Chapter 1

Clovis's strong and callused hands caressed the pommel of his bronze sword like an old and trusted friend to sooth his anger. He paced the great hall like an angry cat. His eyes moved from one person to another looking for someone to take his anger out on. He was deeply worried about what was happening to his people and his land. He had paid dearly to get the stalemate that was currently in place and it was slipping away.

On the stools before the hearth, sat seven of his most trusted men and three of the foreign priests that had come seeking help. Much to their chagrin, they had been asked to help in turn. "What did you find, priest?" The king was furious at all the delays and the priest's own reticence at finding some of the many solutions that were necessary.

Fidelis Marius was thin, but just as tall and much the same age as the king. He knew of his value to the king and was not too worried about the outburst though barbarians were unpredictable. "We are still looking to find more of our cohorts. We are far too few to do what you ask. What you demand may even be impossible."

"I merely asked you to do your duty. Your people have forsaken their gods. I hope your god Jupiter handles them the way they deserve. Thor would do the same thing, if he were treated with such disrespect. We will have to be the instrument of that revenge." Clovis paced a few more steps then added, "We haven't got much time to do this. They are pressing us now."

"I am well aware of that, Sire. I have sent seven of our numbers out to recruit while four others and myself work on gathering the spells. People with our ability are very rare." The last was said to make sure Clovis remembered their value.

Fidelis Marius was of a noble Roman family, but only distantly related to those that currently at the head. He was happy to hear that King Clovis was not lumping him with the Romans that had come so close to killing the king while succeeding in killing two of his sons. They were the heirs to the Frisian kingdom.

Life was brutally harsh and even more so recently. Gnaeus Scipio Magnus lead the Legio I Noricorum out of Adiuvense and the Legio V Iovia from Castellum Onagrinum on the Danube. He had come with three talents of gold and an imperial order requiring Clovis to fight King Celyddon of the Gauls for Rome. This arrangement was nothing new. King Clovis had fought for Rome on many occasions and been well paid. This time it had been different.

The area lying far east of the Rhine had never been a part of the Roman empire despite old pretensions. Yet, here the Romans were once again trying inexorably to incorporate it. This time in a fit of cleverness they were using more subterfuge in their usually devious plans.

Magnus had opened this latest round of conquest by declaring that the Gauls were not living up to the treaty they had made with Rome for land. They had crossed the Weser River and set up cities of their own when they were supposed to remain west of that river. The Gauls had steadfastly refused to move back within their old borders. Depleted farmland and a rising population were the usual reasons for this.

King Clovis had liked the idea of forcing the Gauls back, because it would clear them from land that he considered his own. He had a claim superior to that of Rome. His people, the Frisians, had settled this land long ago and still considered it theirs. The area taken hundreds of years ago had only been sparsely settled and hindsight showed that this was a mistake. If the gold had been available in the Frisian treasury, then it would be Clovis that would have paid the Romans to acquire their help.

Last year Clovis had formed a loose relationship with two of the clans that lived close. The Franks under King Arnaldr and the Sarmatians under King Gunnarr needed to stop the constant raiding on the Frisians and each other. They set up a treaty providing that they would discuss mutual problems first before resorting to warfare. All three peoples gained as some trade was now possible. The hot heads of each clan would now be reigned in, to keep raids from happening. Raids on other peoples would still be made to gather wealth and test the men. Only harsh procedures would keep this to a minimum.

Rome didn't want any dealings among the barbarians without their being a major a part in it if not a beneficiary. The Romans were known to play tricks to get the various Germanic clans to fight each other and avoid the loss of Roman lives, or those of their auxiliary troops. This sort of infighting was in the nature of man.

Gnaeus Scipio had devised a plan whereby he approached the easternmost city of Minden with the Pannonian troops of the Legio I Noricorum. The other legion was to act as a reserve force. The town of Minden had been taken over by the Gauls a decade ago and it already had some completed walls. The plan called for Clovis to come from the north. His route lead through some steep hills. This land had belonged to Clovis's people for many years and they knew the area well. They had hunted in this region and even set traps or simply fought those that disputed the ownership of the territory.

