There were other options. He didn't have to challenge the warlord. He could have simply become an absent captain who was always out viking. He could have decided to wage war on the pirates and destroy them once and for all, or at least as many of them as he could before they killed him. He could have done a lot of other things. But the fact was that someone he loved had died in his absence and her family had been scattered or enthralled in an act that reeked of dishonor to Ru. Njal's actions toward Aesir's family had been excessive and unnecessary.
Still, Ru could not help wondering as he made the climb to the warlord's den if he was really doing the right thing by challenging Njal for his position. According to all the accounts, the fight between Aesir and Njal had been a fair one and Njal had clearly been the victor. There was every chance Ru would lose this fight, and if he did, he didn't know what would happen. He would certainly forfeit any chance he might have had of making a comfortable life for himself under Njal's rule, having shown his hand and declared himself in opposition to the warlord, but what that would mean was a mystery.
Would he be enthralled, as some of Aesir's family had been? Exiled? Killed? Death was always a possibility for the loser in a challenge, he had been told, and exile or thralldom were not unheard of. Ru didn't fear those things, exactly. If the pride no longer felt like home to him, exile might be preferable, and he could certainly survive thralldom until the next breytast vindar. Burzum had survived it for much of Ru's quest, after all, and he had been younger when first enthralled.
Perhaps what Ru really feared was that things would not change, even if he did win, and that it was outside his power to put things right. He didn't know what he would do then. Recall Aesir's exiled family, restore to freeborn status those that had been enthralled, and then maybe see what could be done about the status of female warriors. They had been part of the pride's history in the past and he saw no valid reason why they should not be part of the pride's present and future as well.
It occurred to him that he did, indeed, have a plan and more on his mind than seeking justice for Kazul and her family. It made him feel more confident about his decision. It helped to know that he was not without supporters in the pride. The awkward fame that had accompanied his return would be useful, and he knew he had the support of the lions who had cone with him on his quest. He had Vol and Tomi and Gyllene, and others besides. He was not in this alone, and he was not wrong.
The path to the warlord's den was familiar. Njal had taken over Aesir's quarters, and Ru had frequently gone there with Kazul. There was no point on the path that Ru didn't have memories of. Seeing the den was something of a shock. Without Morrigan leaving skulls out to dry or hanging charms around the place, it looked different. It smelled different, too. If he won, Ru did not intend to live there. He would rather make a fresh start of it from his own den. Catching himself thinking that he smirked.
A bit overconfident, he chided himself. You haven't even challenged him yet.
But he was about to. He had reached the den and there was nothing else for him to do but issue his challenge. He had asked Tomi to tell him about the fight between Njal and Aesir several times, first to compare it to Vol's telling, but later because he had decided he would challenge Njal and he wanted to be sure he went about it the proper way. If he knew one thing, it was that Njal could be counted upon to follow form exactly. The warlord clung to the past and tradition with a fervor that could not be denied.
Ideally Ru would be issuing this challenge as publicly as possible, but Njal had been cloistered with his family and close friends lately for reasons completely beyond Ru's ken. Arranging marriage, some said, or hoping to avoid any challengers according to others. Ru was more inclined to believe the former set of rumours than the latter. He did not think Njal a coward, even if he did disagree with a number of his policies. At Njal's den was as close to a public challenge as Ru could manage at the moment, and it wasn't as if he didn't have Tomi following him in utter silence, ready to serve as witness to the challenge.
"Njal!" he called to summon the warlord. When he saw him he continued, "As is my right as a captain, I challenge you before a lawspeaker of the pride for the leadership of the Myrsky Syntynyt."
Again he waited for Njal to respond in some way, but the warlord remained silent, so he went on. "I will meet you at whatever time and place you name to carry out the duel, and if you do not come you will be known as a coward and unfit to lead."
He did not look behind him at Tomi for reassurance that he had followed the correct forms. The words had felt right as he spoke them, and only a little bit like he'd rehearsed them several dozen times in his head. Apparently he had not messed up too badly, for Njal did indeed name a time and a place.
"The challenge has been accepted. It is heard and witnessed," Tomi intoned behind him.
And that was it. It was done. Ru didn't quite breathe a sigh of relief, for there was still the fight itself, but this part at least was over with. Now he had three days to kill.
word count: 1,119 words
wooga Paes
