Paradoxically, the more Eadwine’s reputation grew as a just and firm shire reeve, the worse he felt about his humiliation at the hands of Edred. As time went by and there was no news of the renegade Viking, the memory of his shameful entrapment in the stinking retting pond rankled, to the point that it became an obsession. Driven by offended pride, his desire for revenge developed into a yearning that would only be satiated by slaying his enemy. But how to achieve that when the object of his loathing had vanished?
With the advent of the new century, his work made easier by the peace uninterrupted by raiders or general unrest, it seemed that warfare was something that involved regions other than Northumbria. He knew that the West Saxons were consolidating their grip on the south and gainin