Guðmundr, at seventeen years, was the second oldest of Clovis's sons. He had not lost the impetuosity of youth when he and his men raced to Minden to be the first to engage the enemy in battle. They had been ambushed instead by a large number of Gauls, thus proving that the Frisians had no monopoly on setting on this type of strategy. It was their training as the Roman Auxiliary that saved them. They held firm till the next morning when Björnólfr had arrived with an even larger force of men.

Guðmundr had taken some serious wounds and died the next day as he was being transported by his brother to the main confrontation with the Gauls. Runners had been sent to inform Clovis, and the father raced to scene with some of his own men.

Anger had overcome common sense and the lead elements of the main Friesian force had sprang forward to do battle with the Gauls. Gnaeus Scipio launched into battle himself, but he had been waiting nearly a day and only an easy march away.

Before the city of Minden were both armies locked in battle. Gnaeus Scipio summoned Clovis and his only remaining grown son, Björnólfr, to come to his tent to discuss strategy. Clovis refused, as he had to deal with the death of his son. This was very fortuitous, because a team of Frisian assassins were later sent to kill Clovis and any high ranking members of the family and clan.

Four members of a powerful Frisian clan, botched the job and only wounded Björnólfr. Clovis had participated in his own internecine forms of combat within the clan and managed to capture one of the assassins when the rest died. Before he succumbed quietly, he told of the plot to supplant Clovis as king. The person that was seen talking to an intermediary was one of Gnaeus Scipio's trusted advisors. This could only mean that the Romans wanted to kill the Frisian leadership. Then it would be much easier to destroy the warriors now that they would have little guidance.

Clovis was forewarned now and prepared to take the city but didn't expect to have the Romans actually join sides with the Gauls to fight. He was not that unprepared either.

Gnaeus Scipio sent word that Clovis was to take a wall that was not only heavily defended but would also put him at a severe disadvantage if the Romans failed to assist. Clovis refused and told the Romans to take his position and he would assist. The true colours of the Romans advisors came out then and a fight broke out that had a lot of words and sword waving.

With night approaching, Clovis pulled the majority of his men from the fight and kept only his strongest and best to show that he had not run. A retreat was in order and it had to be prepared adequately. The Romans attacked the Frisians openly as soon as they saw what had happened and the Gauls came to the Roman contingent's assistance. It now appeared that this had never been anything other than a plot to destroy Clovis and his forces. The same procedure had happened recently when the separatist forces in Gaul had been destroyed when they tried to set up a land of their own.

Clovis had traps manned by those that had disengaged from the battle first. The Frisians retreated under that cover into a large swamp where they could fight their enemy on a limited front. The heavily encumberd Romans sank easily into the quagmire. It took ten days to leave the swamp. There were substantial Roman casualties during fierce sorties and even some limited fighting with the Gauls who fought more judiciously since they didn't want to die as fast as the Romans were doing. The famous Roman tactics did them little good.

When Clovis was finally able to pull free, he found he had lost one out of ten men, and one of those was his son Björnólfr. He had only one remaining son and he was just a boy of eleven. The injury Clovis sustained five years previously had made sure he would have no other children.

Months had past since the battle and Clovis worked like a man possessed. He was now fighting for the life of his people. The surviving Pannonian legionaries wanted his blood and so did the Gauls now that they had some Roman gold and possibly some additional Frisian land. Inroads had been made in many areas. It was only a few months before the harvests had to be brought in. This would make the defenders think of other vocations than battle.

The king stared at the priest, still trying to assess the inner workings of the man. The priests had fled when Christianity started making major advances on their faith. There were still many priests in Rome, but the Christians were converting more people each day. Christianity had become the official religion of the Roman state. When changes like this occurred, usually people died in large numbers. Now, instead of the Christians dying, it was those that followed the old beliefs.

