The First Valkyrie

by S. C. Coleman

  “This is how it is after every battle. You know this, Lord.”

  “You would think that we were at civil war, Commander. Such times bring out the worst in men. We have little enough here. You and your men would leave us destitute.”

  “My dear Lord, the moods of the peasantry change with the wind. Come first light, they will have forgotten this night. A strong leader could bend them to his will by a single word. The masses are sheep. Do not be one of them. You are a lion my Lord.” The commander slapped Sicar on the back. Sicar smiled tiredly in reply and drank more.

  “Commander, I believe the man might be wrong, or he may be right. Either way, if there is a home of giants across the Wild Sea, then Trynuma is the wrong direction.”

  “Where is the right direction, Lord? In your eyes.”

  “The new, and new pillaged, fortress of Gelajri. From there, you may watch the northern coast.” Lord Sicar continued to stare at the celebration of violence ahead. “If you could pursue the General to move north, rather than west, you could meet these fictional giants. If not, the effort would not necessarily be wasted time.”

  “You can forget it, lord. The General listens to no one now.”

  “He will listen to the Dark Queen.” Lord Sicar, his voice mellow and deliberate, drained the rest of his cup. “You should light the green fire.” Lord Sicar stood and left the Commander on the step.

  The Spirit of the Mountain

  Traveling on the back of the mountain bear was faster than on foot. Eleesa reached the peak in a day. It would have taken her much longer on foot. The bear pushed through the snow like it was air. Eleesa did not know how the bear knew where to go, but she was thankful for a new companion. Her thoughts were disturbed, however, as her old companion appeared. He waited for her at the top of the mountain. He stood from the very top, looking down on her.

  “Marco!” Eleesa leapt of the bear and ran to her old friend. She jumped on him and wrapped her arm’s around his torso. “How did you make it up here so fast? I missed you.” Eleesa struggled to keep ahold of the young man, but he pried her arms free.

  “Eleesa, it is good to see you, but you must face reality now. I am a part of you.”

  “What do you mean? I have no siblings. Well, Juno never told me that I had any.” Eleesa narrowed her brow in confusion.

  “I must go now dear Eleesa. I will leave you with these words. The apple of the world lays in the palm of your hand. I must go now.”

  “Wait!” Eleesa grabbed Marco and pulled his lips to hers. Even as she did this, nothing touched her frostbitten lips. She opened her eyes to find she was staring at the horizon. She blinked and searched the surrounding peak for Marco. He was gone. The bear cub walked up to Eleesa and nudged her with his nose. She looked over at his massive head and tears welled in her eyes. “I will call you Marco.” She hugged the bear’s fury chest. Her tears, saliva, and mucus mixed with the bear’s warm fur. Marco, the mountain bear, stood erect and looking down the other side of the mountain.

  Marco descended the other side of the mountain, with Eleesa on his back, faster than she had ascended it. She wondered what Diodo and Herbjarg were doing at this moment. Perhaps, they were at another feast in Ulsgard. She missed food, she missed the warmth of a fire, and above all she missed her old companion. She had never learned his name. Was he ever real? Was it a mirage of the mountain? Did her companion die during the shipwreck? How did she see him on the beach? It came to her like a wave crashing over her and breaking her body. Eleesa’s old companion had the same eyes as hers, he was the same size as her, and he had the same voice as hers. The companion that had brought her here, all the way from Numo, was herself. As she contemplated her own insanity, Marco the Mountain Bear broke into a bound. He crashed down the mountain as his thudding footsteps caused ice to break off the peak. Eleesa looked behind to find them being chased by and avalanche. Eleesa held on as tight as she could to Marco’s fur. Why had the bear decided to run? What had caused the avalanche? None of the mattered now. All Eleesa could do was hope the bear would bring her to safety.

