"It has curse on it to anyone who picks it up besides its owner, in the exception the owner dies."
"But sir, Beowulf died, it's been proven, the king sent out men and they found his body. "
Beowulf trod to the sword and raised it by the hilt. "And Beowulf is dead?" He handed it to Thomas and again Thomas was thrown violently to the ground. Beowulf lifted the sword again, as Thomas immediately dropped to his knees. "Beowulf, my friend, has not been slain, and seeks to regain from the throat of evil the crown of Geatland!"
Thomas, still bowing on his knees, said to Beowulf, " Rightful King Beowulf, I vow to serve you until the day you die!"
“Rise, Thomas, for you shall aide me in my endeavor to return the crown, to its rightful owner, me!”
The two new found friends wandered back to the home of Thomas as Beowulf told stories of adventures near and far.
“Wake up! Wake up!” shouted Thomas as he shook Beowulf. “It’s morning time! We have much to do today sir!”
Beowulf lifted his head from his pillow, staring into space. “Tell me, good friend, what has become of the capitol?”
“I’d hoped you would not have asked that question”, said Thomas with his head towards the ground. “The old capitol of Geatland, your capitol, Geshmante, has been burnt to the ground. A new one, located to the far north of Geshmante, has been built to accommodate Wiglaf. It is called Wiglam…”
“Burnt”, Beowulf interrupted, “Burnt! What is of my family?”
Thomas lifted his head slowly, making eye contact with Beowulf. “Your family, sir, well, Wiglaf was afraid your son might try to take the thrown. He had them burnt alive in the center of Wiglam. I’m sorry to have to tell you this.”
Beowulf, now sitting upright in a chair, sat there quietly. His face had shown no emotion until finally his eyes visibly boiled with anger. “This is not about me anymore Thomas.” He jumped up, dressed in his battle gear, slung his sword on his back, and laced his battle shoes. “You were right, we have much work to do.”
Chapter Two
The sound of the hooves of horses rung through the quiet cobble streets of Firsk, a small town of Dukatin. Beowulf and Thomas rode through, Beowulf with a large stick in his left hand, banging on the doors of the homes as he rode past. The villagers soon started to awake and slowly began congregating in the center of the town, talking of the knocks on their door they received earlier. Suddenly, two horses walked slowly into the masses of people.
“Countrymen, young and old, strong and week, listen to me as I speak! Your new king Wiglaf has betrayed you!”
“Betrayed me! Ha! He has given me extra money to farm with!” said one voice from the crowd.
“Yes! And he released my husband from prison!” exclaimed another voice.
“Wait, let me finish!” said Beowulf. He has told you that king Beowulf has been killed. This is not true…”
“Nonsense!” someone shouted, “His body was put on display in Wiglam. I saw it with me own eyes! He was a full seven feet tall, and his arms were fourscore inches around! He was truly a very big man!”
“Well sir,” Beowulf challenged, “have you heard the tale of the sword he carried in battle?”
“Who has not heard that? It is said she has a handle and hilt of solid gold, with gems from the far corners of the world embedded in it. Any one who is not the owner cannot touch it. A large shock is said to be sent through the arms, up the spine, into the brain to the offender.”
“Are there any other swords like it?”
“None.”
“And did you see that sword with the body of Beowulf?”
The large man thought hard. “No sir, come to think of it, I did not.”
Beowulf drew his sword and tossed it onto the stone of the streets. “Examine that sword please.”
The man observed carefully. “It has a handle and hilt covered in gold and riches!” He bent to pick it up but was sent back with a shock. The man shook himself and picked himself up off of the ground. He looked at Beowulf, and immediately went to his knees. “Wiglaf has betrayed us! Fellows, this is King Beowulf!”
Immediately all in the street, including Thomas, who dismounted from his horse, went to their knees and bowed, giving reverence.
“My people, I do not ask you to treat me as I god! Get back to your feet.”
All of the people stood, as if on command.
“I have come here to recruit soldiers. I will be honest. Most of those whom so choose to follow me will not make it home to Dukatin. I will be fighting my own soldiers. And may you listen now, if you ever choose to listen to anything. My soldiers are the best. They will not easily be defeated. Trained to kill, they do as they are told. If told to sit, they sit, to step, they step. Likewise, when told to kill, they do. But they are not invincible, for when building armies strong in areas, you also find their weaknesses. Their very weakness lies in the fact that they always do as told. Now, it has become time to ask for warriors. Anyone willing to come, go home, pack your things, give your family goodbyes, and meet me here before daybreak on the morn of tomorrow.” Beowulf then made an about face on his horse, and rode off into the fog, Thomas close behind.
Beowulf arrived the next morning; torch in right hand as he guide the horse with the left. He and Thomas sat atop their steed awaiting the arrival of soldiers. After an hour of lingering, Beowulf said to Thomas, “ I don’t think the masses believed that I was who I am…”
Just as these words left Beowulf’s mouth, a light grew from the west. “Ah, it must be the sun rising, shall we ride to the next town Thomas?”
