyes were blue like sky. He did not stop looking at her, and Tova saw her reflection in the depths of his eyes. She wanted to remember these eyes forever. She wanted this to be the last thing that she in this life if she suddenly perished.

"I've been dead most of my life, Halvard," Tova whispered.

He held out his hand, but, turning, she rushed to the wagon, which was visible behind the thinned rows of the Swell warriors, clutching an ax in her hand. Someone's shadow appeared on the side, but the next instant an arrow pierced his chest, and he fell backward.

Tova jumped over his body and rushed on to the wagon, but then another enemy warrior rushed to her, brandishing an ax. Another arrow whistled over my head, striking him on the spot, and there stood Halvard clutching herbbow in his hands. He threw another arrow into the bowstring, and, gathering the remaining strength, Tova rushed forward to the wagon.

Grasping the wooden edge, Tova climbed in, panting. Meanwhile, the storm began to gradually subside, the rain almost stopped. Grabbing an armful of tar barrel, she threw it to the ground.

- Tova.

Jorrund stood in a wet mantle in the midst of mountains of corpses, holding a torch in his hands. The Swell warriors pressed the ranks of Nadir more and more, and the hill was already close at hand.

- Tova!" - He screamed as she jumped out of the wagon.

The sound of a horn rang out from Hailey, warning that the first rows of Swell warriors had climbed out of the forest. There is almost no time left.

Jorrund's voice came again to her, but, looking up, she saw Vigdis, who was making his way through the ranks of his warriors. The next instant, he swung and hit Tova with a dagger. The blade thrust into my hand. I tumbled back and he rushed towards me. Vigdis swung again, but she managed to roll sideways, covering her head with her hands. A blade pierced her other hand, an iron tip stuck into the bone, and she screamed.

She tried to crawl towards the cart, but Vigdis suddenly froze, towering above her. Tova looked at him, pinching the wounds on both hands, and suddenly he turned around. Her eyes widened when a shining blade flashed in the darkness, piercing Vigdis's leather vest from behind. He hesitantly held out his hand back and, tearing out a dagger, turned around. Gunther stood in front of him, cold rain soaking through his fur cape, his face was stained with blood.

With one swift movement, Wigdis threw up his hand, and a sharp blade ripped open Gunther's throat. A moment later, blood gushed out of the wound. He fell to his knees, and Tova raised my eyes to the sky, struggling with the approaching nausea. He fell with a heavy knock at her feet. She saw his hand in front of her with a familiar bracelet on his wrist.

Vigdis leaned against the wagon, unsuccessfully trying to pinch a wound on his back, from which blood was lashed. And a few moments later he froze, and a gurgling wheeze burst from his throat.

As soon as it was quiet, the rain suddenly stopped. Squinting, I raised my eyes to the gray sky. I knew that I would see him there. The goat hovered among the clouds, the wind fluttered its wings.

Kneeling, Tova crawled forward and lifted Halvard's ax. A sharp pain in the wounded hands echoed throughout her body when I struck with all my might with an ax on the wooden surface of the barrel. Jorrund, mouth wide in horror, still stood, and I pulled the torch from his hands and stumbled forward, past the Swell warriors, to the edge of the forest.

Resin poured from the hole in the barrel under her arm. It spilled into puddles, soaking into the ground, and when the barrel was empty, Tova threw it to the side. Halvard appeared among the mixed ranks of the Nadir warriors, shouting orders, and Tova waited for them to line up again and retreat to the edge, leaving the Swell warriors in the forest.

Halvard's eyes found her amidst the chaos raging around, and for a moment her heart sank.

- Now!

And Tova threw the torch to the ground.

The flames wriggled away, swaying in the wind, and the next instant the dawn dusk turned a bright orange glow. A wall of fire grew in the middle of the forest, becoming higher and higher every second. The Swell warriors backed away, and Nadir followed them. That is what they needed. Just a moment.

And they immediately seized the opportunity. Halvard's brother rushed in. Grabbing a shield lying on the ground, he threw it into the fire to form a passage in the fire wall, and then did the same with the second shield.

- Go!" He roared, waving his hand, and the Nadir warriors, waiting for a signal to advance on the slope, rushed forward. They poured into the forest, chasing the retreating Swell warriors. Through the raging flames Tova saw Jorrund still standing over Vigdis's body, the edges of his mantle were thickly dirty in the mud

Suddenly Jorrund seemed so small and defenseless. The man who raised her. Took care of her. He taught her. Of course he lied and used her. But he was the only father that she remembered.

Tova wanted to call him, but at that moment from far away came the sound of a horn. Three loud, mournful sounds cut through the air, and everyone froze, turning toward Hailey.

But the sound did not from the village. It came from the sea.

In the midst of the black surging waves of the fjord, wherever you look, boats can be seen everywhere. The horn sounded again, and white sails soared on the boats, like a scattering of bright stars in the night sky. Lightning lit up the shore again, and a deafening thunderclap shook the earth. Tova pressed herself against the nearest tree, not taking her eyes off the dark waves, along which, like hordes of sea snakes, boats glided, on the nose of each of them was the head of the goddess Nadr carved from wood.

Tribe of Kirr has come.