  ***

  The two companions found shelter in a small cave, nestled between two large sheets of rock. The cave entrance had been barricaded by the avalanche. Eleesa slept a few hours and awoke to find the air inside growing stale. She looked over at the bear. Marco coaxed his crusty eyes open slowly and met hers. He yawned, stretching his mouth wide and showing his six-inch front teeth. Then, the mountain bear slowly got to his feet and began digging. More than a few times, Eleesa had to avoid being doused in flying snow. Eleesa failed to move a few times and she found herself buried in flying snow. She was cold, wet, and tired. However, soon she had to remount Marco. The snow had been cleared from the cave’s entrance. The bear charged out of the cave and continued the unnecessarily fast descent. Eleesa lay down on the bears back as wind rushed past her ears. The cold was causing tears to well in her eyes and she was all but blind. Suddenly, the bear came to a halt. He had almost plowed into a giant man. This man looked much like the Hinns, except he was about seven feet in height. Two women, close to the man’s height, stood a few feet away. All their looks were filled with surprise. The man was carrying a long wooden farming tool with a flat iron head. No one even blinked, and the four people stared at each other. No one dared to move. The bear snorted and yawned. He then started to circle the large man. The man followed the bear and Eleesa. He dropped his farming tool in shock. As the man did this, the other two women ran. He seemed to have accepted his fate. Why would he not give a fight to this bear. Eleesa remembered the other side of the mountain. A Danfear man, wearing a bear skin, had attacked her. Instead of fighting, the tall man got on his knees. The bear growled and dug his claws through the soft ground. Eleesa realized they were at the base of the mountain. The place was a dark green. The earth was soft and dark brown. What was this place? She had little time to think when the bear lurched forward.

  “Wait.” Eleesa could barely whisper through her wind frozen lips. Yet, the bear stopped. The man’s head was in the bears mouth and the man uttered no sound. The man looked up inquisitively at Eleesa. She realized then the man had heard her as well. She had just spoken in the Hinn tongue. Yet, she expected this man had never seen a person with olive skin. Her probably had never seen an olive before.

  “You speak the language of the Freigr. Yet, you do not look like them. Who are you that commands the great mountain? Who are you that shifts your form and rides the great beasts? Tell me so that I may know your name and worship?” As the man spoke, Eleesa’s head swam. The man spoke the language of the Hinn. Yet, he spoke with a different accent. These feared men were just like any other.

  “I am Eleesa! Daughter of Juno and the One!”

  “Who is this, One?” The man removed his head from the bear’s mouth and stood. “Come, I will introduce you to our Ledir. You shall feast with us tonight, Eleesa the Foreign.” He walked off towards were the two women had run. Marco looked up at Eleesa with an eye. She nodded, and the bear followed the great man.

  ***

  The man’s village was a collection of wooden houses. Each house was the size of one of the Hinn halls. Eleesa gasped in awe of the village. All its inhabitants were giant. However, only a few carried a weapon. Yet, she could see giant axes, clubs, and other tools leaning against houses. Every eye looked at her in confusion and curiosity. Marco, Eleesa, and her guide only passed through the village. Together, they continued through the forest to a rocky cliff. Just at the cliff’s edge stood a Danfear hall. It was built at least four stories in height. Hundreds of giant men and women came and left the hall. The giant guide approached the doors and Eleesa could feel the salty air of the coast. The man pushed open the doors to reveal the dreaded Danfear warriors. However, not all wore bear skins. Many men lounged about on benches and chairs. They were all decorated by black tattoos, bone armor, and various animal firs. Only on wooden chair sat atop an elevated platform at the back of the hall. On the chair s
at a man wearing a bear skin. Every face in the great room turned as Eleesa entered. Their eyes were large with surprise and gasps echoed around the room. The villager that guided Eleesa kneeled in front of the throne. He spoke a few words foreign to Eleesa. Then, he turned to her and spoke in the Hinn language.

  “This is Guth, he is our Ledir here. Will you bow?” Eleesa thought for a moment. Then she dismounted Marco and went to take a knee. Guth stood and shouted. Eleesa looked up and saw the great man striding towards her. His long legs covered the length of the room in seconds. He was big but some how gentle. His massive hands enveloped her shoulders and raised her up. Guth placed Eleesa on his shoulders and shouted. The whole room stood and took a knee. They bowed their heads and reached out with an arm. Guth continued shouting in his native tongue and held out his arms. Eleesa could only make out her own name in the ramblings. She looked over at her guide for explanation, but he too was kneeling and bowing. Eleesa sighed and looked around at all the food in the hall. Vegetables and fish, among other things, littered the great hall. Eleesa’s stomach rumbled and the Danfear Ledir halted his words. He looked up at Eleesa and took her off his shoulder. He then walked over to the table and piled up a wooden plate. The plate was probably the length of Eleesa’s arm. Guth brought the plate to Eleesa and she grunted as he handed it to her. The plate was so heavy and Eleesa rushed it over to a table. The faces of the crowd looked up and watched the spectacle. Eleesa began to eat hungrily. Then, Marco’s head appeared next to hers. He looked at her and then began to take portions of her vast meal. She stroked the bears fur neck. Pay no mind to the staring eyes, Eleesa gorged herself on anything she could grab. The crowd of giants stood. Guth looked at them, shrugged, and sat down on the other side of Eleesa. Commotion returned to the hall, but everyone avoided Eleesa and her bear.