“Wait, Beowulf, I spent some time as an astronomer in Rome as a young man…”
“Now is not the time to tell me this!” Beowulf exclaimed, obviously angered that no one showed up.
“Beowulf, pardon me please, but the sun rises from the east! I do believe that is a fire growing closer to us!”
Ever so slowly, the light grew brighter, until the light was fully recognizable.
“Come, Thomas, to the east wall of the village!”
The two clamored to the top of the city wall, where outside awaited a thousand men across, 5 rows deep, all carrying a torch. In front of them was the man who had just the day before doubted the existence of Beowulf, mounted on a large and sleek horse, black as night. The man turned to the soldiers, and raised his hand. All troops stood tall. The man then lowered his hand. Every soldier took a knee and bowed. Then, the apparent leader, took his reins and the horse turned so that he now faced Beowulf. He then dismounted, drew his sword, and poked his horse in its rear. The horse fled away with great speed, as the man turned to Beowulf.
“They call me Cyrus the Strong. I have recruited these men, not only from Firsk, but also from every town in Dukatin and neighboring states of Hesak and Dovend. Total they do not number as much as the troops of Wiglaf, but word is spreading and we hope to pick up a thousand or so more on our trip to Wiglam. They and I are now at your disposal.”
Cyrus drove is sword into the ground and placed his helmet atop it, he himself coming to a knee and bowing.
“Rise, men, onward to Wiglam, not for I, but for the cause!”
His men jumped into the air, all cheering in excitement. Beowulf savored the moment, smiling.
Chapter 3
From Dukatin they traveled to the north to gain support from the 4 states they have no representation from. Nobask yielded a half thousand, Wersemal yielded three quarters of a thousand, and Kercalk a full thousand and a quarter.
By now it was no surprise that Wiglaf and his men had found out of Beowulf’s resurgence into society. It was the breath of every person, in every street, in all of Geatland. People talked of how Beowulf would regain his glory. As talk of this sort grew, it was also no surprise that Wiglaf began to hang people in the center of Wiglam who would ever dare to say the name of Beowulf. It also is no surprise that Wiglaf tried to stop Beowulf before he would ever attack.
Beowulf peered into the valley below. The town looked small and quaint, with smoke emerging from the tops of the mud-brick chimneys. This is the town of Varcas, the first town that Beowulf has reached in the final state they will travel to, the state of Egnile. Egnile is the state in which the capitol, Wiglam, lie. Beowulf, mounted on horse, followed by his two chief generals Thomas and Cyrus, trod into the city. His men were ordered to stay close behind, but far enough away so that they will not be seen.
“Thomas”, Beowulf ordered, “enter the town and see if anyone would like to join our army. Cyrus, keep any eye out for anyone who might not want us here. I will ride through to the town baron. Meet back where the troops are stationed at dusk.” With his briefing finished, Beowulf slapped his horse on it’s side and hurried to the baron.
Beowulf asked around and was finally shown to the home of the baron. The baron kindly asked him inside and offered him a flask of lager.
“Sir Keaton, I am rightful King Beowulf. I am sure you have heard my tale, of how I have lived through the dragon attack and rallied around seven thousand troops. I have come to ask for volunteers, and I also ask for the accommodations of my soldiers in your village while we are recruiting in the state of Egnile. It should be a brevity of only a couple days sir.”
“Yes, yes, I have heard all of these things. I will be delighted to let you stay in our village until you have finished gathering volunteers.”
“Your kindness will be rewarded. Thank you Sir Keaton. I will be on my way now.”
Beowulf galloped back to where his troops lie in cover. “We have been granted stay here in Varcas while we are looking for volunteers”, he addressed, “And you need to show courticy to all of the villagers so that some of them will join us.”
Tentilus, Beowulf’s head soldier recruiter, then happily announced to Beowulf, “We have gained two hundred followers who left Egnile in search to join us.”
Beowulf spoke, “We are gaining men at every stop, lets hope everything stays going in the direction it is. Men, go into Varcas and find shelter. It grows late. You will need a good rest for tomorrow.” With that, Beowulf rode to the town center, where he met back with Thomas and Cyrus. The three then went to a near by home, where they were offered shelter.
By midnight most of Beowulf’s men were asleep in their tents in the streets of the town. However, the new two hundred recruits were not asleep. Donning their armor and weapons, they prepared for battle. However, there were a few other soldiers up at this time, watching the new recruits. They kept a suspicious eye on them, wondering what they could be doing. All of the sudden, Cohpen, a loyal follower from Dukatin, saw one new recruit draw his sword and slash into a tent as screams from the people inside were shrieked. The man doing the killing was apparently the commander, for he motioned and the other ninety-nine soldiers began to do just as their superior had.
