“No, no, no. Don’t spin around to strike your opponent. You’re a warrior, not a performer, flashy moves like that may please a crowd but they are impractical in a real fight as they will expose you back to the enemy. One stab and you’re down for the match.”

The einherjar nodded to Tyr, then corrected the mistake in his mock battle. Tyr walked past the einherjar and looked over the other groups. He had been training them and training with them for two weeks now, and they had shown signs of improvement. The mock battles had been becoming smoother, particularly the ones where they fought as groups. Tyr felt that his belief that a mortal could beat them would no longer apply, as well as that, thanks to bouts with Tyr himself, they now had better understanding as how to fight a larger opponent, though yet they were unable to beat him.

Yet when they had a somewhat beaten quality to them, as though defeat was on the horizon and their hearts were not in it. Tyr was uncertain as to what it was, until he neared the edge of the training ground and saw Brjann and Roth semi-surrounded by four higher armed einherjar. Since he wasn’t yet seen, Tyr quietly came up behind the group.

“So little gambesons, would you prefer your deaths to be one slash or two?”

“Ease off Hjorr, you got better things to do than stand here all day.”

“Did you hear that Hjorr? This gambeson thinks he isn’t worth our time. But we could use some practice for our match tomorrow, so let’s see the fruits of their labor.”

The einherjar who spoke stepped forward with his sword drawn and his arm pulled back ready to strike. At this point, Tyr intervened by grabbing the einherjars arm.

“I would expect such actions from one who was drunk, but not from one during midday.”

Tyr released the man and the four who had been surrounding Brjann and Roth now backed away some.

“Jarl Tyr, we were just…”

“I saw. Tell me, does Odin usually encourage the bullying of the weak or are you doing this on your own?”

“Odin has got nothing to do with this.”

He’s lying.

“Then what is the point of this mockery and threatening you are doing? You will not face them come the fight in two weeks, and the only thing your actions have done is degrade yourselves.”

“We…we just needed to get a little practice in.”

Another lie.

“Then you are welcome to train with me, as I am often an extra in these sorts of things. Brjann, may I borrow your Gambanteinn?”

Brjann handed the wand to Tyr who turned it into a rod the length of a sword, after which he saluted the einherjar and took a combat stance. The einherjar looked at his companions a little uncertainly, then began to move towards Tyr. The moment he was in range, the einherjar swung his sword, which Tyr easily deflected it and then jabbed the rod onto the einherjar’s Adam’s apple. Coughing, the einherjar went to grab at his throat, and Tyr swatted the sword out of the einherjar’s hand, knocked the shield aside and smacked the einherjar to the ground.

Even Ares wasn’t this bad.

“Had enough training?” Tyr asked mildly.

“It wasn’t a fair match; you are taller than I am.”

“Come Ragnarök, most of your enemies will be too. Now please leave.”

As the higher einherjar left, Tyr returned the Gambanteinn to Brjann and called all his einherjar together.

“A few moments ago, I witnessed members of our unit being harassed by outside einherjar, upon which I intervened. However, I am certain that that sort of thing has been happening to all of you, for which I am sorry that it took so long for me to find out. Worse still is that while I did not see these acts, I did see what it has done to all of you; you carry yourselves like you are defeated before the fight even begins. More than anything else you must shake yourself of that belief, or you will not be all that you can be. For now, do ten minutes of Gambanteinn transformation practice, I want to see them turn from swords to spears and so forth so fast that no one can see the true form before its change. Then, you all may see if there is any food to be had as a midday meal.”

“What will you be doing jarl?”

“Seeking the advice of those with wiser heads than mine, and since I can’t do Odin, I’ll ask Mimir.”

Tyr waited until the forms were in full swing before leaving looking around as he did to see if there was anyone or anything else nearby that could interfere with the einherjars’ training.

I seriously doubt that Odin sent those einherjar to pick a fight with my men, though the possibility that he sent them to spy is all too likely. Illuvatar watch over us.

Tyr reached Mimir’s room, knocked and upon being called entered in. Tyr was about to speak when he saw that Loki was in the room, yet his appearance was different. The upper part of the face was the same, but the mouth now had a lot of small white scars all around it, which Tyr tributed to the time when the dwarf Brokk sewed Loki’s mouth shut on account of Loki betting his head that Brokk and his brother couldn’t make better items than the son of Ivaldi.

“Loki, this is an unexpected encounter.”

“I was just leaving. Oh, by the by, how are those little gambesons of yours doing? Think that they will die with honor?”

“They are doing fine. They may even win.”

“And they call me the liar.” Loki laughed as he went out.

“What can I do for you Tyr?”

“I was hoping for some wisdom on what to do about the upcoming match my einherjar have in two weeks.”

