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Wulfgar leaned back in his chair at the head of the main table in the hastily constructed Mead Hall, his foot tapping nervously at the long delays necessitated by the demands of proper tradition He felt that his people should already be on the move, but it was the restoration of the traditional ceremonies and celebrations that had immediately separated, and placed hi in the eyes of the skeptical and ever-suspicious barbarians

Wulfgar, after all, had walked into their -standing king One day later, he had won the crown, and the day after that, he had been coronated King Wulfgar of the Tribe of the Elk

And he was deterh he intended it to be, would not betactics of his predecessor’s He would ask the warriors of the assembled tribes to follow him into battle, not command them, for he knew that a barbarian warrior was a man driven alnity, as Heafstaag had done by refusing to honor the sovereignty of each individual king, the tribesar knew that they would need to regain their proud edge if they were to have any chance at all against the wizard’s overwhelorot, the Mead Hall, had been raised and the Challenge of the Song initiated for the first tiood-natured competition between tribes who had been suffocated under Heafstaag’s unrelenting domination

The decision to raise the deerskin hall had been difficult for Wulfgar Assu that he still had tihed the benefits of regaining tradition against the pressing need of haste He only hoped that in the frenzy of pre-battle preparations, Kessell would overlook the absence of the barbarian king, Heafstaag If the wizard was at all sharp, it wasn’t likely

Noaited quietly and patiently, watching the fires return to the eyes of the tribes next to hiar responded

Satisfied, Revjak leaned back against the tent’s deerskin wall, granting the new chief the solitude he obviously desired And Wulfgar resu the best moment to unveil his proposition

At the far end of the hall, an axe-throwing co and Beorg had used to seal a pact between the tribes at the last Hengorot, the challenge was to hurl an axe froh into a keg of s that could be filled from the effort within a specified count deterar saw his chance He leaped fro the host, the first throw The ed Wulfgar’s right and invited him to coar said, hoisting Aegis-fang to his shoulder

Murmurs of disbelief and excitement arose from all corners of the hall The use of a warhae was unprecedented, but none complained or cited rules Every man who had heard the tales, but not witnessed firsthand the splitting of Heafstaag’s great axe, was anxious to see the weapon in action A keg of mead was placed upon a stool at the back end of the hall

"Another behind it!" Wulfgar demanded "And another behind that" His concentration narrowed on the task at hand, and he didn’t take the tis were readied, and the crowd backed out of the young king’s line of sight Wulfgar grasped Aegis-fang tightly in his hands and sucked in a great breath, holding it in to keep hi onlookers watched in a thetheir ranks

Aegis-fang tu through the first keg, and then the second and beyond, taking out not only the three targets and their stools, but continuing on to tear a hole in the back of the Mead Hall The closest warriors hurried to the opening to watch the reht, but the haht They started out to retrieve it

But Wulfgar stopped the his arms before him "Hear me, warriors of the northern plains!" he cried Their ape at the unprecedented feat, so suddenly reappeared in the young king’s hands