Wrong Place, Wrong Time

925AD, East Anglia

Bragi kept rowing as per his commander's orders. He'd been eager to join the raids for a long time now. Years and years of training and preparation would finally come into force in the battlefield. He looked left and right and all he could see were warriors from the same and nearby villages in his homeland, Denmark. Tales of abundant treasures and beautiful Saxon women that awaited them on the coasts of England had filled his mind and boosted his resolve.

"Row, keep rowing!" their ship commander shouted every few minutes. "We can see the shore now, boys. We're almost there. Keep rowing!"

Bragi lifted his head and noticed the first trees in the horizon. The sandy beach started revealing colours of red and gold as the dusk was hastily coming down on them. He kept rowing. His hands were dried, bloody and shaking from exhaustion, but kept rowing. It was a long journey, filled with thirst, hunger and cold sea nights. Yet, the dream of fortune and battle kept him rowing.

Suddenly, the roars of his compatriots were loudly interrupted by a series of thunders that hit the sea shore. They were five, no six of them. They filled the surroundings with thundering shouts and flashes so bright that Bragi had to close his eyes for a brief second, so he can save his eyesight.

When the thunders seized, Sigurd, their ship commander, turned back to look at the rowers, and shouted with joy "Can you see? Even Odin, the all-seeing father, is with us today. Fight for him and for his son, Thor, who filled the skies for us with his thunders. Fight bravely, for Valhalla is coming!" All raiders, including Bragi, paused their rowing, stood up, and started screaming words of confidence, words of violence, words of hope.

Bragi returned swiftly to his duties and kept rowing. He noticed black smoke raising from the shore ahead of them. Perhaps, all these thunders started fire on a few trees. Nothing to worry about. This could make for a better song at the end.

His enthusiasm turned quickly into curiosity, as he squeezed his eyes to see better. He first noticed large, strange figures standing on the beach, which was now just 100m away from them. They looked like humans, but as the ships were fast approaching, they looked like they were made by iron, or some kind of metal. But his eyes had never seen such black, shiny metal before. Perhaps, it was a strange metal that originated only in England. They would soon find out.

A loud order from their ship commander was raised to the air "Stop, stop rowing!" Sigurd sounded alert and scared at the same time. What in Loki's name was going on? Nothing could scare Sigurd. Not even if Gods themselves stood before him.

As soon as Sigurd's shouts stopped, these strange creatures came to life, and started eerily staring at the incoming ships. Whatever these creatures were, they were certainly not human. They moved closer to the sea with black smoke coming out of their heads. Their eyes were dark and almost non-visible, but as soon as the first ship came ashore, their eyes turned red and started spewing fire on the first ships.

Bragi's first battle in England did not start as intended. Sheer terror filled his spine and his instinct ordered him to jump to the sea to escape the incoming flames. As he was underwater, he noticed the black and burnt bodies of his fellow warriors destined for the bottom of the sea. All this harsh journey for what? To die almost instantly by those devilish monsters? He only hoped that Valhalla would embrace them soon enough.

He felt his breath reaching its limits and having no choice, he swam towards the sea surface. He took a big breath and quickly started looking around. The flames had seized, but not before they had consumed everything around him. All ships, and all fellow compatriots were gone. Damn those beasts. The creatures stood still and their eyes had gone back to black again, although thick black smoke kept coming out of their heads.

While he was falling into despair, he felt the touch of sharp, cold metal at his back. He turned around, only to face a dark-hair warrior with blue eyes. At least, this was human, unlike these creatures. This man was wearing a strange metal armour and had a equally strange metal hat on his head. He was holding a weapon that Bragi had never seen in his life. It wasn't a crossbow or a sword, but something he could not describe. The man started shouting at him, but Bragi could not understand a single word. Maybe it was what those cursed Englishmen spoke?

Then, this man turned his gaze to face another man, who was a bit taller and dressed in the same fashion.

"Sir, I believe there's been an input error in the time machine. Sir....I think we're in the wrong era..."