The First Valkyrie

by S. C. Coleman

  “What is happening?” Eleesa whispered in the ear of Diodo when the man left them.

  “That is the Queen Serafina, wife to Gutaca the Brown. We are in his hall. He has taken this place from its former owner. That man helped me escape many years ago. Say nothing, I will do all the speaking necessary.”

  “How can I trust you?” Eleesa’s question went unanswered as the Queen spoke. The hall quieted down, and the crowd separated for Eleesa and Diodo. The Queen shouted and Diodo spoke politely to her. They traded words in the tongue foreign to Eleesa. Diodo made a few more words and motioned to Eleesa. At this moment, the Queen saw Eleesa for the first time. Her eyes widened and then her lip began to quiver. Eleesa had seen that look from women before. She was unsure of its meaning, but whatever came from the Queen’s mouth would not be kind. So, the Queen began to shout and Eleesa whispered in Diodo’s ear. “What is she saying?”

  “She is attempting to have us executed. She is saying the foreign travelers could not be gods. She says more of us will arrive if we can escape. I will not repeat what she is saying about you. She does not like you. She says that she herself is a god and does not fear their wrath.” Diodo quieted down when the queen roared. Eleesa assumed she didn’t like people talking while she was. “This is what happens when a woman is allowed to rule.” Diodo spat and the Queen went quiet. Eleesa assumed this was not a good thing. Her face was red, and she remained motionless. Her fists were Bahlled up and her body rigid. The man that Diodo spoke to before stepped forward. He shouted a few words and the crowd of people nodded in agreement. This was a strange land indeed. Nothing like this existed anywhere Eleesa had gone. These people seemed to talk out their issues. At least, that was how Eleesa saw it. Diodo began to whisper to Eleesa once more. “He is saying that gods may take the guise of whomever they choose. He says none know the will of the gods. He is saying that Serafina was probably banished to the mortal world. He says that these are matters for a Seyking to decide, not his woman.”

  “What is a Seyking?” Once again Eleesa’s question went unanswered as the Queen stood up abruptly. She shouted and pointed at Diodo. Diodo answered by shouting as well. A man from the crowd stepped forward and kneeled. He was a tall man of six feet and just as well built as the other men. His hair was greying, and his beard hung below his belly. He was decorated and dressed like the man Diodo talked to. The man also bore many scars and carried more arm rings than Diodo’s friend. Diodo responded with a few shouted words. Then Diodo’s friend spoke loudly. Five men, including Diodo’s friend, walked up beside him. All handed and arm ring to Diodo. He accepted the arm rings and kneeled before them. Diodo then raised the arm rings above his head and said a few words. He handed back the arm rings and stood. Five men did the same with the older man that had been the first to kneel. Eleesa’s head spun with confusion. The rest of the room kneeled before Diodo and the older man. Then, everyone got up and the celebrations continued once more.

  “Please, Diodo, I beg you, tell me what is happening.”

  “If I survive, I shall teach you this beautiful language they speak.”

  “If you survive?”

  “Yes, I am to fight this man in the morning. Also, you will be going into the mountains.”

  “What!” Bewildered, Eleesa shouted in her tongue but none in the room seemed to care.

  “You must prove that you are a god by crossing the mountains. It was my friend’s idea. The Queen agreed not to kill you and let you under take this question. Eleesa, I warn you not to reject this. The mountains are hard to cross, some say impossible, but if you refuse then you shall die. Serafina is very powerful and commands many warriors. Also, she carries the weight of Gutaca the Brown in her words.”

  “Why are you going to fight? These men look like beasts, or gods, I’m not certain yet.”

  “I challenged Serafina, so she asked for a champion to defend her honor. She would fight me herself, but she wants the fight to be fair. It is a trick. These people believe that a god would spare a man that fought honorably against him. Since he is fighting on her behalf, I could not kill him. This is of course meaning I am a god. A mere mortal would just kill the man. If I do this then I will die for pretending to be a god. That is the worst sin for these people.”