Fleinn usually said nothing at meetings unless asked. He saw one problem not being addressed and interrupted the king's scowl by saying, "Sire, we have not been able to gather as much food as we need. The Gauls take from the peasants and force them to come to us to feed their families."

Clovis said, "They have to find their own food. More of our needs will have to be met by hunting and a portion can go to the peasants, if they will help. Mostly we will require guards to protect the hunters. The Gauls will be hunting our animals too and we will have to keep the pressure on them. The Gauls were awkward in their timing since the crops are not quite ready yet and having scared the peasants off, they will have to harvest the crops themselves."

"We have been trying to lure them into poor positions as it is, Sire. They are not as well trained as the Romans and fall to our old tricks. They learn slowly. Their latest mistake is to stay in villages and only keep watch from the top of the stockade."

"Then hunt around the villages first and take what game that could readily fall to them."

"Yes, Sire."

Clovis turned back to the priest and said, "What have you found about Jón?"

Fidelis said, "We have been looking through all the new scrolls. The Picts have some interesting ideas and we are trying to pursue them. As yet, there is only a glimmer of hope that we will succeed. We are keeping him alive as best we can, but it drains the magic that will be needed to complete the major spell you want." He meant two spells but nobody was to know of the other until it was completed satisfactorily. "Have the priests of your people... found out anything?"

"No, thank Thor, but you had best eat more. I want you all as strong as possible when the time comes. You and your fellow priests need all your strength to form the spell. You must give me everything you have in this situation or we will lose. You are getting my protection and assistance while you are supposed to help me as best as you can."

"We are very grateful of your help, Sire. We are doing the best we can in the present situation. You have to realise though that what you are asking us to do, has not been done before."

"I have heard otherwise, priest."

"As you say, Sire, but they are all stories to amuse children."

"They may have a grain of truth in them and I want no stone unturned to find a cure for my only surviving son."

"We are well aware of that Sire. You have given us a great task. It may not be possible to do it as you mentioned before. I can bring my books and show you the points you want completed and show you the tools I have to work with."

"In the morning. My eyes are not as good as they used to be."

"As you wish, Sire."

The next day was cool and Clovis was awoken just before dawn by his chamberlain, Ketill. "Sire, a patrol of Gauls has been lured into a trap. Naddoddr is harassing them, however there are just too many to destroy."

Clovis jumped out of bed and thanked Thor for this gift. It was not often that they made any appreciable victory. "Where are they and how many?"

"Naddoddr said there are ten hands still actively fighting. The fight is three hours north east. Naddoddr's massager is here and he can tell you more. His word has quickly spread, Sire. The men are already up and putting on their armour."

Astrid, Clovis' second wife, watched with an apparently dispassionate look as her husband started to get dressed. Ketill assisted as best he could, but the king was in a hurry and Clovis didn't like this type of help.

Clovis turned to his wife and said, "This should not take long and I should be back just before night has fallen."

"Be careful my husband. I do not know what I would do without you."

"A complete man would be able to take care of you better my wife. Watch our children."

"I will my lord. I will see what I can do to help Jón."

A hurried breakfast was on the table. Clovis' personal guard and at least a hundred more were eating quickly so they could get on with the operation. Clovis ate at the upper table and in a moment Astrid came into the room and hurriedly sat beside him. She was only twenty-two. She had given Clovis two children, six and five. They were both girls and would not inherit the throne. There had been no more children by Clovis in the last five years. An arrow had slipped through armour and made Clovis sterile.

Clovis' previous wife, bore him eleven children before dying in childbirth. Her second youngest was Jón. She had given him five sons and all but Jón were now dead.

When Clovis suddenly got up from the table, the men took the remaining food and gobbled as much as they could. Astrid got up too and wiped the face of her much older husband. "Come back to me," she whispered when she was close.