  ***

  Eleesa had been given a bed by the farmer she had first met. The giant man had moved one of his own children out of the room for her. It was in the man’s great house and the bed was very large. Eleesa felt like she was floating in a lake of straw and cloth. It was morning now, and Eleesa had slept for nearly three days. Her giant of a caretaker entered her room and brought her breakfast. Eleesa ate vegetables and fish hungrily. The man also gave her a large wooden cup of milk. She drank and ate until she was full once more.

  “How did you come to speak the language of the people that live over the mountain?” Eleesa could barely get out her words between mouthfuls. She had spent so long scavenging and starving that she now had a healthy appetite.

  “I learned it from a slave.”

  “I thought you killed everyone in the villages there.”

  “We only kill the ones that resist us. Although, not one of our people has crossed the mountains in many years.”

  “Why?” Eleesa looked up at him over the cup of milk. She had to hold it with both hands.

  “Our people live well enough over here. We have no need of slaves much shorter than we are. Times are hard in the winter, yes, but we are peaceful. We do not usually raid people poorer than we are. We have no purpose to cross the mountains. Although, I must tell you that we just came out of civil war.”

  “I met a Ledir over the mountain.” Eleesa tore into a salmon and juices ran down her chin.

  “He was probably one of those exiled. Many of the Ledirs, including ours, have not sat upon their thrones for long. The one you met was probably one that lost his.”

  “How many villages are there?” Eleesa finally finished her food and patted her stomach happily. The villager showed no sign of irritation at all these questions. He calmly replied to each one and waited for another.

  “There are many of our villages on this side of the mountain. Our people are few, young Freigr. We do not have any villages like the Freigr have across the mountain. I believe they call them towns.”

  “Like Ulsgard and Furvik.”

  “Yes, like Ulsgard and Furvik.” The great man chuckled and took away the plate and cup. “It seems as though you have finished. I have also brought food to your companion. What is his name, may I ask?”

  “I call him Marco. How are you known?”

  “I am called Jut as was my father, and his father before him. How long shall you stay with us Eleesa?”

  “I must return over the mountain, Jut.”

  “Then, come, we shall speak to my Ledir.” The villager arose and Eleesa followed. He pretended not to notice as she followed him to his chamber. The great man lifted a coat of bone off a wooden beam. The ceiling seamed to be supported by these cross beams. He then picked up an axe with a head as big as Eleesa’s torso. “I wish to ask you something Eleesa.”

  “I have asked much of you already, Jut. It is only fair.”

  “Why do Freigr carry those round wooden things?”

  “They are for protection.”

  “What is this protection?” Eleesa followed Jut into another chamber. Marco lay in this room. His head rested on his paws. The bear’s ears perked up as the entered and he looked over at Eleesa.

  “We use them to block and attack.”

  “Block?” Jut turned to her. His eye brows were pushed together in a look of misunderstanding. Eleesa was flustered as she struggled to explain it.

  “What do you do if the mountain comes down on your village?”

  “We move inside or find a cave.”

  “This is protection.” Eleesa, proud of herself, followed Jut outside with Marco.

  “Ah, I believe I know what this wooden thing is. You need these circles to hide yourselves?” Jut put on the coat of bones and swung his axe as he strode beside Marco. Eleesa had to mount the bear, otherwise she would be left behind.

  “Yes,” Eleesa laughed as she had not thought about shields in that way before. Jut smiled at her and they arrived at the great hall.