“Postpone for two years. I have never seen the mock battles of the einherjar, nor is knowledge of fighting my specialty, but I know that the spirits of your men have been broken, and they would first need to mend before they can fight.”

“Regrettably, that is the one thing I can’t do, at least not now. I was hoping you could tell me what to expect of Odin both before and during the match.”

“You believe he would cheat.”

“Yes. Though I think that he would first try some underhanded tactics first. He has already sent spies to watch my training, though I have only intervened the most recent, and I have no doubt that he is making countermoves to try and destroy what I have tried so hard to teach the einherjar. What is more, I don’t know if there are special rules that must be followed for the fights since this will be the first group match in a while and…”

“Easy Tyr. No need to pile all this on me at once. Now first off, the only rules of the match are that both sides must stay in the field for the match, no more than 2800 warriors can be on the field at one time because that is all the field can hold, and that neither side can use runes, as the runes’ power here is greater than anywhere else. Secondly, if Odin’s spies have told him what you have been teaching the einherjar and creates countermoves against it, would not you also be able to plan countermoves against what he might plan? If so, wait until it is too late for Odin to move against you, and you will have some success. Though I must ask do you really think you can win?”

“Were the match against other einherjar, or even many other Aesir, then yes. But Odin is more than wise, he is cunning, and I do not know how well my own cunning matches to his. In essence, I have confidence that I could beat Odin in any fair fight, I just would never believe that he would have a ‘fair’ fight with me.”

“Had I still a neck, I would nod at that. Though you may win because Odin might be too distracted to take the bet too seriously.”

“Distracted? With what?”

“Preparing for Ragnarök.”

“The training of the einherjar is preparing for Ragnarök.”

“It is a piece but not the whole. There is the training of the Aesir, the constant negotiations with the Vanir to create a united front, the gathering of intelligence on all movements of the nine realms, making sure Loki doesn’t change the fate of the realms worse than he already has since siring the three great horrors, the recruitment of Valkyries, and so on. Ullr and Odin spend most of their time trying to both prepare for the great shadow that is coming while also trying to find ways to keep light in the hearts of all who are here. That is the real reason why he made the training of the einherjar a competition, to alleviate the sense of dread about the coming End war. You and Odin are not the first to make bets on the outcome of a battle between einherjar, just the first to do so before the finals.”

“So, Odin has more on his plate than merely the einherjar.” Mused Tyr. “That is fine, but as the mortals say, ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link’.”

“Very true, Tyr, but do not the mortals also say, ‘There are only so many hours in a day’?”

“We could probably keep this up all day, but it doesn’t change the fact that the einherjar need to be better than they currently are, and I hope that the ones I train will be able to prove that. But Odin is bound to do something to turn the odds in his favor, and I must have a way to counter.”

“All I can tell you to do is try to restore the einherjar’s spirit; give them a victory that shows how far they have come.”

Tyr bowed his head to Mimir and walked out. Upon leaving, Tyr ran into Frigg, whom he smiled at.

“Greetings lady Frigg, how fair you this day?”

“Hello Tyr, I am alright. I saw some of your einherjar and they seem to be stronger in body than they were last time. But they did not seem too pleased about their situation. Do you think you might be pushing them too much?”

“I haven’t demanded anything from them that would not have already been asked of them in their mortal lives. In fact, I am sure that Odin would ask these standards for the Aesir warriors and Valkyries.”

“I can acknowledge the Aesir as I have seen them train on occasion, but the training of Valkyries is left to Freya. It is one of the reasons why she gets first pick of the dead. Still, your passion for this match is remarkable Tyr.”

“Thank you, lady Frigg. With so much on the line, I feel it is what should be done.”

“Yes, Odin mentioned that you thought of the einherjar’s mortal descendants when you argued for this, but do you not think it is a little extreme?”

“I mean no disrespect or criticism by saying this my lady, but it is far less extreme than what you did for Baldur.”

Frigg stared at Tyr for a moment before she again spoke, this time softly.

“Baldur is different from my other children. Thor has much of his father’s strength and passions, though thankfully not Odin’s ambitions or desire for getting the better of others. Hoder, Baldur’s twin, is rather melancholy and will sometimes pick fights these days. Baldur is where I see the most of myself and my family. He lacks the drive and desire for conflict, though he is still trained in how to fight. Baldur would rather make peace with others than fight them and…” Frigg paused as though uncertain as whether or not to continue.

“Speak freely my lady.” Tyr encouraged.

“Before Grand… before Ymir’s death, I had a brother that was a lot like Baldur. He was kind and peaceful, in fact he supported my desire to marry Odin and Odin’s desire to marry me. He died saving Odin from the flood, who was nearly killed saving my family from the same. Most of my kin from before are dead now, either from the wars or from old age. Baldur is the last remnant of what family I had before my marriage to Odin.” Frigg said before whispering nearly inaudibly: “Before I was Frigg.”

