The expressions are very good, and the story you convey is clear from two words, Water is very hard to pull off, so maybe try a reference of a swampy/marshy area to help you in the future. I expect that you should win this category very soon, exceptional work!

The poses and action in this piece is beautiful. You managed to put a lot of weight and fluidity into their actions- and thats something that is very hard to achieve in the beginner category. My only criticism is that the two viking figures having a lil' tusle blend to deeply into each other, It can be hard to decipher whats what in all the grey tones, But I can see what you're trying to go for, the golden weapons contrasted against the grey scenery is great, just try to make the two main characters stand out a bit more from eachother, maybe find a strong base tone to layer at the bottom?

I love the style, It could fit perfectly in the open catergory. You managed to execute the look of the axe exceptionally to fit this style. The one thing is that the story element (one of the main things being looked at) isn't really present in this piece. Other than that, great artwork!