  “Did you tell them that you are a god?”

  “Of course not! No god ever reveals himself as a god. So, tell me, what do you think of this place? They call it Oathlund.”

  “Outhlind,” Eleesa attempted to say the word, but she could not. “I do not know yet what to think.” Eleesa replied in her tongue and became quiet. Diodo’s friend returned and offered him a horn made from bone and metal. Eleesa’s bewilderment increased as the two men began to drink from their horns. Diodo’s friend offered one two Eleesa as well. She drank thirstily and found the liquid to be mead. Perhaps… not everything here was different. The two men laughed and went to the feasting table. Eleesa sheepishly followed. The three of them joined the rest in eating and becoming drunk. So many forms of meat were on the table. Various other foods joined the meats. All the food was strange to Eleesa. When she thought something looked familiar, it would taste completely different. She eventually became drunk along with the rest. The hall broke into singing and, for the first time in a while, Eleesa felt happy. She was worried and confused, but happy all the same.

  ***

  Stag in front of General Hamo for a few hours. He soon realized it would take longer for the General to die. Stag thought about speeding the process along but decided against it. He left General Hamo there. No crows or vultures had descended yet nor had any beasts approached the two bodies. General Hamo did not know how long they had been nailed to the trees. Soon enough, the following morning Commander Gelaus was set free. A larger crowd had gathered on this day and watched in awe. Commander Gelaus was set free and carried away. The bandit king kneeled before the body of General Hamo. He tilted his head to the side as he held a cup to General Hamo’s mouth. Voices of shock arose when the cup surface fogged up. Stag spat and Braco shook his head.

  “It seems the General will survive!” The bandit king laughed, and the surrounding forest exploded in uproar. “Whoever wishes to strike the killing blow may do so. I will not!” The bandit king threw the cup on the ground and Stag walked up behind him.

  “If you do not kill them, then I will kill you.” Stag hissed as he pressed a knife into the king’s back. The bandit laughed and shook his head. Stag growled and pushed the knife into the bandit king’s back. The bandit shifted to the right slightly before Stag sunk the knife in. The blade pierced the king’s leather vest and blood began to slowly drip out. Still laughing, the bandit king turned and struck Stag across the face. Stag was lifted off his feet and thrown across the ground. The man squirmed to his feet and retreated into the angry crowd. The crowd was quickly turning into a mob.

  “To me!” The bandit king shouted and his Bachi leapt down from their rope bridge. Iron greaves thudded as their heavy feet slammed into the ground. Each Bachi remained crouching as they surrounded the king and Hamo’s oak tree. The Bachi carried an array of weapons but they were famous for accuracy with throwing knives.

  “Kill them!” Stag’s frightened voice appeared from somewhere in the crowd. A large, burly bandit, who had probably once been a farmer stepped forward. He wielded a tree trunk as a weapon and raised it above his head. One of the Bachi drew a curved dagger. Within the space of a breath the knife buried its blade in the bandit’s throat. The large bandit dropped his tree and clutched at the blade. He collapsed into a knee and the Bachi approached with his short sword. He slowly pressed the sword blade into the other side of the bandit’s neck. Then, grasping the two handles, he ripped the blades out. The Bachi severed the bandits throat with the head still attached to the spine. The head still had motion and the Bandit gasped and flailed as he fell back. His head flopped around, and his throat fluttered like a butterfly. While the mob watched the fight, the Bachi freed General Hamo. A few mo
re members of the mob stepped forward. The Bachi easily dispatched them. One of General Hamo’s saviors caught a rusty nail in his small round buckler. Hamo grunted as the men touched his infected flesh. After the skin had been flayed from his body, the wounds had festered with bacteria and felt like they were on fire. The bandit king and his Bachi carried the General to a larger stable. This one was hidden in a cave. Three Bachi stood at the cave entrance to fend off more bandits. The small group could easily have been overwhelmed, but the notoriety of the Bachi ensured their protection. The bandit king and his Bachi rode out of the cave with General Hamo on a cart. The other three Bachi, protecting the entrance, mounted up. The party was unmolested as they galloped through the trees. A few javelins and other manner of missiles followed them. Somehow, none of the Bachi, nor their king were hurt in the escape.