Cohpen ran to tell his friends of the danger, only to find them already killed by the mutineers. Cohpen then awoke Beowulf, Thomas, and Cyrus. Beowulf told Cohpen to wake all the troops give the command to attack the new recruits, saving only the one who gave the order for them to kill. Cohpen did as told, and soon all the soldiers were ready to battle. They drove back the attackers and killed them within four hours, all except the ringleader, a man named Folg. The soldiers then returned to bed.
The soldiers were granted sleep until noon, and then everyone was woken up by Beowulf charging his horse through the middle of the camp. “All arise! The two hundred men we recruited yesterday have killed a little over a thousand of our men. That means each of those two hundred attackers killed an average of 5 men. The sick thing is that nine hundred seventy of those men were killed in their sleep. If this is not a motive to fight harder next week when we will attack the castle in Wiglam, I don’t know what is!”
Thomas, half confused, the other half out of fear, questioned, “Wait, Beowulf, we’re attacking Wiglam next week?”
“Did I stutter?” asked Beowulf, sarcastically. “In case you missed me saying it the first time, we will be attacking King Wiglaf’s castle next week. Tentilus, take 500 men and go and find some more recruits. Return in six moons. We will attack the next day, and you will become the general in command of those whom you recruit. Also, Cohpen, you have advanced from soldier to General. You, along with Thomas and Cyrus, will command two thousand troops each. And as always, you all are under my command.”
Chapter Four
Beowulf and his men lie quiet atop a wooded hill behind the castle. Tentilus had recruited a thousand and a half men. Total were seven and a half soldiers against the eight thousand soldiers of Wiglaf. But Beowulf had a plan to destroy half Wiglaf’s soldiers without a single casualty. And then they would out number Wiglaf’s troops by double and should have a victory. Folg, the enemy captured, was sent in charge of those two hundred men by Wiglaf, and had told Beowulf of the exit Wiglaf’s soldiers left the castle from in case of a battle they need to fight. Folg then agreed to help Beowulf in carrying out his weapon of mass destruction.
Folg was sent with one hundred and fifty men to the castle, where they reported a victory to Wiglaf, saying to have defeated most of the five hundred of Beowulf’s troops while they slept. And to the delight of Wiglaf, Folg reported that Beowulf was tortured and finally decapitated.
“Folg, you have shown yourself to be the best man in my army!” exclaimed Wiglaf, and he promoted Folg to head general.
“Good King Wiglaf, I am, however, afraid that there is still a large following of Beowulf in the nation. I request half the troops to take with me to rid Geatland of anyone who ever thought of joining forces with Beowulf.”
“I like your style, Folg, take half my men and kill every offender. Go!”
With this said, Folg took half the men and led them out of the castle. “Wait! Folg said to his men, I sense a danger! I need the one hundred and fifty men that were with me when I killed Beowulf to come and check out the next village. You other forty-five hundred men, stay here in this field and train for battle. I will be back just before dusk.” Then Folg and Beowulf’s one hundred and fifty men went up over the hill to where Beowulf had all his men lying in wait for their return.
Folg got over the hill, and Beowulf explained his plan to his troops. “I need all my archers to assemble a front line just at the top of the hill. I have had oil poured in the field where the enemy now practices while Folg was distracting the King. Archers, set your arrow tips ablaze, and launch your arrows like blankets into the oil. The enemy should be killed in a matter of minutes, with not a single casualty among us.
The archers assembled at their designated place and set their arrows on fire. On Beowulf’s command, a thousand arrows were released, and not but 3 seconds later a fireball erupted in the center of the enemy troops, killing every last one of them.
“Now”, said Beowulf, “the time has come to regain glory! Fight for the cause, not for me.” He then signaled Thomas, Cyrus, Cohpen, and Tentilus to take their men and attack.
It was only a matter of a couple of hours before they had fought their way into the castle, where the last two thousand enemy soldiers surrendered upon seeing Beowulf. Beowulf sent a hundred of his most elite soldiers into the living quarters of Wiglaf and captured him, where he was executed by Beowulf in the center of the town.
When Wiglaf was brought to Beowulf in the center of the castle, every man, woman, child, soldier alike gathered around in a large circle around Beowulf and Wiglaf. Wiglaf sat on his knees, head bowed to Beowulf.
“Wiglaf, you were at one time my most elite soldier. Why did you betray me?” asked Beowulf.
“I didn’t mean to, King Beowulf. I now pledge all my people, belongings, and soldiers to you. I swear if you let me live I will serve you well.”
“ It is not a matter of how you will serve me”, said Beowulf, “it is about how you served my family when you killed them.” Beowulf drew his sword and in one backhanded stroke of the majestic blade flew Wiglaf's head. And the crowd cheered.
Prologue
Beowulf died a happy king just a month after he regained title. He left the crown to his most faithful follower, Thomas.
The book that is widely published named Beowulf is merely the story that Wiglaf had his scholars mass produce to his people in the year that Beowulf was building his army in order to take credit away from the rumors that Beowulf was still alive.