  “Do not worry, Eleesa. We Odeigr know how to take care of the mountain’s friends.” He winked at her before address the Ledir. Guth stood and nodded. Jut took a knee and bowed his head before Guth. Following this, the Danfear Ledir spoke to the room of warriors. Sixteen warriors stood and beat their chests with a fist. The all shouted in unison and walked over to Jut. There were fifteen men and two women in total. The Danfear women were, like the Hinn women, warriors as well. “We will show you our way through the mountain, Eleesa.” He smiled and bowed his head to her.

  “Through?” Jut only smiled as he and the other warriors walked out of the hall. Eleesa, giving up on her question, turned Marco to follow them.

  ***

  Jut had told Eleesa they would go through the mountain. Now, Eleesa knew what that meant. The stood at the mouth of a hug tunnel. Eleesa was shocked by the digging prowess of the Danfear. The tunnel stretched into blackness. If Jut’s words were correct, the tunnel stretched to the other side of the mountain. Each member of the group carried their own provisions. Eleesa had been given a bundle of furs and an assortment of items in a sack. She tied this to Marco who seemed not to notice the added weight. Jut and the others lit torches and walked into the tunnel. Eleesa followed as she rummaged in the sack for her own torch. She came up empty and decided to make her own. Using a strip of cloth, Eleesa tied it tightly around a stick from the forest. Using a rock and the iron head of her axe, she lit a spark that caught the torch alight. Then, she remounted Marco and urged him after the party. Marco bounded down the tunnel, his breaths echoing in Eleesa’s ears. The bear came up behind Jut and the warriors in only a few minutes. The tunnel was vast and had more tunnels connecting to it. Without her companions, Eleesa knew should would lose her way and die down here.

  “How many passages are down here?” Eleesa posed her question to the air as she scanned the carvings on the tunnel wall. Only Jut replied to her question. Eleesa assumed none of the others could speak the language.

  “These rock halls were built many years ago by our ancestors. There are even villages under the mountain. Our people retreat into the mountain when the winter seas a
nd ice come down from the north. We have survived down here a long time. Eleesa the Mountain Friend, I must request that we refrain from speaking. This part of the journey must be taken in silence. We must not wake the mountain. It may still shift in its slumber and bury us.” With that, Eleesa sighed and fell quiet. The party continued through the endless tunnels for a long time. Eleesa had no idea whether it was day or not. The blackness of the long tunnels remained constantly. She was starting to feel as though the walls of the tunnel would never end. The party made a few stops to eat and sleep. They lit no camp fires but at least one torch stayed on fire. Eleesa felt as though she had forgotten all speech after the sixth stop on their journey. Not a single word had been spoken by the party since they entered the tunnels. The heavy breathing of Marco constantly surrounded them. Eleesa had accepted this breathing to be simply part of the ambience. Occasionally, Marco would snort and Eleesa would realize she could hear his breath. However, most times the bear’s breath melted into the background. Finally, the party arrived at the end of the tunnel. Eleesa wished the could have stopped to see one of the villages under the mountain. Sunlight was better though.

  The Invasion of the Sea

  Here in Grelajri, the sea was rough, and the rock was cooled by salty northern wind. The fortress that General Hamo gave to Gelaus was placed at the top of a sea cliff. It overlooked a jetty that stretched for miles along the coast. The castle had been placed at the tip of stretch of rock that pushed out into the sea. Rocks peppered the coast, creating a near impassible trap of brine. Any invasion by sea would be nearly impossible. However, Gelajri had been built too far inland to stop one if it did occur. The army of General Hamo had taken up positions in the castle. The men were exhausted by the long march from Numa. Further adding to their troubles, many of the provisions had grown stale. Soldiers could now be seen fishing off the cliffs. General Hamo stood on the battlements. He was dressed in his usual Queen’s Guard attire. He refused to remove the iron veiled helmet unless he was alone. General Hamo still believed this was a mistake, but the Dark Queen had ordered the march. This was the longest she had been seen in any one place. The Queen stood at the cliff edge. Motionless, the breeze furled her black dress with silver crescent moons. Her large crown hat made her seem much taller. She seemed to be keeping watch for something. However, the only thing Hamo could see was the endless waves of the Wild Sea. He wondered why she was here and fingered the pommel of his long sword.