Chapter 7

"Listen to me, Thorfinn. You have no enemies. No one... has any enemies. There is no one... that you should hurt."

- Thors Snorresson

Sword (剣, Ken) is the 7th chapter of the Vinland Saga series.

Overview
Thors is readying his ship for departure when he is asked to patch up a wounded child. He is surprised to learn that the child's arm was broken by Thorfinn during their war games, overly rough for child's play. Envious upon seeing the older village boys being outfitted for war, Thorfinn discards his wooden sword and shield and searches for real weapons in his home. He finds Thors's old war chest and is entranced by the short sword. Thors confronts Thorfinn about who he intends to kill with the sword and impresses on him that no one has any enemies and that there is no one that he should hurt. Thorfinn, angry at being treated like a child and believing his father is lying to him, tells Thors he isn't making sense and runs off to the docks.

Summary
Thors readies his longship for departure along with some of the other villagers. A villager approaches Thors, asking him to take a look at a wounded village boy. Thors asks if the child was in a fight. The villager says the children were playing war as usual, but that the child is in a lot of pain as the bone may be broken. Thors follows to take a look at the child. He confirms that the arm is broken and patches him up, noting that it is too rough for child's play. He advises the child to keep a splint on for about a month. The villager thanks him, saying Thors is the best person to turn to for that sort of thing. One of the other children tells Thors that Thorfinn was the one who did it, complaining that he is no fun to play with, won't follow the rules and won't go easy on anyone. The wounded child confirms Thorfinn was the one to hurt him. Thors apologizes and says he will scold Thorfinn. The villager, who laughs it off, says it's just "kids being kids" and that it is impressive that six year old Thorfinn is already managing to incapacitate kids nearly twice his age, noting he was born to be a warrior and that it is Thors's blood. Thors seems bothered by the claim. Ari, Magni, Mord and some of the other teenage village boys are being outfitted for war and given weapons and armour by their family members. Thorfinn, who looks on enviously, discards his wooden sword and shield upon arriving home. Ylva scolds him and says she will throw them out if he doesn't put them away properly. Thorfinn replies she can go ahead, as he doesn't need them anymore. He turns the family storeroom inside out, saying he is looking for a weapon. Ylva says it will make no difference if he finds one, as he is a little boy and will not be allowed to go on their father's ship. Thorfinn finds his father's old war chest, which contains his helm, his sword and a short sword. Thorfinn unsheathes the short sword, noting it is pretty. Thors arrives and grabs the short sword by the blade, taking it away from Thorfinn and wounding himself in the process. Ylva and Helga listen from the adjacent room as Thors asks Thorfinn if he wants a sword, noting it is a sword for killing. He asks Thorfinn who he will kill with the sword. Thorfinn says he will kill enemies, and Thors asks him who is his enemy, to which Thorfinn replies "Halfdan... maybe...". Thors tells Thorfinn he has no enemies; that no one has any enemies, and that there is no one he should hurt. Thorfinn tells his father that that does not make sense, as Thors is going off to battle the next day to kill enemies. Thorfinn yells at his father to stop treating him like a child and says even he can tell when he's lying, then runs away. Helga takes the short sword out of Thors's hand and wraps up his bloody hand. He asks Helga to raise their son well, to which she replies she knows. At the docks, Thorfinn looks upon his father ship with a determined look in his eyes.

Characters in order of appearance

 * Thors Snorresson
 * Ari
 * Mord
 * Grim
 * Thorfinn
 * Ylva
 * Helga