Before the assembled warjarls and three thousand honor guards, Volsung Fá enters in terrifying regalia, dragging a chain of skulls and demanding Sefi’s throne, crown, and Mars. When Sefi orders his arrest, he kills three Valkyrie in seconds. Dozens of male jarls form a protective wall around him, revealing a planned betrayal.

Volsung claims three lives—now Volsung Fá, once Pale Horse, and first Vagnar Hefga, mate to Alia and father of Ragnar and Sefi. He removes his helmet, presents a broken griffin amulet, and uses polished rhetoric and slave-brand scars to inflame male resentment. The room polarizes along gender lines as Sefi’s female jarls rally to her while many men waver.

Trapped by custom, Sefi accepts his challenge. In a rapid duel, Volsung’s warsaw cripples Sefi’s legs and shoulders, dropping her in under a minute. As Valkyrie are overrun by outnumbering foes, Sefi is pinned. Volsung performs a blood eagle, salts her wounds, and, after her final defiance, tears out her lungs and eats her heart before dragging her body to the Griffin Throne.

Amid the chaos, Ephraim pries loose a fallen blade and retrieves the modified heartspike hidden in his boot. The jarls kneel as Volsung enthrones himself. He compels the shattered shaman Ozgard to fulfill a prophecy; Ozgard blinds himself and collapses. Volsung takes Aja’s razor, listens to the distant chant for the Reaper, and issues brutal orders.

Volsung commands Cimmeria sacked: treasures taken and the populace violated, declaring conquest as law. His seizure of power decisively fractures the Alltribe along gender lines and turns the Obsidian host against the city, while Ephraim quietly prepares for whatever comes next.