Tyr gave no indication that he heard this last part and asked, “You say that Hoder picks fights, isn’t he blind?”

“Yes, but Hoder’s sense of smell, touch and hearing is greater than most Aesir. When it is combined with his ability to create an area of pure darkness around himself and cast illusionary sounds, all disadvantages are removed, and even without them he is among our best axe men. But we have strayed from talking about your einherjar. Do you think they could win?”

“They are at this moment the most skilled of the einherjar that I have seen, but their spirits are weighed down by their past defeats. If they could shake off that weight, they would undoubtedly succeed.”

“Then you must find a way to show them how far they have come. Let them see for themselves and decide.”

“But with Odin sending spies to watch how can… What is Hermod doing by that tree?”

Tyr broke off to stare at Hermod, squatting at the base of the tree in the courtyard near where the einherjar were beginning to gather again.

“Hermod? Where? I do not see him.” Said Frigg.

“Right there near the trunk, the light is catching on the ruby of his dagger’s hilt. He seems to be watching the einherjar.”

“Tyr, either you are seeing something that isn’t there, or you are looking through a concealing enchantment. Go to where you see Hermod and see which it is.”

Tyr nodded and walked over to where Hermod was. Hermod at first barely acknowledged that Tyr was there, until he realized that Tyr was staring right at him, to which Hermod suddenly became a little nervous.

“Hermod, what are you doing?”

Hermod flinched when Tyr spoke to him but kept staring at the einherjar in his crouched state. Tyr then held his hand before Hermod as though he intended to flick his finger in Hermod’s eye. Hermod slowly began to lean away, to which Tyr responded by quickly flicking Hermod’s ear and pushing him to the ground.

“Convinced I can see you now?” Tyr asked. Hermod shot Tyr a look of annoyed surprise, then gestured that he wanted to speak on the other side of the tree.

“You could have just picked me up or something.”

“Why are you spying on my einherjar?”

“I’m not spying.”

“Yet you are somehow only seen by me when I pointed you out to Lady Frigg. Did Odin send you?”

“What? I…I mean… why would you think Odin sent me to spy on you?”

“Because Odin has sent einherjar, Valkyries, his ravens, and a wolf that might have been Loki, to do so already. Hermod, please do not lie to me.” Tyr said kindly.

Hermod hung his head slightly before speaking.

“Alright, Odin did send me, and he also placed an illusion enchantment that was supposed to hide me from those who look at me. He was curious what sort of things you were teaching the einherjar so you can win the bet.”

“If that is all then I will save you some trouble by saying it is what I told Odin I would teach them: They are being taught to fight as a group and not as an individual. More precisely, they are being retaught comradery so that they may stand together rather than apart.”

“But were all those Gambanteinn shapes I saw… before Odin asked me to do this.”

“Those were merely more advanced versions of what the einherjar could already do. In essence, they are practicing turning their Gambanteinns into other forms faster than they could before, a skill that all einherjar know.”

“And sword techniques are arm movements, yet they can dazzle and defeat many. They are far from average Tyr, and if they were properly armed, could probably stand toe to toe with the Vanir warriors.”

“The goal is to have them stand equal to the Jotunar, but such a feat would be impossible in the time Odin gave me. Still, they are being held back by…” Tyr paused, then look thoughtfully at Hermod.

“Since you’re going to report all this to Odin, how about you aid me in a quick exercise with the einherjar.”

“What do you have in mind?”

Tyr smiled briefly, then whispered into Hermod’s ear before going back to the einherjar.

“Alright men form up for shield wall practice. Come on move it, move it! Straight line both across and going back. Alright looking good, and advance! Advance! Side right! Withdraw! Side left! Advance! BRACE!”

The moment that Tyr shouted brace, Hermod ran around from behind the tree and slammed into the shield wall’s front. The shields man who was direct hit was forced back some before he was supported by those behind him and pushed forward. Hermod was thrown back and rolled on the ground some before he stopped. Tyr helped Hermod to his feet before addressing those present.

“Thank you for your aid in this practice Hermod. I want you all to understand what you just did: You repelled the charge of an Aesir warrior. You, who all others have thought could not succeed and armed with the bare minimum. This is in part to the training you have received, but it is more so from yourselves. One thread can be snapped when it is alone, one hundred threads make a rope that few can break. Now split into groups and practice 10 vs 10 drills.”

“Sir!” shouted the einherjar. As they began to do so, Tyr lead Hermod away from the group.

“You didn’t tell me that it was going to hurt.” Hermod whispered while rubbing his elbow. Tyr shrugged.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think that it would hurt you. Will this satisfy Odin for a while?”

Yes, He will be intrigued no doubt.”

As Hermod left, Tyr turned and looked at the faces of the einherjar who were practicing.

Now they are ready for the fight.