In the year 232 of the 6th Era, Sidlifa was 11 years old.
She was holding an axe and practicing chopping wood from a tree stump.
"The axe handle and your arm should be in a straight line." Old Wilder stood by and said calmly, "Use the strength of your forearm, upper arm, waist and abdomen, and chop it down with all your strength! Imagine that this piece of wood is the enemy's head, and tear it apart with your weapon!"
Sidlifa stood there, stunned for a while, and suddenly said: "But Ask said that it is unwise to hit the head directly, because the weapon is likely to get stuck in the skull and cannot be pulled out."
"Who is Ask?" Old Wilder showed a surprised expression.
"Asker?" Sidlifa was also stunned.
She instinctively felt that the name was somewhat familiar, with a sense of intimacy and attachment, but she really couldn't remember it.
"In short, don't be distracted!" Old Wilder said sternly, bringing her thoughts back to reality. "Chop with all your might! Kill him before his axe hits you!"
Sidlifa raised her battle axe with all her strength, and chopped it down with all her might.
The axe lodged itself in the wood, splitting it cleanly in two.
"Not bad." Old Wilder said approvingly, "You have the potential to become a pirate in the future."
"But my mother doesn't want me to be a pirate." Sidlifa said honestly, "She hopes that I can marry a nobleman."
"Hahaha, naive Lisa." Old Wilder laughed contemptuously, "How could a noble marry a wild girl like you with no family background? At most, they would treat you as a mistress."
"What's a mistress?" Sidlifa asked innocently.
"She is a pathetic woman who is greedy for a comfortable life or afraid of the authority of the nobility, and thus sacrifices her body and dignity." Old Wilder showed a disgusted expression, "Hidlifa, remember this."
"Even in front of the king, you must hold your proud head high."
"A true Viking will never submit to nobles and emperors. As long as he holds a weapon in his hand, he dares to despise everything in this world."
“You said earlier,” Sidlifa said, “that it doesn’t matter whether you are a Viking or not.”
"Sidlifa," said old Wilder solemnly, "The Vikings I'm talking about are not a bloodline, but a spirit."
"The spirit of never giving in and swinging the blade at everything."
"We are descendants of the Vikings, eager to restore the glory of our ancestors. One day, the Valkyrie will lead our heroic spirits to Valhalla, where we will feast with our ancestors all night. Only then will you truly become a Viking."
Sidlifa nodded, not quite understanding.
She began to practice swinging the battle axe.
Time around me seems to pass quickly, the sun rises and sets, and the stars in the sky shine and then go out.
Old Wilder left the village and no one knew where he went.
Her mother Sally was scolding her and telling her to stop chopping wood like a fool all day.
The young boys and girls around her occasionally came into the woods and laughed at her, calling her a "bastard", "fatherless", and "the lowly offspring of a pirate and a whore".
Sidlifa turned a deaf ear to all that was said. All she had in mind was swinging her battle axe, splitting the wood in front of her, and...