Chapter 20: Chapter 20
With a gasp for air Alvar's head broke through the lakes surface while droplets of the freezing cold water splashed into all directions. As the first strands of air entered his body the burning in his muscles slightly subsided but only for a second as Alvar was kicking his legs furiously to stay on the surface since his training gear was continuously trying to drag him back down into the freezing depths of the lake.
Taking another long breath of air Alvar relaxed his legs for a little bit and allowed the training gear to pull him back down towards the lakes depths. Keeping his eyes open all the while Alvar watched in fascination how the surface grew further and further away from him. The further he sank the dimmer the light grew until only strands of light penetrated to the bottom, barely illuminating the sandy floor where a group of boulders of varying sizes had been assembled.
As Alvar's feet hit the floor, soft clouds of billowing sand spread out through the clear water though he didn't mind that little fact as he had seen it happen often enough by now. With steps slowed through the water Alvar walked over to the group of boulders and with a muffled grunt of exhaustion lifted one of them into his arms and began his track towards the shore of the lake that was dimly visible in the distance.
A few meters he had progressed until he returned to the rest of the boulders and picked up another one and carried it over towards the first he had left a few meters further towards the shore. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. In between boulders he sometimes had to surface for some more air but in the last few hours he had done this exercise he became more proficient at holding his breath and thus managed to stay longer under water where he went about carrying the boulders towards the shore.
At just one such moment when he had breached the surface Sjorn told him to come to the shore and after he did so was told that they would stop here for today as it had grown rather late by now. Only then did Alvar realize that hours must have passed by while he went about carrying the different boulders. Thus after saying his goodbyes to Sjorn, Alvar left the training grounds with still dripping wet clothes on, marching straight home so that he could put on some dry ones.
Soon Alvar arrived at home and found his family already eating dinner at the bonfire.
"Alvar, you are finally home! Come, sit with us. We have left you some dinner!" Alvars grandmother said with a smile to which Alvar only nodded before disappearing into his small room in order to put some dry clothes on.
After he had done so he donned his training weights once again and walked over towards the bonfire where he unceremoniously let himself fall onto a chair that creaked slightly under his weight.
"Thanks, I really needed that." Alvar said after his grandmother had handed him a bowl of still steaming stew which he began to wolf down like a rescue victim that had gone without food for a couple of days.
"By the way I will be heading out tomorrow with a group of hunters to gather some more food for the next few weeks. Do you want me to go look for a specific kind of animal while I'm at it?" uncle Olaf asked Alvars grandmother who hummed in thought for a second before replying.
"If you can deer would be good since we've had mostly boar or birds of some kind for the last couple of weeks and one deer will give us ample food for some time. Though if you don't come across one pick whatever you think would be a good catch."
"Alright, I'll keep my eyes open for one. Though we have been told to check our outposts for any signs of activity the rangers have spotted concerning the sons of Jormag so we may take a bit longer with our trip then usual." Uncle Olaf said after a few seconds of silence only occasionally interrupted by the sounds of chewing.
"The sons of Jormag? Have you actually ever seen them yourself? What are they like uncle?" Alvar asked in curiosity while chewing his stew with a slice of bread in his other hand.
"Yes…We have a history you could say. The sons of Jormag do not only consist of men and women that have changed their allegiance to Jormag. Under the dragons banner a lot of other creatures march besides them, creatures sometimes consisting of animated monsters created out of corrupted ice or forests. Believe me when I say that you cannot imagine the horrors that are at the dragons command. Some of them strike fear into the hearts of the most seasoned veterans by only looking at them. Not to mention that once you join Jormag's forces you are bestowed a part of Jormag's magic, turning you into a being that is pretty much immune to frost and snow…" Uncle Olaf spoke with a grim frown on his face, obviously having witnessed a few of those horrors by the way his eyes scrunched up as he said his part.
"I see…What history do you mean though? Have you fought them before?" Alvar continued his questioning though after he had said his part he realized that he may not get an answer to his last question as a melancholic silence had fallen on his family and the room they sat in.
"Yes, I have fought them before, something I really would like to forget if I could. My history with the sons though is something you do not need to concern yourself with. Maybe once you are a little bit older I'll tell you." Alvars uncle replied to which the boy only nodded.
"You should head to bed Alvar. You look like you could fall asleep right there and then. Leave your bowl here, I'll clean it up later." His grandmother spoke with a slight smile though it seemingly didn't reach her eyes completely which made Alvar wonder why but in the end only nodded as his mind was already half asleep and was only eating on autopilot.
After wishing his family a good night Alvar fell like a sack rice onto his sheets and promptly fell asleep. As he sank further into dreamland he could faintly hear murmurs from his relatives echo in the living room though before he could make out what they were saying sleep took him away finally.
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