In a quiet voice he said, "I wish I was more of a man."

"You are enough for me."

The men left the hall, most following their king. Some were plundering the kitchen and putting food in their leather bags to eat on the trip. Wives and family from the castle and town stood in the cool wind and watched their husbands, sons, and brothers leave; perhaps never to return. Life was harsh but death in battle was preferred over a life as an old man. Valhalla was a constant inspiration for them.

When the last of them had left, the great doors were closed once more and Astrid returned to her meal. On the way she talked to the women and children that needed a bit more encouragement. "The men will come back. They outnumber King Celyddon's people now and our king is not the type to waste any of their lives. There will be a fight but they will use their bows much more than the enemy and there will be little in return. Our king has been training our men for a long time and they are as good as the Romans. Remember also, we were trained by the Romans even before our king was born. He has learned much since then."

Her soothing words seemed to mollify those around her since she got them to sit and eat what had been left of the breakfast so that none of the food would go to waste. Before she was done eating, her two children Elfrieda and Sieglinde came into the room with the rest of their half sisters.

Dagmar was the eldest at eighteen and already a widow. She was a pleasant looking girl that stood very tall. She had a temper though that earned her quite a reputation before her young husband tried to beat it out of her. Brigitte was thirteen and would soon be married. She was short with long blonde hair just like all her sisters. She was not that intelligent but compensated by trying hard at everything she did. Gudrun was ten and the last child Clovis' first wife had borne him. This girl was very sweet with a mild disposition that lead towards studying even if it were from the few books or scrolls.

All five came over to her and Astrid hugged each of them. Dagmar was only four years younger than Astrid, but did the same thing with a lot more feeling.

Dagmar said, "Did father say when he would be getting back? The servant said that it was not dangerous."

"He said that he would be back before nightfall. He's too optimistic sometimes. All of you had better get some breakfast. There's a lot of work to do. The hunters brought in four deer yesterday and they will have to be dressed."

The children and Dagmar ate quickly and then followed their mother or stepmother to a building where the deer had been hung after being eviscerated. There was a lot of work to do and much too little time within which to do it. Keeping the children mercifully busy doing a well known task, Astrid said, "I am going to see your brother."

The girls looked at her as they knew that the boy would not recover. He had been comatose ever since he was kicked by his horse after it threw him. He would be dead except that Fidelis had happened to be close when the accident occurred.

Magic was something that was talked about, but never witnessed except when a person got hurt or a child was born deformed. Sometimes the water in wells disappeared and everyone knew it was magic that had done the deed and it was perpetrated by somebody angry enough to want this to happen.

Astrid walked into the kitchen and talked to the cooks about what she wanted prepared and when. Astrid cooked with them sometimes and made special dishes that everybody loved. She collected some warm broth with very fine slivers of meat cut up in it. Most was liver and heart and this was what most people preferred if they could get it.

Astrid said after sampling the broth, "Mmmm this's good. I know that Jón would love this if he were awake to taste it. They smiled at the compliment as Astrid left the kitchen. She climbed the steps to the floor above.

A servant walking down the hall stopped at seeing Astrid and backed up to open a thick door behind her. Astrid smiled and said, "Thanks Angelika, will you come in and help me with Jón?"

"Yes ma'am. I would be glad to help."

The large bowl of broth was put down on a small table, then the two looked at the boy in the bed. He was good looking except for the concave depression in his forehead. It was completely healed now, thanks to Fidelis. The boy had never regained consciousness in the last five months and he was getting quite thin.

Astrid pulled the covers back as Angelika put more wood on the fire and got it to burn much better. There was now some light coming in through the shuttered opening in the wall but instead of allowing the cool air in, Astrid lit a candle for additional light and began to remove more coverings and the large soggy padding of many layers of linen and moss that wrapped his hips. It would be good to put more of the this to absorb the liquid, but already it was too thick.