  The party rode across plains until the landscape turned into wheat fields and farmsteads. They stopped to bandage up General Hamo’s body. It took all their bandages to cover Hamo’s entire body. He would not recover for some days. At least, that’s what the bandit king thought. They carried on and rode for three more days until they arrived at a village. The village lay to the south of the Capital. It would be one more day until they would reach Granuma. This village was called Granumo. The inhabitants had already assembled a defense against the arriving bandits. A small contingent of royal soldiers were waiting as well. A fight was sure to go in the villager’s favor. Many would die. Then, the bandit king held up a white flag.

  “We have your general!” The bandit king shouted and an envoy from the village rode out to meet them. Five soldiers followed the envoy on foot. They carried the long oval shields and kept three javelins behind the shield. In their other hand, they each held a javelin over their shoulders. They were Granuma’s elite skirmisher unites. Their accuracy was more notorious than that of the Bachi’s throwing blades.

  “Of which General do you speak?” The envoy raised a hand in peace as he rode up to the bandit king. The villagers and the garrison roamed around the bandits during the envoys approach. The party were surrounded and the Bachi were becoming nervous.

  “This is General Hamo?”

  “Liar!” The envoy unsheathed his long iron blade and held it to the bandit king’s throat. The king held up his hands in surrender and gestured towards the wagon. The envoy remained for moment in thought. Then, he barked orders to some of the soldiers and they walked over to the wagon. The envoy gasped as the men peeled the bandages off the General’s face. “Arrest them!” The Bachi began to resist, throwing blades and drawing scythes. Only a small number of the blades found a mark and most landed safely in the hide of a shield. The surrounded bandits were not harmed but they were dragged off horse back. The bandit leader himself was thrown on the ground. In a few moments, their hands and feet were bound around a pole. Their necks bore an iron collar. The bandit leader’s crown had been taken and each Bachi was unmasked. Gasps arose from the villagers as the inhabitants recognized a few faces. “Bring the man to the healer’s tent. Perhaps, once he is better we will know of the man’s identity.”

  “I don’t think this man will be telling us anything.” One of the men from the envoy’s part approached. “The man’s tongue has been cut out.”

  “Damn savages.” The envoy spat as he looked down on the broken boy in the cart. “It’s a wonder he is still alive. The Dark One must be watching over him.”

  “My lord?” A young lady from the village walked up to the envoy.

  “What is it?” The envoy barked as the royal soldiers took over the horses and cart.

  “An old man stopped by earlier. He came from the forest. He was naked, and we gave him some clothes.”

  “I do not care about a beggar, woman! Out of my way!”

  “He said he was a Commander! My lord?” The envoy rode off, paying no mind to the woman’s words.

  “Tell me of this man.” One of the envoy’s soldiers strolled up to the woman. The two watched as the cart and horses were ridden away. The bandits had been lashed in a line and whipped as they hobbled towards the village.

  “He spoke like a Lord. He had two holes in his wrists and could barely ride. When he came down from the horse he could not walk. I fed him and gave him a walking stick. Then, he said he was going to the Capital.”

  “What did he say?” The soldier had put away his weapons and was writing on a scroll.

  “He didn’t say too much but he told me to alert the garrison. We are lucky that our Lord was close by to aide us with the bandits.”

  “Aide? We dealt with them. They would certainly have slaughtered you. What else did the man say?”

  “He was going to the capital. In the state he was in, I advised him not to.”

  “You did well.” The soldier winked at the young woman and walked away while reading the scroll.

  “He couldn’t have gotten far! You may send a rider!” The young woman shouted louder as the soldier walked away. She scoffed and spat. She stood and thought for a while. With her mind made up, she decided to ride off and catch the commander. There was only one dusty road to the capital.

