raise me from perdition

Ragnar was silent as Thistle murmured that she had thought he had said that he was stepping down from leadership, having, frankly, nothing to say. If asked to repeat a third time he could not, fearing that his words might tremble and that if forced to face the enormity of his decision he might bend under the pressure and change his mind. His ambition was screaming in his head in fury, and he felt the weight of Odinn's judgment upon his spine as if it were an enormous burden, curious to see how much weight he could bear until his spine snapped in half. In reality, it was all in Ragnar's head but it made him shift his weight, uncomfortable. “No,” Ragnar hissed out in honesty to her question. No, he was not sure of anything. “I cannot be sure that me stepping down will not be the final hole in Stavanger Bay that causes it to sink,” For surely he would be intolerant of anyone higher ranked than him throwing their weight around. Ragnar would have no problem putting them quickly and defiantly into their place, even if that meant usurping to seize control of his own throne once more. Stavanger Bay would only stop being his when he was dead. “I have to try something, wife.”

Blatantly, he ignored her comment of it making much more sense for her to step down because it did, but he wasn't going to ask her to do that. He wasn't going to ask and he wasn't going to let her. If it felt like too much of a burden for her to bear then he would step back up, or relieve her of it if that was what she wished. “If it becomes too much for you to bear I will take my title as Jarl back,” He told her without hesitation. “Do not be too stubborn to tell me or I will take it back by force.” He wasn't threatening her, but warning her. If he felt that she was struggling he would take what was rightfully his, only speaking it so she would not be unprepared if it came to that. “They are children still. We need adult bodies.” And until his children turned a year of age they were not adults in his eyes though they were at the age where they were more than capable of holding their own, certainly.