The linen and moss were removed, and Jón was held up under his arms and his feet were on the floor until he was placed in a large chair with arms to keep him from falling. A blanket went over his naked frame to keep the chill away.

The lower blankets on the bed were removed to get washed. They had been on the bed two days now. The smell of urine was strong, but it could not be helped. Washing was a difficult task and there were not that many blankets to spare.

The old rushes were taken from the bed and new came from a large pile in the corner. The top blankets were put on the rushes and the two women started to get the eleven year old boy back to bed. On the way to the bed the cool air caused the boy to pee and Astrid's hand grabbed the offending member, so that the urine would not spray everywhere.

The two had stopped when this happened. When Jón was done, Angelika got the warm water beside the fire and washed the boy.

Astrid said, "You better do all of him now. He gets bathed more than the rest of us. Fidelis says it is good for him. My mother said that being clean leads to disease and sickness. Clearly the man does seem to know what he's talking about."

"My mom said the same thing," Angelika replied as she washed the boy's face with a lot of love. The boy was handsome in a way regardless of his scar and he would have been king one day if he had not been hurt. She remembered the way he treated others and this was ignored as she tended to his needs.

Astrid liked the boy and had tried diligently to curb his poor conduct. He did take after his father in other good ways. Jón was domineering when he didn't need to be and intolerant of mistakes in others. He would rule one day, if he recovered, but if he didn't then he would die when the next king took over. There was a lot of talk about Jón's continued existence. Magic this time had to be of the good kind if the boy was still to live.

The local priests of Woden had tried to obstruct Clovis in his efforts to cure the boy and a rift had come up between them. Clovis had made too many changes for the priests not to seize this chance at revenge. Conflict had arisen and men had died until a stalemate had come about.

The two women cleaned the boy and laid him on the bed to continue this activity though they had to turn him over twice to do so. Fidelis said that it was good to move a sleeping invalid often and this was done many times a day. The cleaning was prescribed by Marius even to the cleaning of the area around the anus and immature testicles. The boy, despite being asleep, reacted to this and his erection grew to a handsbreadth. Both of the women smiled.

The dirty linen, moss and the wet blankets were taken out by Angelika. She closed the door behind her leaving Astrid a chance to be alone with her forth stepson. Astrid put a new diaper on the boy and played a moment with the erection that intrigued her.

Clovis had lost one testicle and most of the urge to mate. When he had first recovered from the wound, the two of them had worked hard to see if he could produce seed but it never happened. She had done everything she could think of, but nothing seemed to be enough to make the seed come forth.

Clovis had used his hands to please his wife even though Astrid said that this was not necessary. He was a difficult man to reason with and he had his way. Astrid had her small death while loving her husband all the more because of what he had tried to do.

She looked down at her hand and saw that it was still playing with the boy. On closer inspection she saw that thicker hairs were now growing, though they were still fairly fine ones at the moment. If the boy ever recovered he would be nearly a man. Putting the erection down she closed the diaper and pulled up the blankets.

"Today Ketill came into our chamber and told your father that some of the Gauls had fallen into your father's trap..." This too was the priest's idea and even if the boy could not hear it was good to have someone that he may know that was near to him.

Astrid remembered the hot broth and picked up Jón and began to use a large wooden spoon to feed the boy as she talked. Much of the broth ran down his chin, but a piece of cloth was handy to wipe up the excess.

It was an hour later that Fidelis entered the room and found the queen holding her stepson to her while still talking. "Greetings, my lady. I see by your actions that Jón is well taken care of. He seems to be more relaxed when you are around."

"How can you tell? He is always asleep."

"My magic is not all from scrolls. Much of it is what I feel. I get an understanding and then try with a spell and a lot of concentration. What I want to happen sometimes occurs."

She said thankfully, "Jón would be dead without your help."

"I do what I can and I have a much closer affinity to the boy than most. I would have tried to help your husband, but he waited much too long to support my need for a strong spell. To tell the truth, he doesn't trust magic near him. The only exception is for his son. He has little choice in this matter now."