  ***

  On the morning of Diodo’s fight, Eleesa was given provisions and her fate awaited what came next. The two contenders stood opposite each other in the center of the town. Diodo and his opponent wore no armor. They wore their clothes from the night before. A large round wooden shield had been given to both men. An old man, wearing the skull of a goat, stood in the middle. He shouted to the crowd in the language foreign to Eleesa. After a few words, the man gestured to Diodo and his foe. The man wearing the skull bowed and departed into the crowd. Diodo’s foe was the first to select a weapon. He was handed a well-formed iron axe. The axe blade had been attached to the shaft utilizing interwoven leather straps. The crowd gasped at Diodo’s choice of weapon. A farmer’s sickle that he had brought from the homeland. Serafina spoke a few words and Diodo winked at Eleesa. The battle started with drums, horns, and the crowd stomping their feet. Diodo was the first to make a move as he swung the sickle. He buried the sickle’s head in the foreign warrior’s shield rim. The warrior laughed and struck at Diodo. The scholar deflected the blow with his shield and the axe head became stuck in the shield. Diodo wrenched the axe free from the warrior’s hand. He left his own sickle buried in the warrior’s shield. The two men grunted as they wrenched each other’s weapons free. Diodo laughed as his foe looked perplexed. Then, Diodo lunged at his foe and began beating him back. The warrior fought with the wrong end of the sickle. The farming tool proved unwieldy to the old warrior and he threw it aside. Diodo hurled the axe and the old warrior caught the blade in his shield. As he wrenched the axe free, Diodo hurled his shield behind it. The crowd gasped at this disregard for a shield’s and protection. Serafina roared with displeasure and Diodo dove to retrieve his sickle. The old warrior looked pleased as he held the axe blade to Diodo’s throat. The scholar only smiled back at the warrior. Diodo un-footed his foe using the sickle blade and the crowd broke into laughter. Diodo rolled up to his feet as his foe went to the ground. Then, Diodo kicked the shield from his older foe’s hands. The warrior struck at the scholar’s face with the axe blade. Diodo ducked backwards quickly to avoid beheading. He then picked up a broom and broke off the shaft head. Just as the older warrior was clambering to his feet, Diodo hurled the wood shaft and caught the old warrior in the shield. The warrior fell back to the ground and Serafina began shouting. Eleesa supposed that most of what Diodo was doing was far from legal. Diodo hurled sand and anything else he could get his hands on. The crowd laughed, and the old warrior retrieved his shield under the barrage. Shaking his head, the old warrior departed the fight; blocking a few thrown fish and pieces of wood. The old warrior didn’t even seem to notice the few wounds he bore. Diodo laughed and so did the crowd, but Serafina continued shouting. The scholar handed his weapons back to a man and walked over to Eleesa.

  “It seems Serafina will want to make me dead.”
Diodo laughed and his friend approached from behind. The friend slapped Diodo on the back, still laughing. “We must depart immediately. I have secured an entourage for us as well.” Diodo smiled and gestured to his friend. The two men grasped each other’s forearms and touched foreheads. A troupe of three woman approached carrying bundles of furs and a few weapons.

  “Can you thank him for the hospitality and the supplies? Also, why is he accompanying us?”

  “He believes that he owes me some sort of debt.” Diodo laughed and pulled on one of the furs the women had brought. “Come now, we are wasting daylight.” The men strolled off, paying no mind to the women or Eleesa. The three women followed. One of them Eleesa realized to be the caretaker from the night before. She followed slowly under the watchful eyes of many foreigners. The gates were open for their departure and just beyond lay a spatter of camp fires. Eleesa hoped there would be more people higher up the mountain, but she doubted it. They walked for a while before setting camp. The sun had not yet begun to set. Why were they making camp so early? Eleesa thought to herself as she sat down with the rest. She pulled the fur cloak tighter around her shoulders and peered up at the mountain. Diodo and his friend seemed to be in no hurry. They treated this expedition almost like a vacation. Eleesa decided rest would be a good option. She lay down on a bed of warmed rock and listened to the pleasant foreign chatter.