Astrid replied, "That's only because Jón is his only son."

"That too." The older man looked at the young woman and said, "We are scouring all of empire to find those that may be able to help us. There are a great many priests and holy men that say they can perform magic. Most are lying. There are very few that can really do this. Those that now search, can detect this ability and will bring, or send back those that will come to our call." He left unsaid that the local priests would not help and were actively hindering this activity.

"How long must we wait?"

"It is all dependent on the power of those that come. If they are strong, then there is a chance that we may succeed. As it sits, we are too few and our power is too little to do what the king demands. Most of us would have to give up our lives in this endeavour, and it is understandable that we would be reluctant to do this."

"You have no idea?"

"I have no idea how successful my colleagues have been. Word has come from two that they have found some, but that they are not very strong. Others may have had better luck, but it is difficult to get a message back through the ring of our enemies."

Astrid said, "The king will fight much harder to protect all of us, if he knows his son will be able to carry on after he dies. It is our responsibility to make sure Jón lives and awakes."

She put Jón back down and covered him with two blankets. Her hand came out and moved some errant dirty blonde strands of hair from his face. "I have some duties to attend to as you must have. Try your best to see that Jón recovers."

"I will, my lady."

When Astrid had left, the priest concentrated hard on the mind of the boy in front of him. Through some gift of the gods he was able to read minds after a fashion if the person were suitable. The boy in front of him was of that constitution. The boy had not heard the conversation, but on a deeper level could talk to the priest.

It took ten minutes before the priest assured the boy that he would help and left the room to go to his own. A young boy of just a year younger than Jón was busy mending some clothes while sitting on his pallet. Forni smiled at the man as he entered. "Greetings, Master. I have repaired one of your cloaks."

"That's very good Forni. I think that Jón needs you though. The women were fondling him again."

The boy smiled. "Ok, I can make him relax."

The boy was like almost all boys and was first interested in his own gender. It would only be later when the need to have a family would this drive them to the other sex. Many times the family could grow quite large if the woman got pregnant all the time. Men have gone back to their childhood pursuits to avoid having more mouths to feed. This had been the way for thousands of years and perhaps always would be.

"Let's go then. He's waiting."

Forni put his work away so it would be safe and followed the man down the hall to Jón's room. The man held the door open for the boy and both entered.

Forni began taking his clothes off right away. He knew how he had an effect on the priest but hid the fact. The boy looked down at the boy on the bed and smiled at his feelings. Forni had only seen Jón once before his accident.

Forni had been purchased years ago from his parents. Fidelis Marius was a good master and acted more like a father than an employer or master. The boy ran many errands but this present one was the kind he really liked. Jón was growing and needed somebody to be close to him. One day Jón may take a liking to women but he hoped that there would still be a place for him if his master allowed it. This hinged on the boy recovering from his wounds.

Forni pulled back the blankets slowly and looked at the thin boy that used to be very strong. Now there was little left of this strength and he hoped that the boy would recover.

The many layered diaper was untied and pulled down exposing an already half inflated penis. Jón must know that he was here and got ready for him.

Forni got into the bed with the boy and pulled the blankets over both of them. Starting with a kiss he began his seduction of the boy as his hands stayed away from his waist. Forni could almost read Jón's mind, but waited a bit longer to make the sensations even more pleasant.

Fidelis stayed with his back to the door. He felt a stirring in his own clothing at the sight and he remembered his own youth. Forni was like a son though. He had four of his own that had grown to be important men. This boy though, seemed to be different in that he tended to avoid females as much as possible. Forni could be one of those men that exclusively looked to other males for his pleasure. This type of relationship was common, but it was nice to see the boys have children too. Perhaps another slave could be purchased and then bred. Too bad the Germanic tribes did not take this view. They gave too much freedom to the slaves just as Fidelis now gave Forni.

Chapter 2 »